33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 14, 2004

2) 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 14, 2004

Monday, November 08, 2004. In the morning class of Sacraments I, the professor gave us a quiz that actually I was not ready but fortunately his question was very simple: we just jotted down one the most difficult question in this course then he collected the questions of the students. Creatively, he asked each one of us a question that raised of the students on the questions we wrote down. It made me a quite nervous but finally he stated that all of us passed of this mid-term test.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004. In the morning I went to the Claretian House to have a theological reflection class and this time, Bill Kelly shared his ministry experience as a deacon at a parish. At night I had a class of Interreligious Dialogue and presented our field project visiting a Buddhist temple.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Today I saw on television t hat the president of Palestine, Yaser Arafat died at a hospital in Paris. At night I read a book of spirituality and some articles of Interreligious Dialogue class in spite of my dizziness on my head. Fortunately, with my traditional healing and a medicine I took, in the morning I felt much better.

Thursday, November 11, 2004. In the morning I attended a spirituality class and this is the last time for the professor because next four meetings each student will present part of the research paper in the class and I get this chance on December 9. At night we had a community meeting with a topic of ministry as a lector and an acolyte. Our plan is on November 21st, we will have a Mass (9.30 a.m.) at Saint Therese Church in Chinatown for inauguration of lector and acolyte and I am the one who will be the lector besides Chuy and the acolyte are Alejandro and Jacques. At night I typed a reflection for the Mass tomorrow morning.

Friday, November 12, 2004. This morning I shared my reflection at the Mass. It is what I wrote and said:
Reflection upon the reading of the Gospel Luke 17:26-37 for Friday, 12 November 2004.
Our theme of this week is “Eternal Life starts now.” Our reading today invites me to reflect on our precious life that we have from God now. We know that someday we will die but where, when, how we die, we do not know yet. All of these are still mystery. In the Gospel today, Jesus reminds us, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” Based on the grace of life that we have now, I make this reflection inspired by an Indonesian Jesuit priest, named Alex Dirdjo.
One day Buddha was sitting surrounded by his disciples and suddenly there was a God’s messenger asked Buddha, “Buddha, how long do you want to live in this world?” Without hesitance Buddha answered, “Eight years.” At that time, Buddha was 79 year-old. After the God’s messenger left, the disciples were grumbling saying, “Master, why you did not ask a million years? How useful will you be for human beings from generation to generation. With his smile Buddha answered, “If I live for million years, the human beings will anxiously prolong their lives and not to achieve wisdom.” People think that the age is more important than a quality of life. Probably, we are in this kind of opinion. People who are eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, working, resting but they are not really alive. They are not dead but not really comprehend fully of their lives. “Comprehend fully of our lives” in Indonesian word is “meng-hayati”, the root of “menghayati” is HATI, means: HEART. So, “menghayati” means: try to understand and comprehend fully with our heart. How do we comprehend fully or really live our life? There are three ways to answer this question. Really comprehending fully our live means: 1) comprehend fully your own life personally 2) comprehend fully your time at now 3) comprehend fully this place.
1) Comprehend fully your own life personally. You comprehend fully your own life if you are becoming your own being authentically. Maybe I ask myself, “Don’t I comprehend my own life? Am I not myself? Then who am I? Maybe I am not my own self rather a puppet which is not moving by itself but is moved, controlled by the wires which tying hands, feet, head and are moved by a puppet player.” Or maybe I am such a toy game, which is played by a boy with a remote control. Who do control my attitude, behavior and deed? Maybe a tradition in a family or a society, rule and law in my church, and country which control me inwardly without I comprehend fully so that I am not myself authentically. How to cut off this control wires? With paying attention to reactions of my own feelings. Who is really reacting?
2) Comprehend fully at this moment. Understand fully that my past time and the future are not real. Nostalgically thinking of the past and dreaming of the future are not alive, they are dead, not real. We know that my past events are beautiful to be remembered and the planning for the future is good to be planned now as anticipation. That’s correct but it’s not real. One family plan to go for vacation to Florida: the father prepares the route of the map, the mother prepares the food and the children dream of the recreation places and forget to study. Finally they are in Florida but while at this area they are busy to plan to go home and busy to take pictures and forget of the beauty of Florida. Their vacation is not real. Do our lives like this? To much projection to the future? Someone says: “I will enjoy my life after I graduate of the High School. Then afterward, he says: “I will enjoy my life after I marry.” After married, “I will be happy and enjoying life after I finish taking care of my children.” Finally, he died and not really fully alive.” A wisdom from Buddha saying, “If you are breathing, inhale, let you be aware that you are inhale then if you exhale a breath, let you be aware that you are exhale your breath.” Be mindful of this moment because love and grace of God is at our time right now. To be attentive and mindfulness with what I am doing right now.
3) In order to comprehend fully one’s life is to comprehend fully this place at this moment. Coming out of the head and entering into the feeling, to loose a concept and to catch a real experience. How does it work? With returning to our experience at this place right now with listening attentively sounds surround us so that we loose our concept and return to our real experience and the real place right now.
Maybe you ask: “Is it a prayer?” The answer is: if you mean with prayer is a communication with God, it is not a prayer. But, if prayer is a presence or unity it is a prayer. Once a boy comes home to visit his family and his mother is sick at her bed. He said, “Mother, take a rest, I will take care of everything at this house: cleaning the house, cooking for the family (father, brothers and sisters).” Then, the whole day this boy is very busy working, doesn’t have enough time to talk to his mother but the mother knows and realizes, “My son is present here.” There is an inward communication without talking but with presence in the active busyness.
Boenhoefer (a German theologian): “Jesus comes to our world not to give a new religion but to give a life. Jesus says, “I come so that they have life and have life abundantly.” Be comprehensive fully to your life so that you will make Jesus, our Lord and our Father be happy because everlasting life starts now.

At 10 a.m. with Petrus, I went to Saint Therese Church Chinatown to give some games to the 6th grader students of Saint Therese School whose 21girls and boys. This time Petrus taught them to sing some innovative songs and at last some minutes I gave my favorite rope game after they watched a film about Shaolin for one hour and had lunch pizza. At 2 p.m. we were at the rectory and Father Michael gave us durian juice then we left for Hyde Park. After took a rest for a while, at 5.15 p.m. Petrus took me to my ministry site, David Darst Spirituality Center because there was a weekend retreat. Since Friday evening to Sunday noon I was at this retreat center. This time there was a youth group of Lutheran Church from Indiana, about 13 young people and five caretakers. At night while they were visiting Lakeview shelter house, I remained at the center to wait for a participant of this retreat who would come late.

Saturday, November 13, 2004. In the morning I helped Sister Paula and Gayle to prepare breakfast for the retreatans then we went to a soup kitchen named St. Pius to help share lunch to homeless people who were coming to this charity site. There were about 130 people who came to have lunch. At 2 p.m. we went back to the retreat house to have discussion and reflection upon our activity today. In the evening while the retreatans went to Navy Pier for their recreation and break time, Gayle told me many things about the retreat house and some issues regard the volunteers who just left this retreat house.

Sunday, November 14, 2004. In the morning once again I helped Sister Paula to prepare breakfast for the retreatans then we cleaned the retreat house before they departed. We went to the Catholic Mass at Saint Basil Church at 10 a.m. I was impressed by the African-American Dominican priest who presided the Mass using both English and Spanish very fluently. I was wondered that the retreatans who are Lutheran denominations could receive the communion at this Catholic Mass. I questioned this and kept it only in my heart because one of the volunteers told them that they could take the communion even though they are not Catholic. Probably, next time I will discuss this with them as the retreat team. As soon as the Mass finished, we went back to the retreat house then they wrote the evaluation and finally at noon they departed to Indiana. The retreat lasted faster than the schedule so that I could go to Saint Therese Church, not to have Indonesian Mass (started at 11 a.m.) but to have Indonesian lunch and met the Indonesian Catholic friends. This time, Richard (the PWKI/the leader of the Indonesian Catholic Group in Chicago) presented a power point about PWKI and discussed about the continuity of our activity in the future. It was moderated by Father Jack, CM which his birthday we celebrated together at this time. At 3 p.m. I went home at Hyde Park then at 5.30 p.m. I attended a Mass at Saint Thomas for the assignment of the Sacraments II course observing the Communion Rite for the second time.


2) Hari Minggu Biasa ke-33, 14 November 2004

Senin, 08 November 2004. Pagi hari dalam kuliah Sakramen I, dosen (Fragomeni) memberikan test yang sebenarnya saya tidak siap namun untunglah pertanyaannya sederhana yaitu kami harus menuliskan sebuah pertanyaan paling sulit bagi kami dalam kuliah ini di secarik kertas lalu ia mengumpulkan semua pertanyaan dari para mahasiswa. Secara kreatif, ia secara lisan bertanya satu pertanyaan dari semua pertanyaan kami sendiri yang kami buat, masing-masing mahasiswa sesuai nomor urut absen mendapatkan satu pertanyaan yang harus langsung dijawab di kelas. Ini membaut saya sedikit grogi namun akhirnya ia menyatakan di akhir kelas bahwa kami semua lolos dari mid-test semester ini.

Selasa, 09 November 2004. Pagi hari saya pergi ke rumah Tarekat Claretian untuk menghadiri kuliah refleksi teologi yang kali ini, Bill Kelly mensharingkan pengalaman kerasulannya sebagai diakon di sebuah paroki di Chicago. Malam harinya saya mengikuti kuliah Dialog antar agama dan saya mempresentasikan hasil kunjungan saya ke sebuah vihara Buddha di Chinatown Chicago.

Rabu, 10 November 2004. Hari ini saya melihat di televisi bahwa presiden Palestina, Yaser Arafat meninggal dunia di sebuah rumah sakit di Paris. Malam harinya saya membaca sebuah buku spiritualitas dan beberapa artikel untuk Dialog antar agama meskipun kepala saya sedikit pusing. Untunglah, dengan pengobatan tradisionalku sendiri (kerokan) dan minum obat, pagi harinya saya merasa jauh lebih segar dan sehat.

Kamis, 11 November 2004. Pagi hari saya mengikuti kuliah spiritualitas dan kali ini adalah kali terakhir dosen memberikan kuliah karena praktis empat minggu ke depan masing-masing mahasiswa akan memberikan presentasi, bagian dari riset paper kami masing-masing di depan kelas dan saya mendapatkan jatah tanggal 9 Desember untuk presentasi tentang pertobatan Agustinus. Malam harinya kami mengadakan rapat komunitas rutin mingguan yang kali ini mengambil tema pelayanan kerasulan sebagi lektor dan akolit. Kami merencanakan tanggal 21 November nanti, di misa pukul 9.30 di Gereja Santa Theresia Chinatown, mengadakan pelantikan lektor dan akolit, dan saya akan dilantik jadi lektor bersama teman sekelas saya, Chuy dan Alejandro serta Jacques sebagai akolit. Malam hari saya mengetik renungan untuk misa pagi besok.

Jumat, 12 November 2004. Pagi ini saya mensharingkan refleksi saya dalam misa. Ini apa yang saya sampaikan (sorry, masih dalam bahasa Inggris):
Reflection upon the reading of the Gospel Luke 17:26-37 for Friday, 12 November 2004.
Our theme of this week is “Eternal Life starts now.” Our reading today invites me to reflect on our precious life that we have from God now. We know that someday we will die but where, when, how we die, we do not know yet. All of these are still mystery. In the Gospel today, Jesus reminds us, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” Based on the grace of life that we have now, I make this reflection inspired by an Indonesian Jesuit priest, named Alex Dirdjo.
One day Buddha was sitting surrounded by his disciples and suddenly there was a God’s messenger asked Buddha, “Buddha, how long do you want to live in this world?” Without hesitance Buddha answered, “Eight years.” At that time, Buddha was 79 year-old. After the God’s messenger left, the disciples were grumbling saying, “Master, why you did not ask a million years? How useful will you be for human beings from generation to generation. With his smile Buddha answered, “If I live for million years, the human beings will anxiously prolong their lives and not to achieve wisdom.” People think that the age is more important than a quality of life. Probably, we are in this kind of opinion. People who are eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, working, resting but they are not really alive. They are not dead but not really comprehend fully of their lives. “Comprehend fully of our lives” in Indonesian word is “meng-hayati”, the root of “menghayati” is HATI, means: HEART. So, “menghayati” means: try to understand and comprehend fully with our heart. How do we comprehend fully or really live our life? There are three ways to answer this question. Really comprehending fully our live means: 1) comprehend fully your own life personally 2) comprehend fully your time at now 3) comprehend fully this place.
1) Comprehend fully your own life personally. You comprehend fully your own life if you are becoming your own being authentically. Maybe I ask myself, “Don’t I comprehend my own life? Am I not myself? Then who am I? Maybe I am not my own self rather a puppet which is not moving by itself but is moved, controlled by the wires which tying hands, feet, head and are moved by a puppet player.” Or maybe I am such a toy game, which is played by a boy with a remote control. Who do control my attitude, behavior and deed? Maybe a tradition in a family or a society, rule and law in my church, and country which control me inwardly without I comprehend fully so that I am not myself authentically. How to cut off this control wires? With paying attention to reactions of my own feelings. Who is really reacting?
2) Comprehend fully at this moment. Understand fully that my past time and the future are not real. Nostalgically thinking of the past and dreaming of the future are not alive, they are dead, not real. We know that my past events are beautiful to be remembered and the planning for the future is good to be planned now as anticipation. That’s correct but it’s not real. One family plan to go for vacation to Florida: the father prepares the route of the map, the mother prepares the food and the children dream of the recreation places and forget to study. Finally they are in Florida but while at this area they are busy to plan to go home and busy to take pictures and forget of the beauty of Florida. Their vacation is not real. Do our lives like this? To much projection to the future? Someone says: “I will enjoy my life after I graduate of the High School. Then afterward, he says: “I will enjoy my life after I marry.” After married, “I will be happy and enjoying life after I finish taking care of my children.” Finally, he died and not really fully alive.” A wisdom from Buddha saying, “If you are breathing, inhale, let you be aware that you are inhale then if you exhale a breath, let you be aware that you are exhale your breath.” Be mindful of this moment because love and grace of God is at our time right now. To be attentive and mindfulness with what I am doing right now.
3) In order to comprehend fully one’s life is to comprehend fully this place at this moment. Coming out of the head and entering into the feeling, to loose a concept and to catch a real experience. How does it work? With returning to our experience at this place right now with listening attentively sounds surround us so that we loose our concept and return to our real experience and the real place right now.
Maybe you ask: “Is it a prayer?” The answer is: if you mean with prayer is a communication with God, it is not a prayer. But, if prayer is a presence or unity it is a prayer. Once a boy comes home to visit his family and his mother is sick at her bed. He said, “Mother, take a rest, I will take care of everything at this house: cleaning the house, cooking for the family (father, brothers and sisters).” Then, the whole day this boy is very busy working, doesn’t have enough time to talk to his mother but the mother knows and realizes, “My son is present here.” There is an inward communication without talking but with presence in the active busyness.
Boenhoefer (a German theologian): “Jesus comes to our world not to give a new religion but to give a life. Jesus says, “I come so that they have life and have life abundantly.” Be comprehensive fully to your life so that you will make Jesus, our Lord and our Father be happy because everlasting life starts now.

Pukul 10 pagi bersama Petrus, saya pergi ke Gereja Saint Therese Chinatown untuk memberikan permainan kepada para murid sekolah dasar Saint Therese kelas 6 yang berjumlah 21 orang. Kali ini Petrus mengajar mereka bernyanyi dengan inovasi lagu yang ia ciptakan dan saya di menit-menit terakhir memberikan permainan tali favorit saya yang tidak dapat mereka pecahkan, lalu jadi PR buat mereka. Mereka mengadakan permainan setelah menonton film Shaolin dan makan siang Pizza. Pukul 2 siang Pastor Michael, SX memberi kami es jucie durian di pastoran lalu kami pulang ke Hyde Park. Setelah istirahat sejenak, Petrus mengantar saya ke tempat kerasulan saya di rumah retret bernama David Darst Spirituality Center di Jalan South Normal karena akhir pekan ini ada sebuah retret. Dari hari Jumat sore hingga Minggu siang saya berada di rumah retret ini. Kali ini yang retret adalah kelompok Mudika dari Gereja Lutheran di Indiana, kira-kira ada 13 anak muda dan 5 orang tua pendamping mereka. Malam hari mereka mengunjungi sebuah rumah tuna wisma di Lakeview namun saya tetap di rumah retret menunggu seorang peserta yang datang terlambat.

Sabtu, 13 November 2004. Pagi hari saya membantu Suster Paula dan Gayle untuk mempersiapkan sarapan bagi para peserta retret lalu kami pergi ke sebuah soup kitchen atau dapur umum untuk para tuna wisma yang bernama St. Pius untuk membantu membagikan makanan bagi para tuna wisma yang. Kali ini ada sekitar 130 orang datang untuk makan siang di tempat ini. Pukul 2 siang kami pulang kembali ke rumah retret untuk diskusi dan refleksi atas apa yang kami alam seharian ini. Sore hari sementara peserta retret pergi rekreasi ke Navy Pier, saya tetap tinggal di rumah retret dan Gayle bercerita banyak pada saya tentang rumah retret ini dan juga dua volunteer yang baru saja meninggalkan rumah retret ini.

Minggu, 14 November 2004. Pagi hari sekali lagi saya membantu Suster Paula mempersiapkan sarapan pagi untuk para peserta retret lalu kami bersama membersihkan rumah retret sebelum peserta pulang. Kami pergi mengikuti misa di gereja Katolik, Saint Basil pukul 10 pagi. Saya terkesan dengan pastor yang memimpin misa ini, yaitu seorang pastor African-American dari Ordo Dominican yang memimpin misa menggunakan dua bahasa Inggris dan Spanyol dengan sangat fasih. Saya heran dengan para peserta retret yang beragama Protestan Lutheran yang dapat menyambut komuni dalam misa kudus di gereja Katolik ini. Saya bertanya dalam diri dan hanya menyimpannya dalam hati karena memang salah satu volunteer memberkan instruksi bahwa mereka dapat menyambut komuni meskipun mereka bukan penganut agama Katolik Roma. Mungkin lain kali saya akan angkat bicara dalam evaluasi dengan team rumah retret ini akan hal ini. Setelah misa usai, kami langsung pulang kembali ke rumah retret dan para peserta menulis evaluasi retret ini lalu tepat jam 12 siang mereka pulang kembali ke Indiana. Retret ini berakhir lebih awal dari jadwal yang ditentukan seharusnya jam 2 atau 3 sore maka saya dapat mampir ke gereja Santa Theresia di Chinatown karena jam 11 tadi ada misa bahasa Indonesia maka sekalian saya mampir dan makan siang, makanan Indonesia serta berjumpa dengan para warga Katolik Indonesia di Chicago. Kali ini Richard, ketua PWKI Chicago mempresentasikan power point-nya tentang keberadaan PWKI selama ini sambil berdiskusi tukar pendapat dengan para warga Katolik Indonesia lain yang berkumpul dalam acara ini juga dimoderatori oleh Romo Jack, CM yang ultahya dirayakan bersama juga dalam acara ini. Pukul 3 sore saya pulang kembali ke Hyde Park lalu jam 5.30 sore saya mengikuti misa di gereja Santo Thomas untuk tugas pengamatan Ritus Komuni dalam kuliah Sakramen II dari CTU.