Laica Monica M. Cardenio Gr. 11 – Our Lady of Mt.

Carmel

Reflection
Love is the only reason of everything that exists in the world. God made us and offered the
life that we now have because He loves every single one of us. He even sent His son, Jesus Christ,
to save us from our sins. He showed mercy to humankind because He loves us. This completely
means that the life that we have is a blessing to us. As a return of showing our love to Him and the
gratitude we have, we share and spread the love to our fellow beings. We let our neighbors feel
our appreciation and care towards them even in simplest ways. Sharing our love to everyone is
also a means of showing our love to God. In this year of mercy, our group decided to give water to
the thirsty. Most specifically, to those people living tough lives.

Our group did not only give the water directly to these randomly chosen beneficiaries, but
rather made a talk with them as well. I can see the gratefulness expressed in their faces when we
said how we really appreciate their strong will in facing their job and life, especially those people
who had nowhere else to go but on the sidewalk. In addition, I appreciate the vendors and
workers on the street who never stopped doing their job, rain or shine. What I remember most
among the beneficiaries is the woman who sells food on the street. She always plasters a smile
every time and I can sense the joy she carries within her. Moreover, what I also admire about her
is that she even gave up her hair and chose to be bald to lessen the humidity she feels during the
selling of foods along the street. She even told us she still has to walk from the streets of USJR
Main to the streets of Basilica del Sto. Niῆo in order for all of her foods to be sold. Despite the
weather and the tiredness, she always has the guts to smile which I really admire about her.

I know there is no perfect life, and rich or poor, everyone is facing different problems. This
taught me that no matter how difficult life may be, if you learn to appreciate the positive things
around you and disregard the negative ones, you will be happy. As a popular quote says, do not let
anyone dictate your happiness. This simply means that our own happiness lies within our hand and
it is our decision to live our life happily or otherwise.

By doing one of the corporal works of mercy, I feel so happy that I was able to share my
blessings to some people. Seeing them with so much gratitude on their faces sends joy to my
heart. I can say that in sharing my blessings, the number of people I helped is not important nor
the amount of the things I gave. What matters most is the sincerity of my heart to show my love
and care to these people.