A PILGRIM’S NOTES: DEVOTION AND DEVOTIONS

In death, “life is not ended, but changed” (Preface for the dead). According to our Christian faith, there are three possible “places” or states in afterlife: hell, purgatory and heaven. What really matters for believers is not where and how: the place in afterlife and the how is God only and our relationship with him.  Thus, hell is God lost; purgatory is God purifying; heaven is God attained (Urs Von Balthasar).  In a similar way, we may speak of only one fire in the afterlife: the fire which devours the condemned; the fire which purifies the penitent souls, and the same fire which glorifies the just (J.M. Cabodevilla).

Heaven is our goal: we are citizens of heaven. Life is a journey to God. Our life is a pilgrimage to the house of the Father – of our Father. As human beings who are wounded and weak, we need help to make the journey: the necessary help of Christ, the helpful assistance of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, and of the saints and angels in heaven.

WE NEED HELP FOR THE JOURNEY

Jesus says: “Without me, you can do nothing.” This means “nothing,” neither much nor little: nothing!  “This is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith.” We need a trusting faith that is lived in love.

We are weak: we are sinners. “He who says he is not a sinner, is a liar” (St. John). As St. Augustine says, we are God’s beggars.

But we are not alone: we have the Blessed Trinity, and we all have Christ the Lord and savior. We also have our Mother Mary and with her many other saints in heaven – and earth!  Kempis advises us: “Make now to yourself friends, by honoring the saints of God, and imitating their actions, that when you leave this life they may receive you into everlasting dwelling” (Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ, Bk I, 23, no. 8).

How is our relationship with the saints?

THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

We believe “in the communion of saints.” The communion of Saints means communion of holy things (divine life, grace, virtues, charity, charisms) as well as the communion among holy persons (solidarity between heaven, purgatory and earth). The common spiritual “things” are somehow common and therefore transferable: universally transferable in the case of Christ, the head of the Church, and through Christ, of Our Lady; and locally transferable in the case of the saints. (cf. Vatican II Lumen Gentium, LG, nos. 49-51; Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC, nos. 946-959).

Three branches or states make up the communion of saints: the souls in purgatory, the saints in heaven and the earthly pilgrims, that is, the suffering, the triumphant and the pilgrim Church respectively. They all form the one mystical Body of Christ. Pope Francis says that we experience the highest form of solidarity in the Church: no one is alone; but rather, there exists a communion of life between all who belong to the Church (Address, General Audience: October 29, 2013).

For the suffering Church, the pilgrim Church prays. (Cf. LG 49; II Mc 12:44). From its beginning, the Church has honored with great respect the memory of the dead” (CCC 958). The pilgrim Church prays with prayer of petition for the souls in purgatory. Like many religious Congregations, the Dominican Order in particular is characterized by a strong devotion to praying for the beloved dead, especially for the members of the Dominican Family, parents and relatives, friends and benefactors.

The saints of the triumphant Church intercede for us in heaven and are a path to imitate. Thus we are asked to pray to them. (Cf. LG 49-50). We also believe that God’s angels are our protectors and intercessors before the face of God (cf. CCC 336).

DEVOTION IN THE SINGULAR

There is a distinction between devotion in the singular and devotion in the plural. Saint Teresa of Avila asked her nuns: “Have few devotions and much devotion.”

Devotion in the singular refers to devotion to God, which means giving honor and glory to God, worshipping him. It is an act of the virtue of religion which inclines us to give due worship to God as the beginning of everything (St. Thomas, II-II, 81, 3). Adoration expresses externally our devotion to God by venerating, revering and submitting totally to him. Genuine devotion is simply “true love of God” (St. Francis of Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life First Part, 1).

Devotion is with prayer an act of the virtue of religion and also of charity. It is described as the prompt will to give oneself fully to all that belongs to the service of God. Devout people are those who consecrate their life totally to God and his service. Devotion then is directed to God and not to creatures – to these only as instruments of God. Cause of devotion is meditation, or contemplation of the goodness of God and of our misery: in meditation, in contemplation the prayerful decide to offer themselves to God’s service. The primary effect of devotion is spiritual joy, although secondarily it may produce certain sadness. It causes great joy when considering the divine goodness and some sadness when considering our misery. Meditating on the Passion of Christ, in his incredible sufferings produces some sadness, but above all great joy when contemplating also the goodness of God who liberates us in Jesus (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, question 82, articles 1-4).

 This devotion in the singular is necessary for salvation. It implies worshipping God through Jesus in the Spirit. It is called latria! It is devotion to God, devotion to Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, and devotion to the Holy Spirit, our sanctifier and consoler.  Christ, then, is not merely one devotion, but the whole devotion, because He is the being (I Cor 1:30) and the life of the Christian (Phil 1:21). Christ is the only mediator before God the Father:  “Anything you ask in my name, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven.”

DEVOTIONS IN THE PLURAL

 Devotion in the plural – devotions – refers to our devotions to the saints, which are not necessary for salvation and include devotions to Mary, to the angels, and to the saints.

The devotion to Mary, however, is a special one and above the devotion to the saints: Our Lady is above the saints. The devotion to Mary is called hyperdulia. The place of Mary in the Church is “the highest after Christ and yet very close to us” (LG 54).  As followers of Jesus, we all have to be devoted to Mary, the Mother of the Son of God, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the favored daughter of God the Father: “All should devoutly venerate her and commend their life and apostolate to her motherly concern” (Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, AA, no. 4).

Special devotion to Mary means basically filial love to Mary. Because Mary is the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we have to receive her – like John the Evangelist- in our home, that is, in the center of our souls. Because she is the disciple of disciples, we have to imitate her.

What are the implications of our devotion to Mary then?  Mary is our unique intercessor before Christ, and our model in following her Son, our only Way. At Cana, Mary shows her role for us: first, her role as intercessor: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:1-10). Second, her role as disciple of disciples: “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5).

Mary is the most perfect person among angels and saints. The Fathers of the Church said: only the Blessed Trinity is above Mary. Our Lady is our Mother, our spiritual Mother, that is, in the order of grace (cf. CCC 968).  Jesus, to be sure, is the only Mediator before God. Mother Mary, on the other hand, is our best intercessor after Christ and the disciple of disciples: she cooperated like nobody else in Christ’s work of redemption. This is why in Christian tradition our Lady is given the titles of Mediatrix and Co–Redemptrix; but always through Christ and under Christ, the only Mediator and savior.

To be devoted to Mary entails not merely to admire her, to applaud her but to imitate her life and virtues: she is the Mother of God and the perfect disciple of Jesus, the first disciple, the disciple of disciples. She is the true disciple: she lived with Jesus; she shared her life at home with him and for him; she shared his sufferings and was assumed into heaven.

The devotion to the saints is called dulia. We are free to be devoted to one saint or another, to other saints to whom we have special devotion, maybe from our childhood. In my case, a saint that has helped me very much, with St. Dominic and St. Martin de Porres, is St. Teresa of Avila: “Only God suffices.”

Among the saints, St. Joseph has a special place in the heart of Christians. He is the head of the Family of Nazareth, the Spouse of Mary and the Guardian of Jesus the Son of God and of Mary. St. Joseph, the just man of the Gospel, is the universal patron of the Church and therefore deserves our special veneration.

GOAL OF OUR DEVOTIONS

All devotions are ordered to God: In the saints, we venerate what they have of God or God in them (St. Thomas Aquinas, II-II, 82, 2 ad 3). Devotions in the plural are directed by the Holy Spirit to Christ our Lord.” Hence, Jesus, the Son of God, is the end of all our devotions.

 Even the devotion to Mary, which is unique, which is above the devotion to all the saints, which is a special devotion for all Christians, is ordered to our devotion to Jesus. The end of our special devotion to Mary is Jesus. In this context we understand the words of the Lord: “Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked.” Jesus reply: “Happier are those who hear my word and keep it” (Lk 11:27-28; cf. Lk 8:19-21). Truly, Mary was the one who kept the word most perfectly.

Saint Bernard, a great devotee of Mary said: “The reason for our love of Mary is the Lord Jesus; the measure of our love for her is to love her without measure.” Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, another great devotee of Our Lady wrote: “If devotion to Our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil” (True Devotion to Mary). Vatican II tells us “While honoring Christ’s Mother, these devotions (to her) cause her Son to be rightly known, loved, and glorified, and all of his commandments observed” (LG, 66).

As Vatican II says that our devotion to Our Lady is directed “to know, love and glorify Jesus” (LG 66) The Rosary is a very special popular devotion to Mary. The goal of praying the Rosary, a vocal and contemplative prayer, is to “learn” Jesus, to “read” Jesus and discover his secrets and understand his message (John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002).

Our devotion to Mary and the saints then must lead us to follow Jesus, the only way to salvation, the Way to the Father, the Truth to be proclaimed and the Life to be lived. “Devotion to the saints does not end in them but in God” (St. Thomas Aquinas, II-II, 82, 2 ad 3; cf. Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, no. 37).

“By the fruits” you will know the authentic devotion to our saints – the fruits of holiness: of love of God and neighbor, of humility, of prayerfulness, and also of love of the cross. We recall two sayings of St. Teresa of Avila: “Few devotions and much devotion”; “From silly devotions deliver us Lord!”

Therefore, we are asked above all to have devotion in the singular! We are called to have devotion to God through Jesus in the Spirit.  Devotions in the plural mean intercession and imitation: we implore the aid of the saints, and we follow their path, “a most safe path.” God continues “speaking to us” in the saints “and gives us a sign of his Kingdom”; the saints are “our brothers and sisters and extraordinary benefactors” (LG 50). Our devotion to them is measured, above all, by “the intensity of our active love” (LG 51).

BECOMING SAINTS

Vatican II underlines that all Christians are called to holiness, that is, to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. (Cf. LG, 40; CCC, 2013)

Holiness is loving union with God. For us Christians, holiness is union with God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son of God, and in the Holy Spirit. Union with Christ is called “mystical union, because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments – ‘the holy mysteries’ – and, in Him, in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.” All Christians are called to the mystical union with Christ, although only some receive special graces or extraordinary signs of the mystical life (CCC 2014).

The Holy Spirit, the sanctifier, is the agent of holiness; to Him, holiness is appropriated. (See LG, chapter V). The union with God is union of love (the Holy Spirit is the Love between the Father and the Son): union of love with God (vertical dimension) and with the neighbor (horizontal dimension).

Holiness is a gift of God. As free human beings, we are asked to respond freely to this gift. Our response is our availability: we have to be available like the Virgin Mary and also the saints. Our cooperation means to say yes to God, to his grace that calls us to holiness, to perfection, to happiness; in a word, to do the will of God always.

Holiness entails a graceful life, a virtuous life: a life grounded on grace, and centered on charity as love of God and neighbor.

The way of holiness passes through the cross. “There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle” (II Tim 4). Spiritual progress implies ascetism and mortification. These lead gradually to live in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes (CCC, 2015). As Christians, we are called to be transfigured on the mountain of life. This transfiguration, like the Transfiguration of Christ gives strength to walk patiently and even joyfully the Way of the Cross.

We are devoted to Mary and to the saints to be devoted to Jesus, that is, to follow him, to be united to him and become saints. Because we are devoted to Jesus, we want therefore to follow him in an ever more intimate way. We want to be saints. We grow in holiness by growing in love, by growing, more radically, in grace which is the foundation of our Christian life.

 St. Robert’s father told him: “Son, the only mistake we make in life is not to be a saint.” Once the French writer Leon Bloy said: “There is sadness, only one: the sadness of not being a saint.” He asked himself: “Is it hard to be a saint?” His answer: “No, just one step beyond mediocrity and you are a saint.” Well, perhaps, a few more steps!

I believe that my mother took those simple steps, and I am also sure that people from your own family, dear reader, climbed up also the ladder of holiness. Once a friend from the Philippines living in Madrid told me, “So far your mother is the only saint I have met in Spain.” Well, take it with a grain of salt: she did not know many people and was my friend and my mother’s!  I do strongly think that she was a saint: I look at my mother, at her daily life, and see God’s presence in everything she did, in everything that happened to her. “It is the will of God,” she repeated often. My father told me once: “Your mother had two special kinds of friends: the saints and the poor.” She was devoted to the daily Holy Mass and to the Blessed Sacrament, to Jesus on the Cross, to Mary as our Lady of the Remedies, of the Rosary (she prayed the Rosary every day) and of Carmel; to St. Joseph, Saint Isidro Labrador, St. Teresa of Avila… She began the day with some prayers she knew by heart, and ended it in a similar way. She lived a simple life style, totally dedicated to home, family and God, and she always shared something of what we had with the poor. Certainly, there was nothing extraordinary in her life. Well, extraordinary was, perhaps, her serene and peaceful countenance even when visited by suffering and pain. She died with the Rosary in her hands and her last words were: Ave Maria Purísima – the words the poor used when they knocked at the door of our home. I think she was knocking at the door of heaven and waiting for the Lord – for Saint Peter – to open and let her in.

How to become a saint? We become saints by being followers and imitators of Jesus Christ, the Holy One. By the sacrament of Baptism we become holy in our being as Christians. By our practice of faith we become holy and holier. St. Paul advises us: Live “as is proper for God’s holy people” (Eph 5:3); be clothed with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12); do the will of God in all things, even – like Jesus – by being “obedient unto death, even to death on the cross” (Phil 2:7-8).

Jesus sent to us the Holy Spirit to teach us about him and provide the grace and graces we need to follow him closely, above all, regarding love of God and love of neighbor, and the perfection of love of our neighbor, that is, loving him or her not just as we love ourselves but as Christ loves us (cf. Jn 13:34; cf. LG 42). Grace and love are poured into our souls by the Holy Spirit who has been given us (cf. Rom 5:5).

Holiness is one (loving union with Christ in the Church, which is holy). However the paths of holiness are many and each one is called to follow the best path for him or her, that is, his or her personal vocation. A lay person, a married couple, a religious woman, a priest are called by the Lord to imitate him essentially in the same way and individually according to the specific path each one of us is called to follow Jesus. Remember always that all the saints point to Jesus. St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, a great devotee of Our Lady writes: “If you call Mary, the echo is Jesus.” (You may read Raffaello Martinelli, “How Do We Become Saints.” www.sancarlo.pcn.net: February 2013)

 CONCLUSION

Let us be truly devout people. Then, for sure, we shall have unspeakable spiritual joy: “the direct and principal effect of devotion is spiritual joy” (II-II, 82, 4).

Let us be devoted to God – to Jesus. Let us be good children of Mary our Mother. Let us venerate in a personal way the saints of our devotion and imitate their virtues. Let us realize that according to the tradition of the Church, guardian angels protect us before dangers and intercede for us before God.

May Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and other saints accompany us on the journey of life to heaven, to eternal life, to a life in God in the company of Mary and the saints and our family and friends, and the whole company of heaven!

FAUSTO GOMEZ, O.P.

Macau, November 2013

THE ORIGINS OF THE ROSARY

The origins of the rosary are “sketchy” at best. The use of “prayer beads” and the repeated recitation of prayers to aid in meditation stem from the earliest days of the Church and has roots in pre-Christian times. Evidence exists from the Middle Ages that strings of beads were used to count Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Actually, these strings of beads became known as “Paternosters,” the Latin for “Our Father.”

The structure of the rosary gradually evolved between the 12th and 15th centuries. Eventually 50 Hail Marys were recited and linked with verses of psalms or other phrases evoking the lives of Jesus and Mary. During this time, this prayer form became known as the rosarium (“rose garden”), actually a common term to designate a collection of similar material, such as an anthology of stories on the same subject or theme. During the 16th century, the structure of the five-decade rosary based on the three sets of mysteries prevailed.

 Tradition does hold that St Dominic (d. 1221) devised the rosary as we know it. Moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother, he preached the use of the rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensians, who had denied the mystery of Christ. Some scholars take exception to St. Dominic’s role in forming the rosary. The earliest accounts of his life do not mention it, the Dominican constitutions do not link him with it and contemporaneous portraits do not include it as a symbol to identify the saint.

 In 1922, Dom Louis Cougaud stated, “The various elements which enter into the composition of that Catholic devotion commonly called the rosary are the product of a long and gradual development which began before St Dominic’s time, which continued without his having any share in it, and which only attained its final shape several centuries after his death.” However, other scholars would rebut that St Dominic not so much “invented” the rosary as he preached its use to convert sinners and those who had strayed from the faith. Moreover, at least a dozen popes have mentioned St Dominic’s connection with the rosary, sanctioning his role as at least a “pious belief.”

 The rosary gained greater popularity in the 1500s, when Moslem Turks were ravaging Eastern Europe…. In 1571, Pope Pius V organized a fleet under the command of Don Juan of Austria the half-brother of King Philip II of Spain. While preparations were underway, the Holy Father asked all of the faithful to say the rosary and implore our Blessed Mother’s prayers, under the title Our Lady of Victory, that our Lord would grant victory to the Christians. Although the Moslem fleet outnumbered that of the Christians in both vessels and sailors, the forces were ready to meet in battle. The Christian flagship flew a blue banner depicting Christ crucified. On October 7, 1571, the Moslems were defeated at the Battle of Lepanto. The following year, Pope St Pius V established the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7, where the faithful would not only remember this victory, but also give thanks to the Lord for all of His benefits and remember the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother.

The fact that our Church continues to include the Feast of the Holy Rosary on the liturgical calendar testifies to the importance and goodness of this form of prayer. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.”

A PROFILE OF AN ITINERANT MISSIONARY IN ASIA

 Fr. Santiago Saiz, OP, visited our convent in Macau some days in April, 2013. Bro. Matthew Shing MangTun, OP, interviewed Fr. Santiago, who was then on his way to our new mission in East Timor. Fr. Santiago is the third man of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary there and is joining our brothers Frs. Ruben Martinez and Gerson Javier Nieto. Bro. Matthew is a fourth year theology student from Myanmar at the Faculty of Christian Studies of the Catholic university of Saint Joseph, Macau (Editor)

Question: Good morning Father Santiago. It is a pleasure to meet you and talk to you! My name is Brother Matthew. First of all, let me ask you about your family, and where were you born and grew up?

Answer: I am Spanish. My hometown is called Arcos (Burgos), which is – more or less – 80 km from Caleruega, the birthplace of St. Dominic. So I grew up in a simple family. My father is a farmer, we were nine altogether. We are seven brothers, I am the third. I had opportunity to go to the minor seminary, when I was 11. At that time, there was no Dominican yet in my hometown.

Could you tell us your vocation story?

In my hometown, there was a tradition to send the students to the Marist brothers. My elder brother went there.  So, my father also prepared for me to go there. So one of the Marist brothers came to bring us with him, but my friend and I decided not to go: I did not want to become a brother, but a priest. So later on, through my friends, my family allowed me to join the Dominicans, when the Dominicans came to our place.

What difficulties did you encounter during your studentate and how did you solve them to survive?

In the minor seminary we started 126 seminarians at the beginning, but during the novitiate year, only 14 brothers started and 9 of us remained. My best friend left too. So, I was a little bit sad. At the beginning I had some doubts. I decided to remain and since then I had no serious problem in my novitiate. Regarding the studentate years, I was quite happy in Madrid, in a very large convent with a great library. Almost all the professors were Dominicans. One of them was Fr. Jose Luis de Miguel. He taught me History of Religion for one year. Well, for six years our professors taught us a lot of theology and philosophy. But at the beginning it was a little bit hard the relationship between the new professed students and the students who were about to be ordained. It was a great privilege, however, to have a very open-minded master of students. We were allowed to go out and visit the parishes and do some apostolate works during the weekends. In general, it was a very happy time.

As a Dominican from Spain how did you feel when you were assigned to Asia as a missionary?

I started to know something about our missionaries in my novitiate, which I did in Ocaña (Toledo), a very special place where many martyrs and missionaries came from. Later, during my seminarian life, we used to represent special “dramas”, or theater representations with the stories of our missionaries in China, Japan and Vietnam. By reading these stories I became very interested in our missions. I was very fortunate also because I had a chance to live with Fathers who had been great missionaries in different places in Asia. I was moved and inspired by their holy life. They were very happy missionaries of Christ, so I wished to become a missionary in Asia and try to be – as they were – a happy missionary. Later on, I was ordained Deacon. My superiors asked me then where I would wish to go for the mission. I answered them I would like to study more now so I would be ready to teach in the future. Maybe, I added, I would like to go to the Philippines, where we have a great school, the University of Santo Tomas (UST), or maybe to Japan. My superiors assigned me to Japan. This was one of my two choices, so I was happy to go there.

As a missionary of Christ, how do you spend a day in your place of mission?

In Japan, at the beginning it was very hard and difficult to learn the language. I spent two, almost three years in silence, learning the language, culture and way of living of the Japanese people. After three years, I was able to say Mass in Japanese properly, although it was very difficult, especially when we were very young: we wanted to do pastoral work as soon as possible! After one year and half, I was sent to a small parish, which had at that time a hundred Christians – more or less. I was very happy then taking care of Kindergarten kids – and still struggling with the Japanese language. Later on, I thought about the possibility of studying History of the Church. The superiors granted my wish: I would go to Rome to study. So I was ready to go there, and had already the plane ticket; but then the superior of Tokyo become sick and the brothers looked for someone to replace him. The brothers chose me to be the new Superior. Thus my project to go to Rome was shelved. I was asked to study more, so I went to the Jesuit University and studied Pastoral Theology – theory and practice. While studying, I did some pastoral work and helped some parishes around. I was studying for three years, and this was very helpful for me and my current and future work.

What makes your day a happy one in your life as a missionary in Asia?

After studying at the Jesuit University in Tokyo, I became a high schoolteacher at Aiko School, Matsuyama. After six months, I was asked to go to our mission in Korea. I was one of the first groups to go there. Again, it was a very hard time at the beginning. I remember one touching moment when the Fathers who came with me left to different places. I had some doubts then regarding the future of the mission of the Province in Korea. Then something beautiful happened: one shining moment that strengthened my resolution to continue there. This is what happened: one day I went to say Mass to the Church; on my way back at the metro station, one man approached me in a hurry and asked me: “Are you a priest?” I answered, yes. He continued asking me: “Do you have time?” Well, I must go home and prepare my dinner, I said. Right away I realized that this man really needed my help. So, I told him, if you want to come to my house, we can speak. So, we went to the house. As soon as he came in, he started crying and talking. It was like an explosion! I didn’t say a word, but just stayed there and listened to him. While he was talking and crying, I was thinking: maybe I came to Korea because of this man; this is my mission! I don’t need to go out and look for work; God who sent to me this man to help him will send others as He wishes. If I am open, I thought, I can be of help. This was a very simple pastoral experience, but for me it was a very touching one, because it made me realize what mission is all about, namely, to be available and open. People will notice that just listening to people is a mission; listening to people who are suffering is what pastoral work is all about. It is not about building many churches or something like that. For me, indeed, that touching moment with a needy person was a turning point in my mission.

Father, tells us something about your life in Korea and Japan?

It was eighteen years in Korea. In these years, formation was my main work among others. I covered all the formation areas. I was in charge of the postulants. I was master of novices for three years more or less. I was master of student for many years. I was also in charge of the Dominican Laity and the Rosary Association. Moreover, I was helping in many parishes close to our house, and also from time to time I gave retreats to different communities of brothers and sisters. I used to be a confessor of the cloistered Dominican sisters and taught them Bible and Christology. Before I went to Korea, I was in Japan for eight years. After my years in Korea, I went back to Japan where I was assigned for the last five years. Back in Japan, I was a parish priest, I was in charge of two kindergartens and for two years I was also the administrator of the Diocese of Takamatsu. So I had plenty of work and was moving here and there all the time.

I heard and read that Fr. Provincial wrote a letter to all the brothers in our Province for volunteers as missionaries to East Timor. You were very much settled down first in Korea and now in Japan, and you know well the cultures in Korea and Japan. I noticed that you were talking with our Korean brothers in their language at breakfast this morning… My question is: Why did you offer yourself to go to our new mission in East Timor? Or what made you say “Yes” to the letter of Fr. Provincial?

 It is a very good question indeed. It was a kind of heart feeling, not of much thinking. When I read the letter of Fr. Provincial Javier asking for volunteers, I asked myself what I should do. Without much thinking I said: I must support this mission; at least I must say “OK let us start.” However, I realized that one thing is to volunteer and another to be sent! I decided that I’ll try anyway. The way this decision was taken by me became a cause of distress and burden to my brothers in Japan. For this I apologized. But after the decision was taken by the P. Provincial to send me to East Timor, he asked me to be open to return to those missions if the future superiors think it is needed to do so. Personally, I am open to any future assignment, of course.

 Now I would like to ask you: “Who is St. Dominic for you?”

Well, he was a very sensitive man. He knew the needs of the Church and he knew that we should be as poor as possible in many ways and thus cut any attachment and become more opened to walk freely and bring the Good News to the people. Our Father Dominic was also a very good listener. According to my experiences in Japan and Korea, in life we learn more than we teach. So now I am going to learn to be poor in new ways. I think I am going to receive plenty of lessons because the Timorese Christian community seems to be very simple and also naive in the good way, and close to God. I hope this community will be for me a great lesson to be learned. So I am going there to learn and later on, if I can share something, I would be very happy to share it with them.

Finally, we are about to finish our studies, and about to go out as missionaries. Do you have any message for us?

We are sent to a mission. We don’t decide where and what to do. So now in most of the countries, there is the local Church. This reality is a little different from the one at the time I became a Dominican and sent as a missionary. Now we are supposed to help the local churches more, collaborate with the local clergy and not be obstacles to the pastoral projects of the respective local Church. We must be very patient and helpful and live in harmony with the local clergy and the local Church.  This sounds good but it is not easy to carry out! Usually the local clergy are more down to earth and tend to be a bit more conservative. We need to take time to learn. If the ecclesiastical authorities ask you to take care of the children, you take care of the children, and if later on you find ways to do something else, do it. The most important thing is to live in harmony with the community where one is assigned.

Muchas Gracias Padre! May the Good Lord always keep you in peace in the new Mission in East Timor!

(Interview by Brother Matthew Shing Mang Tun, OP)

 

 

 

 

 

A PILGRIM’S NOTES: MY FATIMA EXPERIENCE

 

 

 

            On the day of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, I wish to recall

my visit to Fatima, Portugal last year, and reflect on

the devotion to Our Lady, the Mother

of Jesus and our Mother.

 

. As a human being, I am a pilgrim to a thousand destinations. As a Christian – a believer -, I am a pilgrim to a thousand destinations plus one – the hope in God here and hereafter. As a pilgrim – not just a tourist -, I have visited many sacred places, including the Holy Land, Rome, Santiago de Compostela, etc. I have also visited a good number of shines dedicated to Our Lady and Mother Mary. For some time, I had hoped to be able to visit Fatima, Portugal, but for one reason or another, I was not able to travel to Portugal.

            I WILL GO TO FATIMA – TOMORROW!

I believe it was in the 1980s when I watched the movie “The Oscar.” Since then, from time to time, when I find myself procrastinating things and trips, the main story of this film comes to my mind. The main character was awarded the coveted Oscar for Best Actor. From then on, the actor was busier: with commitments here and there, press conferences, many new offerings to act in different movies, etc. As a result, he did not have much time to spend with the family, with his wife. One day his wife told him: “We have to talk, darling.” Yes, the actor replied, we have to talk; may be tomorrow.” But tomorrow never came, it never does! The same question and the same answer day after day. So one day, the wife told him: “We are running out of tomorrows.”

            How often have I answered the same way to my desire to make a pilgrimage to Fatima! Last summer of 2012, I promised myself: “It has to be this year for I am really running out of tomorrows!  And, thanks God, it was. On August 31, 2012, I visited Fatima – finally!

            While a friend drove me to Fatima from Lisbon, he said: “I hope you will not be disappointed.” I answered him: “I do not think so, I have faith from God.” With this comment I meant: I believe in Jesus as the Son of God and the only Savior, and I believe in and have a special devotion to Mary as the Mother of Jesus and my Mother, and as the disciple of disciples of the Lord. During our lunch, we made a toast: “For our work for the Kingdom in Macau.” I added: “And for our continuing conversion.”

            After reserving a room at the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, near the Shrine of Fatima, I walked to the International Convent of Dominican Nuns. In one of the arches of their chapel I read: “Ad Jesum per Mariam” (To Jesus through Mary). Yes, through her or with her to Jesus.

            FINALLY I VISITED FATIMA

Before supper I visited the Shine of Our Lady of Fatima. At the entrance of the esplanade for the processions, there is a text on the wall in different languages: “Fatima is a place for adoration. Enter as a pilgrim.” To enter as a pilgrim meant for me to walk towards a deeper conversion to Jesus and also to Mary, His Mother.

            After supper I went back to the Sanctuary of Fatima, to the Chapel of the Apparitions (the site where Our Lady appeared to Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia on May 13, 1917 for the first time). Here I participated in the Eucharist in Spanish. The presiding bishop explained the third word of Jesus from the Cross: “Behold your mother (to John the Evangelist), behold your son (to Mary).” He commented: We are pilgrims of faith,   and with this faith we truly see Jesus and Mary, for, as Jesus said: “Blessed are those who do not see and believe.” The three little shepherds of Fatima saw the Virgin in a vision; we see Jesus and her Mother with the eyes of faith. (As the preacher expressed those thoughts, a story of Blessed John Paul II crossed my mind. As we know, the Pope was convinced that Our Lady of Fatima saved him from death on May 13, 1981, the day of the attempted assassination. Once Pope John Paul II was asked if he had seen the Madonna; he answered: “No, I have never seen the Madonna, but I sense her.”)

            In the evening I attended with hundreds of people the recitation of the Rosary and the Procession around the esplanade. It was a Friday so we prayed the sorrowful mysteries which were led by different groups of pilgrims: First mystery was in Portuguese (there were many Portuguese and Brazilian); the second mystery was in Spanish (many Spaniards from Toledo and Cadiz were present); the third mystery was recited partly in Italian and partly in French (there were some pilgrims from both countries); the fourth mystery was in English and Tagalog (for the Irish and Filipino groups) and the fifth mystery was in Hungarian and Polish (citizen from these two countries were also present). Each mystery was properly introduced theologically and closed with a Marian song. After the Mysteries, the Litany of Mary was prayed by all.

            For the Procession we all had candles in hand. The priest, who introduced the Procession with the image of Our Lady of Fatima, asked us to light the candles and said: “The light represents the light of our Baptism, which continues calling us to a luminous and good life.”  The Procession was devout and beautiful – partly in darkness: it appeared that the lighted candles were walking! More enchanting songs to Mary followed and some talking silences. The moving ceremonies closed with the singing of the Salve Regina and of the song “Totus Tuus,” which alludes to the motto of Pope John Paul II, who directed it to Mary: “I am all yours, Mary!”

            TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY

After the Procession, we all were asked to practice “meditative silence.” Many pilgrims stayed in the Chapel of the Apparitions silently and prayerfully. I faced my devotion to Mary – and to the Rosary. Fatima, Benedict XVI has said (Fatima, May 12, 2010), is “an altar of the world,”  “an upper room of faith.” Indeed, from this altar, from this upper room the Fatima message is as relevant today as ninety five years ago: prayer, penance, conversion, living faith, love of God and neighbor.

            We are children of God, and also, in a spiritual sense, children of Mary. To be a good child, I need to have, as Vatican II says, “filial love for Mary.” This filial love moves me to trying hard to imitate Mary’s life, her virtuous life: her humility (“I am the handmaid of the Lord”), her obedience (“Let it be”), her love (she visited Elizabeth with the child Jesus in her womb), her prayer life (she kept everything that happened around Jesus in her heart). What is essential is that our devotion to Mary takes us to Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, our only Mediator. Benedict XVI said when visiting Fatima: “Mary is fully immersed in the one universal mediation of Christ.” He added on another occasion: “The central picture is Jesus, however, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Lord is an essential part of this picture” (Conversations with Peter Seewald, in Light of the World, 2010)

            The next morning (September 1, 2012), I went back to the Chapel of the Apparitions. I wanted to pray the Rosary alone – and very slowly and meditatively. Our devotion to Mary is good if it leads us to Christ. Our devotion to the Rosary – to Mary – is good if it help us – as Blessed Pope John Paul II tells us – to “learn” and “read” Jesus from Mary, and to discover his secrets and understand his message. Pope Paul VI tells us that the Rosary is like a ladder, and we climb it to meet Jesus and Mary. Through the beads of the Rosary we go to the prayers (the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be), and through the prayers to the Mysteries of the Rosary, and through the Twenty Mysteries to the encounter with Christ and Mary.

I stayed on for the Mass in Italian. In this Eucharistic celebration, the Italian priest pronounced a moving homily. You could feel he believed passionately in what he was telling us. He asked us the same question God asked the three little shepherds, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta “Do you wish to offer your life – your daily life – to God?” He continued: Our Lord told the children and tells us of the need of prayer, penance and love – the need of continuing conversion. Is this hard? He asked. Do not worry! Our Lady accompanies us with her spiritual presence, maternal love and care. In this time of crisis, we have to be open to others in love; we have to help the needy by sharing something of what we have with them. This – he concluded – constitutes the true devotion to Jesus and to Mary.

Our Lady is not only the first disciple of Jesus whom we have to imitate, but also our Mother whom we have to love with filial love; she is also our best intercessor before Jesus – before God. When we ask her help, she approaches Jesus in heaven – as she did at the Wedding at Cana – to tell him: “They have no wine, or no peace, or no unity in the family, or they lack patience, or courage, or compassion, or a prayer life…”  Mary turns to us to say: “Do whatever He tells you.” And Jesus continues telling you and me: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” “Love one another as I have loved you,” “What you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me,” “Do not worry; I am with you until the end of time.”

            HAPPY TO HAVE VISITED FATIMA!

For a long time I have wanted to journey to Fatima as a pilgrim. I had two main reasons. Reason number one: I believe Fatima is a privileged place of Marian presence: Through 96 years (1917-2013), millions of people have appealed to Mary, and she has heard – and continues hearing – the cry of the people, especially of the little ones, the little shepherds of the world. My second reason to visit Fatima: I believed I could “see” simple people – the poor in spirit – expressing their faith with testimonial sincerity. These people would hopefully move me silently to be more determined in following Christ with the help of Mary. I did find simple people: devout, prayerful, kind. I “saw” a little child in the Italian priest who preached the homily. I strengthened my faith seeing a young mother and her teenaged son walking silently on their knees around the Chapel of Apparitions. I watched an old lady seated in one of the benches around the altar of the Chapel going through her beads of the Rosary silently; her face was so serene, so joyful!

            My friend told me: “I hope you will not be disappointed.” I was not! Not at all It reminded me of the sincere devotion I had to Mary when I was a child: through the month of May, we the children of my town went to the fields in the afternoon to pick up some flowers and offer them during the daily Marian celebration to Mary {Las Flores de Mayo – “The Flowers of May”}. Jesus keeps telling us today: “If you do not become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.” I saw in Fatima people who were like children and I keep trying to become a true child of God – and of Mary!   In this challenging and hopeful endeavor, the daily recitation of the Rosary of Mary, or any other true devotion to Mary, can help us much. May it be so!

  FAUSTO GOMEZ, OP

DOMINICAN CONTEMPLATION AS A SOLUTION TO COMMUNAL ISSUES

MACAO – May 02, 2013. Having been asked these days by some brothers about the global issues, such as environmental crisis, terrorism, disease, weapon of mass destruction (WMD), debt and poverty, and so forth, the topics were simply following me to the morning meditations when I thought of the Dominicans’ contemplative life as a possible solution to those issues.

 As I see it, all the global issues could be rooted in the local and individual issues of the self, which are very often more selfish than selfless. Paradoxically, human beings, on the one hand, would like to come together in unity, for there, by sharing the same values in the community, they find it happy; on the other, out of their over-ambition, self-importance and self-interest, people turn out to be the active causes of all negative issues towards the others, which later spread globally and affect the dignity and rights of all humanity, including their own. Hence, an approach to the so-called global issues from a communal perspective – that all their possible repercussions may destroy our common good – would be more Christian, relevant, and resonating with the human conscience.

 Contemplation is regarded as the foundation of the Dominican life, where the spiritual fruits rooted would then be shared for the salvation of souls, which is in fact the raison-d’être of the Dominicans. Yet, what is contemplation, one may ask, according to the Dominican tradition? Saint Dominic, the Founder of the Order, has already given us a prototype of how to act: Speaking to God and of God only. Contemplation, therefore, means speaking to God.

 Speaking to God, of course, entails the real love of God and the ability to discern the presence of God, to listen to God and to live in God. Friar Vincent de Couesnogle, when discussed about the contemplative dimension of Dominican life in 1983, saw it “a living relationship with God which, when it is intensified and prolonged, becomes a looking, a loving, a listening and welcoming of God.” A living relationship with God as such should urge God-lovers to recognize God and listen to the truths of God just around the corner, in the persons beside us. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20). Indeed, the truths of God are objectively true in themselves, not merely in or interfered by any human authorities, properties and sympathies. Listening and being readily to listen to the truths of God is also the Dominican profession, though!

 Truly speaking to God would oblige the contemplator to speak of God. “Seed when scattered fructifies, when hoarded, rots” – said Saint Dominic. Speaking of God alone thrusts aside the temptation to speak of oneself, usually boasting or presenting of one’s concerns, which may bore the audience and at times cause conflicts. Habitually speaking to God and of God would then give the contemplator no time falling into trivial gossips, which very often result in prejudiced judgments and hateful actions. On the contrary, a transcendental encounter with God would allow the contemplators enough charity to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). Speaking of God undoubtedly compels certain work of prophecy, fraternal corrections, and just criticism for the good of the beloved, not political correctness for the sake of our own selves.

 As we have seen, Dominican contemplation would lead the contemplator to a dynamic encounter with God – the Truth, the Beauty, and the Goodness. Knowing God is the beginning of knowing and realizing oneself. By way of the Divinity humanity can thus overcome any shortcomings, differences, be connected and reunited – the common good that humans themselves at times cannot make it. Dominican contemplation is quite unlike other oriental methods of meditation, which aim at single-pointed concentration, or single-pointed analysis, or simply for a relaxation of mind. Dominican contemplation aims an intimate communion with God and a spiritual conversion of oneself out of loving God.

 In a world that is widely globalized yet deeply divided by individualism like today, an actual practice of the Dominican contemplation allows one to constantly stay in touch with God, in which relationship they certainly find solutions to their communal issues, I believe. For no one claims to really love God, saying, eagerly listening to the Truth, yet fails to recognize the truths in their neighbors, looks down on them, “kisses up, kicks down,” thinks first of their own interests and disdains the others’. In the hustle and bustle of this secularized world, Dominicans even need to practice contemplating more than ever, so that they may always be on clear conscience, able to sense the sacredness in daily life, to keep up their identity and to live up their vocation properly.

 Yet, contemplating would only be possible in solitude, in tranquility of soul, “in poor spirit” (Matthew 5:3), where those who truly long for God (cf. Psalm 42:2) can thus be satisfied and renewed in God. Suitable environment is needed for the seeds of contemplation. Positive role models are needed for the progression of contemplation. Fellow companions, as long as they are upholders, not distractors, are needed, too, for the fruits and sharing of those fruits of contemplation.

Peter Thoại, O.P.

FRATERNAL LIFE

 A human person is by nature a social being and needs companionship with his fellow men. Naturally, all men have the desire to love others and to be loved in return, sharing all the joys and pains they have.

So, here we are, brothers! We come from different parts of the world to live together in community, and share everything we have. It seems impossible to live with people who have different backgrounds, cultures and behaviors. But the truth is we have something in common, that is, following the footsteps of Christ by way of preaching the Gospel with humility and patience. Because we have the same vision we are able to live as brothers though we were strangers at the beginning. In fact, the place in which we live is our home, and all the members of the community are our family. So, all we have to do is to love, care and help the community the best we can because this is the place where we belong and to no other places may we wander.

Brotherly relationship is enriched by caring for each other in times of need, and by encouraging the brothers in times of sorrow. Brotherly love, understanding and forgiveness are the remedies that every brother should hold on throughout our lives to be able to live fraternal life. Understandably, in our communities there are at times conflicts, and argumentations arise among members. Of course, we are just imperfect human beings. But let us be aware of this: we achieve perfection through imperfection. Out of love, fraternal corrections are made in order to strengthen further relationship, if necessary.

Christ is the good model of fraternal love. He himself showed brotherly love to his followers. For the sake of love, he took human form and became man like one of us. He, indeed, loved his people so much that this love brought Him to the altar of the cross to save all men from the slavery of sin and thus allow us to become co-heirs in the Father’s house. By washing the feet of the disciples, he showed simplicity and service that are needed by all. All Christ has shown to us is just purely love that overcame the power of death. By now, one can see that with love, everything can happen at any time. Love alone can soften a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. No hatred and evil can resist the goodness of love.

We ask the Lord for his blessings! May we serve each other regardless of age and status! May we have the strength to bear our daily cross in following Christ’s footsteps! May loving one another as we love ourselves and taking our personal responsibilities in the community please God, and inspire the people who are around us by seeing our way of life. Moreover, respect and fidelity are present as well. Then, there may be brotherly love among us and we may be at peace.

Bro. Francis Naw San, O. P.

St. Dominic’s Priory, March 29, 2013