DINUGUAN AND A LAY PREACHER

In the Philippines, the task of evangelization is often expected only from the members of the clergy, of the religious institutions and from trained catechists. Priests, religious brothers and sisters, with their catechists are perceived as those who solely has the responsibility of carrying-out the transmission of the faith. However, the Synod of Bishops speaks of the transmission as a responsibility that have to be attended by the whole Church.[1] It is not an obligation given only to a few. It is a vocation to which all members of the Church are called to respond. Thus, the laity, the more numerous members of the Church, are called to the same vocation, are given the task of evangelization too. This call to proclaim Christ’s message springs forth from the fact that all baptized share to the teaching office of Christ. Thus a public school teacher can spread the Word of God in her classroom, in an appropriate and acceptable way. A farmer in a far-flung barrio can glorify the Lord as he ploughs the fields. They are called to bring Jesus Christ in their workplace so that more and more the world can be configured in the image of Jesus Christ. The task of evangelization is very much related with the vocation and life of the laity. It is not an accessory that is added to their identity but rather an essential component of their esse, being part of the mystical body of Christ, the Church.  

 How can the laity evangelized? How can they bring Jesus Christ in their offices, and workplace? Let me share my experience of lay evangelization.     

My ima (Kampampangan for mother) is a cook with some sophistications and taste. She can prepare any Kapampangan food with distinct Tarlaqueño twist. And through the food she prepares, she finds a way to evangelize.

One summer morning, while I was in a home vacation, I had a chance to help my ima in preparing our lunch. She thought of cooking one of my favourite dishes; tid-tad (Fil: dinuguan, Eng: pork blood stew or blood pudding stew). While she was boiling the pork intestines, I was mincing carefully the garlics, onions and gingers. She told some notable stories from the school where she teaches; perennially problematic students, low grades for some, exceptional performance for others.

As she sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger she remember an experience she had with her co-teacher who happened to be a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). She was Ms. Jo. Once my ima brought tid-tad in her school as her lunch. She intended to share it to her co-teachers including to Ms. Jo. When the dish of tid-tad was pass to Ms. Jo, she did not dare to even touch the dish saying it is forbidden by the INC that their members eat tid-tad, to take and eat blood. Bombarding my ima with INC’s set of biblical quotations, Ms. Jo defended their stand going beyond tid-tad, going as far as the issue of Christ’s divinity.

While the pork intestines simmered in the pork blood, my ima asked me how my studies can defend our Catholic faith from INC’s false teachings. How does my theological and philosophical formation explain to Ms. Jo about the truth of Christ’s divinity? I tried my best to explain to ima about the Trinitarian doctrine of our Catholic faith, of the three divine persons in one divine nature. I found myself looking for appropriate words to describe and simplify this doctrine. However, I thought ima grew bored about my explanation.

As she served the hot tid-tad to me, she told how she had explain the divinity of Christ to Ms. Jo. She only asked Ms. Jo one question. “Anong itsura ng Diyos ninyo kapag nagdarasal kayo?” For a moment, I was quiet. I was silence by the succinct explanation my ima thought. The mind always demands for a “visible” image of anything and anyone we think about. Is not incarnation about God becoming visible, for us to know Him, for us to be able to pray to Him, for us to be able to love Him, for us to be restored in His image and likeness? I said to ima, “That is the best practical answer.” But I quietly told myself “That is the best answer I heard.”

The lay people has a lot of things to share in the task of evangelization. They have a lot of stories to tell in their experience of Jesus Christ in the ordinariness of their lives. Simple and banal stories we badly need to communicate the great message of love of God to the common man, to the hoi polio. The transmission of faith today need not be of theological jargons and verbiages that only few could understand. The order of the day is to present an experienced faith, the experienced Jesus, the Jesus encountered in concrete human experiences. Such can evangelization be today. The laity has an overabundance of encounter with Jesus. They too have to take the task of evangelization. They too have to transmit the faith they have received, one that had fructify through their mundane experiences. They too have to be evangelizers, after all they too have been evangelized, one way or another.            

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[1] XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, The New Evangelization for the Transmission of Christian Faith Instrumentum Laboris (Vatican City: 2012) 105. 

TO PRAY IS TO REST

In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us about the importance of rest, of taking a break from a long and tedious work. Such is a very human gesture coming from Jesus, the God made man. However, by virtue of being God, Jesus reveals the divine dimension of rest, that is rest as a prayer, more so prayer as a rest.

For us working all day long, having something to be busy at, surely there is a moment of the day we thought of resting, of letting our tire bodies to lay on our beds and take a one good nap. Why not? Taking a rest for a while is good, as long as it is not to the detriment of the task entrusted to us.

Rest allows us to pose for a while, to catch our breath we lost in the rat race, to see the output of our work so far. Rest gives our efforts time to grow, to develop, to ferment. Rest permits the dust and dirt to settle down, allowing us to see the picture clearly. Rest gives us the chance to assess how far we have gone in our journey, how much we have progress. Rest enables us to direct or re-direct the route of journey, or simply continue to whatever we have started.

How should we rest? How should we recharge from a taxing labor here on earth?

Jesus teaches us to pray us we rest, to pray to the Father as we move away from our busy, messy desk, to talk to the Father how much we have progress I our work, all the more, how much we have failed Him. Jesus shows to us that as we take a rest, moving away from the crowd of our worlds, there exist a space for us in the Father’s heart. We can rest on his bosom, on His lap, in His presence. We can bring everything to Him; our achievement and failures, our good deeds and sins. And be assured He will heal whatever is wounded. He will strengthen whatever is weak. He will recover whatever is lost along our journey.

Jesus tells us that to rest is not merely to eat and sleep, to comfort our aching bodies, to rest from our stressful work, from our apostolate. We are more than our body. We have souls. Thus, Jesus tells us that to rest is to seek comfort from the Father for our souls that have grown weary due to sins. Such rest we can rightly call prayer. Yes, we can spend our rest by praying. By saying short prayers we can comfort ourselves in a very tense situation. When pride looms around say ‘Lord, humble me.’ When we realize we sin say ‘Lord, have mercy on me.’ When we are tempted to commit sin, say, ‘Lord, be with me.’

To rest our bodies from our hectic day-to-day schedule is good. It can energize us and direct our work to their completion. To rest our souls, for a while, from our earthly journey is necessary. To rest our souls in the presence of the Father, just like Jesus did when He prayed, is the best way to rest. Rest now!  

'DI CHEAP ANG KABANALAN, LALONG DI CHEAP ANG KATOTOHANAN

 Inihabilin tayo ni Kristo Hesus sa mapagkalingang kamay ng Diyos Ama. Isa sa mga paraang kanyang binanggit, upang tayo ay lubusang maangkin ng Ama, ay ang pagpapabanal sa atin sa pamamagitan ng Katotohanan (Juan 17:17). Ang pagkalinga ng Ama, kung gayon, ay napapaloob sa kabanalan at katotohanan. Ngunit ano nga ba ang totoo? Ano ang ba ang banal? Paano maging totoo? Paano maging banal?

Sa kasalukuyan, napakaraming ibinibentang produkto sa mercado. Merong pampaputi, pampakinis, pampapula, pampapayat, pampataba, nagbenbenta ng laman, aliwa, panandaliang ligaya at marami pang iba. Ngunit may nabalitaan ka nabang nagbebenta ng pampabanal? O di kaya tableta na sa punto lunukin mo ito ay magsasabi at mamumuhay ka na sa katotohanan? Wala. Walang nagbebenta ng pampabanal o tabletang kung saan ikaw ay magpapakatotoo. Wala kasing market ang kabanalan at katotohan. Kung meron man eh kakaunti ang magnanais bumili ng kabanalan at katotohanan.

Sa kabilang banda, si Kristo Hesus ay di nagbenta o naglako ng katotohanan at kabanalan. Ito ay kanyang ibinahagi at ibinabahagi sa tuwina, sa Eukaristiya, sa pagpapahayag ng Salita ng Diyos, at sa turo ng Inang Simbahan. Ibinibigay ni Kristo ang Kabanalan at katotohanan. Ngunit hindi ibig sabihin na libre ito. Hindi Cheap ang Kabanalan. Hindi Cheap ang katotohanan. Naririyan ang kabanalan at katotohanan ibignibigay ni Kristo. Kailangan pagsumikapan mong angkinin ito at isabuhay.     

Napakahirap maging banal. Napakahirap maging totoo. Ngunit posible ito. Binigyan tayo ni Santo Tomas de Aquino ng halimbawa.  Sa kanyang buhay ating masasalamin ang higit na hirap na kanyang dinanas upang maging banal at totoo, ang paghihirap na maangkin at maisarili ang dakilang bigay ni Kristo. Maraming kwento na tayong narining patungkol sa kanyang buhay. Nariyan na ang mga kwento patungkol sa mga salawahang babae na sadyang inilagay ng kanyang kapatid sa kastilyong nagsilbing kanyang bilangguan, upang siya ay tuksuhin at tuluyang talikuran ang buhay na banal at totoo. Nagsumikap si Santo Tomas. At ngayon siya ay tinitingala bilang halimbawa ng isang taong namuhay sa kabanalan at katotohanan.

Hinahamon tayo ng Panginoon na mamuhay sa kabanalan at katotohan, ang angkinin ang kanyang bigay. Hindi natin ito kaya nang mag-isa. Nawa ay ating isa-isip sa tuwina, na nariyan ang Ama upang tulungan tayong maging banal at totoo.  Nariyan ang mapagkalingang kamay Niya upang tayo ay gabayan sa ating daan, upang tulungan bumangon mula sa putikan. Ito ang dalangin ni Kristo sa Ama para sa atin. Nawa ito rin ang mamutawi sa ating mga labi sa tuwina.

Ama, turuan mo kaming maging banal at totoo. Amen.   

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER

God, our Father

At our fall from your grace and justice

You promised the coming of a Savior

            who would liberate us from the slavery of sin

            who would bring us back to Your presence

            who would dispel the darkness in our midst

In the fulness of time, You sent Your Son to restore all things in You

Ah, what a grace-filled event it was

            eternity contained in time

            the Babe God-Man laying on a manger

            Shepherds contemplating the realization of the angels’ message

            Kings adoring the King of kings, and Lord of lords

            Mary and Joseph pondering the mystery that descended in their midst

God was with them, in flesh and blood

It was a great gift in exhange for our fault

We feel unworthy to receive it

What are we that you care for us, and made us little less than like You

What are we to share with Your divinity

As we celebrate the Birth of the Child Jesus

            remind us of the great gift you have given us: 
            the Peace that the world can not give

            grant us the grace to accept this Mystery

            and transform us to be like Him to others; 
            to be peace to our brothers and sisters

Truly, it is only then, that we can rise as a renewed humanity

It is only then, that He can be rightly called Emmanuel; 
the God who is with us, the God among us.

We ask this from You

in the name of Jesus Christ, God made man

through the mediation of the Holy Spirit

one God forever and ever. Amen 

PACEM IN TERRIS

Pacem in terris, quam homines universi cupidissime quovis tempore appetiverunt, condi confirmarique non posse constat, nisi ordine, quem Deus constituit, sancte servato.

Peace on earth, which all men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed.

Fifty years ago, in April 11, 1963, John XXIII issued the papal encyclical Pacem in Terris. He signed Pacem in Terris in the context of impending world war aggravated by the nuclear arms race. However, his hopeful outlook pervades throughout the encyclical, highlighting the marvelous order inherent in the created reality (2), respect for human rights (11), human dignity (31), and the necessity of public authority (46-59). In this article, we will attempt to discuss the world events that pushed John XXIII to issued Pacem in Terris, the content of the encyclical. A discussion on the impact of the document from the day it was issued to this day will cap the article.   

World Events

The issuance of Pacen in Terris did not happen in a vacuum. It has a spatio-temporal context. There was a building-up of ascending events that reaches its climax to the act of the pontiff to speak to the members of the Church and to the people of goodwill about the Church stand on the world events that occurred that time. It is a response to the signs of times, focusing on the social dimension of what can be purely religious matter.

The Post World War II era is a momentous era for many countries who had been under foreign colonizers. It is in this years that many of the former colonies of world superpowers had gained independence. The independence given by the colonizers to the colonies can be seen in the framework of human dignity. Colonizers realized the capacity to self-governance inherent in the colonies. Such capacity for self-governance resonates from their human dignity; that like them (colonizers), they (colonies) too are capable of doing the same thing; that they too are human being like them capable of aspiring and exerting effort to achieve such desire.  

Though established in 1942, the United Nations gained its momentum in playing her role in international community in the 50’s and 60’s. There was the development of the United Nations as an international governing body, promoting and defending the human rights, keeping the peace among the nations through her arbitration courts. One notable act of the United Nations is the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights. Here, the international body enumerates the rights due to a human person that everyone ought to render towards the other.[1]

Though the United States and Soviet Union fought together against the Axis power during the recent World War, there existed a mutual distrust and enmity between them. This tense relationship culminates to what we call today the Cold War era. The war between these two superpowers was manifested through combative rhetoric, arms buildup and interventionist approach to international relations. The Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the construction of the Berlin Wall are the concrete manifestation of this war.[2]

It is in this atmosphere of impeding war and the widening of consciousness as an international community that John XXIII issued the Pacem in Terris, with the aim of address the social concerns that the world faces from the point of view of a pastor.

Content

The document is keenly divided into four sections. Through these sections John XXIII to elucidate the following points: order between people, relations between individuals and public authorities in a single state, relations between states, and relations of people and of political communities with the world community.

The first section of the encyclical establishes the relationship between individuals and humankind, encompassing the issues of human rights and moral duties.

Any well-regulated and productive association of men in society demands the acceptance of one fundamental principle: that each individual man is truly a person. His is a nature, that is, endowed with intelligence and free will. As such he has rights and duties, which together flow as a direct consequence from his nature. These rights and duties are universal and inviolable, and therefore altogether inalienable (Pacem in Terris, 9).[3]

The second section addresses the relationship between man and state, dwelling on the collective authority of the latter.

Hence, representatives of the State have no power to bind men in conscience, unless their own authority is tied to God's authority, and is a participation in it. (Pacem in Terris, 49). The attainment of the common good is the sole reason for the existence of civil authorities (Pacem in Terris, 54).

The third section establishes the need for equality amongst nations and the need for the state to be subject to rights and duties that the individual must abide by.

The first point to be settled is that mutual ties between States must be governed by truth. Truth calls for the elimination of every trace of racial discrimination, and the consequent recognition of the inviolable principle that all States are by nature equal in dignity (Pacem in Terris, 86).

The final section presents the need for greater relations between nations, thus resulting in collective states assisting other states.

Just as individual men may not pursue their own private interests in a way that is unfair and detrimental to others, so too it would be criminal in a State to aim at improving itself by the use of methods which involve other nations in injury and unjust oppression (Pacem in Terris, 92).

The encyclical ends with the urging of Catholics to assist non-Christians and non-Catholics in political and social aspects.

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[1] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/, October 8, 2013.

[2] Cold War, retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war on October 8, 2013.

[3] Pacem in Terris, retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem_en.html, on October 8, 2013.