Rev Venusto L Mata
San Vicente ISur to the World Series
San Vicente ISur to the World Series
"There comes a time
When we hear the certain call
When the world must come together as one."Dr Abe V Rotor
A Study of Human Nature
The latest category of sainthood, that of child-saint, speaks for millions of children all over the world in the power of miracle as Francisco and Jacinta, now declared saints, witnessed in the apparition at Fatima more than a century ago.
The latest category of sainthood, that of child-saint, speaks for millions of children all over the world in the power of miracle as Francisco and Jacinta, now declared saints, witnessed in the apparition at Fatima more than a century ago.
This realm of sainthood technically elevates the innocent death of children to that of a cause, cause for which martyrs died for. We now recognize as saints those who died under Herod’s order – death of the first born; the Infant and Child Martyrs of the French Revolution, those in the two world wars, the Holocaust, Korean and Vietnam war, and now the escalating war in Syria. And our war at home in Marawi.
We become more conscious of the sacredness of the innocence of children, and humanity expects us to stop child abuse, the scourge of postmodern society. WE obliges us to uphold moral responsibility over children and adolescents starting with our own.
WE refers to heroes as well: It is embodied in Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell), written before his heroic execution becoming a battle cry for Philippine independence from Spain; in Martin Luther King’s valedictory address denouncing racism, “I have a Dream” which created a wave of social unrest that broke the backbone of racism in America – and later, apartheid in South Africa. A century before, WE in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address that brought the US civil war to an end, more importantly, the emancipation of slavery. The preamble of any constitution of a country irrespective of ideology, creed, and status, starts with “WE, the people –“ a pledge of united determination.
Hear the concert song, “WE are the world, WE are the people,” that raised funds worldwide to save people dying of famine in drought stricken Sahel. The same theme song created worldwide compassion for storm and earthquake ravaged Haiti a decade after.
WE in Tacloban, WE in Marawi, WE in marginal communities, WE in drug rehabilitation centers, WE in countless places of tragedies – WE are there because we are strands of thread woven into the beautiful fabric of humanity
We Are the World for Haiti"
There comes a timeWhen we hear the certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need
WE in Tacloban, WE in Marawi, WE in marginal communities, WE in drug rehabilitation centers, WE in countless places of tragedies – WE are there because we are strands of thread woven into the beautiful fabric of humanity
Fr Ven is an optimist and positivist, quite rare to find among today’s leaders, lay and religious alike. North Korea’s flexing its nuclear arm to the world, may be a bluff or real threat. To Fr Ben, despite frightening scenarios on media, does not see any escalation into world war, although he shudders at the thought of an Armageddon by a global nuclear war. His faith is stronger than ours - we, “of little faith,” like Peter to whom Jesus spoke these words on the shore of Galilee.
Aren’t we the faithful, the church, society as a whole, bothered by the rise of “nones” (people who abandon their religious affiliations and institutions), proliferation of cultism, God-on-Internet worship, the spread of fundamentalism and extremism leading to radicalism, to the extent of terrorism? Fr Ven holds on to ecumenism as an enduring solution, the pivotal core of understanding, as people by spiritual law, likened to physics, tend to keep in orbit to a central force – the common denominator of major religions, the bedrock of man’s rationality of goodness and truth.
San Vincent Ferrer, patron saint of Fr Ven’s hometown, west
of Vigan, now Metro Vigan. Photo taken by the author at the University of Santo Tomas chapel, Manila
“Truth is inside,” Fr Ven said. Even as people take things for granted, or choose peace and quiet rather than critical, humble and simple amid material progress. Truth remains alive, it will never die. It is the saving grace of our society in times of turmoil and trial. There is a quotation I fondly cite in my writings, “When lies are told, the truth unfolds.” (Anonymous)
This is Fr Ven’s imprimatur, his brand of effective communication with the faithful. If his homilies were printed, volumes would fill up a library, but homilies are designed to be heard, and imbibed by the faithful, rather than kept in file and gather dusts as countless books have been relegated to the archives.
Now retired having celebrated his golden sacerdotal jubilee in 2014, Fr Ven continues on with his spiritual mission, saying mass regularly and giving counsel particularly to the young. He too, has a green thumb, a garden meets his guests, rare ornamental plants make a beautiful hedgerow like blinds along the borders of his backyard. Variegated croton and Hibiscus stand distinct from ordinary varieties, apparently hybrids or mutants through horticulture. In an interview in his home in San Vicente I took the privilege to ask questions in a manner one does to a spiritual adviser. Indeed he is. I’ve known him and his family since I was a child. (The Matas are looked up by town folks as models in family unity, high regard in the pursuit of education, creativity in the arts, scholarship, and for Fr Ven, religiosity.)
Fr Ven entered the seminary after finishing high school - in his time considered a “late vocation” since seminarians usually started in the elementary. (Today late vocation is not unusual, with more and more professionals entering religious life.)
It was in 1964 that Fr Ven was ordained by the late Very Rev Juan C Sison, Archbishop of Nueva Segovia in Vigan. Hereon he faithfully followed a pastoral mission serving mainly as parish priest in various parishes in Ilocos Sur, which include his hometown, San Vicente.
(Continued)