Prayer for the Day of the Unborn

 

In 2004, Pres. Arroyo issued Proclamation # 586 declaring every March 25 as "Day of the Unborn" in the Philippines. It is urged that churches will have a special recognition of pregnant mothers and special prayers and blessings to them on this day.

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RITE OF BLESSING FOR THE DAY OF THE UNBORN

Psalm 145:13-21

The Lord is faithful in all His words

and holy in all His works.

The Lord lifts up all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look hopefully to You,

and You give them their food in due season;

You open Your Hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is just in all His ways

and holy in all His works.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

to all who call upon Him in truth.

He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him,

He hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord keeps all who love Him,

but the wicked He will destroy. 

May my mouth speak the praise of the Lord,

and may all flesh bless His Holy Name forever and ever. 

Prayer for Unborn Children

God, our Creator, by Your love the world is filled with life,

through Your generosity one generation gives life to another,

and so are Your wonders told and Your praises sung.

We look to You in our love and in our need:

may it be Your will that we bear (adopt) a child to share our home and faith.

Loving God, be close to us as we pray to love and do Your will.

You are our God, nourishing us forever and ever. Amen.

Dear St. Gerard Majella, Saint Raymond Nonnatus,

patrons for pregnant women

and St. Catherine of Sienna,

patron against miscarriages,

please intercede for us.

Prayer and Blessing of Pregnant Mothers

All make the sign of the cross. The leader begins:

Let us bless the Lord Jesus,

who in the womb of the Virgin Mary became one of us.

Blessed be God forever.

All respond:

Blessed be God forever.

The leader may use these or similar words to introduce the blessing:

Join now in listening to the Scripture and in blessing this mother-to-be

that she may cherish the child in her womb

and await birth with great hope and faith.

Then Scripture is read:

Listen to the words of the Holy Gospel according to Luke 1:39-45:

During those days, Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

The Gospel of the Lord.

All respond:

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

After a time of silence, all join in prayers of intercession. The Hail Mary, the Memorare, or other prayers asking for the protection of Mary may be appropriate. After the Lord's Prayer, the leader may invite all to extend their hands toward the mothers or to place their hands on them in blessing. Use either Prayer A or Prayer B next.

Prayer A:

Gracious Father, Your Word, spoken in love,

created the human family

and Your Son, conceived in love,

restored it to Your friendship.

Hear the prayers of (mother's name),

who awaits the birth of her child.

Calm her fears when she is anxious.

Watch over and support her

and bring her child into this world

safely and in good health,

so that as members of Your family

she may praise You and glorify You through Your Son,

Our Lord Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Amen.

Prayer B:

God has brought gladness and light to the world

through the Virgin Mary's delivery of her child.

May Christ fill your heart with His holy joy

and keep you and your baby safe from harm.

We ask this in His Name, who is Lord, forever and ever.

Amen.

All make the sign of the cross. The leader concludes:

May God, Who chose to make known

and to send the blessings of eternal salvation

through the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

bless us and keep us in His care, now and forever.

Amen.

Holy Water is then sprinkled to the pregnant mothers followed by clapping of hands by the churchgoers.

Renewal, Reform and Rehabilitation

A Pastoral Letter on the Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO)

“A clean heart create for us, O God; renew within us a steadfast spirit.” cf. Ps 51,12

Dear People of God:

It has been more than a year since I was requested to take part in looking for solutions for our embattled ALECO, solutions both urgent and long-term, effective and beneficial to all. From my humble knowledge and engagement with our electric cooperative, I would like to speak now as a pastor looking after the hopes and fears of the people of our province in these trying times.

The problems of ALECO did not happen overnight. They were brought about by a system that has not done enough in implementing checks and balances, nor in pursuing accountability on the part of those entrusted with running the cooperative. Add to this a legislation that puts a vital service such as the supply of electricity at the whim and mercy of market forces. In the end, it is the people, especially the poor, who suffer the most for the wrongs they have not done and for sins they have not committed.

At the outset, we acknowledge the assistance and leadership of President Benigno Aquino III, together with the Department of Energy and the National Electrification Administration, in finding ways to resolve these problems. Nonetheless, we call upon them still not to abandon Albayanos in this struggle. It is a matter of social justice and good governance that they must commit everything in their power to help in the rehabilitation of our cooperative.

We welcome the initiatives of our local political leaders in advocating the cause of ALECO. Decisiveness and genuine concern for our people will pave the way out of our dire situation and bring about progress and unity. However, prudent intervention ends when a return to patronage politics begins. We call upon our local leaders to continue to support the independent governance of our cooperative and not let bad politics corrupt it yet again.

We also appreciate the various individuals and groups who have invested much time and effort in finding long-term solutions to our recurring problems while upholding the spirit of genuine cooperativism and the demands of justice. However, good intentions need also the open mindedness to seek to understand other points of view and form a realistic self-assessment of strengths and limitations. Such balancing act may even produce better ideas and better venues for collaboration.

We have used the analogy of a sick person who is hemorrhaging to death as an apt description of the sad condition of our electric cooperative. In this regard, we have tried a number of measures to remedy the situation, among them the Special Payment Agreement. Yet much is still required.

We have listened to various stakeholders and a few proposals in their initial stages. However we do not have the luxury of time. A major part of the problem is high systems loss aggravated by substandard equipment and depreciating facilities, and low collection efficiency. And because we are not able to pay our bills, our debt continues to balloon out of proportion and the threat of disconnection looms over us.

Soon we will have to make a decision about what is best for ALECO. In the process of accepting and evaluating various proposals, and the eventual approval of the most suitable, we would like to submit the following principles for consideration.

1.      The welfare of Albayanos is the first priority. Translated to the services being offered by ALECO, this means a stable supply of electricity, reasonable rates, and sustained rural electrification, among other things. Whatever solution may be offered must have the common good as its top priority.

2.      The preservation of our cooperative nature is our preferred position. An ably run electric cooperative, together with judicious government oversight and strong support from member-consumers, is still the most ideal situation for Albayanos. Considering our not so ideal circumstances however, our no-to-privatization stand cannot extend to the exclusion of other solutions that may involve the infusion of private capital and resources if the situation so requires. The measure of a righteous stand is not whether it fits a certain ideology but whether it is truthful, just and fair, and leads to an option that benefits our people the most.

3.      Obligations should be acknowledged and settled. While the priority are the member-consumers, the obligations to suppliers, those from whom we have outstanding debts, and the employees, need to be given importance as well. Any proposal to be considered must abide by this principle. This, however, does not rule out efforts at securing reasonable loan payment restructuring and seeking judicial remedy against payment of unjust debts.

4.      Transparency and accountability need to be ensured in the service of truth and justice. The process of choosing the pathway to rehabilitation and turn-around must be done with utmost transparency in order to be fair and credible to member-consumers and stakeholders. Shady deals and undue influencing cannot be tolerated. The wrongdoings of the past need to be investigated and those liable must be brought to justice. Government officials, administrators, employees, volunteers, and those helping ALECO in any way, must bear in mind that they are accountable to the people of Albay.

5.      Real rehabilitation will be realized only through meaningful reforms. Our present situation may seem bleak at the outset, but we also recognize that we have before us the opportunity to finally leave behind this dark chapter of our cooperative’s history. If we are to move forward, we cannot afford to regress to the old ways of complacency and corruption. A healthy rehabilitated ALECO is not an impossible dream, but it will happen only if meaningful reforms are instituted as soon as possible.

As we journey through the season of Lent, the need for reconciliation, conversion and renewal becomes even more urgent in our relationship with God and with each other. We need to be reconciled with our true identity as God intends us to be. The Father of mercies has given us an example of unselfish love in the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus humbled himself for our sake that we may follow his example. We are thus redeemed persons, capable of going beyond the temptation of selfishness and journeying together towards a deeper concern for one another and for the common good.

In more concrete terms, we need to rekindle the very purpose of our cooperative: that is to serve our people and in so doing contribute to the progress and development of our families and communities, province and country. In order for ALECO to be renewed and transformed, we the people that compose it need to be renewed and transformed as well.

May the Almighty God bless our efforts with success and bring them all to fulfillment.

Sincerely in the Lord,

+JOEL Z. BAYLON

Bishop of Legazpi

Rev. Fr. Rex Paul B. Arjona

Chancellor-Secretary

7 March 2012

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Stations on the Way to Freedom

The Lenten season onus on self-denial and dying to oneself is really an exercise in finding the path to real freedom, something that can only be found in God. When the mind recognizes this, the heart finally discovers what it pines for all this time. This is what our Christian tradition calls “metanoia”. When this happens, the world may not immediately be less fraught with hardship and danger, yet it will no longer be miserable. For once again, hope sustains and the symbols of faith regain their meaning, and every step taken is a liberation.

This short reflection is prompted when I recently (belatedly yet ever so timely) came across the German theologian and WWII martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s meditation “Stations on the Way to Freedom”.

 

Self-discipline

If you set out to seek freedom, you must learn before all things mastery over sense and soul, lest your wayward desirings, lest your undisciplined members lead you not this way, now that way. Chaste be your mind and your body, and subject to you and obedient, serving solely to seek their appointed goal and objective.

Action

Do and dare what is right, not swayed by the whim of the moment. Bravely take hold of the real, not dallying now with what might be. Not in the flight of ideas but only in action is freedom. Make up your mind and come out into the tempest of living. God’s command is enough and your faith in him to sustain you. Then at last freedom will welcome your spirit amid great rejoicing.

Suffering

See what a transformation! These hands so active and powerful now are tied, and alone and fainting, you see where your work ends. Yet you are confident still, and gladly commit what is rightful into a stronger hand, and say that you are contented. You were from from a moment of bliss, then you yielded your freedom into the hand of God, that he might perfect it in glory.

Death

Come now, highest of feasts on the way to freedom eternal, death, strike off the fetters, break down the walls that oppress us, our bedazzled soul and our ephemeral body, that we may see at last the sight which here was not vouchsafed us. Freedom, we sought you long in discipline, action, suffering. Now as we die we see you and know you at last, face to face.

Ash Wednesday Reflection

As we begin the Season of Lent this Ash Wednesday, let us consider that the cross of ash on our forehead, the disciplines of fasting and abstinence, and the pious act of almsgiving, are all external manifestations of that which is within: the Spirit of Christ dwelling within us who calls us to conversion. 

Thus, at the imposition of ash on our foreheads we are reminded to: "turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1,15).

Conversion comes from the Greek metanoiete which, in the context especially of the above quoted Gospel text, means "to go beyond the mind that you have" or simply "to have a change of heart". 

Conversion involves a two-fold act: a turning away from something and a turning towards another. The first act refers to what we have to do; the second, to why we do it. It has to be clear to us why we are turning away from sins,  particularly the ones that we find ourselves repeatedly committing (or omitting).  

We turn away from sin and turn towards God, so we may live fully the life Christ has won for us. The ash that we use today points to the fleeting nature of earthly things in contrast to the infinitely joyful and glorious life that Christ offers us. 

Turning away from sin means dying to ourselves by following the way of the cross. Thus, the ash is imposed in the figure of the cross. And by dying to our selfishness, to the shallowness and apathy that perennially tempts us, we find ourselves not really dying but living life fully instead.This is where the Spirit leads us.

Rev. William Arthur Ward, an American pastor, speaks further about this call of the Spirit when he listed down some of the things we should fast from and feast on.

Fast from judging others; Feast on the Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from emphasis on differences; Feast on the unity of life.

Fast from apparent darkness; Feast on the reality of light.

Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; Feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger; Feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.

Fast from worry; Feast on divine order.

Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.

Fast from unrelenting pressures; Feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility; Feast on non-resistance.

Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.

Fast from personal anxiety; Feast on eternal truth.

Fast from discouragements; Feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress; Feast on verities that uplift.

Fast from lethargy; Feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; Feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from shadows of sorrow; Feast on the sunlight of serenity.

Fast from idle gossip; Feast on purposeful silence.

Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that strengthens.

Word Clouds!

Found a new useful artform on the net: word clouds. Below are some initial creations that appeared first on the diocese's fb page Diyosesis kan Legazpi. These ones are done via tagxedo.com.

The Three Gifts of Epiphany

HOMILY
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (B) – 8 January 2012

Epiphany comes from the Greek “epiphaneia” which means appearance or manifestation. In the Gospel reading today, the magi (wise men) from the East came looking for the newborn “king of the Jews” upon the guidance of a star, and found Jesus. His manifestation to the world – to the Jews and, especially, to the Gentiles – is what we celebrate today.

The story and the feast itself are replete with symbolism. I would like to use one of them as the theme of this reflection: the symbol of the “gift”. Though I'm sure others may still be added, for our purposes let me share three gifts from God that He reveals to us through this feast.

1. The Gift of Christ Himself

Jesus Christ Himself is the most important gift of all -- the reason for the Season. The angel Gabriel announced His coming. The heavenly hosts proclaimed His birth. Mary loved Him with love beyond telling. Joseph protected Him. The shepherds were drawn to Him. The magi made an effort to travel long distances to see Him. A star guided them to Him.

All our liturgies and prayers, our doctrines and preaching, our cathedrals and worship places, our sacred arts and music, indeed all of Scriptures and Tradition – count as nothing without Him.

He is the center of the universe, and He wants to be the center of our life. And yet like anyone who presents oneself to another, Jesus also exposed Himself to the risk of being rejected. And indeed He was. The psalmist sings: “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone” (118,22). The shepherds and the magi may be drawn to Him, but when the magi spoke about their business at Herod’s court, Herod and all Jerusalem trembled. And then Herod began to set in motion the plan to get rid of a potential rival, the prophesied newborn “king of the Jews”. John the Evangelist describes Jesus' relationship with His fellow Jews this way: "He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him" (Jn 1,11).

Even now, Christ’s epiphany has brought Him countless rejections. Every time we sin, we turn away from Him. It is easy to come and adore the infant Jesus, all cute and huggable. But let us also not forget His timeless and challenging message of dying to oneself, of being the least of everyone, of carrying the cross, of forgiving enemies and praying for persecutors.

It is also easy to be led into thinking it is the star that we want. God has given us stars – talents, treasure, family, good friends, good jobs, opportunities. The temptation is falling into thinking that they are the most important things in our life. But they are not. They are there to lead us to Christ. We are not fortune-centered, or opportunity-centered, or career-centered, or even family-centered, or worse self-centered. A true Christian is Christ-centered. He is the reason and the compass by which we navigate our lives, by which we make decisions for our family, for our careers, concerning opportunities that come our way.

2. The Gift of Salvation

Christ came to save all of humanity from sin and death. Accepting the gift of salvation begins with the acceptance that we need saving. Pride and denial in the midst of privilege is the gist of the story of the fall of Adam, Eve and Cain. The humility and faith of Mary and Joseph, even in the midst of uncertainty, overturned the effect of humanity's history of sinfulness and made possible the story of Christmas. That is why we prepare for Christmas, not by redecorating our homes and spending, but primarily by the call to repentance and conversion of Advent.

There is one more thing about this salvation: it is offered to all. At the time of Jesus, this was a revolutionary idea. To some extent, there are still people today who believe that salvation is only for a few, that it is accessible only to the holy, the good, the prayerful. Even Santa Claus’ gifts are reserved only for the nice kids, not the naughty ones.

Who are these people who think this way? They are not far from you and me. Many times they are us, and we apply the same faulty judgment to ourselves. How many times have we sinned and been down, and thought of ourselves as no longer worthy of God’s love, or that we are beyond redemption?

We celebrate the feast of Epiphany with the story of the wise men from the East. They were not members of the Chosen People, yet to them was revealed the correct time and place of the Savior’s birth. Most likely they were not followers of the true faith. Yet they caught a glimpse of the truth and they searched for it.

The magi are us, imperfect sinful people of God. Yet we are wise insofar as we accept God’s guidance as revealed to us in Christ. Just like them who journey to see Christ, so is salvation a journey towards getting closer to Christ. We stop becoming true Christians, when we stop searching for God and seeking His will.

3. The Gift of Mission

The gifts of the magi have been interpreted as symbolic of the three-fold mission of Christ: gold for the king, frankincense for the priest, and myrrh for the prophet. What does this mean for us? Jesus has already accomplished His mission on earth, but He has shared it to his disciples as well.

When we were baptized in Christ, we accepted the same three-fold mission from Him. To be a king is to be of humble service to others in Christ. To be a priest is to pray and lead others to Christ. To be a prophet is to be a witness in word and deed for Christ.

I would like to end this reflection with a classic end-of-Christmas poem, “The Work of Christmas”, by a wise man of his time, Dr. Howard Thurman, an American theologian and civil rights leader. It speaks as well about the gift of Mission.

“When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.”

Inspired Original Derivatives

These designs are original derivative creations from photos found all over the web, and inspired by Scripture passages. They are first posted in public either here or at the facebook page of the Diocese of Legazpi.

Inspired by 1 Jn 5,14-15:
"Beloved: We have this confidence in God,
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours."

Inspired by 1 Jn 5,5-13:
"Beloved: Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies, and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, 
you who believe in the name of the Son of God."

 

Inspired by 1 Jn 3,16-18:
"The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us;
so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need
and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?  
Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth."

Pope Benedict XVI's Message to the Youth on World Day of Peace

"To all, and to young people in particular, I wish to say emphatically: “It is not ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the living God, our Creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is really good and true … an unconditional return to God who is the measure of what is right and who at the same time is everlasting love. And what could ever save us apart from love?”(9) Love takes delight in truth, it is the force that enables us to make a commitment to truth, to justice, to peace, because it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-13)."

"Dear young people, you are a precious gift for society. Do not yield to discouragement in the face of difficulties and do not abandon yourselves to false solutions which often seem the easiest way to overcome problems. Do not be afraid to make a commitment, to face hard work and sacrifice, to choose the paths that demand fidelity and constancy, humility and dedication. Be confident in your youth and its profound desires for happiness, truth, beauty and genuine love! Live fully this time in your life so rich and so full of enthusiasm." 

"Realize that you yourselves are an example and an inspiration to adults, even more so to the extent that you seek to overcome injustice and corruption and strive to build a better future. Be aware of your potential; never become self-centred but work for a brighter future for all. You are never alone. The Church has confidence in you, follows you, encourages you and wishes to offer you the most precious gift she has: the opportunity to raise your eyes to God, to encounter Jesus Christ, who is himself justice and peace."

"All you men and women throughout the world, who take to heart the cause of peace: peace is not a blessing already attained, but rather a goal to which each and all of us must aspire. Let us look with greater hope to the future; let us encourage one another on our journey; let us work together to give our world a more humane and fraternal face; and let us feel a common responsibility towards present and future generations, especially in the task of training them to be people of peace and builders of peace. With these thoughts I offer my reflections and I appeal to everyone: let us pool our spiritual, moral and material resources for the great goal of “educating young people in justice and peace”."

Excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI's Message for World Day of Peace (1January 2012)

"Educating Young People in Justice and Peace"

Read the full text at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20111208_xlv-world-day-peace_en.html

An Advent hymn for our time

Signs of the times. Before we finally plunge into the Christmas season, a hymn of repentance inspired by the Occupy spirit. The original post is at http://www.faith-theology.com/2011/12/we-hang-our-heads-in-shame-and-guilt.html.


WE HANG OUR HEADS IN SHAME AND GUILT

A hymn by Kim Fabricius
(Tune: Mit Freuden zart)

We hang our heads in shame and guilt
for ruthless exploitation:
we heat the earth and watch it wilt
for capital and nation.
In pitiless pursuit of oil
we poison air and sea and soil –
the lords of de-creation.

“Have mercy on us, Lord!” we plead,
but is it false confession?
We mask misdeeds, we gild our greed,
as peace we spin aggression.
We’re skilful at the apt excuse,
and the dark arts of word-abuse –
the truth is in recession.

O God, this is our world of vice,
come, judge us, test us, try us;
though we deny you, Jesus Christ,
Deliverer, don’t deny us;
break down the selves in which we hide,
evict our vanity and pride –
O Spirit, occupy us!

Lines written while watching Midnight in Paris

In between a busy day and a busier day next I find myself enjoying this film.

Yet at mid-movie I had to stop, in between Picasso and Gertrude Stein, after scenes with the Fitzgeralds and Hemingway. It was obviously contrived the way they talked like they wrote. But it was heady just listening to them, to Hemingway for example, and remembering how it was always a compliment to call someone’s writing Hemingwayesque. Nick Joaquin’s was a bit Hemingwayesque, or so I think; the late Bishop Pacis’ was definitely Hemingwayesque. And once in a while in my less gifted writing I try to keep the style in mind. But it is not about the style.

It is about the golden age, how every generation looks back
at one to contrast and attempt to escape from a dull present.

It was the character least liked of all, the pedantic one, who said it first early on, only to be realized near the film's end, as in a fable, by a starry-eyed Owen Wilson, playing half-naive, half-wise, for the nth time. Annoying in its irony, but that is the genius of Woody Allen. He has moved me enough to take another moment and look back at our nation's proffered golden ages, then at my busy day and the busier one ahead, and I just know in some future I shall be looking back and declare this day, amidst its dullness and turmoil, its complexity and campiness, I have a feeling that today stands in line with our generation’s current golden age.

29 November 2011

Chancery, Diocese of Legazpi

Personal Mission Statement

GOD has created, loved and sustained me.
He has called me
       to deepen my friendship with Him, and
       become a priest after His own heart
      -- holy and wise, humble and loving.

Therefore, I commit myself to
       fidelity in priestly life and passion for ministry
in the service of the
       renewed integral evangelization,
and the building up of the
       communion of communities
       that is the Church.


9 November 2011
Mater Ecclesiae Formation Center
Pili, Camarines Sur

God's Gift

A Wedding Homily for Emman and Sarita Kare-Telado

St. John the Baptist Parish Church, Tabaco City

15 October 2011

St. Bernard of Clairvaux says “We find a home in those we love, and we provide a home for those who love us”.  

In many ways, Emman and Sarita’s wedding is a coming to a home, a homecoming, to their hometown, and to this very church. This is where they receive the sacraments: where Sarita was baptized, were both of them had first communion, received confirmation, and attended Sunday Masses with their families. Both of them and their classmates from grade school may still remember the many First Fridays when they had to cross the street from CCS to attend Mass here. Who would have thought at that time, that Emman and Sarita would find themselves together today in this church to receive the sacrament of matrimony and found a home, a family of their own?

Their love story is also a coming home to each other. Having been classmates in grade school, they went their separate ways through high school, college and work. Until that fateful class reunion in 2007. We’re not sure if there was any love at first sight for one or both of them. But we’re sure they are glad that they took a second look. After around two years, for Emman, after mustering the courage to say the right words and do the right moves; for Sarita, after getting to know again Emman much closer this time – they became a couple. After another two years, here we are today.

Restoring the Words and Repeating the Same Mistakes

Anthony Esolen at First Things belabors the over-all superiority of the new English translation of the Roman Missal over the one used for 40 years in English-speaking countries. I do get the feeling though that the majority consensus already among Catholic liturgists today is that the soon-to-be-replaced translation does need some changing.

Perhaps he is speaking to the still unconvinced crowd. Maybe it's just me, but I think the more relevant question is not so much whether the new translation is better than the old, but whether the new may be able to hold its own to scrutiny without resorting to "but it's way better than the old".

Though much may be said about its form and content, I will limit my comment on the process through which this new translation came about.

Esolen prefaced his arguments with a well-chosen passage from Orwell's novel 1984, and this rather dramatic narration of what happened years ago:

"Some forty years ago, a team of men was charged with rendering the Latin of the Catholic Novus Ordo Mass into English. They did so, dully and inaccurately, for the common prayers spoken by the people at every Mass. But when they worked just beyond the view of the people, they became different men altogether. Then they felt the fire of zeal. The prayers spoken by the priest—the collects, offertories, prefaces, postcommunions, special blessings, and even the eucharistic prayers—gave them a vast field to ply their talents."

Convincing enough if not for the fact that take away the "some forty years ago", replace it with a more recent date, and he may as well be talking about how the new translation came to be. Consider these:

• 1998. After years of international consultation and collaboration, a new translation was finished by ICEL and approved by the bishops conferences of English-speaking countries. It followed the set criteria of hewing more closely to the Latin, without sacrificing clarity or intelligibility in English. But like the old translation that it sought to replace, it was done using the principle of "dynamic equivalence". The result: Vatican rejected dynamic equivalence and the translation itself. ICEL was reorganized with new appointments, making it accountable to the Vatican, and no longer to the various bishops conferences that created it.
• 2001. Liturgiam authenticam was issued. It formally declared "formal equivalence" as the translation theory to be used in liturgical translations in all vernacular languages. It directed that translation work should make all Latin words accounted for, and that the vocabulary, syntax, punctuation, and capitalization patterns found in the Latin original must be reproduced as much as possible in the vernacular languages. The point was to create a new "sacral language" different from ordinary speech. Needless to say, the document was met with much criticism from all over.
• 2002. Vox Clara, a new Vatican committee to advise on the approval of new English translations, was formed.
• 2008. A new translation prepared by the new ICEL sticking to the new norms laid down in Liturgiam Authenticam was sent to English-speaking bishops’ conferences for approval, subsequently approved (though not without strong criticism from some sectors), and then sent to the Vatican for final approval.
• 2010. Vox Clara introduced an estimated 10,000 changes into the text approved in 2008. Many liturgists commented that the changes impaired the text, displayed no consistent pattern, and, many times violated the very norms laid down in Liturgiam Authenticam. The altered text was declared officially approved and then returned to the bishops conferences for implementation.

Case in point: Esolen praises this new translation of the Prayer after Communion for the First Sunday of Advent 2011 (incidentally, the official start of the new translation's implementation in the US). He describes is as a "splendid work", both "accurate and profoundly scriptural":

May these mysteries, O Lord,
in which we have participated,
profit us, we pray,
for even now, as we walk amid passing things,
you teach us by them to love the things of heaven
and hold fast to what endures.

Anthony Ruff, OSB, at the Pray Tell blog describes it this way: "The word order (in the new translation) is so messed up that the prayer seems to say we learn to love the things of heaven from the passing things of this world – but the Latin prays that it be from the mysteries celebrated in the liturgy!"

The new one is, of course, better than the current (soon to be passing):
Father,
may our communion
teach us to love heaven.
May its promise and hope
guide our way on earth.

Somebody points out, a better translation could have been this:
Lord, may the celebration of these mysteries
profit us, we pray,
since through them you teach us,
on our journey through this passing world,
to love the things of heaven
and hold fast to what endures.


The Latin prayer says:
Prosint nobis, quaesumus, Domine, frequentata mysteria,
quibus nos, inter praetereuntia ambulantes,
iam nunc instituis amare caelestia et inhaerere mansuris.


Let's read Esolen's words again (this time with some personal and arbitrary changes):

"Some four years ago, a team of men was charged with advising on the new rendering of the Latin of the Catholic Novus Ordo Mass into English. They did so, dully and inaccurately, for the common prayers spoken by the people at every Mass. But when they worked just beyond the view of the people, they became different men altogether. Then they felt the fire of zeal. The prayers spoken by the priest—the collects, offertories, prefaces, postcommunions, special blessings, and even the eucharistic prayers—gave them a vast field to ply their talents."

When will we ever learn?

Prayer of Reparation for the Sin of Sacrilege and Blasphemy

Manila Archbishop Cardinal Rosales prescribes this prayer as a Catholic and Christian response to the sins of sacrilege and blasphemy that was the recent public exhibition at CCP of repulsive and obscene anti-Christian thrash/art. The prayer is to be prayed in all Masses in the Archdiocese of Manila on August 21 to 28, 2011. Also the Cardinal declares August 26 as Day of Penance and decrees that the Mass for the Forgiveness of Sins be used, with the presider in purple vestments.

Prayer of Reparation for the Sin of Sacrilege and Blasphemy

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
out of love for us, your sinful creatures,
you became man and sacrificed your life on the cross.