A Short Talk given to a Filipino Group in Rome
by Fr.Rolando S.DelaGoza, CM, former Procurator General of the Congregation of the Mission.
Introduction.
One of the many stories I heard when I arrived in Rome eight years ago, goes like this: “ A Filipino priest was sent to study in Rome. He came from a diocese where he was a parish priest of a medium-sized parish of 30,000 people, had many organizations to take care of and had five Masses to celebrate every Sunday. When he reached Rome, it was cold, he did not know anybody and everybody was talking in strange language. That very night he noted in his little notebook :“Veni, vidi, piansi.” “ I came, I saw and I cried.” I guess many of us had a similar feeling when we first arrived in Rome. My short talk is a light reflection on my eight years of happy, busy and evangelizing experiences in the Eternal City. I will not concentrate on the thousands of letters I wrote to the Cardinals, Bishops and Provincial Visitors around the world but you can ask about them during the open forum. I will just reflect on some common experiences which could be of help to our budding young priests and sisters.
The City and Me.
Rome is such an ancient and modern city where one can actually see and experience everything under the sun: the good and the evil, the beautiful and the ugly, the religious and the profane, the ancient and the modern–name it and you can have it. As my work as Procurator General and Archivist of the Vincentians was limited to dealings with the Vatican personnel and the provincials of our provinces, I had some time to explore much of the city on my free days, especially on Sundays and holidays. I used to ride the buses and the metro for hours and got to know the city quite well. I came to admire the many works of art and architecture in the city but above all I remembered the words of Jose Rizal when he was in Rome: “I am walking on the steps of the heroes.”
I rode on the bus and metro hundreds of times on the way to the Vatican and observed the many strange faces of different colors from all over the world: white, black, brown and yellow. As I know practically all the European languages I could eavesdrop on conversations of most of these people who were talking abut their problems of loneliness, lack of money, ill treatment from their employers, etc. It is a bad situation when one sees and hears these people who left home and loved ones to come over only to encounter so many problems. In practically all the buses, there are Filipinos and Filipinas present with all their problems.
I cannot remember the many churches and monuments I have visited but I made it my business to visit dozens of churches by jogging and riding to a Church on Sundays. The churches are so many places of inspiration for me because of the beauty and the richness found therein. They are monuments to the faith of so many people in the past who showered the churches with their treasures and their love. I always reflect and ask myself why such beautiful churches not found in the Philippines. But then in many of those churches one can feel great happiness in seeing the Filipinos work, pray and share their faith every Sunday and maybe during other days of the week. Sometimes, I get into three or four churches on Sundays and invariably there were Filipinos who were involved in the liturgy as singers, helpers and even as sacristans. These are really very great sources of joy and thanksgiving for the faith of the people who left everything to find their fortune abroad and finally found their faith in another country which gave them some sort of unity, support and fraternal love.
The Joys and Support of the Filipino Community.
I was lucky to come in contact with many Filipinos in Rome, notably with the priests and Sisters at the Collegio Filipino. Several times a year, I made it a point to attend the various activities: celebration of the Eucharist conferences (one by the then Cardinal Ratzinger), social events, Reina Elena in May, etc. These were great sources of joy, sharing and news even in the age of the Internet. The meals prepared at the Collegio Filipino are the justification for coming to the Collegio because one savors the good food and the companionship among fellow countrymen.
Among the many special activities which I seldom missed during these eight years were the May celebrations (Reina Elena) with all the pomps and splendors it brings: the thousand Filipinos in beautiful dresses, the songs and dances, the processions and the speeches. Imagine a group of thousand Filipinos in the midst of Rome celebrating the feast of the Blessed Virgin. During those celebrations I really felt at home talking with the many people in their “various chaplaincies” spread throughout the City. If one wears the Roman collar one can really enjoy tasting the many varieties of food from around the country because there are Tagalogs, Visayans, Pampangos and Ilocanos vying to show off their native food.
It is also a time of reflection to hear the many stories of problems and joys that many of our people experience during their stay in the Eternal City. One can spend the eight hours of celebrations listening with a sympathetic ear to the woes, tears, joys and happiness of these people. One can reflect that being a priest is such an easy life compared to the lives of many of these modern heroes of a third world country. During those times, I heard how a group of our kababayans were trying to help one Filipino who was being accused of the murder of a high class employer. I never got to follow the final ending but I know that there were some of you who were working so hard to keep him out of jail.
I would like to express my thanks to the many Filipinos who in one or another gave me their friendship and support during these days.
On Being Evangelized.
Any time in Rome is a privileged and opportune time to get evangelized as proven by the millions of pilgrims who flock to the Holy City, year in and year out. But if one stays long in Rome one benefits much more with the spiritual and cultural traditions of the City of the Popes. There is cynic who once said: After one year in Rome, one is purified, after five years one is sanctified, but after ten years one is petrified. Luckily I have been only eight years in Rome and hopefully will never be petrified at all.
The atmosphere in Rome with all the churches, all the priests and nuns, the thousands of books and periodicals on religion, the religious stores, the TV and radio programs which contain lots of religious images and messages is indeed holy. Despite the attempt of the secularist and some say the communists, to try to downgrade the morality and sanctity of Rome, it has so far survived such an attempt. During my eight years stay, I noticed so many transforming events that made the city more spiritual and moral: the World Youth Day, the Jubilee Year, the death and election of a New Pope, to name a few, were transforming and critical times for Rome and the whole of the Christian world. On the personal level, I dare say that I was evangelized by these events.
Even while walking through the tourist- filled streets like the Via del Corso or Via Emmanuele, one cannot help but be evangelized by the sights, the sounds and the people who are looking, walking and praying while at the same time seeing the many worldly merchandise. There are churches along the way, churches which in olden days had a somewhat more important role geographically but are now overshadowed by more commercial oriented pursuits. Still comparatively speaking the churches are full of rich images and art works which none of the modern buildings could offer.
The many religious celebrations, for example the papal audiences, the Sunday Angelus, the canonizations, the special masses and celebrations are so many evangelizing experiences that one can take advantage of. It is amazing how every week, the Holy Father takes it upon himself to say something to the people who gather respectfully and religiously to listen to him. If one is a little far from the Vatican, one can watch TV or listen to the radio in order to hear the word of God and its application to one’s life. It is a source of loving encouragement to see the Holy Father take care of the flocks, some of whom come from the faraway countries of Asia, Africa and America.
There are so many lectures, seminars, short- term courses and meetings that one can take advantage of almost everyday during the year. From experience, I can say that I have attended dozens of talks about topics on consecrated life, religious life, poverty, chastity, obedience, missions, martyrdom, jubilee year, the priesthood, etc. Some of these lectures and conferences are truly work of deep scholarship and spirituality which would be hard to come upon in the Philippines or any other part of the world. The speakers are experts in their field, people who have spent their whole lives just studying and talking about one’s relationship with God. I remembered that a few years ago, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was invited to give a talk at the Collegio Filipino and I was one of the privileged few who were able to listen to the future Holy Father.
My own work as Procurator General of the Congregation of the Mission had a work of great evangelizing effect on me personally. The hundreds of times, I had to go to the Vatican offices (dicasteries) were occasions of great personal and spiritual evangelizing experiences for me. One can see so many religious around the Vatican, people from all throughout the world showing their faith and love for the Holy Father, old and young alike filing in cue to see the Holy Father or just to enter the august Church of Saint Peter. When the security was not very strict and one could enter the basilica of St. Peter more easily I just to put it in my schedule to make a short visits to St. Peter’s, see the statue of our Founder, St.Vincent de Paul, whisper a little prayer twice or so a week. It is not hard to visit a Church when one sees thousand of other persons going in and out of it basilica.
It was during my stay in Rome that I came to know more about Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. Pope John Paul II was evangelizing in his words actions and media blitzes. Because of his many appearances on TV and newspapers one cannot but be influenced by his words and ideals which made the world more aware of the importance of religion and morality and how as a Christian one has to influence the world he lives in. It is really inspirational to see one man who dedicated his whole life to make a difference in the world and thus became an agent of great change in the global village.
The death of John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI were events that will forever be in the mind of many people, especially for all of us in Rome. We witnessed the millions who shared the sorrow of a loss and the loving memories of a saintly person. We became more aware that life is indeed service and love for others as incarnated in the person of Pope John Paul II. I am sure that some of you were around for the burial and had waited many hours just take a glimpse of the beloved father of Christendom and whispered a little prayer . Those were moments of prayers and spirituality , of loving memories and prayerful hope. His death was indeed a life for the many who were suffering , a hope for the many who have lost everything. The election of Pope Benedict was a dawn of a new era for the Church, an era which promises to continue the fruitful years of John Paul II and the implementation of the many programs initiated by the latter.
My Community Life.
I was lucky to benefit from my community composed of fourteen priests and brothers coming from nine diverse nationalities. Because of the mutual support and friendship I experienced from the group, I found life in Rome happy, comforting and evangelizing. When I came to Rome, I was one of the youngest; after eight years, upon my departure, I will be the oldest in absolute terms: in age and in the number of years spent at the Curia Generalizia. I have seen so many exemplary priests and brothers come and go. In addition, there were so many excellent visitors who passed by, some for three or four days, others for a week or more. Some are true missionaries who have spent their whole lives in the remote areas of the world teaching the Gospel and reaching out to the poorest of the poor. Many of them were provincial visitors or important officers in their provinces and so had lots of experiences and values to share with everybody especially us who come from a third world country.
Although the typical day in the community is similar to those among most religious houses and in most countries, I truly enjoyed our prayers, our sharing togther, our occasional excursions and eating out. Our group excursions and group retreats were really revealing. It was during the liturgical celebrations that I experienced great satisfaction probably because of my age and the time of “riding into the sunset.” I could also be that the atmosphere of prayerful silence and isolation were very conducive a more intimate encounter with the Lord.
Advice and Hopes.
Let me end up by giving some unsolicited advice especially for our beloved countrymen who have left home, family and country to find the fabled Pizzaro gold. While it is good that we work hard for our families and our country, it is also important that we take care of our values and spirituality. There are so many ways to cultivate the Christian values in a country which is the center of Christianity, but there should be a willingness and a direction to the various programs in order to make them more effective. It is a pity that there are so many scattered and small undertakings by various groups which are all very good but often fail to have a significant impact on the lives of our immigrant Filipinos in Italy. You can take a look at the Pinoy Radio, our chaplaincy programs, our own programs at the Collegio Filipino, etc. Have we really sat down and evaluated them ? Are they helpful or effective enough for the good of our Filipino immigrants? What percentage of Filipinos benefit from the supposedly available support system? Are we benefitting from the many programs and management styles developed in the country where we live and transfer this know-how to our country? They say that the Japanese embassies are centers of learning and communication for the Japanese government. Everyday, well into the night, the Japanese consular offices are busy transmitting important economic, technological and business data to Japan in order that their home government is aware of the developments in all fields of endeavor. In a similar way, we Filipinos should be the transmitters of the cultural, religious, moral, sociological, technological know-how that we come into contact with abroad.
I do not know if you have heard or learned that when Jose Rizal was in Europe, he made many observations, drawings and paintings which, in addition to having been beautiful, were also very informative. We have his drawings of a beer factory, of a school, of other useful things that he felt were needed in our country. I hope that like Jose Rizal we will make use of our time, talent and treasure for the good of our Country. As Christians, let us take advantage of the Catholic culture and atmosphere of the Eternal City in order to deepen our faith and get involved in helping the marginalized poor. Thank you very much and God bless.
Rome 2005
