Flames of a Prophetic Faith

My adherence to the Catholic faith is not just only something that has been handed down to me by my parents. As I grew up, I was exposed to different people who made me appreciate my faith and see its aptitude to change and guide human society. One of them is Blsd. Pope John Paul II who was the pope of my teenage years—a time of intense self-searching and inquiry into life and human existence. Reading the writings of Pope John Paul II and watching documentaries about him on television paved the way for me to understand the teachings of the Catholic faith. I found myself so attracted to him because in many ways, I found that I could relate to him. We had the same names: he was Karol, the Polish translation of Carlo. He was a philology student who took part on a non-violent ‘protest’ against Nazism through poetry and theatre; I was a student journalist (therefore, also a lover of words) and a non-violent, non-rallying activist who called for change in our university milieu through my writings. He was a poet who believed that faith could be transmitted through the artistic rendition of words and change the heart of man; I was a literary writer who sought to preach the faith with non-preachy words through short stories and poetry, hoping to let these words take root in the heart of readers.

Neibhur says that religion stimulates a critical assessment of the real nature of human existence. Without religion, without the teachings of Pope John Paul II, most especially his Theology of the Body, I would’ve had a watered-down version of what it means to be man. I would have adapted the utilitarian view of man: that man was just useful as long as he could do a living or is helpful at work. I realized that man’s dignity is always higher than the work he does.

Today’s pop culture presents a hedonistic view of sex. I realized that this is not the truth. This I saw clearly in the “Theology of the Body” of Pope John Paul II. It helped me see the beauty of sex as how the Catholic faith teaches it. What I realized is that man is totally unlike dogs who immediately respond to their sexual instincts when in heat. We are simply above brutes no matter how evolutionists argue otherwise.

Religion keeps us in our place—on the pedestal as the crowning glory of God’s creation and as stewards of this earth.

I also began to appreciate that what matters is not gender equality but gender complementarity. Mankind is composed of men and women. Strict and fundamentalist equality would be impossible since men and women are biologically and sexually different. They complement each other as much as Adam and Eve were mutually complementary. But, there are so many efforts, most especially now in our country, to undermine this complementarity. These “rainbow ribbon” proponents wish to establish the validity of the relationship aside from the “usual” Adam and Eve. They wish to add that Adam could also wed ‘Steve’. Pope John Paul II helped me understand that homosexuals are still loved by God and that we should look upon them with compassion. This Pope Francis has recently reechoed. But the Church’s teaching cannot change. Homosexual relationships and marriage remain to be sinful.

Neibhur also adds that religion also reveals and sustains ethical standards. With the examples I have given above, Pope John Paul II has remained steadfast to the teachings of the Church. As Pope, he has given it a new impetus—to remind man that he is not a brute and that there is something more to him, something that transcends this material world. These ethical standards keep man and even all nations in check.

Truly, religion is a catalyst for changing society. This I clearly saw when I was in Rome. When I first visited his tomb under the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Tombs of the Popes, many people, including young people (some who had their ears and noses pierced) prayed before his tomb and even shed tears. I was really moved. I realized that he has touched so many people, most especially the youth. During his beatification, more than a million attended and I am proud to say that I was among them. It was a sea of humanity of all colors, languages and nations. Many shed tears. Many were moved. Many went home with so much joy. Even in his death, Pope John Paul remains to be a catalyst, a never dying flame which has passed its light to all the people he has touched. It is a flame that continues to shed light on a faith that prophesies man’s salvation from slavery and sin.

That flame has also passed to my soul.

I am trying to keep it alive, to keep it aflame. I’m trying to do my own part in passing that flame to those around me, especially to my brother seminarians. But I do not know if I am doing a good job of it. I am afraid that the light may have just been covered by the dark blanket of my imperfections and negative qualities. I know that I am not a perfect vessel of this flame. But I try to do what I can. Who knows someone out there may have caught on to this flame without me realizing it.

Blsd. Pope John Paul II never knew me nor even saw me personally. But, he was able to pass the flame of his prophetic faith to me. Who knows, I may be able to do the same?