Fan-atic

The “People’s Pope” is upon us.  And true to form, the multitudes of Filipino faithful fan-atics have come out to see, hear, touch and for the privileged few, selfie him. The warm Filipino hospitality during Lolo Kiko’s arrival was apparent and everywhere he goes, he has been given the Filipino version of a rock-star welcome. (Even the Philippine stock market cheered and crossed 7,500 point level for the first time in its history last Wednesday). All this is happening notwithstanding the Pope’s December 3 directive to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle that “I should not be the focus, Jesus should be the focus.”  In remarks made on May 18, 2013 or two months after he was elected Pontiff, Pope Francis said:  “What is the most important thing? It is Jesus! If we forge ahead with our own arrangements, with other things, with beautiful things but without Jesus, we make no headway, it does not work. Jesus is more important.”

The Pope added:  After my election, “all of you in the square shouted, “Francis, Francis, Pope Francis.  But where was Jesus? I should have preferred to hear you cry: “Jesus, Jesus is Lord, and He is in our midst.” So from now on, enough of Francis, just Jesus!”

The Pope’s “defocus” instruction dovetails with the gospel reading last Sunday. At the river Jordan, John the Baptist (Juan Bautista) reluctantly baptized his cousin Jesus saying “I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.” Rather than laying claim or giving credence to popular gossip then that he was the Messiah, Saint John categorically denied “he was the Christ” and instead requested his followers to look more intently to Jesus (who had not yet revealed Himself in his baptism).

But can you blame us ordinary mortals for not following the Pope’s instructions? His compassionate and merciful approach is not only refreshing but magnetic. He has brought an air of authenticity and genuiness to our faith. His enigmatic smile is sincerely captivating. He is not just charismatic but “Christ-matic.” And after all, Catholics worldwide consider him as the Vicar of Christ and His representative here on Earth.  

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Fanatics or funatics?: Last week, Metro Manilans marked the annual devotion to the Black Nazarene. An estimated 5 million people joined the 20-hour procession. The pushing, shoving and jostling cost the lives of two devotees and resulted in over 1,700 injuries.  Nineteen-year-old Mel Christian Lim was one of the fatalities. A member for five years of the Anak ng Poong Nazareno, his goal was to climb up the carriage (andas) and touch the Nazarene statue. He was trampled upon by his fellow devotees. Given recurring issues of health and safety, query if the church should continue to encourage this devotion? Do these practices now constitute reckless, fanatical behaviour? Have they crossed the line of acceptable acts of religious worship? Although I get the impression that most devotees are merely “funatics” who pursue their panata with sobriety and joy in their hearts.

And yet rather than unconsolably grieve Mel’s passing, his mother, Imelda, described his death in Filipino as “painful but beautiful — it was an accident and no one is at fault.  We find comfort that he was with the Lord when the incident happened.” But then again is that not what this tradition tries to teach all of us — that by suffering like and with Christ, we also share in his redemption.    

Fanatics are defined by Webster as those “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.” Oxford describes them as persons “filled with excessive and single-minded zeal.”

So is fanaticism wrong? Since the turn of the century, the world has witnessed massive death and destruction resulting from acts instigated or perpetrated by fanatics. Those who, in Flannery O’ Connor’s terms “confuse a madness with a mission.” On the flip side, we have also seen random acts of kindness and idealism by those who are passionate about and committed to promoting the common good. Perhaps it depends then on what one is being fanatic about?  Or is it?  They say that any activity brought to the extreme will eventually turn out to be counter-productive.    

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Fanatic faith?: The hardships endured by Black Nazarene devotees remind me of the gospel story involving the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment as narrated in Luke 8:42-48:

[42] As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. [43] And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. [44] She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

[45] “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

[46] But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

[47] Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. [48] Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

The Bible itself makes it difficult to draw the line between fanaticism and faith. Oscar Wilde was again on point when he said “that the worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity.”

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Greetings: Birth anniversary best wishes to Active Realty president Antonio Turralba.

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“Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess a total explanation, have wrought havoc among mere mixed-up

human beings.” – Salman Rushdie

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