IN MEMORIAM

REV. FR. JOSÉ LAPID SAPLALA, MJ
of Santa Rita, Pampanga
27 August 1935—31 January 2004
Founding Member, Missionaries of Jesus

José Lapid Saplala uttered these words as the life in him ebbed: “By the grace of God, little by little, I began to understand the will of God. I began to understand what life is all about.” Peping or Manong Joe, as he was affectionately called, faithfully followed Jesus, the missionary, and increasingly, he understood that life’s mission is giving, serving, and being available to all.

Peping kept on celebrating life in the Father’s house. He always took his time, savoring every moment. He was at home wherever people sat down at mealtime, and was equally at ease with those who used fine china and with those who ate from banana leaves. He immensely enjoyed celebrating the Eucharist, raising ever so high the bread and the wine of life.

Peping, your family offered you to the mission of the Son. You aspired to be God’s eyes, hands, and heart—to become a true missionary. Interior peace came to you so naturally and compassion was your mark. You took pride in being a founding member of the Missionaries of Jesus, which you considered as the crown of your many years of committed service to peoples of other nations and your own people. Your legacy as the first-born son of the MJs is forever assured. For this, we bless you.

Peping, we thank the Holy Spirit for the light that you shared with all those whose lives you have touched. We thank you for speaking the truth and expressing your convictions openly and unflinchingly, thereby setting us free. May this light remain strong and may we learn to pass it on.

You bore the sufferings of these past months with courage and equanimity, telling us in so many ways that in life is death and in death is life transformed. In this, your last journey, may God embrace you as you have embraced us.

THERE IS THE MYSTERY OF THE INNER CALL, HARKENING TO THE MORE, THE OTHER, THE BEYOND …