JANUARY 2004

JANUARY 2004

1. Epiphany of the Lord, Sunday, January 04, 2004
Entering the new year of 2004 made me to be grateful of all experiences I ever had in the 2003 and encourage me to have good hope in this ‘monkey’ year (Chinese lunar year). At the end of 2002 I spent my holiday in Massachusetts and New Jersey; and the last days in the 2003 I spent only in Chicago. One thing makes me to be grateful and to be careful is that my body-weight increases to be 200 pounds (91 kgs) because a lot of food I ate during holiday without enough exercise. It seems clearly on the growth of my belly, becoming bigger than ever. Father Michael said, “Don’t worry, it is sign of celibacy”. Then I think this can be overcome by fasting, praying and exercising.
On Monday, December 29, I accompanied Victor to take Syafa and her son, Hasnan to the dentist. In the afternoon Syafa treated us to have lunch at Thai restaurant close to the CTU. It’s really a delicious food especially Tom Yum soup.
The last day of 2003 was a special one for me. Three Indonesian SVD friends, Sony, Matius and Francis invited me to go to Stanley’s family house to celebrate the old and new. He’s an Indonesian Catholic from Makasar fellow who studies for PhD in the University of Chicago. There were also Erna-Patric and a Brasilian friend who played flute. We were singing and listening to the Indonesian songs with guitar which was played by Matius and Francis and as usual I was a good listener and participant on this event. We watched firework of Chicago on television.
On Thursday, January 1, 2004, Father Rocco invited me to go to Bethlehem Woods retirement community in Brookfield-Southwestern Chicago to say mass with about 60 people. In his homily, one thing I remembered is we should be aware of the God presence both in ordinary and extraordinary day of our lives. The big-clean-neat house belongs to a Franciscan Sisters. There was a woman chaplain who serves this community, Mary Fox.
On Friday, January 2, we as Xaverian theology community headed to Portiuncula, a retreat house to have a day retreat. It was led by Saint Fabian parish pastor, Father Walt Turlo. We were reflecting and sharing about our ministries that empower us as well as the people we serve.
On Sunday of Epiphany, January 4, I was dropped by Rocco to Chinatown to have mass and teach the CCD class as usual. The mass in Cantonese language was presided by an American Maryknoll priest, Father Tim. Father Michael gave me a special gift that I never had, a red-silk Chinese shirt. It’s really nice to celebrate the Chinese New Year by wearing this shirt. Thank you very much, Father Michael. For sure, I will use it on the celebration New Year in Chinatown. This day was snowing heavily, 10 inches. After having noodle with Petrus in the Chinatown rectory, Petrus dropped me home in Hyde Park.
In order to fulfill my job in the correspondence with other Xaverian theologies, I have written a letter for Xaverian international theologies. It was corrected and added by Father Rocco and tomorrow I will send them. It’s my program to write a formal letter to other Xaverian theologies after I finish each quarter at CTU. I realize that I still have many mistakes on my writing especially in the usage of article. It seems that I never stop to finish learn English. It doesn’t discourage me to continue writing and writing as Father Bruno wrote me.
Tomorrow, Monday, January 5, I will start my winter quarter study at CTU. It means that I have to focus on my courses that will cost me more than last fall quarter because this time I take 4 classes. This quarter will be lasted in the second week of March 2003, so I just have 11 weeks to learn them. For my intention of this study, I hope once again your prayer in order to be patience and faithful to do my best. Your support and prayer, I believe help me to endure this job earnestly.

Finally, I want to say: HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2004
May we always have hope, strength and health to walk on our grace-days in this year both on the ordinary and extraordinary time.

2. Sunday, January 11, 2004, (The Baptism of the Lord)
Monday, January 5, in order to fulfill my duty to have correspondence to other Xaverian international theologies, I sent by e-mail a letter to the four Xaverian theologies: Manila, Parma, Yaounde and Mexico City. I went to LSTC bookstore to buy some books that I need for this quarter. At 11.30 I had a class entitled Origin and Eschatology with Zachary Hayes, OFM as the professor at 2nd floor of the Hesburgh building. With me in the same class was Mateus, an SVD student from Indonesia.
On Tuesday, the weather was very cold about zero degree F. Luckily I didn’t have class that day, so I didn’t go outside. In the afternoon I cooked fried chicken, fried-rice, egg and tom yum soup (a Thai soup which Mbak Syafa gave me the sauce).
On Wednesday morning, by bicycle I went to LSTC bookstore to return three books. Passing in front of the Syafa’s apartment, I fell down because the road was iced-sticky. At 10 o’clock I went to CTU library with Chuy to make photocopy of some articles of Introduction to Liturgy class. At 11.30 o’clock I have class of Origin and Eschatology at the Hesburgh building. At 2 p.m. I went to City Hall in downtown to attend Edi-Lisa’s invitation. They made their married letter. As I came there the process was already done; there were Mimi and Darwin becoming the witnesses. In the evening at 7 o’clock, I had a class of Christology and Culture. There were many students attending this class, as many as 54, which used two classrooms. The professor was Robert Schreiter, a Spiritan priest who looks like Father Rocco, my rector in the Xaverian theology house. There were 4 Xaverian students attended this class: Victor, Alexis, Alejandro, and I. One thing that amazed me about the professor was his wide-global knowledge as he explained many stories of churches in the world. He said about many Pentecostal churches in Jakarta-Indonesia.
On Thursday, I had the Introduction to Liturgy in Hesburgh building. The professor was McCarron. Seemingly, the young professor has great power and strength to speak dramatizing some excerpts from books to explain the meaning of ‘liturgy’. I had a colloquium (formation direction) with my rector, Father Rocco at 2.30 p.m. In the holy hour at 5 p.m. there were Father Adolph and a Mexican sister, Ramirez. We ate the Mexican food which was cooked by Victor. At 7.30 we had a Xaverian community meeting. We’re sharing about our experience during the trip to Southwest. I wrote my sharing about it: On Sunday Advent IV, after staying overnight at Motel 6 in Holbrook (Arizona), we went to Grand Canyon in 3 hours traveling. We enjoyed the incredible Grand Canyon. In this area, I got a misunderstanding experience: after having lunch some of us visited museum in the information center. At 4.30 p.m. I tried to see my confreres but nobody was there. Until at 6.30 p.m. I just kept staying at this place till Jacques and Alexis found me. Apparently, I didn’t understand what Father Rocco was saying that we should meet at a parking lot, so I got lost in the information center. From this experience I feel uncomfortable and shame to all of my confreres who were looking for me anxiously. They thought I was kidnapped, lost, killed or bad thing happened to me. From my side also I experienced what's the meaning to be alone in the dark-cold-silent place, one by one people left this information center but I still remained there thinking that some of my confreres knew that I was there at last time. In my fear and anxiousness, I still had a hope which I heard of my little heart that they would come find me even though I also thought beyond what I should do if they couldn't find me. With patience and hope for two hours, finally they came and I was grateful for all of my confreres who cared of me. It gives me lesson to be careful to listen to and understand what people say (listening skill). I am really sorry about it and appreciate very much of my confreres who hardly found me again like a 'prodigal son'. From this experience also they always do teasing me but I can accept it as a fraternal love and a funny-strange-ignorant event I experienced during the vacation. I'm grateful as well to have this trip adding my knowledge and experience about the USA especially the Southwest.
Since I didn’t have many things to do, so I wrote my experience to be in Chicago theology house in Indonesian language and sent it to Alfons, a Xaverian philosophy student in Jakarta in order to be put in the Xaverian website in Indonesia.
On Friday, after having lectio divina and breakfast, I did some work on 2nd and 3rd floor, chapel and bathroom from 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Father Rocco went to Boston to visit his family at 11 a.m. and he will return on Monday. At 5 p.m. I went to the 8th floor of CTU building to attend a mass. I returned home with Jacques who also attended the mass at CTU. Every Friday we have chance to go out for mass, not in the community. For supper, Adrian cooked for us, delicious Mexican food. Each one of us got a phone card from a family who just visited us. They are friends of Jacques. I tried it to call to Indonesia which able to be used for 25 minutes.
On Saturday morning we had a mass at 7.15. Immediately after having breakfast, I went to CTU to attend the Introduction of Pastoral Care with the professor Linda Strozdas. In the class there were 30 students including three Xaverian, Alejandro, Chuy and I. After tasting one-first week of Winter quarter at CTU, I have to be aware of my obligation to write paper, so I jotted down the date line and mapped them in my schedule. I took 4 courses for this quarter which lasts in next 10 weeks. I have many reading assignments as well before attending the class. It seems so heavy for me; how come I can make it in the short time, but I have to be calm and do it one by one earnestly and fervently.
On Sunday morning, accompanied by Alejandro, I headed to Chinatown parish by CTA. I attended mass at 9.30. There was a meeting of the parents of CCD children regarding the sacrament of confirmation which will be received by the children on June 9 this year. At 11 a.m. there was an Indonesian mass at Chinatown parish as well and I attended lately since I had to take care of the children of CCD as their parents had a meeting with Father Michael and Petrus. After enjoying Indonesian food, soto ayam (chicken soup) and kolak, there was an election to choose a new board of PWKI (Indonesian Catholic Group in Chicago). The chosen ones were Father Edi, osc as moderator and Richard as leader of PWKI for one year and if they still available will be added one more year. At 4.30 p.m. Petrus took me home, and I brought with me a bicycle from Chinatown, but unluckily the back wheel of the bicycle was flat tire.

“He must increase and I must decrease”

3) 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, January 18, 2004

“Without God we cannot,
But without us God will not”.

The last week was my second week entering CTU for this winter quarter. Entering the second week, I did many reading assignments before attending the class. Even though sometimes I fell bore and lazy but willy-nilly I did. Besides reading, I should do at least 4 papers in February and 4 others in March. Hopefully, I can make them as best I can.
On Tuesday, January 13, I attended Liturgy class in the 6th floor of CTU building, a chapel. The professor demonstrated and explained us about many symbols in the Catholic Church. In the silence and meditation solemnly, we sensed the symbols then gave the meanings. In the afternoon I cooked: “rending”, chicken soup, “rawon” and shrimp crackers. After supper, I was in charge to be a host of inter-religious dialogue between Muslim and Catholic (Archdiocese of Chicago) which was held in our house in Hyde Park. There were 13 guests coming to this bi-monthly event. I tried to be a good listener of this meeting since the matter they talked about was too high for me. I was accompanied by my Xaverian confrere, Adrian.
On Friday, January 16, with Victor, I went to Argyle, North-side Chicago to shop some Asian food like Indonesian instant ingredients that I need to cook. For lunch we went to China restaurant buffet which cost $ 6.5 per person in Chinatown. In the afternoon I went to CTU to make photocopy an article of my Pastoral Care class then attending mass at 8th floor, the Passionis chapel, at 5 p.m. Normally every Friday in my community we have lectio divina together in the morning then we can go out for mass.
On Saturday morning after having mass at my community at 7.15, I went to CTU for pastoral care class. In this class I learned how to be an observer, a helper and a helpee. At 3.30 p.m. I went to cathedral church in downtown Chicago to have confession. The weather was quite nice, not so cold as usual. By CTA red line train and bus number 15 which stopped in front of the Xaverian house I was enjoying the day of confession and thanking to God for this nice experience. Unlike in philosophy house in Jakarta where I had an occasion to have sacrament of reconciliation every month with Xaverian priests who came from Toasebio parish, in Chicago I have to do it myself, looking for time and place which proper for my spiritual growth. I have a resolution of it this year to do monthly and I believe God always gives me strength and perseverance. I try not to forget the good spiritual habit I had in Indonesia because in here I have so great autonomy nurturing my spiritual and vocation life. With liberty and autonomy I can easily fall in the laziness but with liberty and autonomy also I can grow with the good virtues embedded in my life. That’s why I always hope and ask prayer for all of my friends because I am aware of my weaknesses and sins.
On Sunday as usual I went to Saint Therese church in Chinatown by CTA. After mass, there was a confirmation class for children. There were 12 kids attending this meeting where Petrus trained them to be altar servers in the church. They are 6-7 grade. We’re helped also by Sister Jane, RSCJ, a novice who has age probably more than 50. In this country to be a nun or priest in the senior age are very common. Sister Jane is from Boston and now living in RSCJ community in Hyde Park – Chicago, my neighbor. I am glad to have her in the confirmation program, so I learn English better, hopefully. In the afternoon, Petrus took me home by white car.
Next week, on Sunday January 25, in Saint Therese Church there will be a Chinese New Year Mass. For sure, I will write about it next week in my coming journal. Finally, I want to say : GONG XI FA COI for all of you who celebrate it.

4) 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 25, 2004
“No hope for the future when the past remain unconfessed, unreceived, and misunderstood”(Henri J.M Nouwen)
Responding to some of my penpals since last week I have been writing my journal on bilingual; firstly in English then I translate it in Indonesian language. It costs me extra time but I have commitment to do it regularly in order to make them easier to read it.
Monday, January 19, was a US national holiday of Martin Luther King, Jr. As theology community we had mass in the morning with listening to some speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which was presented by Alexis, then we shared our own personal experience regarding social justice in our country origins. At 10 a.m. in the cold-snow weather, Father Rocco, Alejandro and I removed two big-heavy tables and a light one to a Maryknoll sister house, still in the Hyde Park area. In the afternoon I got a student grade report from CTU (my theology school). They are pretty good; gospel of John and Introduction to Social Ethics (A-) but the problem of God is Incomplete (I), unluckily. It entailed me to ask the professor what I should do. It seemed that she didn’t accept my final paper which I have submitted before the dateline at her CTU mailbox. Thanks God she helped me to be calm and sending once via pos to her home address in Indiana. I did what she suggested to me immediately.
On Tuesday, January 20, I attended a meeting at CTU for M.Div students regarding Ministry Practicum course. We spent two hours, from 9 a.m. to 11.15 a.m. to know this course little bit in new curriculum system which will start in Fall 2004. The convocation which was presented by Aves, Dawn and Opal ended up with a conclusion that we’re still in the transition and process toward new curriculum system, so some questions were not ready to be answered yet. There are some opportunities that I should choose as my ministry course for one year, 2004-2005. I need to discern what will be apt to me. In the evening at 7.30 p.m., Fathers Rino and Lupo visited to our theology house in Chicago till January 30. Since two years I have not met Father Lupo. The last time I met him in Jakarta during the Xaverian assembly in November 2001.
On Wednesday, January 21, in my way to CTU, I stopped at RSCJ’s sister house, at South Blackstone, to give a confirmation book to Sister Jane. In the night I got e-mail from Babka, the Problem of God professor answering my question about my paper. She asked me to resend via pos my final paper. Directly, I printed it out and ready to be sent.
On Thursday, January 22, we had a mass which was presided by Father Lupo. After breakfast, from 8.30 to 9.40 a.m. I had an interview with Fathers Lupo and Rino speaking in English. Then I went to pos office to send my paper to Babka; hopefully it will arrive soon. At CTU after class at 1 p.m., I met an Indonesian sister, Sister Betty, FMM. She is a former of FMM provincial in Indonesia for 2 periods. She just arrived in this month and doing sabbatical year till May 2004. We met her together with Mateus, svd and Mbak Syafa at CTU. After lunch I directly prepared some food to be cooked for our supper. This time we had a bigger number than usual because there were some guests coming here; totally we were 16 people. I cooked as usual: rendang, rice, tom yum soup and crackers. Actually, I tried the new Vietnamese recipe that I bought from Argyle last week, but unluckily it seemed unsuccessfully, then I changed the food with Indonesian ingredient. Some of our guests were Father Adolph and 2 friends from CTU, Father Michael and Petrus. From 7.30 till 9.40 p.m. we had a community meeting with Fathers Lupo and Rino.
On Friday after lectio divina in the morning with community and having breakfast, I went to CTU for workshop with topic Professional Standard which was presented by Brother Jim Zullo, FSC. It’s very good one. Most of his presentation I have known but it is good for refreshing, reminding and renewing my life especially in the ministry field now and future. From this workshop that ended at 4.30 p.m., I got some insights such as ministerial relationships, human sexuality in the ministry and how to stay well in our ministry. Above all I got 2 poetic phrases: “No hope for the future when the past remain unconfessed, unreceived, and misunderstood”, “When we’re afraid of sexuality, we’re afraid of God”. At 5 p.m. I attended a mass at 8th floor of CTU building. After having supper and ironing my clothes, even though I felt quite tired and sleepy, I read the reading assignments of Introduction to Pastoral Care for Saturday.
On Saturday, January 24, we had a mass in the morning at 7.15 and Father Rino presided it. In the snowing season I was walking to CTU to have Pastoral Care class at 8.30 till 11.15 a.m. In the afternoon at 5.30 p.m. three Xaverian students from Milwaukee: Ignas, Dharmawan and Pascal were taken by Father Alfredo, their rector coming down to our theology house in Chicago in order to attend the Chinese New Year mass on Sunday, January 25 in Chinatown parish, Saint Therese.
On Sunday morning, January 25, we (Fathers Rino, Lupo, Ken, and 5 Xaverian students, Alejandro, Ignas, Dharmawan, Pascal and I) headed to Saint Therese Church in Chinatown by CTA both bus no. 15 and red line train. We attended Chinese New Year celebration in the church beginning with dragon dance and exploded firecrackers also some Chinese dances. At 10 a.m. we continued mass which concelebrated by 7 priests and presided by Father Tim, an American Maryknoll priest who speaks fluently Cantonese. This mass was special and extraordinary because we celebrate Chinese New Year 2555, Monkey year. The church was full of people from various races such as white American, Chinese both Cantonese and Mandarin, Indonesian, African American and Latin American, even the students from CTU especially the IRF program which Father Adolph, sx recently is undertaking were coming to this event. Unlike last year, this year I got four angpao (gift with the red envelope) from the priest and some friends in the parish. After mass some people were praying for their ancestor in front of the altar. At noon we continued the celebration in the auditorium of Saint Therese School. We were performed by some Asian dances such as dragon dance, Korean dance and Bali dance (Indonesia) then we had lunch together with various Asian foods including Indonesian food which was made by Ibu Imelda Palmas. Actually, at the same time there was a Chinese new year parade along the street, but unluckily it was over when we came out. At 2.40 p.m., in the cold weather we return home to Hyde Park by CTA. The three students from Milwaukee, Ignas, Wawan and Pascal returned to their lovely home by Amtrak train at 5 p.m. In the evening at 7 we had evening prayer together at chapel and we had special intention to pray for Indonesian Xaverian student who is in Mexico, enduring very painful disease of leukemia, Setiawan. For this supplication also I implore to you to pray for his healing and be granted strong faith and hope undertaking this critical time.

“When we’re afraid of sexuality, we’re afraid of God”