Homily of JCAP President Fr Tony Moreno SJ
on the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension
Arrupe International Residence, Manila, 24 May 2020
We celebrate today the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension. It is part of our article of faith: Jesus ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. He sent his Spirit to accompany and dwell among us. In the ascension account of Matthew which we just heard, there are no trumpets blasting, no fireworks, not much attention is given.
Fr Adolfo Nicolás’s return to the Lord was likewise simple: no trumpets blasting, no fireworks, not much attention is given initially at least. We were closely monitoring the final hours of Fr Nico. At around 4.50 pm (Japan time) last Wednesday, Fr Renzo de Luca, the Provincial of Japan, received a call informing him that Nico was in a coma. They rushed to the hospital and found him breathing weakly but he was calm. Then at 5.47 pm, he returned to the Lord quietly. It seems, according to Renzo, that he just waited for them to arrive in the hospital to say goodbye. Many, including Father General, would have wanted to be there for his funeral. But as Renzo puts it: “I guess Nico didn’t want to be on the spot.” True to his nature, he detested honor and attention for himself. I wonder how he is taking the many glowing tributes given. Yesterday, I was told though that there is now an over saturation of tributes to him and that the social media traction is declining. I think Nico is perhaps happy with this downward trend! However, despite all these tributes (and probably he would call them “distractions”), I hope he is really resting in peace, and has forgiven all of us.
My first point for our reflection is that these tributes are not simply about Nico. They, indeed, manifest God’s presence in our lives.
The former Master of the Dominican Order, Fr Bruno Cadoré, said that he was deeply saddened by the death of Fr Nico. In his email to me, he writes: “Adolfo has been a very fraternal support during my term in Rome. His wisdom, his friendship, his humor, his faith were always lights on the road.”
A Vietnamese sister who was in the East Asian Pastoral Program, where Fr Nico was a spiritual director for well over a year and a half messaged me: “I am a lucky person who used to talk, share with Fr Nico as my spiritual director… I don’t know why I am so emotional from yesterday (when he died)…. I have been in tears because I miss him.”
Whether to the former head of the Dominican Order or to a former EAPI directee, Nico touched their lives deeply. Yesterday several of my friends including at least one Major Superior of Asia Pacific were moved to tears watching the funeral Mass. All of us here including those who are following us online, in various ways, have also been deeply touched by his life. Indeed, we are just so blessed that he walked into our lives.
In today’s Gospel, shortly before ascending to heaven, Jesus assures his disciples: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” God’s presence is active in people who are sent to us. Nico was certainly God-sent, a living testimony of God’s abiding presence: “I am with you always.” In the prayer which he composed, Nico reminds us: “Frequently we are invaded by the feeling of having worked all night in vain, forgetting perhaps, that you are with us.” The paradox of the ascension of our Lord is while he has gone home to be with God, he is very much present in our lives through the Spirit working in people like Nico.
My second point is that Fr Nico was gifted with a spirit of wisdom. This has been repeatedly mentioned in many tributes. He had a special eye of the heart. Fr Mark Raper in his tribute refers to it as the third eye. Nico challenged us to have depth and wisdom to see things in a different light.
In today’s second reading, Paul reminds the Ephesians: “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call…” Nico had the “spirit of wisdom” and eye of the heart in dealing with people and situations.
In one interview, he says that we, Jesuits and, by extension, mission partners have to be at the service of the Church. We can’t do this simply by giving pious thoughts and reflections that don’t address the needs of people and our world. We need depth, not superficialities. We need the kind of thinking and reflection that can transform our world, our Church including ourselves.
Fr Danny Huang in his tribute says: “The more I think of Nico, the more I realize that this was his greatest gift to me and to the Society: a profound spiritual wisdom, incarnate in his person that, in the final analysis, is perhaps his most lasting legacy.”
My final point concerns Nico’s thoughts about traits of the youth who desire to enter the Society of Jesus. Very little is said about this, but he had a special affection for and confidence in the youth. He desired to spend the rest of his active ministry with the young Jesuits in formation here in Arrupe International Residence. He was asked in an interview during the 2013 Magis youth gathering in Brazil: “What would be the characteristics of the young people you want in the Society?” He made this reply: First, one should have the right motivation and not have somebody who is in the wrong place. Second, someone with the ability to grow and change is acceptable and not somebody who is so rigid. A person who is not adaptable does not have a vocation. Third, a person with a sense of humor can be happy in the Society. Somebody who is not joyous has no vocation. Finally, someone who can take risks and who is not afraid of failures for the sake of the mission is admissible. I hope our men in formation in this chapel have these qualities!
It may look upsetting for Jesus to see the disciples shortly before the ascension in Matthew’s Gospel. Here, we are given a mixed picture: although the disciples worshipped Jesus, they doubted. Yes, they doubted. How can they doubt at this point after all those resurrection appearances? But Jesus takes them as they are: their motivation, capacity to change, joyousness and audacity.
The four characteristics are obviously not limited to Jesuit vocation. They can apply to anyone seeking to pursue the mission of God in a time of pandemic. In this moment of uncertainty, we need people who are highly motivated, people who are open to change and can change, people who are filled with joy and humor, and people who are courageous and risk-takers. Only people who have these traits can engage meaningfully our world today with some ease.
Thank you, Fr Nico, for what you have been to us. We will continue to talk about you: your jokes, your wisdom, your happy presence, your challenges to us and so on. Like the ascension of Jesus, you are now at home with God, but you live in our hearts. When you were about to leave us, you asked the son of Rachel, your caregiver here, to bless you. We ask you now to stretch out your hand over us and bless us with your prayers.
Leave a Reply