Requiem Mass for Br Philip Tengan FPM Homily Readings: Wisdom 4: 7-15 John 12: 23-28 Psalm 23 The death of a very young and promising person elicits various sentiments in us – ranging from a sense of grief, sense of loss even anger and resentment. The reasons for these sentiments are obvious – the family of the deceased (immediate/extended) to which he belongs have placed such high hopes in his/her future dream s and have high expectations about him/her. And to have these expectations suddenly turn to nothing can be very painful and devastating . Indeed, with particular reference to the expectation that Religious orders have of their younger members – the Holy Father Pope Francis in his recent letter for the Year of the Consecrated had this to say; “I would especially like to say a word to those of you who are young. You are the Present since you are already taking active part in the lives of your Institutes, offering all the freshness and generosity of your “yes”. At the same time, you are the Future, for soon you will be called to take on the roles of leadership in the life, formation and mission of your communities. This year should see you actively engaged in dialogue with the previous generation. In fraternal communion you will be enriched by their experiences and wisdom, while at the same time inspiring them by your Energy and Enthusiasm to recapture their original idealism” . I believe the Presentation Brothers can identify with the expectations (desires) of the Holy Father with regard to the invaluable role/contribution of the younger members of the Congregation. I do understand that the Congregational Leader – Br Martin recently wrote a letter to all young brothers ahead of his meeting with them in the coming months – I don’t know the contents of that letter but I would trust that it probably reflects the sentiments of great expectation and high hopes that the Holy Father has expressed in his letter. The Pope spoke about the freshness and the generosity of the “yes” that the young religious would bring to their Congregations (especially Congregations that are aging and need new steam). The Holy Father also spoke about the potential for Leadership in the young religious and finally how these can inspire the older generation with their Energy and enthusiasm and save them from the threats of despair and cynicism (the disease of older clergy/religious!). In the light of this special contribution that the young religious are expected to bring to their congregations – we can imagine the sense of grief and sense of loss that the Presentation Brothers feel at the passing of Br. Philip. He was nearly 34 years and about 6
years with the Congregation and was showing signs of a promising and fruitful Religious Vocation. In moments like these we do not have ready answers to the questions that inevitably arise in our minds with regard to the timeliness/untimeliness of the passing of Br. Philip – why should someone who is just beginning to blossom and raising the expectations of so many people around him suddenly be “snatched” away from us!? As believers we are not alone in our perplexity in the face of the death of a young (person) brother or a sister, who in our judgement seems to be up and coming and promising in so many ways. The first Reading from the Book of Wisdom gives us an idea of how the ancient believers confronted this mystery with the light of the Revelation that they received at their time. Early death in the ancient biblical context was considered a punishment from God for sins committed. But what happens when the person (deceased) was blameless before the Lord as far as the Law was concerned? This was a major problem for the biblical authors and so the answer is what the Book of Wisdom tried to provide. Immortality is the reward of the righteous person who dies early/ young even though in the eyes of people it may seem like a punishment. The author tries to explain that the “length of days is not the true measure of life but rather an untarnished life (V. 9) the reward for which is immortality – a life with God! Dear Brothers and Sisters, consoling as this may be, even as believers we are still very much challenged in trying to come to terms with the fact that someone whom we love, and on whom we have just began to pin our hopes and expectations all of sudden is removed from us!. This is the darker side of our Christian faith that we must live with and come to terms with. Once again, we are not alone as believers in the struggle of having to come to terms with the unfathomable plans of God. We need to listen to what Paul says “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgements and how unsearchable his ways – for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counsellor”, or who has given him anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be g lory forever. Amen” (Rom 11: 33 -36) As a people of faith we are not to despair in the face of the mysterious plan of God for his creatures. Thank God, the life and teaching of His Son gives us the necessary light to live with this mystery and indeed to celebrate it each day in the Eucharistic celebration. In his life and teaching Jesus insists that the real meaning and significance of human life is communion with God – a communion with God which begins here and now and finds its fulfilment with Him in the Hereafter. Furthermore, that it is a communion which by nature is life-giving. This is what he teaches us in the Gospel Reading that we have heard with particular reference to the imagery of the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies. The true meaning of our human life entails that our communion with God should lead to self-renunciation/denial/purification of our egoism, selfishness. Only such a communion will then make it possible for us to share
this life (communion) with others! When this happens, our own life (single) now begins to bear fruit – to give life to others (many). In other words, our human lives become meaningful in the plan of God when having shared in the life of God (communion) we in turn become life-giving to those around us. When this begins to happen we are no longer preoccupied solely with achieving our personal salvation but also that of others. This is how our personal communion with God (essence of Existence) expands into the communion of humanity with God – and which finds ultimate fulfilment in Heaven. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, going by what we read in his biography and in the tributes and in the light of the scriptural readings that we have heard, Br. Philip in his own way has tried to live this plan of God as a Religious and as a Professional teacher. First of all, the core of the religious life is ‘Consecration’ to God that is (total self-gift to God) and secondly the gift of oneself in service to others. This is very fundamental! Unless we offer ourselves entirely to God first, we will not be able to offer ourselves wholeheartedly in service to others. (Here lies the difference between the consecrated life and the social worker!). Having been taught by God how to love/serve, the religious offers himself/herself in service to others and is therefore able to persevere in the face of rejection, indifference and even persecution! In his short but intense life, Philip offered himself first to God and then in service to others (his confreres, his pupils and those around him). From what we gather in the tributes and biography his contacts went beyond the region and the nation. We would like to believe that his consecration to God (communion with God) led to his sense of self-denial, self-renunciation that enabled him go out of himself to reach others in an attempt to bring them closer to God (communion with others). We are told that he had a health problem/condition of which he was well aware but which did not deter him from spending himself for others – He seems to have been driven by a sense of trust in the divine Providence of God, a virtue that is characteristic of the Consecrated Life. Dear Brothers/Sisters in Christ, if we understand the meaning of our lives to be fundamentally about sharing in the life of God and we in turn sharing that life with others then we can say that Br. Philip in his own little way has tried to do this. - As we celebrate his short life (by human standards) we wish to thank God for the opportunity to have known him and to have been inspired by his faith and enthusiasm. - However, his sudden departure also makes us sit up a little bit, for we are starkly reminded about the possibility of the shortness of our lives – and the need to live every one of our days with enthusiasm and zeal. - In particular, it is reminder to young religious to heed the call of the Holy Father Pope Francis! You are called to live your lives with joy and enthusiasm and not waste these youthful years with all the energy and vigour that is in you. Do not spare yourselves while your energy lasts. However, let me also exhort you to be
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