AUGUSTINIAN VICARIATE OF THE ORIENT
PROVINCE OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS IN THE PHILIPPINES
LA REFLEXION
Postulant John Eiron Saplala
AUGUST 19, 2015
REFLECTION ON THE RULE OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: CHAPTER IV - Chastity and Fraternal Correction
One of our Friar once said that here in the community we don’t have to like one another, but we have to love one another. A kind of love that is grounded and patterned in the love showed by our Lord Jesus Christ. The two greatest commandments that Jesus gave us is to Love God with all our heart, our mind and our soul and to love our neighbors as how we love ourselves. I believe that the chapter four of the rule is grounded in this two commandments of love.
First is the fraternal correction: For me It is focused on our love for our brothers. The correction here is not a reaction to injury suffered, but is moved by love and concern for our brother. Isn’t it that Jesus suggested that “if our brother sinned against us, we have to go and tell him his fault, between us and him alone. This acts tells us that brotherly love also involves a sense of mutual responsibility, so if my brother sins against me, I must use love towards him and, first of all, speak to him personally, pointing out that what he has said or done is not good.
However, St. Augustine also stressed that any subsequent fraternal correction has to be animated by love and not revenge insisting, “You have to forget the hurt you have received, not the wound of your brother. “If a fraternal correction is rebuffed, then we should follow the advice of Jesus - seek the witness of others and, if necessary, the sanction of the wider authority. All this indicates that there is a shared responsibility in our way of life. Everyone, who are aware of their limitations and defects, is called to welcome fraternal correction and help others with this particular service.
The second focused of the chapter four of the rule is about Chastity, which is for me grounded on the first great commandment which is the love for God. So, what is chastity? What is the vow of chastity that all consecrated religious publicly profess? We live in a culture that is in a conspiracy against chastity. For many of us who live in the world, the idea of consecrated chastity is puzzling or seems impossible. As I entered into a shallow discernment I think about chastity in terms of all the negatives: to give up marriage, children and family. Yes this is true but as I go deeper on my reflection this is just part and only part of the definition.
The fuller part of what chastity means is a profound ‘Yes’ to the love of God. Being touched by the love of God provokes a response of love. John Paul II wrote in, “Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” One of the most beautiful explanations of chastity comes from a document written by the Pontifical Council for the Family, “Chastity is thus that spiritual energy capable of defending love from the perils of selfishness and aggressiveness and able to advance it toward its full realization.”
We as postulants aspiring to be part of the order of St Augustine thus proclaims to the world that sacrificial love, selfless love, is possible. The purest love is seen in the life of Jesus, Crucified and Risen. Meditating on the lives of Jesus and Mary expands our hearts to attempt pure love; a love that is for others; a love that keeps nothing for oneself; a love that pushes the boundaries of our selfishness and fear.
JULY 13, 2015
FROM NOTHING TO SOMETHING: A SHARING TO THE SEMINARIANS
I must admit that some things in the Bible are just plain different to understand, and our Gospel for today is one of them for me but for my consolation I know, that I don't have to understand everything in God's Word in order to beleieve it, becuase I trust in God who knows what he is doing. It won't always make sense to me. I am glad that He is God and I am not.
As I am forcing myself to understand the Gospel so I could sahre with you a moving and beautiful sahring, I remembered the words of my former rector in my former seminary. He always tells us that in every Gospel readings "Jesus is primarily speaking to us." This led me to a realization how lucky we are here inside the seminary to hear the Gospel of Christ almost everyday. I also realized that if many non-Christians had been given the opportunities that we have received, they could very well be giving much more generously than we do.
With these realizations, many questions popped out of my limited mind. To what extent are we listening to God's Word? How much of it do we try to understand? And how much of it is respected in our attitude as a seminarian? Are we clearly and obviously a seminarian following Christ and His way?
I believed that like Chorazin and Bethsaida, we are also blessed with the visitation of God in our everyday stay here in the seminary. Everyday Jesus shows us mighty works to show us how much God had for us. We always hear the Good News and experience the wonderful works of Jesus for us. But what if Jesus were to visit our community today, what would he say? Would He issue a warning like the one He gave to Chorazin and Bethsaida? And how would we respond?
The people of Chorazin and Bethsaida who heard and witnessed the divine works of Jesus very likely responded with indifference. Jesus upbraids them for doing nothing! As for me, one of them is clear on the message of the Gospel: That I should not be like those people. I should live the message of Christ, and it should be manifested in my actions as a a seminarian. Like the moon that reflects light from the sun, we should perfect the light of Christ to everyone we meet. We should make that choice all day long. Gid has enriched our lives with the grace he has freely given us.
For me, the best response to the Gospel is REPENTANCE. Only if these people repented, most probably Jesus will not renounce these cities. Repentance which requires "change of heart" and way of life. God's Word is indeed life giving and it saves us from destructions, destructions of soul as well as destruction of the body. Jesus' anger is directed towards sin and everything which hinders us from doing the will of God. In love he cares us to walk in His way of truth and freedom, grace and loving kindness, justice and holiness.
So we ask these questions how do we reflect God's grace to others especially to the memebers of our community? If we were the moon, as it reflects light from the sun, and people looked at us, would they see a server of light or a full moon maybe? Or should they see a lunar eclipse, when no light from the moon is visible at all?