VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
There is no other choice. The only choice for me is to serve God. Because when your intention and main purpose is to serve God, he gives you the strength and the courage to do so. Thus, up until now, 40 years after my ordination, I still continue to do a lot of things I had done years ago in much the same manner. Whether, it be as a chaplain or as a pastor, it has become such that in looking at anything I do, it is part of my existence. No matter how hard or difficult the task may be, I just do it.
Some may think that like St. Teresa of Calcutta, dark moments of the soul might cause me to change my disposition. However, I never blame God. I never ask him for any excuse. Whenever times of challenge do come, I just smile and say, “Lord, I cannot always do what you want me to do.” And, I keep on going. Then, the Lord sees what I am doing and says, “OK.”
Among my siblings, I am the middle child of five and the firstborn son. Usually, the firstborn son is offered to the Lord. It is biblical. That’s why Jacob took Esau’s birthright, because Esau was the eldest son. In the Philippines, it is the firstborn son who is asked to be a priest. Thus, most of the priests from the Philippines, although not all, are the oldest son.
The unit of the Filipino family is a very close-knit one and the parents are always there. During the 1960s through the 1970s when I was growing up, almost every year in my place there was an ordination to the priesthood. I would always go and watch. The ordination would always become the talk of the family.
One day someone asked me, “Oh, would you like to be a priest later on?” If no one ever asked me, I would never have thought about it. That was crucial — the asking. So, I entered after grade six after I was asked again, “Would you like to go to the seminary?” I responded, “OK, goodbye.”
In 1993, at the invitation of Maryknoll Sister Grace Dorothy Lim, I came to Hawaii to help in the diocesan Office for Filipino Ministeries. I celebrated my first Mass on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary at Our Lady of the Mount Church. From that time forward, the rest of my life in ministry in Hawaii is history.
Forty years after being ordained, I still remember my mother saying, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Growing up, I had to be perfectly clean and neat. Even today, my house is very clean and neat. As God is the most orderly of all, if you are messy, then your mind may also be scattered all over the place. What is important is to live simply. To just do what you can, without trying to be a hero. And, as my motto reflects, “Deus providebit,” God will provide. Yes, God will always provide people to help you in your service to God.
Father Mario Raquepo is from San Vicente, Ilocos del Sur, Philippines. Formerly of the Philippine Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, in 2011 he was incardinated into the Diocese of Honolulu. He celebrated his 40th anniversary of ordination last December. He is the pastor of St. Stephen Church in Nuuanu.
