Feast Of San Lorenzo Ruiz

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Who among us had experienced torture?  A story goes: a group of classmates were once penalized by thier professors for an unethical psychological experiment.  They asked for a volunteer; they brought the same student volunteer to a private place in Tagaytay ... and there ... they proceeded with the experiment.  They simulated “torture.”  The “game” was simple.  The volunteer played the role of a ‘political detainee’ and the experimenters acted as his torturers.  The torturers tied up the "prisoner," blindfolded him and gagged his mouth.  For an entire weekend, the so-called ‘torturers’ took turns making sure that their  “prisoner”  would not get any sleep.  They exposed their prisoner to all sorts of verbal abuse ... shouting at him and terrorizing him with false threats.  The torturers didn’t even give their prisoner the privilege of using the toilet for the entire duration of the experiment.  Exciting ba!   

   

Friends, today we remember the martyrdom of San Lorenzo Ruiz and companions.  As a Filipino, I couldn’t help but be proud opening my missal and finding San Lorenzo’s name included in the list of legitimate and recognized saints of the Catholic Church.  I find it also interesting that the first Filipino saint isn’t even a cleric or religious.  San Lorenzo also represents an even bigger number of saints and martyrs who suffered torture and religious persecution in 16^th century Japan.

How was the experience of torture among these martyrs of Japan?  Beheading must have been the fastest, simplest and ‘painless’ way to go during the time of the persecution.  Our saints and martyrs of Japan, San Lorenzo included, suffered more than that for sure. Group killings were done by crucifixion or fire.  Some were tied to crosses and then pierced by soldiers. Some victims were tied to posts off shore at low tide. As the tide rose, if they renounced their faith, they would be freed. If not, they would drown. Some victims were hung over the volcanic wells of hot sulfur or doused with water from the hot springs.  Well documented was the torture of the pit. A victim was upside down for hours or even days with his or her head immersed in a pit filled with excrement and animal carcasses. A contemporary witness wrote: “The reverse hanging causes an indescribably terrible pain. Many Christians could not help but abandon their faith.”

The novel entitled SILENCE by Shusako Endo describes for us a different kind of psychological torture employed during the Christian persecution in Japan. This involved the use of the FUMIE or a special image of Christ or the Virgin Mary.  Suspected Christians were asked to step-on the FUMIE as a public form of renouncing their faith.  Many Christians – tired, exhausted and wasted after a period of torture ... couldn’t help but step on the FUMIE ... thereby formalizing their turning away from the faith.

Shusako Endo, the author talks about the life of a Jesuit priest named Father Ferreira who was then the vice-provincial of the Philippine Province at that time.  Father Ferreira was known to be a very holy man, a priest who exemplified real and true virtue.  Some people thought of him even as a “living saint.”   After ending his term in the Philippines, he found himself in Japan during the time of the persecution.  He may have met Lorenzo Ruiz, we are not sure.  To make the story short ... after undergoing severe physical torture at the hands of his persecutors ... Father Fereira was asked to stepped onto the Fumie ... an Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – as an indication that he would wish to renounce his faith and live.   Father Fereira stepped on the Fumie and apostacized.  

As a result, he promised not to practice his faith and donned the traditional Japanese garb.  He was eventually given a position in the government --- that of, the more difficult task of convincing Christians to turn away from the faith.  Some readers of Shusako Endo’s novel believe that Father Fereira symbolizes Christians who are externally pious yet shallow in faith.  Some however think that even after renouncing his faith, Father Ferreira served as a quiet yet vital witness to the faith at the time of persecution.  He may not have practiced his religion openly but his silent witness to the faith was thought of as extraordinary. Some readers of the novel even think that Father Ferreira suffered more than physical torture by choosing to live than die for the faith.

Friends today as we commemorate the martyrdom of San Lorenzo Ruiz and companions ... we remind ourselves that though we may not have opportunities or the privilege to go through violent forms of physical torture – we nevertheless are still called to witness to the faith.  While some ... our martyrs chose to die for the faith ... some if not most of us are called to LIVE for the faith.        

In our Gospel today, it says: “An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.”   We salute San Lorenzo Ruiz and companions for their super great and exemplary example of martyrdom and dying for the faith.  We also find inspiration amongst us who are choosing to live each day --- growing in virtue (in a different form of martyrdom) to exemplify the same faith.   To live or die for the faith?  What is the greatest way?  Jesus himself said:  Whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.  

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows 

Sharing in the Suffering of Our Lord

By Frank Savadera, SJ

Our feast today is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son, Jesus. 

Catholic tradition speaks of the so-called "Seven Sorrows of Mary," namely the following:

  The Prophecy of Simeon 

  The Flight into Egypt

  The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple

  Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary

  Jesus Dies on the Cross. 

  Mary Receives the Body of Jesus in Her Arms. 

  The Body of Jesus is Placed in the Tomb.

 

The IMPASSIBILITY OF GOD principle asserts the FULL DIVINITY OF GOD and therefore, he must be beyond all forms of human emotions, including suffering.  He is the UNMOVED MOVER and as such NO MAN can prevail upon Him; He cannot be influenced by anyone; he cannot be swayed nor be made to do nor feel anything ... precisely because He is God. 

But stories in SCRIPTURES seem to reveal otherwise.  In Genesis, we see a God who is capable of expressing a certain GLADNESS:  He looked at his creation and says:  That is good!  How many times in the historical books of the Old Testament did Yahweh seem to be EMOTIONALLY involved bargaining with His people (i.e., if there are 50, 30, 20, 10 or 5 good people in Sodom/ Gomorrah ... then I can spare the entire city from destruction;  OR also sparing a king and withholding punishment after a time of fasting and sprinkling ashes on one’s head).  The apparent UNMOVED MOVER seemed to have been MOVED a countless times ... even in Scriptures. 

The HEIGHT of descriptions about a God capable of going through PAIN and SUFFERING comes in the depictions of the PASSION as endured by JESUS CHRIST Himself.  People of old had real difficulty asserting that Jesus is God because of the graphic descriptions of suffering we pick up from the Gospel.

 

In the letter to the Hebrews:  “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.   Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

Thus, to protect notions of an UNMOVED MOVER, some asserted that the HUMANITY of Jesus that suffered on the CROSS is totally different from His divinity; that the SPIRIT of the DIVINE simply inhabited the human body and was FREE to leave the body at the time of the passion and crucifixion.  Of course, we know this now as a heresy (i.e. MODALISM, subordinationism etc.)

One perspective that addresses this problematic is the assertion of the FULL PERFECTION of God.  God’s involvement in the life of the world ... in the life of His creatures is ALL TOO PERFECT ... in that it involves ALL feelings and sentiments ... PERFECT as they are ... THEY ARE DIFFERENT from the way man/ women feel.  God’s involvement in the life of the world is PERFECT .... such that when he gives ... he gives without REMAINDER;  when He gives, he gives without LOSING anything ( a totally different reality with humanity).

IF JESUS therefore is God, we ascribe to Him this brand of perfection.  He gives without REMAINDER and LOSS (the TRIUMPH of the CROSS).  Nothing is LOST; Everything is MORE SO GAINED.

 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN THEREFORE alongside our assertion that MARY, the Blessed Mother shared in the suffering of our Lord?  From the time the prophet Simeon prophesied that a thorn will pierce her heart, the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt, the loss and finding of Jesus in the Temple, meeting her son enroute to CALVARY and seeing him die on the cross, the pain of cradling the dead body of her son (PIETA) and eventually depositing her son’s body into its final resting place.  MARY CRIED; MARY FELT; MARY SUFFERED ... and we say:  THIS WAS HER SPIRITUAL MARTYRDOM ... she shared in the PERFECT SELF-GIVING and SELF-EMPTYING OF HER SON. 

Jesus' emptying himself (kenosis) and becoming like a slave (in the Letter to the Hebrews) ... and therefore being exalted and meriting a name above all names ... applies as well to our EXALTATION of Mary (on a different plane of course ... not as God but as a human being).

The RELEVANCE of this to us therefore can be quite clear.  JESUS, the FULLNESS OF GOD’S REVELATION had shown us ... through His BRAND of PASSIBILITY (his capacity to be involved in the life of his creatures) is the PERFECT KIND ... a KIND of GIVING that is perfectly FULL ... a giving without remainder ... and a kind of giving that fears nothing LOST. 

The little that we suffer ... the pain the we often need to endure ... can be a kind of OFFERING that we can make ... which though not perfect ... may mean also for us a kind of a SPIRITUAL MARTYDOM ... much like the experience of Mary Our Mother, can GIFT us with a level of BLESSEDNESS which Jesus in His humanity had already shared with us. 

Addressing a BELONGINGNESS DEFICIENCY

24^th SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME  (2011)

Reflections on  Sirach 27:30-28:7  /  Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 / Romans 14:7-9 /   Matthew 18:21-35

by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ

Today September 11, we remember that most sad and unfortunate day TEN YEARS AGO when at least four commercial planes carrying innocent civilians were hijacked and made to crash onto strategic areas around the United States, particularly unto the world-famous commercial hub the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the US Pentagon.  Yes ... that was ten years ago already today.  I don’t know where you were at that time.   

I remember that we were all gathered at the Jesuit Recreation Room in Manila having a meeting when someone alerted us to tune in to CNN.  True enough, television (not to mention Cable TV) nowadays allows us to view LIVE that which transpires miles away from us.  I thought of the entire scene as simply something from the movies.  Not a few video cameras, personal and commercial videos were able to capture the sights and sounds of the event at different angles and perspectives.

What was most interesting for me then ... aside from the telecast and quite surreal depiction of death and destruction (i.e., people running away from the scene covered with ash or occupants of the building falling or jumping off the tall structure, etc.) ... was a video (I couldn’t seem to find it on Youtube anymore) of children and adults (purportedly Muslims) who were apparently rejoicing and partying in the streets of major Muslim capitals in the middle east, as if celebrating victory over a long-time undefeated enemy. 

More than 3000 people reportedly perished in the September 11 attacks ... and even until now, I still fail to comprehend how much rejoicing and celebration can come amidst a tragedy that had caused a lot of pain and misery for many. 

More than understanding how such a superpower as the United States of America had become prone and vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the contrasting images of tragedy (on one hand) and rejoicing (on the other) allowed me to ponder deeply about the GREAT DIVIDE ... that GREAT DIVISION that continues to exist among people. 

We need not look far.  Even as we sit around, we know also that a GREAT DIVIDE (either that be a difference in social status, political perspective, etc.) tends to emphasize how DIFFERENT we are from one another. 

To STRESS that one is different from us or “US” being different from others can actually bring about what we may call a CRISIS OF BELONGING.   They do not belong with us or US, we do not belong with them nor share their sentiments.  Imagine once again, CNN depicting the horrors of death and destruction while simultaneously playing a video of Muslim children and adults rejoicing as if they’ve just won a crucial basketball game.  What a great DIVIDE, a stark contrast of perspectives indeed. 

Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us:  “For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.”  WE ALL BELONG TO GOD and this must predominate our consciousness each time we are tempted t feel that we have become different from others or others different from us.   This note from Saint Paul truly must instill in our minds that WE ... ALL OF US BELONG TO GOD ... and that whatever MAN-MADE distinctions we have created for ourselves ... in the EYES of GOD ... we are all the SAME.  Muslim, Christians or of whatever faith and temperament ... WE ALL BELONG TO GOD.

I think for the sake of a healthier mental health, we all may need to acknowledge our needs to BELONG.  Peculiar diseases traced among orphans (called HOSPITALISM or a kind of malnutrition or MARASMUS) which cause  recurring sicknesses ... point to what we may call BELONGINESS DEFICIENCY ... a feeling of being ALIENATED, a feeling of being TOTALLY DIFFERENT and SEPARATED from others.   Among the orphans, BELONGINESS DEFICIENCY results from being insufficiently fed, cuddled, touched and played with.   You can imagine when they grow up ... how these orphans in their adult life will long to be fed and cuddled and touched.   BELONGINESS DEFICIENCY.  There is such a thing! 

All the more ... given our current context of a world that continues to instill a GREAT DIVIDE among people ... must we further stress that WE ALL BELONG TO GOD!  Whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.  For this is why Christ died and came back to life, that he might be Lord of ALL ... regardless of our varying circumstances in life.

WE ALL NEED TO WORK TO ASSURE THAT NO ONE IS ALIENATED FROM OTHERS ... THAT NO ONE HAS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE THAN OTHERS.  I think this is the point of our Scripture readings for the day ... us who feel a certain belongingess to and identification with God ... must all work to bridge distinctions and divisions among peoples.     

According to the Book of SIRACH, WRATH and ANGER  against fellows have no place in a world that values belonginess with God.  Wrath and anger ... contributes to division and as such Sirach asks us:  “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD?  Could anyone who refuse mercy for another, seek pardon for his own sins?”    Amidst the imperfection we see around us, is the challenge to ... nevertheless ... make people feel that they belong ... allow people to feel that they are not excluded or alienated.  BECAUSE in the first place, this is what God wishes us to feel ... that to Him we belong. 

An interesting line which I picked up from the Gospel is I think worth our attention.  The WICKED SERVANT begged his master:  'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'  Thus moved with compassion the master let him go and forgave him the loan.   But then we know how the story went.  After being pardoned for his debt, the wicked servant begins harassing his own servant.   Be patient with me and I will pay you back in full.  God can truly be patient with us.  But then can we truly truly pay him back IN FULL?  The story of the wicked servant is precisely a depiction of how we FAIL to PAY GOD BACK in full ... that we need to depend on the LOVE and GRACE of God ... BE PATIENT WITH ME, O Lord ... even if  I would have difficulty paying you back in full.

September 11 ... ten years ago will always stay in our consciousness as a symbol of DIVISION among peoples in the world.  A GREAT DIVIDE exists even among us.    We are asked to reflect on HOW ALL OF US BELONG TO GOD and must all work to BRIDGE THE GAP between peoples ... that ANGER and WRATH have no place among those who claim BELONGINESS to God.  And in acknowledging our own weakness, we cannot not but DEPEND ON GOD to continue being PATIENT with us for our FAILURES to PAY HIM BACK IN FULL.  May our  PSALM for today assure us of  a God who is completely patient with us :  The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.  THIS IS THE GOD TO WHOM WE ALL WISH TO BELONG.  AMEN.