Bokasyon

Good Friday 1985.  Unable to bear the taunts of a few cousins, I cried to Mommy Rosie and told her that I will no longer join in the Pabasa during Holy Week. "Bakit ka titigil eh bokasyon mo yun?" ("Why would you stop when that is your vocation?")  Upon hearing those words, I stopped crying and continued my Lenten devotion until I moved to the UK. (Unfortunately, there are no Pabasa here, although some of us Pinoys have been toying this idea...)

Bokasyon. Vocation. Profession. However we name it, all of us have responded to its calling. Some of us have felt the calling to become priests, doctors, teachers, etc. Apart from one's job, some of us have also felt the calling to marriage or single blessedness. And still, some have also been called to be of service to the Church such as altar servers, lay ministers, choir members, catechists, etc. 

Living one's vocation has its peaks and troughs. At times, we are full of life and enthusiasm and people are cheering for us. But there have also been moments when our efforts seem fruitless or others denigrate us. And we want to bail out. 

Bakit ka titigil eh bokasyon mo yun?

There are also moments when vocation is eclipsed by personal ambition. Take for example our politicians whose calling is to serve the people, but have enriched themselves at the expense of the public. Or the clergy whose vocation is to tend the flock, but have sexually abused children who look up to them as their spiritual fathers. In our own lives, we may have experienced being torn between our calling and our own agenda. And we want to bury our heads in the sand.

Bakit ka titigil eh bokasyon mo yun?

A story goes that when the Christians in Rome were being harshly persecuted, St Peter tried to flee.  Along the way, he met Christ and he asked the Lord "Quo vadis, Domine?" (Where are you going, Lord?) To which, Jesus replied " "Romam eo iterum crucifigi ("I am going to Rome to be crucified again").  Upon hearing the Lord's response, St Peter came to his senses and went back to Rome where he met his end.  He could have ignored the Lord, he could have ditched his mission and go back to become a fisherman, but he didn't. Why? Because Jesus called him to be a fisher of people!

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, let us draw inspiration from these two big brothers of the Church who never stopped in listening to their calling "in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword".

As most of you may already know, this great feast coincides with my beloved aunt's death anniversary. Mommy Rosie, I couldn't thank you enough for posing to me that question. Whenever I feel down, that question motivates me to soldier on.  May God, who called you to be a loving mom to us all, call you now to enjoy His grace and peace in heaven.  We love you!

The Great Ilocano

When this title is mentioned, who comes into your mind?  Perhaps it's either of 2 former Philippine Presidents who hailed from the North and whose contribution to the country is worthy of praise or derision whatever side of the political fence you belong to.  Way back in January, a late Ilocano prelate, was brought into the limelight when the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia (Vigan)  formally opened the cause for his beatification and canonization.  Is there another great Ilocano in the horizon? Read more!

Born to a wealthy family in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Alfredo Florentin Verzosa was a priest of that big archdiocese. It has been said that when he was parish priest of Bantay, he fought hard against the onslaught of  the Aglipayan schism in his parish.  According to the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart's website: "He (Verzosa) took it upon himself to protect, revive and strengthen the Catholic faith wherever he was assigned and devoted all his time to priestly duties. He converted barrio people to the faith, risking his own life in the process."

Appointed Bishop of Lipa in September 1916, he became the first Filipino bishop to be assigned in what was then a budding diocese.  He was also the first Ilocano bishop.  True to himself as a pastor and teacher of souls, Bishop Verzosa embarked in the formation of people by building seminaries, churches, and schools in his diocese. He invited missionary congregations to assist in spreading the faith.  His top agenda though was catechesis. Together with Mother Laura Mendoza, he founded the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart in 1920.  Apart from that he also had catechetical centers established across the diocese.  Fr. Manny Guazon wrote that “It would not be baseless to call Bishop Verzosa the ‘Father of Catechesis (of the Diocese of Lipa)’. His passion for catechetical apostolate must have planted and nourished the Catholic faith of Batangueños.”

A man known for practicing what he preached, Bishop Verzosa was a humble and holy man.  Story has it that he would pray 15 minutes before and after the Mass. Another story goes that when he heard that a priest was having an affair and was thus breaking his vow of celibacy, he would confront the priest - with tears in his eyes - and convince the erring man of the cloth to repent. Although unable to speak in Tagalog, he employed 2 priests to be his interpreters to ensure that his message reaches out to all members of his flock.

In the aftermath of World War II, he used the war damage reparations fund that Lipa received to reconstruct affected churches. It was said that he devoted all the income of the diocese to this project, plus what he inherited from his family.


The Virgin Mary's alleged apparition in the Carmel Monastery of Lipa links up with Bishop Verzosa's story.  Fr Ericson Josue, a priest from the Diocese of Laoag and Theology professor at the Vigan Seminary once said "“When the alleged miracle became a sensational issue, he had to go to the monastery to tell the nuns to turn down the issue but he was entering the monastery, he was greeted by the phenomenon, “the shower of rose petals,”.


In 1950, he was asked to vacate the bishopric of Lipa. Albeit a few accounts would say that the good obispo was removed from office due to fiscal mismanagement, some quarters maintain that politics was behind this.  Watching June Keithley's documentary entitled "The Woman Clothed with the Sun" on YouTube gave me an impression that indeed politics had the upper hand in Verzosa's retirement. One priest who worked with him even remarked "Church of Christ, governed by men" (or words to that effect). In the same video, another man of the cloth -this time a bishop - contested the mismanagement accusation saying that Verzosa even used his own personal money to defray costs in the diocese.

Four years after his retirement, he died in Vigan "practically a poor man, having exhausted all his inheritance for his Episcopal ministry, but rich in the sympathy and admiration of pious priests. Still, he died happily with the thought that he had served God and his Queen, the Blessed Virgin Mary and his Church with all his heart and might."

Bishop Verzosa seemed to have died in oblivion, but with the Archdiocese of Lipa's formal approval of the Lipa Apparition in 2009 and Fr Josue's research, his life has resurfaced.  Indeed as the Lord said in Isaiah 55:10-11:

For just as from the heavens, the rain, and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

For his missionary zeal, self-emptying love for his flock, and undaunted faith in the Lord, Apo Verzosa (as he would have been addressed by the Ilocano faithful) deserves to be raised to the altars. At a time when vocations to the priesthood is challenged, at a time when we put more importance on what we gain (e.g. wealth, power, prestige, etc.) rather than what we could give,  his example is worth emulating and celebrating.  In my book, he is the great Ilocano!

Bishop Verzosa, pray for us!

***

Speaking of Iluko greats, there's another Verzosa whose holiness I hope would be recognized by the Church soon - Sr Pilar Verzosa, founder of Pro-Life Philippines. Sr Pilar and Apo Verzosa belong to the same clan. During her life, Sr Pilar was a staunch Pro-Life campaigner.

Another Pinay that's on my list is Aurora Quezon, wife of President Manuel L Quezon.  A simple woman who preferred to stay in her bahay kubo than the presidential palace, she was the country's Queen Mother.  I am touched when she declined the pension that Congress proposed to be given to her. She couldn't accept it as it was against the memory of her husband AND it was not wise to do so in light of the many women who lost their husbands and sons during the war at that time.

Such self-emptying life and service which, frankly speaking, is lacking or absent in the lives of those whom this world consider as great!