Message from the OUDAA Director

Persons for Others

Fr Norberto "Kit" Bautista SJ

I came across “Men for Others” (MFO) when I was in college in the late 70s and early 80s. Later I found out that these 3 big words came from the former Superior General of the Jesuits, Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, when he gave a talk to the Jesuit high school alumni in Europe in Valencia, Spain, in 1973, 50 years ago.

It was clear to me at that time that in order to be a true Atenean, I must be a “Man for Others” the Jesuit way.  No teacher directly taught it to me, at least as a concept, but the Ateneo gift of the spirit of service, especially for the poor, became a central part of my college life.  

In my first year, I joined the Ateneo Catechetical Instruction League (ACIL), the oldest and biggest club in school (we were over 100 then). I became active there until my fourth year, each week going to a public elementary school teaching catechism; each week joining a prayer session with my ACIL friends; and each day receiving the Most Holy Eucharist at the college chapel.

When I began to discern my Jesuit vocation in my second year, I shifted to the AB Philo. course knowing that it would be a good preparation for priesthood just in case. And so I chose the Jesuits as my Theology and Philosophy professors – Fr Ed Hontiveros SJ, Fr Tony Bautista SJ, Fr Roque Ferriols SJ, Fr Frank Reilly SJ, Fr Tom Green SJ, and Fr Tom O’Shaunessy SJ. However, there were plenty of Jesuit scholastics guiding us in our ACIL centers, too – Nemy Que SJ, Mon Bautista SJ, Tim Ofrasio SJ, Lennie Sumpaico SJ, Danny Isidro SJ, Denny Toledo SJ, and others. And our ACIL Moderator then was Fr Raul “Derps” Bonoan SJ, dean of the College of Arts and Science.  

And so, through my college years, I was lucky enough to get exposed to the various characters of Jesuits and their way of teaching, relating, and learning. I got attracted to them, and they became good role models for me to be a “Man for Others.”

First of all, the Jesuits and the Ateneo taught me how to deepen and widen my Faith life – a Faith that does Justice that renders service to the lowly poor. That was a central part of the equation in my religious discernment, and my ACIL involvement with the public school children helped me a lot to learn about this aspect of the Jesuit way of life.

Second, I was lucky enough to belong to a great bunch of friends, the ACIL community, who became my lifelong friends, truly friends-in-the-Lord, fun-loving yet serious in their spiritual and pastoral engagements.

And thirdly, there was Fr. Derps Bonoan, SJ, who was my spiritual director and guide, the one who influenced me to become a Jesuit like him. He led me through the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and taught me the Ignatian Discernment of Spirits. Even with his tight schedule, Derps would spend time with me at Sacred Heart Novitiate for some days of retreat.  Talk about cura personalis.

“MFO” was a big part of the culture then in Ateneo, the spirit that we breathed in and out of our classrooms. Life was simpler, and we were generally happy with our lives dreaming higher and higher still for the greater glory of God, even without the internet and our cell phones.

Over the years, times have changed. The signs of the times that we need to adapt to have become different – climate change, the cultural divide, social media, AI, issues on gender sensitivity and inclusivity, fewer and fewer Jesuit vocations, coed challenges, etc. Our MAGIS Aspirations in our 2030 Strategic Plans will address these issues.

Yet we want to believe that the spirit of Fr Arrupe’s “Persons for Others” remains strong and vibrantly alive in our hearts, especially among our young Ateneans.

I hope and pray that they would be as lucky as I was to complete an Ateneo education – that they have their own ACILs to begin with – to develop an intense love and service for the poor, to commit their Faith life that does Justice, to belong to a community of Friends-in-the-Lord that serve them a lifetime, and to enjoy the gentle, kind and freeing hand of a cura personalis of a Father Derps. I also pray that the Most Holy Eucharist and their Marian devotions become a central part of their lives and their families.      

God bless us all!