29TH SUNDAY B
TRUE GREATNESS IN THE
EYES OF A SAINT
29th Sunday
What is the measure of true
greatness? In the world today, there are numerous, varied responses: Money! Control! Skill! Attitude! Fame!
Achievements! Depending on who you
ask and what his heart suggests, you will have an answer.
In the gospel (Mark 10), the Lord
Jesus instructs his disciples to expect that the world will value greatness
mainly on the basis of “who’s at the top of things”. He is great who triumphed over the others, who beat the
others, who showed the others his might.
Then He tells them to pursue
another kind of greatness, one that will make people scratch their heads, shake
their heads in unbelief, blow their minds off. To be great, says Jesus, is to be the servant of all. To be first is to be the last of all.
What better way to understand the
Lord than to merely rejoice with the entire Filipino nation as we welcome our
latest addition to the roster of the heroes of the faith.
He was a mere youth, from obscure
beginnings in the Visayas. He
accompanied the great St. Diego de San Vittores in his missionary forays into
the jungles of Marianas, now Guam, in search of converts for Christ. He worked
as a catechist while the priest performed the sacraments. When the priest-saint was killed by enemies,
he did not abandon him but instead came to his rescue. It was this that sealed his fate and
led to his own shedding of blood for his love of Christ and the Church.
Now, St. Pedro Calungsod is
recognized by the universal church for the heroism of his faith and the
fidelity he showed to his companion in mission. Compared to the stature of the great missionaries, he was
really just under their shadow.
But his faith proved to be so gigantic to convince the entire Church
that in the arena of love, he is equal to all those who went before him in
martyrdom.
Truly, greatness for God is in
being a servant, priority is in being last of all. What is the basis of this teaching of the Lord? It is none
other than his very self. “The Son
of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom
for many.”
Jesus tells us today not to
succumb to the temptation of false greatness. He who works silently is great. He who labors in the shadows is precious in the eyes of God. The Overseas Filipino Worker, the
laborer in the factory, the jeepney driver, the laundry woman, the sampaguita
vendor, the caregiver of an invalid – these are all images of the new saint of
the Philippines. In God’s eyes,
they too are great. We too, are
great even if we are not at the top.
As long as we do things out of love and fidelity to God and the people
around us, we can be so united with Christ.
Today let us thank the Lord for
opening wide for us the road that leads to true greatness! Mabuhay, St. Pedro Calungsod.
