surat ke-2 bulan Februari 2005

2) 1st Sunday of Lent, February 13, 2005

Monday, February 07, 2004. “Spirituality is the ways
one practices his/her interior and exterior life in a
process of journey of one’s wholeness life in the
mutual dynamic relationship with oneself, others and
the Ultimate Goal (God) toward an absolute truth and
perfection” (Denny Wahyudi).

This morning I went to LSTC bookstore to buy some
books I need for this spring semester studies at CTU
and borrowed one book from CTU’s library. Today is the
first day of the spring semester at CTU and I had
class of Spirituality for the New Millennium-S5310
(Seminar) and there were 13 students mostly D.Min
students with the professor Father Paul LaChance, OFM.
From 1 p.m. to 3.45 p.m. I had class of Anthony
Gittins, namely, Developments in Mission Theology with
21 students.

Tuesday, February 08, 2004. “Many who have experienced
loss, displacement, and suffering are already aware of
the new and deeper spirituality that moves within like
a hunger that must be fed” (Edwina Gateley)

This morning I had a theological reflection group
meeting at Norbertin House and at 11.30 I had an ethic
class of John Pawlikowski, namely, Spirituality,
Liturgy and the Quest for Justice that was attended by
12 students and took place at RZ208 (close to a
synagogue). Ignas took me to Alexian Brother’s
hospital at Elk Grove Village, 34 miles away from Hyde
Park and took 50 minutes to get there. I had an
appointment to have interview of summer CPE (Clinical
Pastoral Education) program at 3 p.m. There were three
persons who interviewed me for one hour, namely, James
Gullickson, Beth and Digna. We met in a room in which
they bombarded me with a lot of questions due on my
life, experience, family, study, ministry, etc. I
tried my best to answer their questions and I just
keep surrender to their decision whether they will
accept me or not and they will let me know during this
one week. This program is started June 6th till August
12th.

ASH Wednesday, February 09, 2004. “What is the most
important spiritual question of our time? My quick
response to such a big, wide-open questions settles on
big, wide-open words—words like life and death, the
holy or sacred, ultimacy, meaning, identity,
belonging, communion, community, diversity, justice
and peace, suffering, order (cosmos) and disorder
(chaos), morality and ethics, creation and creativity,
faith, hope and love” (Patricia M. Fische).

I attended the class of Spirituality for the
Millennium at 11.30 a.m. then I kept stay at CTU
library to borrow some books for my study such as
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jesuit spirituality and Thomas
Merton. At 4.30 p.m. I attended the Ash Wednesday Mass
at CTU that was presided by a Japanese priest named
Naoki Morita from Kyoto diocese-Japan and Father Bob
Schreiter as the homilist. The liturgy was presented
by collaboration of Korean, Japanese, Chinese and
Vietnamese students with their rich cultural
heritages.

Thursday, February 10, 2004. “The new world order
called for must be based on the Earth and one another,
and on deepened commitment to value of peace, social
justice, economic well-being, respect for cultural
diversity and the integrity of creation, with the
democratic participation of all the world’s peoples”
(Patricia M. Fische).

I attended the class of Pawlikowski, Spirituality,
Liturgy and the Quest for Justice at 11.30 a.m. to
12.45 p.m. At 5.20 p.m. at our chapel there was a Mass
concelebrated by Father Rocco and attended by 40
people consisted of formators and students of three
congregations, namely, the Xaverian Missionaries, the
Combonian Missionaries and the Scalabrinians. It’s the
second time we gathered to celebrate Mass and a try to
know each other after the Combonians initiated and
hosted us last year in which Father Lupo and Father
Rino from the Xaverian General Direction also were
present while they’re visiting us here in Chicago. We
savored good food especially the staple menu
“Jambalaya” cooked by our rector, Father Rocco. The
event was ended by the hospitality among ourselves
till 9 p.m. At night I watched a videocassette
entitled “Bread for the Barrio” and a DVD entitled “A
Story of Cinderella”.

Friday, February 11, 2004. “What kind of spirituality
is needed for our time? One that is relational. A
spirituality that does not include a clear
relationship to God, to others, to the universe around
us, will ultimately not real or helpful” (Rembert G.
Weakland, OSB).

This morning we celebrated Mass at 7 a.m. and I shared
my reflection as I copy it here as I am typing this
weekly journal:

FASTING (Mat 9:14-15)
Perhaps we have experience hunger of food in our life
but perhaps we never have experience starving like our
brothers and sisters in places where there are not
enough food because of poverty. In our world, 500
million people exist on the edge of starvation. In the
film entitled “Bread for the Barrio” written and
produced by the Columban Fathers in 1990, Sister
Monica Lachcik in her mission among Peruvian people in
Peru saying, “I’ve never been hungry in my life. But
knowing and seeing the people when women have to go
crying from door to door saying, ‘Could I have some
milk or could I have a piece of bread,’ Looking at
their faces, knowing that you can’t do anything about
it, they are just begging. I think it just, it brings
to mind, you know, to your heart, the images you know,
it must be terrible to be hungry and not have enough
money to buy the things for your own children, it must
be a terrible, terrible suffering.” In the spiritual
life there is one argument that if we can re-direct
our thoughts about food and about drink then we are
‘in training’ for controlling other thoughts like sex,
things, anger and the like. Fasting-the middle
way-means to eat at designated times, to eat enough
but not too much, and to eat what’s given.
Jesus’ attitude on fasting is in accord with the
prophetic insistence on sincerity in religious
observances and also that his conviction of the close
connection between his own mission and the coming of
the kingdom of God left no time for attention to the
lesser details of pious practice. Jesus maintained, in
the same path as Isaiah (58:3-4) that fasting, like
any other expression of devotion, is something done to
the glory of God, not a means by which the admiration
of men is to be noted that fasting is not, in itself,
condemned. The emphasis is one that is consonant both
with prophetic teaching and with Jesus’ own sayings on
other subjects: God looks, not upon outward actions,
but upon the disposition of the heart. The worth of
fasting, as of any other act, lies in the devotion of
which it is the expression. Without such devotion it
is, of itself, meaningless.
The second saying of Jesus on fasting carries a
different emphasis. Just as the Lord’s Prayer was the
result of a request that he, like other religious
teachers, give his disciples direction in prayer, this
saying resulted from a request that he, like other
teachers, give his disciples some rule on fasting. In
line with the note struck in the saying now preserved
in the Matthean Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refused to
lay down any specific regulation on the nature or
frequency of fasting for his disciples. The reason
given for this is that the way in which the kingdom of
God is breaking through into human history in his
presence and ministry leaves room only for joy and
thankfulness. There is no time for concentration on
lesser things. Though the latter part of this saying,
the assertion that the time for fasting will come when
the bridegroom is gone, may have been added under the
influence of Jesus’ death, its presence in the gospels
was undoubtedly influential in the rise of the
tradition of a pre-Easter fast in the Christian
community. Probable Jesus did keep such fasts as the
one connected with the Day of Atonement. Jesus’
teaching on fasting is in line with the prophetic
tradition and with his own eschatological outlook.
No doubt that fasting did soon come to be regarded by
the Christians as a commendable pious practice.
Literature of the sub-apostolic age indicates that the
pre-Easter and pre-baptismal fasts came early to be
widely practiced, and Christians could be exhorted,
like Jews, to fast twice in the week, on Wednesdays
and Fridays, however, instead of Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, in her book entitled Tools
Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life suggests two
kinds of fasting that are rarely recommended: one is
water purification fast. This fast is done by taking
only water and no food for one to three days. This
kind of fasting can be addictive because a ‘high’
kicks in and our hunger subsides. Protestors often do
this for one cause or another. The other kind of
fasting is to go on a prescribed fast, eating only
what is directed by a meditation teacher. These two
kinds of fasting, water purification fast and a
prescribed fast, are not recommended unless we have
great confidence in our director. Willfulness can
trick us into using fasting as a means to pride. Even
when we fast for a good cause, we should carefully
examine our motives because tricks of the ego can
easily get mixed in with the austerities. The means
rub out merit or the desired end.
It is enough to do a consistent daily fast of the
middle way except when it is time to feast or to offer
hospitality. When food, for whatever reason, takes
center stage it often sets the seeker inward toward
self rather than further along on the spiritual
journey. We may find an enormous temptation to become
‘food conscious’ rather than to surrender to the more
desirable Christ consciousness. If fasting became a
tool for our lifetime, our bodies would be tuned up
for further work of the mind. The practice of fasting:
1. Eat enough at each meal: not too much and not too
little.
2. Eat the level of nutrition that gives the energy
necessary for your work.
3. Eat at specified times. Refrain from eating between
meals.
Exceptions to the practice:
1. Hospitality: the guest is God so provide food for
them and accompany them in a shared meal.
2. Feasting: on days of celebration in the larger
community eat and drink more. Richer food should be
served and enjoyed. An extra time is often inserted
for appetizers, a snack, high tea, wine, or a dessert
of rich quality. All this plenty marks the day with
abundance and grace.
Do we practice this fasting tradition especially in
the Lenten season? How do we put into practice
three-dimensional spiritual tools, namely,
prayer-fasting-almsgiving both in our personal and
community life toward daily conversion and
contributing charity and justice to the needy?

In the afternoon, I headed to my ministry site, David
Darst Center, a retreat house by CTA since there is a
weekend retreat. This time the retreatans are from
Benet Academy (Saint Benedict High School at
Naperville, Chicago). There are 6 girls (all juniors)
and one lady teacher. In the evening we headed to
Lakeview shelter house (homeless place only for men).
There was another group from Parker School doing
service, sharing food for supper for homeless people
so we just hanging out with them and having supper
together. One teacher of the Parker school approached
and told me that he’s in Indonesia 30 years ago,
teaching English in Bogor, West Java. I was wondered
how he knew that I am an Indonesian, then I thought
that most likely he saw my black jacket that was
written: “Serikat Misionaris Xaverian Indonesia.” We
went back to the retreat house at 10.30 p.m. and we
prayed night prayer with Taize songs.

Saturday, February 12, 2005. “The charism of every
religious congregation, it should be clear, is not
for the members themselves but for the whole church”
(Rembert G. Weakland).

In the morning we went to San Miguel School to help
tutoring children on math and reading course. I did
once to one 5th grader Afro-American boy and it
reminded me my math subject in my elementary school.
In the evening at 5.30 we walked to Chinatown to have
supper at a restaurant till 9 p.m.

Sunday, February 13, 2005. “Mission is God’s job
description, describing ‘both what God does and who
God is,’ and Christians engage in mission not by doing
this or that particular kind of work or going to this
or that place, but by being conformed ‘to the mission
and ministry of Jesus which is the extension of the
‘missio Dei’, the mission of God” (Anthony Gittins).

This morning all of us went to Saint Therese Church to
attend Mass at 9.30 presided by Father Michael. While
it’s raining we continued to visit ‘SU CASA’ a house
for Latin American refugees and have lunch together
with some homeless people mostly Afro-Americans at its
soup kitchen. A Christian Brother that is the founder
of this house named Dennis, guided us to know about
this old house that is used to be of a Franciscan
monastery in the past. One volunteer of the soup
kitchen is a Maryknoll seminarian named James who was
my classmate at CTU last year. At 1 p.m. we went back
to the retreat house and the retreatans were doing
reflection and closing prayer. At 3 p.m. Sister Paula
gave me a ride to go home at Hyde Park. It’s the
second retreat of this month, February and I will have
next weekend retreat in the first weekend of March and
March is the full booked time of retreat because it is
already scheduled three weekends consecutively from
various groups of other states such as Iowa, Nebraska,
and Texas.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY to all of you, 14 February 2005.

2) Hari Minggu Masa Pra-Paskah ke-1, 13 Februari 2005

Senin, 07 Februari 2004. “Spiritualitas adalah
cara/jalan seseorang menjalankan praktik kehidupan
interior dan eksterior dalam suatu proses perjalanan
dari keseluruhan hidup seseorang dalam relasi dinamis
dengan diri sendiri, sesama/lingkungan dan Tujuan
Pokok (ALLAH) menuju suatu kebenaran dan kesempurnaan
yang mutlak” (Denny Wahyudi).

Pagi ini saya pergi ke toko buku LSTC untuk membeli
buku yang saya perlukan dalam studi saya di semester
musim semi di CTU. Hari ini adalah hari pertama kuliah
di musim semi di CTU (hingga berakhir 21 Mei 2005
nanti) dan saya mengikuti kuliah yang berjudul
Spiritualitas Untuk Milenium Baru (S-5310) berupa
seminar dan ada sekitar 13 mahasiswa yang kebanyakan
adalah mahasiswa program D.Min dengan dosennya Pastor
Paul LaChance, OFM. Dari pukul 1 siang hingga 3.45
sore saya mengikuti kuliah Anthony Gittins, yaitu,
Perkembangan dalam Teologi Misi dengan dihadiri 21
mahasiswa.

Selasa, 08 Februari 2004. “Banyak yang telah mengalami
kehilangan, pemindahan dan penderitaan, telah
menyadari akan spiritualitas yang baru dan lebih
mendalam yang bergerak di dalam seperti seorang lapar
yang harus diberi makan” (Edwina Gateley)

Pagi ini saya mengikuti kuliah sebuah kelas refleksi
teologi dengan kelompok yang sama tahun lalu di rumah
tarekat Norbertin dan pukul 11.30 saya mengikuti
kuliah etika dengan dosen Pastor John Pawlikowski,
yaitu Spiritualitas, Liturgi dan Pertanyaan akan
Keadilan yang dihadiri oleh 12 mahasiswa dan mengambil
tempat kuliah di RZ208 (dekat sinagog). Ignas
mengantarku ke Rumah Sakit Alexian Brother di Elk
Grove Village, 34 mil jauhnya dari Hyde Park di mana
kami tinggal dan memakan waktu sekitar 50 menit. Saya
mempuyai janji wawancara untuk program musim panas
nanti dalam rangka CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education)
untuk kuliah Ministry Practicum II, pukul 3 siang. Ada
tiga orang yang mewawancarai saya yang berlangsung
selama satu jam, yaitu James Gullickson, Beth dan
Digna. Kami bertemu di sebuah ruangan di mana mereka
membobardir saya dengan banyak pertanyaan tentang
banyak berkenaan dengan kehidupan saya, keluarga,
kerasulan, studi, dsb. Saya berusaha dengan sebaik
mungkin menjawab pertanyaan mereka dan saya hanya
berserah pada keputusan mereka apakah menerima saya
atau tidak dan mereka akan memberitahu dalam waktu
satu minggu ini. Program ini akan dimulai dari tanggal
6 Juni hingga 12 Agustus.

Rabu ABU, 09 Februari 2004. “Apa yang menjadi
pertanyaan rohani yang paling penting dalam zaman kita
saat ini? Jawaban cepat saya adalah semacam sesuatu
yang besar, pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang terbuka lebar
yang terdapat dalam kata-kata yang
terbuka-lebar—kata-kata seperti kehidupan dan
kematian, yang kudus atau sakral, hal yang pokok,
makna, identitas, rasa memiliki, komuni, komunitas,
keberagaman, keadilan dan damai, penderitaan, tata
keberaturan (kosmos) dan ketidak beraturan (chaos),
moralitas dan etika, ciptaan dan kreatifitas, iman,
harapan dan kasih” (Patricia M. Fische).

Saya mengikuti kuliah Spirtualitas untuk Milenium Baru
pukul 11.30 lalu tetap tinggal di perpustakaan CTU
untuk meminjam beberapa buku yang saya perlukan dalam
kuliah seperti Dietrich Bonhoeffer, spiritualitas
Jesuit dan Thomas Merton. Pukul 4.30 sore saya
mengikuti misa Rabu Abu di CTU yang dipimpin oleh
seorang pastor muda asal Jepang bernama Naoki Morita
dari keuskupan Kyoto-Jepang dan Pastor Bob Schreiter
yang memberikan homili. Liturgi misa ini
dipersembahkan dengan kerjasama para mahasiswa asal
Korea, Jepang, Cina dan Vietnam dengan kekayaan
warisan budaya mereka.

Kamis, 10 Februari 2004. “Tata dunia baru yang
diharapkan harus berdasarkan pada Bumi dan satu sama
lain, dan memperdalam komitmen untuk menghargai
kedamaian, keadilan sosial, kesejatheraan ekonomi,
penghargaan akan keanekaragaman budaya dan keutuhan
ciptaan, dengan partisipasi demokratik dari seluruh
penduduk dunia” (Patricia M. Fische).

Saya mengikuti kuliah Pawlikowski, yaitu
Spiritualitas, Liturgi dan Pertanyaan untuk Keadilan
pukul 11.30 hingga 12.45. Pukul 5.20 di kapel kami ada
misa yang dipimpin oleh Pastor Rocco dan dihadiri
sekitar 40 orang yang terdiri dari para formator dan
para frater dari tiga tarekat religius yaitu Xaverian,
Combonian dan Scalabrinian. Ini adalah kali keduanya
kami berkumpul untuk merayakan misa dan suatu usaha
untuk mengenal satu sama lain setelah Combonian
memulainya dan menjadi tuan rumah tahun lalu di mana
Pastor Lupo dan Pastor Rino dari Direksi Jenderal
Xaverian juga hadir saat mereka mengunjungi kami di
Chicago ini. Kami menikmati makanan yang lezat
khususnya menu utama “Jambalaya” yang dimasak oleh
rektor kami Pastor Rocco. Acara ini berakhir dengan
ramah tamah diantara kami sendiri hingga pukul 9
malam. Malam hari saya menonton sebuah kaset video
berjudul “Bread for the Barrio” dan sebuah DVD
berjudul “A Story of Cinderella”.

Jumat, 11 Februari 2004. “Spiritualias macam apakah
yang dibutuhkan dalam zaman kita ini? Adalah
spiritualitas yang bertalian/berhubungan. Suatu
spiritualitas yang tidak mencakup relasi yang jelas
dengan Allah, sesama, alam semesta pada akhirnya akan
tidak nyata atau berguna” (Rembert G. Weakland, OSB).

Pagi ini kami merayakan misa pukul 7 dan saya
mensharingkan renungan saya sebagaimana saya kutip dan
bagikan di sini saat saya mengetik jurnal mingguan ini
dengan judul: PUASA (Mat 9:14-15)…bdk. versi bahasa
Inggris di atas.

Di sore hari saya pergi ke rumah retret tempat
kerasulan saya yaitu David Darst Center karena ada
retret di akhir pekan ini. Kali ini para peserta
retret berasal dari

Di sore hari, saya pergi ke tempat kerasulan saya
yaitu David Darst Center, sebuah rumah retret dengan
naik bis dan kereta CTA karena akhir pekan ini ada
acara retret. Kali ini para peserta retret berasal
dari Benet Academy (SMA Katolik Santo Benedictus di
Naperville, Chicago). Ada 6 cewek yang adalah kelas
junior (setara kelas 10 atau kelas 2 SMA di Indonesia)
dan seorang ibu guru. Sore hari kami pergi menuju
sebuah rumah untuk para tuna wisma di Lakeview (rumah
penampungan untuk para tuna wisma pria, kebanyakan
adalah Afro-American). Ada satu kelompok lain yang
juga datang bersamaan di tempat ini untuk melakukan
pelayanan yaitu dari SMA Parker. Mereka melayani
dengan membagikan makan malam dan kami dari David
Darst ikut duduk bersama para homeless dan beramah
tamah bersama mereka serta menikmati makan malam,
Lasagna. Seorang guru dari Sekolah Parker ini
mendekati dan berkata pada saya bahwa ia pernah di
Indonesia 30 tahun lalu, mengajar bahasa Inggris di
IPB Bogor-Jawa Barat. Saya heran bagaimana pria ini
tahu kalau saya dari Indonesia, namun setelah saya
pikir pasti dia tahu dari jaket hitma saya yang
bertuliskan “Serikat Misionaris Xaverian Indonesia.”
Kami kembali ke rumah retret pukul 10.30 lalu berdoa
malam dengan lagu-lagu Taize dari CD.

Sabtu, 12 Februari 2004. “Karisma dari setiap
kongregasi, haruslah jelas, adalah bukan untuk anggota
mereka sendiri namun untuk seluruh Gereja” (Rembert G.
Weakland).

Pagi ini kami pergi ke sebuah SD Katolik yang adalah
milik Christian Brothers yaitu San Miguel School untuk
membantu pelajaran les untuk anak-anak di bidang
matematika dan membaca. Saya mendampingi seorang anak
cowok Afro-American kelas 5 SD dalam bidang matematika
yang mengingatkan saya akan pelajaran matematika saya
di SD dulu. Sore hari kami pergi jalan-jalan ke
Chinatown lalu makan malam di sebuah restauran hingga
jam 9 malam.

Minggu, 13 Februari 2004. “Misi adalah deskripsi karya
Allah, menggambarkah ‘apa yang Allah kerjakan dan
siapakah Allah itu,’ dan orang Kristiani terlibat
dalam misi bukan dengan melakukan karya khusus ini
atau itu atau pun pergi ke tempat ini atau tempat itu,
namun dengan terlibat ‘dalam misi dan pelayanan Yesus
yang merupakan perwujudan/kelanjutan ‘missio Dei’,
misi Allah sendiri” (Anthony Gittins).

Pagi ini kami semua pergi ke Gereja Santa Theresia
untuk mengikuti misa pukul 9.30 dipimpin oleh Pastor
Michael. Sementara hujan, kami melanjutkan acara
retret kami dengan mengunjungi ‘SU CASA’ sebuah rumah
untuk para pengungsi dari negara-negara Amerika Latin
seperti Guatemala, Mexico dan makan bersama dengan
para tuna wisma kebanyakan adalah Afro-American di
dapur umum/soup kitchen dekat SU CASA ini. Seorang
bruder dari tarekat Christian Brother yang adalah
salah satu pendiri rumah untuk para pengungsi ini
memandu kami mengenal sejarah rumah tua ini yang
merupakan bekas biara Fransiskan tempo dulu. Seorang
volunteer di soup kitchen adalah seorang frater
Maryknoll bernama James, adalah teman sekelas saya
tahun lalu di CTU yang juga tahun kedua studi teologi
di CTU dan pertengahan tahun ini akan menjalankan OTP
di Jepang. Pukul satu siang kami kembali ke rumah
retret untuk melakukan refleksi dan evaluasi serta doa
penutup untuk retret ini. Pukul 3 sore Suster Paula
mengantarku pulang ke rumah di Hyde Park. Ini adalah
retreat akhir pekan yang kedua di bulan Februari ini
dan saya akan datang lagi ke tempat kerasulan saya ini
di awal bulan Maret dan bulan Maret nanti sudah
dipenuhi dengan jadwal retret tiga minggu
berturut-turut dari berbagai macam kelompok anak muda
dari berbagai negara bagian di USA ini seperti Iowa,
Nebraska, dan Texas.

SELAMAT HARI VALENTINE saya haturkan pada Anda
sekalian, 14 Februari 2005.

=====
“Only the good and rational person
is capable of true friendship,
for reason stirs up and nourishes friendship”
(Francis DeSales)

Alexander Denny Wahyudi, sx
Xaverian Missionaries
1347 East Hyde Park Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60615-2924
Phone 773 643 5745 Fax 773 643 6907
Website: www.xaviermissionaries.org