Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr. Roderick C. Salazar Jr., SVD – University of San Carlos, Cebu City
Saturday 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus, Benedict, Leo, Roderick. What’s the connection? Jesus, of course, is the speaker in today’s Gospel. He is talking about a disciple and a teacher, a slave and a master, reminding us that the first is not above the second, that it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, the slave to be like the master. That’s Jesus speaking. But what is my name doing in the list? Ah, this has to do with the first three names. We start with Jesus. His is the very first word in today’s gospel, Among the many names or titles Jesus has is the Divine Word. By his grace, and because of his call, I have been thankfully a priest of the Society of the Divine Word since 1974.
Before I entered the seminary, even before I came for high school in Liceo de Albay which would eventually become Divine Word High School (and later,College) of Legazpi, I finished my elementary education at St. Agnes Academy in the same city. It was then, and still is now, a school run by the Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing. Here is the connection to Benedict, (saint for July 11). To this day I can still sing – at least the first line – our college hymn, taught us since kindergarten: I am a Benedictine child, I love my college dear.”
In 1963, fresh from high school, I entered Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City, training ground for SVD seminarians and missionaries in the Philippines. Among the people I met there – though not personally, but only through his books – was a priest named Leo. Named after Pope Leo XIII, Leo Trese had a gift for writing. Among his books are Vessel of Clay, A Man Approved, Tenders of the Flock, Many Are One, and Wisdom Shall Enter. As a young seminarian, I devoured Leo Trese’s books, so eager was I to get into the mind and spirit of seminary life. And one of his books that inspired me a lot is the one whose title is taken from the Gospel of today: More Than Many Sparrows.
Jesus assures us that we are loved by God. We are worth more than many sparrows. For this reason, Jesus continues to say, “Do not be afraid.”
When Leo Trese, born in 1902 and ordained diocesan priest in 1927, was five years old in the priesthood, he was bitten by the foreign mission bug and joined the Benedictine Order to teach at the University of Peking. But before he could even reach China, financial difficulties forced the Benedictines to leave the University of Peking in the hands of the Society of the Divine Word. When the Communists took over China, the foreign missionaries, including the SVD, were expelled. The SVD teachers and scientists then went to the University of San Carlos, where I have been living and working since 1976.
Coincidence? No, for me it is Divine Providence. God shows me the truth of what Jesus says: I am worth more than many sparrows. What I have realized, I share with you, gentle reader. Do pause sometime today, and pray to be able to see where the Lord has touched you, and discern his invitation to follow him. You will find out, I am sure, that Jesus loves not only the disciples of long ago but also you and I today—whom he has loved and cherished! More than many sparrows.
One comment