VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Special to the Herald
Whenever you feel helpless, when you are in a confining, limiting situation with few options, embrace that condition and live it in your own way; and then you can overcome anything that bothers you. Even if you don’t know what happens next, accepting your own condition is a great breakthrough and a moment of freedom. The Gospel of St. Luke 12:11-12 says: “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” Once you are in that experience, you will have the inspiration.
I feel my greatest mentors are the experiences I have had in life. I served as a military chaplain for 22 years. During my military tours in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Guantanamo, South Korea and Germany, I found myself asking myself, “Are you ready to die today?” There were times we were held in the confined space of a sweltering hot, enclosed helicopter that wasn’t able to take off due to mechanical issues. Sometimes we sat there for hours never knowing if we were going to fly. When we did take off, there were questions of whether we would be safe. There was a lot of time to think about death.
When you are in the process of thinking about death, even family does not really matter. There is so much more. Yes, they care for you, but they also respected your choice of profession. When I can say, “Yes, I am ready to die; I am ready for this,” everything becomes easier. Death then becomes like a liberating experience you want to go beyond. Once you can handle facing your own death through living the helplessness, limitations and physical and psychological insecurities, you become free and can handle anything. When you say you are ready, then you are no longer afraid, you are relaxed. But when we resist, there is a kind of tension.
As a member of the Focolare movement, a lot of my ideas come from the spirit of the movement. The charism is based on the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. As the founder Chiara Lubich expressed, members are “the guardians of the flame of the love of God and their neighbors.” A part of this is learning how to suffer — like embracing inconveniences and being misunderstood in order to gain new insight. Sometimes in the suffering you will find something very profound. Suffering leads to Jesus, and Jesus leads to suffering. Many times that profound experience of pain and suffering is the presence of God. Don’t be afraid. The image of God is in us and will inspire you to discover more.
Father Victor Lanuevo is a diocesan priest. He serves as the chaplain for St. Francis Hospice. Before his military service, he served at St. Anthony Church, Kalihi, 1982-1985; Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Wahiawa, 1985-1988; and at St. Sophia Church, Molokai, 1988-1991. After his chaplaincy, he returned to the islands in 2013. He has been ordained 41 years.
