A Disability is a Responsibility

Back in the 1980s, there was a mental-wellness-challenged lady whose name is Bagyo. It is not her real name. Her name literally means storm. She was more popular than the Robredos in her prime.

In her youth she would fight off children who would bully her. Bagyo is a friend of my late mother and she would feed her. Our mother told us by her example to be kind to Bagyo. With friends she is peaceful, I would rather call her Paz from now on which means peace.

Because of stigma and misinformation and miseducation, parents of the rowdy children warned them to stay away from Paz. For them, Paz was entertainment. I recall the epic movie, Gladiator starring Russell Crowe, after killing his enemies in the coliseum he shouted at the audience, “Are you not entertained?”

Personally, Paz is the testament to the failure of humanity. The feeling of compassion is non-existent, rather the hardened-hearts of fellow humans resonate alongside the evil that men do to each other. It is a shame.

I am like Paz. I am not ashamed at all. I am also like you. I am like him and her. Simply put, we are all God’s children. The difference among us is absent. You hurt, I also hurt. Everybody hurts.

When God intervenes, it is a new scenario. There is light. And, there is truth. Are you in the dark? Would you hurt your brother or your sister? Or would you help one another? Awakened and enlightened.

We are a people of Easter. He paid the price for our sins. It is a celebration. Everyone is welcome, you and I and him and her and Paz. That is the invitation by Jesus.

In my heart it is a resounding yes! I chose Him, Our Lord Jesus Christ:

“And no man, when he hath lighted a lamp, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it on a stand, that they that enter in may see the light. For nothing is hid, that shall not be made manifest; nor [anything] secret, that shall not be known and come to light. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he thinketh he hath.”-- Luke 8:16-18

Old Catholic people would tell younger persons that on Judgment Day, our life would be played out just like a movie. In fact, there is an actual movie entitled Defending Your Life. It is a 1991 American romantic comedy-fantasy film about a man who finds himself on trial in the afterlife, where proceedings examine his lifelong fears, to reconsider his reincarnation on earth.

In near-death-experiences, survivors recounted that Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Divine Judge. For a good deed cancels out a sin. And, it is horrifying that a devil is present in a corner where it reads each sin from a list. A sin may also be canceled out by your prayer or other people’s prayers and other souls in purgatory, angels’ prayers and truly and deeply it is a communion of saints as recited in the Apostle’s Creed.

One man’s account is different, he shared that Satan himself pulled his leg after a failed self-caused-death. Providentially, he survived and was given another chance. The good news being-- we are given chances.

A woman added that she was comforted by Our Lady after surviving a tragedy in her life. She was a victim of a gang-rape. After seeing a vision of Mama Mary it changed her purpose. Mama Mary is real, a Comforter of the Afflicted. She is a second Mother to us all.

Lastly, a man had a vision that after the last day of Judgment. It is a grand reunion. Easter-like and heavenly. The angels sing hymns of joy. Trumpents, harps, resound as everything has come fruition. The triumph of good and the triumph of God.

Reflection: From the Parable of Talents, I take into heart my talent that which is writing. And, chose a path often not chosen. Writing about God. My topics are close to my heart. I lived them. I felt the pain, and anguish, and suffering, and insults, and evil, and the whole nine yards. Providentially, my disability is destroyed by my God-given-gift. I am high-functioning. In an analogy I am at the other end of the spectrum of Autism-- the other which is people with Down Syndrome and my end which is Asperger’s. Elon Musk is an example, the man who reinvented electric cars. That is why my disability became a responsibility, writers are few, and writers like me are much fewer. I became a writer for my tribe. For Paz. Peace.