AMEN, Let It Be.

By Ella V. Buenaventura

In any of this universe, “Amen" probably is the most spoken word by so many people any time of the day. Why? It might be because the word Amen is written in the Old and New Testament, Hebrew Bible, and the Islam Quran. This word also caps the prayer of Christians, Egyptian Church, Irish Protestants, Judaists, and the Evangelical Protestants. It is also written in Arabic, Ge' ez, Latin and English. 

It is believed that Jesus was the first to utter the word" Amen". He whispered it in the Lord's Prayer. In both praying and teaching the Good News, Jesus opens and ends His lessons with the word" Amen". It is Jesus greetings to His apostles. It is also His word of gratitude. "Amen" is also uttered by priests and nuns as they are given the last absolution in their dying bed. "Amen" is the Alpha and Omega - it is the beginning and end of life. 

“Amen" in English is "let it be". That comes to my mind the Beatles song "Let it Be" that describes the concern of Mother Mary for all of humanity in its affirming lines ... "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom -let it be, let it be". Credit it to this group whose song is embraced by all of humanity. The song also proves that the word “Amen" is timeless. It is ageless. It is for all times - then and now and for all eternity. 

I say" Amen" unto you as I invite you to share with me stories in this column that touch on personal experiences, day-to-day happenings that witness God's might and kindness that need to be shared with all humanity. Hopefully at the end of each story, despite the daily tribulations, you will be one with me in concluding that - it is still a wonderful world after all. 

My initial story is about our pair of lungs. 

There's never a moment of boredom in life really. If only we would think that even simple breathing and doing nothing is in itself an accomplishment ... if not a feat. Who do you think can confirm this? Someone asthmatic as I am, no less! 

Can you imagine how hard it is to run after your breath? It is like a chasing game. You are chasing a butterfly with a net hooked in the eye of a. needle. That is an asthma attack. 

Shuffling through my imagination, I see my pair of lungs like two laundry bags. How I wish I could wash my dirty pair with detergent - wash them clean and hang them to dry. Yes, I imagine the abstract painting of Salvador Dali where human innards hang on clothesline. Well, see how my imagination intertwined with what my -brain had collated through, the years? 

Writing about lungs after watching Brother Sun, Sister Moon for the nth time, I brush my heart (not lungs this time) with the holiness of St. Claire and St. Francis of Assisi. ­Feasting my eyes on the beautiful setting of the movie that never fails to hype me - the vast woods of wild flowers, the field of golden wheat and the nerve-chilling snow, everything is created to perfection. 

The beauty I not only see, but seems to smell, too, filling my heart and my lungs (no asthma .this time, take' note) to the fullest of joy. And what magnet has God's unseen presence that made Francisco, Claire and their company of young soldiers gave up the life of comfort, fame and fortune in lieu of a life with beggars and ex-convicts. That is part of the mystery of life that will unfold only in death, only at the conjecture that our lungs deflated. The lung is only one confirmation that God is really a great and a very creative Creator. 

Look at your lungs' X-ray plate. Notice two wing-shaped white figures defined on those negatives? Those are your lungs. 

What are lungs made of? Air sacs. So God created sacs that hold the air and once that pair of fluffy wings collapse, we are dead. "Amen" to our body, alleluia to our spirit! 

Again, we confirm that once our lungs go pffft, we - die. But wait. Those pair of lungs will also be the means that will bring us to heaven. Agree? Yes, in my imagination, they will be inflated to full-blown wings that will flap in the air and will keep us lifted as we journey to heaven. Our lungs will be our wings into the afterlife. 

Riding on this theory is the rationale behind our departed loved ones visiting us in the form of butterflies. Believe it or not! 

I think the lungs and the heart are a conniving team. One organ cannot function without the other. It is also true to form between heart and lungs - that when the heart is in love and beating fast, the lung follows, panting hard! 

See why I opened this article with the premise that life has no dull moment? Simply because-even the lungs have a story to tell.