LETTER FROM THE PHILIPPINES

GROWING IN WISDOM AND GRATITUDE

“OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF CHILDREN AND OF BABES, YOU HAVE FOUND PRAISE” (PSALM 8:2)

BY COLM MEANEY CSsR

Icrossed a wide river and made my way to a nearby village in quite a remote spot: the village consisted of some houses scattered among the hills, and a school. I headed to the school and instantly recognised the four teachers by their distinctive attire (standard nationwide dress for teachers). The puzzling thing was that they should have been teaching their students at this hour, but instead were under a mango tree trying to find some shade from the tropical sun and chatting pleasantly, with no sense of urgency whatsoever. I introduced myself and wondered what was going on. They told me it was harvest time and most of the students were helping their parents harvest the corn. Ah yes, the relaxed, easy-going atmosphere of the rural Philippines.

The education system here is quite impressive. Basically, parents have a choice as to where their children will receive their education, from kindergarten to college, depending on the family budget: either in staterun or private schools. The private schools are mostly run by religious: either Catholic congregations or Protestants. There are also parochial schools, but these are a fast-disappearing phenomenon, simply because the parishes cannot compete with the much higher salaries which the government can provide. The Columbans did mighty work setting up parochial schools, often in quite remote areas. Every village in the country has at least one elementary school and, if the area is widespread, will have two or even three. Most have a secondary school, or else students walk to the nearest one in the neighbouring village. The universities are exclusively in towns and cities, so any students from the hinterlands will have to rent digs during the school term. In the more remote rural areas, the teachers arrive mid-morning on Monday and depart again on Friday before lunch. They may have to travel 20 miles on a motorbike, along very rutted tracks. They sleep in a sort of dormitory and eat their meals together. As well as the teachers, most schools have catechists who teach the children the basics of the Christian faith. Their teaching is truly a labour of love; they are definitely not in it for the money! They often have to pay for their own uniform, and receive a pittance for their dedication. But as I say, money is not what they’re after.

INNOCENCE

I always enjoyed visiting the schools in the mission areas, especially the elementary schools: the teachers were very welcoming, the children so innocent and untouched by the cynicism of adult life. And yet conditions were sometimes very simple altogether, almost primitive. Some pupils would bring their lunch of steamed rice and a single salted fish (sardine) wrapped in a banana leaf. They would get water from the pump in the school grounds. On special occasions, like the visit of the inspector or graduation day, the parents would be asked to contribute something for the festivities: maybe a chicken or a kilo of rice or corn.

I visited each classroom and either later that day, or on another occasion, I would celebrate Mass for students, teachers and the handful of parents who attended. I looked on these occasions as opportunities for evangelisation through a combination of simple Gospel messages and humour. In the classroom I would share one of Aesop’s Fables (‘The Lion and the Mouse’), alternating my voice to suit each animal. The teachers would have heard the story in college but always kept mum regarding the thrilling end of the tale. When I said “…and the mouse helped the lion by biting on what?” the children who knew the tale would shout out “the rope!” It’s actually a profound tale of how the seemingly insignificant mouse became the hero. After all, the lion had scoffed at the tiny rodent’s offer to help him in the future, if the mighty king of the

jungle would have mercy on it: like the seed, so seemingly small, which grows into a tree where the birds of the air make their nests (Mt 13:32). And I would ask the students: here in the school, who are the lions? The teachers, the parents, myself. And who are the mice? The students: and they can come to our aid, even in their childlike innocence and apparent powerlessness.

GIVING THANKS

The story is followed by an action song, usually ‘His Banner Over Me is Love’ which has very simple Gospel references and concomitant actions which are both entertaining and memorable (“He is the shepherd and we are the sheep”, “He is the bridge over troubled waters”, and so forth). And the classroom visit would not be complete without our thanking various people; this is done by introducing some new ways of giving applause. The first group to be thanked are the parents, who bring their children to school, rain or shine. So for them we perform the ‘rain clap’, starting by simply touching a finger of one hand to another on the other hand, then two, then three; we proceed to increase the sound until we are applauding as loud as we can. These stages correspond to five different degrees of rain: light mist, drizzle, steady rain, cloudburst, prolonged downpour. I ask the children to accompany the last stage with vocal sound effects of thunder and lightning: hilarity reigns.

The next group deserving of mention is the teachers, and for them we perform the ‘barber clap’; for as the barber seeks to improve our looks, the teachers aim to improve our minds and characters. We imitate a person brushing himself down after having his hair cut, removing any remaining hairs: clapping palms together, then palms on the lower arms, then the shoulders, finishing with pushing back the hair on the head, saying “Wow”. Done in unison, it’s really impressive. And with the “wow”, more howls of laughter.

The final group is the youngest children: for them we do the

‘mosquito clap’ (a tiny insect). We clap our hands together randomly around us: in front, over our heads and so on, mimicking a person trying to catch a mosquito. It is at this point that I feel like the apostle Paul, who wrote that he made a fool of himself so as to bring others to Christ (1 Cor 4:10).

GROWING IN WISDOM

During the school Mass, the readings are chosen to suit the children. I usually use the story of Solomon and the two women who claimed to be the mother of the same child, and how Solomon solved the dilemma (1 Kgs 3:16-27). I act it out rather than read it; it’s quite a gripping tale. Two women shared the same room and each gave birth within a few days of each other. One tragically smothered her son by accident, then in the dark of night, exchanged the dead body with the other woman’s healthy child. In the morning the mother of the healthy child sensed she had been duped, but the other woman would not agree. They went before Solomon, and in the face of an impasse, wherein both claimed to be the mother of the living child, he proposed slicing the boy in two, giving half

to each woman. At that point the real mother cried out that the boy wasn’t to be harmed, for she would sooner see him given to the other claimant than killed. Thus Solomon cut the Gordian knot, not the baby. His fame spread. I see the children wide-eyed with excitement and consternation as I mime Solomon holding the razor-sharp sword over the new-born! I try to link the king’s wisdom with life in the school; they are there not simply to fill their minds with information and knowledge, but hopefully to grow in wisdom.

Then I add another story about Solomon which involves the queen of Sheba, who indeed visited him in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 10:1-13); but the story I tell is not in the scriptures, but part of later tradition. The queen had heard of his fame and wanted to try to trap him. So at the formal banquet, when all the dignitaries in Israel were present, she tried to outsmart Solomon. At the head table, she had placed two vases of flowers: one contained real flowers, the other contained imitation plants, cleverly made by her technicians. Both sets looked identical, there was no way to tell them apart.

In front of the crowd, she challenged Solomon to decide which was real, which was imitation. He proposed touching them to discover the answer, she said “no”; he proposed smelling them, again the answer was “no”! The tension was building; was Solomon going to be outwitted? I ask the children for their suggestions, but they hardly ever find the answer. So I tell them that Solomon called his attendant and told him to open one of the windows. Then some insect flew in, but what was it? The children try butterfly, cicada, mosquito, and more. Eventually we identify the humble bumble bee as the insect that solved Solomon’s problem; it passed over one of the vases but didn’t descend; it flew over the other and landed on the sweet-smelling flowers! Mystery solved. Apart from wisdom, the children can learn to be as canny as serpents (Matt 10:16); they are already as innocent as doves.

The first group to be thanked are the parents, who bring their children to school, rain or shine. So for them we perform the ‘rain clap’, starting by simply touching a finger of one hand to another on the other hand, then two, then three; we proceed to increase the sound until we are applauding as loud as we can

A native of Limerick city where he went to school in St Clement’s College, Fr Colm Meaney CSsR first went to the Philippines as a student and has spent most of his priestly life there.