Our work reflects who we really are

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

CHRIST was performing so many amazing miracles that the people could not help but exclaim: “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (Mk 7,37) Eventually through these miracles, among many other things, people were convinced that Christ indeed was the promised redeemer, the Son of God who became man.

Again, if we are to be like Christ as we ought, since Christ is the pattern of our humanity, then we somehow should show that the way we work should reflect that we are children of God in Christ. Our work should not only show the kind and the amount of talents and human powers we have. It should show that we are like Christ. To a certain extent, we can share the praise accorded to Christ that “he has done all things well.”

But first of all, we need to have a proper understanding of the true value of work in our life. As it is, the common understanding of work needs to be clarified and redeemed, because it has strayed from the proper path it is supposed to tread. We need to put it back to where it belongs in our life.

In the first place, our work is part of our human nature. As such, we are meant to work. Work is not a punishment or merely a heavy activity that we should try to avoid. Escaping work is definitely against our humanity.

And so, we need to correct the attitude, regrettably rampant these days, that considers work as something that has to be avoided as much as possible, or that regards it as an unavoidable evil that simply has to be tolerated. 

Our work, in fact, perfects us, since it actualizes the potencies that we have. It is what brings us toward our proper development and fulfillment, individually and socially. It enables us to achieve what God has meant for us—that we be his image and likeness.

In the second place, our work, even if humanly speaking is deemed insignificant, will always be part of the abiding providence of God over all his creation. It is what relates us to God and to others, what enables us to attain the ultimate goal of our life—full communion with God and with others. 

We need to understand then that our work is a vital part of God’s abiding providence over all his creation, especially over us. Since God’s providence now involves itself in the salvation of man, after we have alienated ourselves from him through sin, both the original and personal, we have to understand that our work ought to be involved too in our own salvation

It therefore has an eminently redemptive character. It just cannot be stuck with purely worldly objectives, no matter how valuable, recommendable and legitimate these worldly objectives are. It just cannot be pursued simply following personal or worldly purposes.

This is where we have to feel the duty to redeem our work from its merely worldly context. It just cannot be wasted on brilliant technicalities, or on some advantageous, profitable and most tempting and irresistible earthly motives and worldly pursuits.

We have to be more aware of the ultimate value and purpose of our work, no matter how small and humanly insignificant it may look. We need to sanctify it, offering it to God and doing our best in carrying it out, and always trying to see how our work at the moment plays in the overall plan of divine providence.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

PH reopens borders to foreign visitors, shows the world how

by Manila Bulletin

The Philippines has shown the international community it can be decisive and brave enough to lead in the reopening of borders, even as bigger and more prepared economies chose to continue shutting down theirs.

But the reopening is not without safeguards, the government calibrates this move, initially allowing only the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from 157 visa-free countries.

This move augurs well for the devastated tourism industry, the hardest hit in the country. Tourism was just starting to flourish in the country and foreign tourists were just discovering our unique features when the pandemic hit and put the Philippines in a constant balancing act between health and livelihood.

The government has also ramped up vaccination drives. In fact, the tourism industry boasted of high vaccination rate of its frontliners.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) reported that as of the first week this month, 92.51 percent or 317,892 out of 349,534 tourism workers have received their COVID-19 jabs.

Tourism destinations with 100 percent vaccination rate among its tourism workers include: Baguio City; Aurora; Palawan towns Coron, El Nido and San Vicente; Puerto Princesa City, and Camiguin island. The DOT offices are also facilitating the roll-out of booster shots for eligible tourism workers.

On a regional basis, the National Capital Region (NCR) registered the highest coverage for tourism workers with 99.91 percent vaccination rate.

In addition, the number of infections in the country has been on a declining trend. Projections showed, COVID-19 cases could further go down to a very manageable level 1,000 to 2,000 cases by the end of this month and less than 500 in the NCR by Valentine’s Day. Remember, we came from an alarming rate of over 30,000 daily cases in the first month this year.

Indeed, the number looks good.

The private sector has also thrown its full support for the government decision despite admitting that it takes a lot of effort to get their engines running again after almost two years of dormancy. Already, some sectors in the industry are shooting for government financing lifeline.

During the pandemic, most hotels had been tapped as quarantine facilities for long staying guests, OFWs, and BPO workers. With the lifting of quarantine restrictions, hotels are gearing to shift to their primary business operations and cater to leisure tourists.

Although tourism players do not expect immediate return of foreign tourists in at least the next two months, they, too, declared their readiness to welcome visitors. But, definitely, tourists are sure to come back within the year.

Tourism facilities, including events venues, are cooperating by not raising their rates. All they want is to bring the volume back to the pre-COVID level in 2019, revenues can wait.

What is important is to build the confidence that we can reopen safely by strictly enforcing health and safety protocols because the virus is here to stay. We have to live with the virus.

By being able to build the confidence means continued reopening that should translate to more jobs and more revenues.