Pray For Cory Aquino

A Prayer for Cory

Heavenly Father, the God of all gods, the Lord of all Lords,
I glorify your Most Holy Name.
Father, forgive us, your people, for all of our sins.
Forgive us if we ever blaspheme your Most Precious Name
Cleanse us if we ever harm our fellow men.

Father, we come before you
to ask for Your blessing.
We humbly bow our heads
and ask this simple prayer to You, our Most Glorious God,

Father, heal Cory Aquino.
Make her well.
Cure her so she can fight with us.
Strengthen her so she can walk with us again.

Father, if It is Your Will, comfort her
in her times of distress.
Bless her O Father
Give her the strength.
Make her strong again.
Make all her afflictions go away
and if it Your Will, O Father
Grant her still a long life
as a reward for all her sacrifices
for us, the poor of this Nation.

O Father, we come humbly before you
seeking your Will.
Strengthen our sister, Cory Aquino.
If it Your will for her to still be with us,
bless her with courage and strength
strengthen her,
lift her up and make her well again.

We ask this through the intercession of Jesus Christ
Ameen.

Thousands of my fellow Filipinos are praying for the safe recovery of former president Cory Aquino. Deedee Sytangco said that the widow of Filipino martyr Ninoy Aquino is in "serious yet conscious" condition. Aquino was rushed to the Makati Medical Center after complaining of difficulty in eating. Her son, Noynoy and youngest daughter Kris, are beside her as she fights the greatest battle of her life.

The 76 year old Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer. She went under the knife a month or so ago and reports indicate that she was on her way to full recovery. However, in the last few weeks, she had difficulty eating. Right now, family and friends say she's being fed intravenously, with tubes stuck in her body.

A novena attended by some of Cory's friends was held. Like millions of Filipinos, my family and I have been praying to God to prolong the life of Cory. She served as the greatest Filipino icon for democracy. Through her sacrifices for the restoration of democracy here in this country, we enjoy now enjoy a sense of freedom and liberty.

I remember Cory as a reluctant leader. After Ninoy died in 1983, Cory was asked to lead the fight against Marcos. Despite all odds, Cory and the multitude of patriots persevered and won the fight. Marcos fled and the entire Filipino people became a nation. For a week, Filipinos stood side by side as one sea of humanity against the forces of tyranny. Leading the charge was a woman, Cory, who wore that iconic yellow dress and armed with just her courage to see change happen in the country which her husband dearly loved and fought for with his own life.

As Cory struggles with cancer, I think about our own struggle as a people against the cancer created by the minions of Mrs. Arroyo. Like Cory, we are fighting a cancer that is getting more and more malignant by the minute, because of unbridled greed, immorality, insensitivity and ambition of self-appointed leaders.

In contrast, the pervert of our generation, the cause of our rants and our miseries, lie in a dim hospital room at the Asian Hospital. She too is in a hospital, tired after spending our precious money touring the world. Unlike Cory, Mrs. Arroyo got none of our sympathies nor prayers. No one even minded if she's okey or if she caught that deadly h1n1. I know some who silently prayed that she gets it. Or others who silently pray that she does not leave that hospital and stay there for good.

A friend of Cory's, I think it was Frank Drilon, told a reporter in an interview about what he thinks about Cory. Drilon said that she was once the most powerful woman in the Philippines; yet she tempered it with humility.

Ah, what a way to describe Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Drilon is telling the truth. Yes, in that glorious chapter of our History, Cory, indeed was the most powerful woman on earth. For six years, Cory held this very nation by the hair, ruling as the head of a revolutionary government and managed the transition from dictatorship to democracy. I thank GOD the Father that He gave Cory to us and not Gloria. If He allowed a Gloria, we would have seen the perpetuation of elite domination and the bastardization of our feeble institutions.

That is the contrast between Cory, the hero of the first EDSA with that of Gloria, the beneficiary of the second EDSA.

The Filipino People gave the first heroine power, more than anyone can imagine but instead of using it for fiduciary gain, Cory went out and threw herself at the mercy of the poor. She ruled the country armed with a courage so strong that was enough to rouse the nation to unity against coup attempts and a weak economy. Cory used that power with humility and with responsibility. She had the chance to continue as president, but she graciously went into semi-retirement and consecrated her life to help the poorest of the poor.

Whereas, Gloria, the beneficiary of EDSA dos, was the perfect anti-thesis of Cory. Gloria was Cory's exact opposite. Imbued with a selfish and seemingly unquenchable hunger for power, Gloria broke her covenant with the people when she ran in 2004. She ran and destroyed the very institutions of democracy that her predecessor assiduously built and protected.

She promoted immorality in government transactions. She allowed her family to do business with every governmental agency. She politicized the military by giving rewards to those loyal to her and her husband. She tainted the very integrity of the elections by promoting dagdag bawas and protecting the very people who created it.

Years from now, someone will write about this day, when two women of power lie in their sick beds. One lies sick with cancer, yet millions pray for a miracle to happen to prolong her life. And the other, well, millions pray that she gets sick or she leaves office soon and retire.