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    Love Is Beautiful
    Love Is Beautiful
    Love Is Beautiful
    Ebook102 pages1 hour

    Love Is Beautiful

    By Norbert Mercado

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    About this ebook

    The 2nd novel in Norbert Mercado's Morning Glory series. Continue the journey with the exile, Jose Rizal and the foreigner, Josephine Bracken.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNorbert Mercado
    Release dateApr 3, 2014
    ISBN9781310368165
    Love Is Beautiful
    Author

    Norbert Mercado

    "In this age of revolution, the contemporary writer should utilize the pen for the preservation of peace," Norbert Mercado, a Filipino author, stressed. The books he has written and published, including his anthologies, unapologetically assert the indispensability of peace in a nation’s progress. The author has written more novels than any Asian writer had in just a brief period of time. In fact, he has surpassed the number of novels written by world-renowned novelists like Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1970) and American authors Ernest Hemingway (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954). Solzhenitsyn has four novels to his credit, while Hemingway has eight. His style of writing is simple and succinct, but poignant and colorful like Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and Solzhenitsyn’s ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESONOVICH. "The simpler the novel, the better," he said. In line with Japanese Yasunari Kabawata’s writings about the Japanese way of life, most of Norbert’s novels focus mostly on the current situation in his country. Kabawata is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. His books present hope to the Filipino, especially to the "economic exiles" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan whom he has spent most of his time with, in their daily struggles. But most of all, his novels lucidly show the futility of war and violence in the resolution of political-economic-class conflicts in the Philippines. "War should not be used as an instrument in resolving political conflicts. Writers who abet wars and revolutions must think of the widows and the fatherless, the chaos, destruction, and suffering of the people whom they claim to be concerned about," he said. What if, like Solzhenitsyn, Hemingway, and Kabawata, he eventually wins the Nobel Prize? What will he do with the US$1,000,000 award? "I will use the prize for establishing a Peace Foundation that will assist in the formulation of policies which will resolve the current shooting conflicts in the country and help alleviate the continuing poverty of our countrymen." He will take charge of the foundation and personally campaign for a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Philippines. "The insurgency and the secessionist rebellion have foreign support. A Nobel title will give me the personality to approach the leaders involved in the conflicts," he explained. Born on March 25, 1955, he is the youngest among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Aurelio Mercado, Sr. of San Manuel, Tarlac. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication. Voted Outstanding Campus Journalist in 1974, he was a columnist and associate editor of the Philippine Collegian, the campus publication of the University of the Philippines. He has also written articles for various newspapers and magazines in the Philippines, as well as abroad. He also won the 1981 National Essay Writing Contest sponsored by SIDESTREETS Magazine. Norbert is a graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), the topmost armed forces school in the country, where he was conferred a Master’s degree in National Security Administration (MNSA) and the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). He graduated from the NDCP at the age of 32, the youngest in Class 21 which had already produced several generals in the Armed Forces, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines. He was elected one of the fifteen directors of Class 21. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Applied Servanthood), Honoris Causa, for his almost 30 years work in Christian literature. His batch mates include Senator Robert Barbers, Undersecretary of Trade and Industry and Bulletin Columnist Nelly Villafuerte, Actor and Producer Fred Galang, Rev. Peter Vasaya, and the His Royal Highness Sultan of Sulu and Sabah Ishmael Kiram. A sports lover, he was a rifle marksman in his UP ROTC days, and a winner of the 1988 and 1989 5,000 meter-run sponsored by the National Defense College Alumni Association. His sports include swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, karate, cycling, and marathon among others. A traveler, he has attended various international conferences and trainings in Asia and Europe. His travels have widened his insight not only of places, but also of people he has constantly observed and empathized with. He is the youngest graduate of the Singapore Haggai Institute for Third World Leaders in 1980 at the age of 24. "Let us work for peace in our country, in any way we can," Norbert stressed. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Ria M. Mercado

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      Book preview

      Love Is Beautiful - Norbert Mercado

      LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL

      by

      NORBERT L. MERCADO

      Also by Norbert L. Mercado

      NOVELS

      72 Hours in Moscow

      Cambodia's Children of Sorrow

      The Children of Mars

      Even the Grass Bleeds

      I Don't Need A Throne

      The Last Romanov

      The Korean War

      In The Shadow Of The Roman Empire

      Farewell Darkness!

      The Roman Governor of Judaea

      Morning Glory

      For more information on Norbert L. Mercado, visit

      http://norbertomercado.blogspot.com

      LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL

      Norbert L. Mercado

      Copyright © 2014

      Norbert L. Mercado has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work.

      This book is a work of fiction, and except in case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

      This book is sold, subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      ISBN: 978-1-310-36816-5

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      VERSION: 2014-04-08-1530

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Last Chapter

      A Historical Novelist For Peace

      You Can Also Connect with Me Online:

      Discover Other Titles by Norbert L. Mercado:

      Back to Table of Contents

      . . . CHAPTER . . .

      1

      The stars are beautiful! Josephine remarked as she watched the stars while strolling on the shore in Talisay, Dapitan, with her husband Dr. Jose Rizal.

      The Bible states that God has a name for each star He created. And to think that those stars are so numerous that no man, no matter how brilliant he is, can ever know their exact number. But the Lord God knows because He is God. He is all-knowing. He knows even the number of grains of sand on this beach, and in all beaches in the world, Rizal told Josephine.

      Josephine looked at her husband with admiration. She thought of herself blessed by God for giving her a partner in life who believes and trusts in God. Rizal was much older than she is, and had more experience and knowledge in life. She needed someone like him for protection and affection especially in a remote and isolated place like Dapitan.

      Rizal may also be the one who could encourage her in her faith in the living God of mankind, who manifested Himself in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

      Why do you believe that there is a God, Joe? Josephine asked him. She asked this question not because she doubted God’s existence, but because she wanted to be strengthened and reinforced in her Christian faith.

      There must be a Creator of the Earth and the universe. Josephine, if somebody would tell you that nobody made your shoes and your dress, or your watch, would you believe her? Rizal asked.

      No, I wouldn’t, she replied.

      Do you believe somebody made your shoes, or your dress, or your watch, even if you didn’t see that person? Rizal asked his wife.

      Yes, I believe, Josephine replied.

      Why do you believe that somebody made your shoes, dress, and watch even if you haven’t seen the maker? Rizal asked.

      Josephine laughed.

      Then she replied, It’s not believable to say that nobody made these things. Nature does not manufacture shoes, dresses, or watches on its own. No animal has ever been able to create objects like these either. So even if I did not see the maker of these objects, I know that they were made by some person, with intelligence and skill. Only a fool would believe that these objects appeared out of thin air.

      You’re right, Josephine. Only a fool would believe that. In the same way, only a fool would say that there is no Creator of the Earth and the universe simply because he has not seen God, Rizal explained.

      "So, the statement To see is to believe is false," Josephine said.

      I’ll say that it isn’t always true. There are things which we do not see, but we believe that they exist. For instance, we believe that gravity does exist. Yet, we cannot see gravity. If someone claimed that there is no gravity, that someone is a fool, he is ignorant, and he doesn’t know it. For if there was no gravity, life would not be possible on Earth, Rizal said.

      Why so, Joe? the 18-year old petite and cheerful Irish beauty asked her husband.

      "Its gravity which keeps all forms of life anchored to the Earth. If gravity were to suddenly disappear, we would all

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