Fr. Jaun Ledesma, S.J. "Rest In Peace"

Fr. Johnny Ledesma, SJ
Anthony the Malaco
Nov 11, '07

Two years ago, I penned an article for the Windhover. The title of the article was One Hundred Years and Counting. It was the fruit of the interview I had with Fr. Johnny Ledesma, S.J. He was celebrating his 100th birthday. A few days ago, he just stopped counting. YOU GOT YOUR WISH. YOU DIED IN THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. May you forever enjoy the fruits of your faithful service in our Lord and Master. Rejoice, the Lord prepared a place for you there in heaven. One Hundred Years And CountingThere is something scary about the thought of ageing, about losing control of one's body, about relying on someone else for the most basic of things. But,

Father Juan Ledesma, SJ, who turned one hundred years old on September 5, 2005,
still says with gusto: "I am happy! I have no reason to be sad. I am
resigned to God's will. This is God's will for me!" This is the indomitable
spirit of this Jesuit centenarian - Johnny to those who love him and Lolo to
those who admire him.

When asked about his health, he claims, “I do not feel sick.” But adds, “Well, you see, I have defective eye sight. I have a cataract in my left eye. I have another eye sickness that I cannot remember.” Then, Beng, his caregiver blurts, “glaucoma.” “I have glaucoma and cataract,” Johnny exclaims. “I do not feel sick. I just cannot walk. My hips, my two hips are defective. I fell on two occasions. So, I cannot walk anymore. That is all I feel. I do not feel sick of the stomach or of the lungs or of the heart. I feel alright!” “How do I see God’s will in my life now?” Johnny mirrored back the question given to him. “How do I see? How do I see God’s will? What else! It is God’s providence who is taking care of me. We could not just dispose of our health just like that. We will get sick and we’ve got to get cured. But, I am resigned to God’s will! I cannot do otherwise.” Johnny was born on September 5, 1905 in Iloilo City. Five years later, his father brought him to the Hospicio de San Jose upon the probable recommendation of a certain Fr. Philip Finigan, S.J. “My mother died when I was an infant. I did not remember her face. I did not enjoy the caresses of a mother. I did not see her. I did not recognize her. I did not enjoy her kisses and loving. I do not recall seeing my mother.” Johnny was asked if he ever regretted it. He calmly replied, ““My father evidently could not take care of me. He was an American. He was a soldier. So, my father brought me to the Hospicio.” When asked about his feelings of being abandoned by his father, he said, “I do not know. I did not feel. I was not thinking. That was too long ago. That was too long ago, I am ninety nine. I went through life. I do not remember anymore details of my childhood.

I grew up in Hospicio. One time, I made a little visit to the Blessed
Sacrament. And, I remember this distinctly. I remember this. I was sad. I was
sorry. I did not have my father. You see. I was sorry. That was when I was ten
or maybe eleven. I do not know. I don’t remember ages.” Yet God dealt with
him in a very special way. “It is God’s way, you know. At this stage so far
away, I can not remember much. I don’t remember much. But what I remember is
this. When I was nineteen years old, I was walking down the corridor. I met Fr.
Superior, Fr. Bill Allonga. He had a great reputation. He was an administrator,
a Jesuit, a talented man. I told him, in a boyish manner: ‘I am getting old. I
am nineteen years old already today. You better take me in.’ I remember that
distinctly. He wanted to take me in. Then, I was examined by four fathers. I was
examined. Then, I passed. I was admitted. That is all.”

Fr. Ledesma has been a Jesuit for the past eighty-one years; sixty-nine as a priest. But, “you know I suffer from amnesia. I think I have amnesia. I do not remember anymore the details. I do not know but what I remember distinctly is this. I studied in Woodstock and the Greg. I taught Dogmatic Theology. I did send several millions to help in the formation of young seminarians. I also wrote good and important books. My books are important - My Travel Companion, Life in Christ (both in English and Filipino), and the Tagalog New Testament. I am a saint-maker too! I do not know how I got connected with Guam. But I was asked to go there to do research on the life of San Vitores and Pedro Calungsod. There you are! I am a saint-maker because of the research I made.” I ask him a final question: “But Father Johnny, eighty-one years as a Jesuit and sixty-nine as a priest, what is it that you still pray for?”

“I always say in my prayer in the morning, ‘St. Joseph, pray for us! St. Joseph,
pray for us! St. Joseph, pray for us!’ When I make my visit to the Blessed
Sacrament, I say, ‘Jesus, Jose, Maria, haced que viva y muera, santa y ferverosa
en la Compania.

Jesus, Jose, Maria, asistidme en mi ultima agonia .’ (Receive me in your arms when I die.) ‘Grant that I may die in the Society. Grant that I may live and die a holy life in the Society,’ that has been my constant prayer.” I may not reach that age. But, dear Lord, grant me that grace too.

Link to original article (here)