I arrived in the Philippines just a few months ago. As the season of Lent began, I realized that I wasn’t only entering a new country, I was also entering a deeper journey within myself. In the middle of the busy streets, the kind smiles of strangers, and the strong faith of the people here, I began to hear a voice. It wasn’t loud or commanding, but it touched me deeply. It was the voice of Jesus not ordering me, but begging. Those feelings came when I came to realize that the Begging Statue in front of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in Baclara, was Jesus.
The Begging Jesus.
Not the Jesus seated in glory, but the one wearing a dirty cloth as a beggar. He doesn’t ask me to be perfect. Instead, He begs for my time, my openness, and my willingness to care. He speaks not with loud words but with His wounds. Not with judgment, but with deep love. He begs me to see, not only those who are poor in material things, but also and especially those who are spiritually poor: the tired, the confused, the discouraged, and even the dry places in my soul.
This Lent helped me realize how easy it is to stay busy with good things studying, serving, planning for the future and yet slowly lose the heart of compassion. As a Jesuit scholastic still in formation, I am not yet a priest. I am still learning, still being shaped. But even now, Jesus is asking me to respond, not only in the future, but also today. He is not waiting for me to be ordained before I care deeply. He is begging me to let His love shape me now.
The voice of the Begging Jesus reminds me of the “Contemplation to Attain Love” in the Fourth Week of Spiritual Exercises, where St. Ignatius teaches that love is shown more in actions than in words. Jesus doesn’t just want me to admire Him or to talk about Him. He invites me to work with Him, to be close to the people who are suffering spiritually. As a scholastic, I am still being formed, but this Lenten season is forming me in a different way: a call to be present, to listen, and to allow God’s love to grow deeper in me.
Ignatian spirituality invites me to find God in all things. But this Lent, I am learning to find Him, especially in all people like the tired classmate, the confused youth, and the priest who is silently burdened. These are the spiritually poor whom Jesus is asking me not to ignore. It also makes me realize that I am also one of them.
How do I respond? Not in dramatic ways. But in small, daily choices. I respond when I pray, even when I don’t feel like it. When I take time to listen to a friend, when I stay faithful to my studies not just to pass exams but to prepare my heart for the mission. I respond by doing the examen, where Jesus gently shows me the places in my heart that need healing. I respond by being united with the poor and the needy in my prayer, not with answers, but with love.
Jesus is not begging for my success. He is begging for my sincerity. He doesn’t ask for strength, but for a heart willing to be like broken bread, ordinary but ready to be shared. Even as a scholastic, Jesus is calling me to be a small sign of His presence every day.
As I continue this Lenten journey in the Philippines, I carry the image of the Begging Jesus close to my heart. He kneels not to be pitied but to wake me up. And I pray that I never get used to walking past Him.
[By: Sch. Eugenio Maia da Cruz, SJ]