May 2022 – Page 2 – indonesian catholic online evangelization

Why Love

May 14, 2022 Romo Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno OP

5^th Sunday of Easter [C]

May 14, 2022

John 13:31-35

Jesus is giving His disciples a new commandment: to love one another. This is not just a recommendation, advice, or suggestion. It is a commandment, and therefore, it is a must to do. What is more interesting is that Jesus consciously connects His New Commandments with the old ones: the Ten Commandments. What are the connections and why does Jesus make this new commandment?

If we go back to the historical context of the giving of the Ten Commandments, the Israelites were just miraculously freed from Egypt, and they camped at Mount Sinai. There, God came and offered His covenant: The Lord will be their God, and Israel will be their people. Then, God gave the Ten Commandments and other laws as the basic constitutions of what it is to be the people of God. By obeying and living these Commandments, they were going to be the holy nation. They were a nation different from other nations, but a nation separated for God.

Fast forward to Jesus’ Last Supper, Jesus gives the New Commandment. Connecting with the Old Testament, Jesus’ commandment is not just a must to do, it is also our constitutive identity as Jesus’ disciples. This is the commandment that makes us different from the rest. No wonder Jesus explains to His disciples, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another [John 13:35].” This is the commandment that makes us holy, set apart from the others and for Jesus.

However, to love is tough. To love someone means we become vulnerable, and we are open to the possibility of getting hurt. We are betrayed by people we love and trust, our friends, our spouse, our brothers, and our children. I am a priest for barely three years, but living in Surabaya, one of the major cities in Indonesia, I have to listen to a good number of people with broken relationships in marriages and families. I am saddened by the terrible situations that they have to endure, and I cannot help much. Sometimes, people must bear the painful consequence of broken relationships throughout their lives. Wounded by betrayal, we tend to build walls around our hearts, and our capacity to love is gradually dwindling.

Why does Jesus insist on love, to the point of making it the new commandment? The answer is that love is who Jesus is. ‘Love one another as I have loved you!’ Jesus loved His disciples, but after the Last Supper, a disciple betrayed Him, another denied Him, and many were abandoning Him. The people He loved dearly, crucified Him. Yet, Jesus was never a helpless victim. He entered His suffering willingly, and He transformed His death into an act of total self-giving. Jesus knew that His disciples would do terrible things, but He chose to celebrate an intimate Last Supper with them. He forgave people who crucified Him. He gave His dying love to His mother and the beloved disciple. Even death does not stop Him from loving. He has to rise again and bring forgiveness and peace to His disciples. He then sends His Holy Spirit as a sign of His abiding love.

To love fully and sacrificially is our identity as Jesus’ disciples. Though loving is often tough and sometimes, heart-breaking, love is who we are as God’s image. There is no way to heaven except the way of love.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Panggilan di dalam Gereja

May 7, 2022 Romo Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno OP

Minggu Paskah ke-4 [C]

8 Mei 2022

Yohanes 10:27-30

Minggu keempat Paskah terkenal sebagai ‘Minggu Gembala yang Baik’. Alasan ini adalah bahwa bacaan Injil selalu diambil dari Yohanes bab 10, dan bab ini berbicara tentang Yesus yang memanggil diri-Nya sebagai Gembala yang Baik. Minggu ini juga didedikasikan sebagai ‘Minggu Panggilan’. Tradisi ini dimulai sejak tahun 1964 ketika Paus Paulus VI menetapkan Minggu Paskah keempat sebagai ‘Hari Doa Panggilan Sedunia’. Ini karena dalam Injil hari ini, terdapat ayat yang berbunyi, “Domba-domba-Ku mendengar suara-Ku, dan Aku mengenal mereka, dan mereka ikuti Aku [Yoh 10:27].”

Di Gereja Katolik, kita memahami panggilan sebagai panggilan Sang Gembala yang Baik kepada kita untuk mengikuti Dia. Jadi, panggilan utama dan paling mendasar adalah mengikuti Yesus, tinggal bersama-Nya dan hidup di dalam Dia. Inilah panggilan universal kita semua, yakni kekudusan.

Namun, Gereja juga mengakui ada beberapa manifestasi otentik dari panggilan mendasar ini. Dua kategori terbesar adalah kaum awam dan para klerus (atau ulama). Cara termudah untuk membedakan dua kelompok besar ini adalah sakramen tahbisan. Setelah penahbisan, seorang pria bukan lagi seorang awam, tetapi menjadi anggota klerus. Ada tiga tahapan tahbisan: diakon, imam, dan uskup. Gereja mengajarkan bahwa “[Sakramen imamat] adalah salah satu sarana, yang olehnya Kristus secara berkesinambungan membangun dan membimbing Gereja-Nya [KGK 1547].” Mereka yang ditahbiskan dipanggil untuk menguduskan umat Allah dengan mempersembahkan sakramen-sakramen dan mengajarkan kebenaran iman.

Kelompok kedua adalah kaum awam, dan ini adalah mayoritas anggota Gereja. Umat awam dipanggil untuk menguduskan hidup, keluarga, dan masyarakat. Sebagian besar dari kaum awam adalah panggilan untuk menikah dan berkeluarga. Dalam pernikahan, suami dan istri menjadi kudus ketika mereka saling mengasihi secara total di dalam Kristus. Seperti Kristus yang mempersembahkan diri-Nya bagi Gereja, suami-istri dipanggil untuk menyerahkan diri sepenuhnya bagi satu sama lain. Sementara itu, panggilan orang tua adalah menguduskan anak-anaknya. Mereka tidak hanya memberi anak-anak mereka makanan bergizi, pakaian yang layak, rumah yang kokoh, dan pendidikan yang berkualitas, tetapi juga iman dan moral yang benar. Mungkin, tidak semua orang tua mampu menjelaskan iman Katolik dengan baik, tetapi kita selalu dapat memimpin melalui teladan dan kesaksian yang tulus.

Selain dua kategori besar ini, Gereja juga memiliki panggilan khusus. Ini adalah orang-orang yang berkaul. Secara tradisional, ada tiga kaul: ketaatan, kesucian, dan kemiskinan. Ketika pria dan wanita mengucapkan kaul, mereka akan disebut sebagai ‘kaum berkaul’ atau ‘religius’ dan biasanya mereka tinggal bersama dalam sebuah komunitas Lembaga hidup bakti (seperti Ordo Dominikan, Ordo Fransiskan, dll). Jika seorang imam memiliki kaul, ia akan menjadi imam berkaul atau imam biarawan. Sedangkan imam tanpa kaul disebut imam diosesan atau keuskupan karena ia mengikatkan diri pada sebuah keuskupan (seperti imam keuskupan Surabaya). Ketika seorang wanita mengucapkan kaul, dia menjadi seorang wanita berkaul, seorang biarawati, atau ‘suster’. Ketika seorang pria yang bukan imam memiliki kaul, ia menjadi seorang pria berkaul, biarawan atau ‘bruder’. Dengan kaul mereka, mereka mengabdikan diri sepenuhnya kepada Tuhan dan untuk urusan Tuhan [lihat 1 Kor 7:32]

Bagaimana kita tahu bahwa kita dipanggil menjadi imam atau awam, sebagai suster atau sebagai ibu keluarga? Saya menawarkan tiga langkah sederhana

Yang pertama adalah mengenali hasrat kita. Hasrat dan rasa ketertarikan pada kehidupan imamat atau kehidupan membiara sudah menjadi benih yang ditanamkan Tuhan di dalam diri kita. Jangan sia-siakan!

Langkah kedua adalah mengetahui lebih dalam dan mempertimbangkan berbagai pilihan in dalam doa. Kita bisa mencari informasi lebih lanjut dan bertanya kepada orang-orang yang telah menjalani kehidupan. Kita mungkin menemukan beberapa pilihan yang berbeda namun menarik. Kita juga membawa pilihan-pilihan ini dalam doa, dan meminta Tuhan untuk membimbing keputusan kita.

Tahap ketiga dan terakhir adalah mengambil keputusan dan berkomitmen penuh. Semua panggilan adalah baik dan jalan menuju kekudusan. Jadi, tidak ada panggilan yang salah, namun kita dapat merusaknya ketika kita tidak memberikan yang terbaik untuk panggilan ini. Panggilan hanya menghasilkan buah yang berlimpah ketika kita dengan setia memelihara dan mencintai panggilan pilihan kita.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Vocations

May 7, 2022 Romo Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno OP

4th Sunday of Easter [C]

May 8, 2022

John 10:27-30

The fourth Sunday of Easter is famously called ‘the Good Shepherd Sunday’. This reason is that the Gospel is always taken from John chapter 10, and John 10 speaks of Jesus who introduces Himself as the Good Shepherd. This Sunday is also dedicated as ‘Vocations Sunday’. This tradition starts in 1964 when Pope Paul VI instituted the fourth Sunday of Easter as ‘the World Day of Prayer for vocations.’ This is because, in today’s Gospel, we listen, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me [John 10:27].”

In the Catholic Church, we understand vocation as the Good Shepherd’s calling to each one of us to follow Him. Thus, the primary vocation is to follow Jesus, stay with Him, and live in Him. In essence, our universal vocation is holiness.

Yet, through the centuries, the Church has recognized several authentic manifestations of this fundamental vocation. The biggest two categories are the laypeople and the clergy. The easiest way to distinguish the two is the sacred ordinations. After the ordination, a man is no longer a layperson, but a member of the clergy. They are three kinds of ordained ministers: the deacons, the priests, and the bishops. The Church teaches that “The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church [CCC 1547].” The ordained ministers are called to sanctify the people of God by offering the sacraments and teaching the truth of faith.

The second group is the laypeople, and this is the great majority of the Church’s members. Lay people are called to sanctify their lives, families, and societies. Particular to lay people is the vocation to married life and family. In marriage, a husband and a wife become holy when they love each other totally and radically in Christ. Like Christ who offers Himself up for the sake of the Church, the couple is called to give themselves entirely to each other. Meanwhile, parents’ vocation is to sanctify their children. They do not only give their children nutritious food, proper clothing, a strong house, and high-quality education, but also true faith and right morality. Perhaps, not all parents can explain well the faith, but they can always lead through upright examples and genuine witnessing.

Aside from these two grand categories, the Church also has a special vocation. These are people who professed vows. Traditionally, there are three vows: obedience, chastity, and poverty. When men and women make their vows, they become ‘a religious’ and usually they stay together in a community. If a priest has vowed, he will be a religious priest. Meanwhile, a priest without vows is called a diocesan priest because he attaches himself to a particular diocese. When a woman professes vows, she becomes a religious woman or ‘religious sister’. When a layman possesses vows, he turns to be a religious man or ‘religious brother’. With their vows, they dedicate themselves fully to God and for God’s affairs [see 1 Cor 7:32]

How do you know that you are called to a priest or a lay, as a religious sister, or as a married woman? There are no fixed answers for this, but we can use three easy steps.

The first one is recognizing our desire. A simple wish and attraction to a priestly life or religious life is already a seed God planted in us. Don’t waste it!

The second step is to know deeper and weigh different options in prayer. We look for more information and ask people who are living their lives. We may discover different yet interesting options. We also bring this effort in prayer and ask the Lord to guide our decision.

The third and final phase is to decide and commit fully. All vocations are good and ways to holiness. Thus, there is no wrong vocation, yet we can ruin it when we do not give our all to this vocation. It only bears fruits abundantly when we faithfully nurture and love our chosen vocation.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP