Wicked, Plunderers Who?

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reflections on 1 Maccabees 6:1-13 /  Luke 20:27-40

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Today, as in the Ignatian way, we are asked to reflect on how life will end for us.    Our readings today narrate for us stories of lives ending or moving to the afterlife.  The first reading speaks to us a Greek king named Antiochus.  Himself a historical figure, Antiochus colonized Jerusalem and was known to be very harsh and violent against the Jews (the Jews called him by a name which means “the WICKED”).   Much like the story we pick up from the Book of Maccabees, Antiochus apparently was keen in identifying cities famous for wealth in silver and gold and other treasures.  What a preoccupation (hobby)?     He gathers up his army and ransacks them all, killing and murdering those that come his way.  In history, reportedly … he even ventured southward … to Egypt … to sustain his vicious plunder of other people’s wealth.  Anong problema nya?  What a BULLY?   In our first reading today, Antiochus comes to the end of his days.  Down and defeated,  he says:  “Now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”  What a SAD life, isn’t it?  What a way to end one’s life?   Is this how things will end up for us as well? The story of Antiochus must thus make us ask:  How is it like for me at the end of my days?  Or perhaps more appropriately:   How is it like for me to live my life at present?   Am I an Antiochus?  WICKED?  One who SEIZES and PLUNDERS the LIFE out of another? 

I think, wicked is easier to understand.  What about PLUNDER?  Isn’t it that we sometimes meet people who SUCK OUT THE LIFE OUT OF US? Nakakapagod kasama!  We feel PLUNDERED!  When we I beginning my serious discernment in the Jesuit candidacy house, my fellows and I had what we called the VOCATION VAMPIRES!  They seem t be still here with us!  They suck out the VOCATION out of anyone!  BEWARE of PLUNDERERS!  Or better yet … ask … ask … ask … am I turning out to be an Antiochus! Am I a PLUNDERER!   Do I wish to live my life this way?

There’s a part of the mass when the priest washes his hands after the preparation of the gifts.  One time, in the past, I’ve heard a priest saying aloud the prayer:  Lord Jesus, WASH away my sins and cleanse me of all MY WRETCHEDNESS!   We all can STILL pray that we be delivered from our manifest ways of BEING WICKED!  Antiochus!             

The Sadducees in the Gospel, on the other hand, present for us another preoccupation.  Since they do not believe in the resurrection, let me call this preoccupation:  A CYNICISM for HOPE.  People die and there is no resurrection.  The Sadducees believed plainly that when we die, we simply go to this place called the SHEOL … the place of the "partying" DEAD.   In our case however, we … further add … that we are transfigured … we become better versions of ourselves (ie., we become younger, more handsome,  more healthy, etc.).  Isn’t this the resurrection?   We believe that DEATH is not the end of life for us.  As Saint Paul would even say:  DEATH no longer has power over us.  We had been promised RESURRECTION.  This is our HOPE.  This is what we anticipate.  We are no longer DEAD people walking and partying!  We celebrate life.   This is my reflection on the statement:  ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”  Those who have died … Abraham, Isaac, Jacob … my parents and grandparents, your loved ones are NOT DEAD.  Everyone who comes in the presence of the Lord are once again made alive … because God is the God of the living and not the dead.  What a folly indeed for the Sadducees to be too concerned about earthly things:  Whose WIFE will she be?  The Lord is offering us MUCH MUCH more than our earthly preoccupations.  The DEAD is made alive!  And transfigured … of course.  

The Memorial of Mary’s Presentation at the Temple therefore continually encourages us to rededicate our lives for that HOPE.  We cannot allow ourselves to be continually WICKED … to PLUNDER the life and spaces of others.  Death is not the end of life for us!  We are asked to be hopeful of a transfigured life beyond death.  Thus, we continue to rededicate our lives everyday, that we may affirm that the Lord is indeed the God of the living than the dead.

FAITH and PERSISTENCE

FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH PIGNATELLI, SJ
Reflections on Luke 18:1-8

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

A woman ... a WIDOW ... a powerless persona in Palestine; who lost her husband; PESTERS an UNJUST JUDGE to render judgment about her case;  what is the case about?  We are not sure ... but it can be IMPLIED that it may have something to do with her becoming a WIDOW; in the olden days ... a WIDOW is bound to lose everything ... all the properties left by her husband;  and so ... this is not just an ordinary WIDOW ... she was a DESPERATE WIDOW ... she was BATTLING for HER LIFE and SURVIVAL. This explains her PERSISTENCE.

PERSISTENCE IN THE GOSPEL today is LINKED CLOSELY TO FAITH.  At the end of this parable,  Jesus asked:  But when the Son of Man comes, will he find FAITH on earth?  The same FAITH as that of the widow’s?  The same PERSISTENCE as that of the widow’s?  FAITH is related to persistence.  Are we persistent enough that when the Son of Man comes ... today  ... will he find FAITH on EARTH?

I easily associate PERSISTENCE with the little that I know about SAINT JOSEPH PIGNATELLI, known as the protector and restorer of the Society of Jesus during the difficult time of the SUPRESSION.  He was from Zaragossa, Spain where the Jesuits then were very powerful.  He himself was accused of plotting to depose the government administrator in his municipality.  He belonged to a rich and noble family.  He could have lived a comfortable life with his family but instead chose to be in exile with his brothers.  EXILE means moving about … taking the boat or long land trips to friendly territories (AND this means a lot, travelling with the old, sick and infirm … and in the case of Joseph Pignatelli, having perhaps the vision to bring along with him, documents, books and articles of Jesuit heritage that he can save).   Thus, he was moving to places like Corsica, Ferrara (N. Italy), Bologna, Pharma and eventually to Russia.  All throughout the ordeal of the Supression, he kept contact with his brothers exiled all over the world.  He was thus remembered not only for his kindness, humility, gracious manner but more so for his undaunted courage in keeping his exiled companions united in spirit.  He is, in some respects, almost regarded a second founder of the Order.  If that is NOT PERSISTENCE … I don’t know what it is?  FAITH is PERSISTENCE and a quote from Joseph Pignatelli echoes this faith and persistence:  "My God, I do not know what must come to me today. But I am certain that nothing can happen to me that you have not foreseen, decreed, and ordained from all eternity. That is sufficient for me."  If Joseph Pignatelli was not PERSISTENT, the Society of Jesus could have totally been wiped out.  As we read in the parable of the persistent widow ... and remember Joseph Pignatelli,  may we also manifest a certain PERSISTENCE IN OUR FAITH.

PERSISTENCE IN FAITH also means KEEPING THE FAITH BY REMEMBERING OUR FIRST OR HONEYMOON ENCOUNTERS WITH THE LORD.  In one of his homilies at the Papal Residence in Rome, Pope Francis talked about the GRACE OF MEMORY.  He asks us to REMEMBER our “first encounter” with Jesus – the encounter that “changed our lives,” that allowed us to take the LEAP of FAITH, the decisive encounters that prompt everyone to never forget one’s own first encounter with Christ.  If I may paraphrase Pope Francis, he says: God never forgets, but we often tend to forget our encounters with Him. And this would be a good assignment to do at home, to consider: ‘When have I really felt that the Lord was close to me? When have I felt the need to change my life, or to become better, or to forgive someone? When have I felt the Lord asking something of me? “When did He say something to me that changed my life, or invited me to take a step forward in my life?” When have I encountered the Lord?’  Our faith is an encounter with Jesus.  This, says the Pope, is the foundation of our faith: I have encountered Jesus,” as the apostles did.   Friends, there will be a lot of DEBACLES in this life.  We continue to be PERSISTENT with our FAITH as we receive the GIFT OF MEMORY, always remembering our first SIGNIFICANT and MEANINGFUL ENCOUNTERS with the LORD.

PERSITENT IN OUR FAITH also means NOT BEING COMPLACENT in EXPRESSING OUR FAITH. I even would wish to think that God will often times SHAKE US FROM OUR SENSES so we will not be complacent in our FAITH.  In Rio de Jainero Pope Francis even suggests that faith is not genuine unless it is tinged with a trace of doubt. “The great leaders of God’s people, like Moses, always left room for doubt. We must always leave room for the Lord and not for our own certainties. We must be humble. Every true discernment includes an element of uncertainty open to receiving spiritual consolation.”

At the end of the Synod for the Families, Pope Francis talked about ‘scheduled faith.’  I understand this to be a sort of a PRE-PROGRAMMED FAITH, a FORMULAIC type of faith … a ready to eat, ready to be consumed type of faith.  The Pope says:   “We are able to walk with the people of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother.”  I think this is COMPLACENCY, being TOO FIXED and NOT leaving space for new and wondrous works by the Spirit.

Today, we pray to be MORE PERSISTENT in our FAITH;  to continusly BEG for the GRACE of REMEMBERING our FIRST ENCOUNTERS with the LORD;  and AVOID COMPLACENCY by allowing space in our hearts to be AWED by the new and wondrous works of the Spirit.

Meriting Esteem from Our Companions at Table

30th Week of Ordinary time (Saturday 2015)

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, SJ

Reflections on Romans 11:1-2A, 11-12, 25-29 / Psalm 94:12-13A, 14-15, 17-18 /  Luke 14:1, 7-11

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

Firstly, something about St. ALPHONSUS RODRIGUEZ, SJ: He was a Jesuit brother; married with three children; entered the Society at age 40 yrs;  had academic deficiencies; He stayed in the Jesuit House at Majorca and was porter there for 46 years.  What a saintly life?  

The first reading asks:  Has God rejected His people?  For those of us with issues of rejection and abandonment, the thought can be quite disturbing, right?  Sometimes we say:  I’ve been rejected by many already … wala lang …. for many things … maybe because of the way I eat, for not regularly brushing my teeth, for not cleaning my room, for the way I intrude into conversations, for being too functional, overly work-oriented, having no time for friendships, for the way I demand too much affirmation from others, for my DARK past and history, for being poor or for being rich, for being outspoken, for often been too defensive or overly dramatic, nag-iinarte, etc.   People reject us, right? And the thought of being rejected by God Himself can be, for some, the mother of all rejections?    Saint Paul asks this question:  Has God really really rejected His people?  Saint Paul interjects:  OF COURSE NOT!  (said TWICE in today’s first reading).  We will not be rejected by the Lord.  He will not reject us nor allow us to completely fall … though He may allow us to stumble in life a lot.  

There’s a saying:  Sometimes we have faces only our mothers can love!  We have to acknowledge that not everyone will like us or love us.  But even if our own mothers will reject us,  God will never abandon His own people (and that’s our Psalm for today).  How do we know?  Saint Paul himself experienced it.  This is not a mere spiritual thought.  We will, in prayer need to experience God’s DEEP and ABIDING LOVE and ACCEPTANCE of us, no matter what or how we think of ourselves.    

How therefore do we sometimes think  of ourselves?  Jesus talks about a parable, about party guests who thought of themselves in a somewhat over-inflated way.   They wanted the best seats in the room … the places of honor … only to be EMBARRASSED and publicly at that … and REJECTED … when the host asks one to GIVE WAY to a more distinguished guest.  As the story goes, with embarrassment, this guest seeking the best seat had to move and take the lowest place in the room.  He caused EMBARRASSMENT to himself, right?  What we can learn from the Gospel is this, sometimes WE INDEED EMBARRASS OURSELVES!  Nagmumukhang kawawa tayo dahil rin sa ating mga sarili.  We unknowingly embarrass ourselves.  A reflection we can make about the parable is;  Our Lord will not embarrass us.  Let us not also cause embarrassment for ourselves.   Always, I think the call is to learn from our mistakes. 

I specifically like the line from the Gospel today:  the people there (in the party) were observing Jesus carefully.  They were observing Him for a lot of reasons … ie. to listen to him, to entrap him, etc.  In our case, I think it will serve us well … to truly and most attentively OBSERVE JESUS CAREFULLY … how he moves in our lives, how He speaks, how He calls,  how he acts.  In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the host who RAISES UP THE LOWLY:  ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’  This is MOST IDEAL, isn’t it … rather than causing embarrassment for ourselves.  The humble will always be raised.  We ALLOW JESUS TO RAISE US RATHER THAN WE RAISING OURSELVES.   Then, as the Gospel pictures the scene:  You will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

ENJOYING THE ESTEEM OF COMPANIONS at TABLE … isn’t that what we pick up from the life of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.  He never occupied a place of honor in any Jesuit House.  A mere PORTER, DOOR KEEPER … he who welcomed guests and ministered to their needs.  He must have suffered a lot of rejections in life also (he almost didn’t make it into the Society).  And yet for 46 years, he must have been simply observing Christ carefully … carefully enough to recognize that it will be Jesus who eventually will raise him up to enjoy the esteem of his companions at table.  We pray that we be delivered from our propensities to seek PLACES of HONOR and EMBARRASSING ourselves in the eyes of God.  We allow Jesus to raise us up rather than us raising ourselves.  And much like the example of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, may our good deeds merit for us the esteem of our companions at table.