We Are What We Eat

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

June 22, 2014

John 6:51-58

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (John 6:55)”

“We are what we eat.” The maxim seems outdated, but still holds water. What we eat shows forth various dimensions of our humanity: health, social status and even relationship. Firstly, things that enter our mouth may not defile us, but it will all surely affect our health. To devour a large sum of saturated-cholesterol meals might lead into sudden death. Yet, having a balance and nutritious diet, may add some years into our life.  

Secondly, food we consume will tell us one’s social status. Fine dining in world-class restaurant once a week shows that you have more than enough in your pocket. But, if we can only afford one descent meal a day, then we must admit our poverty. Once, a brother was staying with a family living in the slum area of Manila. He would never forget the meaning of poverty when he ate together with them. Although this family has only one small pack of instant noodles with a lot of water soup as their meal, cooked by the mother of five children, he still got a share to eat with the family.

Lastly, food also bring to the fore how we relate with others. In the Indonesian Catholic tradition, part of it is for the faithful, to cook daily meals for their parish priests. Since we want to show our respect and honor, we, Asians, come up with the best delicacy and as an Asian, my family prepared the best meal for our parish priest. In the Philippines, during fiestas, people come up with their best cuisines and invite their close relatives and friends to enjoy the fiesta together. Our Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno Cadoré, OP is a Frenchman and being a very disciplined man, he would maintain his diet. When he visited the Philippines, he would take very little from the abundant food prepared for him; and a Filipino Dominican would gently remind him that one of the best yet simple ways to show respect to his host is by enjoying the food they prepare. He listened to his brother, and took another small piece into his plate!

Food, though often taken for granted, is one of the indispensable things in life. It touches numerous aspects of our humanity and they reveal who we are and how we relate with others, and Jesus knew this by heart. He wanted to be part of lives’ daily essentials, which is the very thing that gives us life. The ingenuity of Christ came to life when He declared that His body is truly food and His blood is truly drink. Then, through the Eucharist, God enters practically all dimensions of our life. Just like other food, the spiritual substance is also assimilated perfectly to our body.  He touches our bodies and become one with our sickness and health. He is poor with the poor and rich with the rich, and unites the two in His body. He is accepted and loved yet, at times, taken for granted, rejected and betrayed. He is with a cheerful boy who just received his first communion and He is dying with a terminally ill patient who just took the viaticum. He rejoiced in a mother who gave birth to her beautiful daughter, yet weeps with a wife whose husband just passed away.

Jesus in the Eucharist is the most beautiful reality in our lives and the deepest wisdom of God in utmost simplicity. Let us always rejoice and be thankful because through the Eucharist, God is in us in every aspect of our lives.

    Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Kita Adalah Apa Yang Kita Makan

Hari Raya Tubuh dan Darah Kristus

22 Juni 2014

Yohanes 6:51-58

“Sebab daging-Ku adalah benar-benar makanan dan darah-Ku adalah benar-benar minuman. (Yohanes 6:55)”

“Kita adalah apa yang kita makan.” Tanpa kita sadari apa yang kita makan menunjukkan berbagai dimensi kemanusiaan kita: kesehatan tubuh kita, status sosial dan bahkan relasi kita dengan sesama. Pertama, hal-hal yang masuk ke mulut kita mungkin tidak menajiskan kita, tapi semua pasti akan mempengaruhi kesehatan kita. Untuk melahap sejumlah besar makanan dengan kolesterol tidak sehat mungkin mengarah ke kematian mendadak. Namun, mengkonsumsi makanan bergizi dan sehat, dapat menambahkan beberapa tahun ke dalam kehidupan kita.

Kedua, makanan yang kita konsumsi akan memberi tahu kita status sosial seseorang. Fine dining di restoran kelas dunia seminggu sekali menunjukkan bahwa kita memiliki lebih dari cukup di saku kita. Tapi, jika kita hanya mampu makan sekali sehari dan itupun mengutang, maka kita harus mengakui kemiskinan kita. Sekali waktu, seorang frater tinggal dengan keluarga miskin yang tinggal di daerah kumuh di Manila. Dia tidak akan pernah melupakan arti kemurahan hati dalam kemiskinan saat ia makan bersama-sama dengan mereka. Meskipun sang ibu hanya memiliki satu bungkus kecil mie instan direbus dengan banyak sup air sebagai makanan lima anaknya, ia masih membagikan sedikit miliknya kepada frater tersebut.

Terakhir, makanan juga memperlihatkan bagaimana kita berhubungan dengan sesama kita. Dalam tradisi Katolik Indonesia, umat memasak makanan terbaik bagi para imam paroki mereka sebagai rasa hormat dan kasih mereka terhadap sang imam. Karena sebagai bangsa Asia, kita ingin menunjukkan rasa hormat dan keakraban, dengan hidangan terlezat. Di Filipina, selama ada fiesta (pesta perayaan rakyat), masyarakat siap dengan masakan terbaik mereka dan mengundang kerabat dekat dan teman-teman untuk menikmati pesta bersama-sama. Pemimpin tertinggi dari Ordo Pengkhotbah, Romo Bruno Cadore, OP adalah orang Prancis dan sangat disiplin dalam menjaga dietnya. Ketika ia mengunjungi Filipina, ia akan mengambil sangat sedikit dari makanan berlimpah yang telah disiapkan, dan seorang imam Filipina Dominikan dengan lembut mengingatkan dia bahwa salah satu cara yang terbaik untuk menunjukkan rasa hormat kepada tuan rumahnya adalah dengan menikmati hidangan yang dipersiapkan. Ya, dia mendengarkan saudaranya, dan mengambil sepotong kecil makanan lain ke piringnya!

Makanan, meskipun sangat sederhana, adalah salah satu hal yang sangat diperlukan dalam hidup. Hal ini menyentuh berbagai aspek kemanusiaan kita dan mereka mengungkapkan siapa kita dan bagaimana kita berhubungan dengan orang lain, dan Yesus sungguh tahu hal ini. Dia ingin menjadi bagian dari kehidupan sehari-hari penting, hal yang memberi kita kehidupan. Inovasi Kristus datang untuk hidup kita ketika Dia menyatakan bahwa tubuh-Nya benar-benar makanan dan darah-Nya benar-benar minuman. Kemudian, melalui Ekaristi, Tuhan memasuki hampir semua dimensi kehidupan kita. Sama seperti makanan lainnya, substansi spiritual juga berasimilasi sempurna untuk tubuh kita. Dia menyentuh tubuh kita dan menjadi satu dengan kesehatan dan kelemahan kita. Dia miskin dengan orang miskin dan kaya dengan orang kaya, dan menyatukan keduanya dalam tubuh-Nya. Dia diterima dan dicintai saat manusia dicintai, dan Dia ditolak dan dikhianati saat manusia dibiarkan jatuh martabatnya. Dia ada bersama anak laki-laki yang baru saja menerima komuni pertama dan Dia ada juga bersama dengan pasien yang sakit keras yang mengambil viaticum. Dia bersukacita pada ibu yang melahirkan putrinya pertamanya, namun menangis juga dengan istri yang suaminya baru saja meninggal.

Yesus dalam Ekaristi adalah realitas yang paling indah dalam hidup kita, dan kebijaksanaan Allah dalam sebuah kesederhanaan. Marilah kita selalu bersukacita dan bersyukur karena melalui Ekaristi, Tuhan ada di dalam kita dalam setiap aspek kehidupan kita.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Birthday Gift for the Holy Spirit

Pentecost

June 8, 2014

John 20:19-23

“Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them… (John 20:22)”

Happy Birthday to our Mother, the Church! Happy Birthday to all of us!

Pentecost traditionally marks the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and transformed them into the first community of believers. There and then, they were filled by the Spirit of Truth who empowered them to preach the mighty acts of God in various languages. The same Spirit powerfully drove them out from the locked room and led them into the ends of the earth. Thanks to the Mighty Spirit, we have now the biggest and one of the longest-living communities in the face of the earth, the Catholic Church.

Pentecost is not only about the foundation day of the Church, but also the day Jesus fulfilled His promise. This promise notes that He would send the Advocate, His own Spirit of Truth, for us. Thus, today we celebrate also the “birthday” of the Holy Spirit. Let us greet Him, “Happy Birthday Holy Spirit!” Surely, as a person in the Most Holy Trinity, He has been ^around together with the Father and the Son in eternity, but as St. Gregory of Nazianzen put it, Pentecost commenced the age of the Holy Spirit. Yet, more often than not, many of us are unfamiliar with this Sacred Spirit, let alone having an intense personal relationship with Him. In fact, I am guilty of this as well. Often, I invoke the Holy Spirit when the examination period is just around the corner. I beg Him to give me a good grade but, after I passed, I forget everything that I had learned, including Him! I realized that I only remember Him when there is an examination but after that, I will forget about him again.

In this respect, we need to thank many Charismatic movements in the Church. With energetic songs and praises, they remind us on the emphatic and habitual presence of the Holy Spirit among us. Both young and old people rush to these prayer meetings to feel the gift of healing and of tongue. Yet, the Holy Spirit is far beyond these charisma and prayer gatherings. In the Old Testament, the Spirit is closely link to ‘air’ and ‘breath’. Going back to the story of creation, God exhaled His ‘breath of life’ into Adam, and the man came to life (Gen 2:7). The breath of life is the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. Because of the Holy Spirit, we receive our first priceless gift of God, life itself. That is why in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed, we believe the Holy Spirit as the giver of life.

But, He goes beyond that. In today’s episode, Jesus breathed in His Holy Spirit so that the disciples would be able to forgive. It is the Spirit of Forgiveness and forgiveness leads into one final destination—Peace. He is the reason why we are in peace with God and with each other. In us, He is the Spirit of Jesus that cries aloud Abba, Father (Gal 4:6). He is the cause of our Joy in the Lord.

Pentecost is a high time for all of us to once again renew our relationship with the Holy Spirit. It is the moment to pray to Him and to talk intimately to Him. He has been there with us in first episode of our creation, and faithfully walks with us till the Kingdom comes. So, why not spend some time with Him? Let's make a special gift for the Holy Spirit.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP