Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Reflection

  • HELLO, LOVE, STAY

    HELLO, LOVE, STAY

    A Reflection by Rizza Mae O. Malalay – Youth Mission Volunteer

    “People said, there are places where we stay longer. There are also places that are mere stopovers. Just like Hong Kong. So you have to make the most out of your time. Because, no one stays here forever” (Sabi nila may mga lugar na pangmatagalan. May mga lugar na dinadaanan lang. Parang Hong Kong. Kaya bawat oras dapat sulitin mo kasi walang nagtatagal dito.) This is the opening line from the trailer of the movie Hello, Love, Goodbye released last 2019.

    Some people in the social media used its audio in their reels/videos, showcasing the placeS they had been and the things they have done. It makes me kind of nostalgic which leads me in this two lingering questions. First, how will you know whether it is forever or only a stopover? Second, how can you get the most out of your time?

    I was recently part of the Davao Redemptorist Mission Team in their Icon Mission in Maco, Davao de Oro. The Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Maco is a Diocesan Shrine. Though it is the Diocesan Shrine, yet, not all chapels know and understand the icon’s background and its elements. They also do not practice novena in their chapels.

    In one of our activities, we introduced the house blessings and the enthronement of the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in their altars. And during those times, there was this Nanay who lived not too far away just an hour and a half of hiking. People in that area would say that it is too far.

    Anyway, Nanay invited us to their home for the house blessing and the enthronement of the icon, which our team gladly accepted. We went there with Nanay’s niece and her granddaughters. When we arrived, Nanay Landa and her husband Tatay Ernesto were delighted. Nanay asked Tatay to catch us some chickens for us to eat and for us to bring. They lived in a small hut in the middle of the coconut trees, no water supply nor electricity. Nanay shared that a lot of bikers would visit them for two things, first, because of the the trail and second, the beautiful overlooking  view of the Davao Gulf, the Municipality of Maco and the City of Tagum.

    During our lunch, stories and laughter were shared. We took a nap as well and rested for a while. We spent about 4 hours there and when we bid our goodbyes. Nanay cannot contain how grateful she was that even though their home was far, we took the time and effort to visit them. She was on the verge of tears when I waved goodbye.

    In another mission area I also experienced riding “skylab motorcycle,” a two-wheeled motor with planks on both sides which can carry four persons. Riding on the skylab motor was never easy at first, not to mention that you need a balance on the other side. I got nervous since the road was bumpy. I also found it hard to choose which side to sit. If I will go the right, I was scared that snakes might jump from nowhere or insects from the leaves of the trees will crawl on me or I can collect twigs for firewoods or worst a branch from a tree might stab me accidentally 😅. On the left side is simply a cliff. So, I chose the former. We were praying and laughing at the same time but what really caught my attention was the toddler who was with us. Her father was the driver, and she was sitting on the tank of the skylab motor. While we were praying and laughing, the toddler was just chilling there and looked at us as if questioning us why we were so noisy. It was so fun that we rode skylab for the 2nd and 3rd times. After those experiences, riding the skylab motor became so easy for me then.

    Those encounters brought me to these realizations:      

    • To Jesus Through Mary. This is one of our modules. That their love for Mary brings them closer to Jesus. I was also moved when one time while doing the house blessing and enthronement of the Icon, a woman who was pregnant bursted in tears while we were reading the prayer and while holding the icon in her hands. I may not know what she was going through but I know that God touched her on that day through Mary. May my love for Mary inspire me to be self-giving, a love that will inspire me not only to remain in the state of loving but also in serving.
    • To Trust and Have Faith in God. It was just like riding the skylab. God is my driver and my balance is my principles in life. If the road becomes bumpy and I’m scared and not secured at all, and the only way for me to save myself is to jump, then I will definitely get into an accident. I am reminded now to be like the toddler, who knows her father well and to trust him above all. I am challenged to know Christ more in order for me to trust and have faith in Him more that whatever comes my way, I will always be and feel safe in His presence.

    Going back to my first question, I am reminded now with one of the lines shared with us by Ate Portia in one of her sessions, “We may be in this world but we are not of this world“. Change is constant and living in this world is not forever, no matter how much I love the place, I am just a passerby. Time will come I will become a memory, so I need to make most of my time in this world, and how can I possibly do it? Just by simply living in a purposeful and meaningful life. Doing what gives me a purpose and doing what gives life its meaning.

    I pray that the love of God will stay with me forever and that I will be able to radiate this love and joy in me with others.

  • THE EVERYDAY LAMENTATIONS OF MOTHER EARTH

    THE EVERYDAY LAMENTATIONS OF MOTHER EARTH

    Have you ever paused at some moment and hear the lamentations of Mother Earth? The sad whisper of the wind as it loses its coolness with the sweltering heat here in the tropics especially during summer?

    And the parched earth crying out for rain that sadly seem to abandon the usual seasons when the heaven’s tears are badly needed to make the rice grow.  And yet when winds and rains reach howling proportions owing to what has happened to the earth’s climate, Mother Earth’s children can just vanish from the face of the earth?

    All of creation today join in this tragic chorus lamenting the utter destruction of their habitat, from the polar bears in the North Pole who have lost their icebergs to the Philippine eagle who have lost their forests. Can you still hear birds twittering in the trees of our backyard or have they all gone to the moon? And are those trees able to offer the much needed canopy under which the children can still play outdoors?

    Or have you been so busy eking out a livelihood, pleasing your boss, taking care of your family members, dealing with the repercussions of the runaway inflation or dealing with mental or physical health issues, that you consider it a luxury to deal with environmental issues? Or you would rather the United Nations, the governments, the oil and mining companies and the big institutions worry and do something about this gargantuan challenge of dealing with climate change?

    I have bad news for you dear reader if you would rather bury your head in the sand and refuse to get engaged in environmental advocacy, no matter if you consider what you can do as just a drop in the bucket!  For as everyone knows now, Mother Earth’s health condition has so deteriorated that if we – all of us whether we hold a miniscule or huge amount of resources – do not act to halt the downward spiral of the earth’s destruction, we are bound to face a dystopian future where life on this planet will become intolerable!

    Lucky for us human beings that way back in January 1969, an environmental activist named Denis Hayes and Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin teamed up to shake people’s indifference to what was happening to Mother Earth. Each in his own way listened to Mother Earth’s lamentations – especially in the wake of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara –  and instead of ignoring what they saw was a worsening problem, they acted and the rest is history.

    They knew that what was needed was to widen the public sphere that would deal with ecology and establish a civil society that would bring more awareness to the environmental issues. They began organizing teach-ins in colleges across the US and soon enough more young people go to know more about the impact of pollution on air, water and the rest of the environment. In just a short period of time, they had reached millions and inspired them to be engaged in ecological advocacy through an office that had close to a hundred staff members.

    This then encouraged Senator Nelson to propose an Earth Day and the first took place on April 22, 1970. More than fifty years later, Earth Day every year has mobilized the support of political parties, civil society organizations, academic institutions, media and people of every age, race, gender demographic and educational status. The movement spread globally, and by 1990, more than 200M people in 141 countries were highlighting environmental issues worldwide on Earth Day. EarthDay.org states what this day is all about: “Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes.”

    Unfortunately, in a country like ours, our efforts at advancing the ecological movement have not been sustained in a manner that it creates the needed impact. Even as every year we face the consequences of climate change with our typhoons and floods, droughts and landslides, our walk has oftentimes failed to live up to our talk. From the national environmental agencies to the local government units, policies have been crafted, laws have been passed, government bureaucrats have attended environmental conferences like the COP (the one recently in Egypt) and loans have been secured for studies on how to flood control measures can be put in place.

    But if our efforts are to be weighed, quoting the bible we end up with this saying: “Tinimbang ka, nguni’t kulang!” Yes, we can say the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! Take Davao City as a good example of how the City Hall is responding to the urgent ecological issues. Owing to the strong lobbying of civil society organizations like IDIS, there have been ordinances passed to protect the watershed, to limit the cutting of the remaining trees, to curb the use of plastics and to look into the problem of garbage.

    This is the case where the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. On one hand, the City Hall passes these ordinances but then the citizens wake up one day and a contrary project has been approved. There are a few good examples: to deal with the problem of garbage, City Hall applies for billions of pesos to build an incinerator which is actually a pollutant and will impact the health of the communities surrounding the site of this project, to ease the traffic between the mainland and Samal Island a bridge is to be constructed and to hell with what happens to the pristine coral reefs which is the best reason to promote tourism to the island, there is a watershed code but they cannot stop the continuing logging in these areas.

    People, wake up. Mother Earth’s destruction is sooner than you think. Listen to the voices of scientists who have gotten tired warning the whole of humanity to get our act together! Is anyone listening apart from the ecological activists whose numbers don’t seem to increase exponentially?  The challenge for us today is to embrace the opportunity to encourage a sustainable future.

    Do something today and gather your family members, friends, co-workers and others that you can mobilize to do something today.  Do not let this Earth Day pass as if you don’t care where our planet is moving towards. Listen to Mother Earth’s lamentations and do something – no matter how modest its results will be – to alleviate our mother’s suffering.

    You can take this challenge into your hands and do any of the following:

    –          Update yourself on the impact of the continuing use of fossil fuels and read more about the consequences of a worsening climate change. There are tons of documents out there for you to goggle in the computer, and films and videos to watch in Netflix and other live-streaming platforms.

    –          If there is a mobilization in front of City Hall, join and carry a placard.

    –          Continue advocating for the non-usage of an incinerator, a change in the design of the Samal bridge to protect the coral reefs, monitor what’s happening to the watersheds of the city and lobby City Hall to implement watershed ordinances.

    –          Find a nearby mini-forest and walk down the canopy of the trees and experience what it is to commune with nature. Join a group who ask for volunteers to grow more trees in the watershed areas.

    –          Refrain from using plastic of any kind when shopping, when buying products and when packing food.

    –          If you are a teacher, get the students to talk about Earth Day and before they go home, ask them to show their concern through making art or reminding their parents to stop smoking and  to not buy junk!

    –          Clean up your surroundings and make sure not to burn the garbage but recycle them. If there are neighbourhood or purok clean-ups, join.

    –          When you sing a lullaby to get your child to sleep, sing Asin’s Kapaligiran song.

    And make a resolution that on Earth Day 2024, you will do much more than what you are going to do today. And in-between Earth Day 2023 and 2024 – every day if it is possible – to commit yourself to comfort Mother Earth by simple acts to alleviate her lamentations!

  • WHEN A CONFRERE TOUCHES ETERNITY

    WHEN A CONFRERE TOUCHES ETERNITY

    An Elegy to a Brother who didn’t get a chance to say Goodbye

    A dark cloud passes overhead as I write this elegy. In the past month, Cebu City has been enveloped in sweltering heat and at high noon, one runs the risk of being melted under the heat of the sun if one goes outside in the cement streets. But as the clouds hide the sun since early this morning, the city is cooler.

    One hopes the April showers will come sometime today as the parched earth is desperately hoping for some rains to fall. But even as the promise of rain brings a temporary relief, the day – with the dark clouds above – is gloomy.

    We wake up to the news that an esteemed and highly cherished confrere-brother – Fr. Alfonso “Fons” Suico, Jr. – left our ranks at 5:38 this morning. Last Monday, April 10 the Holy Redeemer Provincial Center community members went on a post-Easter picnic at a beach outside the city. (I am a member of this community but as I had dialysis sessions during the day, I didn’t join). An accident took place as he and a few others rode a banana boat.

    He fell off the banana boat and nearly drowned at past 2 pm. It took a while before he got rescued and brought to a nearby hospital. By 9 PM, he was transferred to Chung Hua Hospital which had better facilities and was confined at the Coronary Care Unit. The doctors for a week tried to desperately keep him alive, despite the serious damage in his brain. He was on incubator and provided all the medical assistance, even as he stayed in coma and remained unconscious.

    A decision has to be made whether or not to prolong the medical interventions as he – like most of us in the congregation – had signed a document stating his wish that when there is no hope for survival, all medical interventions should cease. Eventually our superiors and the doctors left the decision to his surviving sister, Sharmaine.

    Arriving from the US past midnight of April 17, she rushed to meet Fr. Fons at the hospital and they were able to spend time together in silence. The caregivers still managed to give him a bath at past 4 AM; an hour later, he passed away. He was 47, having celebrated his last birthday with us in the community only last March 23. His family are from Mandaue, Cebu City, although most of his family members migrated to the US.

    I vividly recall that day when he celebrated his birthday for the last time. There were wonderful flowers – big pink carnations, red roses, lilies and baby breath in a beautiful bouquet placed on the table. There was a big feast to which everyone – confreres, staff, gardeners and carpenters – were all invited to partake in this banquet. The food was sumptuous with pancit, lechon, fried chicken, ice cream and a carrot cake! Fr. Fons was effusive during that meal time and we certainly enjoyed the birthday celebration!  Who knew then that less than a month after,  Fr. Fons will later partake of the feast in heaven!

    This was how the official news –  that followed shortly –  characterized Fr. Fons: “Fr. Fons was a brilliant and compassionate missionary, medical doctor and professor in moral theology who has touched and transformed the lives of many.” Professed as a Redemptorist on March 22, 2003, he was ordained a priest on March 25, 2008. Before joining the Redemptorist, he had finished his medical studies and immediately passed the Board examinations.

    He held two doctorates, as a medical doctor and later secured his PhD in Moral Theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. He had been teaching Moral Theology subjects at the St. Alphonsus Theological and Mission Institute in Davao City for the past decade. He has mentored many SATMI students for their synthesis papers and dissertations. He has also been giving talks at various fora and conferences.

    But for us Redemptorists, he was a well-loved confrere-brother. Much younger that those of us who are years older than him, he followed-up our health bulletins to make sure we did our regular medical check-up and followed doctors’ orders for medication.  As we shared the same kidney problems – and years after I began my dialysis in 2016 he also began to undergo the hemodialysis procedure – we constantly were in touch with the progress of our medication.

    When I had my life-threatening health issue last November, he was first to make sure I had the needed medical intervention. Up until I was released from the hospital – after a gruelling three-week stay in two hospitals – he made sure I had the best medical treatment. At the infirmary of the HRPC, he did his best to monitor the caregivers so that they offered the best help to those of us who have been sick.

    One can get used to the easy and secured manner that he looked after all of us that we can now ask the question: what happens now that he is gone? His death comes at a not so opportune time, given the changes of our assignments starting on May 1. In the list of assignments issued by our superiors after Palm Sunday, his name appeared as the next Rector of HRPC.  Those of us who were going to stay here at the HRPC were all delighted with this news and we looked forward to being with him as our Rector.

    When death claims a loved one, the heart constricts and one is at a loss of words. This is especially so if death – like a thief in the night – comes so unexpectedly! The benefit of a long illness is that we are prepared for the eventually if the loved one finally takes a step towards eternity. There is grief but a sudden death is something else; it pierces the heart as heavier emotions flood our thoughts and feelings.

    No matter if words of comfort are immediately relayed by friends and – even as confreres tighten their ranks for mutual support in this time of bereavement – the pain is deep and might linger on for a while. One can seek solace in tears and prayers and the thought that – with God’s mercy – Fr. Fons is now in a much more peaceful, happier and painless space reserved for those whose life was lived fully!

     Parting – Shakespeare once wrote – is such sweet sorrow!  But it takes on an added shade of sadness if the loved one does not get a chance to say goodbye. Lucky are we if there are premonitions of Death arriving at our doorstep; but oftentimes, our intuitions do not work. Even if we are staying in the same monastery and our rooms are just a few meters away, I have taken it for granted that I will bump into him every day.

    The last two weeks are a blur of shallow memories. On Holy Tuesday, we had taken the car, together with two ICM nuns to go to San Carlos Major Seminary for a forum on Synodality. He had arranged the sandwiches we were to share at the forum. On Holy Thursday, he joined the community for our penitential rite. On Good Friday – after I and two companions went on a visita iglesia, I met him at the corridor when we came home and casually told him our visita iglesia was most interesting.

    He had reminded me that after the Holy Saturday Easter vigil we were going to have a Gaudeamus, but the following morning as I greeted him Happy Easter I told him I couldn’t join the Gaudeamus because of my dialysis schedule. During our Easter celebration evening of Easter Sunday, he had taken full responsibility preparing the sumptuous meal and even hiding Easter eggs and chocolate for us to find in different parts of the common room. One could tell he was delighted that we all enjoyed the search for the eggs and chocolates!

    I didn’t get to thank him for the lavish meal as I needed to leave the celebration earlier due to my dialysis session. The following morning he had gone early for his dialysis procedure so I didn’t get to meet him and since I didn’t join the picnic, I was not there when the accident took place. Last time I met him was at the Coronary Care Unit of Chung Hua Hospital last Thursday, April 13, after my own medical check-up. He was unconscious and I couldn’t stay too long in the room as I was very much affected by how he looked.

    We stormed the heavens for God’s mercy so Fr. Fons could be healed. And when the doctors gave their diagnosis of the extent of the brain damage we prayed for a miracle to Our Mother of Perpetual Help!  Each day since Monday, we had waited in  bated breath for the next medical report on how he was surviving. Until finally, the sad news came at dawn today. It seems as if Fr. Fons was just waiting for his sister Sharmaine to arrive from the US so they could still have a few hours together before his departure.

    When I met Sharmaine hours later at breakfast, I embraced her so that I could condole her. But I couldn’t control my tears so she  instead was the one who comforted me. His remains will be cremated tonight and will be brought to their home in Mandaue where the will hold the wake from April 17 to 19. After that his remains will be transferred to the Redemptorist church where the wake is scheduled on  April 19 to 22, after which it will be interred at our parcel of land at the Caretas Cemetery.

    At this juncture, part of what we – the ones left behind – grapple with is to find meaning in the occurrence of an unexpected death. For some time now, I have thought that there comes a time in our lives when we become much more conscious that we are on borrowed time; that we have entered a pre-departure area and we can only be at peace if we realize that each day is a gift and needs to be lived to the full! There much be deep meanings why we are gifted with life even as this can just snap out any second. But perhaps the meaning is as simple as what Franz Kafka had written: “The meaning of life is that it stops!”

     We are still in the Easter Week and we believers are supposedly reminded that our life is like a seed; it is sown at one moment, and if lived well could produce so much fruit but only to fade away in some future time. However, as we are promised by no less than the Redeemer who offered his life so we may have life everlasting, we have no reason to fear death. And every step leading us to eternity should be taken with a deep confidence that the end of the journey is the home that we are all destined to reach when time is up!

    And in that place out there beyond the skies which Fr.  Fons right now has claimed as his own, a grand welcome awaits him and us who will follow in the fullness of time. And one is consoled at the thought that this is a truly delightful place with flowers and food, laughter and good cheer, with music and dance – all the good things that one associates with the plentiful blessings!

    And Kahlil Gibran gives us this assurance:  “For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

    May the light and joy that Fr. Fons  left this world radiate through us as we continue to carry and share his beautiful memories. 

  • EASTER HOPE AND ASPIRATIONS

    EASTER HOPE AND ASPIRATIONS

    I always find writing my reflection for “A Dose of God Today” therapeutic and invigorating. Earlier, after praying the rosary as a family, I was led to pause and ponder on the beauty and meaning of the Easter season. I then jotted some key words in one of my favorite notebooks. Mind you, at 51, I still love to collect note pads and notebooks. These are very handy in keeping myself organized amidst a hectic schedule as a counselor-educator with an admin role in the Graduate School. Perhaps, my desire to be a true witness of the Risen Christ inspired me to share my third article in this valuable and beautiful blog of Fr. Jom, CSsR.

    The Easter season reminds us that HOPE should never be lost. The road that we may have taken is rough and bumpy, yet surely we will reach our destination. With the Risen Christ as our companion and guide, it will be a joyful and interesting ride. We simply have to allow Him to accompany us in our journey. How do we do that?

    Possibly, sharing my personal encounter with a faithful God may shed light to this. My daily travel to and from my workplace is an opportunity for me to commune with God in prayer. Riding in a taxi, bus or public utility jeep seems challenging given the traffic jam in the major roads going to the city and heading back home. Passing by the scenic view of the sea and looking up at the skies – I always feel that God is present in His beautiful creation. This allows me to whisper a prayer in silence, entrusting my day to Him. Most of the time, I just close my eyes so that my mind will be attuned to God’s message for me. I know God speaks volumes in the silence of my heart.

    During evenings, I take this opportunity to review what transpires during the day. A moment to say my thanksgiving to Him for staying close to me and for sending people who are constant in my life – my family and close friends who love me unconditionally; to repent for my flaws and shortcomings during the day and to think of ways on how to become better the next day. This, I may say, becomes a habit of mine. This practice will surely be carried out throughout this Easter Season and beyond.

    This is my first and major ASPIRATION during this meaningful season. To continue to commune with God most of the time – to take time to listen to Him in the midst of our daily struggles to fulfill our role and responsibilities – to carry out our vocation and mission in life.  

    For me, the best time for new beginnings is during this Season of Easter. We used to make New Year’s resolution at the start of a new year so why not formulate them right now? For this season is also known as the Season of New Birth.

    Earlier, I said that my major yearning is to be in touch with God most of the time. This may be difficult to do at first, and with constant practice, this will surely be a second nature to us. Being prayerful and highly spiritual made wonders in my life. It allowed me to trust fully in God’s will and the Holy Spirit promptings.

    In moments of despair and confusion and in arriving at a crucial decision, my deep faith expressed through prayer and communion with a loving and faithful God is my first recourse. This greatest gift God has bestowed upon me –  my FAITH propels me to walk my talk and be a dedicated, loving and compassionate public servant – being a counselor educator in a state university.

    my FAITH propels me to walk my talk and be a dedicated, loving and compassionate public servant

    This brings me to my second aspiration during this Easter Season. Some people seem not to like me and my dealings with them, yet deep in my heart I know I am trying to be empathetic and loving so that many people may experience the unconditional love of God through me. When one is in the position of authority and influence, one will gain more friends and haters alike. Implementing the graduate school policies fairly is no easy job. Yet, in my desire to treat each student equally, I have encountered a lot of challenges. Nevertheless, deep in my heart I know that I have done my best to practice fairness and justice. I may have my lapses, but with God’s grace, I will try my best to be a living witness of Christ’s resurrection. That He is truly RISEN and ALIVE!

    I have shared my two major aspirations during this important Liturgical Season in the Church. These may be GRAND yet these are attainable. With my deep faith in a LOVING, FAITHFUL RISEN CHRIST, I have nothing to FEAR.

    Surely, my longing to be attuned to God’s will for me will be realized for I always believe in a God of surprises. I simply have to clasp my hands in PRAYER, in JOYFUL HOPE and celebration that God is truly risen. He is alive and present within us, among us and amidst us.  And YOU? What’s your Easter hope and aspirations?

    Sending my fervent prayers and love to all readers of this blog who need these most.  May all your prayers and aspirations be fulfilled. A blessed Easter Season to all!!!

  • IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RISEN LORD

    IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RISEN LORD

    Footsteps.

    When we walk, we hardly take cognizant of the footsteps we take unless – like the Buddhists – we are so mindful of the here and now, the precious present moment.  It is only when one focuses on the movement of his feet while walking down a path, that one is struck with the importance of taking footsteps.  For as the Chinese proverb posits: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

    As we celebrate Easter Sunday today, it might do as good to reflect on the value of taking footsteps vis-à-vis our faith as followers of the Risen Lord. After all, his admonition – “Come follow me!” – involves literally moving our feet as we go after the Redeemer!

     Jesus lived on earth at a time when people could only move from place to place by walking. In some cases, horses and donkeys assisted them as they travelled. Unlike today when the advancement of transportation technology allows us to travel long distance through planes, boats, trains, buses, cars, even the lowly habal-habal, those living in the first century had to rely on their feet if they wanted to be in another place.

    Being an itinerant preacher-healer, Jesus himself walked practically all over Israel. While born in Bethlehem, he grew up in Nazareth. When his public life unfolded and he went out to preach the Good News, he travelled from Nazareth to Bethany, Bethesda, Capernaum, Cana of Galilee, Jerico, reaching the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. In his three-year public life, he walked more than a thousand miles.

    Some of the footsteps he took would take on biblical significance! Among these were those footsteps traversing the desert for forty days when he needed to get ready for his mission, his walk cum ride-the-donkey from the countryside to Jerusalem, his walk across the seashore as he met the fishermen who would become his loyal followers and later when he appeared to them after rising from the dead, and his walk with two forlorn followers on the road to Emmaus.

    The most dramatic, of course, were the footsteps he took from the garden of Gethsemane to the palace of King Herod, to the court of Pontius Pilate until he ended up on Calvary Hill. This route  – now labelled the Via Dolorosa –  has become the focal point of interest for tourists who fortunately find their way in Israel on Good Friday. 

    On top of this mournful hill, the carpenter from Nazareth – reviled by the Pharisees as a false prophet;  who hobnobbed with drunks, sinners and prostitutes;  who the powers-that-be considered a rebel out to subvert the established regime and tortured by the Roman soldiers as a means to warn other potential would-be “terrorists,” – was subjected to a crucifixion on a cross, fit for criminals!

    That last step Jesus took as he faced death, eventually ended his earthly life.

    At dawn of Eastern morn, the sound of footsteps echoed across the graveyard where Jesus and others were buried. These were footsteps first of women, later followed by a few of the more courageous apostles curious as to the women’s testimony that the tomb was empty! And most interesting, it was a woman – Magdalene – to whom Jesus first appeared as the Risen Lord!

    After Jesus appeared to more of his main followers and trusted disciples, he gathered them together for what is now known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and left them with these words:  “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

    Gifted with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, many of them, including a new convert – Paul of Tarsus – walked to many directions beyond Israel to give witness to the life and teachings of the Lord.  And despite the passage of time and the great advancement of transportation technology, in many Third World countries today, those who bring the Good News to the hinterlands, follow the way of the early disciples. They walk miles to reach the isolated villages.

    It is thus, very appropriate that in 2021 Pope Francis inaugurated what would be a synodal Church for these present times. To be a synodal church involves getting all the baptized to journey together as one in the footsteps of the Lord, with great effort exerted to make sure that those who for so long have not been afforded a place in the Lord’s banquet, can finally find themselves in the place of honor!

    This was Jesus way; moving from village to village, his focus was to journey with his society’s excluded, the sinners considered unclean and worthless. He avoided the elite, the powers-that-be, the ones who oppressed the poor even as he did not exclude them from his circle if they showed an openness to repent and make amends!  He disdained pomp and pageantry, he lived simply without benefit of having a place to stay, comforted the widows and healed the sick. In the process, the Good Shepherd smelt like the sheep!

    Alas, when Christianity shifted to Christendom and the Church’s memory of the way of life of Jesus faded, the ugly head of institutionalization and clericalism penetrated the walls of churches, monasteries and convents. Patronized by kings and emperors. ensconced in palaces to enjoy the perks of power, the Church’s heads veered away from the footsteps of the Lord! And the Gospels they preached held no relevance anymore to the lives of the majority who remained in the margins and disenfranchised of their human rights.

    If the Church today hopes to return to the dangerous memory of Jesus’ act to save humanity, she has to embrace Pope Francis’ synodal agenda. The question is: how many of our  church leaders and engaged laity are making sure that this agenda is not lost in the quadmire of a Church’s struggle to remain relevant in these post-modern times?

    In the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) reality of the world today, Christianity is faced with a major challenge to return to its roots. Jesus presented the model of a synodal church – his footsteps made possible his journeying with society’s excluded – which challenged an established religion that was hijacked by those who would promote a faith that was blind and obedient to those in power. It was in this context that Christianity was born. If we are to redeem what Jesus founded, we, too, in our times will need to do our best to help build a synodal Church, in spite of the reluctance of our leaders to forge this kind of journey with the rest of us!

    Along with Pope Francis, we take the footsteps towards this goal buoyed by the Risen Lord! Happy Easter everyone!