Dispatch from OLP: April 9

Dispatch from Our Lady of the Philippines: Saturday April 9:

Yesterday morning we got our favorite “tricycle” driver (he drives with relative caution and always arrives on time) to take us to a nearby beach. It was a lovely ride, and we got to see more of the island life and culture. Despite Jeanne’s protests, I stood straight up on the back of the sidecar for a panoramic view with the wind in my face, and drew many curious stares from passers by.
Again, it’s clear that this is not a tourist mecca, thank goodness. There wasn’t an Anglo in sight at the beach. We were looking for a place called the Baras Beach Resort (watch how you pronounce that, it’s not what you think), which stood out in our guidebook as a quiet spot on a grand promontory overlooking the ocean. After our driver agreed to wait, we engaged a little pump boat to take us to the place that was only accessible by water. As we rounded a corner on the rocky coast interspersed with little crescent beaches, we saw it and immediately knew this was where we’d spend the last few days in the Philippines.
The proprietor, an elderly British man who, like so many other Foreign Office types had “gone native,” owned the place for 15 years. More about it later, after we’ve spent a few days there. But just to give you an idea of why one should seek the out-of-the-way places, we will be paying about $20 a night for a cottage on a cliff overlooking the ocean and sunset (yes shower (bucket again), and toilet included). In addition he has his own chef who whips up culinary delights (affirmed by a German visitor) for about $10 a day.
Back at OLP (Our Lady of the Philippines) we took our first nap (afraid to disturb our newly established pattern of sleep) on the hottest day so far, went on a short walk, sat on a “porch” swing in a mango grove, and slowly walked back for Vespers. The rhythm of the prayers is settling in, and settling into us. Knowing that the community will gather, along with the guests (still mostly nuns from the various islands, and a few men on, I think 30 day Ignatian retreats) for prayer calms the soul and deepens the sense of waiting on the Lord. Part of the familiarity to me is that the basic form of prayer is the same in Benedictine monasteries the world over, and is also the form Jeanne and I follow in our own daily prayers. The pattern is Psalms with responses, a reading from scripture, a hymn (almost all of them familiar Easter hymns to us, down to the “thee’s and thou’s”—today we sang “The Strife is O’er, the Battle Done”), and ending with the sung Lord’s Prayer, and a bow to God and to each other. Not a bad way to begin and end the day. And I always remember you all in my prayers.
There was some much-needed rain last night. We heard it clattering on the tin roof of our compound. I awoke early again, ready and willing actually, to do some writing and reading. Since the day starts here with Morning Prayer at 5:30 followed by Mass at 6, it seems best to follow a sunrise to sunset schedule, and it feels quite agreeable. (There’s not much of what you’d call a nightlife here, and it’s lights out and silent after 9p.m.)
Besides the novels we read and the backgammon for leisure, I’m absolutely delighted with Eugene Petersen’s new book (first of a projected four volume “spiritual theology”) called Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. What wonderful companion for this journey.
Mass this morning was surprisingly full. I think lots of neighboring people joined us. Most delightfully, some of the Mass was sung for the first time this week in the native Tagalog, a lilting poetic language it seems to us. The tunes fit the words well, as we sang, for example-- Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Especially rich was the Lord’s Prayer, when the nuns broke into a kind of bird-like descant.
Breakfast today consisted of little smelt-like fish, a sort of spam-like meat, and, you guessed it, rice. I quite liked it (well OK I’d like a spinach and feta omelet better), but Jeanne passed on the spam for more bananas, again.
This afternoon we’re off to Iloilo City for some shopping (Jeanne’s looking for native fabric) an Internet Café, so we can post all this, and dinner out by the sea.