Towards Easter
Redemptorist Parish provided a three-day Lenten Reflection Series. Fr. Fons Suico was the main facilitator of the reflection on Healing of the Body. He clarified that disease is not a punishment or a curse. As a doctor he explained the causes of our physical pain. He said we are all wounded healers. We need to be sensitive to the pain of others and ready to extend support and relief. He explained that the anointing was not only for the dying. In fact, we were anointed and then urged to share this healing with others. And so I hurried home; I kept the oil in my hands to do exactly that.
Brother Karl Gaspar opened the reflection on creation with beautiful visuals, which we viewed as we sang a song of praise and gratitude to the Divine Trinity for the grand gift of creation.
He then explained the phenomenon of global warming and made the parishioners understand the connection between global warming and recent as well as current calamities. He continued his PowerPoint presentation dramatizing the damage we caused to our forests. He impressed on us the great natural wealth of our mineral resources. He discussed the justification presented in the exploration of our mineral resources. He showed that the promise of economic good for our people, especially the truly economically disadvantaged remained unfulfilled. Then we prayed; we asked for forgiveness for our acts, which ruined God’s gift of creation, e.g., reckless throwing garbage in the streams. I thanked Brother Karl for composing a ritual regarding concerns that are now in the heart of our lives, yet many of us might overlook during Holy Week.
Fr. Emmy Maningo was the facilitator for the last session on spiritual healing. He provided us with the history of the sacrament of reconciliation showing us that the ritual for making amends for wrongs done used to be a community activity. This was logical because our individual acts of turning away from love, no matter how personal always have a social impact. He stressed the importance of forgiving as we ask for forgiveness. He then clarified “wounds of sinning.” The return to wholeness can be very challenging because the source of spiritual brokenness may be deeply rooted in our lives as in the case of bad habits. This may also be embedded culturally and socially such as corruption. So the wounds of sinning need to be coped with. At this point Fr. Emmy reminded us of the parish provision for counseling. The ritual of reconciliation began with a miniature simulation of the early right of baptism: plunging into the water and emerging renewed. We then approached each other to say, I forgive you; I love you very much.
In the Alay Kapwa, we had the Agape, where we all washed each others’ feet and had merienda cena together. On Good Friday morning we had the Stations of the Cross on the streets of the pier area of North Reclamation. Sr. Vincent Borromeo, RGS then encouraged me to join her in the Sacred Heart Parish Lenten Reflections. Fr. John Go, S. J., loved movies since childhood. So he discussed Jesus and Good Friday with movie clips from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Jesus of Nazareth” and others. He asserted that Christ was the Ultimate Outcast. He was rejected because he sympathized on the sick rejected by many because they were believed to have been punished or cursed. He entered the house of sinners like Matthew the tax collector and Zaccheus ate and socialized with them. He was kind to an adulteress and women of questionable reputation. He joined the outcasts so excluded and isolated him; yet he was a very inclusive person. And the climax of the abandonment was on Good Friday. And Fr. John asked: Are we capable of Good Friday gestures? Jesus did not allow love to be defeated by pain! Fr. John showed us the images of two painters. These artists took pains in finishing their painting as they were dying; they bore the pain because pain will pass but the beauty will remain. So we remember Good Friday by acts of giving and forgiving, in spite of the suffering it entails; the pain will pass but the beauty remains.
During this time of prayer and reflection, I also prayed for my alma mater St. Theresa’s College. Solomon came to mind and the story of two mother claimants. His God-given wisdom guided his proposal that the child be divided between the two. The authentic mother wanted the wholeness of the child, even willing to lose the child. It was the disintegration, division within these students and even future students that St. Theresa’s wanted to avoid that they allowed the children to have their say and discuss with the parents, provided counseling following the spirit of the law all the while shielding the students from public exposure. In their journey to awareness, self-knowledge, maturity and wholeness, young people need firmness and clarity. In this complex globalized world, in times of pain and confusion, we cannot respond with ambiguity. While we are free, we still need to be consistent, no matter how painful this will be. St. Theresa’s opened itself to all kinds of negative reactions, when it stood its ground. But I know they are at peace because in the long range they will have contributed to the youths’ wholeness.
