Checking wild sympathies

EVERY time I consider the population issue, whether in the media or in conversations with people, I cannot help but feel strongly stirred and even moved to tears, the heart almost always at breaking point.

The problems this issue involves cannot be ignored. They are painfully inhuman, blasting us with hideous images, all crying up to heaven for immediate relief.

There definitely is close connection, yes, like a vicious circle, between ignorance, confusion, “overpopulation” in some areas, poverty and all forms of human misery.

What immediately assails us is the ugly external aspect of this crisis. That would be enough to suck us into the vortex of pity and shame. There are just too many beggars in our streets and churches! There are just too many depressed areas!

It’s true that our Lord said, “For the poor you have always with you,” (Mt
26,11) but I don’t like to admit we will have the poor with us always in the way we have them now.

Sometimes, I wonder if the poor are our social outcasts. There are just so many of them that I think those who enjoy a degree of good life should feel more ashamed, being more of the outcasts than being the elite of society.

But physical squalor is nothing compared to the havoc inflicted in the emotional and psychological aspect of these poor people. Thing is we cannot deny that together with poverty is a clear rise of mental disorders we can see everywhere. This fact truly lacerates the heart.

I dread to speculate on the moral and spiritual aspects. Is the high rate of criminality among the poor, petty in many cases, any indication of some moral and spiritual depravity also?

These are unsavory facts, indeed. But they have to be confronted. No use
playing the escapist ostrich approach. Our consciences, if we still have them in good order, certainly would not let us avoid having to grapple with this problem.

But a closer look at the problem would indicate that the solution to this problem, so vast and complicated, cannot be a simplistic one, as in just legalizing and making available all sorts of contraceptives and population control services.

These approaches at best can only give some instant, shallow relief. They don’t go deep enough. They even can give false hopes and aggravate the situation. Let’s not be deceived by sweet talks of family planners on reproductive health.

Even if we give in to all the demands for these artificial and immoral means as a gesture of respecting people’s freedom, I don’t think we would be addressing the real problem.

The problem is not simply economic or social or political. Much less is it ideological. Solutions spouting from these founts will clearly miss the point. The problem is not just a matter of numbers. It springs from a sick heart and soul.

The problem speaks of a much deeper crisis requiring a more thorough and
solid solution, one that demands total commitment from everyone. Let’s try asking how much time each one of us spends trying to resolve the problem, and we’ll get an idea why the problem continues to fester.

For sure, there’s a big element of injustice and corruption that goes into the severity of the problem. There’s also a tremendous amount of ignorance on reproductive health, strictly so-called, and responsible parenthood.

Still these are only symptoms, not the root causes. The problem lies more in our hearts, since we fail to practice genuine charity and concern for one another.

We can talk a lot about globalization in the economic sense. But can we really talk about globalization of charity, of solidarity, in the moral and spiritual sense?

Our problem is that even among the so-called good and holy people—that’s
all of us—we tend to confine our spirituality to an individualistic dimension. We fail to be truly consistent in extending it to its social implications.

We just get contented with giving easy solutions, not those that necessarily require real sacrifices. We give mostly material solutions, not moral and spiritual ones, those that heal our sick heart and soul.

Enriching our human formation

PASSING by a local seminary the other day, I noticed that an office for the director of human formation for the seminarians was being constructed. Apparently the bishops’ conference has indicated that this aspect of the seminarians’ formation be given serious attention.

I was, of course, very happy to learn about this. For quite some time now, I together with many others have worried about what appears to be a deterioration of the human tone of priests and seminarians.

Basic good manners and proper conduct seem to be missing, as we now see a few priests improperly dressed, lacking proper sense of where to be and to go, adapting adolescent speech and lifestyle, and a long disturbing etcetera.

This concern for human formation is, of course, necessary for everyone, not
just for priests and seminarians. Human correctness as manifested in one’s external appearance and behavior can reveal what is inside one’s heart and soul.

One’s spiritual life and all other aspects of one’s life depend to a large extent on how well one lives this indispensable human aspect of his life. Our human condition is the basic ground on which all the other developments take place. We’ll always be human, never angels nor brutes.

Let’s remember that our supernatural calling is not meant to suppress our human condition, but rather to purify, enrich and elevate it. In fact, without this spiritual and supernatural dimension, our human condition simply degenerates.

How can one be expected to be prayerful and self-sacrificing if he is lazy, disorderly, still held captive by earthly allurements? How can one be socially attuned and pastorally effective if he is self-absorbed, narrow-minded, and tactless?

A town mayor once told me he mistook a priest for a houseboy in a town fiesta, simply because the priest dressed, talked and behaved like a houseboy.

Obviously that priest must have thought he scored high in following our Lord’s command to be truly humble by being a servant. But on the other hand, the priest should know there are basic rules that govern his public activity.

Lest I be accused of just dishing out my unsolicited opinion on this matter, I would like to transmit the relevant indication issued by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy.

In no. 75 of the “Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests,” the following is said:

“This human formation is extremely important in today’s world, as it always has been. The priest must never forget that he is a man chosen among men to be at the service of men.

“To sanctify himself and carry out his priestly mission, he must present himself with an abundance of human virtues which render him worthy of esteem by those around him.

“In particular he must practice goodness of heart, patience, kindness, strength of soul, love for justice, even-mindedness, truthfulness to his word, coherence in the duties freely assumed, etc.

“It is likewise important that human virtues be reflected in the priest’s social conduct, correctness in the various forms of human relations, friendships, courtesy, etc.”

We have to help one another in this area, profusely giving good example to the others, constantly giving reminders, making suggestions and even resorting to fraternal corrections.

In this regard, the lay faithful should not hesitate to help those in the clergy and in the religious state, by promptly giving those timely reminders, appropriate suggestions and necessary corrections.

I wish to reassure them that they will be doing a great service to the Church if they do these duties. Doing them will reduce useless gossiping, and never mean a lack of respect for priests, but rather genuine care for them.

A high standard of human tone should be established and kept, starting with the leaders and officials who ought to be the concrete models of human correctness. They should see to it that priests pass muster in this regard.

This does not mean that we lapse into showy, extravagant, and artificial ways, or rigid and invariable forms. Human correctness can always adapt to any circumstance, whether one is rich or poor, in public or alone, etc.

Past present future

BECAUSE of a visitor from Rome, I had to play recently the role of host, tour guide and driver. It gave me a break in my daily routine of sitting in the confessional, talking to people individually, preaching, giving classes, reading, writing, visiting priests, etc.

It was a most welcome respite for me to go around, seeing people and places. Thanks to God, I had the chance to see more of the sun, the sea, the highways, and the towns too.

It also allowed me to see things in a different light. That’s the beauty of these unexpected changes in one’s routine. On this occasion, I had the sensation I was engaging in a conversation with the past, the present and the future.

I believe that we have to learn to discern the thread of continuity between the past and the present, and to project possible scenarios in the future based on what can be gathered from the past and the present.

I think it’s part of our responsibility to somehow direct the development of our life, both personal and social, not allowing it to drift just about in any direction and subject to pure chance and random factors.

It’s incumbent on us to develop an abiding sense of time and history, and of relating these earthly elements to our eternal and supernatural calling. In this, we have to help one another.

There were observations that struck me quite deeply. When I concelebrated
the Mass with many other priests in a town fiesta, my attention was caught by the sorry state of one of the oldest churches around.

To have antique things, not to mention, an ancient, centuries-old church, is indeed a rare privilege. But I just hope that we of the present generation have a keener sense of responsibility to really take care of our heritage, not allowing antiquity to equate with rot, decay, dilapidation.

There were dangerous, life-threatening cracks in the wall of the church. In
certain parts, it looked like things were ready to collapse. The paintings on the ceiling were mostly faded and disfigured. A cheap coat of gold color was carelessly applied on the reredo.

The church was clearly breathing of pristine beauty and deep meaning to the life of the town. These aspects should be protected and fostered. These can still play a major part in shaping the future of the town. But signs of neglect were all over.

Given the obvious ardor of the faith of the townspeople during that Mass, I felt the physical condition of the church was accusing us of being ungrateful for the service it has given for hundreds of years, forming the Christian spirit of the people.

I heard some explanations and excuses. Still the fact remains that the present generation has not been up to par in our duty towards the past. We have to correct this oversight immediately.

Also with my visitor, I finally had a good reason to visit our local museums. Offhand, I must say that these museums, thanks be to God, are improving a great deal. I was impressed with what I saw especially in the Cebu Cathedral museum.

More than feasting on the physical aspects of the artifacts and other valuable items used in the past, I busied myself imagining the kind of faith and piety these handiwork signified.

These products definitely involved tremendous labor of love and sacrifice, a profound sense of beauty and artistry, mostly of the baroque style. It’s something to be proud of and to be responsible for.

They dripped of a sublime rectitude of intention, since they were items that hardly would be seen by the people. They must have been meant solely for God and for our soul’s vitality.

Obviously, many of the items would look funny if used today. But it’s the spirit behind that should be made to continue in appropriate forms. We just have to learn to detect this spirit.

Again, I believe this conversation of the past, the present and the future has to go on, drawing the essential from the incidental, the spiritual from the material, and ultimately, the divine from the human.