The Gospel of the UP chapel

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:23:00 07/01/2008

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Catholic chapel on the UP Diliman campus, officially named the Church of the Holy Sacrifice, is a modern, circular, open structure. It has been declared a National Historical Landmark and designated an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum. Much has been written about this place of worship, but trust an Atenista to present it in the context of how we should live our lives.)

Onofre Pagsanghan, a.k.a. Mr. Pagsi, the superstar teacher at the Ateneo high school, likes to use the UP chapel to illustrate what he learned from the man he considers his greatest teacher, Fr. John Patrick Delaney, S.J., under whose watch and spiritual guidance, as UP chaplain from the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, the chapel was built.

The altar is in the middle of the dome-shaped chapel.

The UP chapel altar answers the question Fr. Delaney often asked of people: What do you put in the center of your life?

When I talk to value education teachers, I ask them to list down 10 things they want to do with their lives. It is a list that is meant for their eyes and God's eyes only, not to impress others. After maybe 10 minutes, I ask them to stop writing and look over their lists.

How many of you think you can accomplish all those 10 things, I ask. Two or three hands go up. All right, 10 may be too many so cross out five things from the list. Which ones do you cross out and which ones remain? Then I ask how many of them think they can accomplish the five things on their lists. Four or five people raise their hands. Cross out two more, I say. More hands go up when I ask how many think the three things on their lists are doable, but still not all hands. All right, I tell them, cross out two more and leave just one.

That one item is your core value. It is what's in your heart, the very thing that governs your life. Let it be the one criterion by which you live your life. What is the most important thing for you? What is in the center of your life?

As Fr. Delaney used to say, "What is truly valuable is what lasts. Aim for the hardest and the best because, almost always, the hardest is the best and the best is the hardest."

There are doorways but no doors.

I can just hear Fr. Delaney saying, "I want a chapel that reflects the God I love and the God who loves me." He used to always say, "God is open 24 hours a day."

Outside his anteroom there was a simple, poorly made poster that delivered the same message: "Nobody ever says no."

The man practiced what he preached. He never said no. He was my idol. If I had a tough decision to make, I would go see him. At 8 p.m., there would still be people waiting to see him in his office. Sometimes it would be 10 p.m. before I got my turn to see him and, at that late hour, Fr. Delaney willingly gave me as much time as I needed, even though he knew there were still three or four people waiting outside to see him. That was the Delaney I idolized. He always made time for everyone. Maybe that's why he died at a young age. (Fr. Delaney celebrated only one Mass in the UP Chapel, the Christmas Eve Mass. He died in 1956 at the age of 50.)

There are four National Artists represented in the chapel.

When I take my students to the UP chapel on Holy Thursday, they notice the altar in the middle and the open architecture, but what make their jaws drop are the 15 Stations of the Cross murals by Vicente Manansala. I ask them how come their eyes widen when you say Manansala. "Sir, he's a National Artist (visual arts)," they say.

These are bright boys (Mr. Pagsi teaches the first year high school honors class in the Ateneo). They know you cannot own an original Manansala without paying a huge amount of money. Well, I say, Manansala is not the only National Artist who is represented here. Look at the floor (mosaic mural called "The River of Life"). It is by Arturo Luz, National Artist for visual arts. Look at the roof. It is by Leandro Locsin, National Artist for architecture. Look at the cross, it is by Napoleon Abueva, National Artist for visual arts (so is the marble altar).

What is the lesson here? Each of these men was not a National Artist when he was asked by Fr. Delaney to work on this chapel. Each was an artist struggling to make a name for himself. Fr. Delaney could spot genius. He was able to bring out the best in people. The best, not the beast. And that's what makes a good leader, a good teacher, a good boss.

That's why in my talks, I always say, "Love your students to excellence. Love your employees to excellence. Love your children to excellence."

The Christ on the crucifix has disproportionate hands.

People who look at the crucifix may think there is something wrong with the hands of Jesus. As one of my students put it, the National Artist Napoleon Abueva doesn't know anatomy. But the UP Chapel crucifix is not a lesson in anatomy. It is a lesson in how God loves you.

I can just hear Fr. Delaney saying to Abueva, "Carve me a Christ who is not only man but is God. Go ahead, distort the hands. Extend the arms beyond beyond because that's how much God loves us."

And that's what the artist did. The hands are spread outward, open to all-the somebody and the nobody, the billionaire and the pauper, the virginal and the prostitute, the guy who has a PhD after his name and the guy who is unlettered. Tanggap ka kahit ano ka-babae, lalaki, bakla, tomboy-lahat kayo tanggap.

I ask myself as a teacher, do I have favorites among my students? If Christ was standing in this classroom instead of me, who would his favorites be?

One boy dares to answer my question, "Sir, the 3 Ls. The lost, the least and the last." The lost sheep-the prodigal son; the least-the poor, the deaf, yung leproso; the last-the worker who comes in on the 11th hour and gets paid the same pay.

We cannot choose the people who come into our lives, but we can choose
how to treat them.