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| Georgian Manor Collingwood Aug 1, 2009 |
ETERNALLY HEALED
Cornelio, our Tatay, is now gone with the Lord.
One final wish when he got the Father’s call.
Reluctant as he was for he fought really hard,
Nothing more can be asked for victory is had.
Even though it pains us to let go of his life,
Later it was we grasped that his time is truly ripe.
In God we yearned… we longed,… we appealed.
On Him Tatay finds rest, and is eternally healed.
Praise the Lord forevermore!
-Patron Family
This poem was made public during the Eulogy of Tatay at
North York Chapel Cemetery, days after
his passing in March 2010. I thought of writing this to give more flesh to the words behind the
language so that we, his sons and
daughters; our children; and our
children’s children , would have a better understanding of where our roots came from and who we
are, as a family of believers.
ETERNALLY HEALED-DISSECTED
Cornelio…
Cornelio is the
birthname of our beloved father. Incidentally, this is the tagalog
translation of the name of the blessed centurion of the Italian Regimen mentioned in Acts
Chapter 10. Tatay’s name has been adopted by three of his grandsons by far, namely: Daniel Cornelio (our son), Lucas Cornelio (son of Donald and Jenny) and Cornelius
Stanford (son of Oscar and
Joan).
our Tatay…
Tatay is a tagalog word which means father. This
term of endearment is so commonly used
in the Philippines back then; more particularly among the
majority of the Filipinos who
do not belong to the middle or upper class of society. While the goodness of the Lord has materially blessed the family over
time, the family never ceased from
calling him Tatay which is a good reminder to
all generations that we all came from humble beginning.
is now gone…
The poem was composed a couple of days after Tatay left us.
This is not an ordinary meaning like one leaving somebody to go
to another territory. This is
that type of “gone” that is truly painful…something that drains the family inside and out knowing that
his destination is a place we cannot go….at least in this lifetime. He passed away on 01 March 2010.
…with the Lord
If there is
anything that is truly comforting about
this sad reality is the fact that Tatay
is now with the Lord enjoying the fruits of eternal life.
He had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and Lord.
He believed in the promises of God.
He has since been enjoying the
presence of the Lord in its fullest
sense. While he went to a place we cannot go for the moment,
we know that we who believed in the name of Jesus will all be with Tatay praising and worshipping the Lord
together at the right time.
One Final wish…
“ Panginoon tulungan mo po ako…” , these
were the last words of Tatay in the arms
of Kuya Delfin before he breathed his
last . At that point, Tatay was
agonizing badly in the hospital to survive.
He had been on confinement then for a month. Kuya Delfin was there gallantly taking the
cudgel for Tatay praying and trying to
push Tatay to hang on. Tatay again approached God for help.
It is a wish…a serious desire to
be rescued…..unknown to us, it was his final wish.
Tatay had a long wishlists for all his children and
grandchildren. And to those he care about.
Tatay had wished to take part in my daughter’s debut. It was not granted because his final wish
is far more important than any other requests... To be helped by his Master at that very
hour… and indeed he got it.
when he got his Father’s call
“Ok my
son. I will end your misery”. This is the Lord’s response to
Tatay--we believe-- who was fighting for his life. Yes, we all believed that the Lord called Tatay to his heavenly kingdom
saying “Come now my son. Be with me and find your eternal rest in
Paradise.”
Reluctant as he was for he fought really hard,,,
Tatay struggled
and fought hard before he passed away.
He survived a triple heart
bypass. He outlived 11 days of coma in 2005. He had managed to make fun of countless 911 calls.
He had gone in and out of the hospital
in the last days of his life. He wanted
to live longer. He would have wanted for the family to bond together and enjoy life with him at least for a few more
years. He was so confident that the
Lord who has been so gracious and merciful in extending his life for five more years after his miraculous healing, would
again manifest Himself in all His glory to proclaim that this man is
truly well loved. He hanged on in so many life threatening situations. Tatay is
a fighter. He does not give up
easily. The physical pain he suffered
was truly excruciating that others in the same situation would have wished for God to take his life. Tatay did not do that. He fought for us. He fought for everybody. He is truly courageous.
Nothing more can be asked for victory is had
It was a gallant
effort on the part of Tatay to fight for dear life. But despite his seeming loss, we all can say that victory is had. Oh death, where is thy sting for Tatay has now
been with the Lord singing,
dancing, praising, and ecstatically
worshiping the Lord God Almighty
forever.
Even though it pains us to let go his life…
It is
inaccurate to say at that point
in 2010 that we celebrated Tatay’s passing because he had already been
called to eternal happiness. It was a painful experience…truly hurting…..
tears kept on flowing then. It is truly sad that a man who has been our
inspiration as we journey in the path of life,
would leave us. A man whose life
had been a living testimony of how gracious, merciful, and loving
our Lord Jesus Christ is, would
wave goodbye. Truly, the departure of a loved one is a surreal image
of life in this world.
later it was we grasped that his time is truly ripe
Inay initially questioned
God upon learning that Tatay passed away.
She angrily shouted and
complained why would the Lord take him when in fact Inay and Tatay were faithful in serving the Lord.
Inay asked God how she would now
testify on God’s faithfulness when she
failed to get a positive response to her prayers. There were so many hard questions that Inay
had to express amidst an empty room all by herself. But not long after that, Inay with the rest of the family had to
accept the sad reality. It was indeed
the best time for Tatay to leave us. The
Lord called him at his own perfect time.
Five years of extended life is so sweet.
His time on earth had truly come.
In God we yearned…we longed…. We appealed….
Tatay’s journey
in life is significantly charted by the prayers of Inay and the family and those who love
him. Prayers truly make wonders. It
is a powerful tool that was used to make
Tatay’s life beautiful and worth
sharing. We prayed to God everyday that he would heal
Tatay. Our faith had been put to test over and over.
But we kept on yearning.
We kept on longing…. We kept on
appealing. It was never regrettable. We did the right and best thing under the
premises all by the Lords’ grace.
On Him Tatay finds rest…and is eternally healed…
On 01 March
2010, the Lord granted our prayers in
a mysterious way. Tatay felt no more pain.
No more agony. No more sleepness
nights. No more headache. He is eternally healed in God’s loving
arms. It is indeed unfathomable that
the Lord’s best answer to our prayers is for Him to heal Tatay not only temporarily but
permanently --not in the hospital, but in a heavenly place.
Praise the Lord forevermore…
Tatay’s
life was ugly in the beginning. Messy in the process. But Jesus --our Lord and Saviour-- had truly made in the end a wonderful masterpiece out of this man
for this generation and the generations to come to appreciate.
His portrait is far better than a Mona Lisa. Praise the Lord indeed. Let the household rejoice because God has given an example of how much he loves
Tatay…. How much he loves Inay… And how
much he loves the entire family. To Him
be the glory, and honor, and power and praise.
Amen.
(composed and shared by Danny Patron)
What do I remember with tatay?
Well from time to time all the memories of
tatay flash back in my mind…. Then I will pause for a while remembering him and
will praise God that I am sure that he is with our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have the privilege of taking care of
tatay in the hospital in his last days on earth because I do not have a job
that time. I remember the moment that we are praying together and as I mention
my request to God he agree and always says amen. He knows how badly I need a
job that time because we already place a downpayment in the house that we are
living but have no bank approval yet. We only cling to Gods promise and by
faith we bring to Him our petition. I remember the time when I hug tatay and
gave him the good news that I got a job with St Andrews Goldfields. I see him
smile and hug me back and gave his blessing to me. He said praise the Lord
Dennis. That was the last time I saw him because I was at work when Delfin send
the news about tatays passing away. I cried that day until I mentioned it to
all my co workers in Matheson. They comfort me and my boss allowed me to go
back to Toronto from Timmins which they pay for my plane ticket.
I believe that God heard tatay’s prayers
regarding my predicament. I really admire his faith in God and his love to all
his children. He really pray and worked hard so that all his children will be
successful in life. I admire his principles of sticking to what is right and
what is moral. He believe that if man slept with a woman, they should get
marry. That’s why most of our helpers get married in the church which is just
in front of our house. It is only ate Lina who was able to escape the skills of
our single panaderos.
Life in the Philippines is brutal. You have to
tough in order to succeed. There is no room for being timid. Otherwise they
will take advantage of your timidity. The government can’t help because they
themselves take advantage of your weakness. I remember tatay fighting for his
family to all kinds of predators. Personally, I experience how tatay took his
gun in 13th Avenue
when Butler was
making fun of me and I am already crying. I was just a child but do remember
how tatay defended me. When the tough guys in Crame was trying to intimidate
us, tatay was there to defend. His style is unique because he do it
diplomatically. He is very friendly. He is a friend of everybody in Crame and
in 13th Avenue
where I grew. He is also tough if you do something wrong to him. He will teach
you a lesson. As I said tatay always do the right thing even if the right thing
is not popular or pleasant. I guess all of his children experience the
toughness of tatay especially if you do a wrong thing.
There are so many things that I remember to
tatay. Some are funny and some are sad. Maybe I will just reserve other stories
in our future anniversaries.
Thank you vey much.
Dennis
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