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This Holy Tuesday is a good time to meditate on this passage of the Bible from the beloved apostle, John. Start with the question... How have we responded to the needs of our less fortunate brothers?

In a previous column, I wrote about the difficulty of "connecting" with my poor homeless "brothers" on my sidewalk in Manila whom I tried to help in a more permanent way than daily dole–outs. It frustrated me that my efforts were met with suspicion.

After praying about it and listening to my friend priests, I have come to realize that as Christians, when we sincerely help others, we should not look for self–fulfillment as in "Hey, I helped them! I feel good!"

We should help because we see Jesus in other people, as Fr. Stephen of the Focolare movement in Tagaytay always reminds us mass–goers.

To be a true Christian is to live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. This should translate to loving our neighbors, no matter who they are. And loving our neighbors means sharing and caring, again, no matter who our neighbors are! "Ang hirap talaga isagawa!" (It is really hard to do this). It is easier to choose who to love and consign the rest to His mercy. "Hindi pala dapat mamili ang tunay na Kristiyano." (A Christian shouldn’t choose).

This is where I stand in awe of those who can love everyone as a true Christian should. The unsung religious, especially nuns who care for the poor, the abandoned and the dying without any thought of a "thank you" from anyone... ought to be our role models.

My new friends in Tagaytay, the nuns of Blessed Mother Teresa, love and serve without questions or rewards. Sometimes they skip a meal or drink tap water because they gave their own meals and clean water to the poor. This bothered Hubby and me for a while because we had given them food for themselves, but they turned around and gave it to the poor!

Later, we reaffirmed that what we gave out of love, they gave away out of love too! So now, we no longer worry what the nuns do with the little we share with them.

Hubby and I met Sisters Hannah, Maria Lourdes and Aina,of a seven–nun component of Blessed Mother Teresa’s order which is now based in Munting Bukal in our city on the ridge. The sisters’ mission is to teach catechism to the poor kids in the neighborhood and their parents too. As Mayor Bambol Tolentino pointed out to us, Tagaytay is relatively free of the really destitute, so the Missionaries of Charity all over the country, have been going to Munting Bukal for their retreats aside from ministering to the poor.

Sister Hannah and her nuns continue to reach out to the community nearby and depend on the generosity of "friends" for their daily subsistence and for oil for the perpetual sanctuary lamps of the Blessed Sacrament in their vigil chapels. A successful young businessman recently met the nuns and was invited to meditate in their chapel. After an hour of prayer with the nuns, he pledged to send them their oil for their lamps and other necessities on a monthly basis!

Those who wish to share their blessings can see Sister Hannah at the Munting Bukal. It’s entrance is a narrow road off the Aguinaldo Highway, just before the street leading to the convent and chapel of the Pink Sisters.

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