Examining the Depth and Quality of our Commitments

10th Week of Ordinary Time - Saturday 2015

Reflections on 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 /  Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 / Matthew 5:33-37

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Last May 31, we witnessed some of our Jesuit brothers making an oath to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience in the Society of Jesus.   Given this context, the message of the Gospel can be quite confusing.  The initial commandment ... DO NOT TAKE A FALSE OATH was revised/ updated by Jesus saying DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL.   Jesus reinforces the commandment by saying DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL ... NOT BY HEAVEN nor by the EARTH; NOT by JERUSALEM; and NOT by your HEAD.  

Oaths and vows reflect our pledges of COMMITMENT.  Commitments remain important.  WE ARE ASKED TO EXAMINE THE QUALITY and DEPTH of our COMMITMENTS.   The Gospel exhorts us: Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’     Why do we commit to things?  What is the DEPTH/ QUALITY of saying our YESes or NOs???  What small commitments do we make?  Do we think of them seriously? Are these SMALL COMMITMENTS FOR REAL???  What is the DEPTH and AUTHENTICITY of such commitments? 

I think this is why St. Paul’s exhortation in the first reading is important:   BE RECONCILED TO GOD!  "To reconcile" means to coexist in harmony; or to make or show to be compatible.  Be reconciled to God!  BE GOD’s NEW CREATION.  Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.   TAKE ON THE PERSPECTIVE of CHRIST: His way of committing. His way of loving. His way of expressing mercy and forgiveness. His way of promising and committing Himself to us.  BE RECONCILED to GOD!  Take on His unique perspective!  There is such a thing as an AUTHENTIC COMMITMENT.    Vowing to a life of POVERTY, CHASTITY and OBEDIENCE or simply committing to the DAILY GRIND ... our regular activities of the day ... are very possible COMMITMENTS.   JESUS shows us what that means.   WE HAVE THE CAPACITIES TO COMMIT OUR LIVES TO something important … to JESUS ... precisely because Jesus FIRSTLY SHOWED US WHAT THAT COMMITMENT MEANS.  But then, we will have to experience that … don’t we … that EVEN WHEN MOST PEOPLE CAN’T … there is someone … JESUS … who is professing His commitment to us.  We have to experience such … so we may know that commitment is possible.  There is a God who is truly truly expressing his commitment to you and me.  Be reconciled with such a REALITY. 

But ….  no matter how hard we pray that we be reconciled to God in our commitments … remember also that WE FAIL ... WE FALTER.  The Lord is kind and merciful.  That our COMMITMENTS can simply SERVE our SELFISH MOTIVES.   As our Psalm today tells us:  God pardons all our iniquities,  he heals all our ills.  He redeems our life from destruction,  he crowns us with kindness and compassion.   INDEED,  the Lord is kind and merciful.  Even as we FAIL and FALTER ... we are asked to have a sense of GOD’S COMMITMENT TO US THROUGH HIS MOST PROFOUND MERCY.

Today … we examine the DEPT and QUALITY of our COMMITMENTS.  Do we say YES when we mean YES or NO when we mean NO.

Take on the PERSPECTIVE OF CHRIST.  Be reconciled with Jesus’ brand of commitment.  Commitment is possible because Jesus firstly commits to us. 

Lastly, even if we fail and falter … we also remember:  The Lord pardons all my iniquities,

he heals all my ills.  He redeems my life from destruction, he crowns me with kindness and compassion … because HE IS INDEED KIND and MERCIFUL.  

ENTRANCE DAY 2015

Reflections on  SIR 51:12 CD-20 

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Friends, today’s reading from the Book of Sirach tells us:  “My soul was tormented in seeking her (“her” being WISDOM). My hand opened WISDOM’s gate and I came to know her secrets.”

Today as we know from previous years, we would be closing the gates later on and there will perhaps be crying, wailing and perhaps even gnashing of teeth (as we bid our new brother novices our temporary goodbyes!)  BUT always, we know that this is also HAPPY OCCASION. Are you happy?  NIMEN KWAE LA MA? No one is forced to be here, right? 

It is a happy occasion precisely because after much time of discernment (mind you some of them really took time)  toiling and tormenting their souls in seeking WISDOM … as the Book of Sirach tells us  … they have finally finally found themselves before WISDOM’s GATE.   Huh … is this it?   And slowly slowly they will come to know more about her secrets.  What secrets lie beyond the gates of Sacred Heart Novitiate?  Would you like to know?  Secret nga eh! 

What we know is that GREATER WISDOM will be within their reach!  And because of this, we would like to be happy for them and with them … and GREET them …  DOM, BIEN, KAYBEE, IRVIN, JOHN, CHRISTIAN JAMES, WEIPANG,  SHUXIN, MINGFEI, XUNGBO, ERIC and PHILIP … even if it torments your souls … SEEK GREATER WISDOM … we don’t even need to say it because you know what WISDOM is  … and  “who” wisdom is.  Wisdom is God.  Seek Wisdom.  Many of her gates will open before you.  Be not afraid to know more about her secrets!

A little request to our new novices … since you are leaving us at least temporarily … and you … we believe will come closest to wisdom … please pray for us!  Life will be different for us without you!  Pray for us that WE MAY MISS YOU!  Pray for us … that we may support you!  Pray for us that we may completely surrender you!  Pray for us to understand that as we gather here today … bitter sweet as the occasion may be … the Spirit may continue to challenge us each day to submit to how God may reveal His greater wisdom.  We anticipate this with JOY and GLADNESS!  Brothers, we welcome you to the Jesuit Novitiate.  We welcome you to the Society of Jesus.   

MY HEART DELIGHTS in wisdom!

Reflections on Sirach 51:12 CD-20; Mark 11:27-33

by Frank Savadera SJ

In our Gospel today, Jesus asked the scribes and elders one trick question:  "Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?"  If they say from HEAVEN, then people will say:  Why did you not believe him then?  If they say of HUMAN ORIGIN, then people will sneer at them since most if not everyone, thought of John as a prophet.  So how did the scribes and elders answer Jesus’ question?  They say simply: WE DO NOT KNOW!  ... a SAFE or if we must say an ESCAPIST kind of an answer!  We do not know!

I remember one seminar I took on customer service when I was still working in the world.  A customer asks: When will my new van be delivered?  And the person on the other line says:  Gee, sir ... I don’t know?  Ah ... Oh so with whom do I inquire about its insurance or warranties?  The staff answers:  Oh I don’t know sir, I’m not in-charge!  The customer asks again: What about the car plate ... who can I ask about it?  The person on the other line says:  Sir, why do you ask a lot of questions!  I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!  I JUST WORK HERE!

In Tagalog, this sounds even worst:  HINDI KO ALAM! HINDI KO ALAM?  Upon hearing his staff, a supervisor once got so irked by such a response.  You don’t know!  Hindi mo alam!  Eh ... kung hindi mo alam ... bakit ka pa nandito!  If you don’t know then why are you here!  KUNG HINDI MO ALAM, ALAMIN MO!  IF YOU DON’T KNOW, THEN KNOW FOR YOURSELF! NOW! 

Remember that UP Law student who drove his car into a flooded road?  What happened to his car?  The car "sunk" into the flooded road, of course!  When he was being interviewed on TV, he was just so angry at people around him.  EVERYTHING was wrong!  EVERYONE was wrong! He blurts out: "I did not know about how deep the flood was, he said!  NO ONE TOLD ME.  I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD."

The worst thing about the scribes and the elders is that ... it is not so much that they do not have the capacity to know ... THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO KNOW.  Why?  Because the reality of Jesus ... the authority of Jesus INTRUDES into their FIXED WAY of believing and of doing things!  And so ... this is how it is!  Nothing else can make me believe otherwise!  Eto na yun! 

Friends as we go on with our lives, we will need to constantly ask ourselves:  What new things have I learned?  Or to what direction is this event leading me?  The worst answer that I can give myself is … guess what:   I DON’T KNOW!  Friends, we wish to always challenge ourselves … SEEK TO KNOW.  Seek to know a new person each day. Seek to know their stories.   Do I wish to know?  Much like the scribes and Pharisees, BE ON GUARD AGAINST UNMINDFULLNESS … the SAFE and almost ESCAPIST I DON’T CARE TO KNOW ATTITUDE.   God reveals to us new things everyday … how can we even know the will of God for us … if we choose to be CLOSED and UNMINDFUL of things around us. 

This is why, I also like very much the message from the first reading today:  "When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer ...  I will seek her until the end ... she flourished as a grape soon ripe."  My heart delighted in WISDOM.   Everyday is an opportunity to learn new things. May we tell ourselves always:  I seek wisdom!  MY HEART DELIGHTS in wisdom!  This experience is something new!  I’m learning!  I’m growing in wisdom!

GUARD AGAINST UNMINDFULLNESS … the SAFE and almost ESCAPIST I DON’T CARE TO KNOW ATTITUDE.

MY HEART DELIGHTS in wisdom!  

The Glory of God Fills ALL His Works

Reflections on Sirach 42:15-25   / Mark 10:46-52 

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Oh how we value silence and stillness at particular periods of the day.  We love silence so much that we ring the bell 5 minutes before a quiet period so everyone will be very EXCITED to anticipate the silence.  Five minutes before the quiet period … we already begin silencing ourselves … we begin dropping whatever it is the preoccupies us … we begin moving back to our sacred places … because we are just so THRILLED and EAGER to be quiet.  And also we say … there is GRAND SILENCE in the evening.  We seek to be by ourselves, to be quiet … again to be still.  Why so?  Why do we wish to do so?    What happens to you and me in the stillness?  In the quiet? 

Isn’t it that in the silence, we get to hear and notice a lot of things?  What we hear and see may be the most pleasant of things … a bird chirping, the breeze of the air, the smell of our cook’s flavorful cooking.   

Can we hear and notice a lot of noise as well … the noise of my distracting seatmate,  someone snoring while praying, or someone flushing the toilet (?) or perhaps the screeching voice of our neighbors’ karaoke singing.    Noise … are they really noise?  Or can they speak to us as well about ourselves?  Can they speak to us about things even beyond ourselves? Things that we ordinarily do not get to hear or dare not hear? 

Friends, the Book of Sirach today tells us that the GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS ALL HIS WORKS.  How can we even get to notice that?  The GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS ALL HIS WORKS.  Even to the spark and fleeting vision … Sirach’s says … God’s works are just so beautiful!  Can one ever see enough of the SPLENDOR of God’s works?  Friends, I think this is what we would wish to be more sensitive to … in the silence … recognizing that indeed the GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS ALL HIS WORK. 

And more … not only does the Glory of the Lord fill His works … Sirach also tells us … that AT GOD’S VERY WORD … ALL THINGS ARE BROUGHT INTO BEING.  In the stillness … in the quiet … we are asked to experience as well the overwhelming presence of this God who by His very word … brings all things into being.  There is this all-knowing … all powerful God … Sirach says who plumbs the depths and penetrates our hearts; our innermost being he understands.  He makes known the past and the future … No understanding does he lack;  no single thing escapes him.  AT GOD’S VERY WORD … ALL THINGS ARE BROUGHT INTO BEING.   I think … this is what we would wish to HEAR … in the SILENCE … for ourselves.  I want to hear GOD’s WORD for me.  Does His word BRING into being my sense of who I am? What God wishes me to pursue in my life? Can we actually hear God speaking his word to us … and telling us where he wishes us to be …. and  NOT simply what we wish for ourselves.    We have to hear it … isn’t it?  AT GOD’S VERY WORD … ALL THINGS ARE BROUGHT INTO BEING … yes … even great changes in the way we look at ourselves and the world around us.   

I think this is precisely the experience of the blind man  Bartimeus in our Gospel today.  He was sitting by the roadside for the longest time … and can only see darkness.  He had heard of a miracle worker coming to Jericho for the first time … and perhaps the only time.   Can you imagine how thrilled he was?  Can you imagine how excited he was?  He was even fighting his way … pushing his way …. shouting at the top of his voice … to get near this powerful presence of Jesus.  What do you want me to do for you … Jesus asked him?    “Master, I want to see.”  And at the word of Jesus  … ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you” … he was able to see.

Friends in the silent and quiet moments of our prayer … we beg that we SEE and NOTICE how the  GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS ALL THINGS AROUND US … ALL HIS WORKS AND DEEDS.  In the silence … in the quiet … may we hear as well GOD’S POWERFUL WORDS  that BRINGS FORTH TO BEING everything … our sense of ourselves … and our sense of where the Spirit is leading us.

Be Overwhelmed by the Unfathomable Work of God

Arvisu Entrance Day 2015

by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ

Sometime ago, I was reading this book entitled “Jesuits in Prison” which speaks about … guess what … Jesuit priests and brothers surviving and learning more about the faith more so in very difficult times and circumstances.  During World War II, the Nazis of Germany thought of priests as “the BLACK DANGER”  - priests who were considered a threat because of their influence on other prisoners.  To address this problem, the priest/brother-prisoners were rounded up and isolated in separate quarters, restricting their contact with others. 

After the war, some priests writing about such an experience thought of the set-up as A SPECIAL GIFT OF GRACE.  One even noted:  “the very isolation of the priests in their own blocks … enabled them to pray together and live in a genuine Christian fellowship … that also protected them from being swallowed up by the surrounding influence of FRUSTRATION and DESPAIR. 

In one famous German prison camp, the Jesuits even elected their superior and spiritual fathers.  They were communicating quietly of course and were mindful of how their prison guards (who can make lives for them difficult) were also monitoring their activities.   The superior would address and exhort them all secretly.  There were philosophy and theology classes, retreats, recollections and even renovations of vows … all done quietly.  Can you just imagine this?  All these kept them alive and sane.   The difficult life in prison was thus counteracted by the apparent life-sustaining spiritual bonds of community life.

Why talk about PRISON LIFE today, on ENTRANCE DAY?  I hope you won’t think of Arvisu House as a prison but instead perhaps a relative isolation and detachment from your usual preoccupations that may also mean for you hopefully … as in the case of Jesuits in prison, a SPECIAL GIFT and EXPERIENCE of GRACE.     

In the first reading today, Paul is wearing his chains.  The reading speaks about soldiers guarding him.  He was under HOUSE ARREST.   Paul was also in prison.  Yet, he was also relatively free.  He was able to receive guests and friends and even had opportunities to preach to his visitors and EVEN COMPLAIN:  I am here not because of the Romans but because of our fellow Jews who objected to my being FREE.  Much like the case of the Jesuits in prison, this experience of Paul may as well had been A SPECIAL GIFT and AN EXPERIENCE OF GRACE.  How can such an experience even be possible?  Would you like to know?

There is something about our Psalm today that may well speak to us about that SPECIAL GIFT and EXPERIENCE of GRACE.  It says: the JUST will SEE and GAZE at the FACE OF THE LORD.  How did Paul and the Jesuits in prison survive life in isolation or even find life-sustaining bonds with fellow prisoners?  I would like to believe that they had kept their GAZE on the FACE of GOD. 

Peter in the Gospel today seemed to be a bit jealous of the other disciple whom Jesus loved.  Mind you JEALOUSLY and ENVY can also be a regular occurrence in communities as ours. And Jesus tells him:  What concern is it of yours?  The important thing is that YOU ARE FOLLOWING ME … the important thing is that WE ARE ALL GAZING ON THE FACE OF GOD and following Him!  I think, we will all be doing a LOT OF GAZING on the FACE of GOD during our stay here in Arvisu.  Believe me when I say that GAZING at GOD and allowing God to even GAZE at us can be quite a powerful and moving experience.  What is envy?  What is jealously?  What is anger?  How problematic can my personal history be? You can think of your worst possible problem while staying here in Arvisu?  If we continue to continue to gaze at the face of God … I really believe that God will not afford to turn His back on us.  Do you believe this?  Believe me if I say that gazing at the face of God and allowing God to gaze at us can be a LIFE-CHANGING experience especially for us discerning to follow him.

   

Lastly, something about the last part of our Gospel today:  “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.”  TEN MONTHS here is Arvisu is such a short stay.  Time will move very fast.  Our residents here last year can attest to this.  But even with such a short time, there will be a lot of things that we can learn about ourselves and the world around us.  When I say a lot … I mean, there will be a lot …. Why do I prefer this than that?  Why I feel closer to this person than the other one?  Why do I react differently to such a situation?  You will have to be very OPEN about the world and yourself … to allow yourself to discover MORE and A LOT LOT MORE … even about things that you do not even wish to know.  Anticipate,  God will touch your heart in a very life-changing way that the WORLD will not even be enough to contain the books that will be written to describe your experience.  Be OVERWHELMED by the unfathomable work of God.    

It is a SPECIAL GIFT to be here today.  I ask you to ANTICIPATE and EXPERIENCE OF GRACE born of our CONSTANT GAZING at the FACE of God.  Cherish the 10-months of your life here.  A lot are indeed in store for you.  God’s blessing is beyond words and explaining.    Be OVERWHELMED by the unfathomable work of God.

There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

Hazqiyal: GOD STRENGTHENS

Reflections on Ezekiel 37:21-28 /  John 11:45-56

by Frank Savadera, SJ

To begin with, I looked up the meaning of the name "Ezekiel," the name of the prophet who wrote part of our first reading today.  The original “Hazqiyal” means GOD STRENGTHENS or GOD EMPOWERS.  Ezekiel - he who prophesied about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the exile of God’s people into Babylon and their eventual restoration – (the thryptic DESTRUCTION, EXILE and RESTORATION) – impressed upon the Israelites and impresses much upon us as well NOW about a God who STRENGTHENS and EMPOWERS.  Isn’t this the very image of God that we ourselves met in the daily grind of life?

Amidst the initial and PAINFUL breaking and even the DEMOLITION of walls and false appearances that we had set up for ourselves, we’ve encountered the God who STRENGTHENS and EMPOWERS us to recognize OUR REAL SELVES.

Isn’t it true that if we take time EXILE and remove ourselves slowly from our usual mundane preoccupations, step back and quiet down, and LOOK DEEP into both our beautiful and ugly selves … the experience remains:  There is a God who STRENGTHENS and EMPOWERS us to WORK for things we can change and ACCEPT realities that are beyond our powers to transform. 

Isn’t it true that there is a God who promises to KEEP US WHOLE, to RESTORE us and much BETTER, to help us recognize our NEWNESS.  Something NEW and DIFFERENT comes out of me each time.  No experience is for naught.  I tend to gain always something new.  Isn’t this God’s way of STRENGTHENING and EMPOWERING me to face the world with a new and better perspective?    

Secondly, we also wish to encounter the GOD who continues to MISSION us.  God strengthens.  God empowers for a purpose.  He missions us.  We find this mission in the prophesy made by Caiaphas the high priest about Jesus:  Our gospel today tells us:  Since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation (so that the whole nation may not perish) but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.   

I don’t know if to die is something that you may readily welcome. But I think this is how God continues to call us all.  A certain death to oneself ... so that all may have life.  Isn’t it true that certain life experiences indeed entails a dying to oneself.  God has a mission for all of us.  It may not be smooth sailing every time… it may even mean a degree of dying to oneself … but we CLING to a PROMISE of GREATER CLARITY that God is MISSIONING us to go somewhere he will make full use of us.

Lastly, with all the death threats Jesus was getting in the Gospel, some people were asking: “What do you think?  Will he ever come to the feast?”  The feast was the Passover, the commemoration of a people being SAVED, being FREED from their Egyptian captors.  In the case of Jesus, he came to the feast and became the very LAMB sacrificed so that the ANGEL OF DEATH may pass over and spare the lives of those who believe.  I think, we are being asked as well:  ARE WE COMING TO THE FEAST???  For us, I guess it will be about embracing the reality that we are constantly being saved and we are constantly being freed.  Do we wish to go to that celebration?  I invite you to come.  We had been made FREE!  

There is a God who STRENGTHENS and EMPOWERS us.

There is a God who missions us and this calls a certain DYING to oneself so that others might live.

Will we ever come to the feast?  We are called to CELEBRATE! 

DO NOT BE A BLABBER?

Reflections on Isaiah 55:10-11 / Matthew 6:7-15

by Frank Savadera, SJ

A clear message we get from the Gospel today:  DO NOT BE A BABBLER?  Do not babble like the pagans who think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Why do we sometimes BABBLE?  The Gospel seems to be making a connection between BABBLING and wishing to be HEARD or maybe catching and seeking ATTENTION for oneself!  What is then wrong with babbling?  Isn’t it that each of us has a desire to be heard?  What is so wrong with seeking ATTENTION for ourselves?  We want to be heard … we babble!  Imagine making a living by BABBLING!  Some can actually be good at it right?  Some even had achieved a lot for themselves by simply babbling HERE and babbling THERE!  We even have a term for it … LAWAY LANG ANG PUHUNAN  (it’s gross to translate that in English).   So there is such a thing as  PROFFESSIONAL BABBLERS!  Or the ARMCHAIR BABBLERS!  The Gospel says DO NOT be like the pagans who BABBLE words to be heard and to seek attention for themselves.  Why?  Because BABBLING to seek attention is the NOISE of SELF-CENTEREDNESS.  I wish to be HEARD!  Give it me!  I am here!  It is the kind of ATTENTION-SEEKING that stifles ATTENTION-GIVING – which is generosity.    We prevent ourselves from being generous – GIVING OTHERS OUR ATTENTION by simply being too focused on catching attention for ourselves.      

A post I made on my FB page this morning quotes the philosopher Simone Weil: “Giving attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” 

First prayer:  Lord, save us from our BABBLINGS, our BLABBERINGS, from our desires to seek ATTENTION for ourselves so that we may be more GENEROUS and may FREELY GIVE ATTENTION to others.

The second point has something to do about Jesus prescribing the Lord’s Prayer – the most basic prayer that we have all learned since childhood … isn’t it.  This prayer had even been translated and sung in different dialects and languages.  This is the only PENANCE I usually give in confession:  PRAY it slowly and as meaningfully as you can … the Lord’s Prayer.  My reflection here is that our PRAYER NEED NOT BE COMPLICATED.  We need not REINVENT PRAYER.  It need not be DRAMATIC and REPLETE with EMOTIONAL FIREWORKS all the time.  Well … prayer need not be done SHABBILY as well … as we often would with AUTOMATIC and LEARNED PRAYERS. 

I think, a clue to a possible reflection about the Gospel is HOW WE CALL Jesus’ prayer … we call it simply LORD’S PRAYER.  This is how Jesus prayed.  He was teaching the disciples how he was praying to His Father.  It is a kind of prayer that is INCLUSIVE (Our Father) … a prayer that WORSHIPS (hallowed be thy name) … a prayer that BEGS (give us this day ) … a prayer that seeks forgiveness (forgive us our sins) … a prayer that seeks GRACE of deliverance from EVIL. 

This is the Lord’s Prayer … Jesus’ prayer to the Father … and He wants us to pray it with Him.  We are one with Jesus as we pray to the Father.  What can be more opportune and auspicious than that:  WE ARE ONE WITH JESUS in PRAYING to the Father.   Can we even feel that ONENESS with Jesus. 

This Lenten Season is again calling us to experience that ONENESS with Jesus.  In His Passion, his Crucifixion and Death … we pray his very words to express our ONENESS with the Son who died to save us.

Thus … GOING BACK TO OUR BABBLINGS and BLABBERINGS … there is apparently a WORD that is NOT OURS … that WE CAN ACTUALLY PROCLAIM … the WORD that is JESUS HIMSELF who shall not … according to our first reading … NOT RETURN TO THE FATHER VOID.  The WORD that continues to do the Father’s will til this day … the WORD that continues to ACHIEVE THE END OF SAVING US … the very reason why it was sent to be flesh like us in the first place.     NOT OUR WORD … BUT JESUS  … WHO IS THE WORD … who returns to the Father and achieves for the Father the purpose for which he was sent to us … TO SAVE US.