Friday, January 27, 2012

RWS for January 29

+  RWS 479 January 29, 2012
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel:  Mark 1: 21-28
23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
 I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
                                                                                                                                      
Unclean spirits at work
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The fearful complaint of the presence of Jesus by the man with an unclean spirit in the gospel incident cited above reminds me of a very common and pervasive situation in the world today and even at the work place and among workers—the lack of awareness of God’s presence and His loving will to save everyone, or, the apparent dominance of temporal and material things over those that are spiritual.  There is the so-called “tyranny of relativism” where things are considered not on absolute truths but on what suits personal and/or individual preferences.

Those who consider the workers more like tools and machineries for the production of goods, and who subsequently prefer greater profits than the greater welfare of the workers and their dependents—are like the man with an unclean spirit who fights against what Jesus came to earth for, which is to save mankind from all kinds of bondage, both in body and in spirit.  Likewise, the workers who do not see beyond their work and the material benefits thereof and do not make extra effort to inform and form themselves about the reality of God and their dependence on Him, are “silently”, and perhaps, unconsciously objecting to God’s active concern on His creatures and on the world which He has created.  Extraordinary sighting of demonic presence at the work place or scary manifestations of the evil spirits’ possession of workers may not be reported, but, there are certainly a lot of situations and things which point to the presence of the evil spirit in the world of work.

I believe that every worker should also beware of the presence of evil in the workplace and the various faces or forms it manifests. Recognizing one’s sins, mistakes and wrongdoings—one’s alliance with evil—is the first step to fearing the Lord and eventually crying for His mercy and forgiveness, thus, perfecting not only one’s work, but also one’s life.

Evil spirits in the workplace
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

Some years back I witnessed an exorcism at a construction site—a big hotel near Roxas Boulevard.  The owners of the building asked for it as they believed evil spirits were lurking, victimizing workers in a series of accidents, the worst of which was when a worker walked into a floorless elevator and naturally plunged to a grim death.  The exorcism rite was nothing like we see in the movies involving an exorcist battling the devil possessing a person.  This was an interreligious thing where “prayer warriors” holed out in a glass walled room on the ground floor prayed the rosary the whole night, while a select group of exorcists conducted a kabbala-based ritual several storeys up.

There to observe and write about the ritual, I was allowed to see the preparation, and was given enough information about what was to happen, but for my own protection I was told to stay with the prayer warriors during the ritual itself.  (By the way, the prayer warriors’ room was encircled in salt, a substance believed to shield one against evil spirits, and we inside that room were warned not to look outside the glass walls lest we see someone we know but who’s actually an evil spirit in disguise wanting to come in).  So, the exorcists had Latin prayers written inside a huge circle of salt where the exorcists were to sit during the ritual.  While kabbala is Jewish, the exorcists used some Catholic saints’ images, the crucifix, holy water, and lots of candles burning.

My point in telling you about this is: we need not wait for workers to die mysterious deaths in order to believe that there are evil spirits in the workplace.  Just as benevolent spirits are everywhere, so are malignant ones.  We could even be possessed by an unclean spirit, sad to say, without knowing, or admitting, that we are.  As long as we refuse to know ourselves to recognize that we could be enslaved by evil spirits, we will be cooperating with them in corrupting the workplace.  The spirit of pride, of anger, of lust, of sloth, of envy, et al—are they not present in us?  How are we freed from them?  As the gospel says—Jesus commands the unclean spirits and they obey Him!  Take a hint.   


+  RWS 478 January 22, 2012
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time


Gospel:  Mark 1: 14-20
17 Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
18 Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
                                                                                                                                      
Workers of Christ
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

From simple fishermen to “fishers of men” was what Simon and Andrew became when they heeded the call of Jesus to follow Him. In the context of our daily work, we can say that there could be a kind of transformation that would happen with our work and with us, the workers, as we make the presence of Jesus real in our respective jobs and professions. This is a challenge for all workers to face if they want to get the most out of their daily works and life.

Jesus, today and until the end of time, continues to invite everyone to believe in Him and follow His way of life as He did with people in His earthly sojourn. His presence continues through the living words of the Scriptures such as the Gospels, through the Church He established and the Sacraments He instituted, through the persons He has chosen and authorized to represent Him and make known His will, and, in the very depths of one’s heart—the conscience, which is the “voice of God” in each person He has created in His image and likeness. Jesus’ presence therefore is so available that anytime and every time the worker could come to Him, and be transformed into what the Lord wants him to be. Jesus certainly wants us to be more than just this world can offer; He wills that we become like Him too.

These spiritual dimensions of our life and work are those which make the workers more than just simply workers, but they become “workers of God” or “workers of Jesus”; they are worth more than just what their human employers could pay. To qualify for this superior category of workers, one must, like Simon and Andrew, “abandon their nets”—leave behind the material and earthly perspective of work or give them less attention and value than the spiritual and lasting ones. The worker then should also think of how he can follow Jesus through his work. He needs to invoke the Spirit of Jesus and allow Him to lead and guide him in this challenge.


‘Kinda silly’
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

While awaiting my turn at the city hall’s revenue office the other day, I had the leisure of observing the interaction between the clerks and their clients.  For some unknown reason my attention was nailed on this middle-aged guy issuing residence certificates.  For an even more mysterious reason my imagination went wild and flew to Galilee to picture a carpenter telling the fishermen to follow him to be made “fishers of men”—which is what today’s gospel is about.

With my eyes on the clerk and my mind in Galilee I wondered what Simon and Andrew felt at that moment Jesus walked by and called them.  Did they not think it was “kinda silly” to be promised a new fishing job?  I watched the guy’s repetitive actions and thought, Omigod, what a boring job, issuing residence certificates day in and day out.  How would he react if Jesus walked in and offered him a job as a “fisher of men”?  He’ll probably say, “But this is the only thing I know how to do, I’ve been at this for 19 years now!”  But then I mused, Would Jesus ask him, seriously? And I thought, Why not?  Indeed, why not?

With no exception Jesus calls everybody to follow Him and be “fishers of men”—whatever our trade or profession is.  But while He bids us to trace His footsteps, He meets us where we are: He doesn’t expect us to be miracle workers, icons of democracy, war heroes, Nobel Prize winners, geniuses or superstars.  Following Him may be as simple as being a good child to our Father from day to day, doing as He tells us, trusting Him in everything, befriending Him,  turning our work into service, so that seeing a reflection of Jesus in our countenance, others “get hooked” on Jesus in His network of compassion.  The guy who issues residence certificates eight hours a day—by his cheerfulness and friendly service he is following Jesus, and Jesus is using him as a bait with which to catch men.