A farewell toast to Paparu!

Fr. Roel left yesterday for Cambodia. And this piece below I wrote some weeks ago in his honor.
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Fr. Roel is not just an ordinary friend, to have him means you have a complete package of an older brother and a doting father wrapped into one. I recall that when he went to Australia for a business trip, he made sure that all of us in the seminary would receive presents. Later on, he would complain in jest that he failed to buy anything for himself.

Few of my seminary companions might not be aware of this, but when the lights had been switched off and when almost everybody was fast asleep, Fr. Roel would make a quick route in the dormitory, making sure that each seminarian is safely tucked in.

Five years ago, when we received the bad news of his dad’s passing away, he did not go home immediately, not until all the liturgies lined up for the Holy Week celebration had been settled. And that very Easter Sunday, he was back in the seminary to witness our acceptance rite to the postulancy.

I am not sure if any member of the group stepped forward to thank him, if there were none, let me take this chance to thank you and tell you how we were all touched by that thoughtful gesture from a Salesian priest who professed to live his life for the young.

As a rector I gathered that he wanted only the best for his confreres. This is most true for the healthiest food served in the refectory of the community. He challenged the confreres to explore their possibilities and develop their potentials. He has always been fatherly, and relates with each of us with respect.

I can go through the entire evening enumerating the many traits of Fr. Roel, but I hope that the message is clear: we love you, Fr. Roel and we shall definitely miss you.

We fondly call you Paparu. That name of endearment sounds paru-paru in Filipino, which literally means, butterfly. And I guess you are exactly like one. To bid you goodbye is painful. But then, we believe that you belong to the Church and specifically, the young people own you.

We have seen your colorful wings, and you’ve spread sweetness in our lives. But we know that your flight goes on. The young people of Cambodia are now looking forward to meet you.

May your life continue become a colorful sign and a radiant bearer of God’s love to the young.

A note on a confrere-missionary-friend

Fr. Roel Soto, SDB, our outgoing rector, has received the official letter from Fr. Vaclav.

Part of the letter reads:

This year the ceremony of giving crucifixes to missionaries will be held on 28 September in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians at Valdocco--Torino.

I'm working on this entry as he reads the content of the letter to other confreres who are with us in this room. He is jubilant. I can see it in his eyes. He's been waiting for the letter for the longest time. I recall that when I was a pre-novice, I would pester him with remarks to extinguish his burning desire to become a missionary. After all, he's no longer young enough, and besides, we in the formation house value his presence in our midst, despite his capacity to talk in kilometers and the ocassional scolding we would get from him from time to time.

In as much as I wish to be happy for him, I cannot help it. I'm sad. Fr. Roel is one asset in the province. His going to the missions is definitely a big loss in the province, something I personally articulated to our then FIN Provincial Fr. Andy Wong (now the regional superior) when we had the chance to talk in Cebu. He simply replied back "when we send confreres for the missions, God will gift us with more."

St. John Baptist de La Salle

Today is the feast of St. John Baptist de La Salle. Wikipedia acknowledges him as the patron saint of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (of which he himself founded), Lasallian educational institutions, educators, school principals, teachers.

You see, when I left the Salesian seminary four years ago, I abandoned John (Bosco) only to be welcomed by another John (Baptist de La Salle) as I was employed in one of his institutions in the Philippines.

I stayed in that institution for almost two years before finally returning to the same seminary. Honestly, I didn’t know much about St. La Salle. My knowledge of him is limited to his coming from a well-off family in the 17^th century France. Somebody told me, a colleague from La Salle I recall, that his family was known to be wine makers. His achievements in the field of the academe include the grouping of students according to their mental ability and the teaching in vernaculars (French, that is) instead of the then universal language which was Latin.

Devouring some volumes of the Biographical Memoirs (a 19-volume biography of St. John Bosco), I have stumbled on certain instances when Don Bosco would be closely working with the Fratres Scholarum Christianarum (Brothers of the Christian School or simply FSC brothers!)

Don Bosco was one of the confessors in their institute, hearing the confessions of their students. Plus, it’s a common knowledge that Blessed Michael Rua, Don Bosco’s first successor, was a product of a La Salle school before he finally moved in to the Oratory of Don Bosco.

What is more is that in the second volume of the Biographical Memoirs (p. 257 ff), Lemoyne noted that in October 1845 when Don Bosco completed a 200-page book on Church History, he dedicated his book (I’d like to think that it’s his first, since his first outputs were mere booklets) to the provincial of the Christian Brothers in Turin, Brother Erve de la Croix.

Don Bosco’s explanation was as follows:

The esteem and respect which I feel for you prompts me to dedicate this little book to you, for it is the only tribute I have to offer. I know very well that your modesty and humility will shy from it, but since it was written solely for God’s greater glory and the spiritual advantage of young people in particular, to whom you have dedicated yourself, I do not think you will have any excuse for refusing it.

St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.

A life of sanctity

Currently, we're attending a seminar on prayer.

A Carmelite nun (she's an extern sister) gives us inputs on prayers. The program is more on the spirituality of St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. It feels heaven because even before she came here, I was already immersing myself by reading their works (I finished reading the biography of Teresa and at present, I'm reading "The ascent to Mount Carmel," a literary classic by St. John of the Cross). So, more or less, the terms she's using are more or less familiar to me.

My formation in Canlubang emphasized more on Ignatian spirituality (the focus is on the use of the intellect in praying) and being given an alternative method to pray is indeed reinvigorating.

Aside from the inputs on prayer, she would refer to the lives of Teresa and John once in a while. She knows them better, and her inputs are big help in providing me the background of these great mystics. I realized that I am a born fanatic. When I was a kid, I used to glorify superheroes. I'd watch over and over again movies of Superman and Spiderman (both in betamax format) and when I was a teener, I started idolizing movie personalities (so baduy!).

When I entered the seminary, I found myself in awe encountering priests and brothers who were considered legendary because of their virtues and achievements.

Now, in the confines of the novitiate, I am befriending great men and women found in the hagiography section of our library. So far, I finished reading a thick book on the life of Teresa. I started reading the autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola, and now, I will start on the "Confessions" (St. Augustine's autobiography).

And lest my Salesianity professor read this post, I also finished reading the lives of our "homegrown" saints. I started with St. John Bosco (2 volumes of Biographical memoirs and the Memoirs of the Oratory) Blessed Rinaldi, and went on with the life of Blessed Rua. And of course, I also read the life of Dominic Savio, one of the youngest saints in our Church today.

I hope that my associating with these great people (albeit, vicariously, that is, by reading) may not only give me knowledge of the brand of sanctity they have left behind, but more importantly, with God's grace, my life be transformed into like them: a constant, burning union with my Creator.

A woman named Teresa

Nada te turbe;
nada te espante;
todo se pasa;
Dios no se muda,
la pacienciatodo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene,nada le falta.

Solo Dios basta.

I first encountered this hymn when I joined the Taize movement in our parish. I was only 15 years old then. The meaning of the lyrics was, of course, beyond me. But the hymn was awesome. Gazing my eyes on the wooden cross surrounded by several candles, the song had an awesome calming effect on me whenever we would sing it.

The lyrics were from a poem believed to have been composed by St. Teresa of Avila. Her disciples found out a copy of this poem in her breviary. Below is a translation of the poem done by Jorge W. Suazo:

Let nothing disturb you.
Nothing dismay you.
All things pass.
But God never changes.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
If you have only God,
You have more than enough.

Today is her feast. She died on Oct. 15 more than 500 years ago.

Her whole life is a concrete example of how it is to become in constant union with God. What she experienced wasn’t for the faint hearted. She suffered many a trial towards her way to perfection.

In fact, after professing her vows as a Carmelite nun after a year, she fell to serious illness. She was not simply dying. She already died. And when she was brought to life once again, her suffering went on.

It was from her lips that this famous quote came out: "God, if this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them

Even before I was in Canlubang, I realized that I’ve been so much interested to read books on spirituality and prayer. And each book on these genres cannot but quote her or run even a cursory anecdote of her life.

Two days ago, I finished reading a biographical book of St Teresa. Grace from God is common among all saints. I believe that an ordinary mortal, even with his/her willing it, cannot become a Saint without it. But the French author, André Maurois, believed otherwise: “A saint she indeed became, but by force of will.”

I know how my weaknesses can prevent me from becoming a Saint. I will not ask for the grace for me to be one. I don’t have much courage to face the difficulties she experienced. In my prayer this morning, I only ask God for one thing: “let me see her in heaven.”

A Piece for the Cardinal

Exactly one week ago, we were given the privilege to meet the Archbishop of Cebu, His Eminence, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. Below is the piece I delivered before him.

As I deliver this piece I cannot but recall how our beloved founder, St. John Bosco, showed his tender devotion towards his own bishop.

When he was still a young diocesan priest, Don Bosco never failed to speak about His Eminence Louis Fransoni, his archbishop, with reverence and love. Don Bosco always turned to him for advice whenever he was faced with difficulties in his ministry. He never embarked on any apostolate without the knowledge and consent from his archbishop.

With these recollections, I deliver this piece to you with a filial attitude like that of a son to his dear father.

This is the first time that I have met you, but ever since I was a young kid, I have already associated the archbishopric of Cebu to the name Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

Some years ago, If Sin spoke about a burning issue that had something to do about the country, people would be delighted to hear what Vidal of Cebu had to say.

One of our seminarians who hail from Cebu told me that he had the privilege to meet you last year, and he was awestruck by your holy persona: A majestic simplicity that is filled with peace and humility.

I did a little research about you and I realize that you mark your 25^th year as the archbishop of Cebu this year.

Congratulations!

It must have been tiring to serve the Church especially because we know that you're not getting younger each day. However, we know that Shepherds don't rest. They are always anxious to see that even the lowliest of his sheep is taken care of.

And we thank you, our dear Eminence, for being a shining example of how it is to live a life of service. We thank you for setting a good example of a leader who is sought by the people, not because of his position, but because people believe in his wisdom.

The Church is constantly in need of people like you. And we, the younger generation of ministers, are delighted to find icons from whom we can find a source of inspiration.

In our discussion of our Rules last week, our venerable Novice Master quoted the Canon Law about our primary duty as religious. The Church expects us to "pray and to contemplate God's presence."

And taking a cue from this let me end this piece with an assurance of our prayers for you and for the whole archdiocese.

mary and superman

again, a repose from an unmaintained blogsite...

“Show them their possibilities, but never choose the path for them.”

Does the quote above ring a bell? I’m sure that for all who’ve seen the film “Superman Returns,” it does.

I’m not one of those fortunate Superman fanatics who got the chance to see the movie when it was shown in theaters. As of date, I have not seen it, although, at the moment, I am devouring the book version of the film. But of course, if an opportunity comes, I will excitedly watch it (Fr. Mols, I hope you’re reading this!).

The quote above is from Jor-El, the biological father of Superman (a.k.a. Kal-El, a.k.a. Clark Kent). He deposited this message through a crystal so that Superman can still access it years after his death. To put it in proper context, Jor-El is saying something about humankind. That we can be a great people, if we wish to be.

I have not finished reading the book, but a friend told me that the thesis of the film revolves around the identity crisis of Superman. The three persons (i.e. Kal-El, Clark Kent, and Superman) inside the first superhero that I dreamt to become were put to question.

My obsession in awaiting the resolution to this life-issue of Superman brought me to reflect on the identity of the Blessed Mother. And I believe that this realization is one of the pleasant aftertastes the solemnity of Assumption has left in me.

Come to think of it, Mary’s only a simple maiden, who later became a plain housewife. But despite her simplicity, she was the only human figure so far that has been blessed with this singular grace of being assumed into heaven with her body and soul.

The assumption of her body and soul is of course her reward. She was recompensed by God when He invited her to be part of His beautiful plans for the human race
Imagine, just imagine, if all of a sudden Mama Mary turned down the invitation. She has the right to say no; she’s very much free not to accept the invitation.

But as history would tell us, she has brilliantly followed God’s call. She made her choice. And that fruit of her outstanding decision has certainly led her—including us—into something big, bigger than I, than you, bigger than life itself.

The result of that choice is the reason why we are celebrating the event of the Assumption each year. Everything fell on its right place after she eloquently and sweetly pronounced: “Yes, Your will be done.”

Of course, a second assumption is of a remote possibility. We can no longer replicate this divine act of heavenly assumption, but perhaps through the choices that we make, we become like our Mother.

Sure, Mary did not become like Superman. She did not fly like a bird nor exhibit Herculean strengths. But her power lies in the beauty of heart to make an intelligent decision allowing God to control her life. She showed us that humans can be on a par with a fictional Superman, by becoming a member of God’s kingdom.

God, in all his omnipotence, cannot and will not choose the path for us. We should realize that our choice is what makes us. Our mother has done hers—in all its brilliance!