MAPSA 2007 General Assembly
Most Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco, DD
August 14, 2007 8:00 am at the Multipurpose Diosesan Bldg.

I am truly happy to be here today to join in this year's celebration of the MAPSA General Assembly. Today we gather as members of a community of educators and administrators. But we are more than that. We are evangelizers. This year's General Assembly of MAPSA is uniquely special. We begin the 3-year preparation of MAPSA's 50 years of service to the Church in the Philippines. As we do so, we call upon the Holy Spirit to fill our minds and hearts, and, together as a learning community of faith in the next three years that is ahead, become, as Ex corde ecclesiae says, "an academic community graced by the spirit of Christ," the Son of the loving Father (#20).
During the first year of the 3-year preparation, MAPSA has assigned this year, 2007, as "Year of the Father, Year of Faith, Year of Stewarship." Obviously, this is patterned after the Great Jubilee celebration of 2000 wherein 1999 was declared by the late Pope John Paul the Great as Year of the Father. If in 1999, we reflected on the immense love and compassion of our heavenly Father, MAPSA's 2007 Year of the Father invites us to "enhance our sense of mission, friendship and professionalism as hearers, performers, and proclaimers of Christ." Such an inspiring ideal but a very daunting challenge.
It is important that the celebration of "MAPSA at 50 years" is placed within the context of the life of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And the life of the Trinity must be seen as a life of a community as well. God as Father belongs to that community. It is the Father who established that community called the Trinity with the outpouring of His love. It is a community founded on the love of the Father. It is fundamental, therefore, that our ministry in our schools must continue that work of the Father of building a community of love in our schools. We usually take this for granted. We say that our school is already a community. But is it a community built and nurtured on the love of the Father that begets and establishes a community of love? We need, therefore, to revisit the love that the Father has for Jesus, His begotten Son.
There are many images about the love of the Father that is present in Scriptures. There is the love of God as Father who created the world and everything that lives and moves and has its being from Him. There is the love of God the Father as Yahweh leading His chosen people, freeing them from slavery in Egypt and leading them to the promise land. But if there is one image of the love of the Father that touches our heart, stirs our imagination and moves us into action, it is the image of the father in the Parable of Prodigal Son. Three powerful qualities of the father in this parable come to the surface: a Waiting Father, A Running Father and a Celebrating Father. But let me relate a modern version of this father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It is the story of a young student and his teacher.

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the first day of schools, she told the children an untruth like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat was little boy named Teddy Stallard.
Miss Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with other children, that his clothes were messy, and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Miss Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.
At the school where Miss Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records, and she put Teddy's off until the last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's first grade teacher wrote: "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners. He is such a joy to be around." His second grade teacher wrote: "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness, and life at home must be a struggle." His third grade teacher wrote: "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."
By now, Miss Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Miss Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the students started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she explained how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stallard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Miss Thompson, today you smell just like my mom used to."
After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing, arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.
Miss Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind began to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the feaster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class, and despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."
A year later, she found a note under her door form Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he'd ever had in his whole life! Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school. He'd stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. Again he assured Miss Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he's ever had.
Then four years passed, and yet another letter came. After he got his bachelor's degree he had decided to gon a little further. She was still the best and favorite teacher he'd ever had. But now his name was a little longer...the letter was signed "Theodore F. Stallard, M.D.." The story does not end here. There was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father died a couple of years ago, and he was wondering if Miss Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.
Of course, Miss Thompson did. And uses what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy rememberd his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stallard whispered in Miss Thompson's ear: "Thank you for believing in me. Than you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference." Miss Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said: "Teddy you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you!"
You can never tell what type of impact you may have on another's life by your actions... or lack of action. Please consider this fact in your venture through life, and just try to make a difference in someone else's life today.
In that story, we see clearly the image of a father waiting, running and celebrating, images that are found in the traditional story of the prodigal son.
First, the image of a Waiting Father is clearly depicted in Teddy's longing and waiting for understanding. love and affection. In the gospel Parable of the Prodigal Son we are told that this father saw his returning son while he was still at a distance. It is safe to surmise that he was by the door or the window of his house looking out a distance, searching the landscape, hoping that his son is coming back. More than that, even if the prodigal son left home, his father always kept him in his mind and heart. He thought about him each day. Clearly, he was a father waiting, waiting with certainty and hope that his son would return home. When? He did not know exactly. How? He was not sure. One thing is clear: he waited. His waiting was not only filled with anticipation but with compassion and welcome.
Second, the image of a Running Father is seen in the transformation of Ms. Thompson when she gave her time, abilities and energy to help Teddy achieve his potentials. In the parable, we are told of the excitement and quickness of the Father, even running out to embrace his son. In his opening address during the conference on God the Father in 1999, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin used the image of a running father. This is because in Jesus' time, running is not something a father, a head of the household, does. A person of high importance does not run: others run to him to serve him, or run away from him to carry out his orders. For such a person, to run would mean throwing away his dignity. It is out rightly shocking, embarrassing and improbable. But that is the meaning of the running father Jesus portrays in the Parable of the Prodigal Son" (p. 11 Father of Jesus, Father of the Church of the Poor, 1999)
Thirdly, the image of a Celebrating Father is found not only in one specific moment of success in Teddy's life. But such celebrations were present every time Teddy triumphed over the many celebrations in his life especially when he celebrated them with Ms. Thompson. In the parable, the celebration came at the end. When the ring and sandals were put on, when the finest garment was worn and fattened calf slauhtered, the celebration began. Once again, joy and gladness returned to their home and they celebrated it.

As MAPSA reaches its 50th year, the year of the Father invites us to make this year a renewal of our mission, friendship and professionalism of Catholic Schools. May I suggest three things we can consider if our schools are to move away from merely being a conglomeration of people to become communities of love patterned after the community established by the loving Father.
1) To be like the Waiting Father, our schools must strive to become a purposeful community. The father waited waited first for his son's return by being one with him in mind and heart before waiting by the door of their home. Our schools must become places where members have developed a community of one mind, bonded together by one purpose, one direction, one goal and mission. Such a school community is marked by a shared way of thinking, a common set of beliefs and core values that bind them together. Whether one is the director, principal, teacher or student, a shared purpose shapes what they believe and how they behave, how they see things and how they do things. Just like the waiting Father, his purpose was clear: to wait for the return of his son. Our schools must also be clear of its purpose.
2) To be like Running Father, our schools must strive to become a community of leaders. Our idea of a leader is one who influences people directly and the different parts of an institution. It is usually a strong and direct leadership. The leader acts individually in an effort to influence others on what they think and do in order to realize the vision and may want to do the right things but, such leadership still means controlling events and people in a way that makes things come out the way the leader think they should. The different leader, one with moral leadership, on the other hand, is like the running father. He is willing to share some responsibility with others and delegate authority as well. Like the running father he is willing to run not only to be leader who serves but one who has authority because of his moral leadership. The source of such moral leadership is the shared purpose of the school community. Principals and teachers are believers of that purpose and are communities to make it come true. Thus, everyone shares in the obligation to lead. Therefore, in communities, leadership as power over events and people is redefined to become leadership as power to accomplish the shared purpose and goals. And when this leadership is exercised by everyone on behalf of what is shared, the school becomes a community of leaders just like the running father. Thomas Sergiovanni asks: "What do directors and principals do in schools that are becoming communities of leaders? They preach and teach, they encourage, they help, and sometimes yell and tell. But mostly they serve. They come to learn that the challenge of leadership in communities does not go away, it merely takes different forms (p. 189, Sergiovanni, 1999).
3) To be like the Celebrating Father, schools must strive to become a community of learners. Learning must be celebrated by schools. When the school, that is, the administrators, teachers, staff, and students learn together, it helps them to become a community of learners, a place where everyone is a learner and everyone is a teacher. Just like the celebrating father he was open to accept what his son has done and where he has been as well as what he realized about himself and what he has and can become. He was also ready to undergo an adventure authentic relationship and discovery. For a school to be a community of learners, there must be a certain amount of willingness to know oneself better, to be open to new ideas, and strive to be better, a journey in personal development. So as a school learns and inquires together, we create ties that enable us to become a learning community. The celebrating father learned more about his two sons: the younger one who left and rebelled does not necessarily mean that he has not learned anything and the older one who stayed does not mean he is better and more learned. As one school principal says about a school as a learning community: "If we want kids to take ownership of their own learning, they have to see us - the faculty, and administration - doing just that. When they see us taking risks and exploring new ideas, they follow suit... we're learning, they're learning, everybody's learning" (p.4, Albitron, Burns, Franz, and Tilly, 1991).
Let me end by saying that as MAPSA reaches 50, may this year of the Father not only be to look back at the graces received for the past many years but recognize and accept the challenge to do our work as educators and evangelizers in the manner of God who is Father, one who is waiting for us to be a community with a purpose; a father who is running toward us so we can become a community open and willing to be leaders for one another; and a father who is celebrating with us discoveries about oneself, others, and the world around us. Let us not only imitate Jesus the rabbi (teacher), but Jesus who calls God His father "Abba." Let us teach not only what Jesus taught about God but turn into reality what He revealed that "the Father and I are one." May Jesus' intimate experience of the Father who waits for us, runs to us and celebrates with us be the lesson we will always teach. Amen.