"In memory of the days when you climbed the stairs of the Ateneo, to win debates, and begin a beautiful career!" Those were the words which Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J., inscribed in the first page of the book, "At 3:00 A.M.," during the book-launching at the St. Paul College in Quezon City. The red-letter day also marked two significant events: the celebration of Fr. Reuter’s 80th birthday and his first Golden Jubilee of Priesthood.
The passing of time usually blurs what used to be vivid images of the past. Oftentimes, we hardly remember how a friend or a kin looked like 40 or 50 years ago. There are even important events of long ago that cannot now be recollected. Yes, images of the past have a tendency to fade away like fog in early morning.
It is different, though, with Fr. Reuter. The images of him many, many years ago remain vivid. Coaching the varsity basketball team. Conducting a Glee Club concert. Jotting down sentences in a blackboard. Jogging at the Loyola Heights campus. Listening to students in a confessional box. Whispering words of advice to a debater in a college debate. Teaching how to do a Cyrano de Bergerac in a stage play. Talking about Christ in a retreat. Celebrating Mass in a makeshift table. Reading a statement from the bishops. Giving priestly blessings to a newly-wed couple.
Even the smallest details of how Fr. Reuter talked, of the simplest things he said, of how he walked and moved around in classrooms, in churches, in auditoriums, inside television stations, and in the visitors’ lounge at La Ignaciana in Sta. Ana are as vivid today as they were long ago. Yes, time has stood still for Fr. Reuter.
One can hardly remember how long Fr. Reuter has been in the Philippines. Fifty eight years ago or 1938 – that is how long Fr. Reuter has been with us. And this Jesuit priest has been here, there, everywhere in the entire archipelago, doing everything under the sun, making everyone feel that he has been with us for what seems like eternity.
It was almost half a century ago that I first met Fr. Reuter at the Loyola Heights campus of the Ateneo de Manila. At that time, once a week, the high school students would walk to a covered court, far away from the main high school building, where Holy Mass would be celebrated. There were no chairs, no pews, only a table for the priest, at the covered court.
Fr. Reuter would be seen walking along the cobbled pathway with the students, carrying a wooden chair. He would put that chair in a spot where the young men stood and beckon me to sit on that chair. Yes, he always had me in mind whenever the Ateneo high school students would hear Mass at the Covered Court.
It was late afternoon when, one day in 1958 as I was waiting for a ride to the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Katipunan, Fr. Reuter saw me at the ground floor leading to the college auditorium. It was a day that changed my life.
"Borjal, come up to the fourth floor," he barked. "Come and join the debating society." I trembled, fearing the thought of going up the stage and speaking before an audience.
When I finally entered the auditorium, after climbing up four flights of stairs, Fr. Reuter, who stood imposingly on the stage, called my name. "Borjal, you will debate today. You will take the negative side on the issue of whether American bases in the Philippines should stay. You have 20 minutes to prepare your speech," Fr. Reuter said.
Miracle of miracles, I survived the ordeal. And soon, as Fr. Reuter assigned me to participate in debates against schools like the University of the Philippines, San Beda College, the Philippine Military Academy, MLQ University, Ateneo de Naga, Ateneo de Davao, and many others, I began feeling like Superman. Gone was my inferiority complex. Like many Ateneans, I became
mayabang – all because of Fr. Reuter.
A miracle man – that was how Fr. Reuter has always been. For how can one explain how a man who cannot read a single musical note can conduct a full-blown glee club? Or how he, like Cecil B. de Mille or Steven Spielberg, can produce and direct stage plays as awesome as
Cyrano de Bergerac and
Sound of Music? Or coach a varsity team that can compete with the best in the league and win gold medals and giant trophies? Yes, Fr. Reuter is, has and will always be Superman – all in the service of God.
The Senate did well in unanimously passing a resolution conferring honorary Filipino citizenship on Fr. Reuter. The resolution was an initiative of Senator Heherson Alvarez whose wife Cecille Guidote was a "Reuter Baby." But for all the magnificent and beautiful things done by Fr. Reuter for the Philippines and the Filipino people, he deserves more than an honorary citizenship. He should receive the "Outstanding Filipino Award" because he has proven that he is more Filipino than most Filipinos.
THOUGHTS FOR TODAY:
Blessings are like hugs from God
to let you know how much He loves you.
Counting your blessings is like hugging God back.
May God embrace you all the days of your life. Start your day with a deep breath,
inhale all the love and goodness of God
and exhale the tears, fear and all negativity.
Then smile and have a great day. My e-mail addresses:
jaywalker@pacific.net.ph and
artborjal@yahoo.com