HONG KONG (SE): “I think what migrants need most is the understanding and support of the local people, while some of them experience discrimination,” said Father Jay Flandez of the Society ofd the Divine Word, chaplain for Filipinos since 2014.
Father Flandez said there are some Filipino domestic workers who come to the chaplaincy for guidance on how to deal with employers who treat them like machines, and suffering from overwork.
“How can we expect a quality of life, if their dignity as person is not respected. But they endure it to support their family.” Father Flandez said.
He said that recently, many are afraid to quit their jobs, even if they are enduring maltreatment, because the Immigration Department may suspect them of job hopping given the shortage of foreign domestic workers in the Covid-19 pandemic. “They feel discriminated against,” he said.
Another need for Filipino migrants he observes is discipline in managing their salaries. Therefore the chaplaincy, in cooperation with non-government organisations, from time to time organises seminars on financial literacy which helps the migrants to set goals for their future.
Father Flandez also feels that the chaplaincy needs to reach out to those staying on the streets or in the parks during their days-off. “They must feel that the Church is journeying with them,” he said.
He remembered meeting a patient who was terminally ill and her words strengthened his faith when she said: ‘Father who am I to complain to God. For 45 years God has blessed me. Only this time I have this illness. I still believe that he is good’
He also sees the need for on-going formation in the Filipino community as many are only Mass-goers and not interested in the mission of the Church.
Father Flandez shared that his ministry as a chaplain is dynamic as he always encounters new people and has new experiences. But he cannot forget the experiences of visiting Filipinos in hospitals when he had to administer the sacrament of Anointing the Sick, talk with patients in pain and have lost hope of recovering.
He remembered meeting a patient who was terminally ill and her words strengthened his faith when she said: “Father who am I to complain to God. For 45 years God has blessed me. Only this time I have this illness. I still believe that he is good”
Her great faith touched the priest as even in the midst of pain, her love and loyalty to God was still unquestionable.
Nor could he forget funeral blessings at mortuaries; a way to pay respect to the deceased and comfort the living ones who have lost a friend. “Before they transport the body to the airport, we pray for the deceased with their friends. And even though the place is just outside the mortuary with no table, no lectern or no microphone, I do it in a dignified way. The respect to the deceased must be observed,” he shared.
During the pandemic, with public gatherings suspended, the chaplaincy celebrated 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines with an online formation talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm with different speakers invited to speak on different topics.
The chaplain hopes that when the pandemic is under control, the chaplaincy can continue with its street evangelisation programme. It will also go on with its liturgical Bible study, which has already started in some communities, in order to prepare people for the readings of the coming Sunday Mass to help them benefit from the Liturgy of the Word.
Speaking about his religious vocation, Father Flandez recalled that when he was in elementary school, he started serving the Church as an altar server. He then joined the Legion of Mary with the encouragement of the parish priest and the legionary meeting held every Saturday morning in the parish convent.
The chaplain hopes that when the pandemic is under control, the chaplaincy can continue with its street evangelisation programme. It will also go on with its liturgical Bible study, which has already started in some communities, in order to prepare people for the readings of the coming Sunday Mass to help them benefit from the Liturgy of the Word
He was happily committed to the service, which would be the start of his vocation. “And in May, there are many fiestas [feast days] in the barrios. The parish priest brought us there to also serve during Mass. We needed to go to remote places to help and assist the priest. This also inspired me to become a missionary,” he said.
He then joined the Pope Paul VI minor seminary in the Diocese of Maasin in Leyte, when he was in secondary school. But after graduation, he left and studied psychology at the University of San Carlos, Cebu, run by Society of the Divine Word, where he met more seminarians and priests of the congregation. He felt himself deeply attracted by its motto which says, “Come and see the world, the world is our parish.” So after his university studies, he joined the congregation.
Looking back, however, Father Jay thinks his degree programme in psychology prepared him for his future mission.
“The tools I learned from psychology are very helpful in [the] priestly ministry because we are all humans and have emotions. We cannot ‘spiritualise’ problems of the people. We cannot tell the person who has [a] problem to “just kneel down and pray and your problems will be solved,” he said, adding, “We need to guide and empower them to have courage to face and solve their problems.”
In his opinion, too much spiritualisation will enslave a person but spirituality is important for one’s personal growth.
“Spirituality gives us freedom. A spiritual person aims not at only his or her personal conversion but also for the transformation of our society. As spiritual guide I must help and empower people to see their worth as a child of God, to discover their gifts, and to know their life’s mission [as] God wants them to be, so that they too can participate for the building of his kingdom here on earth,” Father Jay said.
