At John Paul II College of Davao God winks!

Albert Einstein once said: “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous”.

The unveiling and the blessing of the life-sized brass statue of Blessed Pope John Paul II – the first in the Philippines – last March 10, 2014, at the John Paul II College of Davao campus, Ecoland, this city, was – for me – a festive, yet very solemn celebration.

After the blessing of the image, headed by Archbishop-Emeritus Fernando R. Capalla, the present Archbishop of Davao Romulo G. Valles presided the Holy Eucharist. Concelebrating were the Archbishop-Emeritus, the Auxiliary Bishop George Rimando, Msgr. Paul Cuison (Diocesan Economus), Msgr. Jaime Gamboa (Chancellor) and 18 other diocesan priests, including myself.

In his homily, Archbishop Valles praised the initiative of the Evangelista family, not only of putting up a school named after the great pope, but also of spearheading a series of activities in school and in the archdiocese which aim to make the pope known, loved and emulated.

After the Holy Communion in which a number of concelebrating priests helped, myself included, the Master of Ceremony asked me to bring the ciborium[1] that still contained the Body of Christ to the chapel for purification. This was to save time.

So I brought the remaining Body of Christ in a ciborium, together with some empty ciboria, to the chapel, placed them on the altar covered with cloth and corporal, and I started to purify each vessel. After the purification, I left one ciborium with the Body of Christ on it. I placed it at the center of the altar and covered it with a corporal. I also placed a lighted candle beside it as a sign that the Lord is present there. Then, I left the chapel and headed towards the quadrangle where the Mass was about to end.

After the final blessing, all of us, the presider and the concelebrants, headed towards the office of the vice-president. But we were asked to come back to the altar for a picture-taking.

Unknown to me at that time, some friends of mine, the couple, Jun and Marlene Bernardo, and a nun, visited the chapel with Fr. Junar dela Victoria as their guide. Marlene recounted later that as soon as she entered the chapel, she was attracted by the beautiful retablo. So impressed, yet aware that the Lord is on the altar (because of the candlelight), she discreetly took a picture. Here is her account:

“Yesterday was the unveiling of the new statue of Blessed John Paul at John Paul School, right after the mass we were invited by Fr. Junar to visit the chapel, the Blessed Sacrament was also brought there and placed on top center of the altar table, I was amazed by the beauty of the chapel so I took some pictures, to my surprise, upon browsing my pics taken, I had this pic with a ray of light directing towards the blessed sacrament”.

Marlene is referring to the picture in the front page.

One could rightly explain the phenomenon by alleging that a focus light bulb could have caused such ray of light. But Marlene emphasized that no such streak was ever present when she was aiming her gadget. Besides, we don’t normally aim our cameras against the light, unless we have valid reasons for doing so. She said:

 “A very nice shot of a ray of light going to the blessed sacrament in John Paul II School Chapel….just used my iphone in taking this pic, and the effect of the light (not a spotlight) was amazing, a ray of light directing towards the blessed sacrament, reminding us of God’s presence there”.

What is also so amazing in this phenomenon is that people immediately associate it with God’s action. Marlene herself noted that it is “reminding us of God’s presence there” (in the chapel of John Paul II College of Davao). Normie Gamalinda, Marlene’s friend in Facebook, even commented: “Oh my! You are so blessed! God allowed you to witness this ray of light coming from heaven”.

Ernie Evangelista, the school president, filled with astonishment upon seeing this photo, interpreted it as a sign of God’s favor. “It is as if Blessed Pope John Paul II is giving us a nod, and that he approves of the celebrations we are doing in his honor”.

The said blessing and mass, together with other activities like the JPII Quiz, the symposium, the campus exhibit of the life and ministry of the pope, the focus group discussion, among others, highlight the 100 days of preparation for the canonization of this most beloved pontiff on April 27, 2014.

This incident may just be one of the many normal phenomena that are explicable by common sense. But there’s an element in it that escapes our rationalization: coincidence. It may just be a simple coincidence. But as Einstein once noted: “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous”.

For many, this may simply be a well-taken photography, capable of winning a prize in a photo contest. But to those who believe, like myself, that coincidence is God’s ordinary way of saying that we are special to Him, this picture tells us that God winks! (Fr. Russell A. Bantiles)

[1] A ciborium (plural ciboria; Latin from the Ancient Greek κιβώριον (kibōrion).) is a vessel, normally in metal. It was originally a particular shape of drinking cup in Ancient Greece and Rome, but later used to refer to a large covered cup designed to hold hosts for, and after, the Eucharist.