Being in Solidarity

We make an option for the poor who have become our friends, and also our evangelizers

By Fr. Pat Kelly, S.F.M.
March 2002

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Our years as missionaries and priests in Southern Leyte and Bukidnon were wonderful—lots of experiences, some good and others not so good, but all grace-filled.

Now, after a few years away, I have returned to mission in the Philippines. My second time around has its roots in the 1980s when Fr. Charlie Gervais and I were in San Fernando working alongside the Redemptorist Mission Team. They were 15 lay missionaries along with brothers and priests of the Redemptorist Order.

I was really impressed and inspired by their lifestyle and spirituality. They would stay in an area for six months, living in the homes of the people and setting up the structures for small Christian communities. This involves the formation of lay leaders and community members who would gather to reflect on and study the Word of God.

Living in the homes of the poor, the team really got to know the people, their sufferings, their aspirations and their joys. Many times, listening to the missionaries’ experiences, I wished I knew the people as well as they did.

In November 2000 until the following Easter, I got the opportunity to be a member of the Redemptorist Mission Team. After that, I became a part of the follow-up team here in the parish of Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte. The follow-up team consists of laity (two women, two men) from the parish, and two priests—the parish priest, Atilano Tabaranza, 15 years ordained, and me.

The parish is large, 67 villages and the town. Every village has many small Christian communities of around ten families each, with leaders chosen by the people themselves. My area of responsibility has 14 chapels and about 100 of these small Christian communities.

Every Tuesday the follow-up team comes together as a group for prayer, reflection, sharing, and planning. All of us really appreciate this day because the sharing of our faith, joy and hardship in mission gives us a tremendous boost.

From my previous years in the Philippines I came to know that the people were poor, oppressed and exploited, and we always tried to be in solidarity with them in some way or other. However, this second time around, I realize at a deeper level that their life would absolutely crush me. I have also come to see how their poverty is a result of the economic systems of the world and how wrong and evil these systems are.

And yet, despite their difficult lives, I have seen happiness and expressions of love that challenge me and bring about a conversion within me. I remember visiting a home where four children were sharing one stick of gum. Each one would chew it for a while and then pass it to the other, their eyes and smiles expressing joy and laughter.

As the follow-up team we are supposed to help the community leaders in their role, but I think in reality, at least for myself, they are the ones helping me to understand at a deeper level the Good News.

So the second time around is really great. God bless and let us continue to pray for each other.

Scarboro missionary Fr. Pat Kelly serves on the island of Mindanao, Philippines, as a member of the Redemptorist Mission Team. They build up Christian communities in rural areas, living among the people, then moving on to other areas at the invitation of pastors and Bishop Joe Manguiran of Dipolog Diocese who is a former associate of Scarboro Missions.

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