Study Guide, Parting Thoughts,

and Culminating Activities for

Module 2
Diana Therese M. Veloso, Ph.D.
LCFAITH
De La Salle University
Readings to Focus on or Review
• De Mesa, Jose (1988). “Re-Thinking the Faith with
Indigenous Categories.” Inter-Religio 13: 18-29.
▫ Please focus on the sub-heading “A probing listening to
„kagandahang-loob’: a cultural analysis” (pp. 24-29; pp. 7-12 in
the PDF document)
▫ Note: This is uploaded in Modules 2A and 2B.
• Llana, Jazmin B. (2014). “Inaesthetics of Performance in the
Black Nazarene Procession.” DLSU Research Congress Paper.
▫ Note: This is uploaded in Module 2B.
• Brazal, Agnes & De Guzman, Emmanuel. “Faith as Personal
Trust”
▫ Please focus only on the evaluation of the fiducial model of faith.
▫ Note: This is uploaded in Module 2A.
Activities to Complete
• Module Worksheet No. 1 and 2—God Speaks
Amidst Suffering (to be completed individually)
• Independent viewing of videos (to be completed
individually)
• Reflection Questions on The Faith of the
Inarticulate—Set A and B (to be completed as a
group)
• “Faith Is Glad Tidings for the Melancholic”
Assignment (to be completed individually)
Key Points of Lectures on Suffering and
Faith
• Suffering is a mystery.
▫ The previous lectures illustrated the paradox of suffering in the
context of faith.
▫ Why is God seemingly silent amidst great personal and societal
sufferings? In Job‟s case: Why is God seemingly silent amidst the
suffering of the innocent?
 As Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez (1987) claimed, the question trains the
spotlight on who God is, and the gratuitous character of God's love.
 Jesus Christ Himself revealed the gratuitous character of God‟s love.
 "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden
these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes;
yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will" (Matt. 11:25-26).
• The mystery of suffering is related to the mystery of God.
 Part of God's mysterious ways can be seen in terms of how those who
are poor, marginalized, abandoned, orphaned, sick, and innocent
(e.g. children who are innocent—and also adults who are child-like?)
seem to be those who are especially chosen by God as those who are
acutely attuned to see God's gratuitous character.
Key Points of Previous Lectures (cont’d)
• Continued belief in the gratuitousness of God and God‟s
revelation of God‟s self to people
▫ Belief that God communicates with people all the time (including
in times of suffering)
• Filipino Theologian Jose de Mesa (1988) contextualizes the
gratuitous character of God's love into the vernacular: ang
pamamayani ng kagandahang-loob ng Diyos
 Difficulty in coming up with exact translation of the term
kagandahang loob due to the multiple meanings involved (see
notes below): “For kagandahang-loob does not only mean
goodness and benevolence; it is the goodness and benevolence that
arises from the very core of one‟s personhood” (De Mesa, 1988: 24;
italics supplied.
 In his article, De Mesa (1988) pointed out that the concept of
kagandahang loob is central to the faith experience:
“pagpapadama ng Diyos ng kanyang kagandahang loob (rough
translation: God making us experience [God‟s] gracious goodness;
see notes below)” (De Mesa, 1988: 27)
 De Mesa (1988), On Faith and
Kagandahang-loob ng Diyos
• Review: A key feature of de Mesa's work is the incorporation of loob
in describing how God reveals God‟s self to people
▫ Loob: an indigenous/local Filipino concept of the integrated or unified
moral compass that is located in the innermost part of the individual's
being.
• Interpreting God‟s revelation through the use of the term loob and thus
the concept of kagandahang-loob to articulate the faith experience in
the Philippine context
• Richness of notion of kagandahang-loob ng Diyos (as expressed in the
vernacular
▫ “It is the very depths of [God‟s] Godhood —designated as „beautiful‟ or
eminently good—which we experience. God, as it were, does not merely
share something peripheral to [God‟s] self. What is communicated comes
from the core of God‟s goodness” (De Mesa, 1988, p. 27)
▫ Using this concept, mative speakers of Filipino/Tagalog can comprehend
that when God “reveals” it is really God‟s gift of God‟s self.
 Belief that God is a giving God: God gives what God is in his innermost reality:
kagandahang-loob
Review: De Mesa (1988), Kagandahang-loob ng
Diyos as part of the Fiducial Model of Faith
• De Mesa (1988) explains this faith as pagsasaloob ng kagandahang-loob
ng Diyos which can be translated in English as “interiorizing or making part
of one‟s core of personhood God‟s gracious goodness” or “interiorizing or
making part of one‟s self God‟s very nature.”
▫ Loob (inner self) is a central concept in Filipino anthropology; aside
from pertaining to the inner self, it also refers to: the relational will; and
the heart or font of affection and disposition, feelings, attitudes, thought,
decision, and responsibility.
 One‟s loob is inseparable from the person and his/her relations with others.
 A person of good character is said to possess magandang loob (beautiful
inner self), while a person of bad character has masamang loob (bad
inner self) or is described as “pangit ang loob (ugly inner self)”.
• God‟s loob (kalooban ng Diyos) is characterized by gracious goodness.
Faith is interiorizing this gracious goodness.
▫ As the quality of one‟s loob is seen in one‟s relationships with others/outside
of oneself (labas), there is no dichotomy between the interior (loob) and
exterior (labas) life.
▫ It is believed that a Christian who has interiorized God‟s loob will manifest
this in the quality of his/her relations with others.
Implications for Faith and Belief in
God’s Presence Amidst Suffering
• The belief in God‟s
gratuitousness, kagandahang
loob, and revelation (De Mesa,
1988) impacts how people, out of
their faith conviction, see God in
times of suffering.
▫ Review: This reinforces the
image of God as a co-sufferer
(Soelle, 1975)
▫ This enables people to trust and
attest that God speaks, even
amidst suffering.
Individual Activity-The Silence of God
• Which things in your own life, and in the world,
sometimes make you feel as though God is
silent?

• Please complete Module Activity Worksheet No.

1- Silence of God
▫ Note: This was uploaded on Canvas; please refer
to Module 2B and the Assignments tab.
Individual Activity-God Speaks Amidst
Suffering
• Which things help you to have faith that God
does speak - to the world in general, and to you
as an individual?

• Please complete Module Activity Worksheet No.

2- God Speaks Amidst Suffering
▫ Note: This was uploaded on Canvas; please refer
to Module 2B and the Assignments tab.
The Faith of the Inarticulate
• Analysis of the demonstration/
performance of the piety of Filipino
people who have limited resources—or
even nothing, literally—to understand
the “faith of the inarticulate,” focusing
on the devotion to the Black Nazarene
as a case in point
▫ The peak of the devotion to the Black
Nazarene (Poong Hesus Nazareno or
Nazareno) in Quiapo happens on January
9 every year, when millions of devotees go
to Manila to join the Nazarene
procession, referred to as the Traslacion.
This event commemorates the transfer
(traslacion in Spanish) of the Black
Nazarene image in the mid-eighteenth
century from the walled city, Intramuros,
to one of the pueblos, Quiapo.
 Multiple, Conflicting Views on the
Devotion to the Black Nazarene
• Analysis of Dr. Jayeel Cornelio (2018, para. 2-3), who specializes in the sociology
of religion:
▫ “For some it is idolatrous. For others still it is mindless fanaticism. The privileged
think of it as hooliganism. In their view, its devotees, many of whom are urban
poor, destroy everything in their path.
Whatever they say, there's no denying that the Black Nazarene continues to attract
an increasing number of followers. Many will attest to its miraculous interventions.
Young people are also present, which means that devotion is passed from one
generation to another. ”
• View of Rina Jimenez-David (2012, cited in Llana, 2014; also cited in Calano,
2015), a journalist and columnist for Philippine Daily Inquirer:
▫ The devotion represents a “‘batya’t palu-palo spirituality‟ (washbasin and wooden
club)—a ritual for the uneducated and urban poor” (p. 167)
• View of Recah Trinidad, a journalist and sports columnist for Philippine Daily
Inquirer (cited in Calano, 2015), who allegedly participated in the procession:
▫ The devotion can be seen as a case of “„to-each-his [or her]-own spirituality‟ that
mirrors the image of a country that is confused… „either intoxicated with a pagan
faith or a raw experience of holiness‟” (p. 167)
• View of Jim Libiran, an independent filmmaker (cited in Calano, 2015):
▫ The devotion is framed as a “pagan sacred orgy for a Christian idol” (p. 167)
(See notes below)
Llana (2014), “Inaesthetics of Performance
in the Black Nazarene Procession”
• Application of the concept of inaesthetics, put forth by Alain
Badiou, a French philosopher (2005, cited in Llana, 2014), in
the analysis of a religious pilgrimage, particularly the Black
Nazarene procession
▫ Inaesthetics examines the relationship between art (including
performance) and philosophy. According to Badiou (2005, cited
in Llana, 2014), art is a performance in and of itself, and reveals
significant realities.
▫ This lens is used to analyze the performance of pilgrimage “as an
event where the people who have nothing come to be something,
where the subject appears from out of the „void of the situation‟--
appearance as subjectivation, but, also, being counted and
escaping the count.”
▫ The Traslacion pilgrimage was a performance and served as a
“„producer of truths‟” (Llana, 2014: 7).
(See notes below)
Performance of Piety and Negotiation of
Hierarchies in the Black Nazarene Procession
• The procession is organized, supervised, and policed by
the church and the state, but also serves as a venue for
people to express and display their piety (Llana, 2014).
▫ Stories of people about the miracles of the Nazareno in their
lives (e.g. healing of a sick relative, coping with financial
problems, or holding on, among other ways of on, persisting
in the midst of difficult times)
• The procession also illustrates the struggle (between
different social groups and hierarchies) for spaces and the
negotiation of the practice of sharing in the power of the
sacred.
▫ E.g. Conflicts/ clashes between authorities and devotees in
terms of the route followed during the procession and the
restrictions imposed
Performance of Piety and Negotiation of Hierarchies
in the Black Nazarene Procession (cont’d)
• The fluid, shifting boundaries between the
“sacred” and the “profane” are evident in the
Black Nazarene procession (David, 2013,
cited in Llana, 2014; see notes below)
▫ The fine line between the “sacred” and the
“profane” is evident in the practice of people
pushing each other to get close to the Black
Nazarene for the rare opportunity to wipe the
statue with their shirts or to touch the platform
that supported it. This is also evident in the
garbage left behind after the procession.
• The procession as an example of folk
Catholicism and split-level Christianity
(Bulatao, 1966, cited in Llana, 2014)
▫ Integration of precolonial religious traditions
and Catholic/ Christian practices and rituals
 E.g. wiping, touching, kissing, embracing
statues as an act of devotion
 Cultural dimensions of one‟s faith-based
traditions and practices
Reflection Questions on The Faith of
the Inarticulate—Set A
Please answer the following questions in one paragraph each
(4-8 sentences, single-spaced):
1. Do you agree with any of the views expressed by the
sociologist, journalist, and filmmaker (see Slide 12)
regarding people‟s devotion to the Black Nazarene? Why or
why not?
2. Aside from the devotion to the Black Nazarene, what other
expressions of faith are unique to Philippine culture? Give
two concrete examples. How do the examples you gave in
Question 2 fit with folk Catholicism or split-level
Christianity (see Slide 15)? Justify your answer.
3. Give one recommendation to promote respect for religious
devotions that are categorized under folk Catholicism or
split-level Christianity (see Slide 15).
Videos to Watch
Please watch the following videos independently:
▫ Traslacion 2020: The Black Nazarene Feast of the
Philippines
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq03tw9grlc&f
eature=youtu.be&t=45
▫ The Sad Reality of the Philippine Health Care
System (and implications for the faith and piety of
the marginalized)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnL7eGgssZE
Reflection Questions on The Faith of
the Inarticulate—Set B
Please answer the following questions in one paragraph each
(4-8 sentences, single-spaced):
1. Based on your answer to Set A, Question 1: If you do not
agree with any of the views expressed on people‟s devotion
to the Black Nazarene, what do you think is happening
during the procession, based on the video you watched?
Justify your answer.
2. Whom do you think is/are mostly drawn to the devotion to
the Black Nazarene? What makes you think that these are
the demographics of the devotees? Justify your answer(s).
3. Based on the documentary film on the state Philippine
health care, how do marginalized people (the sick and the
poor) manifest their faith in God? What insights can be
drawn from their performances of piety or devotion?
 Review: Parting Thoughts-- Evaluating
the Fideist/Fiducial Model of Faith
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the fiducial or fideist model of faith?
Strengths Weaknesses
• It gives importance to human
experience as the site, locus, or setting • The fiducial model holds or
of God‟s revelation and communication implies a very negative view of
with us.
the person and his/her
• It fosters a strong prayer or devotional
life among those who embrace this capacity to know the truth
model, who are characterized by a through his/her reason.
strong faith in the face of adversities.
• It encourages personal transformation • Adherents of this model can be
and the development of good passive regarding social issues,
interpersonal relations with others
• It is sympathetic to popular or folk as the focus is on the religious
religiosity. It is/can be open to the experience of the individual.
religious experience of those from non-
Christian religions.
“Faith as Glad Tidings for the
Melancholic” Assignment
Please read the write-up containing the views expressed by Fr.
Gutierrez, Kierkegaard, and De Mesa and the teachings of
Christ. This can be found in the page pertaining to the
assignment (see the Assignments tab and Module 2B):

Answer the following questions in at least 4-8 sentences per

question, single-spaced:
1. Was there an instance in your young life that you took a
leap of faith? Describe the incident briefly (Note: You are
free to incorporate your answer in the discussion thread).
2. What is your view of faith? Is faith to you, glad tidings for
the melancholic?
3. Illustrate/draw your idea of faith. Briefly explain your
artwork.