Fr Akong & The Hidden Agenda Of The Rosary

He called it ‘An Offering To Our Lady Of Fatima.’ I call it ‘An Offering To The World.’ In time the world will know about it. He said it was built on time, money, objects, efforts donated by men and women of golden hearts devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I say it was built on faith. More so, it was built on love.

This essay is part of the story of the Rosary as today I came to know; it is part of the story of the Church of Apad in Calauag, Quezon, Southern Tagalog Region, Philippines; it is necessarily the story of the Father of the Church, Msgr Ciriaco A Sevilla Jr, or Fr Akong as he was fondly called. The Church of Apad was blessed October 13 last; the choice of date is pregnant with meaning, as it was on 1917 October 13 when the Blessed Virgin asked that a chapel be built in Fatima in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary (wafusa.org). As to the Church of Apad, the residents refer to it as ‘The Beautiful Church’ (‘Ang Magandang Simbahan’). It has a beautiful-sad story to tell – as all stories of the Catholic faith seem to have. ‘I will devote all my talents and efforts to build a church worthy of the Blessed Mother,’ Fr Akong said about 7 years ago. And he did. And for so long he sacrificed for it, suffered for it. It was a sacrifice of love.

As the Church of Apad was being blessed, Fr Akong lay dying of cirrhosis of the liver (we don’t know, but no, not from drinking). He was 70. He wanted to live longer as we all do; he needed a miracle to do that and everyone prayed for one. It was not to be. Then, he accepted the corruption of his flesh, his death. ‘The other day,’ writes Leonor Sevilla in an email of October 3, ‘we were alarmed to hear that he wanted to have the life-support tubes removed: oxygen and nutrition (glucose). Marla and I were able to convince him to offer his pain and sacrifice this way: Jesus, it is for your love, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’ He died 15 days later.

The Church lives on. The title of his homily (see below) is also how he described the Church that is at the same time a Shrine, ‘An Offering to Our Lady of Fatima’ – but what was the Apad’s Fatima idea all about? Since the 2000-word long homily only vaguely refers to it, I have to look elsewhere. Now then, the clear answer, I believe, lies in the message of Fatima, and I quote from Tarcisio Bertone, SDB, Archbishop Emeritus of Vercelli and Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (ewtn.com):

Throughout history there have been supernatural apparitions and signs which go to the heart of human events and which, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of history. These manifestations can never contradict the content of faith, and must therefore have their focus in the core of Christ’s proclamation: the Father’s love which leads men and women to conversion and bestows the grace required to abandon oneself to him with filial devotion. This too is the message of Fatima which, with its urgent call to conversion and penance, draws us to the heart of the Gospel.

The decision of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to make public the third part of the ‘secret’ of Fatima brings to an end a period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil, yet pervaded by the merciful love of God and the watchful care of the Mother of Jesus and of the Church.

The action of God, the Lord of history, and the co-responsibility of man in the drama of his creative freedom, are the two pillars upon which human history is built.

Our Lady, who appeared at Fatima, recalls these forgotten values. She reminds us that man’s future is in God, and that we are active and responsible partners in creating that future.

Now I understand why Fr Akong was a willing Love’s Martyr to the cause of the Church at Apad; he dedicated the last 7 years of his life to the building of this church and shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church of Apad is a call to conversion and penance, a call to the heart of the Gospel. And what is the heart of the Gospel, ‘the content of faith’ as it is? ‘The Father’s love which leads men and women to conversion and bestows the grace required to abandon oneself to him with filial devotion.’ Convert and believe yourself to be a blessed member of the family of God.

While we are under ‘the watchful care of the Mother of Jesus and of the Church,’ Our Lady of Fatima ‘reminds us that man’s future is in God, and that we are active and responsible partners in creating that future,’ according to the Archbishop. That is a lesson in creativity I learned just now; a student of creativity (Serendipity), I didn’t think that way before this. Merely complainers, preferring to be simply accusers and not doers, we are not helping create that future; instead, we are denying ourselves that future.

And, inspired by Fr Akong’s homily, I have come to realize that in fact the Rosary is a creative approach to faith, that:

The hidden agenda of the Rosary is to bring people closer to Jesus through Mary.

Hidden agenda? It was hidden to many, including me, but especially the Protestants. Of course! What the Rosary is is a form of meditation on the life and death of the Son of God (medjugorje.org):

The Rosary is divided into five decades. Each decade represents a mystery or event in the life of Jesus. … During private recitation of the Rosary, each decade requires devout meditation on a specific mystery.

Meditation is an act of praying. Beads have long been linked with prayer; Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus use prayer beads (Hillary Katch & Mary French, 2004, anthromuseum.missouri.edu). In case you didn’t know (I didn’t), Hindus meditate on rosary beads, 108 of them, and so do the Buddhists; the Muslims have 99 beads (Wikipedia). That is to say, the Roman Catholics with their rosary beads don’t have a monopoly of the truth of the matter, and the Protestants protest too much, methinks.

(Insert, Nov 2; this one I didn’t mind before: The quotation on the label of the CD disk recording the mass celebrated to celebrate the life of Fr Akong says, ‘Sinikap kong mapalapit ang mga tao kay Hesus sa pamamagitan ng Santo Rosaryo ng Mahal na Birhen.’ I persevered to bring the people closer to Jesus through the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin. If you’re paying attention – I wasn’t – the Rosary is Jesus through Mary.)

Then we find Fr Akong meditating on the mystery of death, his own.

Fr Akong was the 7th of a brood of 10 children: Wenceslao, Remedios, Pete, Leonor, Juliet, Guadie, Ciriaco, Nora, Milwida, Ernesto. Pete was the first priest of the family, SJ; he died a willing martyr to his work too. Martyr? A witness, one who makes great sacrifices or suffers much for a belief, cause or principle (American Heritage Dictionary). Fr Akong was born 1937 August 7. While the Apad Church was being blessed on October 13, her parish priest was offering his mortal body to Jesus through Mary at the Mt Carmel Diocesan General Hospital in Lucena City. An offering is an offering; a special offering like that doesn’t need a special place. But it will receive a special place in the hearts of believers.

Fr Akong had lived as he had taught: For God’s glory. Through Mary. *
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

The homily reproduced below (in the Tagalog original titled ‘Paghahandog Sa Mahal Na Birhen Ng Fatima’) was read by Bishop Buenaventura Famadico on the day of the blessing of the Church of Apad, October 13. It was authored by Fr Akong on October 5 with Marla at his hospital bed at the Mt Carmel Diocesan Hospital in Lucena City; he was then offering his very life to the Blessed Virgin. Translated in English by Milwida Sevilla-Reyes (sister), edited by Frank A Hilario (friend of the sister).

An Offering To Our Lady Of Fatima

Last homily of Msgr Ciriaco A Sevilla Jr

Praise God the Father Who called all of us to be His Children.
Praise God the Son that through Him we have all become members of God’s family.
Praise the Holy Spirit that through Him is made stronger the bond that makes us children and disciples of Christ.
Praise! Praise be the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lady of Fatima, whom we honor with this church and shrine today. It has been her wish that this church be built on this spot.

Towards the end of 2000, a number of times a number of us here in Apad and as far as Capaluhan prayed that if it be the wish of our Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Fatima, we would build a church on this spot as an offering to our Blessed Mother. We had neither the money nor land but we prayed that if it be the wish of our Blessed Virgin, She will send the money to buy the land and build the church.

I left for the US before Christmas of 2000, and in January 2001, I took the role of acting parish priest of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (not the real name) in Louisiana. In my daily recitation of the Rosary, I repeatedly prayed that if she so desired, she would send us the money to build the church here in Apad, Calauag, Quezon.

In about my third week as celebrant of the mass in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, a gentleman whom I didn’t know approached me. His first words were: ‘If there is any way I can help you, let me know and I will help you.’

I replied, ‘I’ll tell you later.’ Because I knew I’d like to build a church. (But I wasn’t ready for details.) Sometime in February 2001, the same gentleman repeated what he said, ‘If there is any way I can help you, let me know and I will help you.’ I repeated my reply, ‘I will tell you later.’

After that encounter, I asked around for the identity of this gentleman. I learned from the parish office that he was King Haure, a rich benefactor to the parish and the diocese. A short time later, his wife Norma died after I had helped her receive the sacraments. (Not their real names)

After her funeral, King invited to lunch at his home all those who attended, me included. This time, he invited me to exercise at his place: to jog, go boating and swimming and do other exercises, including horse riding. He had about 40 acres of property, with two big fishponds with rowboats and a swimming pool. So I started exercising there 2-3 times a week.

In the evening of April 1, while we were sipping a little wine after a workout, he repeated his offer to me. At this moment, I was ready with an answer because I had compiled a scrapbook of our church activities here in Apad.

I said, ‘I’d like to build a church in Calauag.’
He asked, ‘How much will it cost?’
I gave him an estimate of a few million pesos to buy the land and build the church, 7.5 million pesos.
He said, ‘You will have the money.’
I replied, ‘I’m going home only in September.’
‘Never mind. The money will go ahead of you.’

Perhaps he sensed a speck of doubt in me so he hastily added, ‘Call your Bishop tonight. Tell him to open a dollar account in the Philippines and I will send the money to that account.’
‘Let’s make it a joint account between me and the Bishop,’ I said.
He replied, ‘Okay.’
I recalled something so I continued, ‘The Bishop has a joint account with Fr Satur Unahan (not the real name) here in Louisiana, why not just put it in there?’
‘Oh, no! I don’t want the people here to know that I am donating this money to you.’
‘But can I tell the people of Calauag?’
‘Oh yes. And let the people of Calauag help with the construction.’
‘They will help with manual labor because that’s all they can give,’ I replied.
‘It’s all right,’ he said.

That’s why I was walking on clouds when I returned to the rectory. That very night I made an overseas call to Bishop Marquez to tell him the good news. A week later, I learned that the money had been received in Gumaca; thus, on my return in September 2001, I started talks to buy land with Mr Maximo Malabuyoc (may he rest in Heaven) and Mr Geny Lerum. After a lengthy haggling, we agreed on P1M for their two adjoining properties with a total area of more than 5 hectares.

With an army of a few paid and many unpaid workers, we started clearing the land where the church will be built. I had the spot for the altar flattened by bulldozer, and on 2002 July 22, we started digging the foundation. The people were joyous. As only a handful of workers could be paid, it was agreed that once a month, as long as the church had not been finished, each village would send volunteer workers. The people followed this agreement. Up till now there are volunteer workers taking turns month after month.

Given this situation, we have no doubt that this is the will of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She sent us the money, which clearly showed our prayer being answered. While there are times we are apprehensive about completing such an enormous task, we are full of faith that we will be able to execute our plans because, first of all, this is the will of the Blessed Mother. She is in-charge of expenses.

From then on, every day we called on St Joseph, whom we made our chief engineer, chief architect and above all, Master Carpenter. Every day, my own prayer to St Joseph is to help us make decisions that will make the church strong and safe, beautiful and economical. Also that our workers be exempt from any accident. Thank God, we haven’t had any accident in the more than 5 years of building.

On my part, God has gifted me with a few talents: engineering, architecture and practical construction. In my entire life as a priest, I have been using these gifts to glorify God in what I do. I told myself: ‘I will devote all my talents and efforts to build a church worthy of the Blessed Mother.’ Every day, St Joseph and I work on this project together.

Oh, Blessed Mother, accept this offering. This church is the fruit of the great love many, many people have for you.

Apart from King Haure, a number of generous individuals helped to complete the church. A lady who would like to remain anonymous donated the stained glass windows depicting the Stations of the Cross. Husband and wife Rem and Kits Torres paid for half of the vast roof. The big crucifix above the altar is a gift from Juliet and Romeo Encina. The statue of Our Lady of Fatima is a donation of the Flowers of May Sisters and Brothers and a few others with golden hearts.

Aside from those donors, there are the countless volunteers who worked without pay. They offered their time and energy to this project. Then there are the children and the elderly who come and help with whatever they can do. Indeed, it can be said that this church is a Labor of Love – the great love for you, Blessed Mother – from your many, many children. (The list of all donors and workers is displayed outside the church.)

To you, Blessed Mother, who guides us daily in all that we do, and to you, Master Carpenter Saint Joseph, who always helps with important decisions and keeps us safe from harm, please continue to watch over us as we go on with the tasks left to finish this church.

And to You, dear Lord Jesus, we give you our utmost praise and thanksgiving for Your everyday blessings for all of us.

With the church almost complete, we must now continue with a more significant task: none other than bringing the baptized to know and follow our Lord Jesus through devotions to Blessed Mother Mary. Since I became priest-in-charge of this place and in all the parishes I had been posted, I have always chosen to bring the people closer to Jesus through Mary.

I read historical accounts of the apparitions of our Blessed Virgin around the world, well-known and less-known. I noted that in all these apparitions, there is one request that is always given stress: The frequent and regular praying of the Holy Rosary.

I have often asked myself and reflected, ‘Why the Holy Rosary? What is so special about this devotion? Why are the saints and popes of the modern era all devotees of the Rosary when many of the highly learned, including many priests, Bible and charismatic groups and other in-fashion assemblies are slowly shying away from praying the Rosary?’

Yet the Blessed Virgin never falters in her call to us to always pray the Rosary. The root of the problem, which has also become the root of many of your problems, the Blessed Mother has slowly taught me and will teach you now.

What is the root of the problem?

Many have the mistaken notion that the Holy Rosary is a devotion to the Blessed Virgin. This is a wrong belief. It is also wrong to say that those who pray the Rosary get closer to the Blessed Virgin but farther away from the Lord Jesus. This is definitely wrong.

What is the truth?

The Rosary is an important devotion to our Lord Jesus, from his incarnation, birth, His hidden life, the significance of His teachings, His passion, His offering of His life on the Cross, His resurrection and ascension. All these mirror our own lives.

In all these, the Blessed Virgin is the Campaign Manager only of her Son. She always tells us: ‘Learn more and deeply about my Son so that your love for Him will be greater, more solid and stronger. He is the one I really am bringing close to you and you to Him. I’m only his lowly Campaign Manager.’ She keeps telling us until now: ‘Do whatever He tells you.’

And today we will have Her help in teaching and guiding a great many people toward the Lord Jesus. Our Blessed Mother will lead us.

Early on as the church started to take shape, many people often made this comment: ‘Isn’t this church too big?’ My repeated reply: ‘Let me take you back to when the Spaniards ordered the building of grand churches for the few Filipinos in those times.’ The skeptics seem to have forgotten the Filipino’s capacity to multiply. In that reply, I have not included the Blessed Virgin. Now I will tell you.

Why is this church so big?

The Blessed Mother’s answer: ‘I thought we would draw a great many baptized to my Son? Why do you scrimp on the money I sent you? Am I not the one in-charge of expenses? Where are we going to place the people if the church is so small? Do you doubt our capacity to jointly lead all these people to my Son?’

Mother Mary answers with questions the question ‘Why is this church so big?’

And now, with our Blessed Lady of Fatima to lead us, let us lock arms and search for the lost sheep of Jesus. We will entice them all to attend the Sunday mass. We will seek the people in all places, teach all the students, bring the Good News to all homes, and above all, to show them Jesus my Son through the Holy Rosary.

That is the Blessed Mother’s clarion call to all of us. ‘You’re giving me a big and beautiful church. Thank you all for that. But this magnificent church is only an instrument for us to collectively carry out our joint work to make men believers.

Come, we have much work to do!

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