SWEET TO THE TASTE, BITTER TO THE STOMACH

Feasts of Saint Columban/  Pope Clement I / Blessed Miguel Pro

Reflections on Revelation 10:8-11 / Luke 19:45-48

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

In our first reading from the Book of REVELATION, we read:  John heard a voice from heaven speaking to him.  "Go, take the scroll (or book in some versions) that lies open in the hand of the angel ...” Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey." 

There is simply something strange visualizing an image of the evangelist John taking a scroll or pieces of hard paper ... cardboard ... and eating them as the angel instructed him.   We see babies or toddlers ... sometimes tearing pieces of paper and putting such in their mouths.  HAVE YOU EATEN PAPER ... at least once in your life?    It may be true perhaps to think that doing so can give anyone a stomach upset.

We would like to think of the book or the scroll mentioned in our first reading as representing the words of God.  Eating and consuming it thus speak of the probable effects of God’s word on us.  Thus, God’s words may be SWEET to the TASTE ... SWEET IN THE MOUTH ... but BITTER or SOUR to the STOMACH.  What do we mean? 

We celebrate the life and witness of at least a dozen saints whose memorial we remember today.  How is God’s word for them SWEET IN THE MOUTH ... but BITTER or SOUR to the STOMACH?

SWEET in the MOUTH.   Today is the feast and memorial of ST. COLUMBAN – an IRISH monk and missionary who at one time found himself in the middle of a pack of wolves.  Holding the Holy Bible in his hands, he prayed  "Deus in adjutorium" (God come to my assistance) ... and the wolves reportedly smelt his clothes and left him.  Incidentally ... some church historians think of this Irish monk as very attractive (guapo) and had problems with his relationships and attractions with women.  The word of God reportedly came to him through the words of a reclusive OLD WOMAN who suggested that he fly to a region where girls are less beautiful and seductive than those in Ireland. "Save thyself, young man, and fly!"  Because of such words, Saint Columban found himself moving around ... moving around ... setting up communities wherever he went ... the beginnings of his missionary activity.  Isn’t this what we mean by:  THE WORD OF GOD IS SWEET TO THE MOUTH ... the same kind words we perhaps receive when we are so consoled in our prayers and retreats.  And we know that this is true because we had experienced so ... you may agree. 

The WORD OF GOD is SWEET in THE MOUTH – Pope Clement I – 2^nd/ 3^rd pope after Peter (whose feast we also remember today) may have realized this all to well ... as he preached firmly to strengthen the pillars of the Church which Christ had established.  He wrote letters to the communities of Corith affirming the authority of presbyters as rulers of the church, on the grounds that the Apostles had received God’s word and appointment as shepherds of the flock. 

In our Gospel today, Jesus himself also preached everyday in the temple area.  And isn’t it ... isn’t it simply consoling to hear the word of God preached ... how inspiring it is to hear the dramatic stories of saints who followed the word of God.  THE WORD OF GOD is indeed truly SWEET to CHEW and  MUNCH in the MOUTH. 

But even in the life of Pope Clement ... we know that he was incarcerated and sentenced to work in a marble quarry ... thus becoming the patron of marble-makers.  While serving his time, the Pope managed to secretly preach and proclaim the faith which eventually irked his captors.  As tradition tells us, the Pope was thrown alive into the sea with a huge anchor  attached to his neck.  The WORD of God is indeed SWEET to HEAR ... inspiring to LISTEN TO ... but it also presents the reality that once ingested or taken into the mouth ... it will need to be digested ... and for some ... it becomes difficult to DIGEST.  Should we eat the WORD OF GOD ... can it also cause INDIGESTION ... Na—IMPACHO tayo sa salita ng Diyos!   What do we mean??? 

The word of God consoles us ... YES ... but it also calls us beyond mere self-conscious consolation.  It calls us to the BITTER-SWEET REALITY of committing ourselves to the work of God ... much as our saints generously offered their lives for God’s work.  The Word of God is SWEET to the MOUTH but we are asked to anticipate that it takes GRACE to bear with the BITTER and SOUR realities that go with faithfully subscribing to the WORD. 

Given our own examples ... we may ask ourselves, how easily do we give up in seeking God ... when things do not work our way?  How are our original fruits of prayer --- telling us to be good as God wishes us to be good --compromised when NEW DATA in our environment simply proved SWEETER? 

Friends today we also remember the life of  a JESUIT BEATO by the name of BLESSED MIGUEL PRO a priest  who lived during the time of  anti-Clericalism and the persecution of the Church in Mexico .   To proceed with his ministry,  he apparently disguised himself  a la JAMES BOND – double “O7.”   Reportedly, he would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighborhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessman with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies.  We went around preaching that the WORD of God is indeed SWEET.   But ... eventually he was falsely accused in  an attempt to assassinate the Mexican president.  He was sentenced to death without the benefit of fair legal trial.  On the day of his execution, Miguel Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live Christ the King!" 

Friends, our Gospel today also tells us how the scribes and the chief priests couldn’t put Jesus to death ... simply because many were hanging on to his words.  Today, as we remember the lives of Saints Columban and Clement and Blessed Miguel Pro ... let us truly be consoled by the SWEET WORDS which we receive always from God.  We pray as well for the grace to continually HANG ONTO HIS WORDS even amidst the bitter realities of our lives.   

The Wise Shall Shine Brightly

33rd Week of Ordinary Time

Reflections on Daniel 12:1-3/ Hebrews 10:11-14,18 / Mark 13:24-32

The Wise Shall Shine Brightly

by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ

There is this classic novel authored by Joanne Greenberg entitled  “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” -- a story of a 16-year-old girl named Deborah who was suffering from a serious mental illness called schizophrenia (i.e., a mental disorder characterized by a breakdown of thought processes.  Common symptoms include auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction.  

Apparently, Deborah was a victim of bullying.  She was ostracized in school for being a Jew.  Also as a child, she went through a very painful and traumatizing surgery of sorts which made here go through intense and severe physical and emotional pain. 

In the process, Deborah created for herself an imaginary world called the KINGDOM of YR ... which for her has become an alternate reality so that she can escape the painful realities of the world and her specific context.   

Confined to a mental ward, Deborah was helped by many a sincere doctors who helped her fight the anger and fear that she feels toward the real world.   It was a long, painful and difficult journey for Deborah who would slip in and out of her safe imaginary world.  

To cut the long story short, Deborah eventually recovers and realizes that indeed she belongs to the world of reality.  A big part of her recovery is hinged on an acceptance that life indeed is NOT EASY ... life indeed is NOT FAIR ... that NO ONE PROMISED HER A ROSE GARDEN ... that one simply needs to GO ON LIVING ... and FIGHTING FOR ONE’S OWN LIFE and SPACE and NICHE in the world.  THUS, the title of the book:  “I Never Promised you a Rose Garden,” speaks to us of a world that is not perfect ... but this is our only world.  We will need to live and acknowledge that PAIN and SUFFERING is part of our reality.  We do not retreat to an imaginary world.  Living means developing in us the inner strength to proceed with life ... given not only with all its joys but more so its PAINS and challenges.

Friends, we talk about Deborah and “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” precisely because our readings today speak of TROUBLED TIMES ... specifically the END OF TIMES ... that is to come.

MARK:  “... the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  (... 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory ...”  "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.")

DANIEL:  "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

What is a troubled time for you?  A time when the sun is dark and the moon not reflecting light?  A time when there is horror and disgrace?  How do you deal with such a time?  Perhaps simply we can acknowledge that NO ONE PROMISED US A ROSE GARDEN.  Thus, much like the story of Deborah, we can either confront our difficult situations OR retreat to a fantasy world of sorts.  Amidst all life realities ... its’ either WE SINK or WE SWIM.    WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH ... THE TOUGH GETS GOING!  We all need to be tough!  And we do not serve ourselves well if we seek protection always inside a self-created BUBLE.    

The GOSPEL gives us another important advice:

LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE.  When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.  We acknowledge that most things in the world ... TRULY ... we cannot control.  We can not always ascertain who LIKES ME or DISLIKES ME.  That’s beyond me.  But also ... practically speaking ... there are things that I can control and predict!  Have you tried SMILING to a person you meet?  As you smile, you realize that people can also smile at you.  You spread TSISMIS against another person AND you can end up having five bullets pumped into your head.  What you get in your relationships is as good as what you yourself invests in that same relationship.  We are asked to learn from the fig tree and as St. Francis of Assisi exhorts us:  "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Today, the Gospel also tells us:  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.  Amidst our struggles to live and confront the realities of the world ... we can not help but PICK UP ALONG THE WAY ... GOD’S IMPORTANT WORD FOR US.    "But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever."

I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN: God is asking us perhaps to take a REALITY PILL.  Troubled times will come ... we must pray for the STRENGTH to take the world for what it is. 

LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE.  Acknowledge the things that I can change and accept those that I have no control of. 

In every experience of ours ... GOD SPEAKS.  We pray for WISDOM ... that which allows us to SHINE BRIGHTLY like the stars and LEAD MANY toward the life of truth and justice.

The GLITTER that points to the GLORY, GRANDIOSITY and GOODNESS of the GREAT GOD

by Frank Savadera, SJ
Rededication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran

Reflections on Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12  /  1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17/   John 2:13-22

There are at least two scholars of antiquity, namely Ruth Leader and Dominic Janes (we do not need to remember their names, of course) … who asked the question:  Why did the Church, during its earlier period of development (and perhaps still rightly so today) actively acquired and displayed symbols of wealth, instead of despising them in accord with Christ’s supposed rejection of all things worldly?  Leader and Janes legitimized this practice of the Church as “a necessary and understandable part of its integration into late antique society, which helped it acquire its desired position of social dominance.”   The two scholars, who specialized in tracing the history of ownership and display of gold and silver, as long time “expressions of secular power and markers of the elite,” interpreted the use of such possessions by the Church as “metaphors for spiritual excellence and divinity.”  Implicit in Leader and Janes’ claim is the notion of a Church that was then fighting for survival and needing to introduce God as most supreme through the then material and worldly marks of power and predominance.   Thus, the case of GLITTER representing the GLORY, GRANDIOSITY and GOODNESS of the GREAT GOD.

Why do we talk about these so called “metaphors for spiritual excellence and divinity.”  Why do we talk about  the GLITTER that represents the GLORY, GRANDIOSITY and GOODNESS of the GREAT GOD … you may want to ask?

Precisely because today, we remember not so much the life and witness of a saint and martyr … but the re-dedication of a building - an important symbol of  our faith.  We talk of course, of the importance we give to the BASILICA OF ST. JOHN LATERAN in Rome, the so-called MOST ancient Catholic Church in the world, the SEAT of POWER of the bishop of Rome … who is the Pope.  The Lateran is also dubbed as "The Mother and Mistress of All Churches."   

To stress the importance of and GLITTER that we associate with Basilica of St. John of Lateran, we must point that its altar is exclusively a PAPAL ALTAR, where ONLY THE POPE (apparently) can celebrate mass.  Reportedly, on the same altar is imbedded a fragment of the table on which Jesus celebrated the last supper.  Adding to this, the Cathedral reportedly hosts Jesus’ blood, brought to Rome by the centurion Longino.   It is also called the Basilica Aurea, "The Golden Basilica", because of its rich decorations.   Truly, the early Church had learned to optimize the use of GLITTER to firmly express the GLORY, GRANDIOSITY and GOODNESS of our GREAT GOD.  For all its worth,  we say “YES” … there is purpose to such  GLITER  as “METAPHORS FOR SPIRITUAL EXCELLENCE and DIVINITY.”  GLITTER serves its purpose. 

MORE THAN THE PHYSICAL SYMBOLS of our FAITH therefore,  I think we’re asked to more deeply reflect about what truly is for us a SANCTUARY OF OUR FAITH.  Should a sanctuary of our faith simply be a building?   What if Jesus asks us … as he asked in the Gospel:  DESTROY THIS BUILDING!  Should a sanctuary of our faith simply refer to a physical edifice? 

Ezekiel tells us of a sanctuary that has been a source of WATER and LIFE.  The WATER that flows and supports the life of every living creatures.  WATER from the sanctuary makes possible TREES bearing fresh fruits that serve as food and with leaves serving as medicine for the sick.  More than anything, I think we are all called and commissioned to help build that sanctuary that is the source of WATER, LIFE and HEALING for everyone. 

Saint Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians redefines also for us the meaning of God’s SANCTUARY.  It says: WE are God's building.   Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?   Thus if the Gospel exhorts us to exemplify a certain CONSUMING ZEAL to love and secure the house of the Lord … then perhaps that consuming zeal … speaks SIMPLY about TAKING GOOD CARE OF OURSELVES … INDULGING AND INVOLVING in a LIFE that ENRICHES God’s temple which is IN OUR HEARTS.   As Paul himself suggested, the temple  of God, which you are, must be kept HOLY and UNDEFILED. 

Friends,  today we remember the dedication of the GREAT BASILICA of St. John Lateran and remember that GLITTER can indeed serve to represent the GLORY, GRANDIOSITY and GOODNESS of our GREAT GOD … a metaphor that points to spiritual excellence and divinity.

As well, we are to reflect deeply as to how we are commissioned to help in making that sanctuary a source of nourishment … source of WATER, LIFE and HEALING for others.

Knowing as well … that such a sanctuary is US … WE ARE GOD’S BUILDING … AND WE ARE CALLED TO BE CONSUMED WITH ZEAL in keeping that sanctuary of God HOLY and UNDEFILED.