RWS # 265 for December 23, 2007, 4th Sunday of Advent

Gospel: Mt. 1: 18-24
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,"
which means 'God is with us'."


Motivating workers
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

Many companies or business would take advantage of the Christmas season not only to improve on their production or sales, but also on boosting the morale of their staff, employees and everyone in the workplace by giving bonuses or gifts or by having a celebration together. The underlying or hidden reason for the season’s festive atmosphere is the great event of the birth of Jesus—God becoming man, or “God is with us”. Yet, it is a very common experience that the reality of God being with us remains normally “hidden” in these joyful celebrations or it is being “covered” by the frills of the exciting moments. Even in big Christmas celebrations—big expenses in terms of time, money and effort—very little is done to make everyone conscious and aware of the abiding presence of God in every minute of our day and in every place of our work.

We could say with great certainty that God’s being with us means He is working with us, He is present when we work and that He is at our side as we do our jobs. God’s presence in our life and work is real even when we are not aware of it. He gives us the strength to bear all the difficulties, provides us the energies to carry on with our jobs even when we don’t feel His divine powers. But, when we give attention to this reality we would certainly feel secure and even strongly motivated to work harder than usual.

The thought of working with someone great or working for him—like a rich and noble employer, a renowned and dependable company, or a famous personality—could normally boost the worker’s ability to perform in an excellent manner. Time and effort spent by the individual or by the company to promote and keep always the spirit of God’s presence in the work and in the workplace would therefore be most profitable for all.


Joseph the midwife
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

For today, allow me to divert from our usual work-related reflections to just this very timely one. God at times uses the oddest things to remind us of a truth that is furthest away from our minds. In the bible, He uses the ass of Balaam to speak; if He chooses to use your pet dog, a butterfly, a religious image, or a TV show to move your heart or open your eyes, who are you to question that?—He is God, after all. He can even use a movie if He wishes, as He did with The Nativity.

By its title alone, we know it must be about the birth of Jesus. Of course, the climax of the movie is near the end, when Jesus is born. The newborn babe, still bathed in blood, is shown in the hands of Joseph. That single powerful shot triggered in me a barrage of thoughts which I had never pondered before: Joseph served as the midwife at Jesus’ birth! Remember they were alone at the stable—no inn would receive them? So who helped Mary deliver? Who cut Jesus’ umbilical cord? Who wiped up the baby? Who cleaned the “delivery table”? Who put away the bloody clothes? But what really struck my heart was, the sight of the bloody newborn—because it reminded me of the humanness of Jesus. Just like you and me, he was born of a human mother, in blood and water; so Jesus had a navel, too!

Before that movie I had taken for granted the humanity of Jesus’ birth. Like everybody else I’d been exposed to the nativity scene in Christmas cards, stampitas, belens and paintings through the ages which show a clean and radiant Baby Jesus in a manger, adored by the magi and the shepherds. Then all of a sudden he’s on the movie screen, all covered with blood. He is indeed Emmanuel—God with us!

RWS # 264 for December 16, 2007, 3rd Sunday of Advent

Gospel: Mt. 11: 2-11
4 Jesus said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.


A saving grace
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The Jews at the time of Jesus were expecting a Savior, to deliver them from their many kinds of suffering—personal, economic, social, political and spiritual ones. Jesus confirmed that He was the Messiah to those whom John the Baptist had sent to verify whether it was He whom they were waiting for. He pointed out to them that many sick people have been healed and the poor given the “good news”—that people are being made whole in their being, rather than being given material things, like money with which they can buy their freedom from any kind of evil or with which they can have more things to enjoy. Jesus provided a different kind of salvation, or rather, a more complete kind of salvation which would grant the believer true freedom and happiness.

In our times, work for many is some kind of a savior saving them and their families from material, physical, or financial poverty and providing them with satisfaction and happiness in at least what money gained from work can buy. For others who may be suffering from psychological pains such as boredom, loneliness, sense of worthlessness and others, work could also be a source of healing for them. Yet, ironically, work could also be the oppressor for others. Some would be enslaved, over- burdened and distressed by too much work. Some would get burnt out, physically and mentally spent due to excessive working.

What then could save work from being an oppressor to the worker and transform it to his veritable savior? When work is taken up with Jesus—the worker believing in Him as the Messiah present among us in our day to day activities—and, when it is done with love and sacrifice in union with Him. Work then, becomes a saving grace.


Awed by miracles
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

For some (or many?) people, work is the most important thing in life—so important that they would work even on Sundays and holidays. Filipinos overseas taking two or three jobs to earn a living are no longer uncommon for us; almost every other middle class Pinoy has some migrant relatives abroad who tell them of their hardships earning precious dollars, euros or dinari.. And yet, I observe that even from among such workaholics you’ll find those who would not hesitate to drop whatever work they’re doing in order to make time for a mystery. This is what today’s gospel leads me to think.

One concrete example: a number of colleagues—all a hardworking lot—take leave from their work in order to be free to consult a visiting Filipino Catholic priest who has earned a worldwide reputation for being a miracle worker. This healer-priest is known to have made the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the dead to rise again. They exclaim, “Nakabuhay ng patay?! Nakakamangha, di ba?” thus the workaholics find time for him—to beg healing for their myriad aches and pains.

If such a keen need for a healing medium does not make us see that there is Something or Someone Else more important than our work, then the healing encounter would not be completely beneficial—it may even do more harm than good. You’ve heard, of course, of people who earn so much money all their life only to spend it all on hospital bills? We ought to see that our being workaholics indicates a certain lack of balance in our lifestyle. If we consciously attend to First Things first—listen to the Source of our very existence first, even only for a few moments each day—we will be perfectly guided as to the use of our bodies, talents and resources. Then we will not be awed by miracle cures, miracle drugs and miracle workers. We become the miracle.

RWS # 263 for Dec. 9, 2007, 2nd Sunday of Advent

Gospel: Mt. 3: 1-12
11 I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

Excellence and humility
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The humble attitude of John the Baptist who acknowledged Jesus as “mightier than I” is not very common among us, mortals. Our most preferred mode in our relationship with others is the “I am the greatest” attitude. The prevailing competitive spirit in today’s world strongly affirms this mind-set and behavior also in the world of work and business. Almost no one would admit that he is weaker than his competitor or that his products or services are lesser in quality than those of the others. Very few managers would not openly admit that their subordinates are better than them, nor are there many rank and file workers who would give affirmation and appreciation to colleagues who show better work performance than them.

Yet, it is clear that in the “career” (mission) of John the Baptist, humility—acceptance of his proper role given by God, and acknowledging the primacy of Christ over his being and his mission—did not hinder him from performing his work in a most excellent way. People around him and Christ, Himself commended him for a job well-done. To aim at excellence in work therefore, would not mean to look down on others and their capabilities and value only or solely one’s own competence; but, working to the top would require a sincere and humble acceptance of the truth that what we are and what we can do are gifts from the Source of our being and life.

Everyone, in whatever career or rank in his job, whether one considered as the lowest or the highest, would always be the best in his category when he would sincerely acknowledge that it is the Lord who is mightier than him, and would give all his best for the Lord and in the accomplishment of his given task.


An otherwise cold world
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

This business of being “worthy to carry His sandals” reminds me of an incident that happened some 12 years ago. I was helping the driver and the delivery man unload packs of Blue Collar magazine at the Don Bosco Mandaluyong campus, carrying them from the van to the storeroom, when a young priest, Fr. Jack, passed by. Seeing that there were thousands of copies to unload, he promptly joined us. Though surprised, I welcomed the idea of a priest doing the job of a delivery man, so we happily continued, oblivious to the usual campus activity around us.

Then some students in their late teens, noticing the priest’s extraordinary task, put down their rucksacks to help us as well, so that the work was done speedily. Much later on, I overheard Fr. Jack telling the students “Kung yung mismong editor, babae pa, mas matanda pa sa akin, nagbubuhat ng magasin natin, bakit hindi ako?” (If the editor herself, a woman at that, and older than me, would cart our magazine, why not me?)

Himself revered by the people as a prophet, preacher and baptizer, John showed humility in admitting his unworthiness and recognizing his role before the Lord. In stepping out of his role as priest to momentarily become a manual worker, Fr. Jack manifested compassion, the visible fruit of an interior humility. Did it make him less of a priest? No; in fact, it expressed the essence of priesthood—servant leadership. The younger men took his lead, the load was shared, and the task was finished efficiently. Do we find in our workplaces presidents who would in an emergency change a blown out fuse, or offer you a lift home during a flash flood? There is room for humility in the workplace—it affirms the warmth of God’s presence in an otherwise cold world.