Sculpture at entrance of a memorial park, Northern Luzon Expressway, RP – taken from moving vehicle at dawn.
O YHWH, Master of the universe,
Creator and Giver of life:
You birth us into existence
within earthly soils and historic times,
individually designed
but equally gifted
with freedom to rightly choose.
May we persevere within communities
that nurture us
in good times and bad
to mature into responsible people
for destinies You purpose for us to fulfill.
O Self-revealing God of Sacred Scriptures,
By Your providence
We need no longer be ignorant
of Your ways,
nor of Your vision for humanity.
Your unchanging declaration
echo through the ages,
calling upon people of all nations
to live lives full of
lovingkindness,
mercy
and grace,
lives that relentlessly pursue
righteousness
and justice,
since that which is genuinely beneficial to all
is that which ultimately finds favor in Your eyes.
It is when we see these
in our neighbor
and in ourselves
and in this world,
that we see
You.
We awaken our hearts to gratefulness, O Father,
for mercies have flowed upon us day by day:
in health and dis-ease,
in labor and in rest,
in the daily renewing beauty of earth and sky.
May the challenges for truth and justice
stir us from our ease
and quicken our endeavors.
In the contemplation of Your eternity,
may we be filled with hope,
for
that which is right and true
can never perish.
Bless therefore our strivings
to be more and more in accord
with Your pure will,
that grace may rain upon us
through the promised blessings
of obedience.
[Written for the occasion of the Centenary Commemorative Ceremony honoring the Founder of the University of the Cordilleras, April 19, 1913-2013; collaborative work of daughters NSB/LSS@S6K].