An Sakal kan Kagurangnan

Giya sa Prayer-Meeting nin mga Saradit na Komunidad nin Pagtubod (SAKOP) para sa semana kan Hulyo 9-15, 2023. Basahon an Evangelio gikan sa Mateo 11,25-30 (Ika-14 Domingo sa Ordinariong Panahon - A).

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Sa Evangelio madadangog niato an pinakanakakaranga sa mga tataramon ni Jesús, sa Mateo 11,28: “Madya kamo Sako, gabós na napapagal asín nagagabatan, asín tatàwan Ko kamo nin kahingaloan”. Para iní sa mga napápagál, sa mga nakakamatè nin gabát nin problema o responsibilidad sa saindang abaga, sa mga nag-aagi nin kadificilan – boót sabihon, para sa sato gabós.

Dangan sinundan ni Jesús kainí: “sûngayá an Sakong sakal”. An sakal iyó bagá idtong sinúsûngay sa abaga nin karabáw sa pag-araro sa omá o pagguyod nin pababá. An sakal gamit sa pagtrabaho, bakô sa pagpahingalò. Alagad iyó iní an tinukdô ni Jesús, asín sinabi pa Niya na “makánood kamo Sako”. Anó iníng Saiyang sakal?

Sa Biblía an sakal tanda nin pagpasakit nin tawo sa kapwa tawo. Sa Levitico 26,13 nasusurat: “Ako an Kagurangnan na saindong Diós, na nagkuá saindo halè sa Egipto tanganing dai na kamo magin mga oripon. Binarì ko na an saindong sakal asín pinalakáw ko kamo na daíng sukat ikasupog.”

Sa pag ministerio publico ni Jesús pinadagos Niya iníng pagbarì nin sakal nin katawohan sa pagbulóng nin mga naghehelang, sa pagpalayas nin mga demonio, sa pagpatawad sa mga kasâlan. Tinuyaw Niya man an mga pamayó nin banwaan na nagpapataw nin mga dagdag na kagabatan sa mga tawo. Sinabi Niya sa Mateo 23,4: “Minabugkos sinda nin mga magabát na darahon asín ipinapapâsan sa ibá, alagad maski sarô nindang murô habô nindang hirôon sa pagtabang sa pag-alsa kaiyan.”

Para sa mga nagkákapôt nin katongdan o autoridád, marhay paghorop-horopan kun an lambang gibo o pagsugò niato nagdádará sa kapwa sa karahayan o nagdádagdag saná nin pagabát na bakô man kaipuhan. Mas maraot kun an satong kaginhawahan bungang halè sa pagsakit asín kagabatan nin satong kapwa.

Alagad sa kadaklan na beses, may nakasûngay satong ibang sakal bakô nin huli ta may mga ibang tawo o sistemang nagpapasakit sato kundî huli ta pinilì tang sunodón an tentación nin kinâban – sa pagsuway sa tugon nin Diós para saná makamít an satong ambisyon, sa pagbukod sa mga kaogmahan na bakô susog sa Saiyang kabôtan, asín sa pagtipon nin mga kinâbanon na kayamanan. Ini an sakal nin kasâlan.

Alagad an sakal kan Kagurangnan iyó an Saiyang pangataman na naggigiya sa mga tamang dalan. Daí iní maakò nin mga tawong napápanô an isip asín pusò nin pansadiring interes – an mga madonong asín matalì sa kinâban – kundî nin mga kasaradayán na tataó magsarig sa Diós. An Saiyang kabôtan iyó an saindang kadonongan, asín an Saiyang pagkamarahayon iyó an saindang kaogmahan.

An sakal kan Kagurangnan iyó an misyon sa pagdará kan Marhay na Baretà sa kapwa. Iní an nagtátaó sato nin kahulugán asín katuyuhán sa buhay, lalò na kun an satong mga talento, kakayahán, asín kayamanan, ginagamit niato sa paglingkod sa Diós. Sabi ni San Pablo sa Roma 8,28: “Aram ta na sa gabós na bagay an Diós naggigibo para sa karahayan kan mga namómoót Saiya – an mga inapód Niya susog sa Saiyang katuyohán.”

Sa huri, an sakal kan Kagurangnan iyó an cruz na enot na Niyang pinâsan, na sinusugò Niyang pàsanón man nin mga boót magin disipulos Niya. Pag pinapàsan ta an satong cruz, an satong mga gibong marhay asín matanos nagigin paagi nin pagtalubò sa kabanalan asín pag-akò nin kaligtasan pasiring sa buhay na daíng kasagkoran.

An sakal nin kasâlan magdádará sato sa karâtan asin kagadanan. Alagad an sakal kan Kagurangnan nagtátaó nin kahulugán sa satong kapagalan, asín kapanoan nin buhay, ngonian pa saná asín sagkod pa man.

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GIYA SA PAGHIRÁS SA SADÍT NA KOMUNIDAD O PAMILYA • Maghirás nin experiencia kan saimong paagi nin pagsûngay kan sakal ni Cristo. Anó an naidolot kainí sa saimong buhay?

PASUNÓD-SUNÓD KAN WEEKLY SAKOP/FAMILY PRAYER-MEETING • Kumustahan/Pamiridbidan • Disposition to Prayer / Silence • Gathering Song • Opening Prayer • Gospel Reading • Reflection • Sharing • Prayers of the Faithful • Closing Prayer (Spontaneous and Our Father) • Closing Song

The Pact of the Catacombs

Shortly before the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, 40 bishops met on the night of 16 November 1965 in the Domitilla Catacombs outside Rome.  In that holy place of Christian dead they celebrated the Eucharist and signed a document that expressed their personal commitments to the ideals of the Council under the suggestive title of the "Pact of the Catacombs". It also goes by the title "Pact of the Servant and Poor Church". Among the bishops gathered was Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Recife, Brazil and icon of justice and freedom in Latin America. The statements' counter-cultural ideals and latent radicalism however might have limited its impact to only a dedicated few. Yet in the ensuing years, the little pact of minority bishops gradually caught fire, inspiring the rise of liberation theology, the orthodoxy of the Church of the poor, and the praxis of building basic ecclesial communities as agents of Gospel-based change in individuals and society in many parts of the world and beyond Catholic circles.

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We, bishops assembled in the Second Vatican Council, are conscious of the deficiencies of our lifestyle in terms of evangelical poverty. Motivated by one another in an initiative in which each of us has tried avoid ambition and presumption, we unite with all our brothers in the episcopacy and rely above all on the grace and strength of Our Lord Jesus Christ and on the prayer of the faithful and the priests in our respective dioceses. Placing ourselves in thought and in prayer before the Trinity, the Church of Christ, and all the priests and faithful of our dioceses, with humility and awareness of our weakness, but also with all the determination and all the strength that God desires to grant us by his grace, we commit ourselves to the following:

1.      We will try to live according to the ordinary manner of our people in all that concerns housing, food, means of transport, and related matters. See Matthew 5,3; 6,33ff; 8,20.

2.      We renounce forever the appearance and the substance of wealth, especially in clothing (rich vestments, loud colors) and symbols made of precious metals (these signs should certainly be evangelical). See Mark 6,9; Matthew 10,9-10; Acts 3.6 (Neither silver nor gold).

3.      We will not possess in our own names any properties or other goods, nor will we have bank accounts or the like. If it is necessary to possess something, we will place everything in the name of the diocese or of social or charitable works. See Matthew 6,19-21; Luke 12,33-34.

4.      As far as possible we will entrust the financial and material running of our diocese to a commission of competent lay persons who are aware of their apostolic role, so that we can be less administrators and more pastors and apostles. See Matthew 10,8; Acts 6,1-7.

5.      We do not want to be addressed verbally or in writing with names and titles that express prominence and power (such as Eminence, Excellency, Lordship). We prefer to be called by the evangelical name of "Father." See Matthew 20,25-28; 23,6-11; John 13,12-15).

6.      In our communications and social relations we will avoid everything that may appear as a concession of privilege, prominence, or even preference to the wealthy and the powerful (for example, in religious services or by way of banquet invitations offered or accepted). See Luke 13,12-14; 1 Corinthians 9,14-19.

7.      Likewise we will avoid favoring or fostering the vanity of anyone at the moment of seeking or acknowledging aid or for any other reason. We will invite our faithful to consider their donations as a normal way of participating in worship, in the apostolate, and in social action. See Matthew 6,2-4; Luke 15,9-13; 2 Corinthians 12,4.

8.      We will give whatever is needed in terms of our time, our reflection, our heart, our means, etc., to the apostolic and pastoral service of workers and labor groups and to those who are economically weak and disadvantaged, without allowing that to detract from the welfare of other persons or groups of the diocese. We will support lay people, religious, deacons, and priests whom the Lord calls to evangelize the poor and the workers by sharing their lives and their labors. See Luke 4,18-19; Mark 6,4; Matthew 11,4-5; Acts 18,3-4; 20,33-35; 1 Corinthians 4,12; 9,1-27.

9.      Conscious of the requirements of justice and charity and of their mutual relatedness, we will seek to transform our works of welfare into social works based on charity and justice, so that they take all persons into account, as a humble service to the responsible public agencies. See Matthew 25,31-46; Luke 13,12-14; 13,33-34.

10.  We will do everything possible so that those responsible for our governments and our public services establish and enforce the laws, social structures, and institutions that are necessary for justice, equality, and the integral, harmonious development of the whole person and of all persons, and thus for the advent of a new social order, worthy of the children of God. See Acts 2,44-45; 4;32-35; 5,4; 2 Corinthians 8 and 9; 1 Timothy 5,16.

11.  Since the collegiality of the bishops finds its supreme evangelical realization in jointly serving the two-thirds of humanity who live in physical, cultural, and moral misery, we commit ourselves: a) to support as far as possible the most urgent projects of the episcopacies of the poor nations; and b) to request jointly, at the level of international organisms, the adoption of economic and cultural structures which, instead of producing poor nations in an ever richer world, make it possible for the poor majorities to free themselves from their wretchedness. We will do all this even as we bear witness to the gospel, after the example of Pope Paul VI at the United Nations.

12.  We commit ourselves to sharing our lives in pastoral charity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, priests, religious, and laity, so that our ministry constitutes a true service. Accordingly, we will make an effort to "review our lives" with them; we will seek collaborators in ministry so that we can be animators according to the Spirit rather than dominators according to the world; we will try be make ourselves as humanly present and welcoming as possible; and we will show ourselves to be open to all, no matter what their beliefs. See Mark 8,34-35; Acts 6,1-7; 1 Timothy 3,8-10.

13.  When we return to our dioceses, we will make these resolutions known to our diocesan priests and ask them to assist us with their comprehension, their collaboration, and their prayers.

May God help us to be faithful.

 

The last shall be first

This much I know – the last shall be first,

the angry ones need love the most,

and the bigot, to be heard and understood

Share joy with the joyful,

be there for the sorrowful,

and sometimes just let the lost be

The helper first needs to learn

the poor already want to help themselves,

and victims wish they could but couldn’t

That there is no single rule,

no silver bullet, no theory of everything;

only one way, certain and narrow

An satong mga Tadâ

A Pastoral Letter on TADÂ, a program for the benefit of the poor in the Diocese of Legazpi

 "Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works." Heb 10,24

Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this passage when he wrote his message for Lent this year. He spoke about our common and constant duty to be responsible toward our brothers and sisters, especially those suffering from various forms of poverty – spiritual, moral and economic.

The Pope’s message brings to mind the call of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines to become a “Church of the Poor”, which means embracing the evangelical spirit of poverty and practicing a preferential option for the poor.

In response to this call, the Church in the Philippines has instituted the traditional Lenten practice of the ALAY KAPWA Program to raise awareness on the plight of the poor, and help them in their needs through different forms of support and assistance, mainly through almsgiving and donations.

This year 2012, following the directions set by our recently concluded First Diocesan Pastoral Assembly, I am inviting every member of the Diocese of Legazpi to join a modified form of ALAY KAPWA, which we shall henceforth call TADÂ, and which will continue as a diocesan project beyond the season of Lent. In other words, TADÂ will be a year-round program for the poor of the Diocese of Legazpi.

Tadâ – a Bikol word that means crumbs or leftovers – is based on a very simple rationale. In everyone’s life there are things that may be considered leftovers, things no longer needed. These things are oftentimes taken for granted, even discarded, because they no longer have that much value to us. But they can still be of some value, they can still be of use, to others – especially those who have very little in life. These are the tadâ in our lives. Let us gather and bring them together. For sure, if we do, they can help the poor in some form or other.

Immediately, we discover, for example, that there are many monetary “change” that we do not mind anymore: P0.05, P0.10, P0.25, even P1.00. Let us collect these in plastic bottles (which you can get from your respective parish rectories, or you may very well come up with your own!) and bring them to church, preferably on Sundays, and offer these at the offertory procession during the Mass. We will collect them and whatever amount gathered will be set aside to assist the poorest among us in their various needs – medical, nutritional, educational, and others. I am certain that the little tadâ that will come from each of us, like the five loaves and two fish that Jesus used to feed five thousand, will become plentiful enough in order to feed those who are hungry and help those in need.

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in his Lenten message: “Each part should be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Cor 12:25), for we all form one body. Acts of charity towards our brothers and sisters – as expressed by almsgiving, a practice which, together with prayer and fasting, is typical of Lent – is rooted in this common belonging. Christians can express their membership in the one body which is the Church through concrete concern for the poorest of the poor.”

The invitation to offer our tadâ is by no means an encouragement to be mediocre in generosity or be miserly in charity. The needs of the poor are big and many, and we cannot supply them all, at least not by our strength alone. But by God’s grace anything can be accomplished.

Starting with our tadâ means starting small, but with a view to a bigger end. We start by opening our eyes to the reality of poverty and our capacity to empower the needy. We proceed with instilling a habit of giving in everyone in order to form our hearts to become ever more generous with our gifts and ever more trusting in the Lord, the Giver of gifts.

Once again from the Pope’s Lenten message: “Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands.”

In this regard, I have asked our Diocesan Social Action Center (SAC) to develop a formation module and train the Commission on Social Concerns in our parishes, so they in turn may be able to provide their fellow parishioners the necessary catechesis that will make this program properly understood, appreciated and owned by all in the local Church of Legazpi.

Thus, I would like to ask our Parish Priests to send representatives from their respective Parish Commission on Social Concerns for orientation on TADÂ, and allow them with more or less five minutes to explain to our people what TADÂ is all about during designated Sunday Masses.

Our SAC people will also be doing the rounds of schools to share this project with them, as well as to those communities of the faithful – associations and movements – that may be interested to participate in this worthy endeavor of our local Church.

May the Lord of the poor and His Blessed Mother bless this effort of ours and make them successful according to His Most Holy Will!

Given this 22^nd of March 2012 at the Diocesan Chancery in Legazpi City.

+JOEL Z. BAYLON 

Bishop of Legazpi

Rev. Fr. Rex Paul B. Arjona

Chancellor-Secretary

Pastoral Letter No. 2, Series of 2012