I JUST had a gratifying chat with a young alumnus recently. No, I can’t mention his name. At 19, he is now working at a shipbuilding facility in Balamban, Cebu . When asked what he does there, he just casually said: ship-designing. Of course, to my utter astonishment!
He dashed to explain certain details of his work, to remove the thickening web of disbelief in my head. You see, this guy is just a natural for computers and things like those. His instructors, all praises for him, are one in saying he can hold his own, whatever the circumstances or the competition.
Three years ago, when I first met him in school, he was just a gangly wisp of a boy who came from a southern mountainous part of the province. He looked, dressed, spoke and behaved like someone from there, complete with an accent.
But pity was not the first reaction I had toward him. He has a permanent smile that convinces me this boy would go far. His eyes almost disappear as he speaks. And his words are unbelievably good and sweet always, not a tinge of irony whatsoever.
He’s the eldest in the brood of eight. His father is a farmer, his mother also helps in the farm. Life for them, you can just imagine, has been very austere, which made me wonder how he could have such a sanguine temperament with all the hardships he had to face. Well, God has his ways.
True enough, as we started to meet and chat, I discovered that the guy has a basic sense of simplicity and humility. He gave me the impression he was born without original sin. He refused to get entangled with problems. If they are not solved now, he said, they will be solved later. That’s his attitude.
I believe these are the core traits that firewalled him from going complicated and courting if not inventing all sorts of tragedies. Sadness and pessimism are simply not in his vocabulary.
When I probed into his life of piety, the fellow simply has it. In fact, it’s quite deep and developed. He used to walk 4 kilometers just to attend Sunday Mass in his town. Prayer is a constant in his life, inculcated in him by his grandmother and reinforced by the parents.
So in school, I only had to drill him in basic catechism, polish his virtues, and introduce him to a plan of devotional practices. He was always attentive and appreciative, readily putting to practice what he learned.
His work ethic is superb. He has discipline, a sense of goal and direction. In that last chat we had, he told me that in the three years he was studying in our school, he said there was not even a single time of tardiness or absence. He had perfect attendance.
So finally I asked him, more out of curiosity than anything else, how much he was receiving for his work. After a short pause, and always with his smile and disappearing eyes, he said, “Taking away all the deductions, I receive 10k per payday.”
That again dislodged me from my seat in astonishment. And I could not help to tell him that before becoming a priest, when I was still a professional man, my first pay was only a microscopic fraction of what he is receiving now.
“And to think that I finished a 5-year course in a leading exclusive school for boys in Manila , with honors, and I was already working in a very prestigious company,” I told him more to encourage him than to lament over the unfair comparison.
He just smiled, and managed to amaze me further because he just told me, “Father, it’s not all about the money. It’s about the joy of working, and of learning, and of being able to help.” Wow!
He enumerated to me how he budgets his money, which left me thoroughly impressed. The guy just fits what I know about the virtue of Christian poverty. He continues to live simply, humbly and cheerfully. Success has not spoiled him at all.
I had to rush back to my prayers, overflowing with thanksgiving for being given the chance to meet this fellow. I can’t deny that this guy has left me—and hopefully, you too—completely inspired.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Correspondence
THIS essay is not about letter-writing or a certain type of distance learning, though I must say that what I have in mind must be the original from which these activities sprung.
I am referring to our constant correspondence to grace, actually a duty that we have to be more aware of and more adept in. It’s actually a most indispensable duty without which Christian life would practically be a sham, no matter how colorfully we show our Christianity.
The basis for this duty is the truth that we are God’s creatures who have been endowed with the dignity of being his children also, sharers in his divine life.
God is not content with creating us only. He made us very special, making us in his very image and likeness. This he did by giving us a spiritual nature, with our intelligence and will, that allows us to receive supernatural grace, that in turn elevates us above our nature to be able to participate in his life.
God’s sharing his life with us is a permanent feature of our relationship, whether we are aware of it or not. This can only be broken in hell, when by our own sins we produce an irremediable rupture from him.
This point is worth reiterating, since a common thinking is that while it may be true that God created us, he already left us to be on our own after our creation. This thinking is called in philosophical circles as Deism.
Just to be direct about it, my simple dictionary describes Deism as “the belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.”
Though not professed formally, it is in fact the attitude many of us have. And this has to be corrected, precisely because it is wrong.
God’s relationship with us does not stop with creating us. While God continues to be present in all his creatures, he is especially present in us, and in fact he shares what he has with us.
This is what our faith teaches. After considering that the Son of God became man, called Jesus Christ, and that he offered his life for us, and through the Church and the sacraments remains with us—all this could only mean that he so loves so that he wants to share what he us with us.
We need to go back to this truth many times, to relish it and to engrave it more deeply in our heart so that it can truly shape the way we think, speak and act, so that it can truly shape our life.
We can presume that God never stops prompting us with his grace, precisely to share his life with us. But he does not impose himself on us. He waits for us to correspond to his grace freely.
The problem is that we most of the time ignore these uninterrupted promptings. We forget him, put him at the sidelines, and use him only as some kind of ornament.
Correspondence to grace is our effort to do our part in this relationship of love between God and us. It is supposed to be an existential relationship, lived moment to moment. We are not meant to be alone. We are meant to be with God always.
Thus, our intelligence and will, our spiritual faculties that open us the possibility of being elevated to share in God’s life, should be properly focused. Their main and constant object is God, not just anything we want to know and will.
Using our intelligence and will to pursue only our own personal goals would be an abuse of these faculties, and sooner or later, disastrous consequences would start appearing.
This is the common sickness we have at the moment, so common that it looks like the normal thing to have. Unless focused on God, our faculties cannot resist the lures of what are known as the capital sins: pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth.
We always need to correspond to God’s grace to the point that we can echo what our Lord once said: “I always do what pleases him (his Father).” (Jn 8,29) That should our attitude always.
I am referring to our constant correspondence to grace, actually a duty that we have to be more aware of and more adept in. It’s actually a most indispensable duty without which Christian life would practically be a sham, no matter how colorfully we show our Christianity.
The basis for this duty is the truth that we are God’s creatures who have been endowed with the dignity of being his children also, sharers in his divine life.
God is not content with creating us only. He made us very special, making us in his very image and likeness. This he did by giving us a spiritual nature, with our intelligence and will, that allows us to receive supernatural grace, that in turn elevates us above our nature to be able to participate in his life.
God’s sharing his life with us is a permanent feature of our relationship, whether we are aware of it or not. This can only be broken in hell, when by our own sins we produce an irremediable rupture from him.
This point is worth reiterating, since a common thinking is that while it may be true that God created us, he already left us to be on our own after our creation. This thinking is called in philosophical circles as Deism.
Just to be direct about it, my simple dictionary describes Deism as “the belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.”
Though not professed formally, it is in fact the attitude many of us have. And this has to be corrected, precisely because it is wrong.
God’s relationship with us does not stop with creating us. While God continues to be present in all his creatures, he is especially present in us, and in fact he shares what he has with us.
This is what our faith teaches. After considering that the Son of God became man, called Jesus Christ, and that he offered his life for us, and through the Church and the sacraments remains with us—all this could only mean that he so loves so that he wants to share what he us with us.
We need to go back to this truth many times, to relish it and to engrave it more deeply in our heart so that it can truly shape the way we think, speak and act, so that it can truly shape our life.
We can presume that God never stops prompting us with his grace, precisely to share his life with us. But he does not impose himself on us. He waits for us to correspond to his grace freely.
The problem is that we most of the time ignore these uninterrupted promptings. We forget him, put him at the sidelines, and use him only as some kind of ornament.
Correspondence to grace is our effort to do our part in this relationship of love between God and us. It is supposed to be an existential relationship, lived moment to moment. We are not meant to be alone. We are meant to be with God always.
Thus, our intelligence and will, our spiritual faculties that open us the possibility of being elevated to share in God’s life, should be properly focused. Their main and constant object is God, not just anything we want to know and will.
Using our intelligence and will to pursue only our own personal goals would be an abuse of these faculties, and sooner or later, disastrous consequences would start appearing.
This is the common sickness we have at the moment, so common that it looks like the normal thing to have. Unless focused on God, our faculties cannot resist the lures of what are known as the capital sins: pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth.
We always need to correspond to God’s grace to the point that we can echo what our Lord once said: “I always do what pleases him (his Father).” (Jn 8,29) That should our attitude always.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Witness vs. whistleblower
WITH the brewing and bruising political “telenovela” we are having at the moment—hopefully it will last only for a season—it might be good to know the distinction between a witness and a whistleblower.
The comparison, for sure, is not idle. Nor is it merely theoretical and abstract. With passions raging, having clear ideas about critical elements involved is truly helpful. It’s a must. It facilitates prudence.
Otherwise, we will be teetering on the edge of stupidity. Never discount that possibility. We have seen it before: massive euphoria over People Power only to fall flat on our faces later precisely because essential duties were ignored.
We have had a number of shameful flashes in the pan. And this is because we tend to leave reason, restraint, prudence and charity behind. We simply burn in our righteousness, not realizing we have already lapsed into lack of charity, justice and even common sense.
The current communal search for truth now being called by some bishops has to take the necessary precautionary measures. But one element that should be borne in mind is the distinction between true witnessing and mere whistleblowing.
Both have to do with truth handling. But a true witness is much more than just a whistleblower.
The whistleblower simply tells on an anomaly or a crime. The witness goes way much further, confessing and testifying not only on an event, but rather on his whole life, his global vision of things and outlook.
The testimony of a whistleblower is limited to a specific time, place and act. That of a witness covers everything. The whistleblower usually creates a stir from time to time. The witness simply lives as witness all the time, in big and small things, in times ordinary and extraordinary.
Only a few can be a whistleblower. But everyone is expected to be a witness. More, the whistleblower should try to be a witness always. This requires effort. In fact, it demands nothing less than continuing conversion.
That is the problem. We often fail to be a true witness. This is simply because we don’t get in vital contact with God who is the truth. We live sincerity in a selective way, only getting those truths that benefit us, while shunning those that require sacrifice. We sometimes invent our own “truth”!
Thus, when we happen to be a whistleblower without being a witness, then all sorts of crazy things happen as we let ourselves play into the hands of the devil. We play the devil’s game. We don’t behave as instruments of God’s providence. And mind you, the devil can be very creative.
Whistleblowing and witnessing have to come from God and end in God. They’re never just one’s strictly personal affair, developed according to one’s personal strategy only, and readily exploited by others, usually politicians with selfish personal agendas.
Our Church leaders should be the first to know this distinction and to realize the enormous challenge of helping the flock live as genuine witnesses of the truth, that is, of God, no less. We should not just stop in encouraging people to be mere whistleblowers.
This requires a tremendous amount of prayers, of sacrifices, and of catechizing, giving good example and constant pastoral care. This also requires a deep grounding in the Church’s social doctrine, so as to come up with clear, not confusing practical indications.
I think the devil is happiest when we, the Church leaders and officials, start going to the streets, shouting and demonstrating, and recklessly spewing statements and judgments everywhere, while neglecting our nontransferrable priestly duties.
An indispensable element for any search for truth, for any effort at being sincere is charity, which includes a lot of understanding for everyone including the culprits, and not taking sides.
Christ forgave all and was even willing to offer his life for that. We can do no less. He taught us this in the Our Father—“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
This is the most challenging part. While we have to be most rigid and strict in looking for the truth, we should also be most kind and lenient in dispensing understanding and mercy. We respect the laws. We don’t take them into our own hands.
The comparison, for sure, is not idle. Nor is it merely theoretical and abstract. With passions raging, having clear ideas about critical elements involved is truly helpful. It’s a must. It facilitates prudence.
Otherwise, we will be teetering on the edge of stupidity. Never discount that possibility. We have seen it before: massive euphoria over People Power only to fall flat on our faces later precisely because essential duties were ignored.
We have had a number of shameful flashes in the pan. And this is because we tend to leave reason, restraint, prudence and charity behind. We simply burn in our righteousness, not realizing we have already lapsed into lack of charity, justice and even common sense.
The current communal search for truth now being called by some bishops has to take the necessary precautionary measures. But one element that should be borne in mind is the distinction between true witnessing and mere whistleblowing.
Both have to do with truth handling. But a true witness is much more than just a whistleblower.
The whistleblower simply tells on an anomaly or a crime. The witness goes way much further, confessing and testifying not only on an event, but rather on his whole life, his global vision of things and outlook.
The testimony of a whistleblower is limited to a specific time, place and act. That of a witness covers everything. The whistleblower usually creates a stir from time to time. The witness simply lives as witness all the time, in big and small things, in times ordinary and extraordinary.
Only a few can be a whistleblower. But everyone is expected to be a witness. More, the whistleblower should try to be a witness always. This requires effort. In fact, it demands nothing less than continuing conversion.
That is the problem. We often fail to be a true witness. This is simply because we don’t get in vital contact with God who is the truth. We live sincerity in a selective way, only getting those truths that benefit us, while shunning those that require sacrifice. We sometimes invent our own “truth”!
Thus, when we happen to be a whistleblower without being a witness, then all sorts of crazy things happen as we let ourselves play into the hands of the devil. We play the devil’s game. We don’t behave as instruments of God’s providence. And mind you, the devil can be very creative.
Whistleblowing and witnessing have to come from God and end in God. They’re never just one’s strictly personal affair, developed according to one’s personal strategy only, and readily exploited by others, usually politicians with selfish personal agendas.
Our Church leaders should be the first to know this distinction and to realize the enormous challenge of helping the flock live as genuine witnesses of the truth, that is, of God, no less. We should not just stop in encouraging people to be mere whistleblowers.
This requires a tremendous amount of prayers, of sacrifices, and of catechizing, giving good example and constant pastoral care. This also requires a deep grounding in the Church’s social doctrine, so as to come up with clear, not confusing practical indications.
I think the devil is happiest when we, the Church leaders and officials, start going to the streets, shouting and demonstrating, and recklessly spewing statements and judgments everywhere, while neglecting our nontransferrable priestly duties.
An indispensable element for any search for truth, for any effort at being sincere is charity, which includes a lot of understanding for everyone including the culprits, and not taking sides.
Christ forgave all and was even willing to offer his life for that. We can do no less. He taught us this in the Our Father—“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
This is the most challenging part. While we have to be most rigid and strict in looking for the truth, we should also be most kind and lenient in dispensing understanding and mercy. We respect the laws. We don’t take them into our own hands.
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