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Page | 1 St. Camillus College Seminary
31st Commencement Exercises
5 March 2016
Bringing the Light of Mercy an Com!assion to the "orl
It has been 12 years had passed since the last graduation
ceremony that Iattended in this college seminary as Rector where I
spent 11 meaningfulyears of my rst assignment as Camillian
religious. I am an alumnus of thisinstitution batch 19. !hough I
didn"t belong to the rst batch of graduates#since there were 2
batches ahead of me$% my batch is the rst one toundergo the full
four year academic program of &achelor of 'rts inPhilosophy of
this college seminary. !he rst 2 batches did the rst half oftheir
academic program at the Pontical (ni)ersity of *anto !omas and
laterthey transferred to *t. Camillus College *eminary #*CC*$ in
19+% the year
that this higher education institution got its appro)al and
recognition fromthe ,inistry of -ducation% Culture and *ports
#,-C*$ under the term of ,in.ourdes /uisumbing. ,y dear graduates
and student seminarians% I"m proudto say that you did the best
choice of studying and being formed at the*CC*. It"s indeed one of
the best formations that I ha)e in my life as religiousand as
ser)ant of the Church. !he theme that you chose for the
01st commencement eercises Bringing theLight of Mercy and
Compassion to the World is the )ery agenda of Poperancis"
ponticate and of the Church today as we welcome the new era
ofhistory. ' year ago #3anuary 2415$% Pope rancis came to the
Philippines to
bring the message of 6,ercy and Compassion7 as the )icar of
Christ to thesur)i)ors of the strongest typhoon on record Cat. 5
68olanda7 and to all thosedepri)ed of the means to li)e a decent
life with dignity as human being. n'pril 11% 2415% he released the
&ull of Indiction of the -traordinary 3ubilee of ,ercy :
Misericordiae Vultus. n ;ecember % 2415% he opened theetraordinary
3ubilee 8ear of ,ercy which aims to pro)ide 6more e)identsigns of
6to @eepali)e the desire to @now how to welcome the numerous signs
of thetenderness which
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Page | 2 !he new agenda of the Church as being promoted by
the etraordinary 3ubilee 8ear of ,ercy is captured by the logo
of the Bubilee. r. ,arco Rupni@%*3% the artist who made the logo%
in an inter)iew said that 6we are nowpassing from an era of
criticism% reason% intellect% research% uni)ersity #fromthe
Renaissance period up to our time% the 'ge of ,odernism$ to an
organic
era of post:,odernism wherein life and conscience are no longer
separatedwherein the person pre)ails before ideas7. De further
eplained that 6thisorganic era is an era of life% a time wherein
the priority is I-. Ehen lifebecomes the priority% the culture
#education to life$ changes and becomessymbolic% poetic% and
metaphorical7 where life re:emerges or being li)edanew. r. Rupni@
belie)es that Pope rancis is part of this new era of humanhistory.
If you noticed in his homilies and speeches% more often he
spea@sonly in few words but deli)ers the profound message in his
actions andgestures which are )ery symbolic of the tenderness
of
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Page | 0'ccording to ,iriam Eebster dictionary% mercy is dene as
a feeling of wanting to
help someone who is sic@% hungry% in trouble% etc. a sympathetic
consciousness ofothersL distress together with a desire to
alle)iate it. ,ercy is not a )ague feeling of
pity or sympathy but an inner strength and force that pushes one
to encounter the
suAering one. !he sole proof of this is 3esus% himself% the true
face of the ather"s
mercy.
3esus re)eals the mercy of too@ out two denarii%
9> ga)e to the inn@eeper and 14> promised to return. !hese
ten actions re)eal to us
what true mercy demands. ,ercy is the 6fundamental law that
dwells in the heart of
e)ery person who loo@s sincerely into the eyes of his brothers
and sisters on the
path of life.7 #,N% 2$. It is not surprising then% that
throughout 3esus" public ministry
he engaged in physical epressions of mercy% pity% compassion%
and healing. !rue
mercy o)ercomes humiliations% restores the person"s )alue and
dignity and ma@es
the person commits himselfKherself to
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Page | ++e lac1ing in mercy0 2he Church6s very credi+ility is
seen in ho* she sho*s merciful
and compassionate love0 2he Church (has an endless desire to
sho* mercy7 . #,N%
14$. !his strong aTrmation on the Church"s pastoral acti)ity
which is primarily
founded on mercy draws a lot of reactions e)en among the
hierarchs of the Church.
or instance during the synod on families which was recently
concluded serious
debate too@ place on the following issues? admission of di)orced
and remarriedcouples to the -ucharist% law of gradualness regarding
irregular relationship or
cohabitation% welcoming gay Catholics% etc. !here is a strong
fear that ta@ing
positi)e positions on this issues will compromise the Catholic
doctrine on the family
and matrimony and de)astate the ,agisterium #teaching authority
of the Church$.
*ome commented that the Pope tends to ideologie the issue by
using sociological
categories abo)e the theological ones. *ome belie)ed that mercy
contradicts Bustice
and encourages complacency. Pope rancis" intention is not to put
the matter into
debate but to bring into light )arious points which has ne)er
been claried in order
to chart a middle course between hostile rigidity and a false
sense of mercy. De
wanted the synod to be a 6path of solidarity and Bourney
together and not adebating chamber7. #Pope Francis! Concluding
8emar1s of the ynod! $%":$.
!he Church"s credibility does not rely solely on dogmas
and doctrines but in her
witnessing to the mercy and compassion of 3esus Christ% the face
of the ather"s
mercy. Der mission is to bring mercy. 3ustice and mercy are not
two contradicting
realities but rather belong to a single reality that
progressi)ely unfolds. (2he
temptation! on the one hand! to focus e4clusively on ;ustice
made us forget that
this is only the
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Page | 5ne of the biggest crises in -urope today is the massi)e
inJu of refugeescoming from *yria% 'fghanistan% Pa@istan% and the
Morth and Eest 'fricancountries. !hey are )ictims of war% political
and economic crises and climatechange. Ehen Cardinal &ergoglio
assumed his new oTce as Pope% one of therst acti)ities he did was
to )isit prisoners and refugees in Rome. In his
speech before the refugees% he strongly appealed to the Church
in thesewords? (2rue mercy! the mercy =od gives to us and teaches
us! demands ;ustice! it demands that the poor gyptians! and to
+ring them up
out of that land to a good and +road land! a land @o*ing *ith
mil1 and honey
./7 #-. 0%S:$.
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Page | peacefully will be bro@en to the detriment of the whole.
*econdly% it is thecriterion of becoming a true disciple of Christ.
(5 give you a ne*commandment! that you love one another0 Aust as 5
have loved you! you also
should love one another0 By this everyone *ill 1no* that you are
my
disciples! if you have love for one another07 #3ohn
10% 0+:05$. !he contet of
this passage is the washing of the feet of the disciples. ;uring
the rst yearof Pope"s rancis ponticate% he performed the washing of
the feet of thedisciples not at the seat of the Church of Rome G
the &asilica of *t. 3ohnateran G but at one of the prison
facilities in Rome among the inmates. !hiso)erturned a long
standing tradition of the Pope to celebrate holy wee@ atthe said
&asilica. !hird% a basic proof of a morally and Bust society is
how ittreats its most )ulnerable members. Ehere there is
)ulnerability% there is thehigh inde of suAering. !he poor ha)e the
most urgent moral claim on theconscience of the society. !o care
for the poor is an essential part in thesociety"s eAort to achie)e
the common good. Pope rancis appealed to all
priests and religious to go to the 6peripheries7% i.e.% the
eistential periphery#where people are losing hope and sense of life
where the spiritual wor@s ofmercy are more appropriate$ and the
geographical periphery #people whoare at the margins of society
whose rights and welfare are not eFuallyaccorded where the corporal
wor@s of mercy are more appropriate as aninitial help$.
Call to %ction& 'ringing the light of mercy and comassion to
the
world
I hope and pray that all of you graduates will pursue the call
of
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Page | S2. urthermore% in the same gathering% the Pope appeals
to all Christiancommunities (to create )circles of integrity’!
net*or1s of solidarity *hichcan e4pand to em+race and transform
society +y their prophetic *itness07
#cf. P. rancis Domily at the ,anila Cathedral% 2415$. !he
circles of integrityrefers to 6sanctuaries%7 places and groups of
people among whom an
indi)idual can foster and maintain positi)e )alues. #cf. ;r. ,a.
ourdes'rellano Carandang$. 6It is a small group of friends from the
same wor@place%class% school or community who )oluntarily commit to
meet regularly to helpeach other continuously impro)e the Fuality
and integrity of their indi)idualand group performance and beha)ior
especially in the )alues of patriotism%integrity and ser)ice
ecellence =Q>7 #;r. 'ntonio Roldan% 3r. Ph;$. It is achange
management approach that combines Fuality ser)ice with
integrity.Ehere you are wor@ing or performing your ministry% do it
with integrity.
0. oo@ing at the comple and unBust social condition which
intensies
)ulnerability of the marginalied sectors% the Pope appeals to
build6net#or$s of soliarity7. 6*olidarity is =Q> not a 6feeling
of )aguecompassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so
many people% bothnear and far. n the contrary% it is a rm and
perse)ering determination tocommit oneself to the common good.7
#C*;C% 190$. It is an enabling force toinJuence change in the
society by eliminating structural causes of po)erty%promoting
integral human de)elopment and introducing a new mindsetwhich
counts acti)e participation of e)rybody in the community. #cf.
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Page | 'lice , *innott R*,% ,ercy in the &ible
'n inter)iew of r. ,arco Rupni@% *3
#ristelo Miranda! M5
Ministers of the 5n
