Spurning God

DISOBEDIENCE BECOMES Eddie T. Panlilio.
At the altar of God he vowed obedience – along with celibacy – when he was ordained a priest.
Prodded by people who should have known better – many of whom are now in eternal acts of contrition for their misdeed, Panlilio disobeyed his very superior, the Most Reverend Paciano B. Aniceto, archbishop of San Fernando: refusing the five-fold pleadings of the good bishop for him not to run for governor in 2007.
And the rest is now unraveled albeit brief history, with administrative incompetence as recurrent event.
That notwithstanding, with but the self-proclaimed miracle of the multiplication of the quarry collection as take-off stage, Panlilio launched his presidential ambition.
Correspondingly to the position aimed for, the morality play of good versus evil so successfully staged by Panlilio in the 2007 Pampanga gubernatorial contest was raised to an even higher , nay, the highest level – divine intervention.
“God is calling me to run for the presidency.” So Panlilio proclaimed, after what he said was a long period of discernment – his own forty days and forty nights in the desert, so to speak.
With God’s call, Panlilio said he was prepared to leave the priesthood. But should he lose, he would seek reinstatement to the priesthood: “That’s the point. That (running for president) calls for a big sacrifice because I truly love being a priest. In fact should I lose I will still return to the priesthood if I could.”
Ah, indeed what higher sacrifice than ad majorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God. With patria – country – as beneficiary.
“And so, to those whom God predestined he called, and those whom he called he makes righteous, and to those whom he makes righteous he will give his Glory.” So it is written in Romans 8:30
With God’s call, what can Panlilio do other than obey. So he did, appearing in talk shows and various fora side by side presidentiables; sniping at the sitting President every chance he gets – even threatening to take her and her family to court for plunder , once he gets elected president; ever on the eye for media exposure, as he did during the funeral procession for the sainted Cory Aquino.
With God calling him to run for president, how can Panlilio lose? For it is written in Romans 8:31, “…If God is with us, who can be against us?”
Alas and alack, with God calling him to run, how can Panlilio be now saying there is a “big probability” – “high” is the more apt qualifier there, pare – that he will drop his presidential plan and instead rally for Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to become the country’s next president.
Straight from the horse’s mouth: “I’m thinking of not running. That’s a big probability. I want to support Noynoy because with so many presidentiables from the reform movements, it would do our country more good if there is just one reform candidate. This would be Noynoy.”
Panlilio’s coming change of heart premised, thus: “The best interests of the Kapampangans and our fellow Filipinos should always guide our decisions.”
God totally removed even if only a minute factor for consideration there. This after saying God Himself called him to run for the presidency! How could you Panlilio?
Spurning God’s very call . There your suspended-priest-turned-governor is doing.
No Eli, Eli but Eddie, Eddie lama sabachthani here. That is God calling out again: Eddie, Eddie, why has thou forsaken me? Forgive Panlilio, Lord, even if he knew what he was doing.
Let us pray for him, as the good Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said: “I can only pray for him. I think he’s in a state of delusion.”