Is there good news about Filipinos?


By Antonio J. Montalvan II
Inquirer
First Posted 02:42am (Mla time) 01/15/2007


APPARENTLY there is. And this is according to a foreigner and frequent visitor to this country by the name of Steve Ray, who talks about good Filipino qualities that are probably so ordinary to (and, therefore, taken for granted by) us, but not to the objective eyes of a non-Filipino observer.

“Open Letter to Filipino Catholics” is being passed around in the Internet. It first appeared in an Ateneo alumni e-group, from where prodigious e-friend Marilou Barnes-Cortes forwarded it to my mailbox. Marilou told me I would not be the first to write about Ray’s open letter. A few days ago, Fr. James Reuter, SJ published it in his column in another paper.

Among Ray’s many best-selling books are: “Crossing the Tiber” (his conversion story), “Upon This Rock” (on the papacy), and just recently, “John’s Gospel” (a comprehensive Bible study guide and commentary). Ray is also currently filming a 10-part video series titled “Footprints of God.” The first two parts are out: “Peter, Keeper of the Keys” and “Mary, Mother of God” (now available in the Philippines).

As an anthropologist, however, I must take exception to Ray’s reference of us as a “Catholic nation.” We are not. To say that we are effectively wipes out the identity of the millions of Filipinos who are Muslims and who belong to other Christian denominations or non-Christian religious groups. And although we are predominantly Catholic, many of us -- the majority, it seems -- are Catholics in name only.

Nevertheless, Ray, in his “Open Letter” gives us something positive, for a change:

“We stepped into the church and it was old and a bit dark. Mass had just begun and we sat toward the front. We didn’t know what to expect here in Istanbul, Turkey. I guess we expected it to be a somber Mass, but quiet and somber it was not. I thought I heard angels joyously singing behind me.

“The voices were rich, melodic and beautiful. What I discovered as I spun around to look did not surprise me because I had seen and heard the same thing in other churches around the world. It was not a choir of angels with feathered wings and halos but a group of delightful Filipino Catholics with smiles of delight and joy on their faces as they worshiped God and sang His praises. I had seen this many times before in Rome, in Israel, in the United States and other countries.

“Filipinos have special traits and they are beautifully expressed as I gazed at the happy throng giving thanks to God. What are the special traits that characterize these happy people? I will share a few that I have noticed, [in my travels] around the world, including visits to the Philippines.

“First, there is a sense of community, of family. These Filipino Christians did not sit apart from each other in different aisles. They sat together, closely. They didn’t just sing quietly, mumbling, or simply mouthing the words. No, they raised their voices in harmony, together, as though they enjoyed the sense of unity and communion among them. They are family even if they are not related.

“Second, they have an inner peace and joy ... rare in the world today. When most of the world’s citizens are worried and fretful, I have found Filipinos to have joy and peace, a deep sense of God’s love that overshadows them. They have problems, too, and many in the Philippines have less material goods than others in the world, yet there is still a sense of happy trust in God and love of neighbor.

“Third, there is a love for God and for his Son Jesus that is almost synonymous with the word Filipino. There is also something that Filipinos are famous for around the world -- their love for the Blessed Mother. Among the many Filipinos I have met, the affectionate title for Mary I always hear from their lips is ‘Mama Mary.’ For these gentle folks, Mary is not just a theological idea, a historical person, or a statue in a church -- Mary is the mother of their Lord and their mother as well, their ‘mama.’

“The Philippines is a Catholic nation -- the only such nation in Asia -- and this wonderful country exports missionaries around the world. They are not hired to be missionaries, not official workers of the church. No, they are workers and educators, doctors, nurses and housekeepers that go to other lands and travel to the far reaches of the earth, and everywhere they go they take the joyous Gospel of Jesus with them. They make a somber Mass joyful when they burst into a song. They convict the pagan of sin as they always keep the love of Jesus and the Eucharist central in their lives.

“My hope and prayer, while I am here in the Philippines, sharing my conversion story from Baptist Protestant to Roman Catholic, is that the Filipino people will continue to keep these precious qualities. I pray that they will continue loving their families, loving the Catholic Church, reading the Bible, loving Jesus, His Mother and the Eucharist.

“As many other religions and sects try to persuade them to leave the Church, may God give them the wisdom to defend the Catholic faith. As the world tempts them to sin and seek only money and fame and power, may God grant them the serenity to always remember that obedience to Christ and love for God is far more important than all the riches the world can offer.

“May the wonderful Filipino people continue to be a light of the Gospel to the whole world!”

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Comments to monta@cu-cdo.edu.ph



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Yeah, I called and my wife has dinner ready. LOL