Tagaytay 27 gennaio 2008

Giubileo d’oro 1958 – 2008 50 anni di vita religiosa di Suor M.Margherita Tiburzi

HOMILY of BISHOP LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE

on the occasion of

SR. MARGHERITA’S GOLDEN JUBILEE

The deacon should give the homily.

Today is a national Bible Sunday so we should not allow the day to pass without showing our love for the word of God in the Scripture. I hope even the children, the families will take time today before going to bed to get their bible in their houses and even to read and to reflect on some simple passage even the gospel for today. Our three readings are very dynamic they all about whose people walking in darkness have seen a great light, walking and then you have in the gospel Jesus also walking to fulfill what scripture says. And as He walks He saw there’s the brother working and upon this invitation they took another way of walking. They left their nets and their fathers and the families and walk with Jesus.  Of course there are other movements sitting in darkness, listening, bending the nets, working. But as we enter the rumination of this word of God we were not into the movements that are caught to our attention. And the walking and the sitting is one component. The first reading talks about he people walking in darkness, and the Gospel talks about the people sitting in darkness. When the darkness has vanish by the light a lot of difference it make when your movements are in the dark. Like when there is a brown- out in the evening and it is a quite evening suddenly the electricity goes off you can hear. Shout all over ah….  Almost like a cry of despair “ why now  I’m working, why now I’m studying. I hear that in the seminary “why now I cannot study”, despair, I love to study. Or else “why not it’s telenovela time I cannot follow the sop opera. And even you’re not studying, you’re not watching T. V, you’re also walk in darkness, it’s quite dangerous you might strip, you might fall, you might bang to something, you might break something. You lost your sense of direction and your movements is containing. That’s why the consent of belief when as you walking in darkness, light comes back and you hear another shout Ah….. shout of joy. Finally I can go back to the library.  That’s true right? They’re walking in darkness. Finally we can resume our movements, we can resume our movements. This is an ordinary experience which the word of God teach. And teach us and through it the word of God-- the whole wisdom, the whole horizon which source not only of ordinary experience and our insecurities that we have to walk and to move in the darkness. Now how much you appreciate light but also that prepare us to welcome the light, Jesus. And as a humanity we continuously moving and we hope that t would not be in the dark, because the light has come. Light is not just made of particles of waves but of God.  Thanks to the door which God a house to break before us, the light of Jesus comes. And this light of Jesus comes with the message that your God is at hand.  What we build all the way before is not anymore the reign of darkness, sin, death, corruption. God comes to rule. And when the kingdom of God comes we will live in the light and we will know how to move above, we will know where to go.  Cause a decision on our part, repent. The offer is there, light comes to you but when you change your direction or you continue walking in the paths of darkness. Every time I meditate on the rising of Lazarus I feel nervous, what if after Jesus say come out Lazarus. Lazarus says don’t worry Jesus I prepare to stay here. I got to use in the dark. I don’t want to go out and adjust again to the light. It can happen that we have made the darkness of our homes our homes. And when we are invited to move out and to walk in the place of the light we say” never mind let me stay here”.  That’s why repentance, repentance is called for to choose what you relate and move in the area of darkness or when you follow the light. And as the light calls Jesus whom about he invites partners not the most learned, not necessarily the most famous. He search partners were simple men, fishermen, that will be enable to enlighten by the light and they moved with them and they move on. They saw the light. They left their old way of life not because it was bad but because the light has come. And they become witnesses since then to the light of Jesus. Either always they become little lights, starlets, or the superstar. Jesus needs us so that His light will continue pervading the word as we people , continue moving, walking, working, sitting, this light continue to spread that no one can say “I was left in the dark”. The light of Jesus is powerful, it’s make strangers, they make enemies friends. The make people who are not related to one another brothers and sisters. Those who accept the light of Jesus could walk towards each other, walk together.  They want communion. That’s why St. Paul in the second reading was so distress when he encounters the division. They are walking away from each other and the walking apart from each others, the community encurred. Some would rather with Paul, some would walk with Cephas, some would walk with Apollos and then we remind then is Christ divided? What is happen to him is that he likes his own delight. How come you are moving to different direction? It is the only light then that you will walk together, towards Him and towards one another. If we lost Jesus the light, then we will be clinging to little minor lights. Walks away from each other, dark again, very dark. The light of Christ. The Word of God is alive and beautiful. It does not get old. Each teaching really pierces the heart and its enlightens us to reassess our movement in life so that we won’t forget to hallowed Jesus in this life and we are here to share in his life.  To witness to that light and to enable the people to walk together under the reign of light and with the constant decision to chose the light. T hen that is the secret of this in this background that we thank God for the gift of vocation to religious life. I think we are calling which is the gift to the church and to humanity. For the church was been enrich by so many great men and women who consecrated their life to Jesus. And how the world also benefited from the witness and mission of religious men and women.

                   And today we celebrate the 50^th year in religious life of a very dear person and a friend to all of us Sr.Margherita.  If you listen carefully to her biography that was read before the mass such a moving, an interior movement, very young. She was only 8 years old when the heart move and want to be a saint. What a way, a long way to go. Image at the age of 8, a tender age. Mga bata, oh, kayo mga bata sino dito ang walong taon na? (Children who among are 8 years old?) May walong taon ba dito?  (Is there 8 years old here? Wala, meron. Sino seven? (No, 7 years old?) yun, okey. Sino nine? (Who is 9 years old?) Father nine years old!  Fr. Kalbo. Oh kayo ha seven years old, nine years old. Alam nyo si Sr. Margherita 8 year’s old ano ang gusto nya? (You know what Sr. Margherita like when she was 8 years old?)Hindi Jollibee, hindi Mc Donald, hindi SM (It’s not Jollibee, its not Mc Donald, it’s not SM). Ang gusto nya maging santa (she like to be a saint). And what a movement and the heart became restless until that direction was followed. And as they told in the rest of the history at the tender age of fifteen she entered the sisters, the Ursuline Sisters of the Heart of Jesus in Agony, agonizing heart of Jesus. At the age of fifteen, meron be ditong kinse anyos? (Is there fifteen years old here?) Sino pa? (Who else?) Actually I enter the seminary at fifteen. Some enter the seminary even younger at the age of twelve. We started our journey very young, our moving here and there. So she left her family, don’t know how to say goodbye. For the family was not use the manifestation of affection but it was some a heart movement, a heart movement to take. But because she wanted to be a saint and she thought that the way to be a saint to be a religious. She took that step and joins the sisters. All life she enjoy being in the light of Christ. Experiencing the love of Christ and being close to St. Ursula. When it was time for the vows she was told she could not take the vows. But she persevere and one of the consolation that she was told, she could not take the vows because it was the will of God and not because of any intervention of the sisters. Light has shown, light of God’s will. And from there, there many different missions, not easy, not easy. Working in some poor section of Rome. Removing in one place were after Vatican II the sister are trying the new approach of community and mission. Where she and others are accuse of being communist sisters, Suore  communiste, rossa. We have communist in our midst. A lot of fighting, until they were told to leave the mission. To move again, oh how hard it was. And they were moving to Switzerland to work with an Italian migrant. We Filipinos are sending a lot of a priests and sisters to work with a Filipino migrant workers. She experience that also with the families of the Italian migrant. And there in Switzerland she celebrated her 25^th anniversary life of vows in the foreign land. You are meant to celebrate your jubilees in foreign land, in your mission. And then there’s movement Primavalle, Como, Primavalle. Until that vocation which came as a joke that want to discover seriously by the congregation “How about starting the mission in the Philippines?”. Your first reaction was “well that’s a bad idea”. Then she was told “How about you will you want to consider it?” She told to the one who told her “are you crazy?” You want me to go to Philippines. I almost sixty and you want me to start. But the then inner movement do not deny “why not?” and then the inner conviction. Which is the light of Christ. The heart wills it so. Why not? It is the word of Jesus “why not?” after a year they had come. And I remember the first encounter sister. I was newly ordain bishop at that time. They came to seminary Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol to set an appointment with the bishop. And I showed up and I comment “I am the bishop” and they could not believe.  They panic because they are not properly dressed, in their formal dress. Why you have to go back, come back. “We’re go home first and change”  “you are already here we might as well talk” Just feel welcome to the diocese. “Oh, we do not know yet what to do, we don’t know yet where to start”. Well you are religious. What you will do will come later. As religious you’re witness your presence. The evangelical witness is the more important thing. Your work will come later.  This is not the rite of beatification, to be Santa. I don’t have power to declare you saint. But I guess the readings and her journey in life blend very well. Like of one person Sr. Margherita and I am sure if were all looking to our life journeys we will see the word of God fulfilled. Working we are all making very innocent movement in our life.  Not just physical, external movement. The more importantly I guess the interior. Come from the prompting and the stirring of the Holy Spirit. And if we follow those stirrings not always right. There are dark moment rises, dark moments. Times that we cannot understand whats happening, times that we cannot understand other people. Time that we cannot even understand ourselves. But one thing that we learn from Sr. Margherita who after fifty years in religious life who we really we can consider the “maestra” of some of as Giovanni. It is this when you are seeking in darkness the light is just nearby. Light that will not allow you to walk and sit in darkness. Darkness comes; the light is just over the deck. Looking for you. Waiting to touch.  Its just like the light of Jesus for inspiring, guiding and encouraging Sr. Margherita this past fifty years. And I know your external movement will continue. The physical movement will continue. But what is important is where ever your movements will lead you; your movements lead by the light of Christ. When you encounter dark moments in your religious life and personal life be console Sister. By the fact that the light of Christ will not diminish. And to you we say like Peter, Andrew, James and John be light to the World --- .As Paul tells us: Be light in the world let the light of Jesus shine forth. Through  your arts, through your music, through your creativity. You know sisters; Sister sees light even with trash. Just like Peter and Paul and Andrew. She goes to the beach and gathers the basura (garbage) of the sea. And she sees light in what we might consider garbage. And she transform them into beautiful images which she share to all of us. So Sister you have that gift. Seeing light in the darkness. Thank God for that gift and then you share that light to so many other people walking in darkness. The children, the family and to those who are helpless. I’m sure they see the light of Jesus in men and women like you. Who are willing to walk with them because we follow the light of Christ.

 Before it turns totally dark I end.  And I invite all of you to a moment of silence and let us welcome the light, who is Jesus in our life. So let us continue our journeys in life. The God is here when the moments of darkness come. And we will rejoice in the light, who is Jesus.