mcCLoskey and the jaro carmel (Jn. 6: 35-40)
For these past three days we have been reflecting on the importance of seeing beyond what we ordinarily see. Our gospel speaks of the same scene we begun reading last Monday - people flocking to Jesus not because they wanted to be saved, not because they hungered for his word, but because they saw him multiplying bread, bread that satisfied their hunger. Now they looked for him, they were attracted to him not for anything else but because of the bread he provided.
Last Monday we spoke of the importance of setting our eyes on things above, that we should not remain too earth-bound in our concerns but to work for things that will bring us to eternal life. Jesus was telling us to move beyond our day to day concerns and work for things that are eternal, things that will nourish and answer the needs of our spirit.
Yesterday we reflected on Jesus who is our staple, the basic need of our life, Jesus as the bread of life, somebody we cannot do without. Indeed he seemed to be repeating the argument he made with the devil at the start of his ministry – man does not live on bread alone. In that same gospel which we continue reading even now, he presents himself as the bread of life.
Towards the end of his life especially at the start of the preparations for the second millennium, the venerable Pope John Paul II raised to the altars so many blessed and so many saints. He was only true to his philosophical thought that virtues to be real need to be incarnated. They need to be enshrined in persons. You cannot be understood when you speak of the virtue of chastity for example, or the virtue of fortitude and courage merely as concepts. You have to enshrine them in a person, not just chastity but chastity as lived in the life of a saint; not just fortitude and courage as concepts but fortitude and courage as lived in a life of a Christian. To teach us the virtues we have to show them incarnated in persons. Thus, the venerable pope deemed it important to show to the world these virtues in the lives of people, by raising them up as saints.
Today as we go back to our thoughts shared starting last Monday, we celebrate the death anniversary of one who has personified, one who made tangible the virtues and challenges we reflected on these past two days. He is Bishop James McCloskey who was the 7th bishop of Jaro from 1920 to 1945.
From a wide variety of religious orders during his time why would somebody take so much pain and labor to establish a religious order whose main duty and charism was to pray. He could have chosen for example from the selection of what we may refer to as “the more useful and active congregations” who will perhaps establish schools and formation centers, who could have probably spearheaded various social action apostolate. He established the first monastery of Carmel in the Philippines. For what reason . . . to pray. We can even say, just to pray.
Of the so many catholic devotions in the list, Bishop McCloskey established with rigor the 40 hour devotion to the Blessed Sacrament – a continuous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the parishes of the diocese for 40 hours to be made by lay people. For what reason . . . to pray. We can even say, just to pray.
Of course he established many other institutions which remain even now like the leprosarium, the Siervas de San Jose, the home for the aged in Molo and many others. We can even call these the more “useful” institutions. But those two examples I mentioned earlier gave his apostolate in our archdiocese a unique color which is true of his person – he ably combined contemplation and action, or should I say rather strongly, a contemplation that underlined his actions, actions that spur forth from his contemplative heart. This is what makes Bishop McCloskey unique. These are the things that made him personify what Jesus was talking about and what we have been reflecting on these past three days. He, the holy bishop, incarnated our reflection these past three days.
At issue here is the primacy of God. That God is a reality. That God is a reality without whom nothing else can be good. God is a reality without whom there can be no real generosity, there can be no real love. Listening to God, being attentive to God as contemplation would assume, leads to living with God. It leads from faith to love and to the discovery of others - of people in need.
Jesus was aware of the hunger of people. They were asking for bread to feed their hungry stomachs in the same way that the devil asked him once to change stone into bread to feed his hunger. But Jesus placed all these things in proper order. We have first to recognize that we do not live on bread alone – the primacy of God. Only then can we become obedient to God, and only then, only then, can we develop the attitude that will give us the capacity to provide bread for all with generous and loving hearts. Contemplation, listening to God leads to living with God, and living with God in faith leads one to act in love.
I believe this is the root of the belief and person of Bishop McCloskey. Let us not just honor him because he founded Carmel. Let us honor him because he placed everything in their true context and proper order – contemplation would lead to loving action. This is what makes us real Christians.
Last Monday we spoke of the importance of setting our eyes on things above, that we should not remain too earth-bound in our concerns but to work for things that will bring us to eternal life. Jesus was telling us to move beyond our day to day concerns and work for things that are eternal, things that will nourish and answer the needs of our spirit.
Yesterday we reflected on Jesus who is our staple, the basic need of our life, Jesus as the bread of life, somebody we cannot do without. Indeed he seemed to be repeating the argument he made with the devil at the start of his ministry – man does not live on bread alone. In that same gospel which we continue reading even now, he presents himself as the bread of life.
Towards the end of his life especially at the start of the preparations for the second millennium, the venerable Pope John Paul II raised to the altars so many blessed and so many saints. He was only true to his philosophical thought that virtues to be real need to be incarnated. They need to be enshrined in persons. You cannot be understood when you speak of the virtue of chastity for example, or the virtue of fortitude and courage merely as concepts. You have to enshrine them in a person, not just chastity but chastity as lived in the life of a saint; not just fortitude and courage as concepts but fortitude and courage as lived in a life of a Christian. To teach us the virtues we have to show them incarnated in persons. Thus, the venerable pope deemed it important to show to the world these virtues in the lives of people, by raising them up as saints.
Today as we go back to our thoughts shared starting last Monday, we celebrate the death anniversary of one who has personified, one who made tangible the virtues and challenges we reflected on these past two days. He is Bishop James McCloskey who was the 7th bishop of Jaro from 1920 to 1945.
From a wide variety of religious orders during his time why would somebody take so much pain and labor to establish a religious order whose main duty and charism was to pray. He could have chosen for example from the selection of what we may refer to as “the more useful and active congregations” who will perhaps establish schools and formation centers, who could have probably spearheaded various social action apostolate. He established the first monastery of Carmel in the Philippines. For what reason . . . to pray. We can even say, just to pray.
Of the so many catholic devotions in the list, Bishop McCloskey established with rigor the 40 hour devotion to the Blessed Sacrament – a continuous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the parishes of the diocese for 40 hours to be made by lay people. For what reason . . . to pray. We can even say, just to pray.
Of course he established many other institutions which remain even now like the leprosarium, the Siervas de San Jose, the home for the aged in Molo and many others. We can even call these the more “useful” institutions. But those two examples I mentioned earlier gave his apostolate in our archdiocese a unique color which is true of his person – he ably combined contemplation and action, or should I say rather strongly, a contemplation that underlined his actions, actions that spur forth from his contemplative heart. This is what makes Bishop McCloskey unique. These are the things that made him personify what Jesus was talking about and what we have been reflecting on these past three days. He, the holy bishop, incarnated our reflection these past three days.
At issue here is the primacy of God. That God is a reality. That God is a reality without whom nothing else can be good. God is a reality without whom there can be no real generosity, there can be no real love. Listening to God, being attentive to God as contemplation would assume, leads to living with God. It leads from faith to love and to the discovery of others - of people in need.
Jesus was aware of the hunger of people. They were asking for bread to feed their hungry stomachs in the same way that the devil asked him once to change stone into bread to feed his hunger. But Jesus placed all these things in proper order. We have first to recognize that we do not live on bread alone – the primacy of God. Only then can we become obedient to God, and only then, only then, can we develop the attitude that will give us the capacity to provide bread for all with generous and loving hearts. Contemplation, listening to God leads to living with God, and living with God in faith leads one to act in love.
I believe this is the root of the belief and person of Bishop McCloskey. Let us not just honor him because he founded Carmel. Let us honor him because he placed everything in their true context and proper order – contemplation would lead to loving action. This is what makes us real Christians.
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