'Rejoice in the Lord always.' Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year C

St John the Baptist Preaching 

Baciccio, c.1690, Musée du Louvre, Paris [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

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

Gospel Luke 3:10-18 (New Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition, Canada) 

And the crowds asked John, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,  John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord (Phil 4:4, 7; Authorized [King James[ Version).

I came across the setting above by George Rathbone of the first and last verses of today's Second Reading while preparing this week's Sunday Reflections. It emphasises a basic theme of Advent: Joy. And today the Church focuses on that. We call the Third Sunday of Advent 'Gaudete Sunday' from the Latin opening word of the Entrance Antiphon, 'Gaudete in Domino semper,' 'Rejoice in the Lord always'.

The First Reading begins with the same theme: Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! (Zephaniah 3:14).

'Ligaya' is the Tagalog word for 'joy' and is a common enough name for girls in the Philippines. It is the name used for the girl at the heart of the story below, though not her real name, which was a particularly beautiful one. St Joseph is one of the central figures in the gospels read at Mass as we approach Christmas and is highlighted in the gospel for Thursday, 17 December, Matthew 1:1-17, and in the gospel for Friday, 18 December, Matthew 1:16-24. It was through St Joseph, the Husband of Mary, that Jesus was born of the line of David, as God had promised. And by naming Jesus, as the angel asked him to do, St Joseph became the legal father of Jesus. 

This story is in the current issue of MISYONonline.com, the magazine of the Columbans in the Philippines of which I have been editor since October 2002 and has appeared there before. It is a story that shows the joy that only God can give, a joy that usually comes from within a very painful situation, a situation that may well be the result of a great sin.

I MET ST JOSEPH IN MANILA

By Columba Chang Eun-Yeal

 
Columba Chang, 2012

We first published this article in the November-December 2003 issue of MISYON. It is a story that can be told and re-told over and over again. The author, a Columban Lay Missionary from Korea who was assigned to the Philippines for many years, is now based in Myanmar.

There may be as many as seven million Filipino overseas workers spread all over the world. [This figure is probably higher now, 2015.] They greatly help our country’s economy by the money they send home. However sometimes we seem to take them for granted, thinking that they have an easy life abroad. Read Aling Maria’s story below and find out the dangers our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) face and the abuses they experience. We thank ‘Mang Pepe’ for his help in writing this article in which we’ve changed the names.

'Mang' and 'Aling' are Tagalog honorifics for a man and woman, respectively, older than oneself. 'Tatay' is the equivalent of 'Papa' and 'Daddy'.

I met Mang Pepe and his daughter Ligaya through my work with Caritas Manila. I visit the family regularly. They live in a poor part of the city and Mang Pepe makes a living by doing odd jobs. My work takes me to families affected by HIV/AIDS. I knew Mang Pepe’s story before he shared it with the congregation at the Saturday evening Mass in Baclaran Church on 7 December 2002 at the end of a celebration organized by Caritas Manila for World AIDS Day.

Baclaran Church [Wikipedia]

A Greener Pasture

Mang Pepe and his wife Aling Maria were having difficulties putting their five children through school. This sometimes led to arguments. Eventually Aling Maria decided to work in the Middle East. She felt happy when accepted as a nursing aide with a two-year contract in the UAE. She prepared her documents. She and Pepe sold their house and lot for her fare and placement fee. She flew out on 5 February 1989, full of hope for her family’s future financial stability.

Aling Maria soon discovered that her contract as a nursing aid was terminated just a few months after she arrived, without any hope of renewal. But she didn’t want to go back to the Philippines with an empty pocket. She decided to take the ‘TNT’ route. She managed to find a series of jobs as a saleslady, cashier and office worker.

Columba Chang, left, with friend in Manila

Hope turns into a nightmare

As an illegal worker, she was often subjected to different abuses like underpayment, long hours of working without a day off and so on. But the worst thing was when one of Aling Maria’s employers took advantage of her and made her pregnant. When she came home to the Philippines in October 1993 Mang Pepe and the family were very shocked to learn that Aling Maria carried a child in her womb. She hadn’t mentioned anything about this before. However, despite this they still welcomed her and the child with joy . . . but deep in their hearts there was a shadow of sadness, fear and uncertainty.

After a few days the tabloids reported that three Filipino overseas workers had been sent home because of being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS – and that one of them was Aling Maria. These stories, and the rumors they spawned, continued for a month. Some relatives, neighbors and friends rejected Aling Maria. The children of Mang Pepe and Aling Maria were torn apart. Some wanted to quit school and leave the area. The family suffered greatly because of the stigma.

Interior of Baclaran Church [Wikipedia]

Confirmed HIV

Aling Maria and Mang Pepe went to the Department of Health (DOH) for a series of blood tests. The tests confirmed what Aling Maria knew already, that she and her ‘little mercy child,’ as Mang Pepe called his wife’s daughter had HIV. The doctor gave them counseling and advice and information about HIV/AIDS.

Ligaya is born

Aling Maria decided not to stay in the hospital and continued to work as a pension plan insurance agent. In time she gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Ligaya. Gradually, however, Mang Pepe saw his dear wife turning into a picture of misery as she suffered from constant headaches and flu. Aling Maria was hoping for a miracle that would ease her agony. It was not to be. The HIV developed into full-blown AIDS. Her appetite disappeared until she couldn’t eat anymore. Mang Pepe and the children saw Aling Maria slowly dying. He prepared the family to accept her death as the will of God. She died on 15 December 1997, aged 46.

Like everyone else in Baclaran Church, I was deeply touched by Mang Pepe’s story, even though he had told it to me many times. I was touched by the great love of this simple man who accepted as his own a daughter who was the fruit of the brutal violation of his wife. Mang Pepe is ‘Tatay’ to Ligaya. Her schoolmates sometimes tease her because her features clearly show her Middle Eastern origins. But her Tatay stands by her, as do her brothers and sisters.

Rest During the Flight into Egypt 

Francesco Mancini, Pinacoteca, Vatican City [Web Gallery of Art]

Proud to be her Tatay

Tatay Pepe is proud of Ligaya’s singing ability and smiled as she sang at the celebration in Baclaran. Ligaya is very proud of her Tatay and knows the depth of his love as a father. She has very uncertain health and is often in the hospital. The shadow of AIDS hangs over her.

St Joseph named Jesus, the Son of Mary, and thereby became his legal father. He loved Mary, his wife, and raised Jesus as his own son. Mang Pepe has gone through the agony of knowing that his wife was violated overseas, after dishonest employers had taken advantage of her in other ways. When she brought home a child who was not his, he made her his own. This latter-day St Joseph in Manila has given much joy to his daughter Ligaya as she has given much joy to him and others, like myself, who have come to know and love her.

+++

‘Ligaya’ died in the latter part of 2004. I was in Baclaran Church that day at the invitation of Columba and came to know ‘Ligaya’ as a friend. Shortly before she died I had the privilege of talking to her on Columba’s cellphone. She was a delightful child. The light of heaven upon her.

Columban Missionaries, Banmaw, Myanmar, 2011
L to R: Sr Ashwena Apao (Philippines), Arlenne Villahermosa (Philippines), Sr Mary Dillon (Ireland) and Columba Chang (Korea)

Antiphona ad introitum Entrance Antiphon Phil 4:4-5

Gaudéte in Dómino semper:íterum díco, gaudéte:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. 

Dóminus prope est.

The Lord is near.

Ps 84 [85]:2 Modéstia véstra nóta sit ómnibus homínibus:

Let your forbearance be known to all men. 

Nihil sollíciti sítis:

Do not be anxious over anything; 

sed in ómni oratione

but in all manner of prayer, 

petitiónes véstrae innotéscant apud Déum. 

let your requests be made known unto God.

Benedixísti, Dómine, térram túam:

Lord, you have blessed your land; 

avertísti captivitátem Jácob.

you have put an end to Jacob's captivity. 

V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculórum. Amen.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Gaudéte in Dómino semper:íterum díco, gaudéte:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. 

Dóminus prope est.

The Lord is near.

The text in bold is used in Masses in the Ordinary Form. The longer version is used in Masses in the Extraordinary Form but may be used in the Ordinary Form.

'A quirky kind of prayer' from the late Fr Tom Cahill SVD

Fr Tom Cahill SVD (1946 - 2013)

This morning at breakfast I was reading the February 2013 issue of Intercom, the monthly 'Pastoral and Liturgical Resource' of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. It had an article, Year of Faith, Year of Thanks, by Fr Tom Cahill SVD, whom I've known since our schooldays and with whom I kept in touch over the years, from his time in Flores, Indonesia, to his many years back in Ireland. Father Tom died on 15 January, a few days after getting a massive stroke. The photo above was taken in 2011 at a gathering in St Patrick's, Maynooth, of the ordination class of 1971.

In his article, Father Tom emphasized the importance of thanking God each day. He wrote, Someone wryly remarked that the most difficult arithmetic to learn is the one that teaches us how to count our blessings. We can't be joyful without being thankful. He goes on to say, We didn't ask to be born yet don't regret that we were. Thanking God daily for this most precious gift helps us start each day with joy in our heart and not gripe in our belly. Happily acknowledging that our intelligence and abilities are gifts freely given, ensures that they are spurs to service and not prods to pride.

Further on Father Tom says, There are still more: gifts of faith in God and hope in his promises. Not only is our present life a gift but also our future eternal life is an even greater one. What would life be like without anything to hope for after death?

He came across what he describes as 'a quirky kind of prayer' and followed the advice of the late Irish comedian Hal Roach who, when he got a gale of laughter from his audience would say, Write it down; it's a good one!  This is what Father Tom wrote down:

Dear God, we rejoice and give thanks for earthworms, bees, ladybirds and broody hens; for humans tending their gardens, talking to animals, cleaning their homes and singing to themselves; for the rising of the sap, the fragrance of growth, the invention of the wheelbarrow and the existence of the teapot, we give thanks. We celebrate and give thanks. Amen.

Ladybird

The other day I came across an article in the December 2012 issue of Catholic Mountain Star, the newspaper of the Diocese of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, by Fr Harry Clarke, an Irish friend of mine who is a parish priest there. He was sharing Impressions of the Eucharistic Congress, held in Dublin last June. Father Harry wrote:

The Abbot of Glenstal, drew our attention to an insight of Dublin writer, James Joyce. Joyce observed that the Church must deal with Irish people as they really are and know what they are like - an ordinary man, on an ordinary day, with ordinary thoughts and temptations, surrounded by ordinary people. 

It seems to me that he is right in this. Ireland was invaded by “devotional religion” from Europe after 1860. From then on preaching was so often not connecting with the ordinary person’s daily life. As the story goes one farmer, after Sunday Mass, put it like this: “a more ignorant priest would have suited us better”. The 10,000 or so who attended each day, mostly salt of the earth Irish, were not honored or valued in this way by the homilies I heard at daily Mass.

As I wasn't present at the Congress I can't say whether or not I agree with Father Harry's final sentence in the quotation. But I fully agree with the importance of the Irish people as they really are and know what they are like - an ordinary man, on an ordinary day, with ordinary thoughts and temptations, surrounded by ordinary people.

I remember Fr Ronan McGrath in my first year in the seminary, back in 1961-62, drawing to our attention that when we went home at the end of the year we would find the same people doing the same things, the milkman, the bread man and others doing their daily rounds, part of the fabric of life. He spoke about St Joseph in his carpenter's shop, probably getting complaints from some customers.

A basic black teapot (essential to every Irish home!)

And when we did go home, we found what Fr McGrath said to be true. And we found ourselves invited to the inevitable 'cuppa' whenever we visited relatives and friends and the teapot came out.

My friend Fr Tom Cahill wrote for many Catholic publications and often did the 'God spot' on radio on RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcasting service. He had the gift of seeing God's presence in incidents that to most would seem insignificant. I don't know if he was familiar with what our fellow Dubliner James Joyce wrote, as mentioned by the Abbot of Glenstal. But he certainly followed his advice.

And Father Tom would have been familiar with this delightful song by American folk musician and singer-songwriter Bill Staines, sung here by Irish singers Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, both of whom died in recent years.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God (Psalm 84:3, RSV Catholic Edition).

May Father Tom find his 'Place in the Choir' and experience in the fulness of gratitude and joy the truth of his own words, Not only is our present life a gift but also our future eternal life is an even greater one.

'Look up to the Lord with gladness and smilel your face will never be ashamed' (Ps 33:6).

'Look up to the Lord with gladness and smile; your face will never be ashamed' (Ps 33:6). Communion antiphon for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Blessed Mother Teresa

From 1 to 8 February I'll be giving a retreat to some junior professed sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Please keep them and me in your prayers. I probably won't be doing much, if any, blogging.

Jao Resari, a Columban Lay Missionary from the Philippines in Taiwan

Columban Father Joseph Bradley who died in Manila 28 October 2008.

Photo taken after the stroke that led to his death.

Ana Kristina Macasaet Arce, Deaf Magna Cum Laude College Graduate

Columban pioneer in Mindanao

Fr Michael Sinnott and his sisters on his arrival in Dublin after being kidnapped in Mindanao, Philippines

A young friend who prayed her heart out for the release of Father Michael Sinnott

Dr Zilda Arns, a Brazilian, with a young friend. Dr Arns, who devoted her life to mothers and children, died in the earthquake in Haiti.