Serving God alone

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 +  RWS 534 February 17, 2013

1^st Sunday of Lent

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

8 Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord,

your God, and him alone shall you serve.’”

Serve God alone

By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

Serve God alone?  This is simply not acceptable to anyone who wants to do what he wants in his life.  Yet, Jesus categorically declares that this must be so.  The reality is that God is Lord, and we human beings are creatures of God together with all of His creations.  The norm therefore is to serve God alone, with all our heart, mind and soul, and in every moment of our existence here on earth and in life-after.  Thus, we should consider how every act we do, including your daily works, can be our act of service to God and for God alone.

Doing one’s work could very well be a way of serving God, as the only Master worthy to be served.  The worker should do his job not just in order to please his employer or his boss, but to please God above all and to render Him due worship.  The worker’s acceptance of the Lordship of God in all of his being will make him give all the best he can to do his work, thus, making him an excellent worker in all standards of work performance.  While a worker who is unmindful of the reality of God’s kingship in his being, could do his job as much as he thinks and feels commensurate with how much he is given for his work.  If he sees that he is paid highly, he could give the corresponding effort and energy to his job. He could also endeavor to work harder and better if he wants a higher salary and greater work benefits. But the worker who totally adheres to God will work with his entire mind, his heart and his being for the love of his Master. Working totally for God can happen to one who loves God with all his being.

Serve God alone? Why not, after all, He alone can compensate us with our work with every satisfaction which our being truly needs. We need only to believe and trust in Him.  Then, it would be easier to love Him with all our work.

                  A holy burnout

          By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

For the first time after 718 years, another pope resigns.  If it’s any consolation to us ordinary laborers, we see that even His Holiness can experience workplace burnout.  If someone so chosen and blessed can get weary from doing his work, so can we who primarily take on jobs to sustain our families.  Now Pope Benedict XVI becomes the second pope of the Catholic Church to resign, the first being St. Celestine V who was elected pope at age 79 in July 1294 and who resigned after five months.

We learn that Benedict XVI had in 2009 and 2010 visited the St. Celestine’s earthquake stricken hometown of Sulmona, Italy, and laid his stole over the relic of St. Celestine.  In retrospect we surmise that as early as then, Pope Benedict XVI may have been drawing strength from the example of the saint he has so admired.  Benedict, like Celestine, voluntarily resigned due to old age, but people endlessly speculate on the “real reasons” behind his earthshaking resignation: Hampered by health issues?   Weakened by clergy-related scandals?  Shamed by his butler’s betrayal in leaking Vatican documents to media?  Did he give up because he was fed up with Church politics?

That’s just it—he “gave up” because he was “fed up”—that’s how a world which knows of no other reality than itself will see a man’s abdication of the papal throne.  Mass and social media are abuzz with speculation, many of them judging the pope’s “quitting” as an indication of failure.  On the contrary, I believe his resignation has been the most luminous move of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy, for now he is radically leading the people to what alone matters.  Renouncing the power of his position, he will go on serving the Church through a life of prayer. Surrendering your all to the Divine and dying to yourself—isn’t this what the gospel asks of all Christians?  In resigning, the pope is practising what he preaches, serving God alone, imprinting the love of God in the conscience of Church leaders.  Thus begins a new spring for God’s people.

Put out into deep water

+  RWS 533 February 10, 2013

5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

4 After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,

"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

Work deep

By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The instruction of Jesus to Peter to “put out into deep water” is very often interpreted as an invitation to His believers to go deeper in their life and activities. Thus, it could also challenge us to reflect on how we can get deep into our daily work so that we can reap greater satisfaction and enjoyment from it than the usual material and temporal ones. Very often, we value our work only at the surface, through its immediate benefits for us and our families.

To work deeper, so to say, we need to have faith and value things, people and events with and in the light of faith. It is a faith taught by the Catholic Church as “a personal adherence to God, ...a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.” Faith then, “has to be a norm and guide of life, its energy, inspiration and light” also for our work. Working with faith and in faith makes the worker see the God of life and work. Realizing then the presence of the Almighty, the worker would work in the spirit of love and surrender to the Lord, thus doing his work the best he can. The light of faith makes the worker understand the deeper meaning of the difficulties and hardships at work and thus make him more persevering and dedicated in his job. The energy that springs from believing makes the worker tireless in doing his job not only for its material compensation but above all for the social, moral and spiritual benefits from working well. Guided by his faith, the worker will be honest in his job at all times. He will also avoid anything that will compromise the welfare of his employers and those affected by his work. Indeed, faith makes one work deeper and with more fruitfulness.

As Peter experienced a great catch of fish because he believed in Jesus, the worker will surely enjoy work’s benefits with a satisfaction far beyond his expectations for as long as he works with faith in his mind and heart.

Abundance for all

By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

            At work, obedience to superiors is essential.  When done in good faith, obedience gives the worker direction, cultivates in him empathy and a sense of responsibility, teaches him patience, and prepares him for future leadership.  Fortunate are those who know that obedience in the workplace is more than just an employer-employee thing, not only a me-and-my-boss issue.  You do right when you believe that even if you think the will of your superior is not the will of God, it is the will of God that you obey your superior.  In other words, a Higher Authority than either you or your superior has to come into the equation.

            The powers that be in the workplace have a moral obligation to strive to be wise, just, and righteous.  A boss who demands of himself to be a servant of the good in time becomes the most productive superior of all, a blessing to everyone, a good role model whose legacy will last to benefit future generations.  A boss who will not align himself to the good will in time be taken over by malevolence because as the saying goes, “Nature abhors a vacuum.”  He who refuses to be a servant of the good will sooner or later become a slave of the bad. We only have to look around to see the chaos that can be caused by superiors who have chosen to be loyal to the wrong master—in the workplace, mediocre performance and a lot of cheating; in the bigger community, crime, corruption, moral depravity.

            See what happens when the subordinates obey in faith and superiors are above reproach, as demonstrated in today’s gospel.  The impossible becomes possible, and there is abundance for all. 

Jesus, the healer

+  RWS 532 February 3, 2013

4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Luke 4: 21-30

23 He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, 'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"

Dependent on others

By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

The proverb referred to by Jesus reminds me of a fact of life that we depend on others even on the things personal, those we think we can do by ourselves. Perhaps, there are those who would attempt at doing by themselves what they need, like cooking their own food, washing their clothes, and etc. But, professionals would prefer to hire the services of others to do the job needed by them, say, a sick doctor needs other physicians to treat him, teachers would have to be taught by others to get their diploma, and many others similar cases. This fact that we need others to complete or fulfill ourselves is something we need to accept; workers also would do well to adopt this attitude of dependency on others.

The worker certainly needs to perfect his skills on the particular task he is assigned at work. But, he should not think that he does not need others to do even better than what he is doing. There is always room for improvement in any situation. Such improved performance can happen only when the worker is open to the suggestions of others, or also allows himself to learn from how others do their jobs. The “self-made” professionals, those who have acquired  expertise through personal and self efforts, reach such high standards of work because they accept their need to learn from others. Their drive to acquire more knowledge and skills to improve at their job has been complemented by their humility and openness to accept what has already been discovered useful and beneficial by contemporaries or those of the past. Such attitudes of striving for perfection and acceptance of others’ good influence make for the perfect combination for success in work. Somehow, the worker should aim not at being independent, but dependent.

The dependent worker would also easily recognize his need of divine help even in doing his jobs. After all, his life, strength and everything else comes from the Lord Almighty. There is therefore wisdom in getting help from others, especially from the Lord, while at work.

Do-it-yourself

By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

There is something very empowering about being independent of others in the workplace.  For one, one’s job gets done well and fast; for another, energy that is otherwise spent on putting up with other people’s inadequacies is conserved and funneled into improving one’s performance.  Some people could be so exacting about tasks, for example, that they waste so much time correcting minuscule details.  (If you’ve ever dined out with people who demand that their soup be served at exactly 158 degrees Farenheit or else, you’d know what I mean.)  But there’s something more here than meets the eye.

A saying goes, “If you want the job done right, do it yourself.”  It’s not just an insult; it is also good counsel.  The ability to “do it yourself” means learning from scratch, thus earning the power to teach others.  Look at the wealthy tycoons who train their heirs, employing them first as janitors and letting them work their way to the top; that is the way they mold worthy successors.  You cannot justly demand perfect performance from others when you do not know how to do the job yourself.  Cultivating the willingness to carry out even lowly errands requires humility on a worker’s part, but it definitely pays off in the end.  Imagine how smoothly the workplace will run if enough people there can be counted on to “do it yourself”—operations go on even when a vital co-worker suddenly falls ill or something.

Truly independent people are not so on their own; in fact, they may be a hundred percent dependent on another.  They are strong and self-sufficient only because they have tapped the energy source that grants them the humility which opens them to true power.  That source is called different names by people of varying beliefs, but followers of Jesus call it God.  When they “do it yourself”, they in reality “do it with God.”  

Jesus goes to the synagogue

+  RWS 531 January 27, 2013

3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Lk. 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21

16 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day.

Customary practices

By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

Jesus, like His contemporaries, observed some customary practices of His people. This reminds us that in any group of humans, some ways of doing and relating with one another, develops into a routine and eventuality a necessary component for success. In work, workers need to be familiar with routine procedures and standard practices at the workplace, if they aim at greater productivity and profit. Faithfulness in these practices, becomes imperative for workers in order to enjoy the desired satisfaction at work.

But, as Jesus not only observed the customs of His people but He also  introduced a new and deeper meaning and value to the practices in His time, a worker could do the same in the workplace and among his co-workers. He could remind himself and others of the presence of the Creator of the Universe as he keeps observing the standard practice of order and cleanliness at work. The general expectation of excellence in work could point out to the workers the " universal call to holiness"—a challenge for everyone to be perfect or holy as Jesus and the Father are. The generally practised teamwork in the workplace is another chance for the workers to realize that community life is necessary in the family, society and even in the spiritual life. The custom of rewarding efficiency and productivity in work, could make the workers look forward to the eternal reward in everlasting life. These and many other practices which could be given spiritual meaning make work and the workplace something desirable, like coming back home.

When the worker feels at home at his work, he could easily introduce some practices which could become customary for and his co-workers, like perceiving the spiritual aspects of a temporal and worldly activity as one's daily work. Seeing the divine in what is human, then, would be most desirable custom in the workplace.  

                                               Binding one to God

                                         By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

Before each performance, Lea Salonga would pray, or even just trace the sign of the cross on her knee while waiting backstage—“anything that would bind me to God,” she said at an interview with the Catholic Digest.  Boxing champ Pacquiao would do the same, even going to the extent of hearing Mass before each fight.  A hope giving sight around certain Catholic churches each morning is the number of believers visiting the Blessed Sacrament on the way to work.  The Filipinos are raised to be so God-fearing that even if we are not that deeply religious, many of us would often show reverence for the divine, like making the sign of the cross as we pass by a church.  All these gestures seem to say that God and our work are really inseparable.

Such a disposition is a good beginning and will certainly see us through many a tight situation at work.  Knowing we can rely on a superior power strengthens us to face any difficulty, whether caused by our co-workers and superiors, clients, or by situations and circumstances in general.  Ironically, though, knowing how strong we can be at our jobs could often make us feel invincible—we come to think of ourselves as so bright or smart and so favored by the gods that we forget about our childlike dependence on God, the trust we displayed when we acknowledged Him as the source of everything we have.

Even in adulthood, Jesus would observe the custom of worshipping and serving at the synagogue.  May we be inspired by His example, and come to know God face to face.

RWS for January 29

+  RWS 479 January 29, 2012

4^th 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

3^rd 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.