GOD’S WORD TODAY
Now!
The Gospel reading for today is very short but very challenging and inspiring indeed. The words of Jesus are clear and compassionate: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt. 25:13). In other words, do not keep looking back on the yesterday nor keep focusing on the tomorrow. Now! Today! This is more important, because this may be your last. Only God knows. Your journey to sanctification and your loving relationship with God and neighbor, starting with your family, focuses on the now. Unfortunately so many of our fellow-Filipinos tend to focus more on the “mañana habit,” as the Sambuhay for today emphasizes. Postponing for another day what I can do today is a habit that many of our fellow-Filipinos are used to. The reason? For some, because it is “mahirap gawin.” For others, it is because they are “tamad.” Or it could be for some other reason. And the result? They miss the opportunity of loving God and neighbor.
Take this man who came home from work one early evening and found out that his wife brought his mother to the hospital for a serious check-up. Tired from work, he decided to go to the hospital the following morning. At midnight, the mother died from a sudden stroke. For many months, this man was not only in deep grief, but he could not forgive himself for not rushing to the hospital that evening. He loved his mother dearly, and lost the opportunity of being with her before she passed away.
On the other hand, here was a married couple whose relation- ship was breaking apart due to some problems. The husband was seriously considering a separation. When he told this to his wife, she immediately asked him if he would be willing to seek professional marital counseling. The husband agreed, and so they immediately went for professional help. The process took a long time, but they were able to finally save their marriage and became close friends and lovers again. Their loving relationship with God was a strong part of the whole process. I admire the wife for seeking help as soon as the husband proposed a separation. And I admire the husband, too, for accepting the proposal. There are couples who keep delaying the process and end up separating.
Out of deep gratitude to the Lord, allow me now to share my own experience of God’s love and compassion. So many years ago, I already had two college degrees when one, ordinary day, I read a newspaper article about the Jesuit priestly life and ministry. God’s grace touched my heart to the core, and led me to seek spiritual guidance that led me to apply to the Society of Jesus. It was definitely God’s intervention that I responded to. Just like that. This year, I am entering my 53rd year as a Jesuit priest. The more than ten years of formation before ordination were simply incredible. And all the years from my priestly ordination are even more incredible. God’s ways of loving are just beyond words, for as long as you follow where He calls you. The “today” is every day. You just have to follow Him. His love for you and everyone else is the one and only source of your love for Him and neighbor. As Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:37-39).” And neighbor here means all, including those who hurt and persecute you. “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. . . .” (Mt. 5:44 ff.). All the other laws of God and His church flow from this one, supreme law of LOVE. The many teachings of Christ were all related to His teaching on love, including the inspiring Beatitudes, from the Sermon on the Mount. The everloving Jesus.
Let me end by focusing on our beloved Fr. Romeo Archie Intengan, S.J. who suddenly passed away last month after a cardiac arrest at the age of 75. He was already a medical doctor when he entered the Jesuit Novitiate in 1970. The homilies at his wake masses were deeply inspiring. Aside from being a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University and the Loyola School of Theology, his dedicated involvement in many programs for our country’s political and economic progress were admirable.
He was an active leader in the Partido Democratico-Socialista ng Pilipinas (PDSP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) against the Marcos regime. As a fearless promoter of justice and human rights, he was imprisoned, and after his release, he went into exile abroad. After he came back, he became our Provincial from 1998 to 2004.
Let me just quote from two Jesuits, one during his wake, and the other at the funeral mass. First, from Fr. Ben Nebres, S.J. “While the news reports of his stay in Sabah focus on the Marcos opposition part, it is his ministry as a doctor among our Muslim brothers and sisters in exile that I remember most deeply . . . . Archie, thank you so very much for being such a great patriot, social reformer, doctor, priest, and Jesuit.”
From our Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Tony Moreno, S.J., let me end with a part of his tribute at the funeral mass: “Fr. Archie meant so many things to different people: Jesuit priest, father, brother, patriot, medical doctor, walking encyclopedia, religious for mator and guide, leader, visionary, social activist and reformer, friend, political educator, moral theologian, thinker, and so much more . . . . His political thought, his advocacy to present an alternative political movement to the extreme right and the extreme left offered some ray of hope in a society that was deeply polarized by martial law.”
Maraming, maraming salamat, Fr. Archie. You will continue to be our inspiration and apostolic model, especially to our young generation of priests, seminarians, and lay leaders.