Sacred music concert / Meet Cardinal Rosales

The Italian Embassy headed by Ambassador Rubens Fedele, and the Manila Cathedral Basilica jointly presented the concert "Sacra Musicae Peregrinatio" at the Manila Cathedral last week in remembrance of Pope John Paul II, and in honor of HE Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales.

Ambassador Fedeles delivered a brief welcome address but because the sound system was not working very well, little of what he said could be heard or understood. The remarks of solo pianist Rolando Nicolosi, which remarks in Italian were translated in English, could not be appreciated either for the same reason.

A grand piano had been installed at the altar of the cathedral; Maestro Nicolosi, his hair long and grey, looked a bit like the resurrected image of Liszt, the composer of the evening’s sacred music. The pieces were Miserere After Palestrina / Stabat Mater / Offertory / Benedictus / Hymn of the Pope / Ave Maria / Urbi et Orbi (To the City — Rome — and to All the World / Alleluia / Recuillement / Invocation / Ave Maris Stella / Sanocta Dorotea / St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds / St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves.

Maestro Nicolosi rendered all the selections with remarkable authority and assurance, his touch sure, his technique flawless and impeccable. His approach was appropriately dignified and solemn. But precisely because the works were sacred and religious in substance, the nearly unvarying style and mood almost bordered on uniformity – and tedium – as they evoked the same reverential air.

There were three exceptions. The Alleluia was joyous, exultant and exuberant; St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds and St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves were both highly descriptive program music. In the former, one heard the constant chirping and singing of birds which surrounded the saint who later preaches to the feathered creatures. In the latter, one heard the roaring and the rolling of the waves – the raging sea – with the saint finally walking over the waters.

In both demanding compositions, the audience admired the pianist’s masterful rendition of the rapid and complex configurations, his astounding digital skill making short shrift of them. The piano master garnered lusty applause.

At concert’s close, HE Cardinal Rosales, the honoree, effusively thanked the hosts and the audience. Again, little was understood of his remarks but we did construe from them that the really Great Musician – the Eternal Artist – is up there, that we can create music only through his divine inspiration.

Among the listeners were Fr. Pedro Galende, parish priest of St. Agustine Church and curator of its museum, and Fr. Gabriel Casal, director-curator of the Archdiocesan Museum in Intramuros.

Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales

Although I am related to HE Cardinal Rosales by affinity – my mother’s sister Manuela having married Batangas Governor Pablo Borbon, grandfather of the Cardinal – I cannot claim to know him well, not having grown up in Batangas. But according to those close to him, he is modest and unassuming; he is, in fact, the soul of humility. Further, he is a real shepherd to his flock, particularly to his priests and the poor.

About his humility. According to Fr. Sid Marinay, the Cardinal prefers to be called "Lolo Dency". He is very "light" to be with, and has the knack for making anybody he talks with feel at home with him, owing to his simplicity and humility. As Prince of the Church, his office is awe-inspiring, yet he is, as a person, far from being intimidating. His presence exudes an aura of a rare mix of an ideal father and a good friend.

Former Ambassador Henrietta De Villa relates this incident: At the end of the first day of the National Congress of the Clergy at the World Trade Center, she was busy checking if all the priests were in the right buses that would take them to their host families. She noticed Archbishop Rosales at the lobby; she would come and go yet he would stay at the same spot. Finally, she asked if he needed a car to take him back to the Arzobispado. He told her he was waiting for her to finish her chores so he could "ask permission" to take three of the extra Congress bags for the drivers of the participants staying at the Arzobispado so that they, too, might feel a belongingness to the Church event. "Imagine the Archbishop of Manila patiently waiting to ask permission for three bags . . . for drivers!" exclaims De Villa.

As for the Cardinal’s concern for his priests, Fr. Marinay recounts that when Pope John Paul II moved Archbishop Rosales to Lipa, the latter demonstrated his firm belief in the Second Vatican Council which contends, "The Life of the Church depends much on the life of the priests." He worked closely with the priests for their own continuous growth as persons and as pastors, saying "I do not believe in shepherding without a vision. To me it is treason to lead a flock without a directing vision."

As for Cardinal Rosales’ concern for the poor, he confesses: "I was assigned to a very small, remote, poor barrio in Lipa. If God would ask me, ‘What have I done to merit heaven?’ That assignment would serve as my ticket to heaven."

In this regard, Fr. Marinay relates: "He visited all the houses in that parish. He loved to be with the ordinary folk in the ordinariness of their daily routines such as washing dishes, ironing clothes, etc. In a clergy general assembly, when he was very new in the Archdiocese, Lolo Dency announced he wanted to be invited to the poorest places on condition there should be no media around."

And there is the Pondo ng Pinoy. Collecting 25 centavos is not the main thing. What is important is evangelization, education which is in essence all about love of God and neighbors. If you give a million pesos to Pondo ng Pinoy without love, the Cardinal will not accept it. "All must be geared towards love."