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St. Camillus College Seminary

31st Commencement Exercises
5 March 2016

Bringing the Light of Mercy and Compassion to the World

It has been 12 years had passed since the last graduation ceremony that I
attended in this college seminary as Rector where I spent 11 meaningful
years of my first assignment as Camillian religious. I am an alumnus of this
institution batch 1988. Though I didnt belong to the first batch of graduates
(since there were 2 batches ahead of me), my batch is the first one to
undergo the full four year academic program of Bachelor of Arts in
Philosophy of this college seminary. The first 2 batches did the first half of
their academic program at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas and later
they transferred to St. Camillus College Seminary (SCCS) in 1984, the year
that this higher education institution got its approval and recognition from
the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) under the term of Min.
Lourdes Quisumbing. My dear graduates and student seminarians, Im proud
to say that you did the best choice of studying and being formed at the
SCCS. Its indeed one of the best formations that I have in my life as religious
and as servant of the Church.
The theme that you chose for the 31st commencement exercises Bringing the
Light of Mercy and Compassion to the World is the very agenda of Pope
Francis pontificate and of the Church today as we welcome the new era of
history. A year ago (January 2015), Pope Francis came to the Philippines to
bring the message of Mercy and Compassion as the vicar of Christ to the
survivors of the strongest typhoon on record Cat. 5 Yolanda and to all those
deprived of the means to live a decent life with dignity as human being. On
April 11, 2015, he released the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of
Mercy - Misericordiae Vultus. On December 8, 2015, he opened the
extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy which aims to provide more evident
signs of Gods presence and closeness to humanity amidst great historical
changes. In his homily on the vigil of the 2nd Sunday of Easter, 2015 (The
Divine Mercy Sunday), Pope Francis announced the two principal aims of the
Jubilee Year of Mercy, i.e., for the Church [1] to rediscover the meaning of
the mission entrusted to her by the Lord on the day of Easter - to be a sign
and an instrument of the Fathers mercy (cf. Jn 20:21-23), and [2] to keep
alive the desire to know how to welcome the numerous signs of the
tenderness which God offers to the whole world and, above all, to those who
suffer, who are alone and abandoned, without hope of being pardoned or
feeling the Fathers love. (Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis - Divine
Mercy Sunday, 11 April 2015).
What is the new agenda of the Church today?

The
new
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| 2agenda of the Church as being promoted by the extraordinary
Jubilee Year of Mercy is captured by the logo of the jubilee. Fr. Marco Rupnik,
SJ, the artist who made the logo, in an interview said that we are now
passing from an era of criticism, reason, intellect, research, university (from
the Renaissance period up to our time, the Age of Modernism) to an organic
era of post-Modernism wherein life and conscience are no longer separated;
wherein the person prevails before ideas. He further explained that this
organic era is an era of life, a time wherein the priority is LIFE. When life
becomes the priority, the culture (education to life) changes and becomes
symbolic, poetic, and metaphorical where life re-emerges or being lived
anew. Fr. Rupnik believes that Pope Francis is part of this new era of human
history. If you noticed in his homilies and speeches, more often he speaks
only in few words but delivers the profound message in his actions and
gestures which are very symbolic of the tenderness of God to the suffering
humanity. Did you remember the little girl Rachel at the gathering of the
youth at UST, who posed to Pope Francis a question that he was not able to
answer the question about innocent suffering? The only thing that he said,
Only when we too can cry about the things you said can we come close to
answering that question []. When the heart is able to ask itself and weep,
then we can understand something. There is a worldly compassion which is
useless. You expressed something like this. Its a compassion that makes us
put our hands in our pockets and give something to the poor. But if Christ
had had that kind of compassion he would have greeted a couple of people,
given them something, and walked on. But it was only when he was able to
cry that he understood something of our lives.
The logo visualizes the mercy of the Father in an image of the Son having
taken upon his shoulders the lost soul demonstrating that it is the love of
Christ that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation culminating in
redemption. He is the Good Shepherd who touches the flesh of humanity
and does so with a love with the power to change ones life, Fr. Rupnik
explained. The most distinctive feature of this logo is the eyes of Adam (the
sinner) and that of Christ (the new Adam) are merged together in a single
gaze. Christ sees with the eyes of Adam, and Adam with the eyes of Christ.
Every person discovers in Christ, the new Adam, ones own humanity and the
future that lies ahead, contemplating, in his gaze, the love of the Father. (cf.
http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en/giubileo/logo.html). It is through gestures
and concrete acts of witnessing the mercy of God that transformation of
individuals and of the world will take place. While rules, norms and standards
are important, alone it remain impotent, incapable of effecting a change.
JESUS is the face of the Fathers mercy

According
Page | 3to Miriam Webster dictionary, mercy is define as a feeling of wanting to
help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc.; a sympathetic consciousness of
others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Mercy is not a vague feeling of
pity or sympathy but an inner strength and force that pushes one to encounter the
suffering one. The sole proof of this is Jesus, himself, the true face of the Fathers
mercy.

Jesus reveals the mercy of God by his words, actions and person. In the New
Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSVB), the word mercy appears at least
246 times and the word merciful 53 times. In most of these instances, the words
apply to God. For instance, in the Old Testament, we find four Hebrew words, hesed,
rachamim, hanan, and hus which are translated as mercy, steadfast love, covenant
love, clemency, and compassion. The mercy of God builds covenant relationship. In
the New Testament, we find the Greek words eleos (tenderness), splagchna (womb
love), and oiktirmos (pity) which denote the tender mercy of God to the weak and
suffering. (cf. Alice M Sinnott RSM, Mercy in the Bible). In the parables of mercy
from the gospel of Luke (parables of the lost coin, lost sheep, and prodigal son),
mercy reveals the true nature of God as that of a Father who never gives up until
he has forgiven the wrong and overcome rejection with compassion and mercy. []
a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing
consolation through pardon. (MV, 9). It is mercy that brought God to encounter
humanity upon hearing their cries and afflictions. (cf. Exodus 3). It is mercy that
sheds light to the true source of joy or happiness, i.e., when He found the lost one.
(Luke 15).
From the story of the Good Samaritan, (the story that St. Camillus de Lellis modelled
himself), it is mercy that liberates the heart of man from indifference to the victims
of injustice. This mercy is vividly shown in the 10 actions that the Good Samaritan
performed in the scene. When he saw the victim, he 1] felt compassion, 2] came to
him, 3] bandaged the wound, 4] poured oil and wine on his wounds, 5] put him on
his own beast, 6] brought him to an inn, 7] took care of him, 8] took out two denarii,
9] gave to the innkeeper and 10] promised to return. These ten actions reveal to us
what true mercy demands. Mercy is the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of
every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the
path of life. (MV, 2). It is not surprising then, that throughout Jesus public ministry
he engaged in physical expressions of mercy, pity, compassion, and healing. True
mercy overcomes humiliations, restores the persons value and dignity and makes
the person commits himself/herself to God.
Mercy is the foundation of all Churchs pastoral activity
All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes
present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can

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| 4 in mercy. The Churchs very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful
and compassionate love. The Church has an endless desire to show mercy. (MV,
10). This strong affirmation on the Churchs pastoral activity which is primarily
founded on mercy draws a lot of reactions even among the hierarchs of the Church.
For instance during the synod on families which was recently concluded serious
debate took place on the following issues: admission of divorced and remarried
couples to the Eucharist, law of gradualness regarding irregular relationship or
cohabitation, welcoming gay Catholics, etc. There is a strong fear that taking
positive positions on this issues will compromise the Catholic doctrine on the family
and matrimony and devastate the Magisterium (teaching authority of the Church).
Some commented that the Pope tends to ideologize the issue by using sociological
categories above the theological ones. Some believed that mercy contradicts justice
and encourages complacency. Pope Francis intention is not to put the matter into
debate but to bring into light various points which has never been clarified in order
to chart a middle course between hostile rigidity and a false sense of mercy. He
wanted the synod to be a path of solidarity and journey together and not a
debating chamber. (Pope Francis, Concluding Remarks of the Synod, 2014).
The Churchs credibility does not rely solely on dogmas and doctrines but in her
witnessing to the mercy and compassion of Jesus Christ, the face of the Fathers
mercy. Her mission is to bring mercy. Justice and mercy are not two contradicting
realities but rather belong to a single reality that progressively unfolds. The
temptation, on the one hand, to focus exclusively on justice made us forget that
this is only the first, albeit necessary and indispensable step. But the Church needs
to go beyond and strive for a higher and more important goal. (MV, 10). The
Church has to accompany and to teach the lost ones to see the truth of their
situation and help them to see and regain the true joy of living the Gospel. This is
almost analogous to a prison or correctional facility where its primary mission is not
to punish offenders but to reform them to become a better and productive citizen
who can promote justice and peace in the society. While justice is subject to the rule
of law promulgated by man, its force and perfection depends its emanation from the
divine law. Otherwise, it will remain as an instrument for vengeance and vindication
that will perpetuate the cycle of violence in the society. Her important mission is to
unite her members and assist them to attain perfection in life or experience the
fullness of life. If God limited himself to only justice, he would cease to be God, and
would instead be like human beings who ask merely that the law be respected. But
mere justice is not enough. Experience shows that an appeal to justice alone will
result in its destruction. This is why God goes beyond justice with his mercy and
forgiveness. (MV, 10). The concern for justice is an inception to the process
towards an authentic conversion which is possible only with mercy. Only then, that
justice will be fulfilled.
Privileged position of the poor to experience Gods mercy

One
of |the
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5 biggest crises in Europe today is the massive influx of refugees
coming from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North and West African
countries. They are victims of war, political and economic crises and climate
change. When Cardinal Bergoglio assumed his new office as Pope, one of the
first activities he did was to visit prisoners and refugees in Rome. In his
speech before the refugees, he strongly appealed to the Church in these
words: True mercy, the mercy God gives to us and teaches us, demands
justice, it demands that the poor find the way to be poor no longer. It asks us
[] to ensure that no one ever again stand in need of a soup-kitchen, of
makeshift-lodgings, of a service of legal assistance in order to have his
legitimate right recognized to live and to work, to be fully a person. (Pope
Francis, Address to Jesuit Refugee Services, 9/10/13).
The spiritual and corporal works of mercy (cf.MV, 15) are primarily directed
to the poor and suffering like the confused, ignorant, sinners, afflicted,
offenders, hungry, naked, stranger/ refugees, sick, prisoners, etc. They are
the powerless and voiceless people. Many of them are deprived of a decent
life enough to live a life with dignity. By the very condition of powerlessness,
the natural inclination of Gods mercy is to them who are poor. It is not
understood as a bias of God against the rich but a preference of His mercy. I
have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their
cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I
have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up
out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey
[] (Ex. 3,7-8). God intervenes human history because of the affliction and
oppression of His people. In the Magnificat of Mary, the mercy of God to
those who are poor and suffering. His mercy is for those who fear him from
generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has
scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the
powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry
with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant
Israel, in remembrance of his mercy []. (Luke 1,50-54). The Beautitudes
are concrete expression of how much God regard the poor because of their
condition.
Why such natural inclination of Gods mercy to the poor? Why put the needs
of the poor first? First, because the common good of the society as a whole
requires it. The common good is the sum total of social conditions which
allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more
fully and more easily. (CSDC, 164). The opposite of rich and powerful is poor
and powerless. If the common good is to prevail, protection must move first
toward those affected adversely by the absence of power and the presence
of privation. Otherwise the balance needed to keep our society lived

peacefully
Page | 6 will be broken to the detriment of the whole. Secondly, it is the
criterion of becoming a true disciple of Christ. I give you a new
commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13, 34-35). The context of
this passage is the washing of the feet of the disciples. During the first year
of Popes Francis pontificate, he performed the washing of the feet of the
disciples not at the seat of the Church of Rome the Basilica of St. John
Lateran but at one of the prison facilities in Rome among the inmates. This
overturned a long standing tradition of the Pope to celebrate holy week at
the said Basilica. Third, a basic proof of a morally and just society is how it
treats its most vulnerable members. Where there is vulnerability, there is the
high index of suffering. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the
conscience of the society. To care for the poor is an essential part in the
societys effort to achieve the common good. Pope Francis appealed to all
priests and religious to go to the peripheries, i.e., the existential periphery
(where people are losing hope and sense of life; where the spiritual works of
mercy are more appropriate) and the geographical periphery (people who
are at the margins of society whose rights and welfare are not equally
accorded; where the corporal works of mercy are more appropriate as an
initial help).
Call to Action: Bringing the light of mercy and compassion to the
world
I hope and pray that all of you graduates will pursue the call of God to
religious or priestly life. The vineyard of the Lord is so huge but the laborers
are few. He is begging us to respond to His invitation. On the one hand, I am
aware of certain limits where those who responded were not worthy of such
particular vocation in which God is preparing them for another vocation.
Whatever the condition of your vocation, Gods invitation is free and open to
everyone. You are called to bring the light of mercy and compassion to the
world. In what way? Let me just propose to you some courses of action.
1. In Pope Francis homily during the gathering of priests, religious,
seminarians at the Manila Cathedral he appealed to the young religious and
seminarians to share the joy and enthusiasm of your love for Christ
and the Church with everyone []. (Pope Francis Homily at the Manila
Cathedral, 2015). In order to share this joy, we need first to experience and
understand such joy, and this can be done effectively when we are present in
the midst of those who are suffering.

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Furthermore,
in the same gathering, the Pope appeals to all Christian
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communities to create circles of integrity, networks of solidarity which
can expand to embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness.
(cf. P. Francis Homily at the Manila Cathedral, 2015). The circles of integrity
refers to sanctuaries, places and groups of people among whom an
individual can foster and maintain positive values. (cf. Dr. Ma. Lourdes
Arellano Carandang). It is a small group of friends from the same workplace,
class, school or community who voluntarily commit to meet regularly to help
each other continuously improve the quality and integrity of their individual
and group performance and behavior especially in the values of patriotism,
integrity and service excellence [] (Dr. Antonio Roldan, Jr. PhD). It is a
change management approach that combines quality service with integrity.
Where you are working or performing your ministry, do it with integrity.
3. Looking at the complex and unjust social condition which intensifies
vulnerability of the marginalized sectors, the Pope appeals to build
networks of solidarity. Solidarity is [] not a feeling of vague
compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both
near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to
commit oneself to the common good. (CSDC, 193). It is an enabling force to
influence change in the society by eliminating structural causes of poverty,
promoting integral human development and introducing a new mindset
which counts active participation of evrybody in the community. (cf. GE,
188).
4. Lastly, in giving testimony (by evangelizing and witnessing) to the mercy
and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ, one needs to incorporate the
principle of universality intrinsic to the Gospel, i.e., an interplay of
the Gospel and the personal and social life of the human person. (cf. GE
181). Make use of the Gospel the fountain of truth as the foundation of all
your actions.
Congratulations and carry on this mission. God is always on our side at all
times.
References:
CSDC Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
EG Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium
MV Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus
Speeches and Homilies of Pope Francis on his visit to the Philippines

Alice M Sinnott RSM, Mercy in the Bible

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An interview of Fr. Marco Rupnik, SJ

Aristelo Miranda, MI
Ministers of the Infirm (Camillians)
3/5/16, Marikina City