Reflection 27 - A chance to see a new face of God
The New Year is now well and truly with us and the first thing that strikes me is that I can not quite take in how quickly 2009 has gone. My resolution is, as it always is, to become the best person I can possibly be. Though this is my resolution every year I still hang on to it because it’s the only one I take seriously. I would like to think I am making some progress each year no matter how small.
The last half of 2009 found me recuperating from the various ailments that the Philippine environment has so graciously bestowed upon me. Among which Typhoid fever and Dengue fever were the worst. It is said I did not take enough precautions and this may well be true. The tropical weather was not always benign and at times it was downright oppressive. But I would not change anything that was experienced while in this extraordinary country. I loved every moment of my time there. This is not to say it was easy - far from it. If it is God’s will I would love to return one day.
Brother Pinto suggested that we go not only to serve where we felt we could best share Edmund’s Charism and our own individual talents and skills but also, and this may well be the primary reason, to discover a new face of God. To this end a community of four brothers was set up in Kabankalan on the Island of Negros in 2005 and several years later another was founded in Hilongos on the Island of Leyte. The Kabankalan Community was made up of Brs. Rod Ellyard, John Moodie, Neil Langdon and Peter Hardiman. The Hilongos community was made up of Brs. Frank Perkins, Carl Sherrin and myself. We three returned to classroom work and found the challenge invigorating. Entering into the life of Saint Teresa’s School presented some difficulties but I am pleased to say our contribution to the life of the School was most appreciated. We brought with us substantial funds which were used to improve the school infrastructure and add some vitally needed resourses thanks to the generosity of the Australian Schools and many of our family and friends.
After two happy and fruitful years I was recalled to Australia due to ill health in late May 2009; Frank and Carl are continuing their good work in Hilongos today. Rod and John are the only two brothers left at Kabankalan. The obvious question to be asked now is ‘what does the future hold for this mission which started with 7 brothers and is now down to 4 brothers’? It would be a great disappointment to the Philippino People if we were to pull out after such a short time. Our presence there has reaped many blessings for us and given valuable support to a very poor part of the Philippines which to large extent has been forgotten by the Administration in Manila. May be the future is to be found in encouraging the wider Edmund Rice family to get involved in this part of the world through a volunteer system. There has been success in this area already with a 12 months posting to Kabankalan of Joe and Anne Stynes from NSW.
I felt that in our two years in Hilongos we had made a difference in the lives of the young people we chose to serve and they in turn had welcomed us and accepted us with the hospitality only the Philippine people know how to give. Towards the end of my stay I had established a summer School where 70 young children, not attending School for various reasons, turned up on the first day. A new missionary endeavour was born - Carl continues to assist these children today.
From the two communities we have had three brothers return to Australia through ill health. None of these brothers wanted to leave their post and would have preferred to return to the Philippines had circumstances allowed. The illness to my way of thinking was the result of the fact that all of us are well into our twilight years. The weather is tropical and seems to take its toll on those not use to such severe climate conditions. Maybe this mission is for younger men and women.
The people are very happy to have missionaries from Australia in their country and have a custom of showering on missionaries in general tremendous respect and love; they even may be accused of spoiling us. Priests are also treated with a similar affection. The population is 85% Catholic and has a culture which though unique and exciting has been influenced by the Spanish for 300 years and later the Americans for 100 years. Another factor influencing life in the Philippines is the presence of a small, though powerful group, belonging to the Muslim religion. They mainly live in the south of the country and they do not see ‘eye to eye’ with the government this resulting in a never ending struggle for their own independence.
The Government, without meaning to do so I suspect, makes life difficult for the poor people of the Philippines due to their inefficient and even corrupt modes of operating. Despite this their democratic system does work and things do get done. The Catholic Church has a strong say in Government policy and at times has been a catalyst for change. The Church also has a great influence on the daily lives of the people. From a westerner’s point of view the church may well look a little archaic and old fashioned. This to a large extent can be attributed to the very strong Spanish influence and the fact that it was the Spaniards who brought the Catholic religion to the country in the 16th century. Customs and devotions that have long since been done away with in our own country are very much a way of life here.
I would like to think that the Oceania Province can continue to contribute to the life of these wonderful people for a few years yet but with our ageing population maybe we will need to think of handing the mission over to the International Community of Christian Brothers. The ground work has been done and the Brothers continued presence is still very much needed. The interesting question asked by a friend of mine was ‘Why are you going to a Catholic country when there are so many other countries who do not know of Jesus’ – this had me thinking how Edmund Rice could have gone to unbelievers instead he went to poor catholic kids on the streets of Waterford.
The poverty in this country is just mind blowing and it is to the poor that we are called to serve. Certainly we have benefited and been enriched by being among them and continue to grow and be enlivened by their delightful acceptance of us as Religious Brothers. This mission must be maintained if at all possible as it is very much what our founder Edmund Rice was on about. His Charism shines forth in his followers most clearly when they accept the invitation to go to the margins of our society and it is here that we will find a new face of God.
Peter Thrupp (cfc)
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