ex pere

Towards the end of my earlier blog, Usapang Anting-anting, may nag-comment to the effect na yun daw mga anting-anting na galing Quiapo ay wala raw bisa. Dalawa singko lang daw ito. Mayroon ding mga nagsasabi na ang anting-anting daw kapag binili ay wala daw bisa kahit pa ito ay konsagrahan at debosyonan. Verum est? Totoo ba ito?

Madaling filosopohin ang ganitong assertions. Kung naniniwala tayo na ang kapangyarihan ng anting ay nanggagaling sa Deus na siyang inaalayan ng debosyon ng nagtatangan ng anting, this will bring about the following question. Ang Deus ba na tinatawagan ay titingin muna duon sa medalyon at pag nakita niyang galing Quiapo ay hindi ka na niya sasagutin? Napaka-sosyal namang Deus niyan! Pero hindi na nating kailangan na sa ganitong punto pa isipin ang bisa ng anting-anting.

Dahil Independence Day ngayon, maganda sigurong sariwain na nuong 1896 Philippine Revolution (against Spain), may isang Katipunero, si "Maestrong Sebio" o "Dimabunggo" (Eusebio Viola) ng Bulacan na gumagawa at nagbebenta(!) ng mga anting-anting na pang-cabal, a forerunner ng tinatawag nating "Subong Kristo" sa ngayon.

Sabi ni Reynaldo Galang sa Bakbakan site, "The Katipunan and the Revolution by Santiago V. Alvarez"
"Katipunero Eusebio Viola (alias Dimabunggo) , also known as Maestro Sebio, is one of the more colorful characters of the Philippine revolution against Spain. Accompanied by Felipe Estrella, the schoolmaster Viola was bandied about as possessing the mysterious and powerful gift of making a person invulnerable. Estrella claimed that an amulet blessed and awarded by Maestro Sebio could protect the recipient from all harm. The said amulet, when swallowed, would protect one against all sorts of enemy weapons for a whole week, it was claimed that one could be exposed to enemy fire and not a single bullet would touch the individual...

Maestro Sebio's "powerful" amulets were made of white round pieces of paper with inscriptions in latin. This "sacred" charm came in a variety of sizes, cut out by Estrella for Maestro Eusebio. Like a priest giving communion, the revered schoolteacher would bless the inscribed piece of paper and place the sacred talisman on the tongue of the communicant in a short but solemn ceremony. At the end of the ritual, Dimabunggo collected "donations" ranging from a few centavos to as much as a peso.

...Kakarong soon became a full-fledged revolutionary outpost with Maestro Sebio as its head and Felipe Estrella as his deputy and secretary. Kakarong soon became well known not only for its military strength and organization, but also for the bravery and daring of its citizens. Courage that was, without a doubt, reinforced by their belief in the magical powers of Dimabunggo's amulets and prayers. This was often demonstrated in fearless encounters with the Spaniards from whom they confiscated various weapons that they added to their growing armory."

Tanong: Alin ba ang nagbibigay bisa dito? Yung subo (anting-anting) o yung nagbigay ng anting-anting (si Dimabunggo) ? O iba pa?

Sa theology ay may dalawang prinsipyo na kung tawagin ay ex opere operato at ex opere operantis.

Sa ex opere operato ("effective on account of the work itself"), sinasabing ang may bisa ay yung bagay mismo, e.g. in our case yung subo, o yung anting-anting. Ginagamit ang terminolohiyang ito to refer to the sacraments, e.g. yung communion o pangtanggap ng ostiya.

Sa ex opere operantis ("effective on account of the one doing the work"), sinasabi na ang bisa ay depende sa pagka-banal ng nagbibigay nito. The effectivity of the sacrament depends on the holiness of the one administering it. Nagsimula ang pagiisip na ito from the 4th century Donatists na nagsabi na kung yung pari o ministro na nagbibigay ng sacramento ay isang makasalanan (is in a state of sin), wa-epek yung sacramento. Ang problema dito ay nakaligtaan nila na ... "the sacraments are effective independent of a minister's holiness because a perfect God is ultimately providing the sacramental grace, not the imperfect human minister."

Nevertheless, both ex opere... are in use today sa simbahang catholica. Sacraments (e.g. holy eucharist) are thought to be governed by ex opere operato, while sacramentals (aid to devotion that is not a sacrament, e.g. holy water (agua bendita), kandila, palaspas, the rosary) are thought to be governed by ex opere operantis. Ito ay dahil sa yung "sacramentals are not founded by God but by the church, and therefore do not convey grace".

Regarding yung common thinking na walang bisa ang anting-anting na binili. This came about from the earlier practice of simony, the practice of buying or selling Church benefits such as pardons or indulgences (after Simon Magus, isang magician who attempted to buy magical powers mula sa apostol San Pedro). Kung magkaminsan ay may mga maririning ka na comments to the effect na "ipinagbibili na ba ngayon ang Salita ng Diyos?" o dili kaya ay "ibinebenta na ba ngayon ang sa Diyos?". It is as if yung testamento o yung anting-anting mismo ay Diyos ang may gawa. Ang paggawa at pagbebenta ba ng Santa Biblia sa mga bookstores ay simonya? Ang paggawa at pagbebenta ba ng ating-ating ay simonya? The Words may have been God's but the artifact is man's. Walang relevance kung binili mo man ang anting mo o hindi sa magiging bisa nito. After all, alam naman natin na hindi yung pera ang pakain sa anting-anting :-)

Ire-rephrase ko ang tanong ko kanina. Alin ba ang operative principle sa anting-anting? ex opera operato ba o ex opera operantis? O iba pa?

Sa wikipedia...
"All sacraments must have proper matter, form, and intention. The form is the sacramental sign, the verbal and physical liturgical action, e.g. the "this is my body" spoken during communion. The matter is the part of the sacrament to which something is done, the physical objects, e.g. the waters of baptism (although not all physical objects used in administering a sacrament are considered essential matter). Intention means that the priest or minister must have the willful intention to do what the Church does (facere quod facit ecclesia). Note that a minister does not have to believe personally all that the Church believes for the sacraments to be valid; he simply has to intend to do what the Church does. This means that if a person pours water over your head, reciting the words spoken at baptism, but is doing so only to demonstrate how to baptize, that baptism is not valid. Also, a child who is pretending to baptize another child would not confer a valid baptism upon that child, because his intention is to play, not to baptize..."

Kung ia-apply natin ito sa anting-anting, ganito ang kalalabasan nito:
matter --> anting-anting
form --> konsagracion/debosyon
intent --> patungkol

Isang panghuling kuwento to muddy up the water more. Sa bansang Japan nuong panahon ng mga samurai, marami ang may dala ng tinatawag na omamori. Itong omamori ay isang maliit na silk bag (bulsikot) na pinaglalagyan ng amulet o talisman. May isang samurai daw na papunta sa laban ang humingi sa isang ermitanyo ng proteksiyon. Binigyan siya nuong ermitanyo ng omamori at ang tagubilin ay huwag na huwag bubuksan ito at dasalan sa tuwina. Dinala ito nung samurai, and true enough, kahit ilan pa ang nakalaban niya hindi siya nasusugatan (cabal!). Lumakas ang loob niya at sugod siya ng sugod kaya na-recognize ang kanyang valor and in a short time he was promoted to be a general. Bumalik siya sa ermitanyo upang magpasalamat duon sa binigay nito sa kanya na sobrang mabisa. Laking gulat niya ng buksan nuong matanda yung bulsikot at ipakita sa kanya ang laman nito -> mga butil lamang ng munggo.