THAT’S what Pope Francis encouraged
us to do when he met
with the families in the Mall of Asia last January 16. “It’s important
to dream in the family,” he said. “All mothers and fathers dream of
their sons and daughters in the womb for 9 months. They dream of how
they will be. It isn’t possible to have a family without such
dreams...”
We can never say enough about the importance of the
family, about the fundamental and most strategic role it plays in
one’s life and in that of society in general. Let’s hope that we never
stop dreaming about our respective families, because it is through it
that families can cope with the complicated challenges of our times.
This was, more or less, the take-home message I got after
attending a Family Congress recently. I was there not as a speaker but
simply as a listener, and to give company to Archbishop Jose Palma and
the main guest speaker, Dr. Bernardo Villegas.
Dr. Villegas was my economics teacher when I was still
studying in La Salle. I already know his calibre as an economist and
teacher. He was great, and he showed it once again in that congress
with his most insightful discussion on the Filipino family that is
supposed to be on the way to a first-world future.
He said that the Philippines now enjoys a high growth rate
that he believes will be sustained and will most likely even increase
because the proper economic drivers are already in place, namely the
remittances of our OFWs, the income we get from BPOs and KPOs, and the
thriving domestic tourism we are having these days.
But most importantly, he was one of those who changed my
life because of the way he was and continues to be—brilliant but not
proud, very knowledgeable but always simple, with a good sense of
humor, sometimes mischievous, but always oozing with goodness.
At one point of his talk, he said that the Philippine
economy is already quite stable such that its progress can be
sustained irrespective of whoever sits in Malacanang, whether it is
Vice Ganda or Binay.
Anyway, he mentioned about how families should always be
protected and strengthened against some economic or social forces and
developments that can undermine them. He also touched on how the
family should be properly anchored on faith.
But what caught my attention the most was a comment during
the panel discussion toward the end of the congress. Someone suggested
that parents should be more sensitive to the different changes that
children go through as they grow from infancy to toddler to middle
child-age, to puberty, to teener and young adult. Parents need to
change strategies in dealing with their children as they go through
these stages.
Though I know there are such stages of development with
their corresponding distinctive characteristics, I never really gave
much thought about how each stage is different from the others, and
how children ought to be treated in these different stages. What I
heard was a great learning moment for me.
I am happy to note that there are now a good number of
couples, all of them professionals in the different fields, who are
willing to spare part of their precious time to go into more serious
study about this concern, and to share their findings with other
parents. Indeed, the family is worth all this effort and sacrifice.
I am praying that this interest can be sustained and
acquire more strength and coverage. I dream that helpful information
about marriage and family life can continually be brought out in the
media for everyone to know, learn or simply be reminded. We are now
living in very challenging times, with new developments popping up
rapidly.
We need to make adjustments in our way of life and
outlook. What was helpful and effective before obviously should not be
set aside, but rather be more polished, more updated to take in the
inputs of the new things coming our way these days.
That’s why we have to keep on dreaming. We should never
tire, much less, be afraid because of the difficulties. If we are
properly rooted on God and on our faith as well as on the flowing
developments of our world, we will always have reason to hope and find
ways to cope with the challenges.
In fact, not only cope with the challenges, but also to
take advantage of them to attain a greater perfection of our own
lives, both humanly and supernaturally.
with the families in the Mall of Asia last January 16. “It’s important
to dream in the family,” he said. “All mothers and fathers dream of
their sons and daughters in the womb for 9 months. They dream of how
they will be. It isn’t possible to have a family without such
dreams...”
We can never say enough about the importance of the
family, about the fundamental and most strategic role it plays in
one’s life and in that of society in general. Let’s hope that we never
stop dreaming about our respective families, because it is through it
that families can cope with the complicated challenges of our times.
This was, more or less, the take-home message I got after
attending a Family Congress recently. I was there not as a speaker but
simply as a listener, and to give company to Archbishop Jose Palma and
the main guest speaker, Dr. Bernardo Villegas.
Dr. Villegas was my economics teacher when I was still
studying in La Salle. I already know his calibre as an economist and
teacher. He was great, and he showed it once again in that congress
with his most insightful discussion on the Filipino family that is
supposed to be on the way to a first-world future.
He said that the Philippines now enjoys a high growth rate
that he believes will be sustained and will most likely even increase
because the proper economic drivers are already in place, namely the
remittances of our OFWs, the income we get from BPOs and KPOs, and the
thriving domestic tourism we are having these days.
But most importantly, he was one of those who changed my
life because of the way he was and continues to be—brilliant but not
proud, very knowledgeable but always simple, with a good sense of
humor, sometimes mischievous, but always oozing with goodness.
At one point of his talk, he said that the Philippine
economy is already quite stable such that its progress can be
sustained irrespective of whoever sits in Malacanang, whether it is
Vice Ganda or Binay.
Anyway, he mentioned about how families should always be
protected and strengthened against some economic or social forces and
developments that can undermine them. He also touched on how the
family should be properly anchored on faith.
But what caught my attention the most was a comment during
the panel discussion toward the end of the congress. Someone suggested
that parents should be more sensitive to the different changes that
children go through as they grow from infancy to toddler to middle
child-age, to puberty, to teener and young adult. Parents need to
change strategies in dealing with their children as they go through
these stages.
Though I know there are such stages of development with
their corresponding distinctive characteristics, I never really gave
much thought about how each stage is different from the others, and
how children ought to be treated in these different stages. What I
heard was a great learning moment for me.
I am happy to note that there are now a good number of
couples, all of them professionals in the different fields, who are
willing to spare part of their precious time to go into more serious
study about this concern, and to share their findings with other
parents. Indeed, the family is worth all this effort and sacrifice.
I am praying that this interest can be sustained and
acquire more strength and coverage. I dream that helpful information
about marriage and family life can continually be brought out in the
media for everyone to know, learn or simply be reminded. We are now
living in very challenging times, with new developments popping up
rapidly.
We need to make adjustments in our way of life and
outlook. What was helpful and effective before obviously should not be
set aside, but rather be more polished, more updated to take in the
inputs of the new things coming our way these days.
That’s why we have to keep on dreaming. We should never
tire, much less, be afraid because of the difficulties. If we are
properly rooted on God and on our faith as well as on the flowing
developments of our world, we will always have reason to hope and find
ways to cope with the challenges.
In fact, not only cope with the challenges, but also to
take advantage of them to attain a greater perfection of our own
lives, both humanly and supernaturally.
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