"He had such an enveloping presence, intellectually and spiritually."
"He had such an enveloping presence, intellectually and spiritually."
“Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam: For the Greater Glory of God” underpins the life mission of the Society of Jesus, the congregation founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is a calling that has brought the society and its members to the heights, influencing the ways and means, the very life of peoples and communities, even countries, since its founding and recognition as such an organization by then Pope Paul III in 1540.
It has also brought them to conflict areas, uncharted territories and, in 1767, banishment from Spain and all its territories including the Philippines having been “caught in the crossfire involving the Bourbon Monarchs” as recounted by the late Father Horacio de la Costa, the renowned historian and intellectual, in his book about the Jesuits in the Philippines. Such boldness of action, trailblazing and liberating life work have been the mark of the Jesuits that they have been, on various occasions, described as the Catholic Church’s “advance troops” called upon to do God’s work in the most challenging of situations. They have lived up to that kind of life work since as they advanced the Church’s influence in various fields and in as many as 112 countries to date.
In an article entitled “Living “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” published in the Ignatian Spirituality.com, author, composer and academic Rebecca Ruiz describes this societal foundation as a way of being that permeates every thought, every deed, every action and inaction—all is contemplated and weighed, all for the greater glory of God.”
To live Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, Ruiz noted, is to lay claim to a legacy of “other-ness” that sets us apart and puts us at ease with any culture or people. A completely integrated other-ness that seeks to make all things whole. That approaches the liminal without hesitation, finds God in all things, finds the Good in all things, and seeks to proclaim His glory in all that we do.
It is, she emphasized, a heritage of service however, whenever, and wherever needed, of leadership in service to those impoverished in mind, body, and spirit. It is a call to respect the dignity of each human, The splendor of all creation, unencumbered by societal constructs.
This intense and enveloping presence, as it were, this total commitment to live and work “For The Greater Glory of God” has been embraced in many places and climes. It is, in a very real sense, a reflection of the history of evangelization and initiatives which has brought the Catholic Church to the far ends of the earth and made a difference along the way. If the entire clergy is the “Army of God,” the Jesuits would be the “Special Forces” tasked with softening the ground at some point, hold off rebellion some other times or remake the environment for conversion and growth in the Spirit. It is an interesting history which has carried the Jesuits to the very center of developments and, yes, controversies in more ways than one. That of the Jesuits in the Philippines is no different.
The first Jesuits in the Philippines arrived from Mexico in 1581. They were assigned to missions in Rizal Province such as in Taytay and Antipolo and were considered a Vice-Province of the Province of Mexico. After more than a decade, in 1585, the Jesuits established the College of Manila and six years later, in 1601, established the residential College of San Jose which later became a major seminary. Due to their good works, the Philippine Vice Province was declared a separate Province just four years later, in 1605, which prompted them to reach out to other parts going as far as the Marianas Islands in what is now Guam.
Years passed and the influence of the Jesuits not only in the Philippines but in Spain and all its territories became so pronounced that in 1767, then King Charles III, banished them from his country and its dominions. Together with their brethren, the Jesuits in the Philippines were transported to Italy where they stayed until a new mission was restored in 1859 under the Province of Aragon. By then, they had a special purpose – to build missions in Mindanao and JolÏŒ. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Society of Jesus had taken over all the mission posts of Mindanao and Sulu. But Manila residents did not let all the Jesuits go to Mindanao. They were asked to open up the Escuela Pia which was later renamed Escuela Municipal and in 1909, formally became the Ateneo de Manila with primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
Since that time, other Ateneos were founded in Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Naga, and Davao, along with others like Xavier School embedded with the same ideals of excellence, of seeking to do more for love of God and neighbor and country. The College of San Jose was restored to the Society as a seminary for the education of Filipino secular priests. In 1921, the Philippine Mission was formally transferred to the Province of Maryland and New England and was elevated to a Vice-Province in 1952. It was later restored as a separate province in 1958 and seven years later, in 1965, was finally headed by the first Filipino Provincial – the illustrious Father Horacio dela Costa.
It was during the time of the US Jesuits that one gifted person belonging to an entrepreneurial family living in the Walled City imbibed the Ignatian spirituality, the kind of spiritual calling to the core. His name is Father Vicente San Juan fondly remembered by his students at the San Jose Seminary where he served as rector for years as “Father Vinny.”
Along with other aspirants including Father de la Costa, “Father Vinny” went to the Woodstock College and Seminary in Maryland to pursue his dream of becoming a priest.
Actually, initially he was not inclined to join the Society. Having studied at the Ateneo all the way from primary school to college graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1940, he wanted to devote his entire life as a contemplative monk and applied in a monastery in Europe even before his graduation from college. As fate would have it, his mother got hold of his acceptance letter and persuaded him to just join any Philippine based congregation so his family could still see him. It was another Jesuit, Father Teddy Arvisu, who encouraged him to join the Society and got him enrolled at Woodstock. He topped his class in Woodstock and proceeded to become a theologian of note advising the leaders of the faith together with another known Jesuit theologian, Fr. Catalino Arevalo. The twin spiritual gurus, if we may address them as such, became so immersed in the teachings of the church that they were eventually invited by then Pope Paul VI to join in the writing of that historic encyclical Humanae Vitae.
Although physically of medium built, Father Vinny had such an enveloping presence, intellectually and spiritually, that all those he mentored and shepherded as Rector of San Jose Seminary turned out to be exemplars of being “Men for Others” in their chosen vocations. A niece of “Father Vinny,” Emily San Juan, remembers conversing with then Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, now a Cardinal Bishop, some years back during the election of then Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo to the College of Cardinals, about his years at the San Jose Seminary under then Father San Juan.
With a tinge of sadness in his voice, Cardinal Tagle vividly recalled with fondness and joy the many “encounters” he had with the late rector. “I learned a lot from him,” Cardinal Tagle recounted, “about theology and spirituality, about excellence and working hard, about loving and living for others, about mission, about the way of the religious and its relation to the concerns of peoples and the world.” In a very real sense, about that which we call LIFE. For someone who is now being touted to be the first Asian Pope to so enthusiastically recall his days with “Father Vinny” speaks well of the man.
To Emily, Cardinal Tagle’s reaction did not come as a surprise though as it was spoken like kindred spirits of true blue believers in the religious life, deepened, as it were, by the fact that they were decidedly speaking from the same wavelength. Both have become a significant force for evangelization, spiritual awakening and creative pasturing not only within the Catholic Church but in religious circles as well. Their initiatives and contributions for the betterment of peoples and communities have earned them such respect and appreciation worthy of emulation by shepherds of the flock.
In the case of “Father Vinny,” the molding of those called to religious, parenting and life and in his later years, from being a theologian and contemplative mentor to an active evangelizer in the frontier areas in Mindanao, a trajectory, a spiritual journey which now Cardinal Bishop Tagle has himself taken, as Manila Archbishop and shepherd of the flock to being the new Prefect for the Evangelization of Peoples, one of the toughest and, of course, key positions in the highest council of the Catholic Church.
Indeed, both of them, mentor and student, have truly earned their mark as “Men for Others” – dedicated to a life work for the “Greater Glory of God. “