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A few weeks ago, at the invitation of ACMICA international guest Father Froi Rivera spoke with a group in Newtown. Fr Froi works with Bishop Labayan in Infanta diocese on Luzon, in the Northeastern part of the Philippines. They minister in a variety of ways to the materially poor both through formal programmes (such as reducing domestic violence, increasing the marketable skills of the women) and informally, by just being present to the people there (sharing a beer, playing soccer with the children). The extraordinary thing about Fr Froi was not only what he does but the spirit in which he does it. His approach is a clear contrast to that of the traditional missionary. He sets himself the task, not to bring or present Christ to the people who he works with but to find Christ as He is already present there. How does he do this and, more broadly, what relevance does his work have for us? Firstly, he is incredibly aware of issues that are ever-present in the cross-cultural work that he does (and perhaps many of us also), such as perceived power imbalances and ignorance of the cultural mores of others. This awareness of itself brings sensitivity to the needs of others and opportunities to equalise perceived imbalances or misunderstandings. Secondly, while he speaks of community and finding Christ in the face of others, his actions ensure that he will do so. He encourages the building up of connections in the way that he leads discussions. He played guitar and led us in two songs (one of which was "Imagine"). Nothing breaks down barriers between people like bad karaoke. He also asked every participant in the group (amongst other things) their age. These were very subtle things which pushed people gently out of their comfort zone - perhaps making them a little more alert and receptive to his message. Notwithstanding that he speaks with gentleness and humour his message was honest and forthright. Fr Froi was asked what were his perceptions of Sydney. His first reply was that he was struck by our infrastructure; clean water, electricity, well-maintained roads - how much we all seem to take for granted. As we ran out of question time in the group discussion I asked Fr Froi through Minh what it was that we, as affluent Christians, should do to assist the world's poorest people. He replied that our work must begin at home - not just through charity but through education and solidarity work. Some challenges for us, perhaps, are to work out how to be effective in education so that we are not simply preaching to the converted and to try to achieve a synthesis of message and method when building up solidarity. While we work towards the bigger picture (of social change
and redistribution of wealth) Fr Froi also set a challenge
that we can try to achieve in the meantime in the circles
within which we move every day - let us find Christ in the
face of all that we meet and live our ordinary lives in an
extraordinary way. |
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