DINUGUAN AND A LAY PREACHER

In the Philippines, the task of evangelization is often expected only from the members of the clergy, of the religious institutions and from trained catechists. Priests, religious brothers and sisters, with their catechists are perceived as those who solely has the responsibility of carrying-out the transmission of the faith. However, the Synod of Bishops speaks of the transmission as a responsibility that have to be attended by the whole Church.[1] It is not an obligation given only to a few. It is a vocation to which all members of the Church are called to respond. Thus, the laity, the more numerous members of the Church, are called to the same vocation, are given the task of evangelization too. This call to proclaim Christ’s message springs forth from the fact that all baptized share to the teaching office of Christ. Thus a public school teacher can spread the Word of God in her classroom, in an appropriate and acceptable way. A farmer in a far-flung barrio can glorify the Lord as he ploughs the fields. They are called to bring Jesus Christ in their workplace so that more and more the world can be configured in the image of Jesus Christ. The task of evangelization is very much related with the vocation and life of the laity. It is not an accessory that is added to their identity but rather an essential component of their esse, being part of the mystical body of Christ, the Church.  

 How can the laity evangelized? How can they bring Jesus Christ in their offices, and workplace? Let me share my experience of lay evangelization.     

My ima (Kampampangan for mother) is a cook with some sophistications and taste. She can prepare any Kapampangan food with distinct Tarlaqueño twist. And through the food she prepares, she finds a way to evangelize.

One summer morning, while I was in a home vacation, I had a chance to help my ima in preparing our lunch. She thought of cooking one of my favourite dishes; tid-tad (Fil: dinuguan, Eng: pork blood stew or blood pudding stew). While she was boiling the pork intestines, I was mincing carefully the garlics, onions and gingers. She told some notable stories from the school where she teaches; perennially problematic students, low grades for some, exceptional performance for others.

As she sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger she remember an experience she had with her co-teacher who happened to be a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). She was Ms. Jo. Once my ima brought tid-tad in her school as her lunch. She intended to share it to her co-teachers including to Ms. Jo. When the dish of tid-tad was pass to Ms. Jo, she did not dare to even touch the dish saying it is forbidden by the INC that their members eat tid-tad, to take and eat blood. Bombarding my ima with INC’s set of biblical quotations, Ms. Jo defended their stand going beyond tid-tad, going as far as the issue of Christ’s divinity.

While the pork intestines simmered in the pork blood, my ima asked me how my studies can defend our Catholic faith from INC’s false teachings. How does my theological and philosophical formation explain to Ms. Jo about the truth of Christ’s divinity? I tried my best to explain to ima about the Trinitarian doctrine of our Catholic faith, of the three divine persons in one divine nature. I found myself looking for appropriate words to describe and simplify this doctrine. However, I thought ima grew bored about my explanation.

As she served the hot tid-tad to me, she told how she had explain the divinity of Christ to Ms. Jo. She only asked Ms. Jo one question. “Anong itsura ng Diyos ninyo kapag nagdarasal kayo?” For a moment, I was quiet. I was silence by the succinct explanation my ima thought. The mind always demands for a “visible” image of anything and anyone we think about. Is not incarnation about God becoming visible, for us to know Him, for us to be able to pray to Him, for us to be able to love Him, for us to be restored in His image and likeness? I said to ima, “That is the best practical answer.” But I quietly told myself “That is the best answer I heard.”

The lay people has a lot of things to share in the task of evangelization. They have a lot of stories to tell in their experience of Jesus Christ in the ordinariness of their lives. Simple and banal stories we badly need to communicate the great message of love of God to the common man, to the hoi polio. The transmission of faith today need not be of theological jargons and verbiages that only few could understand. The order of the day is to present an experienced faith, the experienced Jesus, the Jesus encountered in concrete human experiences. Such can evangelization be today. The laity has an overabundance of encounter with Jesus. They too have to take the task of evangelization. They too have to transmit the faith they have received, one that had fructify through their mundane experiences. They too have to be evangelizers, after all they too have been evangelized, one way or another.            

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[1] XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, The New Evangelization for the Transmission of Christian Faith Instrumentum Laboris (Vatican City: 2012) 105. 

TO PRAY IS TO REST

In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us about the importance of rest, of taking a break from a long and tedious work. Such is a very human gesture coming from Jesus, the God made man. However, by virtue of being God, Jesus reveals the divine dimension of rest, that is rest as a prayer, more so prayer as a rest.

For us working all day long, having something to be busy at, surely there is a moment of the day we thought of resting, of letting our tire bodies to lay on our beds and take a one good nap. Why not? Taking a rest for a while is good, as long as it is not to the detriment of the task entrusted to us.

Rest allows us to pose for a while, to catch our breath we lost in the rat race, to see the output of our work so far. Rest gives our efforts time to grow, to develop, to ferment. Rest permits the dust and dirt to settle down, allowing us to see the picture clearly. Rest gives us the chance to assess how far we have gone in our journey, how much we have progress. Rest enables us to direct or re-direct the route of journey, or simply continue to whatever we have started.

How should we rest? How should we recharge from a taxing labor here on earth?

Jesus teaches us to pray us we rest, to pray to the Father as we move away from our busy, messy desk, to talk to the Father how much we have progress I our work, all the more, how much we have failed Him. Jesus shows to us that as we take a rest, moving away from the crowd of our worlds, there exist a space for us in the Father’s heart. We can rest on his bosom, on His lap, in His presence. We can bring everything to Him; our achievement and failures, our good deeds and sins. And be assured He will heal whatever is wounded. He will strengthen whatever is weak. He will recover whatever is lost along our journey.

Jesus tells us that to rest is not merely to eat and sleep, to comfort our aching bodies, to rest from our stressful work, from our apostolate. We are more than our body. We have souls. Thus, Jesus tells us that to rest is to seek comfort from the Father for our souls that have grown weary due to sins. Such rest we can rightly call prayer. Yes, we can spend our rest by praying. By saying short prayers we can comfort ourselves in a very tense situation. When pride looms around say ‘Lord, humble me.’ When we realize we sin say ‘Lord, have mercy on me.’ When we are tempted to commit sin, say, ‘Lord, be with me.’

To rest our bodies from our hectic day-to-day schedule is good. It can energize us and direct our work to their completion. To rest our souls, for a while, from our earthly journey is necessary. To rest our souls in the presence of the Father, just like Jesus did when He prayed, is the best way to rest. Rest now!