EDITORIAL | SEPTEMBER 2024
By Ana de Villa Singson | Proud to Be! HS 1983!
August 15. Assumption Day! Fr Ricky, our celebrant for the mass, said something which struck me and which I posted in full in the article regarding the Assumption Day celebration in San Lo, Metro Manila. He talked about DISINTEREST-EDNESS. He said that we should be disinterested in collecting social media likes and that others’ opinions; even good opinion, should not be our objective. The object is to point all things towards God. St Marie Eugenie emphasizes it too…detachment from material things. I wholeheartedly agree to disinterest and detachment…from the material which is more often than not, unnecessary luxury or fanciful self-aggrandizement. Seneca, the resurgent Greek philosopher who is now popular reading material among the youth, said it well too. Advocating Stoicism, he believed that virtue alone is sufficient. Because virtue, unlike circumstance, is something we ourselves can control. Regardless of what life throws at us, ill health, social turmoil, financial upheavals, faithless comrades…we can choose to keep our virtue.
So I will venture to add to what many other wise men and women have said before. Detach and be disinterested in materiality but attach yourself to virtue.
Virtue. How does one become virtuous? I think virtue is something that points a person and other people to God. I see Old Girls doing it all the time. There are women who move mountains to help others and we have a good sampling of those in our section HELPING HANDS. My version of virtue is through my election advocacy. A longtime volunteer of PPCRV, we spearheaded a voter’s empowerment campaign which pivots back to values, which aims not just to educate good voters for a onetime election event that happens every three years, but to form good citizens who will be values-driven anytime, all the time, anywhere and everywhere. We developed 6 books and 11 podcasts focusing on being MAKA-DIYOS, MATAPAT, MAGALANG, MASIPAG, MATULUNGIN, MAKABAYAN AND MAPANURI. The prayer is to bring values development back to the classroom so that model citizens are formed who can recognize and vote in other model citizens as our country’s leaders. That is my virtue. And I pray that the values formation program points others towards God!
Virtue. What is yours? Through acts great and small, how do you make God more visible to yourself and to others too? My mom, H.E. Ambassador Henrietta “Tita” de Villa, formerly Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See, taught me that it starts with self-examination. She taught me to ask myself 3 things before going to bed at night.
First. What have I done for God today?
Second. What have I not done for God today?
Third. What will I do for God tomorrow?
This edition of Assumption is virtue-filled. In August, the AAA undertook it’s 23rd Golf Tournament in Sta Elena. Under clear blue skies, we raised funds for scholars, teachers, infrastructure, relief assistance for our Assumption Mission Schools nationwide. This September 28-29, we are launching our online art, jewelry and home auction to benefit rebuilding the home of our beloved Assumption nuns. And in October, we will extol the virtue of friendship as jubilarians meet to reforge bonds that stand the tests of time and circumstance. Also in October, we will be casting our votes for the new trustees of AAA 2025. In doing so, let us examine ourselves for virtue. And in finding ours, let’s look for those virtues in the candidates that we elect. Theirs will be a 2 or 3 year term. It’s a long time to do a lot of good in. It’s a long time to find virtue and to point all things to God.
Many special thanks to HS 1995 for sharing their stories with us in this edition. Special appreciation to Chin Bautista Joson who orchestrated HS 95’s written contributions.
Detachment, disinterest in anything material. Plus…Attachment to virtue.
May you find virtue and may you lead others towards theirs.
I will be ending my term as an AAA trustee in December. I think I found my virtue of service among like-minded women of faith and action. I pray that in some ways, the activities we put together through the years helped you to find yours.
All Hail!