Every 4:45 in the morning, regardless of where he has been and what he has done the night before, would wake up and open his bible. He would sit up from the couch he loved to sleep on, do the sign of the cross, and be silent in his prayers for the next 15-20 minutes. After that, he would dress up for his morning jog and be back after 30 minutes to either do weights or play basketball outside his house. He would then shower and eat his breakfast which his wife prepared. Pray over his kids right before he left, then work hard until noon. Every lunch time when the siren signalling noon would sound off, he would make his way home riding a tricycle for 5 minutes and he would have his lunch, turn on the tv and then watch his favorite noon-time show Eat Bulaga. He would laugh for a bit then turn it off after a few minutes. He would take his afternoon nap for 15 minutes, then take another shower before he would make his way back to work. From 1pm til 5pm, in fact it would usually be til 7pm because he liked to work over time. He worked hard because it not only provided for his family, but he felt loyalty for the company that provided work for his father too ,which also provided for his family while growing up. He would come home, talk to his kids and wife, eat his dinner with his family, then he would be off to an activity for Couples For Christ almost every night. If he was home, he would turn on the tv, watch some news or basketball depending on which was on. But more often than not, he was at an activity with Couples For Christ. This whole regimen happened during weekdays and weekends. Though for weekends his overtime at work would only be during the first half of the morning, because he would usually spend noon til 3pm with his family at a mall then go home to play basketball. A CFC activity would be his schedule right after. On Sundays, mass would take priority; he would go to work right after to clock in work as much as he can before he would go home right in time for lunch with his family at a mall. Then be back home by 3pm for his weekend basketball usually with his son. Then off to another CFC activity.
Rain or shine, sick or healthy, whether he felt like it or not – his daily regimen was followed to the T. Morning prayers set the tone which gave direction to his day, to his work. For him, it was ora et labora, Saint Benedict’s motto, to pray and work. Nothing fazed him. For him prayer was everything, and work was his prayer. It provided him a means to support his family, and also provided him a means to do his mission work in Couples For Christ. He kept the tenth of his wage, the other tenth was for God, the other eighty percent was for his family. With the tenth that he had, he would still give it to the Church and to whomever borrowed money from him for some emergency.
Even when he was struck down with cancer, his regimen did not change. Prayers in the morning, work in between, then CFC later in the day. It was only when he was bed-ridden, that he was limited to only his prayers. Since work was no longer possible. His last breath was spent affirming a youth leader for CFC for doing her work in the ministry of CFC-Youth For Christ. He lived, worked, and breathed his prayers into life.
I am proud to call this man my father! His prayers moved him to work, his work became his prayer!
So how do you honor a man who was all about prayer and work, by turning prayer to work and work to prayer, by becoming a missionary.
Happy birthday Pa!
May the mission I undertake for the God you served, produce more people like you.
PS. My Father would have been 57 today. If you read this, please do offer a prayer for him.
This reflection is also cross posted on my own blog: http://www.kevinmuico.com/2013/07/10/oraetlabor/
