Felmar’s World of Anecdotes

Last Wednesday, April 4, 2007, the remains of the slain priest Fr. Fransiskus Madhu, SVD was brought to Christ the King Mission Seminary. As early as eight in the morning, several religious priests and nuns from different religious congregations, as well as laypeople eagerly awaited the arrival of his remains. The priests, most of whom are SVD Indonesians, agreed to wear their cassock as a way of saluting the missionary who laid his life in the service of God’s people.

“He is a hero to us. He died in the line of his priestly and missionary duty” one sister said. Leaving his country without informing his relatives in Indonesia, Fr. Fransiskus Madhu went to the Philippines on Palm Sunday of 2005 shortly after his ordination. A very humble, energetic and smiling priest, he was sent to Kalinga Province. Exactly two years after, he was also shot to death last Palm Sunday while already vested for the Holy Mass.

His body arrived at 1:45 in the afternoon and a loud cheer greeted him. Fr. Alfons Betan, his Spiritual Director when he was still a seminarian, laid the wreathe on his coffin. The SVD priests carried his casket and made a very sentimental procession to the Shrine of the Divine Word to celebrate the Holy Mass in his honor.

He will be buried at the Sementeryo ng Mga Relihiyoso at Christ the King Mission Seminary on Monday, April 9, 2007 after the Burial Mass at 3 pm.

Our dear Society of the Divine Word (SVD) congregation mourns the death of our young missionary priest from Indonesia, Fr. Fransiskus Madhu, SVD, 31 who was shot dead while saying mass at around 5:30 pm yesterday (April 1, 2007) in Barrio Mabongtot, Lubuagan, Kalinga of the Northern part of the Philippines.

Fr. Francis is assigned as co-pastor of Fr. Gerardo Gudmalin, SVD  in  Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Mission in Lubuagan, Kalinga, which is under the Vicariate of Tabuk.

The initial report of our Superior General, Fr. Tony Pernia, SVD states that “Fransiskus was already vested for the afternoon Mass at 17.30 (5:30 p.m.) when a man suddenly appeared before him and fired a pistol at him without any apparent motive. It seems that the attacker had personal problems and was wanted by the police. Our young confrere died immediately.”

The man who shot him was known to have a criminal record. The Province of Ende has been informed as well as the family of Fr. Francis.

We, his SVD confreres in Christ the King Mission Seminary strongly condemn the killing of Fr. Francis. We hope that the government would do something to give justice to our dead confrere whose only motive was to serve the people of Kalinga in his mission assignment.

Please include him and his murderer in your prayers…

Who could forget the fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings?  Once a happy Stoorish Hobbit, Smeagol (a.k.a. Gollum) demanded the ring from his relative Deagol as a birthday present and he strangled him to death when he refused to give it. He was then forced to live in the far, far misty Mountains.

During the centuries that he spent in the Misty Mountains, he developed a certain kind of split personality – the good Smeagol and the bad Gollum. The good Smeagol remembered acts of goodness like friendship, trust, compassion and love. On the other hand, the bad Gollum was a desperate monster who would kill to have his most “precious” possession, which is the ring.

Come to think of it: everyone of us has a Smeagol and Gollum within. While we always strive to be good and value things that are good, within us are also crippling deeds of betrayal, envy and gluttony. But we could not deny the fact that we are first Smeagols, I should say, creatures created in the image and likeness of God. But we sinned and the Gollum inside us came out.

However, even with the character of Gollum, with all his dark side, it is undeniable that he has a spark of goodness inside him. Mister Frodo saw that. That is why, he never gave up on him.

I believe that no person is totally evil. I have never seen a person who did all wicked things throughout one’s life. One thing is sure, we are all sinners, but like Gollum, there is always a good side that cries out for liberation. And behold, God sees this spark of goodness in us…and He never gives us on us until we let this goodness shine through us.

Poor Gollum, when they were on the Mount of Doom to finally destroy the ring, he attacked Frodo and they had a big fight. He bit Frodo’s finger and his most precious possession was on his hands once again. He was too elated and too late for him to notice it, he lost his balance and fell into the fires of Mount Doom. Then, he made his last cry, “My Precious!”

While mercy abounds for us, our choices in life will have a great bearing on what is at stake for us in the future. Whatever we do in life echoes in eternity. Gollum was already confronted with the two choices – redeeming his original Smeagol self or slavery with the ring of darkness. He chose the latter and he spent his eternity in the fires of Mount Doom.

Think about it…Your choices and decisions matter. God never gives up on you. Let your inner goodness shrine through!