Fr. Manny Cruz Leads Holy Week Recollection

Christ the King Parish Greenmeadows held its Holy Week Recollection last April 20 from 9:30 am to 12 noon. Invited to faciltate was Fr. Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Cruz, Rector of the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary in Bulacan. Fr. Manny talked about the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, which was also the subtitle of Pope Francis’ third apostolic exhortation ‘Gaudete Et Exsultate’.

What is the difference between ‘happiness’ and ‘joy’, Fr. Manny first asked. The answer is – happiness is about feelings and can be created by stimuli and fed from the outside, while joy is a conviction, a matter of choice, belief, and faith. As it comes from within, joy can be found, despite persecution. Joy is achieved through total surrender to God. According to St John Paul II, joy is rooted in the experience of being loved and forgiven by God.

Fr. Manny then asked – how do we distinguish ‘temptation’, or ‘tukso’ from ‘trials’, or ‘pagsubok’? The answer was – temptation is from the devil while trials are from God. The devil tempts us because he is jealous of our mortality. As a fallen angel sent to hell, he is immortal, and being immortal, his sins are eternal; while we mortals are bound by time so we hope and we are forgiven. But why send us trials at all? God allows us to experience trials to make us stronger and to bring out the best in us. Trials purify our intentions and stamp out pride.

There are some events that can be both temptation as well as trial. Sickness, for example, can tempt one to be depressed; to be self-centered; to think only of one’s needs; to be demanding; and to control others around you. But sickness can also be God’s trial for us to know how sick people feel and for us to imbibe compassion.

The Call to Holiness is an invitation. But it is left to each of us to discern his or her path to holiness. Each of us is unique and hence we will all take different paths to holiness. For example, we may be a devotee of St. Pio but we cannot imitate his life or copy his personal path to holiness.

We were all born with special gifts, per Fr. Manny. The church calls it ‘charisma’, or divinely-conferred powers or talents. Each man is given his gift by the Spirit that he may make the most of it. It is our mission in life to use our charisma in the service of others. God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purpose through all of us.

We are called to be God’s witnesses in different ways. We can be:

• Mystic, seeking by contemplation and self- surrender to attain unity with the Deity or the absolute.

• Contemplative, with a life devoted primarily to prayer, especially in a monastery or convent.

• Active, pursuing a worthwhile occupation or activity at a particular place or in a particular way.

• Loving, in a feminine way, that is, with the sensitivity needed in loving, compassion, and empathy that imitates the compassionate love of God.

• Loving, in a masculine way, like St Joseph, who gave support even in silence.

Fr. Manny then went through his personal list of ‘what holiness is not’:

• Seeking silence as a way to avoid interaction with others

• Wanting peace and quiet to have the opportunity to be idle and do nothing

• Seeking prayer while disdaining service

• Doing seemingly ‘holy’ things out of anxiety, out of pride or out of need to impress others

• Keeping busy and ignoring the need for occasional quiet, solitude, and silence before God (‘heresy of action’)

Finally, Fr. Manny reminded everyone that Holiness is a pilgrimage, a journey, not a destination. Stumbling along the journey does not make you less human, since each one’s path to holiness is an encounter between one’s weakness and the power of God’s grace – miseria hominis (misery of man), misericordia dei (mercy of God). So Fr. Manny’s Tinal admonition was – do not be afraid to set your sights higher; allow yourself to be loved by God; let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit; and build up the church with your gifts! He ended with the reminder – the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint!