Police already ruled out the involvement of a third party, but friends and family still have more questions than answers. Why them? Why now? Why?

On how people should remember the Hsieh family, Jesuit priest Fr Ari Dy said it best in his homily during Xavier School’s memorial mass for the sons, Jeffrey and John, on February 11:

“The pain of Jeffrey and John’s deaths will stay with us till the end of our days. But in time, we hope to remember them, not for the way they died, but for the way they lived as our brothers,” he said.

This is how they remember the children.

13-year-old Jeffrey, the middle child, was more quiet than his brother, John, but “his classmates remember him for his readiness to help with academic work or with any tasks,” Dy said in his homily.

He always made himself available to help others, applying many of the skills he learned in scouting. For instance, during a school fair, he wanted to help in a class booth even outside his assigned shift.

He also volunteered as an altar boy in the neighborhood church right across the place where they live. 

John, 12, was the talkative one who “had an inquisitive mind and always wanted to do well.” In his Guidance workbook, Dy said, John wrote that he didn’t want to waste his life and become infamous.

“His slogan to remind him of his life goals is this: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a surprise, but today is a chance to change,” the Jesuit added.

Tears were aplenty during the memorial service for Amanda at the Church of the Gesu on February 12. At age 20, her life was short, but it has touched many – blockmates, orgmates from different Ateneo student organizations, and the children she dedicated her life to loving and serving.

Friends described Amanda – or Sei as they fondly call her – as an angel: always smiling, with a selfless heart always willing to help and listen. 

“Hindi siya natatakot magtaya. Hindi siya natatakot na sabihin yung gusto niyang sabihin. And most of all, hindi siya natatakot magmahal,” said one of her friends from the Ateneo Student Leaders Assembly.

(She’s not afraid to give it her all. She’s not afraid to say what she wants to say. And most of all, she’s not afraid to love.)

When asked why she was running for the position of Kythe-Ateneo’s president, she was quoted as saying: “Because I fell in love, I’m still in love, and want other people to fall in love with this advocacy.”

Kythe is an organization that allows pediatric cancer patients to play, grow, and develop as they receive appropriate hospital care. 

The Ateneo organization provides volunteers to the mother organization. Their annual activities include Be Brave Get Shaved, where students get their hair shaved in solidarity with cancer patients, and Hair2Share, where girls can donate hair at least 8 inches long. 

Like Dy, Fr Adolfo Dacanay in his homily during the memorial service for Sei assured the Hsieh family and friends with words from the Gospel: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Especially because Jesus says ‘In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places,” Dacanay said.

“Jeff and John, along with their whole family, have gone there,” Dy also said.

Comforting the relatives and friends left behind, Dy quoted Pope Francis who, on his Philippine visit last January, encouraged Christians to learn how to cry.

“Indeed we can only hope that our tears these past days will cleanse our vision and help us to see more clearly. In time, maybe at the end of time, our questions will have answers. God will wipe away our tears, and there will be no more sorrow and pain,” he said. – Rappler.com