Our Son's Baptism and The Precious Gift from his Dying Uncle Owen

Yesterday, our son Guillermo Jose was baptized and became a Roman Catholic. As holy water was poured over him, his parents and godparents surrounded him, and laid hands on him, covering him in a mantle of faith, hope, and love. I felt the energy of the holy moment course through my veins. I was excited, enthused, elated!! At last! We've wanted this baptism to take place earlier, but it had to be postponed twice on account of the deaths of Oliver's brother followed by his aunt. With the delay came a greater desire to have our son receive the sacrament. After attending wakes and funerals the family needed a break from tearful goodbyes, a baptism was such a welcome change, it felt like a "reset button", a chance to start fresh. 

The baptism was held at the lower chapel of Christ the King in Greenmeadows, the very same church where just weeks earlier, we held the wake and final mass for Oliver's brother Owen.  My thoughts went to Owen as we, the parents and godparents - and all adults present - were asked to renew our vows and profess our faith.  When Owen was fighting cancer, he turned to his faith for strength. He started inviting the family to join him to go to church to attend mass. He proudly professed his faith, in his emails, text messages, and the speeches he gave on bearing witness to God's providence. In his final hours, he held on to his rosary for dear life. In baptism, candles represent our being enlightened by Christ and we are encouraged to keep the flame of faith alive.  Owen's faith was a raging fire towards the end of his life. He is my daughter Narra's godfather, and though their lifetimes overlapped only ever so briefly, he already played a role in her Christian formation.  She was learning to speak, and learning to pray as he was fighting cancer, and one of the first things she learned to pray for, was his recovery. She would utter each night before going to bed: "Jesus, Mama Mary, Bless ninong Owen na gumaling siya" (that he gets better), her pudgy baby hands in prayer pose, with an earnest expression on her face.  Said by a toddler barely two years in age, I imagine a prayer to hold a different kind of power in its purity.

Guijo in his Christening clothes. A vision of precious purity and innocence.

Purity. It is one of the aims of baptism to wash away original sin. This is one reason I dressed Guijo in white even if it is no longer required by the church.  I was looking at him in his Christening clothes, and I was thinking, what an absolute angel!  And that thought, of an angel, triggered another memory of Owen.

When Guijo was born, Owen was in bad shape and in great pain, but he took the time to write this welcome message for Guijo:

Subject: Welcome home, Guijo!

Nikki & Oliver, now is best time for me to send my congratulatory greetings
since I feel much better in mind & body. It was a dreadful 4 days from
Tuesday. Then things turned around friday evening just after Guijo's birth,
before midnight. I fell asleep on the bed--a first in 3 mos. This morning,
I did my stretching exercises, ate half a hash brown for breakfast, coffee,
prayed my rosary b4 taking another nap. Joey Benedicto and wife came for a
surprise visit and joined the family for noon mass. Wow. Guijo's birth was
my lifeline. His guardian angel and mine are twins joined at the hip so to
speak, so we both have 2 each, 1 more than everyone else. I beam
w/happiness for you both and Narra, knowing that 4 makes you a much happier
family than 3. The future holds a lot of promise. Hang-on because the ride
is about to begin for your family of 4. Welcome home, Guijo!

This message made me want to cry, for many reasons. It pained me to read how he had been reduced to such a state that eating half a hash brown was already something worth reporting. Owen was the consummate gourmand, he pursued good food with great energy and passion. He took us to many buffets - my first trip to Spirals when it had just opened at Hotel Sofitel was thanks to Owen. The last buffet we went to was at a Japanese Restaurant at Diamond Hotel, it was a yakiniku-grill-all you can concept and we had a small function room just for the family, and Owen ordered away, authoritatively outlining all the things he wanted - I remember him ordering the largest scallops I've ever seen. He already had cancer then, and was undergoing treatment, but he was sturdy as his appetite was strong. 

A photo with four generations: My Lolo Vicente De Lima and Lola Norma De Lima; My dad Walter;
My sister Marion; and I with Narra and Guijo (carried by yaya Ruby).
Christening Reception at Sambo Kojin, Greenhills.

Yakiniku buffet - my last kind of buffet with Owen - is the first kind we have with Guijo. Our Christening reception was held at Sambo Kojin Japanese-Korean restaurant. We didn't have any of the usual party fare: no invitations, balloons and decor, nor cake and giveaways. There was only one item on the program - to eat, together. I was happy to see my families there, both the one I was born into and grew up with; and the one I married into and mourned recent deaths with. All are Guijo's kin, celebrating his arrival. And then there are our friends, people who are permanent fixtures in our lives, also welcoming him into our social circles.  He is welcomed with a shower of gifts - material, monetary, and spiritual... everyone wishes him well.

Of all the gifts Guijo received that day, one stood out as the biggest in size, the most expensive in monetary value, and the grandest and most memorable in the execution of its delivery: it was a gift from my sister-in-law Ging, Owen's wife and widow, and Guijo's ninang. She casually told me that she had the gift for Guijo transfered to our van directly. She said it so casually, with no indication of how special it is. We only found out when we got home and saw this huge box being brought to our living room.

Oliver unwrapping the gift handpicked by his dying brother for his newborn son Guijo.

The gift is a sleek MacLaren stroller, grey in color with orange accent details (colors Oliver absolutely loves). It is a generous gift on its own. But what makes it even more special is the fact that Owen himself chose it, ordered it online, had it shipped from the US before he died. There's a delivery sticker somewhere on the box, it had an order date - he got it way before Guijo was born. I thought the email welcoming Guijo was the one concrete thing from Owen that I could pass down to Guijo.  But apparently, that wasn't the last. Even with him already gone, Guijo gets to receive a gift from his uncle.   Buying that stroller was a task initiated by Owen - getting it to Guijo was thanks to Ging - husband and wife still working in tandem to continue the tradition of thoughtful gift-giving their family is known for.  Thank you dearest Ging, my son's beloved ninang, for that very generous gift! For how you perfectly executed its delivery! For what it stands for! 

"4 makes you a much happier family than 3" said Owen. And last night, as I began writing about Guijo's baptism, the little boy regaled us with a new set of antics we haven't seen before. He started to smile at us for real. Prolonged, responsive, appreciative smiles - not the sporadic, accidental kind that comes and goes and lasts for brief seconds. Narra was ecstatic at her newfound talent in making her brother smile. Oliver and I were equally elated. Yes Owen, our ride has begun. And we will hang on, not only to each other, but also to precious memories, of you. And most importantly, our Christian family will hang on to our faith, as you have, when the ride gets bumpy.  

Related Post:
2 Deaths in 40 Days: Mourning the Loss of Family
http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/10/2-deaths-in-40-days-mourning-loss-of.html

A Filipino Baptismal Celebration

http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/09/filipino-baptismal-celebration.html