Politics and Christian hope
EVIL is increasing and it seems that we do not know how to deal with it. Faced with the increasing number of extrajudicial killings, political observers continue expressing their dismay with the Catholic hierarchy’s silence. At a loss on how to respond to the various political and socio-ethical issues under the current administration, some of the clergy are apparently in a calculative mode on how to proceed with the next move.
The death of many Filipinos due to the war on drugs is an apt take off point for reflection on All Saints Day. It is important to ponder whether the belief in the Communion of Saints still makes sense for us today. Is there still any existential meaning or value in believing that ultimate salvation is not the work of man, and that it is offered to all men and women regardless of who they are? Do we still believe that each of us has a duty to care for our neighbor, and that in the worst moments of our lives, we are called to carry each other’s burden?
The Church is not new to politics. In fact it has been through several worst political conditions through the centuries. The Church’s best moments in human history were those when it went beyond its own mundane interests. Here, we are not suggesting that amidst the country’s difficulties the clergy would go back to its days of triumphalism.
I would not wish for a hierarchy that would close its ranks and re-impose on the faithful its erstwhile power through the confessional or the baptistery. Apparently, Christians cannot be at the sidelines in the fight for justice, but not as ideologues or agents of social movements whose hope depends on the flames of its cause or the abundance of its funding. Joseph Ratzinger reminds us that the power of a believing people lies in their conviction that they are not alone neither in life nor in death. Thus, in these most difficult days, authentic power which means service would best be shown by pastors through their ability to tell people that life has to go on amidst all trials and tribulations. There is so much reason to live, and among others this means confronting the challenges of evil in whatever form: spiritual, political, and economic.
Unless we believe and hope together we will never be saved. Salvation isn’t just an individual enterprise; it is a communitarian vision. True victory for a Christian is attained only in the eschaton, that salvation which no human institution can offer. To paraphrase Joseph Ratzinger: it is not that we [Christians] know the details of what awaits us, but we know in general terms that our life [and all our efforts, so long as we believe] will not end in emptiness. went back home, and is on her way to full recovery.
When Chiara, Aa, and I visited her at the family home in Camp Allen, the conversation somehow turned to her sautéed bagoong. Turns out my mom just bought a very good batch she had intended to cook, but hadn’t gotten around to. My sister was fetching her and my Dad the next day to bring them to Manila, and there was no definite date when they were coming up again.
My mom gave this batch of uncooked bagoong to Chiara, with the recipe and the instructions on how exactly to cook it.
A few nights ago, Chiara decided to finally cook the shrimp paste. Preparing the tomatoes exactly the way Mommy wanted it was quite time tasking and required lots of patience. The tomatoes had to be sliced exactly in a certain manner.
After preparing almost 2 kilos of these ripe tomatoes (not just ripe tomatoes but they had to be almost soggy ripe), Chiara said she didn’t want to see another tomato for a long, long time. It took her and her assistant Irene more than an hour just to slice and dice everything the way they had been told to. And more than 2 hours for her to cook the bagoong, regularly stirring the ingredients around the pan.
Past midnight, she came upstairs, vowing never ever to cook bagoong again. That was the first and the last time she was going to do it. She hadn’t expected the process to take so long, or to take so much effort.
Just before she goes to sleep, she tells me: “I know now why mommy’s bagoong tastes so good.”
“Why?”, I ask.
“Because it’s a labor of love.”
My eyes well up. I will never look at my mother’s jar of bagoong in the same way again.
I know that it is an expression of love from her. The effort, the time, even the smell (the house smelled of shrimp paste for a while, Chiara had to boil downy with water to neutralize it. Even after a few days, you still catch a whiff of the scent on some of our clothes).
Truly, each jar is a labor of love. And truly, I appreciate each spoonful. Even more so now.
How does Chiara’s dish compare? Hmmm.. My mom cooks the best sautéed bagoong. 45,000 cash assistance which will be used for the rehabilitations in the area.
The total amount of P1.145 million distributed to all beneficiaries mostly from Benguet was raised by the Nabus couple through a fund raising drive using Facebook. IFugao Org UK responded to this effort by donating £1000.
The financial assistance given to typhoon Ompong victims may not bring back what they have lost during the calamity. But it will mean a lot to them knowing that there is a group like the Benguet Org UK who never stops giving support to people who are in dire need.
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