By Fr. Ernald M. Andal, SJ
Homily during the Province Mass in Honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola
July 26, 2015
We all know that St. Ignatius of Loyola was a pilgrim. Before he became the founder of the Society of Jesus, even before he inspired his first companions, St. Ignatius of Loyola was first a pilgrim. He was always on the move—walking, journeying, but never running away from what is truly important. St. Ignatius, however, was not an ordinary pilgrim. After a cannon ball seriously injured his legs, they never healed fully. One leg was said to be cut shorter than the other. And so, Ignatius was a pilgrim who walked with a limp.
Scarred and in pain, Ignatius probably had a slight hobble for the rest of his life. But this setback, this difficulty, this limp never stopped him in his journey: He moved from one place to another—moving from Loyola to Montserrat to Manresa to Barcelona to Cyprus to Jerusalem to Rome—in search of his dream, in search of his calling, in search of his One, True King. He kept on, even as he encountered stumbling blocks; even as he was ridiculed and maligned as unlearned. Even as he was detained and falsely accused of preaching against the doctrines of the Church whom he truly loved. He kept on.
Obviously, being a pilgrim with a limp was not just a physical condition for St. Ignatius. His limp was also an experience of spiritual poverty. It allowed him to look up to Christ with greater trust.
It must have drawn him to contemplate our mighty yet crucified Master; wounded yet unceasingly merciful and loving. Ignatius’ limp must have allowed him to share God’s compassion to others in the same generous way that he had received it in his life. His own scars must have brought him closer to people like him, people who were limping to God as well.
It shouldn’t surprise us that those who have followed Ignatius and took his lead could also endure and overcome years of trials and troubles in order to proclaim God’s compassion and love to others. And when I say this, I do not simply refer to my Jesuit brothers who have tirelessly served in the vineyard of the Lord. Ignatius’ journey continues up to this very day; surely, through Jesuits like them, but it also continues through you: our families, friends, collaborators, and benefactors in our mission. We are one Society, one Church, journeying together in one mission.
This reality becomes all the more apparent to me…a “toddler priest,” ordained just last year and missioned now to the people of Upper Pulangi in Malaybalay, Bukidnon in Mindanao. I serve as School Director of St. Isidore High School and Assistant Parish Priest of Our Lady Mary Mediatrix of All Grace in Zamboanguita.
There in the missions, I have encountered men and women who, in the eyes of this world are poor and deprived. Yet, in their humble ways, they have heroically continued Ignatius’ journey. I have witnessed how despite their own poverty; despite their own limp they have journeyed in search of Christ. They have kept on. Let me tell you the story of two of these people.
I remember fondly our parish driver, Dowie Yanggo. His real name is Rowel, but since his childhood, he has been called “Dowie.” You see, “Dowie” is really short for “Dowende!” You would think that he would be insulted by this. On the contrary, I’ve never seen a man so secure in himself and so content with who he is and what he has. Dowie is a Lumad (or katutubo for us Tagalogs).
As he studied as a parish scholar in our mission school, he taught himself how to ride a motorbike and drive the parish’s dilapidated mini truck. Since then, he has become an indispensable sacristan and driver to several generations of young priests in our parish. When enticed with the possibility of earning a lot more by becoming a “mekaniko” instead in either Malaybalay or Valencia Ciry, his simple answer was, “Malipayon na kog mag-uban-uban sa mga pari. Diha makatabang ko sa daghan. Unsa pay akong pangitaon?” (I’m already happy being a companion to priests. In this way I am able to serve others. I don’t think I’d ask for anything more.”)
In Dowie’s humble, joyful and unassuming demeanor, in his ever reliable and generous service, the journey of Ignatius, the pilgrim with a limp, continues in Bukidnon.
Another one who has heroically continued Ignatius’ journey is Ate Pangging. I was told that Pangging is a derivative of “Pangga,” a term of endearment for someone who is well loved. And I can easily imagine why she is called as such.Pangging has been active in our parish since she received Baptism as a young lady in the 1990’s. Now, she is a mother of 6 and nearly 50 years old.
Week after week, she would hike about 6 kilometers of muddy roads, cross winding streams, and climb forested hills just to get to isolated Lumad communities. She would prepare them to receive the Sacraments.
Sitio Kalagaslasan is one of these communities. It’s an isolated village, almost abandoned by settlers due to insurgency issues. There, in a small chapel hidden in the thick foliage of towering mahoganies and Bunyan trees, Pangging would gather Lumad kids, sometimes with their parents. She would speak and sing joyfully to them about God. She knows the importance of Christian instruction for the faith of these young converts as she admits that she herself was strengthened by the gentle but persistent guidance of Jesuit missionaries assigned earlier in their village.
All these years, she humbly served as a volunteer with very little resources coming from our parish. All these years, she diligently served as a catechist while working as a subsistence farmer to send her children to school. All these years she tirelessly served as a chapel leader and endured calumnies against her because of her husband’s drinking issues.
Painfully yet gratefully she carried on her mission, praying each day for guidance and perseverance. She just kept on. And this must have made such an impact on her family, for her children have become active members of their chapel community and her husband has turned sober.
Her reputation preceded her. And so, when I finally saw her last year in secluded Kalagaslasan, I felt I was looking straight into the eyes of a great missionary.
Ayudar a las animas, Ignatius’ passion to help souls was in her eyes! Naitanong ko tuloy sa kanya, kung bakit nga ba ipinagpapatuloy pa niya ang pagiging katekista, ang paglilingkod sa Simbahan, sa hirap ng buhay niya. At ang simpleng sagot niya… “Kini man ang makahatag kanakog kalipay, ‘Dre. Ug basin tungod niini nausab ang akong bana.” (This gives me joy, Father. And maybe, it’s because of this that my husband also changed for the better.)
Even in tremendous difficulties, sharing the word of God to her own family, to her own people brings her joy and hope. She has kept on with her journey and has chosen hope instead of despair. Clinging on to the words in Scripture, she has chosen life so, “that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days.” (Dt. 30:15-20). Ignatius, the pilgrim with a limp, through Ate Pangging has reached Sitio Kalagaslasan.
Indeed as St. Paul writes, we were set free, not by Christ’s riches but by his poverty, for “[Christ] became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (cf. 2 Cor 8:9)”. In our day to day experiences, those who have less, those who have been marginalized, those who have been neglected can truly teach us the vision of reality that St. Ignatius had seen, can truly teach is the truth that had kept him on in his journey: our loving God is at work, and he is at work in and through all—there are no exceptions. This is grace.
Fr. Ernald with some of the Lumad scholars
I am certain my dear sisters and brothers that you have your own profound experiences of how the journey of Ignatius has continued in your life, and how along the way, you have met co-pilgrims, limping and all, yet tirelessly journeying with you towards Christ. Our journey, certainly mine, is truly blessed because of them.
As we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius on this Year of the Poor, we invite you to pause for awhile and contemplate on St. Ignatius, the limping pilgrim. Ignatius was just a man, after all, a wounded man, no different from you or me. Broken, scarred, sent, and graced. See how, even today, he continues to teach us to overcome our own woes, our misfortunes, so that we too, despite our pains, our set-backs, and difficulties, and maybe, through our own poverty and limp, we, too, may continue to seek and find the Lord of Ignatius, the “…Christ of God!” (Lk. 9:26) AMEN.
Fr. Ernald serves as School Director of St. Isidore High School and Assistant Parish Priest of Our Lady Mary Mediatrix of All Grace in Zamboanguita, Bukidnon.