Broom, Dustpan & a Dictionary as Mass Offerings

by Fr. Stephen Cuyos, MSC
crossposted at www.stephencuyos.com

When was the last time you offered something at a Holy Mass? What was it? Like most people, you probably offered an amount of money. Have you ever considered offering something unique or special? And did you do it?

This afternoon, I concelebrated at a Mass in which a broom, a dustpan, and a dictionary, among other things, were presented as offerings. The main celebrant was Archbishop Carmelo Morelos of the Zamboanga archdiocese and the occasion was the Pinoy Family Festival held at the Fatima Shrine in Rome, Italy. The offertory was such a moving rite that many churchgoers were brought to tears.  

The offertorium song was not sung. Instead the organist played a soft melodious tune and, while two women marched solemnly to the altar holding a broom, a plastic dustpan, and an Italian-English dictionary, a middle-aged Filipina went to the lectern to read the following words:

Panginoon, naririto ang ilan sa mga instrumento na ginagamit namin sa pang-araw-araw naming gawain. Ang dictionary ang tumutulong sa amin na maunawaan ang mga salitang banyaga na di naming maintindihan. Sa aming paglilinis sa mga tahanan ng pamilyang pinaglilingkuran, ang walis at dustpan ang kadalasan ay siya naming kasangkapan sa paglilinis ng bahay at paligid. Panginoon, ipagkaloob mong ang karanasang ito ay maging daan ng aming paglapit sa Iyo na ang kababaang loob ay manatili sa aming mga puso na kahit kami bumalik sa sariling bayan, hindi kami magiging mga bagong panginoon na mang-aalipin sa aming mga kababayan.

Almost everyone in the assembly was a Filipino domestic helper working and residing in the Eternal City. And you can understand why these everyday things made them unreservedly emotional.  The broom, the dustpan, and the dictionary symbolized their everyday struggle and sacrifices, their source of income, their joys and pains – their very life. 

If you were a maid, the broom and the dustpan would be like extensions of your hand. Much of your time will be spent on cleaning the different corners of your master’s house. And if you’ve never been to Italy, it might be hard for you to imagine how long and how hard it is to clean an Italian casa. And if you’ve never tried to learn a new language, it might be also difficult for you to understand how long and how hard it is to speak a foreign tongue without being misunderstood or misinterpreted. An Italian-English Dictionary is a Filipino’s best friend here in the bel paese.

Life as a maid or nanny here in Italy is no bella vita. It is such a sad reality that while countless Filipinos tend to the comfort and convenience of the children of their Italian employers, they leave their own children and families in the care of others at home. Family separation and the eventual weakening of family relationships have been caused by forced migration. “Forced” in the sense that the unstable economic and political situation in the Philippines, lack of substantive employment, and pure poverty have left many Filipinos with no better choice but to leave their family and homeland to search for a better life.

Come to think of it, what choice do the migrant workers have? During my three-year stay here in Italy I have met many Filipino migrant workers who told me that if they stayed in the Philippines, yes, they would be close to their families but they would have no food on their table or couldn’t pay for their children’s schooling.  At least here they can earn a decent salary which they can send home to put food on their table and send their children to school, and hope to save enough money so they could go home someday and make up for the lost time with their family.

Although the Philippine government hails the migrant workers as “modern day heroes”, it cannot be denied that it is one of the causes of the problems. Instead of providing them job opportunities in the Philippines, the government encourages Filipinos to work overseas for the much-needed dollar remittances. Uplifting the Philippine economy by “forcing” more Filipinos to work abroad is catastrophic because it leaves more and more families broken.  Some migrant workers have been asking if all their sacrifices have been worth it.

There is no easy solution to such complicated problems as family separation, poverty and unemployment. Yet, like every Filipino migrant, I look forward to the day when migrating to a foreign land to work will simply be a choice but staying in the Philippines with loved ones will remain the best option.