Homegrown miracles
April 1, 2007 | 12:00am
Late last February, multi-awarded filmmaker James Cameron de-clared that he had discovered the tomb of Jesus Christ. The news was, unsurprisingly, sensationalized from the very beginning: after all, it concerned something that could affect the foundations of the Catholic religion. Because a big-name director was involved in the project, it created waves in the international community, sparking debate about Cameron’s discovery among archaeologists, theologians and other interested parties.
My first reaction to the findings was a cynical one. First, the timing of the news conference was too perfect; since the release of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, authors and filmmakers alike have been preoccupied with creating works with very religious and, oftentimes, controversial subjects. Second, it’s hard to ignore the fact that what Cameron uncovered was not a single tomb but that of a family, which leads me back to The Da Vinci Code. (Does the idea of Mary Magdalene being the wife of Jesus Christ ring a bell, anyone?) Third, Cameron used nothing but the names on the tombs as a basis for declaring that it was the tomb of Christ, completely ignoring the fact that names like Jesus, Mary and Judah (supposedly his son) were reputed to be commonly used in Israel. Studies like these should be kept to the professionals, and not used as material for superfluous Hollywood blockbusters or propaganda machines.
It is only natural to be curious about religious beliefs and spirituality. The Catholic religion lends itself to such study because of its age and rich history, and it is particularly interesting for us Filipinos, as it is deeply rooted in our traditions. Rather than turn to fictional accounts or exaggerative documentaries, however, perhaps it would be better to look for tangible representations of the faith with a real sense of history and an amazing, real life story behind it. Thankfully, we Filipinos don’t have to go very far to find one.
Recently, the San Miguel Corporation arranged a pilgrimage trip to the Monasterio de Tarlac, which is home to the only Relic of the True Cross in Asia. The relic is a matchbox-sized wooden fragment that is believed to have been a part of the cross on which Jesus Christ died on, and it is identified as an authentic relic by a red Vatican seal. It is encased in a silver and gold arqueta (ark), and was entrusted to the Servants of the Risen Christ monastic community last Jan. 30 by Msgr. Volker Bauer from the Diocese of Essen in Germany, where the relic had been kept for around 1,000 years. Several miracles were attributed to it during its stay in the Diocese of Essen, and since its arrival in the country, the relic has gained a reputation in the Philippines for answering the wishes and prayers of many of the pilgrims who journey to see it.
San Miguel Corporation’s pilgrimage tour was the first of its kind, and both the conglomerate and the Servants of the Risen Christ arranged it with the desire to spread the good news of the relic to the rest of the country.
"We believe this is God’s sign and God’s plan," stressed Fr. Ronald Thomas "Archie" Cortez during the conference. Cortez is the custodian of the relic, and the founder of the Monasterio’s community. For him and his fellow monks, everything from the formation of their community to the journey of the relic of the True Cross to their monastery was nothing short of miraculous.
The Servants of the Risen Christ is an apostolic-contemplative group of monks originating from Ramos, Tarlac. Their members number about 32 men of all ages and from all walks of life, and they have no active recruitment program at the moment, instead accepting whoever decides to come to them. They are a homegrown monastic community, patterning their lives after the teachings of the three monastic fathers and Easter spiritualism. Their order was blessed by the local Catholic Church in 1998. They were founded on Sept. 14, which happens to be the Feast Day of the Triumph of the True Cross. This was the first of many divine coincidences.
In 2005, Fr. Archie was invited as a guest to the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne. During his visit, he met Msgr. Bauer, who was custodian of the relic at the time. With the slow decline of monastic life in Europe, Bauer had been looking for someone to pass the relic on to, and Fr. Archie, the head of a monastic community based in the only predominantly Catholic nation in Asia, was an ideal and willing candidate. Their chance meeting completely changed the lives of the Monasterio’s congregation.
In some ways, bringing home the relic was providential. Fr. Archie never could have guessed that his small congregation would become home to one of the most important symbols of the Catholic faith. When he accepted Bauer’s offer, in fact, the Servants of the Risen Christ did not even have enough money to build a chapel to enshrine the relic in. The congregation has come a long way since then, however, and now seeks to spread the good news of the relic’s presence in the Philippines to the Filipino people.
Although Fr. Archie and the other members of the Servants of the Risen Christ are a little worried about the disruptions that might occur to their monastic lifestyle with the opening of their doors to the public, they believe that it is their duty to provide people with opportunities to see and experience something so valuable to the Catholic faith. For Fr. Archie, however, the relic should not be a person’s sole reason for seeking God. "A relic is a relic," he says. "It is valuable to those who believe. For those who do not believe, it is useless… Even without the relic, our faith should be pure."
The Chapel of the Relic of the True Cross is open on Saturdays and Sundays with a 10 a.m. Holy Mass. The reliquary is closed from public viewing and is only opened every Sept. 14, the Feast Day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross. As a special occasion, the Monasterio de Tarlac will be open to the public all of Holy Week.
My first reaction to the findings was a cynical one. First, the timing of the news conference was too perfect; since the release of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, authors and filmmakers alike have been preoccupied with creating works with very religious and, oftentimes, controversial subjects. Second, it’s hard to ignore the fact that what Cameron uncovered was not a single tomb but that of a family, which leads me back to The Da Vinci Code. (Does the idea of Mary Magdalene being the wife of Jesus Christ ring a bell, anyone?) Third, Cameron used nothing but the names on the tombs as a basis for declaring that it was the tomb of Christ, completely ignoring the fact that names like Jesus, Mary and Judah (supposedly his son) were reputed to be commonly used in Israel. Studies like these should be kept to the professionals, and not used as material for superfluous Hollywood blockbusters or propaganda machines.
It is only natural to be curious about religious beliefs and spirituality. The Catholic religion lends itself to such study because of its age and rich history, and it is particularly interesting for us Filipinos, as it is deeply rooted in our traditions. Rather than turn to fictional accounts or exaggerative documentaries, however, perhaps it would be better to look for tangible representations of the faith with a real sense of history and an amazing, real life story behind it. Thankfully, we Filipinos don’t have to go very far to find one.
Recently, the San Miguel Corporation arranged a pilgrimage trip to the Monasterio de Tarlac, which is home to the only Relic of the True Cross in Asia. The relic is a matchbox-sized wooden fragment that is believed to have been a part of the cross on which Jesus Christ died on, and it is identified as an authentic relic by a red Vatican seal. It is encased in a silver and gold arqueta (ark), and was entrusted to the Servants of the Risen Christ monastic community last Jan. 30 by Msgr. Volker Bauer from the Diocese of Essen in Germany, where the relic had been kept for around 1,000 years. Several miracles were attributed to it during its stay in the Diocese of Essen, and since its arrival in the country, the relic has gained a reputation in the Philippines for answering the wishes and prayers of many of the pilgrims who journey to see it.
San Miguel Corporation’s pilgrimage tour was the first of its kind, and both the conglomerate and the Servants of the Risen Christ arranged it with the desire to spread the good news of the relic to the rest of the country.
"We believe this is God’s sign and God’s plan," stressed Fr. Ronald Thomas "Archie" Cortez during the conference. Cortez is the custodian of the relic, and the founder of the Monasterio’s community. For him and his fellow monks, everything from the formation of their community to the journey of the relic of the True Cross to their monastery was nothing short of miraculous.
The Servants of the Risen Christ is an apostolic-contemplative group of monks originating from Ramos, Tarlac. Their members number about 32 men of all ages and from all walks of life, and they have no active recruitment program at the moment, instead accepting whoever decides to come to them. They are a homegrown monastic community, patterning their lives after the teachings of the three monastic fathers and Easter spiritualism. Their order was blessed by the local Catholic Church in 1998. They were founded on Sept. 14, which happens to be the Feast Day of the Triumph of the True Cross. This was the first of many divine coincidences.
In 2005, Fr. Archie was invited as a guest to the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne. During his visit, he met Msgr. Bauer, who was custodian of the relic at the time. With the slow decline of monastic life in Europe, Bauer had been looking for someone to pass the relic on to, and Fr. Archie, the head of a monastic community based in the only predominantly Catholic nation in Asia, was an ideal and willing candidate. Their chance meeting completely changed the lives of the Monasterio’s congregation.
In some ways, bringing home the relic was providential. Fr. Archie never could have guessed that his small congregation would become home to one of the most important symbols of the Catholic faith. When he accepted Bauer’s offer, in fact, the Servants of the Risen Christ did not even have enough money to build a chapel to enshrine the relic in. The congregation has come a long way since then, however, and now seeks to spread the good news of the relic’s presence in the Philippines to the Filipino people.
Although Fr. Archie and the other members of the Servants of the Risen Christ are a little worried about the disruptions that might occur to their monastic lifestyle with the opening of their doors to the public, they believe that it is their duty to provide people with opportunities to see and experience something so valuable to the Catholic faith. For Fr. Archie, however, the relic should not be a person’s sole reason for seeking God. "A relic is a relic," he says. "It is valuable to those who believe. For those who do not believe, it is useless… Even without the relic, our faith should be pure."
The Chapel of the Relic of the True Cross is open on Saturdays and Sundays with a 10 a.m. Holy Mass. The reliquary is closed from public viewing and is only opened every Sept. 14, the Feast Day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross. As a special occasion, the Monasterio de Tarlac will be open to the public all of Holy Week.
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