from the Heart

Vocation and Profession

What would be the different between vocation and profession? I stumble across this question when I ask my friend, “Why do you want to be a medical doctor?” She replies, “Actually to be an accountant is my first option, not really a doctor.” Her answer does not surprise since she is not the first doctor who brings up that to me. Yet, I know that my follow-up question would be significantly more crucial, “You know that it is not your first option, and you need to sacrifice many things to become a doctor, but why do you still struggle to stay put being a doctor?” Her answer excites me. “I feel an inner peace and joy every time a patient sincerely says thanks. I know that all my efforts and labors to help them recover have been fruitful one.” After she says her last piece, I immediately shift the topic of conversation to avoid the same questions bounce back to me!

My spiritual director, echoing the insight of Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, says that it is fine to enter for the wrong reason, but we need to have a right reason to stay. We may become a doctor, a teacher, and even a brother for a wrong reason, but it does not matter since it does not define who we are. What matters is that we stay put for a right reason. This reason empowers and emboldens us to hurdle even those extremely difficult situations and still we find a little piece of happiness in this midst of tribulation. This reason is what we call vocation.

Unlike profession, vocation knows no time limit. A mother cannot say that she would be a mother every weekday from 8 AM to 5 PM only! Or in an emergency situation, a doctor cannot say, “Oh look for another doctor. I am having weekend off! Or, a priest cannot simply become a priest only every weekend yet play with girls every weekday! Vocation is life-long commitment and precisely it defines who we are.

Unlike profession, vocation knows no career. Well, a husband cannot expect that he would be the majority stock holder and earn billions from his marriage. Definitely there are certain ranks and academic positions one can attain, but most of the teachers especially in the Philippine and Indonesian context, will remain simple and ordinary teachers throughout their lives. I myself cannot determine that after 20 years, I would grab the rectorship of Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas! Most likely, I would turn to be simple brother for the entire of my life. Vocation is sacrifice and it precisely defines who we are.

If vocation does not give anything good, but why do people stand their ground to their chosen vocation? It is simply because vocation brings us something that even the best profession could not offer. It is to discover that after all the struggles and disfigured realities we have to endure, our life is not a waste at all, but it has been a meaningful and fruitful one. In the world of education, the greatest reward a teacher can earn is not bulk of money or brand-new BMW, but to see his students succeed in life and even surpass him.

Vocation is not about earning wealth, glory or power, it is about profound fulfillment of helping people grow and flourish. It is a joy of serving and loving others. This is why St. Therese of Lisieux says that her vocation is to love. Every one of us is called to love no matter profession we have.
 

 Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Beware of the Devil (bahasa)

Minggu Prapaskah Pertama

Februari 17, 2013

Lukas 4:1-13

“Yesus dibawa oleh Roh Kudus ke padang gurun. Di situ Ia tinggal empat puluh hari lamanya dan dicobai Iblis (Lk 4:1-2).”

Hati-Hati dengan Iblis

Secara mengejutkan kita mendengarkan 'cerita hantu' dari bacaan Injil Minggu Prapaskah Pertama ini: Yesus diganggu oleh Iblis! Namun, jauh sekedar membuat kita takut, Injil hari ini menjelaskan bahwa meskipun roh-roh jahat sungguh nyata, Yesus jauh lebih kuat dari mereka

Roh-roh jahat atau yang lebih dikenal sebagai setan bukanlah sekedar produk dari imajinasi kita. Iman kita mengatakan bahwa mereka memang sungguh ada! Credo Nicea dengan tegas menyatakan bahwa Allah adalah sang pencipta bagi yang terlihat maupun yang tak terlihat.
“Yang tak terlihat" di sini mengacu pada para malaikat. St Thomas Aquinas, yang mendapat gelar sebagai Dokter Malaikat karena tulisan-tulisannya mengenai kodrat para malaikat, mengemukakan bahwa malaikat adalah jauh lebih unggul dari kita manusia karena mereka adalah roh murni tanpa raga. Secara luar biasa mereka melampaui akal budi dan kekuatan kita.

Sayangnya, tidak semua malaikat itu baik. St. Yohanes secara rinci menceritakan kepada kita Perang Besar di surga. Naga dan para malaikatnya memberontak terhadap Allah, namun St. Michael, Sang Malaikat Agung, dan bersama seluruh malaikat yang baik mengusir roh-roh pemberontak ini dari surga dan melempar mereka ke dunia (Wahyu 12). Sang Naga, juga disebut sebagai Setan atau Iblis, pada mulanya adalah malaikat seperti Michael, namun mereka akhirnya memutuskan untuk membelot dan memilih jalur permusuhan dengan Allah. Tapi, mengapa mereka memilih bermusuhan dengan Allah jika mereka diciptakan dalam bentuk yang hampir sempurna dan sesungguhnya bisa menikmati kebahagiaan yang kekal di surga?

Beberapa Bapa Gereja mencoba memberikan jawaban mengapa sejumlah malaikat di surga akhirnya’jatuh’. Alasannya tidak lain karena keangkuhan dan iri hati. Para malaikat melihat bahwa suatu hari nanti, Allah Putra akan menjadi manusia biasa dan mereka akan menjadi hamba Yesus dari Nazaret, sang manusia sederhana. Selain itu, karena kasih-Nya luar biasa, Allah akan menderita dan mati demi manusia dan bukan demi para malaikat! Ini benar-benar kebenaran yang tidak bisa diterima bagi beberapa malaikat, “Apa yang ada pada manusia bahwa Allah sungguh mencintai mereka melebihi para malaikat?” Akhirnya, mereka menolak untuk menghormati keputusan Allah dan menyatakan permusuhan terhadap kemanusiaan.

Terkutuk dalam hukuman abadi, mereka bersumpah untuk menyeret umat manusia bersama-sama dengan mereka ke neraka. Karya pertama iblis yang pernah tercatat dalam Kitab Suci adalah ketika sang “ular” mengoda orang tua pertama kita untuk melanggar perintah Allah dan usahanya sungguh berhasil (Kej 3). Adam dan Hawa diusir dari surga dan kita, keturunan mereka, menderita konsekuensinya. Sejak saat itu, Setan dan para pengikutnya tidak pernah berhenti mengganggu dan mengoda pria dan wanita dari segala zaman untuk berpaling dari Allah. Mereka tahu bahwa mereka tidak akan pernah masuk kembali ke surga, tetapi untuk membawa semua manusia ke dalam kehancuran mereka adalah lebih dari cukup.

Meskipun mereka telah jatuh, secara kodrat mereka masih seorang malaikat. Dengan demikian, mereka tetap makhluk yang jauh lebih unggul dari kita manusia. Berdiri sendiri, kita tidak pernah bisa memiliki kesempatan untuk mengalahkan setan. Namun, Injil hari ini memberitahu kita bahwa kita tidak perlu khawatir karena Yesus telah mengalahkan Setan secara meyakinkan, bahkan dalam kodratnya sebagai manusia! Pada minggu pertama prapaskah ini, kita diingatkan bahwa betapa rapuhnya kita sebagai manusia dan betapa kuatnya musuh kita, namun kita tidak perlu khawatir karena pergulatan bukanlah milik kita, tetapi terutama dan akhirnya Tuhan. Kita diundang untuk mengusir Iblis dan karya-karyanya dari hidup kita dan bergerak mendekati Allah yang adalah kekuatan dan keselamatan kita. St. Paulus menguatkan kita dalam pencobaan dan berkata, “Akhirnya, hendaklah kamu kuat di dalam Tuhan, di dalam kekuatan kuasa-Nya. Kenakanlah seluruh perlengkapan senjata Allah, supaya kamu dapat bertahan melawan tipu muslihat Iblis” (Efesus 6:10-11). "

Frater Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Beware of the Devil

First Sunday of Lent

February 17, 2013

Luke 4:1-13

“Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-2).”

The first week of Lent surprisingly commences with a ‘ghost story’: Jesus is disturbed by the Devil. Yet, far from frightening us, today’s Gospel tells us that though the evil spirits are for real, Jesus remains extremely more powerful.

Evil spirits or demons are not products of human imagination and creative literature. Our faith says that they do exist! Nicene Creed categorically states that God is the creator of the visible and the invisible. The “invisible” here refers to the rank of angels. St. Thomas Aquinas, dubbed as the Angelic Doctor because of his massive writings on the nature of angel, posits that angels are much simpler and superior from us human beings. They extraordinarily surpass our intellect, will and power.

Unfortunately, not all angels are good. St. John of Patmos vividly narrates to us the Great War in heaven. The dragon and his angels rebel against God, but St. Michael, the archangel, and the good angels drive them away from heaven and cast them into the world (Rev 12). The Dragon, also called as Satan or the Devil, and his cohort decide to defect from heaven and choose the eternal pathway of enmity with God. But, why do they go against God if they were created in almost impeccable fashion and could enjoy a perfect happiness in heaven?

Some of the Fathers of The Church propose that a number of angels finally ‘falls’ because of their towering pride and envy. The angels foresee that someday, God the Son would become an ordinary man and they are required to be the servants this Jesus of Nazareth. Moreover, out of his gratuitous love, God would suffer and die for the sake of human and not of the angels! This is truly unbearable truth for some angels, “What are in men that they could merit God’s favor and we need to serve them?” Lack of humility, they refuse to honor God and declare hostility against humanity.

Being condemned in eternal damnation, they vow to drag human race together with them to hell. The first work the devil ever recorded is in the Book of Genesis (Gen 3). They tempted our first parents to disobey God’s command and it was basically successful! Adam and Eve were expelled from the Paradise and we, their descendants, suffer the consequences. Since then, Satan and his cohorts never stop harassing and luring men and women of all ages to turn away from God. They know that never reenter their homeland, but it is more than enough to bring all human into their ruin.

Though they are fallen, in nature they are still an angel. Thus, they exceedingly outsmart and outplay us. Left by ourselves, we do not stand a chance against the demons. But, today’s Gospel tells us that we should not worry because Jesus convincingly outshines Satan, even in his human nature! In the first week of Lent, we are reminded that how fragile we are and how strong our enemies are, but we must not fret because the battle is not ours, but primarily and ultimately God’s. We are invited to renounce the Devil and his works and lovingly move closer toward God who is our strength and salvation. As St. Paul would strengthen us in the hour of temptation, “Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil (Eph 6:10-11).”

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP