VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
“Brother, why is your garden so beautiful?” parishioners sometimes ask me while seeing me at work in the gardens surrounding the church. Turning down the volume to the music playing on the radio I have carried there, or to where I am arranging the flowers for church, I then explain. “Plants, like people like to be talked to and listened to. I like to let them listen to music to hear what the song has to tell them.” In a parallel way, in life we need to be open to listen to and talk to God. As a Blessed Sacrament brother, this is achieved through time spent daily in Eucharist adoration.
Every morning at church, after the 7 a.m. Mass and morning prayer, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration. I join the priests in my religious community for this prayer time together. Then we go off to perform our different ministries. In the afternoon, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed again before evening prayer. Everything we do is done through the love of the Eucharist. As our founder St. Peter Julian Eymard said, “Absque sui proprio,” “Nothing for me; nothing by me.”
I may not be seen at the sanctuary altar celebrating Mass, but my presence to the works I do are ways of performing stewardship and leading our parishioners along their spiritual journey to growth in faith and belief. Some people ask me, “When are you going to become a priest?” thinking that a brother is like a seminarian — one still in formation. As a religious brother, I have my own unique call from God. I find that the gift of myself, offered through this path of service, is where I am meant to be. As Hawaii is my first foreign mission, doing the work of evangelization in a diverse culture I find is not just an inner work, but an inner journey of recognizing Christ’s presence in each individual.
In the senior ministry which meets weekly, I take the time to be present to them as they make their crafts, sing, dance, cook and socialize. In the work of liturgical art and care of the church environment I make banners, arrange flowers, and garden. I am often also asked to help with the decorations for birthdays, anniversaries and weddings. Other time is spent with the parish money counters, school altar servers, social parish activities, Sunday religious education classes, and other special monthly activities.
I balance my life by scheduling what I need to do. For self-renewal, I do love gardening, singing sometimes, and playing the ukulele. Sometimes people ask, “Brother, why don’t you have a day off?” I feel I don’t need it. Sundays are like my off days as I don’t attend every Mass and thus have more time for spiritual reading and being with myself and the Lord. Prayer is the strength that gives blessings to my life.
Brother Salvador (Buddy) J. Yanzon is a brother of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. He has been ministering at Star of the Sea Parish since 2007. He is 28 years professed and is a council member for the Mission and Inter-Provincial Collaboration of the Congregation.
