Fr. Joe Cruz, S. J.

I had a dream last night that I was with some of my college friends.  As I woke up, I don't know why my thoughts suddenly turned to one of my best professors during my time in college, Fr. Jose A. Cruz, S. J., who passed away some years back.  I enjoyed his Philosophy class very much, it was so much fun that it didn't seem like studying at all.  We were practically exchanging views on life (e.g. "Love cannot be defined, it can only be explained as a movement from a lower value to a higher value."), and he was very father-like (as in father & son, not father-priest) in guiding us students.  He was the only professor to have given me an "A" for a grade (i.e. "A question that cannot be answered is no question at all.")--not that I'm bragging, but he did, and I consider that as my best achievement in my college years.  He was the president of the Ateneo De Manila University during the tumultous years of martial law, and was heavily criticized by some faculty members, and even some priests, for discouraging students from participating in mass demonstrations and rallies against the Marcos dictatorship.  I was sure he had his reasons for doing so--student safety was paramount in his mind.  He was full of personal stories & anecdotes about his experience as a young seminarian during the war years--in fact he explained that the name of the so-called ESCOPA area between Loyola Heights and Blue Ridge Subdivision arose from the settlers comprising "E Signal Corps of the Philippine Army."  He was most humble.  When I met with him years years after I graduated, he was then the designated principal of the Grade School and was marvelled at his nonchalance at the seeming demotion (for a time he was even assigned to teach in the provinces).  He was all smiles when he explained to me that the Jesuit vows are designed to humble men--today you can be one of the most powerful priests in the order, and tomorrow, you can be flung into some quiet, obscure post, probably precisely because you could raise awareness levels and bring the obscure into the mainstream.  He told me that there was no organizational ladder to climb, there was only service in mind.  My last meetings with him was when we took out of town trips to inspect some prawn farms owned by other alumni--he was helping me out by introducing me to other businessmen in the agri field, as his belief was that the Philippines should strengthen its agricultural capabilities.

What a wonderful mentor, and a dear friend.  I miss you already.