A Late Life
By Joy Amiloquio
I belong to the Teresian Association (Institución Teresiana), an international Catholic lay association present in 30 countries. Our founder was a Spanish secular priest, Pedro Poveda, martyred in 1936 and beatified on October 10, 1993. I was only 16, in first year at the university, when I came to know the group, 18 when I was formally accepted, and 22 when I came to Taiwan, home for me now. I see an irony in having been sent as a missionary at an early age while my work involves a late life. Father Poveda wrote ‘Your mission is to season the tasteless wherever you go, in the place where you live, among the people you meet.’ I try to be salt and give flavor to the context where I am and that is being with students at an unusual time – a late life. Poveda went on, ‘It is good deeds that witness for us and speak with incomparable eloquence of what we are.’ I try to be a witness by my good deeds in the university, by ‘wasting’ quality time, even late at night – a late life. How would I know the hunger for God in others if I wasn’t around to listen to their questions?
It’s sort of late to be arriving home every weekday evening at 11:30. It’s sort of strange to be with students on a pleasant Sunday afternoon when you’re supposed to take your weekend rest, stranger still when you’re in school on Sunday nights. Why am I out of the house on weekends, spending time with students with it isn’t a school day?
The arrival of a late-evening visitor to my office today may explain. I work atJung-Jiao Fu-Dao Jung-Shin, which translates as the Religious Guidance Center of Fu-Jen Catholic University, in Taiwan. The last time I saw him was two years previously when he was an evening student in the History Department where I was a counselor. Instead of making an appointment, he came looking for me when I was in the middle of an activity with students. But he had something urgent to tell me: he was questioning the existence of God. He was neither Christian nor Buddhist – he had no religion. But he had a vivid memory of joining a church Christmas choir. He liked the experience and told me, ‘I have kept a space for God in my heart from that moment on.’ He was afraid the space was getting smaller with the hundreds of philosophy and science books he had read. But he still wanted to believe that ‘God’ exists. My listening to him helped him to continue his search for God.
Spending time with the young
Am I really fulfilling the mission of being a co-worker of Christ in sowing the seeds for the Reign of God here in Taiwan? I come home late because I ‘waste time’ with students during their free time, which on weekdays means after 5:30. I listen to their stories and eat with them. On weekends they do volunteer work in the leper center and I go with them. The young Catholics have Mass on Sunday night and I spend time with them.
On weekends I normally go to work after lunch. I facilitate small life/faith-sharing groups to which I give names such as ‘Circle of Love,’ ‘Soul Station,’ ‘Ripples.’ I also have Bible-study encounters. I invite individual students for a friendly chat. We usually establish a certain trust and most come again for a deeper level of sharing. When students aren’t around, I prepare materials, attend meetings, and find space to regain the energy lost during the week.
Catholics are a minority in the university and campus ministry is for me making a difference in the lives of others, students and colleagues, by my Christian witnessing, to be salt and light in this particular context. Being a religious guidance counselor is sowing seeds, the fruit of which I may not reap. In my short talks with students doing volunteer work in the different centers, I always mention that love is being made alive by them, the love that Christ taught us. I think students feel my love and concern when I chat with them. I always assure them of my prayers whether they’re Christian or not. I tell them that prayer is an important element of my faith and a source of strength. Many times students, meeting me casually or dropping by the center, must ask that I pray for them.
‘We must give, not ask…We are to take advantage of every opportunity, every fitting moment. We must be even-tempered and persevering in the midst of all kinds of upheavals, internal and external, our own and those of others. We must temper justice with mercy; we must know when to speak and when to be silent. We must set our hearts on what is spiritual, but without failing to put our hands to the material task. We must teach by working and suffering’ -- further words of Blessed Pedro Poveda that motivate me. I try taking advantage of every opportunity, every fitting moment, to nourish my body and spirit. I wake up late in the morning, at about 8:00, when everyone is reporting for work – a late life! I rest on Monday mornings and relax on Friday afternoons, strange as it may seem, but I’m happy to live this kind of life as a missionary. It’s a choice in the first place!