DNL’s Speech during the Welcome Dinner for Chaplains at
the Bohol Tropics Resort Grand Ballroom on July 26, 2005.
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| ``Fighting the Good Fight`` |
It is a distinct honor on my part to welcome a unique gathering tonight. It is
not everyday that you get to meet the chaplains, men of the cloth who are also
men in uniform. In behalf of the city of Tagbilaran, at various times called
as the City of Smiles and the City of Friendship, I welcome you to the land of
Sikatuna and Dagohoy.
Sikatuna and Dagohoy are two faces of the Boholano. Because of his role in the
historic blood compact with Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Sikatuna is remembered as
a man of peace. And for his role in the longest revolt in Philippine history,
Dagohoy is revered as a warrior and a fighter to his death.
At first glance, it might seem like a contradiction to be a man of the cloth
and a man in uniform. A man of the cloth is a man of peace while a man in
uniform is a man of war. And yet, like Sikatuna and Dagohoy who reflect two
faces of the same Boholano, a man of the cloth and a man in uniform are two
faces of the same creature.
The soldier fights not because he thirsts for blood but because the war to
which he is called to offer his life can lead to a better life for the society
to which he belongs.
On the other hand, a man of the cloth is called to preach the peace of God. It
is not necessarily the absence of war, as the numerous conflicts to defend
God’s people show. At certain times in history, God’s people must wage war so
that His people might be free to worship and honor Him.
While you have not yet been called to man the battlefields, you are constantly
called upon to minister to the soldier. Deep within every person there are
constant conflicts, battles are being fought not with sophisticated weaponry
but no less fierce and deadly. So many times, lives are lost not because guns
have been fired but because the spirit has given up the fight.
This is a battle that is deceptively silent yet far more vicious, one where no
prisoners are taken. This is the arena to which you are constantly called upon
to wage war.
It is Tagbilaran’s honor to welcome you tonight. It means that the city has
earned a name as a place that is soothing to the body as well as to the soul.
That is definitely an honor and a compliment.
In a manner of speaking, Tagbilaran is your battle ship today. You have come
to refuel, to rest your tired bodies and to prepare for the next flight back
into war.
After you have refueled, rested your tired bodies and recharged your energies,
you will return to the battlefield for your kind of war. In a country divided
against itself, we face a war that nobody wants. It is my hope that you will
emerge victorious partly because this battleship has lived up to its role.
That is the only way I want you to remember Tagbilaran. Have a pleasant stay.
Thank you and good evening. |
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