DO WE have to die first before we can be called Saints? REALLY? I would like to say that we need not wait to die first before we can be called Saints. This is the case that Monsignor Victorino Rivas showed us.
On Wednesday, June 5, 2019, the people of God from the different dioceses of Negros Occidental gathered at the Cathedral of Kabankalan City to pay their last respect to Msgr. Victorino Rivas. The altar was surrounded by the priests and the benches were filled by family, friends and people whose lives were greatly touched and inspired by the man fondly called “Mons. Vic.”
After recalling my personal encounters with him, especially as one of my professors when I was doing my doctoral studies and the opportunity to travel to Taiwan for one week with him, I came to a conclusion that indeed he was a “living Saint.”
For the Catholics, we take note of how we spell the word saint. If you spell the word capitalizing the first letter, i.e. S, we refer to the person who died and had been officially canonized as a saint by the church (like Saint John Paul II, Saint Augustine, Saint John Baptist de la Salle, etc.). If we use the word beginning with a small letter “s”, then we are referring to the one’s who had been baptized called Christians and belonged to the Catholic church. It is REALLY important that we embrace this belief so that we can remind ourselves that by virtue of our Baptism we are all saints and so must live our lives as priests, prophets and servant kings.
As priests, we are supposed to make people, places, events and things holy. We are to sanctify this world by our words and actions. As prophets, we are supposed to both announce the good news (that we are forgiven and loved unconditionally by a merciful God) and denounce anything that is evil and may destroy our being holy. As servant kings, we are supposed to serve others most especially the poor, the lost, the last and the least.
It is my personal belief and conviction that if we truly and faithfully carry out those three-fold mission (i.e., priest, prophet and king) we can elevate ourselves from being saints to being Saints. That means, we need not wait for us to die first and be canonized before we can be called as Saints.
I would like to REALLY believe that this was the case of Mons Vic. Aside from being ordained as priest according to the line of Melchizedek, he truly and faithfully carried out Christ’s three-fold mission. That is why we can use the capital S when we call him a “living Saint”. Why not when he was still alive, he promoted holiness and sanctity not only of individuals but as a family. Why not when he was still alive, he announced the good news and denounced anything that is untrue and wrong (although he knew that some will misinterpret him and even attack him). Why not when he was still alive he served the people of God from all walks of life. His examples were clear proofs that we all can become Saints not only saints.
Like the rest, I wish to extend my gratitude to Mons Vic for showing us how to REALLY live an authentic Christian Catholic life. I pray that we may continue to practice what he had started. I pray that we may continue to follow his examples and be called the Living Saints of God here on earth as it is in heaven. We will miss you Mons Vic but we will let you go until we meet again. Please do intercede for all of us!