Last night was our ILM Graduation. After three years of study, 46 of us completed this inspiring and inspired Faith Formation program of the Diocese of San Jose. It was a night of grace and blessings as we recieved our certificates in the presence of our family and friends, gathered together as a community of love.
The ILM program has opened my eyes in so many ways. As a catechist, I cannot teach what I do not know; I cannot give what I do not have and I cannot share what is not in my heart. My classes at the ILM taught me how much richer our Faith is; and how alive and dynamic it is. When Moses came down from the sacred mountain, he brought to the Israelites the ten commandments carved in stone. When Jesus gave us his new commandment (“Love as I have loved you.”), he etched it in the heart of everyone of his disciples. And because this commandment of love is etched in the human heart, it is alive, vibrant, dynamic. It is ever changing yet remains the same.
Through the ILM, I have come to experience this vibrancy and dynamism of our Faith. Our Faith is alive, ever changing, yet it remains the same as it becomes deeper, grows stronger and spreads out ever more widely. I have always thought I knew my Faith because of my seminary education. My three years in the ILM made me realize how much more there is to this Faith I treasure and how richer it has become through the lived experience and the common reflection and discernment of the Church. It made me realize that my Faith is inter-racial. Last night, we prayed and sang together as one community in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Filipino. I love the deep commitment and action driven faith of the Americans. I love the heartfelt and passionate devotion of the Spanish community, specially their devotion to our Lady of Guadalupe. I love the quiet and strong caring there is in the Vietnamese community. I also came to appreciate the Filipino roots of my faith being enriched by the other races in this multicultural and truly catholic Church. And there many other races and cultures present: Chinese, Korean, Indian, Mid-Eastern. Everyone is welcome here.
The community was also inter-generational: from the budding faith of children like Jonathan and Jane who came to congratulate me, to the young adults whom Mickey is helping to form as their faith grows into maturity, to young professionals like Martin and Kathleen and Mickey struggling to keep their faith active and relevant in an environment that is secular and materialistic, to mature adults holding on to a faith that gives them strength and courage to face the changes and challenges of earning a living and raising a family, to seniors like me who are straddling between still being of service in their remaining years and stepping slowly into eternity.
Different races, different cultures, different generations, all sorts of struggles. Gathered together in the name of Jesus and the commandment of love that he preached. Inspired by the Spirit to do good and bear his fruits. Hoping to attain the joy that comes with being one with the Father. Praying the our joy may be complete.
Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.“
John 15:9-11