Contempating the Beauty and Face of God: The Life of Mother Deolindis Luza, WCW
Mother Deolindis A. Luza (1927 - 2019) was indeed a woman of vision, genius and inspiration because in her lifetime, she was able to found three institutes of women and men religious: The Workers of Christ the Worker sisters founded in 1971, The brothers and priests of the Opifices Christi in 2002 and the nuns of the Servi Contemplativi Christi in 2009. Through her charism of unity and compassion, she lived fully the gift of her religious consecration and has worked laboriously for the coming of God’s kingdom here on earth in her almost 65 years as a professed religious before she was called to participate in the Master’s heavenly banquet in 2019.
The social, economic and political upheavals of the 60's and the 70s when Sr. Deolindis had lived and ministered as a Holy Spirit sister, and a new inspiration to be of further service to the poor and marginalized especially in the rural areas, placed Sr. Deolindis in a state of discernment to respond to a call within a call. Such response necessitated a certain openness of heart towards a more radical and concrete witnessing to the Gospel of Jesus. Animated by this new inspiration, she left her former congregation seeking God’s will in her life and with much faith, entrusted herself to God and began forming the Workers of Christ the Worker, a religious congregation whose charism was that of unity and of bringing the compassionate presence of Jesus to the faceless crowds, which for her were the farmers, fisher folks and the laborers of the rural areas.
Early Life
Mother Deolindis was born Emerita Arambulo Luza on September 22, 1927 in Sta. Cruz, Manila to parents who were jewelry merchants. She grew up in a life of affluence in the context of a very religious and Catholic family where she came to learn and experience love of God and neighbor and the concept of social justice at an early age through the example of her parents. Because her parents wanted to provide her good Catholic formation, she was sent for her basic education to the College of the Holy Spirit in Mendiola, Manila. She later enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas to pursue a Law degree.
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The College of the Holy Spirit where Emerita was
educated and later, spent some years as an SSpS sister |
After the death of her father, Emerita went on a pilgrimage to Europe, visiting pilgrimage sites such as Rome, Lourdes and Fatima. This soul-searching journey of faith made her see clearly what God intended her to do. God was calling her to religious life. Convinced of the authenticity of her call, she left her Law studies and found her self at the door of the Holy Spirit Sisters’ Convent to seek entrance to the congregation.
But her decision was not to be free of oppositions. Her mother, who was just recently widowed didn’t want to let her go so she could help out with the family business.
But later on, the mother conceded to what her daughter really desired that on June 10, 1951, Emerita left her comfortable and quite pampered life to be received to the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit congregation. Three years later, on May 9, 1954, she made her first profession of vows, receiving the religious name Sr. Deolindis, which means “God’s beauty.” She professed her final vows in 1960.
By God’s loving providence she had been enriched by the spirituality of St. Arnold Jansen - the Trinitarian spirituality of the Holy Triune God.
The Turning Point
In 1961, Sr. Deolindis came into contact with the Work of Mary, more popularly known as the Focolare Movement. She was so struck by the basic conviction the movement professed: There is only one choice in life, God. One has to commit to choose Him as life’s own ideal and concretizing such choice in seeking and loving God in all people. Without exception; the Gospel message has to be radically lived.
She then developed friendship with Chiara Lubich, Focalare’s foundress. Her writings and her actual contact with the movement greatly helped Sr. Deolindis discern God’s most holy will each present moment with Jesus in the midst. She became particularly attracted with how the prayer of Jesus: "That they may all be one" has animated the foundress and the movement to live the spirituality of unity and communion. .
In 1966, while in a seminar, Sr. Deolindis met Atty. Jeremias Montemayor, founder and president of the Federation of Free Farmers. This meeting opened her eyes to the plight of the poor who were most marginalized in rural areas. She desired to bring the love of God to them.
She came to realize that the radical living out of the gospel will put an end to the prevailing social problems and injustices of that era. Inspired by her involvement in the cause of the farmers, fishermen and other peoples in the rural areas, other sisters from different congregations soon joined her and they constituted the “Rural Missionaries”.
A Call within a Call
As she became more involved in rural communities, and the work increased, the need for more laborers in the rural vineyard became evident. Through the encouragement of Atty. Montemayor, Sr. Deolindis was able to see the necessity of founding a congregation of sisters that would be dedicated to the cause of the small farmers, in a spirit of solidarity with them, in order to live and concretize the social doctrine of the Church – a poor Church journeying with the poor by organizing communities of disciples and promoting servant-leadership thereby empowering rural communities towards fullness of life in Christ.
On the feast of the nativity of the Blessed Mother, on September 8, 1971, the Workers of Christ the Worker congregation was born.
Sr. Deolindis remained a Missionary Sister Servant of the Holy Spirit while the first community of WCW Sisters started their religious formation together in Urdaneta, Pangasinan. The Mother house was later established in Linmasangan, Binalonan, Pangasinan.
In 1976, Sr. Deolindis was officially released from her vows as a Missionary Sister Servant of the Holy Spirit thereby allowing her to transfer to the Workers of Christ the Worker so she could now function as the foundress and assume leadership as Superior General of the congregation. In 1985, the WCW sisters opened a mission station in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte to be followed by other communities in different parts of the country. The congregation later on responded to the call to send missionaries, ad gentes, and established missions in Libya, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Italy and Egypt.
Following Christ’s command: “Go and preach the Gospel to all creatures especially to the poor” the sisters go to the poor in the rural areas where most of our people live. The preaching of the Gospel is effected through witnessing, by a loving concern for the poor and addressing people’s actual needs both spiritual and temporal; always bearing in mind the congregation’s motto: “I have compassion on the crowd.” God’s love has gathered the sisters coming from different places into this religious family – the Workers of Christ the Worker.
Blossoming to a Religious Family
With much zeal burning in her heart, Mother Deolindis felt the inspiration to begin a male counterpart of the WCW sisters in 1980. Their motto: Desiderio Desideravi, taken from Luke 22:15 – “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” governed their way of life.
Aspirants came to be known as WCW Missionary Priests but Mother Deolindis decided to dissolve the foundation in 1989 because it has taken a direction different from the initial inspiration. In 2002, the community was revived with the return of Fr. Aaron Acorda Bamba and four other brothers and they formed the Opifices Christi (Workers of Christ).
Later in 2009, Mother Deolindis founded the Servi Contemplativi Christi (Contemplative Servants of Christ), contemplative sisters of her religious family, with the help of Sr. Josanne Luza Bautista, a Sister Servant of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.
Return to the Father
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| Tomb of Mother Deolindis, Binalon, Pangasinan |
After a long earthy sojourn, on September 16, 2019, Mother Deolindis returned to her Creator. She passed away in the congregation's mother house in Binalon, Pangasinan where she spent the last years of her life. She was buried on September 23, 2019 with Most Rev. Jacinto Jose of the Diocese of Urdaneta presiding over the Mass of the Resurrection. Con-celebrating with him are the two other bishops of Pangasinan: Most Rev. Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan and Most Rev. Ricardo Baccay of Alaminos. Representatives from various groups that played a significant role in her life like the Focolare Movement, the Missionary Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit, the Federation of Free Farmers, as well as her three religious communities with her family and friends were present to pay their last respects to Mother Deolindis.
Mother Deolindis is now indeed resting in God’s peace after many years of labor in the Master's vineyard. Mother Deolindis, whose name means "God's beauty" is already contemplating the most beautiful face of God, the one and only desire of her heart.
References:
A Life full of Surprises retrieve from https://newcityph.net/a-life-full-of-surprises/ on July 1, 2020.
Workers of Christ the Worker retrieved from https://jp1bc.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/diocese-of-urdaneta/ on July 3, 2020.
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