‘You are the light of the world.' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

A View of Toledo (detail)

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

'A city built on a hill cannot be hidden' (Mt 5:14).

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Matthew 5:13-16 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)  

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Matthew 5:13-16 in Filipino Sign Language

Childhood of Christ

Gerrit van Honthorst [Web Gallery of Art]

'Let your light shine before others . . .' (Mt 5:16).

One of the darkest periods in the history of the world was 1939 to 1945 when much of the world was at war. At the heart of the darkness was Nazi Germany, where freedom had been almost entirely suppressed. But not quite. Between June 1942 and February 1943 a small group of students at the University of Munich with their philosophy professor Kurt Huber formed The White Rose, a non-violent resistance group working against Hitler and the Nazi regime. 

Sophie Scholl in 1942 

(9 May 1921 - 22 February 1943) [Wikipedia]

Among the leaders were Sophie Scholl and her older brother Hans. They were executed together. Both were devout Lutherans. It is said that she was influenced by the writings of St John Henry Cardinal Newman. Others in the group, such as Willi Graf, were devout Catholics. Not all were Christians but they shared a commitment to speaking the truth, even if it cost them their young lives. Most were in their early 20s.

Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen [Wikipedia]

'The Lion of Münster'

One German Catholic who had a great impact on the group was Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen, Bishop of Münster, Germany, who died just after being made a cardinal in 1946, a giant of a man physically (6 feet 7 inches /2.01 m tall), morally and spiritually. He was known as 'The Lion of Münster'. In a series of sermons in 1941 he denounced some of the policies of Hitler, including that of euthanasia. Hans and Sophie Scholl used one of these in a leaflet that The White Rose printed and distributed secretly.

It was while distributing leaflets - the movement produced a total of six, their only means of communication - at the University of Munich, that Hans and Sophie were caught and then executed.

The members of The White Rose are remembered and honoured today and a number of films have been made about them. The video above contains footage from one of those.

White Rose Memorial, University of Munich

[Wikipedia]

Hans and Sophie Scholl and their companions knew that their lives were in danger. But their Christian faith led them to be the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world. Through them at least some experienced the truth of the words of Isaiah 9:2 quoted in Matthew 4:16, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. 

Salt is of use only when it is mixed with other things. The light of the sun doesn't exist for itself, for us to look at it. If we did we would be blinded. It is meant to light up everything around us, as we are meant by being salt and light to bring others to taste and see the joy of knowing Jesus the Risen Lord.

Not many are called, as some of the members of The White Rose were, to be the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world by laying down their lives. But those in The White Rose got their Christian faith, their moral values from others who for them were the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world. Some of them had belonged to various Nazi movements for young people but saw through the false values being promoted and left. In other words, they had been formed in solid values by others, older persons such as parents, some teachers perhaps. others trying to live honest and upright lives as followers of Jesus, 'missionary disciples', as Pope Francis calls us to be in Evangelii Gaudium No 120, without even being aware that they were such. The Pope reminds us there: In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples.

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If you google 'Sophie Scholl' or 'The White Rose' on YouTube you will find many videos about the movement. The Film Sophie Scholl - the Final Days  (with English subtitles), directed by Marc Rothemund, was made in 2005. The trailer is below.

'When you learn, teach; when you get, give'

The May-June issue of Misyon, which I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines is now online, though with a few glitches to be fixed. That's one of the advantages of being online. You can make corrections after you've published.

Fr Nicholas Murray with some of his students at Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing, China, who knew him as 'Mr Nick'

There are many ways of being a missionary priest. The late Fr Nicholas Murray found that his vast experience as a former Columban Superior General who visited many countries was a great help to him when, at the age of 65, he went to teach English at a university in China, the original mission of the Columbans. He died on Holy Thursday, a most appropriate day for a dedicated priest. His classmate Fr Neil Collins said in his funeral homily, Nick supported the men and women who worked for justice, or to protect the environment, or in Muslim-Christian dialogue. But I think he was afraid that we’d forget people like the Greeks in the Gospel. They came to Philip and said, ‘We want to see Jesus’. Nick emphasised mission ad gentes - to the people who don’t believe in Jesus.

Fr Brian Gore of the Negros Nine after his release in 1984 with Fr Nicholas Murray, then Director of the Columbans in the Philippines, and Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich of Bacolod

The article below, which first appeard in Misyon in May-June 2004 when it was still a printed magazine, shows how Father Murray saw himself as a missionary in a totally new venture when he went to China. We've included it again in our latest issue. I've highlighted some parts.





‘WHEN YOU LEARN, TEACH; WHEN YOU GET, GIVE’

By Fr Nicholas Murray

Fr Nicholas Murray died in his native Ireland on 21 April, Holy Thursday, ten days after his 73rd birthday. We first published this article in May-June 2004. The late Father Murray went to China after serving for 12 years as Superior General of the Missionary Society of St Columban. Though he made ‘it very clear that I am a practicing Catholic, to enhance the witness value of my presence’ he found himself in China being a missionary in a very different way from his years in the Philippines where everyone called him ‘Father’. His Chinese students knew him as ‘Mr Nick’.

I’ve been teaching English in a university in Chongging in southwest China since September 2002. I chose to work in this part of China because it is somewhat less developed than the east and the government is now making efforts to develop the west. Chongging is at the center of that effort. I teach Oral English and a course in Western Culture for AB students majoring in English. The latter course in particular affords great scope for communicating values, with topics such as the Bible and Christianity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance and Reformation, to name but a few.


Not everybody sees the teaching of English in China as valid missionary work. Some believe I could be more profitably employed elsewhere. My own experience, limited though it still may be, convinces me that it is still eminently worthwhile and truly valid. It’s a new type of mission where all the familiar trappings which we have become accustomed to elsewhere have been stripped away and one is exposed to weakness and vulnerability. In such a situation one has to rely on the witness of one’s life and values, sustained by one’s personal prayer life and the private offering of the Eucharist, sometimes with a few foreign companions. It is fully in line with the Church’s teaching on mission, for the missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept the Gospel.

One gradually comes to work out one’s own modus operandi based on experience. I find it profitable to use my opening class to share about myself, my country, my family, my life, my work, my beliefs and values. I use this as a framework around which I build the oral exercises. They like this and it is amazing the amount they can remember about one and what one tells them. I make it very clear that I am a practicing Catholic, to enhance the witness value of my presence. I also lay particular emphasis on my having worked with university students in the Philippines in the area of leadership training.

The witness of presence can be particularly effective. As I have come to realize from personal experience. Some Chinese teachers of English, who employ journal writing as part of their course to the same students I teach, inform me that their students are deeply impressed by my life, work and values and have recorded such admiration in their journaling. One of those same students, actually the brightest in my own classes, one day shared the following reflection in my class. I was so deeply impressed that I asked her to write it out for me. Here is her sharing: ‘Never have I so seriously reflected on the power of religion (it is far from and alien to us Chinese). By sharing life’s journey with us, our Oral English teacher, Mr Nick, aroused my reflection on religion. Now I realize it’s not only a relief from anxiety, distress and grief, but also a motive for one who believes in it to strive to do good deeds; a way to have a noble heart and a remedy for spiritual barrenness. I feel that it is his beliefs that inspire Mr Nick to do what he has done. Now I’m thinking of converting to Christianity, though I’m quite at a loss about how to do it.’

My travels and lifestyle did not escape her attention and reflection either. She went on to say, ‘I could see Mr Nick’s eyes shining and face glowing when he referred to the places where he traveled: the Philippines, Brazil, Japan, Pakistan . . . to name just a few, and now China . . . When his privacy was intruded by a question about his own family he smiled and said, “No one will marry a man who never has enough time for his wife and children.” Now Mr Nick is 65-years-old and forty years have passed since he embarked on his road of serving and helping people. He sticks to the life-long pursuit, the calling, at the price of hardship, marriage and his precious youth (I know how difficult it is to travel around and help people). I was deeply moved when I heard Mr Nick’s answer to the question, “Is there one day when you will stop doing all these things?” “Yes,” he said, “when my health won’t allow it.” I was seized by this simple answer and began to realize how profound the saying is, “When you learn, teach; when you get, give.”’

I find enough inspiration in that simple, honest sharing to keep me going for another few years. It’s but one of the better among many others that help to make my ministry here in China inspiring and worthwhile. In this regard, I’m also encouraged by the advice of one of our co-founders (Bishop Edward Galvin), back in the 1920s, ‘You are not here to convert the people of China, you are here rather to make yourself available to God.’ I believe that helping young people to be more aware and responsible in today’s world is one response in that availability. Maybe you would like to join us for a stint.

I have commented on Father Nick and on his article in Pulong ng Editor (Editor's Word) in the new issue of Misyon:

A fellow-missionary's homily on St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's National Cathedral (Anglican), Dublin

My fellow-Columban Fr Cyril Lovett, who edits the Far East, the magazine of the Columbans in Ireland and Britain, gave this homily at Mass in St Columban's, Dalgan Park, Navan, County Meath, Ireland, on St Patrick's Day. I've highlighted some parts and added a [comment] or two.

FROM ONE MISSIONARY TO ANOTHER

A reading of St Patrick’s Confession from the viewpoint of a fellow-missionary.

I have always had great affection and admiration for Patrick, and in my years on mission in the Philippines and Brazil I always read his Confession with sympathy and empathy around this time every year.

There are three particular aspects of Patrick that I want to look at:

• Patrick’s attitude towards the Irish.

• The fact that he always remained a foreigner.

• The crushing blow of having his life’s work denigrated by those who should have supported him.

Patrick’s initial contact with the Irish was enough to make him anti-Irish for ever. His father was a Roman citizen, living in the south of Britain, probably working as a civil servant in what would be known today as Boulogne-sur-mer, on the coast of northern France. As Patrick grew up in this isolated outpost, the Roman Empire was beginning to crumble. By 410 Alaric and his Goths had swept into Rome and sacked the city for three days.

At the age of 16 disaster struck nearer to home. His father’s house was raided by Irish pirates and Patrick along with many other youngsters was carried off to Ireland. There he was sold as a slave and spent the next six years herding sheep in all weathers on the slopes of Slemish in the north-east.

So, his first experience of the Irish was anything but a favourable one: the son of an upper class Roman citizen was poorly fed and housed; had to get used to manual labour; and had very little experience of any kindness from his captors. His writings are notable for acknowledging kindness from any source, but of these early years he had no kindness to report. [Fr Michael Sinnott, the 79-year-old Columban kidnapped last October  and held for 32 days in the southern Philippines, speaks of the kindness of his captors every time he is interviewed about his ordeal].

His normal schooling was also interrupted. He tried to make up for it later but he had to cope for the rest of his life with being a lonely man, with a permanent feeling of being isolated and unwanted. In our first ventures into another culture, we generally go full of hope and as we learn to cope with a strange new world we are enriched by the good things in it, and we learn to live with the down-side. [Father Sinnott has spoken of never understanding all the nuances of the culture in which he lives.]

When we return after holidays, it is the richness of the good things in the people and the culture that sustain us. For that reason I find it hard to imagine the heroism of Patrick who would later chose to go again to a people who had only given him unhappy memories and minister among them for more than thirty years.

Patrick remained a foreigner in Ireland for the rest of his life; this had to be so.

He writes “This is where I am now in all my insignificance among strangers”. This is a state that all of us missionaries can identify with. For all of us, working in one or more different cultures has been an enormous enrichment. The downside is that we can never fully belong: as soon as we open out mouths we are recognised as foreigners, even if our appearance has not proclaimed that loudly beforehand. And then having adapted as best we can to the new culture, we often find that we can no longer be fully at home in our own culture. There is then an aspect of being a nomad in living out our missionary vocation. [This aspect of missionary life is being written about more lately. The situation of the missionary is not quite the same as that of a migrant, whoe life may well be more lonely. But it is a phenomenon of migration that people from the same area in the home country often migrate to the same country and even the same area, eg, there are many Australians whose ancestors came from County Clare in Ireland. But people from neighboruing County Galway tended to migrate to the USA. Daly City in California is full of Filipinos. Most of the Filipinos in Hawaii, or people there of Philippine origin, trace their roots to the Ilocos region of northern Luzon. So migrants often find a large community of their own, unlike missionaries.] Patrick’s initial six years in Ireland meant that he acquired a good grasp of the language, but he would write later of his critics, “I was afraid of drawing general gossip on myself because I had not studied like the other who got a thorough grounding in law and theology. They never had to change their medium of speech since childhood…while I had to express myself in a foreign language.” [I once met a Filipino businesswoman at a gathering of Irish people in Cebu, Philippines, one St Patrick's Day. She travelled extensively and spoke English fluently. But she told me how trying it was at times when she had nobody to speak to in her own language, Cebuano visayan.]

He never went home to Britain and he felt that deeply. [Until less than a hundred years ago many missionaries never expected to go home again. Manyh of them didn't because they died very young.] He wrote, “It is not practical for me to consider leaving them and going to Britain. How dearly would I love to go, like a man going to his homeland and relatives, and not only there but also to Gaul in order to visit the brothers and to meet the members of the Christian community. God knows how I yearned for it but I am tied by the Spirit”.

And then there was that awful experience that happened to him late in life. When he had decided to respond to the Spirit calling him to evangelise the Irish, it seems he went for his early formation to Germanus of Auxerre. Germanus took him under his wing, understood his difficulties as a late vocation, but recognised his sanctity and his missionary potential, and had him ordained a deacon and later a bishop. When Germanus went to visit Britain, Patrick went along with him to try and get the financial backing of the British bishops for his mission to Ireland. But, Ireland was considered unimportant and savage; after all Patrick’s predecessor Palladius had disappeared there without a trace, and Patrick did not have great credentials. He may have wasted up to eight to ten years before he finally got the backing he sought.

Then, years later, as Patrick was trying to face the various challenges of his mission in Ireland, there was a disaster.

Here is how he describes it...

"I was put to the test by some of my senior fellow-bishops (in England) who came to cast up my sins at me in order to discredit my hard work as a bishop of this mission… After thirty years they discovered against me a confession which I had made before I became a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled mind I confided to my dearest friend what I had done in my boyhood in one day… because I had not yet overcome my sinful ways…

My only sorrow that we should have deserved to hear such a report is for my dearest friend. To him I had confided my very soul… Now I was not in Britain at the debate… how could he have let me down publicly before all, good and bad, in a matter in which he had previously favoured me?” [It is not an enemy who taunts me-- then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me-- then I could hide from him. But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to hold sweet converse together; within God's house we walked in fellowship Ps 55 (54) 12-14].

And he goes on to say, “On that day indeed the impulse was overpowering to fall away not only here and now but forever. But the Lord graciously spared his exile and wanderer and helped me greatly when I was walked on in this way. The disgrace and blame I felt, however, were considerable.”

So, this is the Patrick that I can relate to: a man heroic in his human qualities; a man who faced the kind of difficulties that missionaries of every age continue to face; a man of deep faith; a man who was inclined to postpone some hard decisions; a man who carried scars from the past, who was very conscious of his own shortcomings; and a man who suffered greatly at the hands of the very ones who should have supported him.

We ask his intercession for our country as it passes through the present crisis.

Homily at Mass in Dalgan Park by Fr Cyril Lovett SSC - 17 March 2010

Desperate situation in Haiti

'Bottlenecks and infrastructure damage have been holding up aid efforts in Haiti, where a devastating earthquake has left as many as 45,000-50,000 dead' reports the BBC about the earthquake in Haiti last Tuesday.

The overwhelming tragedy wrought by the few brief seconds of the earthquake’s duration is poignantly summarised by a photo taken in the rubble of the cathedral in Port-au-Prince: Jesus hangs on the Cross in the midst of his people. (H/T to Fr Tim Finigan).

I have often wondered how priests and religious seem to survive disasters such as this, though there are often individual casualties. But Father Finigan shows that it is otherwise in Haiti, qhoting Papal Nuncio Archbishop Bernardito Auza:

I have just returned this morning. I found priests and nuns in the streets, without homes. The Rector of the seminary survived, as did the Dean of Studies, but the seminarians are under the rubble. Everywhere, you can hear cries from under the rubble. The CIFOR - Institute of Studies for the Men and Women Religious - has collapsed with the students inside, participating in a conference. The nunciature building has withstood the earthquake, without any injuries, but we are all amazed! So many things are broken, including the Tabernacle, but we are more fortunate than others. Many family members of the staff were killed, their homes destroyed. Everyone is calling for help. We will have problems of water and food before long. We cannot enter or stay inside the house much, as the earth continues to shake, so we are camped in the garden.

Father Finigan further quotes Mgr John Dale, National Director of Missio for England and Wales:

Haiti’s loss at the moment is made even more difficult because so many clergy, Religious and seminarians are amongst the dead and so cannot give the pastoral care that is so urgently needed at this time.


Missio has always supported the Church in Haiti, helping it to grow and develop in its own distinctive way. We will remain in the country, helping it to rebuild and find hope. Missio is not an emergency aid organisation, but just as we have been present for the Haitians in the past, we will be there for their future as they try to reconstruct their homes and lives. In the present, the people of Haiti are in our thoughts and prayers. We pray for those who died and may those who survived the earthquake be given all the comfort, strength and help that they need.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Port-au-Prince, after the earthquake

The Cathedral in 2007

Among the countless victims of the earthquake in Haiti on 12 January was Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot who died instantly when he fell off a balcony when the quake struck.

Pope Benedict with Archbishop Miot of Port-au-Prince

UN Headquarters, Port-au-Prince, in which many died

The Vatican-based Agenzia Fides carries a report that quotes the Papal Nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, extensively. (I tried to copy and past the report but for some reason each time I attempted this Internet Explore simply closed down.

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I phoned the CICM missionaries (also known as the Scheut Missionaries and, in the USA, Missionhurst) here in the Philippines this morning to ask if their missionaries in Haiti were safe. A message they received yesterday from their Superior General said there were no reports of any casualties. but their headquarters in Port-au-Prince were destroyed.

In the May-June 2007 issue of Misyon, which I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines, we carreid an article, Witnessing to Hope in Haiti, by two young Filipino priests, Fr Andrew Labatoria CICM from Zarraga, Iloilo, and Fr Edito Casipong CICM of Victorias City, Negros Occidental. We're in the process of putting all our back issues online but haven't reached that issue yet. Please remember them in your prayers.

SVD and Servite Jubilees in the Philippines

SVD and Servite Jubilees in the Philippines

Seven SVD deacons, plus one other, ordained at San Isidro, Abra, on 27 June by Bishop Leopoldo C. Jaucian SVD of Bangued, Abra.

Tomb of Fr Juan Scheiermann SVD

The photos are from Felmar's Missionary Journey, the blog of Fr Felmar C. Fiel SVD, who has written for Misyon.

Father Scheiermann was one of two SVD priests to arrive in the Philippines on 15 August 1909 and a week later went with Bishop James Carroll of Nueva Segovia to Bangued. Father Scheiermann died from typhoid fever less than five months later on 10 January 1910.

Today Archbishop Edward Adams, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, was the main celebrant at a Mass in Bangued to commemorate the centennial of the arrival of the first two SVD priests.

CBCPNEWS reports that Superior General Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, the first Filipino to head the congregation, will be the main celebrant at the culminating Mass of the Centennial Year at the first mission station of the SVDs in San Isidro, Abra, where Our Lady of the PIllar is the parish patron.

You can read more about the history of the SVDs in the Philippines in Hearts on Fire, 'The Home of the SVD-PHN'.

There are now three provinces of the SVDs in the Philippines and many Filipino priests and brothers on overseas mission.


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The Servites, whose full name in Latin is Ordo Fratrum Servorum Beatae Virginis Mariae, the Order of the Servant Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are celebrating the Silver Jubilee of their arrival in the Philippines today in Tunasan, Muntinlupa City. They were founded in Florence, Italy, in 1233 by seven prosperous merchants who renounced their wealth and went to live at the top of a mountain in a life of prayer. It would be as if seven well-known businessmen from the financial heart of Makati City were to go to the mountains of Zambales today and do something similar.



St Peregrine (San Peregrino), 1265-1345, an Italian and a Servite friar, 'was regarded as a firebrand in his day' and took part in anti-papal demonstrations. He is the patron of those with cancer. Another patron of persons with cancer is St Ezekiel Moreno OAR, whose feast we celebrated on 19 August. Born in Spain, he was ordained priest in the Philippines and served in Mindoro, which later became an SVD mission, and then was appointed Bishop of Pasto, Colombia. In 1873 St Ezekiel spent some time in Talisay (now Talisay City) just north of Bacolod City, getting treatment. The Recoletos still run the parish there.


May God continue to bless the great missionary work of the SVDs and the Servites in the Philippines and elsewhere and may our Blessed Mother protect them all.

From Victorias to Fukuyama: Under the Acacia, 24-26 October 2008

My column in Negros Times for 24-26 October 2008.

From Victorias to Fukuyama

The writer edits http://www.misyononline.com/ and has a blog at http://www.bangortobobbio.blogspot.com/ . Email: undertheacacia@gmail.com.

Today, October 24, sees the Thanksgiving Mass and other activities to draw to a close the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Diocese of Bacolod. Last Friday I allowed a young priest from the diocese, Fr. Ronald Magbanua, CICM, to tell about his experience as a missionary in the depth of a Mongolian winter. This week his confrere, Fr. Garry Gestoveo, CICM, from Victorias City, also in our diocese, writes about his involvement with homeless people in the affluent city of Fukuyama, Japan.

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The evening I arrived at the parish of Fukuyama Church, Diocese of Hiroshima, I met Sister Marie Lisa of the Sisters of Mary Auxiliary. She was with some others preparing o-nigiri (rice balls) and miso-shiru (miso soup). I assumed that all were parishioners, they were so friendly, welcoming and warm. Later I learned from Sr. Marie Lisa that they were volunteers from different faiths and backgrounds. They were preparing dinner for the homeless of the area.

The volunteers were members of the Fukuyama Church Welfare Group, and had taken the name Tomoshibi-kai, “Lamp Society”. The group is made up of people from the YMCA school of social service, certified social workers, volunteers from the City’s Public Assistance Committee, a few Catholics from the parish and a volunteer from the Himawari-kai, “Sunflower Society”, a Protestant group. Tomoshibi-kai was formed thirteen years ago to respond to the needs of the homeless in the area.

Sister Marie Lisa told me that from 1990 to 2000 she dealt with 20 to 25 homeless people. But now there are about 60, including eleven women. Until 2002, the majority of the homeless had been middle-aged men. But in 2003, volunteers met persons ranging in age from 19 to 70. This is a national phenomenon, due to a rise in unemployment and bankruptcy, and the break-up of families.

The homeless can be found in parks, at the river side, bus stops, underground passages, bicycle ports and under railroad bridges. In the morning, some go to the train station that opens at 4am and stay until it closes at 10pm; then they look for a place to sleep again. Complaints from local people led the city’s environmental department and the Japan Railway Company (JR), to force the homeless away. But the homeless have no alternative, so often they just spread their blankets on the ground, even when it rains. When chased out of one park, they find another. When asked to leave that park, they go back to the first. Recently, the city government built a fence around the main park, shutting out both the homeless and children who wanted to play there. This caused some commotion in the neighborhood. There needs to be a balance struck: the homeless have to reconsider how they use the public facilities, and the neighborhood needs to understand the needs of the homeless.

Homeless people encounter difficulties in securing jobs through the public employment security offices, where most applicants have a proper address and health insurance. Most available jobs, such as in the shipyard, require physical strength that a 55-year-old person with marginal health doesn’t have. The homeless occasionally encounter dishonest employers who hire under practices which take advantage of their situation: charging them for food, lodging and bathing, leaving them with no earnings at the end of the contract. Some are even hired for construction work and when the job is complete are chased off without receiving any pay. It is very difficult for the Department of Labor to do anything about this.

Some used to go around the city very early in the morning to find empty beer and juice cans, selling them to shops that collect aluminum. They would get ¥700, about
PHP330, for 10 kilograms of cans. It takes days to collect that many cans and one rice ball costs about PHP45. But the city government has prohibited the collection of cans and newspapers by individuals.

With most homeless without a regular income or none at all, picking up food thrown out by restaurants or convenience stores is commonplace, making these people vulnerable to illnesses.

The government, through its Livelihood Protection Office, grants financial aid to the needy, especially to the sick. Yet, in order to be eligible, they must have a proper address, and a letter from the doctor to prove that they are in need of money for medical purposes. A guarantor is often required to secure an apartment, but most families of the homeless refuse to serve as one. The volunteers of Tomoshibi-kai try to find shelter for the sick, but inexpensive apartments are hard to come by.

One spot of hope has emerged: The Livelihood Protection Office held meetings with the volunteers of Tomoshibi-kai to exchange opinions regarding the situation of the homeless. Subsequently, some of the officers participated in the nightly distribution of rice and soup to find out more first-hand about the living conditions of the homeless. A doctor, who conducts free medical check-ups for the homeless in Tokyo, lent his experience in one seminar aimed at building positive attitudes towards the homeless.

After talking with my parish priest, I decided to join the volunteers in cooking and distributing soup and rice on Sunday evenings. This opens many possibilities for contact not only with the homeless, but also with people of this church and of the area where I live. I enjoy the company of the volunteers who are very dedicated to their mission. Indeed, as the name of the group suggests, they are bringing light to people who are neglected in society. At the same time, they bring light to people who have closed their hearts to the homeless. Although only a few parishioners join the cooking and distribution, many make an effort to give contributions of rice to Tomoshibi-kai. We have put up a box to collect funds for the food for the Sunday distribution. Though our response seems small compared to the enormous needs, I am very hopeful that more people will come to the light, and begin to open their hearts to the homeless.

undertheacacia@gmail.com

God's Frozen - and Patient - People: Under the Acacia, 17-10 October 2008

God’s Frozen - and Patient - People

The author is a Columban priest from Ireland who has been in the Philippines most of the time since 1971. Since October 2002 he has been based in Bacolod City as editor of Misyon, the magazine of the Columbans, and also has a personal blog (which you are reading!) This column is in the 17-19 October issue of Negros Times. Though I didn't avert to it when preparing the column, tomorrow is Mission Sunday, so it is very appropriate to post it now.

The culminating activities of the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Bacolod are taking place this week. One striking difference between 1933, when Sorsogon-born Casimiro Lladoc became first bishop, is that while Bacolod still welcomes missionaries, it now sends them out. One such person is Father Ronald Magbanua CICM, ordained by Bishop Wenceslao S. Padilla CICM of Ulaanbaatar on January 9, 2005, in San Diego Pro-cathedral, Silay City, in the Diocese of Bacolod. Bishop Padilla, from Tubao, La Union, has created history in two ways. He is the first Filipino to be made bishop of a jurisdiction overseas and he is the first bishop ever in Mongolia.Growing up in Silay City, Father Ronald could never have imagined enduring the intense cold of a Mongolian winter. His story here first appeared in Misyon in July-August this year. A ger is a Mongolian tent. ‘Yurt’ is the Russian term.

Fr Ronald Magbanua is on the left. The photo includes some of his CICM (Missionhurst, Scheut Missionaries) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It was morning again; the caretaker of the church staggered to the main door of the ger-church to open it. Pulling out his key, he realized that the padlock was frozen. So he went back to his house nearby to take a piece of paper to heat the frozen padlock. “I wish the sun would shine,” he said to himself. “If not I will have a hard time opening this main door”. After some time he was able to open the frozen padlock. Now he had the challenge of lighting the frozen firewood and frozen coal. “I should light this firewood fast because it’s already 8:30am and the workers will be here soon”, he said. The yurt needs at least an hour to warm up and he only had only 30 minutes to go. “Ah, I better put more firewood because it heats faster compared to the coal”. So he filled the fireplace with firewood. At 9:00 o’clock the first worker arrived, “Ovoo (meaning ‘old man’), how come the yurt is still cold?” the worker asked. “Oh, I am very sorry, my daughter, the firewood is frozen and it is difficult to light”, answered the old man. So she helped him. Then the other workers arrived.

“Is there hot water?” one worker asked. “Let’s check, the water here is frozen too. Anyway, let’s heat it”.

At 10:00 o’clock, the yurt is still cold. One sewing trainee started her sewing machine and found it wouldn’t work - it too was frozen. It created only some strange sounds. “Stop the sewing machine”, shouted the sewing teacher, “You will only destroy it.” The secretary wanted to print something but her printer was frozen too. The Sister who prepares the Mass paraphernalia was worried because the holy water and clean water in the chapel was also frozen. The cleaner who wanted to sweep the floor couldn’t start her job of cleaning as well.

“Is their anything that is not frozen in this yurt?” one worker exclaimed.

“Nothing!” jokingly answered the youngest sewing trainee.

“When are we going to have our church building?” they asked each other. The parish priest answered, “Don’t worry, one day we will have our own church building, just a little sacrifice is needed”.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion. “What happened?” they asked. Then they heard the parish Sister shouting for help. Some workers rushed to help her, and a big fire greeted them. “The kerosene heater exploded!” one worker shouted. All then came to help. Good thing there were enough fire extinguishers to put out the fire.

“Father, will there be sewing classes today?” asked one sewing student. “I guess we’d better cancel the classes for today since the classroom needs to be cleaned”, answered the parish priest.

“We live in a yurt, we come here, it is still a yurt, is there no change in our daily life?” asked one youth. The parish priest once again answered, “Don’t worry, one day we will have our own church building”.

Afternoon came. It was still cold inside the yurt. Mass was about to begin but the amplifier, microphones and keyboard were all still frozen. The parish Sister was really worried now. She went to the parish priest and asked, “Father, is it okay not to use the microphone? Just please speak louder”.

“Yes, it’s okay, Sister”, the parish priest replied. During the Mass the congregation was complaining about the cold. They couldn’t concentrate on the Mass. Some were stamping their feet and therefore looked as if they were dancing. The yurt floor was frozen. Some wanted to be near the fireplace. The parish priest struggled to deliver a good homily.

The cold made many of the workers and even the parish priest sick. Some of the workers later approached the parish priest to ask permission to go home early.

At the end of the day, the parish priest thought to himself, “How come other people don’t understand our need for a church building of our own? Some have made their buildings very beautiful but we have nothing, even our appliances are exploding. All we have is a frozen yurt and the patient people of God”.

Without noticing, he answered himself with, “Don’t worry, Ronald, one day we will have our own church building”.

Filipino Prelate of Marshall Islands: Under the Acacia, 10-12 October 2008

I'm planning to use material from Misyon for my Friday Under the Acacia column in Negros Times. For those of you outside of the Philippines, a 'Negrense' is a person from the island of Negros. This article appeared, in a slightly different form, in the July-August issue of Misyon. I hope to show over time how the missionary aspect of the Church in the Philippines is continually growing, thanks be to God.

Negrense Prefect Apostolic of Marshall Islands

The writer edits www.misyononline.com and has a blog at www.bangortobobbio.blogspot.com

Last January Fr. Raymundo T. Sabio, MSC, (centre in the photo) who grew up in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, was installed as Prefect Apostolic of the Marshall Islands. A prefecture apostolic is like a diocese except that it’s not fully self-supporting. The prefect is sometimes a bishop, sometimes not, but has the same responsibility and authority in his prefecture that a bishop has in his diocese.

The Prefecture of the Marshall Islands was set up on 23 April 1993. In 2004 there were 4,601 Catholics officially listed, 9.04 percent of the population of 50,874. The vast majority of the others are Protestants.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, due east of the Philippines, consists of 1,152 islands grouped in 34 atolls and 870 reefs. The total land area is only 180 square kilometers but is spread over a million share kilometers in the pacific. There are 33 municipalities. 60 percent of the people live in the two islands of Majuro and Kwajalein. Majuro, the capital, has a population of 25,000. The USA handles security, defense and foreign affairs and the currency is the US dollar.

I was surprised at the time that the local media didn’t seem to be aware that a priest who grew up in a parish in the Diocese of Bacolod that is now in the Diocese of Kabankalan, had been given responsibility by the Holy Father for the Church in another Pacific nation, and in the year when Bacolod is celebrating its 75th anniversary as a diocese.

Here is a letter Father Sabio sent me and a report on his installation, both of which were published in the July-August 2008 issue of MISYON, http://www.misyononline.com/

February 11, 2008, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes



Dear Fr Sean Coyle,

Aineman an Anji Jemed im yokwe an Mary Jined! (Marshallese for, ‘Peace of God our Father and love of Mary our Mother!’)

I am very pleased to note that Sister Fidelis made it for the day of my installation as Apostolic Prefect, representing the Sabio Family on January 6. (Presentation Sister Fidelis is based at Scala Retreat House, Bacolod City).The Lord has led me to this place after a long journey that started in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. Then to Cebu; and on to Manila. After 14 years of ministry in the in the Philippines as formator of college-level seminarians, vocation director, novice master and theology professor, I was transplanted to South Korea where I spent 19 fruitful years of priestly work, assisting seafarers, migrant/factory workers, the expatriate communities, harbor workers as well as airport employees and air-travelers. Indeed, it was a ministry to the sea, land and air people. And finally I departed for the third part of my life, arriving in the Marshall Islands (unheard of by many!) on October 14, 2005. It is not an easy mission area because the apostolic prefecture is spread over various atolls / tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean, located between Guam and Hawaii. My rough estimate is: the area covered by the prefecture apostolic would be equivalent to the whole of the Visayas. From Majuro, the seat of the Prefecture, to Ebeye, the second parish center, is a 40-minute flight by jet. But I trust the Lord who gives me the strength and courage I need to be His, serving His People. And I place my life in the arms of our Lady of the Sacred Heart who will intercede for me and lead me closer to the very Heart of the Incarnate Word.

May the Good Lord continue to guide and assist you and your staff in your publication/media ministry so that the ‘mission ad gentes’ will become more and more appealing and challenging to the young people.

Yours very sincerely and gratefully in the Heart of our Lord,

(Fr.) Ray Sabio, MSC

Apostolic Prefect of the Marshall Islands

January 6 is the date of the Solemnity of Epiphany, one of the great feasts in the Roman Catholic Church. This year on that day the new Apostolic Prefect of the Marshall Islands, Fr. Raymundo T. Sabio, MSC, was installed by Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, Apostolic Nuncio. The nuncio, from Brooklyn, New York City, is based in New Zealand and is the Vatican’s envoy to that country and to ten other island nations in the South Pacific. The ceremony took place in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Uliga, Majuro. At the same time, the care of the Prefecture was transferred from the Jesuits to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC).

The presence of Archbishop Anthony Apuron OFMCap of Agaña, Guam, was highly appreciated. He was present as President of the Pacific Episcopal Conference (CEPAC) and as the Metropolitan Archbishop under whose jurisdiction the Prefecture of the Marshall Islands belongs. Also gracing the occasion were five Jesuits: Fr. Ken Hesel SJ, Jesuit Superior of the Region of Micronesia, Fr. James C. Gould SJ, the former Apostolic Prefect, Fr. Richard McAuliff SJ, Fr. Tom McGrath SJ and Fr Arthur Leger SJ.

The MSCs were represented by Fr. Simon Mani, Superior of the MSC Pacific Union, Fr. Tito Maratas, Provincial Superior of MSC Philippines, Fr. Yohanes Sujono and Fr. Ariel Galido. It was indeed a sight to behold with so many priests and two archbishops in the sanctuary of the parish church. Rev. Alfred Capelle assisted in the Holy Mass in his capacity as deacon.

The ceremony began at 9:30 a.m. and ended at almost 11. Assumption Cathedral was filled to capacity by both the local Marshallese Catholics and the Catholic members of the various foreign communities. Although the great majority were the Catholics of Assumption Cathedral Parish of Majuro and of St. Francis Xavier Chapel of Laura, a good number of Catholics from Queen of Peace Parish, Kwajalein, came for the occasion. The sacred songs were sung beautifully in Marshallese, English and Kiribati languages.

May God bless this dedicated Negrense missionary priest.

Email me at mailto:undertheacacia@gmail.com.