A Negrense's prayer

Title

A Negrense's prayer

Language

English

Year

1949

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

October 3, 1949 NATIONAL WEEKLY Page 13 A Negrense' s Prayer By OSCAR D. GRANADA Bacolod City, Occ. Negros 1 0 Just and Merciful God, I humbly commune with Thee &t thi-; very moment of our provindal complications. Being del)ply and sincerely concerned abou;t the welfare of my c-0-provincianos, I ask for Thy help -and' guidance to save us unfortunate Negrenses fr~m a futurC' political and moral disaster which wHI 5urely bring woe and discontentment to our province. In the past, other peoplle called our sugar land a paradise; now, it is a land that t"iey belittle and despise. We are now cond~mned as a peopl-.1, and we are looked upon. with indignation and distrust. But you understand, Dear God. that 'the present impression of other people on us is not due to the misdeeds commi tte<l by all. Are we then to be punished as a wheile just because of our patience and our great love for pe:lce which prevent us from resorting to unlawful means to check up the evilmindedness of a few? Is our tolerance the very reason for such a tragic fate to befall on us? Have mercy on us., Dear God,. Help us to stand on our feet once more, to face other people and show to them :that evils are practiced only by a few, and that we, Negrenses as a whole, cannot be blamed and condemned because of their misdeeds. From Thy seat above, You clearly see how democracy is working in our province. You see how our individual rights are being clevedy curbed and 1trampled to dust by a few 'responsibles' who are blinded' by their authority and power. And yet You perhaps wonder why we remain at peace! Durjng those times when we ought to be given tha;t sacred chance to choose men whom we love to carry on the affairs of our government, You 3ee the occurrence of threats and in:timidation exercised by those who are supposed to safeguard the wellbeing and security of a people. In some of our towns, You se~ people being deprived of theh· right of assembly, of their right to express t'hei!" grievances in front of the many who are ·eager to hear them. ~n most of our sugar centrals and sugar piantations, You see men and women curbed by the wm of ;~heir P.mployers in matters affecting constitutional rights, becaul:e they will surely sufier th~ consequences of un<'mployment if they don't adhere to their employers' demand. You see our provincial and municipal officials, including the supposed-to-be educators of our province, being directly or indirectly utilized as means to work for the election of some favored candidates . when, by law, these same. officials can not and must not interfere in that par.ticular phase of nadonal event, except to vote according to their hearty vrlshes. Above all, You even see that matters in our province are being manipulated in such manners as to en.able men to occupy elective posts even if they are obnoxio~s _on the part of our real, hvmg electorate. Andt yet You perhaps wonder why we remain at peace! 0 God, why do You allow such Chings to happen :to us, peace-loving and democratic people ? What have we done CrSCAR D. GRANADA to de.serve all these undue pu.- the authority will no longer nishments and misfortunes? use their authori;ty and poWhy do other people hate us wer for th~ annihilation of &nd look down upon us as one's mdividual liberties as low and call us moral co- provided in our Fund~mental wa;ds? Are we to con.ti.nue Law, a Law in conformity to suffering, living under such a rrhy <>wn. We do not know sordid condition just because how t<> behave radically, like we do not know how to resort other people in other provinto other means than peaceful ces in our approach to OJl' ones in our struggle to live in 'serious political problems. We> a well-planned, ·-decent and• always love peace and we d·;:!democratic world? -~ sire to settle our problems in Maybe Dear God You'~ hhe most justifiable and . ' -' . . ipeaceful manner. have every reason to mfhct j to 1 · · ' Dear God as I am c ose all th~se troubles upon us. 1 •1 be You to be P ha . . b -f cmy prayer, g er · ps, it is ecause o our,, berciful to us peaceful peopatience and tolerance. But lj;ie of Negr~s Occidental. whatever be Your justifiable· Please enable us to live derea.sons God, please extend· centJy and properly once Thy lo~ing kindp.ess to us all · again, as we had been living Negrenses. Help us in our o~ yo!·e. Grant strength a?d f 1 d t live a wisdom to our beloved P1 opeace u .e~' ea~or 0 • vincial Governor, to our prodecent pohtical hfe; ~ kmd of \·indfli a.ud municipal offiexistence that will be admired ci·als, and to all of us, Neby ;the people around us; a grensei'l, in our continuous enlife untainted by dirty or im- deavors to act justifiably and moral practices; and' a life morally before Thy sight ari:I by which those who possess heforc the sight of all peorle. SPECIAL OFFER UP TO NOV. 5 ONLY Grant that aH of us will live a clean, upright and honest life so that other peopb around us will exist in th~ midi?t of politica,l lib~rty snd moral prosperity which are the greate~.t and true marks of a real democratic plan of existence. The Practical Bookkeeping by Mail, a pre-war correspondence of bookkeepi11g now of.fers you Complete Course of bookkeeping, for P15.00 only including certificates., Our regular Charges are P30.00 in cash and P40.00 by installments. To avoid delay, sen:d ·~ow lP151.00 in cash or money order to Dr. N. E. Salvador,. Director and we will . sen4. you: 1. Rules It Definitions 2. Sets I, II, III, IV and V respectively. Remember Gur offeor" is only up to Nov. 5. Act now if you, are interested. THE PRACTICAL BOOKKEfilPING BY MAIL, P.O., Box 2120 M&NILA All these things we ask in the name of Jes us Christ, our Lord· and Saviour, AMEN.

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