“We see ourselves as servants, as there is only one Master. Just like the prayer of Archbishop Oscar Romero, we are just ministers of God, for He is our creator. When we do our tasks, [we] expand our gifts, bestowed by God, [and] we bring presence of God in our midst. So it is not our work, it is God’s work. The talents we utilize all came from God. Whatever we produce is not for our own good [alone]. Bell stand is there to call [the] attention of the people and to remind us all about God. We are not the Master Builder. We are just the workers.” - Bishop Oscar Solis, 2011.
I have always admired the deep commitment to social justice and the spirituality of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Lo and behold, another bishop named Oscar—Bishop Oscar Solis has been a source of joy in every encounter.
After travelling for an hour and forty five minutes from Lakewood to Santa Clarita, you would understand why Bishop Oscar Solis was tired. Instead, when Vilma San Buenaventura of the Filipino ministry asked him “ Bishop, is there anything else you need? “ Quick with his wit, “ Yes, a mortgage-free house and lot!” We all laughed.
We were in the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Santa Clarita, which was barely two years old. We were all anticipating the baptism of Nate Jacob Lim, the first son, born to the union of Jeff Lim and Krista Ranillo-Lim.
Inducting a new member into God’s family, the Church
Bishop Oscar Solis spoke of the special value of Nate Jacob’s baptism. We all quickly huddled together, about 80 of us. He made us reflect on accepting our responsibilities as Christians, witnessing the induction of a new family member.
To Nate’s parents he said: Accept your responsibility that only in the practice of your faith that your son will know God. Your son will learn how to love, only if he experiences it in your family. He will know God’s faith through you, in how you love your faith. It is your duty to bring him up in God’s commandments, to love God and to love his neighbors.“
He reminded us to “carry out the tradition of the Church and to remember that God removed all our sins so we may become God’s adopted children, and He now calls on us to become part of His body, the Church.”
He took the sacred oils and formed signs of the crosses on the newborn’s forehead. The parents followed, and the sponsors. Nate Jacob’s head was drenched with holy water, as his parents jointly said, “Ang sarap,” perhaps reveling in their unity to the flesh of their newborn, and the joy of becoming one with God’s family. There was a special meaning to this newborn’s baptism, as it all got us involved in prayers.
The ordination of Oscar Solis as Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ first Filipino bishop
I was fortunate to be able to attend as Fritz Friedman’s guest to Reverend Father Oscar Solis’s ordination as the new auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles.
Two thousand Catholics (the Cathedral has 3,000 seating capacity) filled up Our Lady of Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, which was barely two years old, in 2004. It is a magnificent cathedral, 12 stories high. I recall sitting in the front second row, wondering why I was a witness. Could it be because I was destined to write this bishop’s story 7 years later?
At the ordination, a vibrant and proud contingent of parishioners stood up. They were recognized by Bishop Solis, as they were all in the front row, along with the Bishop’s family and friends. 150 folks stood up with their young children and grandchildren.
For some, it was their first time to travel to Los Angeles from Louisiana. Bishop Oscar offered to take care of their travel logistics. They declined. Instead, some of them came in style, alighting from rented limousines. Women wore their fascinators, wide brim hats and they all wore their fancy Sunday suits, ready to show their full support for Bishop Oscar Solis.
It was touching to see this caring contingent of Caucasian and African-American folks whose presence declared that Bishop Oscar was part of their family. The homily was given by Cardinal Roger Mahoney, and Bishop’s response after Communion was delivered, in four languages: English, Tagalog, Spanish and French-Creole.
I felt pride when I heard the bishop speak of being born in San Jose, Nueva Ecija in the Philippines. And I felt even bigger pride when he spoke of making diversity a vibrant feature of his term as Bishop of Los Angeles. It may have signaled a new dynamism, of making all ethnicities visible and if included, they too can provide leadership to the largest Archdiocese of Los Angeles—with more than 4 million Catholics.
The multicultural leadership of Bishop Oscar Solis
Under his leadership, Bishop Oscar Solis will convene and is currently organizing the first ever National Assembly of Filipino Priests in USA at the Westin Hotel from November 8 to 11, 2011.
To numerologists, this conference has significance, culminating on 11-11-11. It is like winning the jackpot, a series of ones, multiplied by itself, becomes an integer in the infinity, signifying perhaps the growth of this endeavor, with multiplier effects in synergy, solidarity, substance and spirituality.
As if with grace from above, the convening committee is blessed with abundance and is well-embraced by the larger community for its efforts. It has a robust program that consist of: Emerging Models of Leadership in Ministry, Lay Ministry’s Joys and Challenges, Asian and Pacific Island Presence: Harmony in Faith-Document Revisited, Cultural Integration in Praxis, The Priests’ Role in the Public Arena: a Balancing Act, Mens Sana in Corpore Sano: Priest and Wellness, Intercultural Competencies For Mission, The Spirituality of the Filipino Priest, Liturgy in the Life and Ministry of the Priest, Specialized Ministry in Focus, Maintaining Safe Environment, Civil Procedures and Canonical Procedures and Priestly Fraternity and Ministry.
Five months before the conference, 70 priests have registered, and more are expected—with about 800 Filipino priests in America. Even the definition of Filipino has expanded under Bishop Solis’ tutelage: by birth, by heritage, by cultural praxis, by choice, and those who minister to Filipino communities. It makes for a more inclusive definition of the word “Filipino.”
The Bishop’s formation
The Crucifix was the center of religious celebrations in the rice-growing barrio of Santo Tomas in San Jose, Nueva Ecija. Today, the farmers still till the land and the third generation of tenant farmers occupy and till the land for themselves.
Bishop Solis credits his parents for being supportive of his vocation. Bishop Solis heard his calling when his mom Antonia, “paved the way for him to be closer to the church.
“His father, Anselmo,“ opened the development of his devotion.” He became an altar server on Sundays. To be able to serve in mass, he was encouraged to go to the minor seminary.
He entered the Maria Assumpta minor seminary in Cabanatuan at age 11. He felt afraid, lonesome and homesick. “Na-miss ko ang bahay ko.” Gradually, with a packed schedule that started with a 5:15am mass and ended with an 8:30pm evening prayer, he was able to adjust. A culture of silence was imposed on him.
On his fifth year in high school, he moved to Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City, and obtained his Associate in Arts degree. He went to college at Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay, earning a Bachelor’s of Arts in Philosophy, minor in languages: English, Spanish, (Greek) and Latin.
He was asked to go back to the seminary to be the prefect of discipline. At 19, he was put in charge of forming the hearts and minds of 100 high school students.
He left the seminary for a year, asking these questions: “Am I really for this? Is this my vocation? “ Questioning, his dad suggested he take up law. He went to Araullo Lyceum in Cabanatuan for a semester. While pursuing graduate studies in law, he felt incomplete, as if he was missing something.
He went back to the seminary. Encouraged by his parents, he went to the University of Santo Tomas (UST), and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology as cum laude. He was ordained as a deacon in 1978, and as a priest on April 28, 1979.
He pursued post-graduate courses in Oriental Religions and Cultures (a newly-opened institution back then) from 1979-1980 towards a licentiate, or MA in Oriental Religions at University of Santo Tomas. He studied various Oriental religions such as Shintoism, Zen Buddhism and Hinduism.
He mingled with students from India, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand including nuns, priests and lay peoples. His chosen thesis was “ The Parallelism between Theology of Liberation (Gustavo Gutierrez et al.) and Concept of Moksha. “
He started writing his thesis but, for a second time, was pre-empted when he was called to serve at the Diocesan College Seminary at age 27. He multi-tasked, serving as the campus minister, dean of the College Seminary Students, member of the Priests’ Council, vocation director, and professor of philosophy and logic at the Araullo Lyceum University.
From these leadership positions, he acquired skills in time management, budgets, administration and networking with academics. He assumed multiple positions of responsibility. At night, doubt crept in and he wondered if he could handle these positions adequately. He cried as he felt the weight of his enormous responsibilities. Little did he know that God had a bigger plan for him much later on.
He felt exhausted. When his idealism run counter to his superiors, he took a sabbatical and visited his relatives in the United States. He joined his aunts in San Francisco and then, visited Los Angeles in 1984. He was pre-empted again.
His bishop suggested that he pursue his doctorate in Canon Law in Rome. With three months to wait before going to Rome, he tried to work in a parish in Los Angeles. But, he was pre-empted a third time, foregoing Rome to become an associate pastor of St. Rocco’s Church in Union City, New Jersey, where he stayed for four years.
He was then requested to go to Houma-Thibodaux, on behalf of the Diocese of Cabanatuan to conduct missión appeal. He loved the place and was offered to exercise priestly ministry there. He came back and became an associate pastor to Monsignor Francis Amedee at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, where he served for six years. He was afforded leadership opportunities serving as a Member of the Diocesan Priests Council, Personnel Board and Vocation Council. He also became the Friar to the Knights of Columbus.
He then became pastor to Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Golden Meadow for six years and became Dean of South Lafourche Deanery for two years, another two years at North Lafourche Deanery. He became the pastor at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral and St. Luke Church and served for four more years.
In 2001, he became the founding Board Member to the Crossroads Pregnancy Center. At the churches, they had several programs: a Heaven’s Handyman program, with volunteer handyman doing repair work for other parishioners, including handicapped ramps, with materials donated by the community; an SOS, share our sorrows, a support group for those who lost a loved one; and gardening angels program with assigned specific spots, where the retired rich folks have specific areas of responsibilities, are encouraged to buy the plants and they are planted in the church yard.
Each week, as parishioners invested more, their collections grew—until it became $15,000 a week. The parish received a bequest of $8 million from a parishioner who passed away, giving $4 million to the diocese and another $4 million to the parish, funding the school’s endowment for 700 students, K to 7th Grades. The bequest allowed the school to maintain the tuition at a low $3,200 per year. They also had more programs for the students: music, languages, band, and an after school program.
While in Louisiana, he made plans to attend Loyola East Asian Pastoral Institute or pursue his doctorate degrees in Belgium or in Rome. For a fourth time, he got pre-empted.
On December 1, 2003, he got a call from the Apostolic Nuncio or Papal Ambassador to the US in Washington, D.C. It was 8am, Monday morning. He thought it was a prank call from his staffer. He spoke to Archbishop Montalvo,“ You have been elected to the College of Bishops.”
He became the first Filipino ordained bishop in the United States, among 5,100 bishops in the entire Catholic Church in the world, and the first Filipino bishop for 4,000,000 Catholics in Los Angeles. He served for five years as Vicar for Ethnic Ministry, three years as Director for the Office of Justice and Peace and four years as the Archdiocesan Liaison for Justice for Immigrants Campaign. He is the Regional Bishop for the San Pedro Pastoral Region, since Sept. 2009.
At the larger leadership body, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he is a member of the Committee on World Mission, the Committee on Evangelization, and is the current episcopal moderator for the Catholic Volunteer Network. He was appointed the first chairperson of the Subcommitee on Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2007 till 2009 and currently a member of the Subcommitte serving as the Episcopal Liaison to Filipino Priests in the United States.
‘I became part of them’
“ I was new to the parish. I noticed the backyard of the church had lots of blackberries. I harvested them. I was asked by a parishioner what I was doing. I told him how I love blackberries served with vanilla ice cream and a bit of sugar. Two hours later, 2 buckets full of blackberries were left at my doorstep. I remember the simplicity of life at Our Lady of Prompt Succor. They made blackberry dumplings for me. I also ate shrimps and crawfish with them, using my hands. I wore fishermen’s boots as I washed down the church patio. I became one with and part of them.”
“I ministered to 1,500 families, mostly fishermen, trawlers and workers who worked in the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a small parish for Cajun people. But, it was there that I learned Cajun cooking. The community knew each other and they gave each other tremendous support.”
“I became a member of three leadership councils for the diocese. I remember saying, I am only a transplant, let me defer to the older priests. I was quickly corrected that I am of equal standing to them, even if younger and from the Philippines. That gave me a feeling of comfort. I was allowed by my pastor to start programs and ministries for families, children and seniors. I was very proud that at one time, I had 92 altar boys serving the diocese, and many teenagers formed the parish Catholic youth organization. It was a ministry of presence. You are there in every plane of common life of the people, their baptism, their funerals, and I became one of them,” Bishop Solis said.
The Episcopal heraldic achievement, or Bishop Oscar Solis’ coat of arms, is composed of three sections. Deacon Paul Sullivan describes it: “ The arms of Bishop Solis are composed of three sections (tierced per inverted pall - an inverted ‘Y’). In the upper left section (heraldic ‘dexter’) is a silver (white) field that is charged with a blue Jerusalem cross. The four Greek crosses surrounding the joined Tau cross is associated with the mission of the Church (and the four Gospel books) to the four corners of the world. It likewise represents the ministry of the new Bishop to bring the good news of salvation to people of all cultures. The blue Jerusalem cross also appears in the official Diocesan vestment of the Bishop’s home Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, in Louisiana. On a blue field to the right (heraldic ‘sinister’) is a garb of rice, with silver stalks and golden seeds. Representing his home province of Nueva Ecija, the “rice granary of the Philippines,” rice is also the Asian equivalent of ‘wheat,’ a common food to many including the State of Louisiana. Like wheat, rice can be transformed to many uses. The base of the shield bears a golden sunburst on a red background.”
Representing the origin of the Bishop’s family name from Latin: “Sol” the center of our universe, it also refers to the SON, the center of our lives whose blood freed and saved us. At the center of the sun is an eight-pointed blue star representing the Blessed Virgin Mary in her title, “Stella Maris” (Star of the Sea). Our Lady, Star of the Sea, is the patroness of the seafaring people of Asia and the inhabitants of Louisiana whose lives and livelihood depend on the waters of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Having his first and last parish on the bayou communities of Lafourche (Golden Meadow and Thibodaux ), the Bishop has been invoking the guidance of the Our Lady, Star of the Sea, on his pastoral ministry.”
(Photos by Hydee Abrahan)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek August 3-5, 2011 MDWK pg. 2)
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