Faith and Music

Obvious now is the fact that this blog overflows with faith and music.

The very title “Manariwa” is actually a title of a song I wrote eight years ago in Baguio City. I picked up that word while scanning a dictionary and had a musical epiphany. Not only does it sound so melodious as a word (Edgar Allan Poe said that the most beautiful-sounding letters in the English alphabet are l, m, n, r, and s), it also bears so much spiritual meaning. (Please see banner above.)

The lyric of the song goes like this:

Manariwa

Ako’y isang awit, likha mula sa puso (I am a song, conceived/created from the heart)
Taglay ko’y pag-asa sa kalul’wang aba. (Bearing hope for the humble soul)
Ako ay salita, diwa’y mula sa langit (I am a word, an idea coming from heaven)
Alay ko’y pag-ibig sa damdaming dukha. (Offering love to the poor in spirit)

Kahit na sino ka man (Whoever you are)
Kahit na saan pa man (Wherever you are)
Kung ako’y inyong kasama (If I am with you)
Buhay mo ay kay payapa. (You will have complete peace in life)

Ang tinig ko’y ilaw sa iyong landas (My voice is a light on your path)
Himig na kay tamis aliw sa isipan (It’s sweet melody a comfort for the mind)
Hangarin ko’y bigyan ng lunas ang damdamin (My desire is to grant you healing for your soul)
At buhay mong gapi sa kahirapan. (And for your forlorn life)

Manariwa sa isip mo (Be refreshed/Be renewed in your mind)
Manariwa sa puso mo (Be refreshed/Be renewed in our heart)
Ang mundo’y iyong lupigin (Overcome the world)
Maniwala at manalig (Believe and trust)
(Ulitin nang dalawang beses) (Repeat twice)

Manariwa sa Diyos na May-likha (Be refreshed in God Who is the Creator)
Siyang May-likha. (He is the Creator)

There is nothing more powerful in this world than faith and music. King David still conquers so many souls today with his psalms whose melodies may have been lost but keep resurrecting in fresh forms through various composers. Even in heaven, faith and music will declare the victory of life in Jesus Christ.

(For those who are interested to hear an mp3 of the song, please email me at manariwa@gmail.com or at manariwa@yahoo.com, where else?)