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Last week, after more than twelve years, Frank and Gerry Padilla were able to visit Bangkok again, if only for a day, to meet the CFC community, which they established in Thailand in 1989. In his talk during the special assembly, Frank gave an overview of the developments in CFC since its founding in 1981, and cited powerful examples of how God had touched the lives of some people, particularly some singles who decided to give their all for God by serving as missionaries in Africa. He also shared his views on where the Holy Spirit was leading the community in the future, one of which was to mission ad gentes as what was happening in Thailand and Cambodia where our Buddhist brothers and sisters were being led by the Holy Spirit into the CFC community. In the course of his talk, one statement caught my attention. He said, “In CFC, there are no superstars. In fact, on some occasions, when I am invited to give CLP talks in some parts of the Philippines, some CFC members mistake me for a participant and they ask me to register.” Frank
and Gerry belong to the original 16 couples that started Couples for
Christ in the Philippines in 1981. Frank is the CFC Director as well as
the CFC International Mission Director. As such, he is the head of an
international Christian community, which is recognized by the Vatican,
with 1.4 million active and committed members in 101 countries, who signed
the Covenant of Couples for Christ. Before
coming to Bangkok, Frank and Gerry were in Phnom Penh – where I joined
them over the weekend – to give talks in a strategic Christian Life
Program for English-speaking Khmers and Filipino executives living in
Cambodia. Whenever they visit the CFC communities throughout the world,
they come as missionaries ready to serve and to proclaim Christ. Some
members of the host community would, of course, meet them at the airport,
but other than that, there are no protocols to be followed, no big welcome
ceremonies to be held, no limousines to be chauffeured, and no hotel
suites to be reserved. As with all CFC members who are on mission, they
too stay in the home of a host family, no matter how modest or simple the
accommodation. When they come to address the community, there are no
expensive and shiny suits, no gold Rolex watches that sparkle with the
movement of the hand, and certainly no bodyguards or aides that serve to
part the crowds. My
brothers and sisters, many times I have shared with you that when Jean and
I joined Couples for Christ, among the things that attracted us was the
simplicity and the “poverty” of the leaders of the community. But
Frank and Gerry are certainly not poor in the sense of being materially or
financially poor. Both of them come from prominent and wealthy families.
Frank is the son of former senator Ambrosio Padilla, while Gerry is a
Sotto, a wealthy and landed family from the Visayas. But they live simple
lives, especially Frank, who drives an old Vitara, with plate numbers JHN
316 (his favorite verse John 3:16). And I have seen him wear the same
faded shirt over and over again! The
practice of “poverty” by Frank and Gerry is not unique among the
leaders of Couples for Christ. Tony and Lyn Meloto, another of our top
elders, also live very simple lives. Tony is very comfortable mixing and
working with the squatters of Bagong Silang and Payatas. One time I heard
him share that some times he did not even have 100 pesos in his wallet.
Another elder, Rouquel and Nina Ponte also live modestly without many of
the unnecessary luxuries that others covet so much. My
brothers and sisters, one sure test of an authentic Christian community is
the test of poverty. Christ very seldom, if ever, comes in the robes of
royalty or in the regal of ostentatious ceremonies. Whenever I see leaders
of some Christian communities riding in luxurious Benzes and BMWs, or
wearing gold Rolex watches and shining diamond necklaces and rings, I
cannot help but sigh and ask, “Could they be for real?” When I was a
young boy in the province, I often heard children at the Protestant chapel
very near our house singing, “O you can’t go to heaven in a
Cadillac!” And these words were left imbedded in my mind until now.
My
brothers and sisters, I would like all of us to reflect on the words of
St. Paul to his disciple Timothy: We brought nothing into the world,
just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it (1Tim 6:7). It
takes a special grace from God to be able to fully internalize this
teaching and live by it. Often, we become preoccupied with accumulating
material things, as if we could bring them with us when we die. And yet
none of these – absolutely nothing! – would be of any use to us after
we have breathed our last. Many
of our leaders and elders have received this special grace. Another one of
them is a very close friend and neighbor in Filinvest Homes – Jun and
Angie Dimarucot. They were our household leaders in 1992 when we were new
in the CFC community. They were the ones who inspired us to go back to
Jakarta to help establish the CFC expatriate community. Jun was a senior
executive of a stock brokerage firm. But a few years ago, on the urging of
Tony Meloto, Jun decided to work full time for Couples for Christ. Jun and
Angie live in a modest bungalow in front of the Filinvest Homes chapel. As
fulltime CFC workers, they now devote most of their time working in the
CFC ministry for the poor in nearby Payatas, a former garbage dump where
thousands of squatter families live in penury. Jean
and I live in relative comfort. We have a five-bedroom house in Quezon
City where two of our children now live. In Bangkok, we live in a modern
three-bedroom serviced apartment with complete sports facilities. We
consider all these to be gifts from God and means for serving Him. Thus we
use the seminar room in the clubhouse for conducting CFC teachings, the
apartment for conducting prayer meetings and to plan CLPs and other
teachings, and the extra room to accommodate visiting CFC brothers and
sisters, like Frank and Gerry and others. I view my work as a means for
evangelizing others and bringing them into the CFC community. In
1993, God brought us to Jakarta and gave me a good job to help establish
the CFC Jakarta Expatriate Chapter. God made the community grow rapidly.
The Lord raised dedicated members who contributed generously to help fund
the evangelization of the rest of the country. I believe that the kind of
job that God gave me was precisely the kind that would enable Jean and me
to help in the work of evangelization in Indonesia. Then
in 1999, God said that our work in Indonesia was done. Others should take
over. God sent us back to Manila, where I joined the Cabinet as Science
Secretary. God wanted to use my work as a means to establish a CFC
corporate community in the Department of Science and Technology and to
help in the CFC ministry for the poor in Bagong Silang. After two years,
God decided that others could continue the work. And He brought us to
Bangkok. My
brothers and sisters, we believe that God has a mission for us in
Thailand. He gave me this position at the United Nations for a very
specific purpose. This is God’s gift. It is to be used to accomplish His
plan. But Jean and I continue to pray that, like Frank and Gerry, Tony and
Lyn, Rouquel and Nina, Jun and Angie, God may also give us the special
gift to be able to live a simple life fully dedicated to bringing others
to Christ. And like them, to be able to fully live out God’s word that
we brought nothing into this world and we will also leave it with nothing.
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