On the First Sunday of Advent

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

Today is the new year of the Church – the start of a new liturgical year. Holy Mother Church has a very peculiar way of celebrating her new year. While most cultures would spend the New Year in thinking of new beginnings, the Church spends it by meditating on the end. Recalling the words of the Lord about frightening signs in the heavens and in the seas, the Church anticipates that point in time to which all history leads. The New Year of the Church brings us a year closer to that end of all times. It will inevitably come and no one can escape it: “For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.” (There is even a rumor that this will happen on December 21 this year.) The end is near. It will really happen.

But the Church does not meditate on such things in order to engage in some scare tactics. The perplexity of nations comes from what they do not know. “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.” They do not know why these things take place. They could not make sense of all these.

But we are not perplexed because we know what will happen. We are told by the Lord: “When these things begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads.” Why? It is because “they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” And His coming will the time of our redemption: “Your redemption is at hand.” It will be the time when our Lord will fulfill all his promises to those who strive to be faithful to him: “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.”

The definitiveness of the Lord’s return becomes the occasion for the Church to remind us to “be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” The Catechism reminds us: “Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.” (CCC, 675) “The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.” (CCC, 677)

Jesus, I trust in you! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

The New Evangelization and Catholic Education

The homily of His Excellency Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco, DD, Bishop of Cubao, at the Mass of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the Academic Year 2012-2013, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, on the 11th of July 2012:

As we invoke the Holy Spirit at the beginning of this academic year 2012-2013, my mind is raised towards the opening of the Year of Faith this coming October. This Year of Faith will be marked by the Synod of Bishops which will be about “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Faith.” Our first reading today spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles who gathered in prayer. He descended in the form of tongues of fire and by His inspiration, the apostles declared the praise of God in different languages. The Spirit-inspired proclamation of the praise of God in different languages on that Pentecost Sunday tells us that Evangelization has always been an integral part of the life of the Church even from the very beginning of her existence.

If Evangelization has always been part of our life as Church, why do we speak today of a “new evangelization”? What is this “new evangelization” which seems to be an important concern for the Church today? Are we talking of an overhaul of the doctrines of the Church? Will there be a rewriting of the Gospels of Jesus? Are we embarking on some sort of modernization in the way the Church transmits the Christian message?

In order to appreciate the “new evangelization”, we have to acknowledge the changes happening in the global culture. We are now “facing social and cultural changes that are profoundly affecting a person’s perception of self and the world, and consequently, a person’s way of believing in God.” (Instrumentum Laboris, 6.) There seems to be a prevalent distrust for anything the Church received and hands down to us from Divine Revelation. There is a recognizable “de-Christianization of many ordinary people who, despite being baptized, live a life not in keeping with their Christian faith or express some kind of faith but have an imperfect knowledge of its basic tenets.” (Instrumentum Laboris, 12.) In other words, we are confronted today by widespread religious indifference, secularism, and even atheism.

There is truly a need to “mend the Christian fabric of society” and this begins by remaking the Christian fabric of the Church ((Instrumentum Laboris, 13.). Thus, when we speak of the ‘new evangelization”, we are referring to the “pastoral outreach to those who no longer practice the Christian faith.” (CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization (3 December 2007), 12: AAS 100 (2008) 501.) “Through the new evangelization, the Church seeks to insert the very original and specific character of her teachings into today’s world and everyday discussion. She wants to be the place where God can be experienced even now, and where, under the guidance of the Spirit of the Risen Christ, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the gift of faith.” (Instrumentum Laboris, 88)

It is here where we appreciate the presence of the Church in the field of the academe. The presence of the Church, our presence, in the world of education inserts the teaching of Jesus “into today’s world and everyday discussion.” Our schools mark the presence of the Church where God can be experienced and where we allow ourselves to be transformed by the gift of faith. Let us not underestimate the importance of our Catholic Schools. Let us not underestimate the importance of our Catechists in the public schools. Through these important institutions, we are placed at a privileged position of molding young minds into the mindset of Christ and the culture of Christianity. This privileged position should make us now evaluate seriously as to whether we exert a Christian influence among our young people. Do we still keep in mind that our Catholic schools are the evangelizing arms of the Church? Do we still keep in mind that the primary objective of engaging in the work of Catholic education is the transmission of the faith? Remember that our schools are not simply to produce graduates who are competent in various professional fields. Our schools must produce good Christians…good practicing Catholics.

We cannot simply resign to the prevalent religious indifference among people. As the Holy Father himself said, “We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. Jn 4:14). We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: ‘Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life’ (Jn6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent’ (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation.” (Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei, 3.) Let us embark on this new academic year with a renewed commitment to the transmission of the Faith. Even if we have to contend with “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints for the sake of Christ,” let us continue to profess the faith. For belief in Jesus Christ is the way to arrive definitively at salvation.

The Means to Renew the Face of the Earth

The Lord said, I have come to light a fire on the earth and how I wish it were blazing. How can priests light the world with the fire of the Holy Spirit and so be instruments in renewing the face of the earth? St. Anthony Claret has this to say:

"The prophet asked the Lord: Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur, et renovabis faciem terrae. Lord, send your spirit upon your priests, and they, filled with this Holy Spirit, will hasten everywhere, like the apostles, and the face of the earth will be changed completely. For the moral earth does the same thing that the physical earth does: if it is well cultivated it yields abundant fruits, but if it is not cultivated it yield nothing but weeds and thorns. Thus people, if they are well cultivated, produce choice fruits of virtue, but if they are abandoned to themselves, they produce nothing but errors and vices. Hence we must work to form good clergy, who are the laborers in the Lord's fields, and we must ask the good Lord of the harvest to send good laborers to his inheritance.

The means assigned to change the face of the earth promptly and easily are the following:

The 1st means is to form good, virtuous, and well-educated priests, and we have no doubt that this will be achieved if we put into practice the means indicated in the present little work.

The 2nd means are missions, which should be repeated every three years in parishes great and small, lasting for a varying number of days, according to the needs of the people.

The 3rd means is that on all Sundays and Feast days of the year, the pastors should preach or read some talk, and teach Christian doctrine and the way to make mental and vocal prayer.

The 4th means is instructing girls and boys in catechism, morals, and religion. Radical reform must begin with the children.

The 5th means is not to allow boys and girls to receive the Eucharist without making a First Communion, preceded by a preparatory retreat, and followed by enrollment in a confraternity, so that they may continue receiving the sacraments monthly or every 2 or 3 months.

The 6th means is to revive those confraternities that are already established in parishes but have fallen off, and have them fulfill their statutes exactly, beginning with a few good and more fervent souls.

The 7th means is to keep Sundays and Feast days holy, not only because God commands it, but also that they may be devoted to spiritual gatherings, frequenting the sacraments and pious reading, so that everyone may keep God's law and pray.

The 8th means is to strive to spread good books.

The 9th means is to practice the 14 works of charity or mercy.

The 10th means is to exhort those who can do so to attend Mass daily, to say a 3rd part of the Rosary, to direct all they do to the greater glory of God, to suffer all afflictions with patience, to walk always in the presence of God, and to receive the holy Sacraments frequently.

St. Anthony Claret, The Well-Instructed Seminarian, Vol 11, Chap. III, 5.

Go to the Vineyard!

The catechetical landscape of the Diocese of Cubao is deteriorating because in spite of the the decrease in the public school population from last year’s 163, 686 students to this year’s 159,740, there is an increase in the number of uncatechized students from last year’s 31, 623 students to this year’s 36, 389. 4, 766 more students this year are added to the increasing number of those who will not hear the teachings of Jesus for this school year. This is due to the decreasing number of catechists this year.

Every September, we celebrate the Catechetical Month. Everytime we do this, we make an appeal for volunteer catechists. Like the landowner in today’s parable, we come out time and again to look for laborers to work in the vineyard. The appeal does not change, it has been repeated year after year: “You go into the vineyard.” It has remained unchanged because the Harvest is rich but the laborers are few. The once-a-week teaching of catechism is already a bad situation because the catechetical instruction does not stand a chance against the constant bombardment our youth receive from elements that are hostile to the gospel of Jesus. This is made worse by the absence of regular parental guidance and even worse still, the lack of catechists..36, 389 might seem to you a faceless numbers. But behind the figures are real human beings who are condemned to ignorance of Jesus Christ and of his truth that sets all men free. Many young people do not seek the Lord because they do not know that He wants to be found. Many young people do not call on the Lord because they do not know that He is near. Being deprived of catechesis, many people are condemned to a linited world view that stretches no further than the here and now. They are deprived of the opportunity to raise their thoughts to the thoughts of God which is higher and wider than ours: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.” And these many people do not know what they are missing. Like slaves that think that everything is fine because they do not know what being free means, many people think that they are satisfied with what the world has to offer because they do not know that they are meant for something more: they are destined to live for ever in heaven.

It is his knowledge of Jesus Christ that implants in the heart of St. Paul the sincere concern that the gospel be preached to those who have not heard it. While he finds death to be profitable because it would mean that he would enjoy the company of Christ for ever, he prefered to labor and toil in preaching the Gospel for the benefit of those who would hear it. If only each of us would have the heart of St. Paul. If only we had enough generosity of heart to respond to the call of Christ: “You go into my vineyard!”

When we hear these words: You go into my vineyard, we always think that the Lord meant to speak to other people...but not to me. But the Lord is really addressing these words to you! If only parents took seriously their catechetical obligation towards their children, the catechetical situation would not be so bad. We see these signs around us: Aso ko, tali ko; Tapat ko, linis ko. We recognize our responsibility towards our dog and toward our environs. But why do we not recognize our responsibility towards our own children: Anak ko, turo ko! Many parents do not recognize that they are the primary catechists of their own children. Godparents do not recognize that they are the secondary catechists of their godchildren. Many are like the men who, at late afternoon, hear the Lord's reproach: "Why are you standing here idle all day? You go to my vineyard!" Late in life...you have not yet worked in the vineyard? You go to the vineyard!

Dare to respond generously to the invitation of Christ…for the Lord is never outdone in his generosity. Not only does he pay us what is just. He gives us more out of the abundance of his mercy: “Those that glorify and proclaim My great mercy, I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night, when the sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of My Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell.” (Diary, 378.)

The Catechetical Dimension of Liturgy

Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone gave this address to the 62nd Italian Liturgical Week, in behalf of the Holy Father. Here are salient points:

"The Church, especially when she celebrates the divine mysteries, recognizes and manifests herself as a reality that cannot be reduced to a solely earthly and organizational aspect. It must appear clearly in these mysteries that the beating heart of the community should be recognized beyond the narrow yet necessary limits of ritualism, because the liturgy is not what man does, but what God does with his admirable and gratuitous condescendence. This primacy of God in the liturgical action was highlighted by the Servant of God Paul VI at the closing of the second period of the Vatican Council, when he announced the proclamation of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium: "In this event we observe that the correct order has been respected of the values and duties: thus we have recognized that the post of honor is reserved to God; that as first duty we are called to raise prayers to God; that the sacred Liturgy is the primary source of this divine exchange in which the life of God is communicated to us; it is the first school of our soul, it is the first gift that must be made by us to the Christian people." (Paul VI, Address for the Closing of the Second Period, December 4, 1963, AAS [1964], 34).

"In addition to expressing the absolute priority of God, the liturgy manifests its being "God with us," since "being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction." (Benedict XVI, encyclical Deus Caritas Est, 1). In this connection, God is the great educator of his people, the loving, wise, tireless guide in an through the liturgy, the action of God in the today of the Church."

"From this foundational aspect, the 62nd National Liturgical Week is called to reflect on the educational dimension of the liturgical action, in as much as it is a "permanent school of formation around the Risen Lord, educational and relative place in which the faith acquires form and is transmitted" (Italian Episcopal Conference, Educare alla Vita Buona del Vangelo, n. 390). For this purpose, it is necessary to reflect ever better on the relation between catechesis and liturgy, yet rejecting all undue instrumentalization of the liturgy with "catechetical" ends. In this regard, the living Patristic tradition of the Church teaches us that the liturgical celebration itself, without losing its specificity, always has an important catechetical dimension (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 33). In fact, in as much as it is the "the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit" (ibid., 14), the liturgy can be called the permanent catechesis of the Church, the inexhaustible source of catechesis, precious catechesis in act (cf. Italian Episcopal Conference, Il Rinnovamento della catechesis, Feb. 7, 1970, 113). As an integrated experience of catechesis, celebration and life, it expresses in addition the maternal support of the Church, thus helping to develop the growth of the believer's Christian life and the maturation of his conscience.

ZENIT - Papal Message on Liturgy as Source of Catechesis

Need for Real Education in the Faith

Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco, Bishop of Cubao, gave this homily during the Mass of the Holy Spirit this morning at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao:

Noong nakaraang Huwebes, naging panauhin ng kaparian ng Cubao si Bishop Ambo David ng Pampangga. Nagbigay siya ng panayam tungkol sa kaugnayan ng Salita ng Diyos sa buhay at gawain ng mga pari. Sa pagwawakas ng kanyang panayam nabanggit niya ang suliranin ng Simbahan sa Europa: ang paglaganap ng sekularismo at ang mabilis na kamatayan ng pananampalatayang Kristiyano sa Europa. Napaisip ako sa sinabi niyang ang isa sa mga instrumento ng paglaganap ng sekularismo sa Europa ay ang edukasyon. Habang nagiging edukado ang mga tao, lalo naman silang napapalayo sa Simbahan. Marahil, isa itong indikasyon na hindi na nagagampanan ng mga paaralan at pamantasang Katoliko ang kanilang naatasang gawain bilang tagapaghubog sa pananampalataya.

Marahil, madali para sa atin ang ipagwalang bahala ang kalagayan ng Simbahan sa Europa sapagkat tila malayo ito mangyari sa Pilipinas. Sa pag-aakala ng marami, Katoliko sarado pa rin ang ating bansa: punung puno pa rin ang maraming simbahan at iginagalang pa rin ng marami ang mga pari. Subalit ganito rin ang Europa noong dekada singkwenta: punung puno rin ang mga simbahan, iginagalang ang mga kaparian, ang kulturang Europeo ay malinaw na kulturang Kristiyano. Subalit, sa loob lamang ng napakaiksing panahon, ay baliktad na ang kalagayan: wala nang nagsisimba, hindi na pinakikinggan ang turo ng mga Obispo, napakarami nang nagtatwa sa kanilang pananampalataya.

Kung tutuusin, nakikita na natin dito sa ating bansa ang mga palatandaan ng sekularismo: ang lumalaking hayagang pagsang-ayon ng maraming mga katoliko sa RH at sa diborsyo. At totoo na ang edukasyon ay ang instrumento ng mabilis na pagguho sa pananampalatayang kristiyano. Hindi ba ang mga pangunahing mga tagapagsulong ng mga makabagong pananaw na salungat sa mga turong Kristiyano ay ang mga “edukado” – silang mga may mataas na pinag-aralan? Saan tayo nagkulang? Ano ang nangyari sa mga pamantasan at paaralang Katoliko? Naging tanyag ang ating mga pamantrasa’t paaralan sa paghubog ng mga graduates na bihasa sa kani-kanilang larangan ng pag-aaral. Subalit nagkulang sa paghuhubog sa kanila sa larangan ng pananampalataya. Ang katekismo ay naging malabnaw at nauwi na lang sa “values formation” lamang. Oo nga’t natuturuan natin ang mga kabataan ng kabutihang asal, ngunit higit pa riyan ang dapat nilang matutunan. Kailangan nilang matutunan ang mga aral ng pananampalatayang kristiyano.

Magandang halimbawa ni Manny Pacquiao na minamaliit ng marami dahil sa kanyang hamak na pinanggalingan. Pinaninindigan niya ang turo ng ating pananampalataya hinggil sa RH. Kinukuwento niya na naging bahagi ng buhay ng kanilang pamilya ang panalangin. Tuwing alaskwatro ng madaling araw, tinipon ni nanay Dionisia ang kanyang mga anak para sa sama-samang pagdarasal ng Rosaryo. Ano pa mang hirap ang kanilang pinagdaanan, napagtagumpayan nila ito dahil sa pagtuturo ng kanilang ina. Mula sa kanya natutunan niyang pagpahalagahan ang Simbahang Katolika at ang kanyang mga katuruan.

Mula sa kuwento ng pambansang kamao, natututunan natin ang halaga ng tunay na katekesis. Religion must once again be the core of the curriculum of our Catholic schools. Yes, we want to produce competent graduates but we must never forget that the purpose of Catholic education is “education in the faith.” Ang siryosong at tapat na katekesis sa ating mga paaralan at pamantasan ang magpapaampat sa mabilis na paglaganap ng sekularismo. Sabi ng ating Santo Papa: “Concern for young people calls for courage and clarity in the message we proclaim; we need to help young people to gain confidence and familiarity with sacred Scripture so it can become a compass pointing out the path to follow. Young people need witnesses and teachers who can walk with them, teaching them to love the Gospel and to share it, especially with their peers, and thus to become authentic and credible messengers.” (Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, 104.)

Napakasimple ng mga palatandaan ng matagumpay na katekesis. Narinig ko ito kay Msgr. Gerry Santos: Alam natin na nakapagbigay tayo ng epektibong katekesis kapag nakita natin ang mga kabataan na nagsisimba at marami sa kanila ang mahikayat na magpari at mag madre. Reality check lang mga kapatid: ilan sa mga estudyante ninyo ang nag pari at nag madre?

Sa Misang ito sa karangalan ng Espiritu Santo, muli nating italaga ang ating sarili sa tunay na paghuhubog sa pananampalataya. Maging masigasig tayo sa katekesis at hingin natin ang tulong ng Espiritu ng katotohanan upang gabayan niya tayo sa lahat ng katotohanan at ang mga kabataan ay maakit na sumunod sa yapak ni Kristo.

Sabi nga ng Santo Papa: “Study centres supported by Catholic groups offer a distinct contribution to the promotion of culture and education – and this ought to be recognized. Nor must religious education be neglected, and religion teachers should be given careful training. Religious education is often the sole opportunity available for students to encounter the message of faith.” (Verbum Domini, 111.)