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Pope: Cross isnt an ornament, Christianity isnt a do-gooders guide

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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 5:3)

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A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

The Cross

Bishop urges faithful: Shun biases against poor

WITH only a few days left before the Holy Week, a bishop calls on the faithful to renew themselves by shunning prejudgments and biases against less fortunate individuals, especially those who are marred by poverty and hardships in life. I hope that we will not fall into the same kind of prejudgment done by the Jewish leaders [against Jesus Christ], said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo in his homily during the Manila Archdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly on April 5. When Jesus Christ first arrived in the
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April 14 - 27, 2014

Vol. 18 No. 8

Php 20.00

Peace agreement is nothing without goodwill, sinceritybishop

WHILE recognizing the milestone achieved in the signing of the peace pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a Catholic prelate said genuine peace will only be achieved through the goodwill and sincerity of individuals to seek the common good. We really need peace to reign in Mindanao. But we also know that genuine peace is not something that results from any agreement, but from the goodwill of each individual, said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo on April 5. Pabillo on Saturday added that more than the signing of peace pacts between quarreling parties, it is the political will and common desire of people to settle disagreements that bring about lasting peace. In the (government-MILF) peace agreement, we are given hope that the peace we are longing for is now within our reach, Pabillo said in an interview with CBCP News. Much sought after peace will only be achieved through good will on both sides, Pabillo said, calling the the process something ongoing that is not acquired through the signing of a document. He called on both the government and MILF panels to seek the common good instead of advancing their personal interests so genuine peace may finally be attained in Southern Philippines. Let us all seek the common good. Instead of pursuing personal interests, let us ask ourselves, Will this really benefit the people in Mindanao? The peace process should also be inclusive, not solely focusing on the MILF, but including the MNLF and all other indigenous groups (Lumads) as well, Pabillo said. The bishop also called on the Filipino faithful to be one with the government and the Muslim groups in pushing for the attainment of peace in the country by expressing concern for the peace process. This is not an agreement only between the government and the other party. This involves the whole country. I hope that Filipinos will be concerned about this pursuit for peace, Pabillo said. If the whole country will unite for this cause, there is a greater chance for us to attain the peace that we have all been yearning for, he added. On March 27, the government and the secessionist MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the final peace agreement between the two parties encompassing the 2012 framework agreement; the annexes on transitional modalities, wealth sharing, powersharing and normalization; and all the included addenda. The CAB will be the basis for the drafting of the basic law of the Bangsamoro region, which will serve as the community of the Muslim minority in Mindanao. (Jennifer Orillaza)

Armed with rosaries and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, pro-lifers stand vigil outside the Supreme Court compound in Baguio City to pray for the final deliberations of the justices on Republic Act No. 10354, April 8, 2014.

Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? (I Cor 15:55)
Easter Pastoral Instruction on Stewardship of Health
TODAY the Church returns to the tomb and sees it empty. The tomb without the body inside leads us to an act of faith He is risen! The resurrected Jesus had a body but quite different from the way the disciples experienced Jesus before the Passover. The body of Jesus was both resurrected and changed. As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, let us also renew our faith in the resurrection of the body. This body as we have it is a gift from God. This body as we have it will be resurrected and will be changed. Taking care of this body is not always an exercise of vanity. Taking care of the body is a spiritual duty as good stewards of health. Saint John Paul II tirelessly reminded us during his papal ministry that we are created in the likeness of God. The human body is sacred because the human body is a gift from God. We must act and live like God because we were created like Him. The passage of the Reproductive Health Law also prompts us to lay down these teachings about the Christian understanding of health. While we respect and recognize the duty and right of the State to pass laws, we deem it our duty as pastors to teach you about the Christian understanding of health which the present RH law seems to misunderstand.
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RH loses sting with SC ruling CBCP

several key items in the said law unconstitutional, says DESPITE RH pro- the Catholic Bishponents outright ops Conference of Philippines. claim of victory, the Although the Suthe much-contest- preme Court has upheld ed RH Law lost the constitutionality of much of its sting the RH law, it has truly with the Supreme watered down the RH law and consequently Court declaring upheld the importance of
By Nirvaana Ella Delacruz
adhering to an informed r elig iou s conscience even among government workers, said CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas in a statement issued on the day of the historical ruling. In a landmark decision on April 8, the SC justices struck down as unconstitutional 8 items in the RH law found in sections 3, 7, 17 and 23 of the said law. Section 7 is a major provision in the law, pertaining to Access to Family Planning; section 17 is titled Pro Bono Services for Indigent Women; and section 7 Prohibited Acts. Church mission continues In a statement released in behalf of the bishops

Roy Lagarde

conference, Villegas also lauded the High Courts decision because it has stood on the side of the rights of parents to teach their children, obviously referring to the struck down item in section 7 of R.A. 10354 allowing minors who have suffered a miscarriage access to modern methods of family planning without

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Tagle welcomes faithful Protect forced migrants, back to Manila Cathedral refugees Tagle
Raymond A. Sebastin/CBCP News

Confused about the RH ruling? A lawyer explains

after more than two years of retrofitting work. Now we are all home. Welcome home. Welcome home to thishouse of thearchdiocese, the home of our God, the home of our Mother, he said.

FILE PHOTO

A statue of Peter, the first Pope and the Rock upon whom the Church was built, looks on as the faithful leave the Cathedral.

IN a solemn occasion meant for the books, Manila Archbishop Lus Antonio Cardinal Tagle welcomed

thousands of the faithful Wednesday, April 9, to the newly reopened Manila Metropolitan Cathedral

Awe-struck In his opening remarks, an awe-struck Tagle noted how much more beautiful the Cathedral has become as he surveyed its brightly lit premises. I am empty-headed now. Seeing the beauty of the cathedral just overwhelms me, and seeing how this place of worship has become more beautiful is beyond my expectation
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Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle

IN his recent visit to the U.S., Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle emphasized the need for the Church to address the needs and address the plight of forced migrants and refugees in the presentday context. The Church must lead

in viewing migrants and refugees beyond numbers and beyond categorization, towards a recovery of the full human dimension of their condition, Tagle said in his address delivered before the Filipino-American community in Fordham
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TO minds unfamiliar with legalese and the esoteric terms of the courts, the recent Supreme Court ruling seemed to muddle the understanding of the general public about the status of

R.A. 10354. A renowned election lawyer clarified recently that there is more to the ruling than meets the eyeunfortunately for the pro-RH camp.
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Illustration by Brothers Matias

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Vatican Briefing
Pope mourns 'brutal killing' of priest, urges end to violence

World News

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

IN comments made following his general audience address, Pope Francis lamented the killing of a Jesuit priest in Syria, and appealed to the countrys leaders to foster peace and respect human dignity. Please, silence your weapons, and end the violence! No more war! No more destruction! the Pope exclaimed in comments made April 9. Fr. Frans van der Lugt S.J., aged 75 and a native of the Netherlands, was killed April 7 after he was beaten and shot dead by gunmen in the city of Homs, where he was caring for the fewer than 30 Christians who remain in the Old City district, which has been blockaded by the Syrian regime for nearly two years. The priest had worked in Syria since 1967. He was a psychotherapist and was involved in interreligious dialogue. In the 1980s, he built a spirituality center in Homs, which housed some 40 children with mental disabilities. (CNA)
Special adviser appointed to Vatican's 'central bank'

U.S. Aid to Philippines will fund humanitarian assistance and long-term church reconstruction
$24.5M Collected to Help Victims of Typhoon Haiyan
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 09, 2014Members of the U.S. bishops Administrative Committee ratified a recommendation to evenly distribute the proceeds of the special collection for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan between humanitarian relief and long-term church reconstruction and program needs. The decision was made during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Administrative Committee Meeting in March. As of late March, 148 dioceses have donated $24.5 million to the special collection. Of this amount, $6.4 million has been specifically designated by dioceses for humanitarian-only use. These donations have been tracked and sent directly to Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS received an additional $2.9 million directly from several dioceses. The proposed split will apply to the shared portion of the collection, currently at $16.2 million. Catholic Relief Services will administer the 50% of the collection that goes to humanitarian relief efforts, which include clean water, shelter kits, and income recovery. Incoming donations that are designated for humanitarian-only use will continue to be sent to CRS on a regular basis. Both humanitarian and Church needs are significant, said Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati, chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. When the delegation visited the Philippines in early February, they were able to see the needs first-hand. I spoke with Archbishop Coakley, who was in the delegation, and we agreed to recommend an even split of the collection to the Administrative Committee. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City is chairman of the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services. One reason for our recommendation is the lack of an insurance system for Church property in the Philippines, said Archbishop Coakley. Through conversations with other Church aid agencies, it has become clear that our aid is absolutely necessary. Very limited funding will be available for the Church, aside from our support through this collection. The 50% of the collection allocated to the reconstruction of church buildings and property will be distributed directly to the Bishops Conference of the Philippines by the Committee on National Collections. Documentation will provide parameters on the use of the funding with the goal that all impacted areas receive funds. Based on the information from the delegation, we are confident that the local Conference has the structure and personnel in place to manage the funds, said Archbishop Schnurr. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan devastated cities across the Philippines, damaging or destroying 600,000 homes and affecting nearly 12 million people. More information on the special collection for the Philippines can be found online:www.usccb.org/about/nationalcollections/index.cfm and at http://crs.org/ typhoon-haiyan. (Zenit)

THE Secretariat for the Economy appointed Franco Dalla Sega as ad interim special adviser to the extraordinary section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. Aside from assisting the secretary of APSA in the conduct of the activities of the Section, Professor Dalla Sega will be assigned specific tasks and projects and may be asked for specific advice on the reorganization of APSA in accordance with the broader revision of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See, the secretariat announced in an April 5 communiqu. Dalla Sega, 53, is a lecturer at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and a member of the oversight council of Intesa San Paolo, an Italian bank. (CNA)
Pope Francis reaffirms importance of Vatican bank's mission

POPE Francis approved a proposal April 7 on the future of the Institute for Religious Works, commonly known as the Vatican bank, affirming its importance for the good of the Church. The IOR will continue to serve with prudence and provide specialized financial services to the Catholic Church worldwide, read a statement from the Holy See press office released April 7. The valuable services that can be offered by the Institute assist the Holy Father in his mission as universal pastor and also aid those institutions and individuals who collaborate with him in his ministry. The proposal has not been detailed, but seems to deal with the insertion of the Vatican bank among the wider reform of the Holy Sees financial departments. (CNA)
Pope distributes free copies of Gospels

Migrants in Holy Land look forward to papal visit

JAFFA, Israel, April 10, 2014 Migrant workers in the Holy Land are eagerly awaiting Pope Francis pilgrimage to Palestine, Israel and Jordan next month, and are praying for its success. The migrant workers communities are eagerly awaiting the Pope with joyful expectation, Fr. Tojy Jose, OFM, head of the Indian Chaplaincy in the Holy Land, told CNA April 5. Pope Francis will travel to the Holy Land May 24-26, marking the 50th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, who was then the Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Constantinople. Fr. Jose said the Indian community in the area is enthusiastic to hear the Holy Father. The Popes forthcoming visit has boosted the morale, and will reinforce the hopes, of the migrant Christians working in Holy Land. Pope Francis will arrive in Amman, the Jordanian capital, May 24 and pay a courtesy visit to the nations king and queen, and he will later address national authorities. joint declaration, after which there will be a public ecumenical meeting at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. On May 26, Pope Francis will meet Jerusalems Grand Mufti, the Sunni cleric entrusted with the citys Muslim holy places. He will then visit the Western Wall and lay a wreath at Mount Herzl, the site of Israels national cemetery, and then make a discourse at Yad Vashem, Israels memorial of the Holocaust, and meet with Jerusalems chief rabbis. In the afternoon he will meet in private with Patriarch Bartholomew, aside the Orthodox parish on the Mount of Olives, after which he will meet with priests, religious, and seminarians at the church of Gethsemane. Pope Francis will say Mass with the ordinaries of the Holy Land and the Papal suite at the Cenacle, and he will preach at the Mass. In the evening, he will fly from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, say farewell to Israel, and return to Rome. (CNA)

POPE Francis handed out free pocket-sized copies of the gospels to crowds filling St. Peters square for the Sunday Angelus, as an encouragement to read the Word of God. Last Sunday I suggested that you get a little copies of the gospels, to carry with you during the day, to read often. Then I thought over the ancient tradition of the Church, during Lent, to give the gospel to catechumens preparing for baptism. So today I want to offer to you who are here in the piazza - but as a sign for all - a pocket-sized gospel. They will be distributed to you freely, the Pope explained on April 6. Take one, carry it with you: it is truly Jesus who speaks to you, he urged those packed into the square. This is the word of Jesus! The Holy Father then asked that the faithful remember Christs words, freely have you received, freely give! so that they too would give the message of the gospel to others. (CNA)
Pope praises police-church network to stop trafficking, meets victims

Jerusalem.

MEETING four victims of human trafficking, dozens of religious sisters and senior police chiefs from 20 countries, Pope Francis praised their coordinated efforts to fight against a "crime against humanity." "Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ," he said. The pope spoke at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences April 10 to participants in an international conference on combating human trafficking, which was organized by the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster. Human trafficking "is a crime against humanity" that requires continued global and local cooperation between the Catholic Church and law enforcement, Pope Francis said. The twin strategies of police cracking down on the criminals behind trafficking and church and social workers aiding victims "are quite important," he said, and "can and must go together." (CNS)
No mandatory reporting in Italian norms for handling abuse allegations

That afternoon he will say Mass, then visit Bethany beyond the Jordan, the site where John the Baptist was baptizing. There, Pope Francis will address refugees and the physically disabled. The Pope will celebrate Mass in the afternoon at 4 p.m., followed by a visit to the baptismal site at Bethany beyond Jordan and to meet and address the refugees, and physically challenged people. The following day, Pope Francis will travel to Palestine to visit

Bethlehem, meeting the states president and the Palestinian Authority, then saying Mass and praying the Regina Caeli. He will lunch with Palestinian families at the Franciscan convent of Casa Nova, and then make a private visit to the grotto of the nativity. After this, he will be greeted by refugee children, and then depart by helicopter for Israel. He will meet in private with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the present day Archbishop of Constantinople; the two will sign a

Solomon Islands bishops seek prayer, support after flooding

HONIARA, Solomon Islands, April 9, 2014 After heavy rains led to flooding on the island of Guadalcanal which has caused 23 confirmed deaths, the bishops of Solomon Islands have appealed for prayerful support for their people. We are experiencing a moment of a true Way of the Cross, said Bishop Luciano Capelli of Gizo in a statement this week. Just remain close and if you can, also give us a hand, the bishop added. Several days of heavy rain led to flash floods and landslides on Guadalcanal, which resulted in the Mataniko river, which runs through the capital city Honiara, jumping its banks April 3. The cathedral and the hill of Holy Cross in Honiara are full of refugees, said Bishop Capelli. He added that at Gizo and Malaita, which are on neighboring islands, things are more calm, but the water is abundantthere are power cuts and people live in fear. Archbishop Adrian Smith of Honiara said future in Solomon Islandsthat cannot be compromised. The floodwater is receding, he said, but the country has yet to come to terms with the full extent of the damage. We ask you to lift us in prayer that we make the right decisions for the good of the students and the future of Solomon Islands, Fr. Pereira concluded. The death toll is expected to rise, and some 10,000 Solomon Islanders have been left homeless by the flooding; 50,000 are currently displaced. Government officials have emphasized the grave damage to infrastructure across Guadalcanal. Disease on the island is spreading, with sewer systems and water supplies damaged or destroyed. The national disaster management office has said dengue fever, dysentery, and malaria are all risks. Forty percent of Honiara remained cut off from clean water April 8, including many evacuation centers, according to the Solomon Islands Water Authority. (CNA)

THE Italian bishops' conference encouraged its members to cooperate with civil authorities in cases of clerical sexual abuse, but said the bishops have no legal obligation to report abuse allegations to the police or other civil authorities. In addition, the new Italian church norms say the bishops "are exonerated" from releasing to the state documents in their possession or information connected with abuse cases. Because a bishop is not a public official and is not charged with duties of "public service, he does not have the juridical obligation -- save for a moral duty to contribute to the common goodto report to civil judicial authorities news he has received concerning illicit matters" of sex abuse, the guidelines said. The guidelines are the first national norms published by the Italian bishops' conference for dealing with the sexual abuse of minors by priests. (CNS)
Vatican official urges greater efforts to help those with autism

Marianne Medlin/CNA

Damage to homes in Honiara along the Mataniko river.

WHILE it may be a huge challenge, the Catholic Church must find ways to offer support to families with a child who has autism, include people with autism in church activities and fight the prejudice surrounding the learning disability, a Vatican official said. The church's efforts must be "directed toward ensuring that hope is not extinguished" in either persons with an autism disorder or in their family members, said Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry. In a message released April 2, the day the United Nations marks as World Autism Awareness Day, the archbishop announced that his office's annual international conference would be dedicated to autism-spectrum disorders. The three-day meeting in November will bring together physicians, scientists, researchers, pastors, parents and volunteers to discuss practical ways to help people with autism and their families. (CNS)
Vatican accepts resignation of Germany's 'Bishop Bling'

April 7 several bridges connecting parishes on Guadalcanal have been destroyed, adding that east of Honiara has been the cause of much worry for me. The Good Samaritan Hospital at Tetere lost their ambulance, he lamented. It seems that it was on a rescue mission and was swept away by the flood. Several schools on Guadalcanal have been floodedthe students of St. Josephs Catholic Secondary School are being sheltered in the parish hall of Kukum. Institutions in Tenaru

are damaged, but have reportedly not been destroyed; these include St. Martins rural training center, the Nazareth Apostolic Centre, and Holy Name of Mary Seminary. Bishop Capelli reported that the parish of Tetre is totally submerged under water, but parishioners have been safely evacuated. A very sad and depressing atmosphere looms all around us, Fr. Ambrose Pereira, a Salesian serving in Honiara, told CNA April 7, as he described walking along the bank of the Mataniko in the citys Chinatown.

The Mataniko metal and wood bridge is completely destroyed, he said, adding that the concrete bridge, the lifeline that links Henderson with Honiara, has been severely damaged. With people displaced, infrastructure down, and a limited food supply, the weeks and months ahead will be difficult, Fr. Pereira said. The Salesians Don Bosco Technical Institute has postponed its reopening, he said, while adding that with a little more than 40 percent literacy rate, education is the key to a brighter

THE Vatican has accepted the resignation of a German bishop who was at the center of controversy over expenditures for his residence and a diocesan center. Following a diocesan investigation, the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops studied the audit's findings and accepted the resignation of Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg. Auxiliary Bishop Manfred Grothe of Paderborn was appointed to serve as apostolic administrator of Limburg in the meantime, the Vatican announced March 26. Bishop Tebartz-van Elst would be assigned, "at a suitable moment," another unspecified assignment, the Vatican statement said. It said the Vatican accepted the bishop's offer to resign "given that a situation exists in the Diocese of Limburg which prevents the fruitful exercise" of his office. (CNS)

Venezuelan Bishop notes concern over escalating violence

VATICAN CITY, April 9, 2014A Venezuelan bishop has expressed concern amidst increasing violent acts in the country. Chaos continues to mount as opposition against the government of President Nicolas Maduro has continued to lead to clashes with police forces. Bishop Luis Armando Tineo Rivera of Carora called for all parties in the conflict to concentrate on seeking the common good through peaceful means rather than violence, particularly as Holy Week approaches. This means that dialogue assumes, of course, respect and mutual acceptance between each of the parties, and thus the will to reach agreements, Bishop Tineo stated in a note sent to Fides News Agency. Facing pressure to establish peace by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), President Maduro agreed Tuesday to meet with opposition leaders to begin negotiations. Foreign ministers of the member countries of UNASUR also met with the embattled Venezuelan president. Maduro expressed his hope that negotiations with the opposition will be considered a great message of peace, a great sign for all the people to end violence. (Zenit)

Fr. Ambrose Pereira, S.D.B.

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Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

News Features

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Pope: Cross isnt an ornament, Christianity isnt a do-gooders guide

VATICAN, April 7, 2014Christianity isnt a philosophy or guide to survival, good behavior and peace, its a relationship with a real person who died on the cross for our sins, Pope Francis said. Christianity cant be understood without understanding this deep humiliation of the son of God, who abased himself, becoming a servant to the point of his death and death on the cross in order to serve humanity, the pope said. In his homily April 8 during an early morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis focused on the days reading from the Book of John (8:21-30), in which Jesus tells the Pharisees and the Jews that those who belong to this world and do not believe in him will die in your sins. Jesus tells them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am, the son of God, obeying Gods will. Christianity doesnt exist without the cross and a cross doesnt exist without Jesus Christ, the pope said, according to a report by Vatican Radio. The cross, however, isnt an ornament that is just placed in churches and on altars, and its not a symbol of identification, he said. The cross is the mystery, the mystery of Gods love, who lowers himself, who makes himself nothing and takes on humanitys sins, he said. If people want to find their sins, he said, they should look to the cross, to the Lords wounds, and its there that their sins will be healed and forgiven. Gods forgiveness doesnt mean the debt we have with him is erased: the forgiveness that God gives us are the wounds of his son on the cross, lifted up on the cross, in which he pulls us toward him and we let ourselves be healed. Jesus took everything upon himself, all of our sins, our pride, our self-assurance, our vanity, our desire to become like God, the pope said. That is why a Christian who doesnt know how to glory in the crucified Christ hasnt understood what being a Christian means. Christianity isnt a philosophical doctrine, it isnt a guide to life for survival, for being well-behaved and for building peace. These are the results, he said. Christianity is a person, a person lifted up on the cross, a person who abased himself to save us. (Carol Glatz/ CNS)

Pope Francis prays for kidnapped priests, nun

VATICAN, April 5, 2014 - Pope Francis is remembering in his prayers two Italian priests and a Canadian religious sister who were kidnapped in Cameroon Friday night. Vatican Radio reports that Pope Francis hopes for a rapid and positive solution to the affair. He remains in constant contact with the nunciature. The two priests and religious sister were kidnapped by armed persons around midnight on April 4. The identity of the kidnappers is unknown at this time, although the Islamic militia Boko Haram has been known to operate in the area, Reuters reports. Fathers Giampaolo Marta and Gianantonio Allegri are priests of northeastern Italys Diocese of Vicenza. They work as missionaries in the Diocese of Maroua in the north of Cameroon, along with Sister Gilberte Bissiere. They were helping improve water supplies and combat the spread of HIV / AIDS. During Lent, the priests religious activities included the preparation of catechumens and children for baptism during the Easter vigil. In a March 12 letter posted on the Vicenza dioceses missions website, Fr. Allegri described the political situation. He wrote the situation of insecurity in the territory has not changed: even if outwardly here one does not perceive (it to be) particularly alarming, it is palpable in our feelings and in our conversations. We know that on the border with Nigeria, the police and the military are committed to ensuring that there are no leaks, his letter continued, adding that the regional governor has asked that Europeans moving in groups should have a police escort. However, rest assured, we are calm and confident in the Father whom we preach, merciful and great in love, the priest said. According to a statement from the Diocese of Vicenza, the situation is a source of great concern for the whole diocesan community. At the recommendation of the ministry of foreign affairs, the diocese said, it is not issuing specific statements in order to avoid complicating an already extremely delicate situation. Vicenzas Bishop Beniamino Pizziol had visited the missionaries in Cameroon in January. He said he will hold a prayer vigil for them Saturday evening. (CNA/ EWTN News)

Vatican announces logo, motto for papal trip to Korea

MANILA, April 4, 2014How relevant is Calungsods example to young people today? Apparently, his selflessness is a trait that goes to the heart of a lot of modern Pinoy youths self-preoccupation, says a priest. Youth, nowadays, tend to be selfish, so there is a need to become selfless just like what San Pedro Calungsod teaches us, said Fr. Ronnie Samaniego, Chaplain of San Pedro Calungsod Chapel located at SM Aura in Taguig City on March 30. This selflessness should, Fr. Samaniego explained, be seen through [our] life and witnessed by the way we live. In an interview with YouthPinoy, he also renewed the challenge given to Christians to answer the call to live a life of service like San Pedro Calungsods example. After celebrating a novena mass, as Media personalities Julius and Tin Tin Babao pose with their daughters new Pedrito part of a series of activities to celebrate doll at the San Pedro Calungsod Chapel. the April 2 feast day of the young martyr, the priest called on the faithful to sods life teaches us? Fr. Samaniego echetical fund of the Diocese of Pasig. examine whether they are truly living added. There also was a free film screenaccording to the faith. In between masses, YouthPinoy, ing of the movie, Pedro Calungsod: We should ask ourselves, whether a group of online missionaries, also Batang Martir, produced by HPI we are Christians, Are we living the got to sell Pedrito dolls to benefit the Synergy Inc. and Wings Entertaincall, just like what San Pedro Calung- Archdiocese of Manila and the Cat- ment. (YouthPinoy)

Official logo for Pope Francis' Apostolic Voyage to South Korea in August, 2014.

Live life to the fullest Tagle to Fil-Chinese youth

VATICAN, April 8, 2014The Holy See has released the official motto and logo for Pope Francis upcoming visit to South Korea, which is the first time a Roman Pontiff has traveled to the country in since John Paul II went 25 years ago. Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you is the motto, taken from Isaiah 60:1, for Pope Francis upcoming Apostolic Voyage to Soth Korea, which will take place August 14 18, 2014. According to an April 8 article published on Vatican Radio, the motto and logo were officially presented to the Holy See by members of the Korean Bishops Conference, who are the organizing the trip and are present in Rome this week in order to finalize the most recent details of events to take place. The logo for the apostolic voyage display two intertwining flames, one red and the other blue, which rise from two light blue waves representing a boat. Indicating the two Koreas, the flames wind together in order to emphasize a desire for the reunification of the two nations, Vatican Radio reports, and the blue waves that form the boat hold the shape of knife blades, which is a symbol of the sacrifice the Korean martyrs made for the Church. The waves are blue in order to represent Gods mercy, which is as great as the ocean. Among the key purposes of Pope Francis visit are two main events, the first being to participate in the celebration of the

6th Asian Youth Day, which is being held August 13 17 in the diocese of Daejeon. Expected to gather young Christians from across the continent, the encounter will be celebrated under a motto that echoes the papal trip itself: Asian Youth! Wake up! The glory of the martyrs shines upon you. This motto also draws attention to the second main reason for the papal voyage, which is to preside over the beatification of 124 Korean martyrs, whose causes he approved of in February. Among those slated to be canonized are Paul Yun Jichung, the first Korean martyr, and 123 companions who were executed between 1791 and 1888 for the Faith by the Joseon Dynasty. Pope Francis upcoming visit will mark the first time in 25 years that a Pope has visited the Korean peninsula, the last visit occurring when Bl. John Paul II came in Oct. of 1989, following a 1984 trip where he canonized 103 Korean martyrs, including Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean native priest. Vatican Radio also reports that Asia contains the worlds fastest growing Catholic community, which has more than doubled in the last century, despite remaining a religious minority. It is estimated that Catholicism has grown by 70% in Korea over the past decade who now number more than five million faithful which is about ten percent of the national population. (CNA/ EWTN News)

YouthPinoy

Sky Ortigas/YouthPinoy

Immerse yourself in God, says priest

PARAAQUE City, April 9, 2014 With the Holy Week a week away, a priest urges the faithful to immerse themselves in God to gain new life. When we are immersed in [the] water [of baptism], we are immersed in sin When we come out of the water, Christ lives in us, granting us new life, explained Saint Andrews Cathedral Parish rector Rolando R. Agustn in a homily. Let us live a new life, a life lived in the grace of the Lord, a life in holiness, a life in the Spirit, he said in Filipino. Using the sacrament of baptism to illustrate his point, Agustn likened sinners to those who drown themselves to death in the water of sinfulness only to come out of it alive anew and filled with Gods grace. He explained that through this immersion, believers become children of God. This is also the reason why,Fr. Agustin added, the faithful should live their every day life as Gods children. Expounding on the Gospel of St. John 11:1-45, the priest urged his congregation to reflect on the passage,which details how Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Martha and Mary, died, and how Jesus raised him back from the dead. Agustn shared that the Raising of Lazarus raises three significant points for Christians to meditate on. First, it reveals in full Gods glory and how all life comes from Him, the All-Powerful Creator. Second, it teaches that death does not end in death, and how with physical death eternal life may be acquired. Third, it affirms the Lords humanity when He wept (John 11:35) in grief for the death of his friend, Fr. Agustin said. The Lazarus story overall presages Christs own impending demise and how on the third day, like his friend, he rose again, the priest stressed. As the Creed proclaims, Our Lords death and resurrection are life-giving. Dying and rising from the dead, Christ brings hope of eternal life to all who, like Lazarus, must die. That hope finds fulfillment in the sacrament of baptism, Agustn added. (Raymond A. Sebastin)

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, seated in the middle, poses with hundreds of FCCY leaders at the closing of their national convention.

MANILA, April 7, 2014 Live life to the fullest. This is what Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle encouraged FilipinoChinese youth to do, letting go of sins and addictions. What are the tombs of your lives? Where are you buried? Some are buried in their gadgets, in their cell phones. Some are buried in vices, some are buried in gambling, Cardinal Tagle said April 6 at the closing mass of the Filipino Chinese Catholic Youth (FCCY) National Convention at the St. Jude Thaddeus Shrine in Manila. No God, no life Speaking to some 500

FCCY leaders, Tagle explained, this sense of being only half-alive, buried in personal sins and addictions is the story of each one of us. But he said the secret to living life to the fullest is accessible, because the secret is God Himself. It is not eating that keeps you alive. It is not dating that keeps us alive. We are alive if we are in God, Tagle added. The God who was revealed by Jesus Christ is really the God of life. To belong to God means to live. That is the full meaning of living, he said. Explaining the nature of sin and death, Tagle said, every person dies because everyone sins.

Death = sin We sin, we die because of sin. We suffer the consequences of our sin like the Israelites, but God through Ezekiel promised, I will lead you out, he said. According to him, the good news is that despite personal failings and sin, God will make sure that we are led back to life. Drawing from the Gospel reading on the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Tagle encouraged the young people to be fearless in approaching Jesus, who is the source of life. Like Martha we are ashamed, embarrassed.. [We think], Oh no, mabaho eh. (It stinks.) I dont want You to

smell my stench, he said. But, according to Tagle, Jesus has no problem with our stench, He wants to visit us so that we can be led back to our lives. In closing, he encouraged the participants to invite Jesus to their tombs and to leave them soon as possible, while they are still young. Let yourself live. Do not be afraid, when you are still young, get out of the tomb. When you are used to that, it might become your home. While you are young, get out because you belong to the light, Tagle said. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz with reports from Sky Ortigas)

Archdiocese of Seoul, South Korea

Youth need Calungsods selflessness priest

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EDITORIAL

Opinion
Stewards of health

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

ON the first Sunday of Easter, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, through its president, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, issued an Easter pastoral instruction on stewardship of health titled Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? This was prompted by the passage of the Reproductive Health Law which, according to the bishops, understands health differently. While we respect and recognize the duty and right of the State to pass laws, we deem it our duty as pastors to teach you about the Christian understanding of health which the present RH law seems to misunderstand, says the pastoral instruction. This instruction premises the Christian understanding of health on human life itself. Human life ought to be promoted and defended from the moment of conception to natural death. Our life is in our hands as stewards of the gift of life. And our stewardship of life calls us to be responsible stewards of health. While health may not be the greatest value and good of the person, health is a gift and a task for all of us. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) which reportedly are major supporters of the Reproductive Health Law (RA 10354) seem to bamboozle the understanding of health and reproductive health. Obviously, the use of contraceptive pills, which have been easily obtainable in Philippine market for some time now (and, of course, even in government clinics and hospitals) does not fit the WHOs definition of health which is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. One does not have to be a doctor to know that contraceptive pillseven granting that there are no side effects, but in fact there arework to suppress something in the body from performing its normal function and, therefore, contrary to well-being or health. It is rather odd why RA 10354 is called a national policy on Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health when, in fact, it neither promotes the responsibility of parenting nor of real health. The bishops exhort Catholics to take care of their body since it is a spiritual duty to do so as good stewards of health. And that includes the campaign against the Reproductive Health Law that misunderstands it.

Our Situation: The Gospel of Joy

POPE Francis says The joy of living frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the rise, and inequality is increasingly evident. It is a struggle to live and, often, to live with precious little dignity. (Evangelii Gaudium, 52) If we were given an opportunity to describe the situation of the Catholic laity in the Philippines, it would be the paradox of poverty and abundance. The devastation that typhoon Yolanda brought upon our brothers and sisters in Samar and Leyte has created surges of pain and anguish all over our land and even beyond our shores. The typhoon left us dazed and lost groping in the dark for answers and explanation. The first and most important truth about you, Filipino Catholic laity, is not poverty, but the greatness of your dignity. This dignity derives from Gods unmerited choice of you to belong to Gods holy people. God called you in Christ to be united to His Son. When you were baptized, the Holy Spirit united you with our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, and thus, you became true sons and daughters of God, partakers of the divine nature. There is no greater dignity on earth or in heaven than that of being adopted children of God, and being made truly His children, and thus co-heirs to eternal life with Jesus Christ. This dignity flows from the love of God, and made the author of 1 John exclaim, Behold, what manner of love God has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. Beloved we are already the children of God but it has not yet appeared what we shall be, because when we see him, we shall become as he is. This is what also made St. Leo the Great exclaim, Recognize your dignity, O Christian... That grace came to you with your baptism which is a true rebirth to eternal life. The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept His offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. (Evangelii Gaudium, 1) When you were united to Christ by the Spirit at baptism, you were also incorporated into the body of Christ, which is the Church, and you became members of the people of God. Your membership in the Church is a full membership. You belong to the Church as much as any pope, bishop, priest, or religious does. You are not second class members of the people of God. When you live the life of grace, you are full citizens of Gods kingdom on earth. In fact, the Church teaches that the greatest in the kingdom of God are not the ministers, but the saints. When you were joined to Christ by the Spirit at baptism, you also became sharers of the threefold mission of Christ teacher, priest and servant. You were baptized not only to share in Christs dignity as Son of God, but also to share in his mission for the salvation of the world. You share in Christs dignity and mission with all others who are likewise united to Him by the Holy Spirit. In uniting you to Him, Christ also united you to all those who are united with Him. With all those who are united to Christ by faith and baptism, you form one body of Christ, whose head is no less than Christ himself. Thus the whole body manifests and prolongs Christs life and mission in the world. -- Excerpt from the Pastoral Exhortation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for the 2014 Year of the Laity, Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be Saints Sent Forth as Heroes!

Two Witnesses of Laitys Special Vocation

WORLD-TRANSFORMATION is the mission of the laity! This assertion is a succinct statement of the task of all Catholic laity. Indeed, according to Vatican II in Lumen Gentium, the distinguishing note that identifies the laity is their secular character. The laity, by their very vocation, seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God (LG 31). Indeed, the laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth. Thus, every layman, by virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church itself (LG 33). Two examples manifest how Catholic laity have brought their faith to bear upon concrete life situations. Thomas More, Lay Secular Saint. If living ones faith in the secular world is the distinguishing mark of the lay vocation, the Church has a marvelous example in Sir Thomas More. Born in London, he studied at Oxford and completed law in London. He was married with four children. He was a brilliant lawyer; King Henry VIII employed him, knighted him, and made him Lord Chancellor of England. When the question of King Henrys divorce arose, Sir Thomas was unable to support him. He resigned as chancellor and retired from public life. He refused to sign the new Act of Succession and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. More

Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM

Year of the Laity Reflections

was executed 1535, holding firm to his conscience. Mores dying words manifest his loyalty: I die the Kings good servant, but Gods first. In the film A Man for All Seasons, More asserts: I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties they lead their country by a short route to chaos. More, a lay, secular saint was canonized in 1935. Franz Jgersttter, Man of Conscience. In 1938 Hitlers army occupied Austria, Franz Jgersttter (1907-1943) was an ordinary farmer. He was the only local citizen to vote against the Anschluss (annexation of Austria by Germany). Subsequently, all men were ordered to enlist in the military. Franz, husband and father of four, went into military training, but refused to fight in Hitlers army, knowing that he could face execution. In conscience, he was convinced that any form of service in the army would involve recognition of the Nazi cause. He offered to carry out alternate, non-violent service; this was denied to him. Many false friends urged him to renounce his conscience to save his life. Franz felt that such an action would endanger his immortal soul. He was executed on August 9, 1943 at the age of 56. In 2007 the Catholic Church declared Franz blessed, a true martyr. Indeed, this humble layman-farmer is an inspiration to all; his example leads many to say no to war and to work for peace. Laity, models of genuine virtue, are some of the Churchs greatest treasures!

Living Mission

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

and thats the truth

LEST anyone think the RH war is over, dig deep behind the headlines for the truth that will keep us pro-lifers vigilant. The news gives the impression that proRH camp has wonwhat with purple-clad advocates on a major dailys front page already looking triumphant on the day the Supreme Court (SC) was yet to deliberate on the matter, and again advocates in Senate dressed in purple later giving victory interviews on television and congratulating the SC for its decision! Of course, that is how the spin-doctors of the RH Machinery would have the public believe: that the ro-RH camp has won and pro-life has lost. But waitpro-life advocates are also saying the SC decision is a victory for pro-life, as well, because the SC struck out provisions,which in the first place we were all objecting to. But the red army is hardly given as much space in

Is SC decision on RH a win-win thing?

plain meaning, or understood under medical parlance, and more importantly, following the intention of the Framers of the Constitution, the undeniable conclusion is that a zygote is a human organism and that the life of a new human being commences at a scientifically well-defined moment of conception, that is, upon fertilization. The Court cannot subscribe to the theory advocated by Hon. Lagman that life begins at implantation. This theory of implantation as the beginning of life is devoid of any legal or scientific mooring. It does not pertain to the beginning of life but to the viability of the fetus. The fertilized ovum/zygote is not an inanimate objectit is a living human being complete with DNA and 46 chromosomes. To arrive at this decision, the Court relied on the long-established standard
And Thats The Truth / A6

mainstream media as the purple army, thus, people who just see the headlines or watch TVnews would tend to believe RH indeed won. Then theres the voluble Senadora Miriam issuing a statement and appearing on TV saying the SC decision is a triumph of reason over superstition and unwittingly contradicting herself by insisting on a motion for reconsideration on the eight provisions of the RH law which were struck down. There is yet another cause for rejoicing by pro-lifersthe SC decision of April 8, 2014 in the consolidated cases of James Imbong et al vs. Hon. Ochoa, et al, where the Supreme Court categorically pronounces that the moment of conception is reckoned from fertilization. In Decision, pp 47-48, the Supreme Court states: In all, whether it be taken from a

Newness of life
THIS is what we can expect with the celebration of Easter. We are made new! We have a new life. We are actually made a new creature. The old man in us is buried. A new man is formed in each one of us! This is because Christ has risen. With His resurrection, He has conquered sin and death. He died for us, so we can rise with Him. The sting of our death has been taken away, and is replaced with the saving resurrection of Christ who shares it with us. Thats the marvelous exchange we sing about in the Easter hymn of the Exultet. Thus, if we unite ourselves with Him and die with Hima dying that can take many forms before it takes on the ultimate formwe will also rise with him. Everything, in the reality presented to us by our Christian faith, will be new. Its a beautiful truth that should be engraved deep in our mind and heart I make all things new, (Rev 21,5) Lets be reassured of this very consoling truth of our faith. The same truth is reiterated by St. Paul: If any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away. Behold all things are made new. (2 Cor 5,17) We may not know the mechanics of how this is to take place, but this is what our faith tells us, and so we believe. Its a mysterious gift from God, first of all, and being a gift, we usually do not bother ourselves about the technical details about it. Ours is simply to receive it, ever grateful and seeing to it that we take care of the gift. This does not mean that we have nothing to do with this

Fr. Roy Cimagala

www.cbcpmonitor.com cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

Candidly Speaking
affair. Though gratuitous, this tremendous gift of a new life ought somehow to be deserved. Christ himself said so in so many words: New wine is not put into old wineskinsnew wine is put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. (Mt 9,17) We would do well to really live in intimate union with Christ. That is how, as a love song beautifully expresses it, we can keep the music playing, how we can keep the song from fading too fast, how we cannot run out of new things to say. St. Paul puts it very bluntly in his Letter to the Romans. Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste. (1 Cor 5,7) In the mind of St. Paul, this is how we may be like the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. This can mean many things. Among them, the effort to truly understand others in spite of and even because of their defects, because this is how Christ deals with each one of us. Recently, I watched two movies that wonderfully dramatized how understanding others in spite of their very obvious defects can make a lot of difference. One was Saving Mr. Banks and the other was In front of the class. In both movies, the main characters had very irritating defects. In the former, the defect was psychological, and in the latter, physical. We should realize that every one of us is a child of God who, even if one has lost his goodness, is still loved and redeemed by Christ. This is the basic and constant assumption we should have when dealing with others. And so when we see the de-

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The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the Areopagus Social Media for Asia, Inc., with editorial and business offices at Unit 306, HHC Building, Victoria cor Basco Sts., Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940

Candidly Speaking / A5

Illustration by Brothers Matias

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Opinion
Whatever A Survival Kit for Confession
#5. When I dont sin anymore or I may fall again. These sound like sincere expressions of ones remorse and may indeed present good grounds to delay going to the sacrament. Reply: They, however, reveal an unrealistic knowledge of our human condition: mans nature is one wounded by sin. Thus, as long as we live we will be sinners. God is not one who wants us sinless, but sorrowful children and walking heaven-bound with their eyes set upon occasions of grace and an ever-growing trust in their Fathers mercy. #6. Anyway, theres confession Im going anyway... so I can sin now and more. Reply: These reveal a distorted idea of confession and reduce it to a spiritual washing machine. Moreover, such a mentality belittles Gods mercy and maliciously contrives not to really cut oneself from his sinfulness. One way to overcome this vicious obstacle to Gods forgiving grace is to sincerely pray to God for ones sins, cut off the occasions of sin, carry out some penance, go to confession and sincerely express these devious ideas to the confessor. Such a sincere approach will gradually soften a callous conscience and make it more receptive to grace. *** And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Mt. 16)

A5
Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Fr. Francis Ongkingco

Duc in Altum Life is Sacred, let us defend Life!

ON April 8, 2014, the highest court of the land which was in Baguio City at the time for its summer sessions, had spoken. It ruled that the RH Law is not unconstitutional. With the use of double negative terms, it simply means that RH Law is constitutional. Why the use of double negative? Is it because many provisions of the law were declared unconstitutional? Or was it because the Supreme Court tried to assuage the intellect and feelings of both parties? Whatever is the reason, the Supreme Court already made its decision. Both parties have their chance to file a motion for reconsideration. I would have wanted to discuss in details the decision of the Supreme Court, however, I have no copy yet of the same. May I repeat what Blessed John Paul said, as quoted in this column in the previous issue of this newspaper: Give us the grace When the sacredness of life before birth is being attacked, to stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy the unborn life. *** Last Palm Sunday, many Catholics observed the beginning of the Holy Week, the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ in the city of Jerusalem. Filipinos brought to church and waved the palaspas (either olive branches or coconut fronds), the Filipino version of the palm branches, which the people of Jerusalem waved to praise Jesus. The crowd was joyous as they shouted Hosanna; they saw in Jesus their Savior, the Messiah. This show of feelings greatly alarmed the Roman officials. This also alarmed the Jewish Sanhedrin, thinking that Jesus would lead an uprising against the Romans; and this means the Romans would relieve them of their powers for failing to maintain peace and order. Then, a few days after, the same crowd who praised Jesus were the same people who would choose to free Barabbas instead of Jesus, shouting Let him be crucified! The Triduum, or the three days of preparation to Jesus Resurrection will be on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday. Siete Palabras at Sto. Domingo Church will be covered live by GMA-7 and Radio Veritas. One of the priests in charge is Fr. Jeff Aytona, OP who is one our co-anchors in Hello Father 911 Saturday Edition at Radio Veritas. The Feast of Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Easter Sunday, is the celebration of Life over Death. May the blessings of Jesus resurrection be with you all! *** This year, the Chrism Mass in the Diocese of Kalookan will be celebrated on Holy Wednesday at 8:00 a.m., instead of the usual Maundy Thursday morning. Most Rev. Francisco de Leon, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese, was requested by Most Rev. Gabriel Reyes, Bishop of Antipolo, to assist him in the celebration of the Chrism Mass in Antipolo. Chrism Mass is usually held every Maundy Thursday morning. It is the only Mass in each diocese in the Philippines when all the clergy in each diocese renew their vows. It is also the Mass where the Holy Oil and Chrisma are blessed by the bishop of the diocese. The other Mass on Maundy Thursday is the Mass of the Last Supper (with the washing of feet of 12 selected parishioners in each parish). The visita iglesia is observed by many Filipino Catholics during Maundy Thursday, when they visit 14 churches (representing the Stations of the Cross) or 7 churches (representing the 7 Last Words). *** On Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, will be the canonization of the two popes: Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII. *** Grant eternal rest unto him oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace, Amen. In behalf of the family of my elder sister, Violeta SantiagoRosales, I would like to thank all my relatives, friends and pious readers who condoled and prayed with Ates family in their hours of bereavements. My brother-in-law, Celestino Rosales, passed away on April 11, 2014, barely five days after his birthday. Readers will remember that I greeted Kuya Cel in this column on his birthday (April 6). We really do not know what struck us with the sudden demise of Kuya Cel; just days before, he was strong, agile and alive; then in just five days, he fell ill and had been to two hospitals. Even the expert knowledge of doctors, specialists and modern science did not save his life. His time has come, says the Lord. Kuya Cel left behind Ate and their three children, Marc Glenn, Mary Gretchen and husband Charlie Castro, and Michael Gerald, and of course his favorite and only apo (grandson) C2 Castro. God bless and God speed Kuya Cel! *** I wish to greet Fr. Mariano Jun Bartolome and Fr. Jose Guinto, SVD a very happy birthday. Also I send out Sacerdotal Anniversary greetings to Fr. Ruben Maybuena, Fr. Lauro Toledo, Fr. Alberto Cahilig, OMI and Fr. Wilfredo Cabrera, OMI.
Candidly Speaking / A4

SURVIVAL kit pamphlets for almost anything in life are one of the hottest selling items in your nearest bookstore. There are such kits for board and bar exams, outdoor activities, corporate presentations and more. Despite the easy and fast service offered by St. Google, we are still inclined to have something at hand to quickly consult for answers. But a survival kit for confession? Doesnt that sound strange? Arent kits for helping one hurdle some insurmountable test or challenging activity? How could there be such a kit for something as harmless as confession? True, but Im thinking more of an aid that could help people overcome their excuses, fear, and shame for NOT going to confession. Heres a list definitely not exhaustive of the possible reasons that people may use to either not to confess or to delay it. #1: A Direct line to God. We often hear the casual saying, Surely, couldnt I confess directly to God who truly knows my sinful heart? Reply: Every prayer to God in some way is a form of confession, but dont we often want our prayers to be heard and above all answered? In the Old Testament, God already showed the need for intermediaries like the prophet Nathan who revealed to David his sin and this led him to repent before God. #2: The sinner priest. As in #1, many would make the additional defensive remark, Why should I confess to someone who is also a sinner? Reply: As explained in #1, God chooses who His grace-heralds are. Some are wor-

thy and otherssadlyare not. But this only goes to show two important lessons: (1) God is still the source of forgiveness, and channels it through whomever He sees fit; (2) the quality of the instrument further demonstrates that God is really behind the person, and this fact even invites the penitent to greater faith in God and sorrow for his sins. #3: Self medicating. A more stubborn stance can occur when one chooses not to seek any help at all but ones personal resources. Reply: Spiritual self-medication has some advantages. For a spiritually healthy individual, choosing to outdo himself and seeking new ways to grow in his spiritual life is edifying. But in the case of the spiritually less-healthy, the maxim if symptoms persist, consult your Doctor (God) applies. Any attempt for such individuals to self-medicate would be tantamount to their lack of sincerity to find a real and effective cure to their defects and resulting vices. #4: Till Im ready! Others delay confession, stating they are not yet ready, that is, they still lack the adequate sorrow for sins they want to confess. A similar stance is expressed in saying, Ill go when Im truly sorry. Reply: In reality, no one is really ready in the sense that readiness of a persons conscience is not weighed by how he feels (the danger of falling into sentimentality) about his faults. Nothing else can give one spiritual readiness, since only God can forgive sins, other than Confession when the required sorrow is demonstrated by promptly turning to the sacrament, with due preparation, and the resolution to amend for ones sins.

Servant Song
FORMER US President George Walker Bush (yes, the senior) once told a story that I feel was very revealing of his selfdeprecating humor. He was at a home for the elderly and he met a very senior man. Attempting at a conversation President Bush asked the man, Do you know who I am? The man retorted, No. But if you go to the people at the front station, theyll tell you who you are. President Bush tells the story, I guess, to underline the fact that we can be so puffed-up about ourselves that our ego could easily break into shreds when we discover we are not that important to others. The Servant of the Lord had no illusion of this kind for he was accustomed to be a man of suffering so easily taken for granted and dismissed. But part of his character is that together with being a man of suffering is also a mission to save others by his suffering, his sacrifice ending not in failure but in exaltation. The Servant Will be Exalted in a Manner Unheard of: a Hint at the Resurrection? (Is 52-13-15) The fourth Song of the Servant of the Lord begins with the end, not defeat but victory for a suffering person or personification. See, my servant will succeed; he will be exalted and highly praised. Just as many have been horrified at your disfigured appearance: Is this a man? He has no human likeness. So will nations be astounded, kings will stand speechless, for they will see something never told, they will witness something never heard of (Is 52:13-15). Suppose you ask one of your children in high school to go with you to his brothers oathtaking as a new lawyer. As you stand in pride looking at your older son going through the ceremonies, you say to your younger son, Look at your brother now, how he has overcome. You can also be like that if you also study and work hard. Verses 13-15 are like Gods fatherly remarks foreseeing the Servants eventual triumph over his enemies and the realization of his goals. But he would have to go through untold suffering, as can be gathered from the words many have been horrified at your disfigured appearance. If the Servant imagery is applied to Jesus, as we Christians naturally do, it is easy to associate it with the Transfiguration experience where the vision of the triumphant and glorious Jesus, presented right before his suffering and death, is actually a word of encouragement to the apostles and Christian disciples. They would soon see Jesus going through terrifying suffering and death by crucifixion. The sight of him transfigured is meant to highlight his eventual triumph over suffering and death by his resurrection. It is so easy for a Christian to see this in Isaiahs prediction of the Servants exaltation. Whats the point of me watching you win this tournament? a little boy asked his older brother, a tennis player. The answer: If I win this thing, that means you also win. The point of our initial meditation on the triumph of the Servant is that he will share it with us. By our Baptism, we share the Servants death in order to share in his resurrection as well. The Servant, Because of his Suffering, is a Man of Unattractiveness and Rejection Who could believe what we have heard, and to whom has the strength of the Lord been revealed? Like a root out of dry ground, like a sapling he grew up before us, with nothing attractive in his appearance, no beauty, no majesty. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows familiar with grief, a man from whom people hide their face, spurned and considered of no account (Is 53:1-3). We remember that for Jews the figure of the Servant refers to a group of faithful Jews during the exile who suffered for the sake of the nation, with a suffering so revolting even to their fellow Jews. For us Christians, it is so remarkable how similar even the physical description of the sufferings of the Servant to those of Jesus (Acts 8:32, quoting Is 53:7, Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearer he did not open his mouth; or 1 Pt 2:24, quoting Is 53:5, For by his wounds we have been healed). By these words some have concluded that Jesus was unattractive; of course, a suffering, crucified man, as he was, would never be physically pleasing the eyes. The bruises and blows, the buffets and spitting alone would have ruined a handsome appearance. The film The Passion of the Christ tries to make that point. More than once, Mel Gibson the director emphasized that he wanted to shock people into realizing what a real crucifixion was like. Reflecting on this, we must also remember how we in our day and age have worshipped at the altar of physical beauty. How much have we been enamored by the processes done by a Dr. Vicky Belo, how many skin-whitening substances are making a killing in the market, how many artistas are treated like gods and goddesses by our physical-beauty-crazy society. The result is we have beautiful people with no substance, unable to deal with lifes ordinary trials and problems, whose petty childish ways we broadcast on national television and print in newspapers or cause trending for through the social media. The

Rev. Eutiquio Euly B. Belizar, Jr., SThD

By the Roadside
Suffering Servant is not attractive in appearance because, as the first book of Samuel puts it, The Lord does not judge as man judges; man sees the appearance; the Lord looks into the heart (1 Sam 16:7). Gods standard of beauty is, unlike ours, not skin-deep. The Servants Sufferings are a Source of Redemption Yet ours were the sorrows he bore, ours were the sufferings he enduredIt was for our sins he was wounded, it was for our wickedness he was bruised. Through his punishment we are made whole; by his wounds we are healed (Is 53:4-5). These words have ambivalent consequences. On the one hand, if the Servant is Israel, an ideal group of faithful Jews or the prophet Isaiah himself, we will tend to agree to the idea of the power of sacrifice for others. The sacrifice of a Rizal or a Ninoy Aquino went a long way in uniting our nation. For Jews, the sacrifices of a Moses, David and the prophets also galvanized the unity of the Chosen People. On the other hand, we ask: Can sacrifices by human heroes be enough to earn forgiveness of sins. This is where only a divine-human Savior figure could fit into the role of the Servant. This is our bias as Christians. And it is understandable because the figure of the Servant as Redeemer through suffering in the sense of his life being made an offering for sin (Is 53:10) is beyond comprehension if the Servant is only purely human. Human heroes may offer their lives for their particular nations or for their causes but only a divine-human Servant hero can fit the characterization by Isaiah the prophet of his value, i.e., my servant shall take away their sins (Is 53:11). I once challenged a group of boys who loved Spiderman and other superheroes: Do you know that priests and bishops have power greater than Spiderman over evil? They were incredulous. Their eyes were asking: Why do you say that? How? Then I told them the powerful truth: Bishops and priests can do something over evil greater than the superheroes. Superheroes can rescue you from physical evil. But only a bishop and a priest can forgive your sins through the Sacrament of Penance. They can forgive because it is Christ acting in and through them who brings us the forgiveness of sins. The Servant Shuns Violence He was harshly treated, but unresisting and silent, he humbly submitted. Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearer he did not open his mouth (Is 53:7). Martin Luther King, the acknowledged hero of the American Civil Rights Movement, helped achieved so much for the equality and brotherhood of the many races in America and the world through Active Non-Violence. He confided many times that he and his followers were inspired by the Indian hero, Mahatma Gandhi, who led his nation to final independence from Britain by Active Non-Violence. But Gandhi himself confided to many people that his real inspiration was Jesus Christ who never retaliated with violence the inhuman violence he went through by his Crucifixion and death. The image of a Lamb is what we Christians use to remind ourselves of the sacrifice of Jesus that gained for us eternal life: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world The Lamb faithfully and completely reveals the humility, willingness and gentleness of the Servant. He is at the receiving end of so much violence, but he himself would not inflict it on others, even his tormentors. But is our violent world listening to his witness? The Servants Rescue is From Within For the anguish he suffered he will see the light and be satisfied. Through his knowledge many will be justified; my servant will take away their sins. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong. For he has been counted among the wicked and surrendered himself to death, bearing the sins of many and interceding for sinners (Is 53:12). I notice two models of movie hero rescue in Hollywood: one, the Superman model; and, two, the Die-Hard model. The Superman model has the hero coming to a person in distress from without (or from afar). The Die-Hard model has the hero coming from the inside, among the victims themselves, and from there stages the rescue. This second model is more in accordance with the Servant model. The hero is counted with the wicked and this we see in Jesus becoming a human being, sharing in our weak sinful nature without sinning, and as a human being with all the weaknesses of human beings in him together with his divinity, rescues us through his Crucifixion, death and resurrection. In a word, our human nature is not entirely hopeless, if only because the Savior, even in heaven, retains his humanity together with his divinity. Although we cannot forgive our own sins, human as we are, yet fellow humans like the priest or the bishop are used by the Savior to continually impart the fruit of his work of redemptionthe forgiveness of sins.

5fects of others, especially those defects that would really bother us, we have to think that there is a reason behind them. We need to know where they are coming from. And then putting ourselves in the dynamics of Christs universal love for us, and never without it, let us try to deal with them kindly and patiently. This is how we can understand everyone, including ourselves, with all that we have, both the good and the bad things in us. It is only this love that is capable of understanding everyone and everything, warts and

all. It is this love that can cure and transform people. It is this love that makes everyone new again. It is this love that is able to forgive everyone, including ourselves. We need to learn to develop and live this love, starting with our own personal selves through our personal prayers and other forms of personal relationships with our Father God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Then let us pass this on to those in our families. Then lets do everything that this kind of love is taught and lived actively in schools and everywhere else.

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IF only to remind them of their sacred duties as Christians, a high-ranking churchman appealed to Filipino Catholics Tuesday, April 8, to always stand by their brethren affected by super typhoon [Yolanda] in the light of survivors pleas to the government to make good on its promises. Caloocan Bishop Emeritus Deogracias Iiguez, who delivered his message at a mass protest in support of Yolanda survivors at Plaza Miranda, said that as followers of Christ, Catholics must unite in love for those who are most in need like the Yolanda survivors. The prelate also stressed that Christians must always be prepared to offer themselves to others. A known champion of the poor and the oppressed, Iiguez, with many other priests and nuns in tow, joined the rally spearheaded by People Surge, an alliance of different church and lay groups with the common aim of helping Yolanda survivors get what is rightfully theirs as promised by President Benigno S. Aquino III (PNoy), and to urge the chief executive to do away with unjust government policies that only worsen their plight. The alliances petition includes three demands: First, that the PNoy government should deliver on the promised P40,000 cash relief which covers two months worth of food, transportation, and other contingent expenses for each Yolanda-affected family; second, to junk the No Build Zone policy,

Local News

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Stand by Yolanda survivors bishop

which only puts a toll on survivors; and lastly, to continue the relief efforts until the survivors are stable enough to get on their feet. The peaceful rally formally started with a Holy Mass, which Iiguez celebrated with other members of the clergy at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church). In a solidarity lunch that followed, Iiguez joined People Surge members, church groups, and Yolanda survivors currently in Manila in a humble meal consisting of camote (sweet potato) at the Plaza Miranda. The prelate explained that this food, a root crop which many Filipinos jokingly refer to as the poor mans bread and which abundantly grows in Eastern Visayas, symbolizes the daily struggle of Yolanda survivors. Towards afternoon, the protesters marched to Mendiola Street in Sampaloc where they held other activities and programs for Yolanda survivors. On November 8, 2013, the central regions of the Philippines, particularly the Eastern Visayan cities of Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte; and towns like Tolosa, Tanauan, Alangalang, also in Leyte; and Guiuan, Basey, Hernani, and Balangiga in Samar Island, were struck by a powerful tropical cyclone, the strongest on record, killing at least 6,268 people, and leaving many more homeless. This happened in spite of preemptive evacuations. (Raymond A. Sebastin)

Supporters of the Yolanda survivors, together with Caloocan Archbishop Deogracias Iiguez and other members of the clergy have a solidarity lunch, consisting of camote.

RH law subverts definition of health wellness coach

AS it turns out, the Reproductive Health law, is not only unhealthy, but subverts even the World Health Organizations own definition of health, says a well-being coach trained in the U.S. Employing the term health, choices such as contraceptive pills flooding the market today do not advocate well-being in the strict sense of the word, said Mary Jean Netario Cruz, a member of American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). Netario Cruz, a certified integrative well-being coach, who earned her certification in nutrition from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, found it odd how provisions in the RH law, the subject of fiery debate for past couple of years, go against the WHO definition of health. Everybody knows oral contraceptives work to suppress something in the body from performing its normal function, she said. As the body works counter to its nature,
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discomfort and pains are generally felt. Studies show side effects of oral contraceptive use include deep vein thrombosis, heart attacks, strokes, depression, bleeding, and increased risk for breast and cervical cancer. In what looks like a mixed message of sorts, the WHO and the United Nations (UN), a major backer of the passing of R.A. 10354, share an interchangeable definition for health and reproductive health. According to Netario Cruz, the framework of the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not only the absence of diseases. The UN guidelines on Reproductive Health, released by the UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs and was a basis for the drafting of the RH law, defines reproductive health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of reproductive disease

or infirmity. According to Netario Cruz, when pain, not to mention disease, is experienced, as is the case with regular contraceptive use, it does not take a physician to tell that something is wrong with body. In that sense, one cannot claim, in the strict sense of the word, that the Reproductive Health law espouses well-being, she said. As a health practitioner who views the issue in a secular way, Cruz nonetheless respects the choice taken by women and men in terms of sex life and procreation, but extolled the Catholic Church for firmly standing by its moral authority. She said the real intent of the law is to indirectly control population growth, which is forecast to grow by the millions in the next few years. Netario Cruz also extolled the sobriety and unwavering stance that the Church demonstrated in the wake of Supreme Courts ruling on the constitutionality of RH Law. (Oliver Samson) within the same facility or one which is conveniently accessible regardless of his or her religious beliefs; e.) Section 23 (b) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR, particularly section 5.24 thereof,insofar as they punish any public officer who refuses to support reproductive health programs or shall do any act that hinders the full implementation of a reproductive health program, regardless of his or her religious beliefs. f.) Section 17 and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR regarding the rendering of pro-bono reproductive health service, insofar as they affect the conscientious objector in securing PhilHealth accreditation. g.) Section 3.01 (a) and (j) of the RH-IRR insofar as it uses the qualifier primarily for contravening sec. 4(a) of the RH Law and violating section 12, Article II of the Constitution. h.) Section 23 (a) (2) (ii) insofar as it penalizes a health service provider who will require parental consent from the minor in not emergency or serious situations. (Paul de Guzman)

Bishop criticizes pork scam investigation as biased, selective

MANILA Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo on Saturday criticized as selective the investigation of the Office of the Ombudsman and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that affirms the criminal liability for plunder and graft of three lawmakers allegedly involved in the multi-billion pork barrel scandal. Pabillo said investigating panels are giving much attention to Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla, Jr., and other opposition lawmakers who allegedly had a hand in the appalling misuse of the Priority Development of Assistance Fund (PDAF). Why are they focusing too much on the three senators? There are many other lawmakers who have benefitted from this scam, Pabillo said in an interview at the monthly Manila Archdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly (MAGPAS). To show that
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Real winner Spokesperson [of the Supreme Court] Theodore Te announced that the court ruled that the RH Law is not unconstitutional; a deeper look into the decision as excerpted by Te revealed that the Anti-RH group was the victor, said election lawyer Romulo Macalintal. The SCs use of a double negative, not unconstitutional, in its ruling was probably not lost on the public. This, Macalintal, explained is because it is assumed that laws are, in fact, constitutional. In other words, its constitutionality is merely assumed by the SC, he said. In contrast, he emphasized,The SC was very clear and emphatic in declaring seven significant provisions of the RH law as unconstitutional which clearly demonstrate the triumph of the Anti-RH group. The election lawyer also noted that the SC clearly favoured the petitioners against the RH Law when it declared unconstitutional several provisions that he said violated certain rights. Violations to rights The law violated the
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right to life and health; freedom of religion and speech; right to protection against hazardous products; rights of parents in caring for their children; and right of families to participate in family planning, noted Macalintal. Macalintal further explained, In other words, nothing of [the] sort was mentioned as to whether or not the RH Law in its entirety is constitutional. If it is not appealed, the law will take effect 15 days after the rulings official promulgation. Unconstitutional items On April 8, the Supreme Court declared the following items in R.A. 10354, otherwise known as the RH Law, unconstitutional: a.) Section 7 and the corresponding provisions in the RH-IRR insofar as they: (a) require private health facilities and non-maternity specialty hospitals and hospitals owned and operated by a religious group to refer patients, not in an emergency or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to another health facility which is conveniently accessible; and (b) allow minor-parents or

minors who have suffered a miscarriage access to modern methods of family planning without written consent from their parents or guardians/s; b.) Section 23 (a) (1)and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR, particularly section 5.24 thereof, insofar as it punishes any health care provider who fails or refuses to disseminate information regarding programs and services on reproductive health regardless of his or her religious beliefs. c.) Section 23 (a) (2) (i) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR insofar as they allow a married individual, not in an emergency or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to undergo reproductive health procedures without the consent of the spouse; d.) Section 23 (a) (3) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR, particularly section 5.24 thereof, insofar as they punish and health care provider who fails and/or refuses to refer a patient not in an emergency or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to another health care service provider

they are nonpartisan in their investigationthat opposition lawmakers are not the only ones being targetedthey have to investigate all those who are involved, he added, noting that administration allies must also be investigated. I t seems lik e (the investigation) is biased and very selectiveWe do not need to hide this fact because we all know that many senators and congressmen are involved in this pork barrel (scam), Pabillo said. Responding to earlier reports that the next batches of complaints on the PDAF misuse will include administration allies, he said: Why does it have to be in the next batch? Do it now. Show that they are really true and sincere in their actions. Pabillo urged authorities to be serious in investigating and filing charges against those who

Raymond A. Sebastin/CBCP News

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo joined thousands of protesters in Luneta during the Forward march #abolishpork rally on September 13, 2013 calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system.

are really guilty of stealing from government coffers. Despite developments in the investigation of the scandal, Pabillo reiterated that justice will only be served to the millions of Filipino taxpayers once all forms of pork barrelincluding the much-contested Presidential Social Fund (PSF)are already abolished. All forms of discretionary funds must either be abolished or lessened to a great extent so there will be no more issue of using the taxpayers money for their personal agenda So that there will be no more politi-

cal patronage, the bishop said. Pabillo downplayed the reported advantages of using discretionary funds to administer basic services to the poor, noting that money to be used for scholarships and medical assistance can just be directed to the intended beneficiary. The (pork barrel) bears no good to us. We can fund public services in a better way. We can directly give scholarships to schools and medical needs to hospitals. Let (the particular institutions) be the one to determine, not the politicians, he said. (Jennifer M. Orillaza)

medical authoritythe second edition of Human Embryology & Teratology, by Ronan ORahilly and Fabiola Muller, (New York: WileyLiss, 1996, pp. 8, 29). The Court further says, Implantation has been conceptualized only for convenience by those who had population control in mind. To adopt it would constitute textual infidelity, not only to the RH Law, but also to the Constitution. Now, why is this particular decision not in the news? If Hon. Lagman and company have a strong conviction that life begins at implantation, shouldnt they now be making noise in media about what is stated on pp. 47-48 of the Decision? Scour the dailies, the TV channels, even Google and other search engines, and you wont find a single news item on that war-changing matter. It spells a huge defeat for RH advocates because then it would render illegal all contraceptives that prevent implantation, because they would be exposed for what they are:

abortifacients. Quite logically, RH supporters wouldnt want that publicized, to keep the public (especially women and girls) ignorant, so that in the implementation of the RH Law the population controllers could still do as they want. And they intend to do that. After all, they still have their ace cardsex educationto push their agenda; its their main avenue now towards poisoning the minds of the young. Physician Dr. Miriam Grossman in her book Youre Teaching My Child What? exposes todays sex education programs as being based not on science but on liberal lies and politically correct propaganda that promote the illusion that children can be sexually free without risk. A blurb about the book says: As a psychiatrist and expert on sexual education, Dr. Grossman cites example after example of schools and organizations whitewashingor omitting altogethercrucial information that doesnt fit in with their population

control agenda. Instead, sex educators only tell teens the facts of life that promote acceptance, sexual exploration, and experimentation. What sex educators call an education, scientists would call a scam. Sex educators wont tell girls their bodies are biologically and chemically more susceptible to STDs; they will only say 3 million girls have a sexually transmitted infection. Educators say its natural for children to explore their sexuality from a young age and only they can decide when its right to have sexthe real truth is neurobiologists say teen brains are not developed to fully reason and weigh consequences, especially in the heat of the moment. Teens are told condoms, vaccines and yearly testing provide adequate protection, without being told that studies now show condoms are no match for herpes, HPV and gonorrhea. See, the war isnt over. Only the battleground has changed. And thats the truth.

written consent from their parents or guardians. Rallying the faithful behind Christians mission in the face of authoritarian regimes, wars and revolutions, Villegas said the Church can continue doing its work even with such unjust laws. The Church must continue to uphold the sacredness of human life, to teach always the dignity of the human person and to safeguard the life of every human person from conception to natural death, Villegas said, encouraging staunch pro-lifers to hold on to the Churchs teachings on family and life. Noting that the even if RH issue will continue to be a point of contention, Villegas said both pro and anti-RH groups can work towards the common good. We cannot see eye-toeye with our pro-RH brethren on this divisive issue but we can work hand-inhand for the good of the country, he added. Not lost cause after all Meanwhile, Church officials and pro-life groups across the country believe the High Court ruling is a reason to celebrate, calling the RH issue not a lost cause. What happened today was not a failure. It was not a lost cause after all, Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said in an interview shortly after the ruling.

According to Castro, the striking down of several important item in the RH Law is a partial, but a major victory nonetheless. After SC spokesman Theodore Te announced the ruling at the Supreme Court Compound in Baguio City, anti-RH advocates said they were still grateful that the High Court rejected several provisions they found highly objectionable. Castro particularly lauded the SC for declaring unconstitutional part of Section 7, which requires health facilities owned by religious groups to provide family planning methods. Pro-life teeth In the staunchly pro-life city of Bacolod, Fr. Ronald Quijano, Director of the Commission of Family and Life and the Academic Dean of the Pope John Paul II National Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, went so far as to call R.A. 10354 now toothless. Even if the RH Law is declared by the SC as not unconstitutional, the rejected provisions in its Sections 7 and 23 render the law toothless, he said in an interview. According to Quijano, the SCs decision effectively gave pro-lifers and Catholics legal teeth to to keep an eye on governments implementation of this law and raise objections when they undermine personal freedom and individual rights.

For Castro, the right of Catholic hospitals to conscientious objection against the RH Lawthat is, their freedom not to render RH serviceswas an important item that the SC upheld. If only that we are happy, but [it is] still [a] partial [victory] because the P13 billion budget and the basic idea of imposition of RH is there but Im glad that the conscientious objection was upheld, he said. The SC also junked contraceptives that may cause or induce abortion and the prohibition against health care providers who refuse to perform RH services. As early as 8:00 a.m. of April 8, several churchbased and prolife groups gathered for a prayer rally outside the compound where SC justices were having their session. Spirit empowered disciples As a way of orienting the Churchs future moves, Villegas also encouraged the faithful to pursue teachings on what is right and moral and continue to proclaim the beauty and holiness of every human person. Through two thousand years, he said the Church has lived in eras of persecution, authoritarian regimes, wars and revolutions. Let us move on from being an RH-law-reactionary-group to a truly Spirit empowered disciples of the Gospel of life and love. We have a positive message to proclaim, he added.

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CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Diocesan News

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Catechists formation to be more holistic

JARO, IloiloInspired by the CBCPs 9-year spiritual journey towards the 500thanniversary of the Christianization of the Philippines, Iloilo is offering a summer formation program for catechists that employs a more holistic approach to evangelization training. The 3rd Summer Catechetical Institute (SCI) course, a four- week live-in cyclical Faith Formation Program for catechists, is designed to address the areas of formation of the whole person of the catechist: as a thinking, feeling and acting agent of evangelization. According to Msgr. Ramon Pet, Jaro Archdiocesan Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ACCCE) Chairman, the said program responds to the call to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization as expressed in Pope Francis first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. He also added that the holding of the course on its third year straight is reflective of the Archdiocese of Jaros commitment to follow the 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines call for renewed integral evangelization. The program is also to be a response to an urgent need in the local Church. The results of ACCCEs 2013 survey show that, out of the total 3,530 catechists in the Iloilo province, only 1% has undergone professional training (i.e. a formal training from 2 to 4 years). 83% reported that they receive only sporadic formation from their parishes. To facilitate the enlistment of catechists to the SCI, applicants who have
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financial difficulties may avail of scholarships or subsidies that are offered to help them shoulder the expenses of the program The 3rd SCI runs from April 27 to May 24, 2014, at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary, Jaro, Iloilo City, with three course offerings: Phase 1 for beginners and Phases 2 and 3 for those who have attended the prerequisite courses in the previous years. Phase 1 will be devoted to Panorama of Biblical History: Old & New Testaments Made Simple and Liturgical Catechesis I, to be taught by Msgr. Ramon Pet. Professors Linda Tacorda, PhD. Meanwhile, Purita Escobia will teach the subject The Truths of Catholic Faith. Phase 2 subjects include Living the Faith Christ our Way and Liturgical Catechesis: The Sacraments of Initiation and will be taught by Fr. Ian Niel Llona and Msgr. Alejandro Esperancilla, respectively. Phase 3 offers Biblical Apologetics that will be taught by Professor Benjie Pelobello and Catechetical Methodology by Professor Linda Tacorda, PhD. Msgr. Pet invites parishes to send -selected catechists who are disposed to participate in three consecutive summers of intensive formation and subsequent enrichment seminars in the future. Given in a live-in context, the program offers other activities such as daily mass, morning and evening prayers, Marian devotions, music, recreation and other community activities. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas)

Special children can be a blessing bishop

SORSOGON CityChildren with special needs are not necessarily a curse; they can be bearers of prosperity for the family or play an important future role in society, says a bishop. Quoting John 9:3, Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said, It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. In a recent homily at the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Bastes encouraged families who are raising special kids to stop regarding them as chastisement by God. Gods works are demonstrated in children, and even adults, with physical and intellectual defect, he added. Blind yet a light to others Determination would propel the child become a useful person and when he or she comes of age, he or she can do better things for society that could parallel the accomplishment of notable people, he said. Bastes cited Helen Adams Keller, who was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, as testament to how God works. He described her as one of the most intellectual deafblind persons who had ever lived. Keller was tutored by another blind woman, Anne Sullivan, who became her lifetime friend and companion. Despite her blindness, Bastes described Keller as see, Bastes said. Their faith should have grown because their eyes are open, but they refuse to see because they are stubborn. There are also people who can see light, but choose to pretend not to see it, he said. Like a tree that does not receive light, people who refuse light do not bear fruits, Bastes said. With light they can bear fruits. According to him, these fruits are love, justice, and truth. Bastes said wrongdoers do their business in the dark, so that others will not see. In that sense, light will deter them from doing bad things because they will be humiliated by their own acts. Christ is the true Light, Bastes said. (Oliver Samson)

Children with special needs can be helped to reach their maximum potential through encouragement and positive influence.

a light. She was an author, lecturer and political activist. She championed womens suffrage and labor rights. She saw light

and shared it with others. Can see yet blind But there are people who are not blind but cannot

Former drug dependents rebuild houses in Leyte

MASBATE CityNo less than 40 young, former drug dependents helped reconstruct 89 houses in a community in Yolanda-devastated Leyte. While still undergoing a rehabilitation program to break free from drug dependence at the Fazenda da Esperana, a Masbatebased rehabilitation center, the young people were so moved by the devastation caused by Yolanda that they immediately volunteered to help rebuild communities in Leyte, New City Press Philippines (NCPP) Operations Manager Romeo Vital said on April 1. They could not bear to just watch and listen to reports about the destruction to lives and property left by typhoon Yolanda; these young individuals contacted a Focolare community in Leyte, so they could start rebuilding damaged houses, he said. The group then brought to Leyte a truck loaded with construction materials, and with their own hands labored to repair 89 houses, cleaning up the community as well. A community was rebuilt, and formation for its dwellers was started, with the help of Focolare, Vital said, noting that it was exactly what Pope Francis had asked both the religious and the laypeople to do - reach out to the poor and help them. Young individuals who have graduated from the formation program of Fazenda da Esperana and also those who are currently undergoing it volunteered in the reconstruction of 89 houses in Leyte. This April, the same young people who seek to be completely liberated from the evils of drugs will return to Leyte to continue to help in the rebuilding of communities there. Together with Focolare members, they will also facilitate the formation of typhoon survivors, who need to restore their morale and re-strengthen their faith to face the challenges left by Yolanda. (Oliver Samson)

Davao Food Revolution: Organic food for the poor

DAVAO CityCountering the notion that organic foods should only be for the rich, a movement in Davao aims to make healthy, organic food accessible to the poor, especially to children. The Davao Food Revolution is a program that revolutionizes sourcing and preparation of food by teaching women how to grow organic fruits and vegetable in backyards and community gardens. The campaign aims to improve the condition of school children who suffer from chronic malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and frequent illnesses, which lead to poor school performance and early school dropout. The program, which is organized by the NGO
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Staggering data Tagle, who is a member of the Vaticans Pontifical Council on the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People, discussed the problem of forced migration caused by different conflicts, hazards, and disasters in various parts of the globe. According to him, there were 72 million forced migrants worldwide in 2012, 3.5 million of whom were stateless. At least 20,000 refugees have died in the Mediterranean [Sea] in the past two decades trying to reach Italy, Malta, Spain, and Greece, Tagle added. The Philippines alone deployed a total of 1,802,031 overseas workers in 2012, a sharp increase as compared to 1975 when only 36,035 Filipinos left the country to work abroad, according to the 2013 Country Migration Report (CMR) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Tagle noted the need to perceive the issue of forced migration in a more humanitarian context. I thought I would risk boring you by giving you the data. It is staggering, the Filipino cardinal said. Were talking of millions of (forcibly) displaced people. The figures cited are not just numbers. They are human beings with faces, lives, stories, destinies. While addressing the causes of forced migration is necessary, we need a fresh perspective on the protection of forced migrants by looking at the human consequences along with its social costs [and] the wounds it inflicts on displaced families, he said. Understanding the plight of forced migrants may be done through assessing

For calamity victims Joseph McShane, S.J., Fordham University president, lauded Tagle as a man whose life is marked by competence, conscience, compassion, and deep commitment to the cause of the poor. You have lived your life as an example of the very best that Jesuit education seeks to produce, McShane said. Although this is your first visit to Fordham, we feel that you are a part of our family and have been so for a very long time. During the ceremony, members of Fordham Universitys Philippine-American Club presented to Tagle a check worth $5,000 in support of Caritas Manilas relief work for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that battered Central Philippines last year. In his remarks, Tagle noted that he accepted the award in behalf of the Filipino people, especially the victims of recent calamities who have inspired the world with their lively faith and joyful hope. Tagle is the Board of Trustees chairman of Caritas Manila, the social services and development arm of the Archdiocese of Manila. Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr., Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, and Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr. represented the Philippine government in the conferment ceremony. The degree was conferred on the Filipino cardinal through a ceremony held at the Keating First Auditorium of Fordhams Rose Hill Campus in Bronx, New York. (Jennifer M. Orillaza)

Women play a pivotal role in the shift to healthier modes of sourcing food and cooking.

Mindanao Commission on Women (MCW), also teaches women how to cook healthy and kidfriendly recipes for snacks and meals. Launched last March 22

in Barangay Matina Crossing, the project will later teach mothers how to start their own healthy food cart business where they will be linked to schools within their communities, so they

Mindanao Commission on Women

University, the Jesuit University of New York, last March 28. Fordham University conferred on Tagle the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa for combining strong convictions with a moderate tone and an emphasis on dialogue rather than pronouncements and for his moral leadership, advocacy for the poor, and his many efforts on behalf of the Catholic Church.

the perils and risks that drove them away from home, as well as the consequences, that they faced during their flight from those risks. The migrant, especially the forced migrant, is a traveler, is a person on a journeytired, thirsty, weary, fearful, Tagle said. We can help transform their human story from that of a horror story into one of warm welcome, genuine caring, and the experience of belonging.

can supply healthy food to school canteens. MCW Program Officer Patricia Ruivivar said women take charge of the budget and preparation of meals for the family that is why they should lead the radical shift to healthy eating and cooking. She added that Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines where Davao City is, is a food basket and there is no excuse for anyone to go hungry in the city. The program also wants to counter the trend of eating junk foods, since this is proven to be harmful to childrens health. The MCW Chair Emerita Irene Santiago said the assets of mothers are their children and they should take care of their health

by providing them with healthy and nutritious foods. The Father of Urban Container Gardening, Perfecto Jun Rom, taught the mothers present at the launching how to create their own backyard vegetable garden through the use of plastic containers made from mineral water bottles. True to form, the food revolution launching included healthy snacks like pink juice made of camote tops, ginger juice, and malunggay polvoron, among others. The MCW is a non-government organization based in Davao. For the program, it partnered with the Local Government Units and the Department of Education. (John Frances Fuentes)

and my capacity to express in words, he said. Alluding to his canonical possession of the Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM), the prelate joked that one of the first decisions he made as the then newly-appointed Manila Archbishop in December 2012 was to close my Cathedral to give way to a badly needed restoration project, which sought to reinforce the churchs physical structures. Special mention was given to Msgr. Nestor C. Cerbo, the cathedrals hands-on rector, of whom Tagle gratefully said is still alive (buhay pa) after all the exertions which the duties of closely overseeing the project entailed. For Mama Mary In a homily that lasted nearly 30 minutes,Tagle acknowledged
Biases / A1

that the the reconstruction and re-strengthening of the cathedral would not have been possible without the generosity of spirit manifested by donors, especially those simple faithful and ordinary people in whose hearts the cathedral occupies a treasured space like couples who had been married there. The generosity of people. So many to mention. God knows who you are, he said. He also thanked those individuals who had lent their expertise to the reconstruction effort, the first major project undertaken for the Cathedral since the 1950s when it was rebuilt following the destruction caused by World War II. Sound engineers, marble experts, those who know the soil

Filipinos are so good! exclaimed Tagle, who shared that he has never until then seen a gathering of so many experts. I thought I would only hear figures from them. Later on, what I would hear was: This is for Mama Mary, For the Church, we will do everything that we can do,the cardinal added. Timeless icon Tagle recalled that the present church structure is now the eighth of its kind built on the same site. In its 400-year history, it has been a mute witness to some of the most important highlights in the nations past. It had been gutted by fire, brought down by tremors, defiled by foreign troops only to rise again, refusing to be buried, Tagle observed.

The Manila Cathedral, which has been dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, is often referred to as the mother of all Philippine churches. In attendance were President Benigno S. Aquino and other members of the Aquino clan; former Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban; former Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See Henrietta de Villa; Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and wife Dr. Luisa Ejercito, Senate President and Mrs. Franklin Drilon; Apostolic Nuncio Giuseppe Pinto and other members of the diplomatic corps; bishops, local and foreign priests; various religious groups and persons with disabilities (PWDs); and ordinary Catholics from different dioceses. (Raymond A. Sebastin)

mountains, the first ones who recognized him were shepherds, poor men and womenthose who even had to work hard at night, and sinful individuals, he added. Pabillo echoed the call of Pope Francis, urging the faithful to value the importance of the poor for they are ones who possess a special sensibility to the Good News. According to the bishop, the poor are the ones who first recognized Christ as the Son of God, and those who have always kept a deep faith in Him. We should not belittle our poor brothers and sisters. We, as active members of the Church, should be acquainted with the Bible It should not be the case that we will be the first ones to discriminate [against] them, Pabillo said, noting that the Catholic faithful must learn how to perceive faith through the eyes of the poor.

Prejudgments, biases Like the Pharisees, possessing little knowledge about ones faith and spirituality is the usual reason why individuals tend to believe false judgments, Pabillo noted. Some of us know Christ, but only on a shallow level. We have to deepen our knowledge of Him and of our faith because shallow understanding will not help us grow [in] our relationship with the Lord, he said. Pabillo noted that when individuals are honest with themselves, the Lord will not let them be fooled. Otherwise, when individuals become arrogant with their personal views, they will fail to feel the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit. It is good that people know how to be honest with their biasesthey know where they are coming from and they recognize that their perceptions do not reflect everybodys opinion, he said.

Hardships Pabillo also called on the faithful prepare for the challenges they may encounter, noting that hardships are meant to strengthen their resolve. Others think that as long as they serve in the name of the Lord, they will be blessed with great and comfortable lives. This is why they become puzzled whenever problems arise in the course of their mission to serve the Lord, he said. Problems arise, Pabillo noted, because the Lord wants those who will serve in His name to be pure and sincere with their intentions. [Through the challenges that confront us], we are being cleansedand our faith in the Lord is also being strengthened, he said, noting. This, according to Pabillo, is the journey that the faithful must prepare for in the coming Holy Week. (Jennifer M. Orillaza)

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People, Facts & Places

just hours after birth; and for his wife who began to have renal hemorrhage and respiratory problems after giving birth Translated from Spanish to English by Lourdes Mendoza, the book recounted how Campos was spiritually strengthened through the trial of faith, and how he felt Gods assurance that the final outcome would be fruitful. His family has since become devoted to Padre Pio in gratitude for answering their prayers. It also includes a short biography of Padre Pio and a chapter with different sets of verses, quotations and passages from the Holy Bible, which the author felt had helped him develop spiritually. The epilogue talks about his familys personal encounters with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. The appendix also includes prayers and meditations of Padre Pio, which the author hopes along with his story, may help renew the faith and hope of those seeking and needing the mercy of God. The book launch was held at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. (CBCPNews with reports from Mary Concepcion T. Matias)

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 18 No. 8

April 14 - 27, 2014

Book on Padre Pio miracle launched

A NEW book on a familys personal experience of a miracle through Padre Pios intercession was launched on March 24. Written by the Ambassador of Costa Rica to the Holy See, Fernando Felipe Snchez Campos, the book A Spiritual Son Is Born: Our Story with Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, is recommended by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who encourages the faithful in the books foreword to narrate their own story of God who always knocks on everyones heart through a saint. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle gives a message at the book launch. (Photo credit: Mary Concepcion T. Matias) This book is nothing more than the story of how I discovered Gods work in my own life and in the life of my family, said Ambassador Campos at the book launching organized by Ambassador of the Philippines to the Holy See, Mercedes A. Tuason and formally opened by Cardinal Tagle. In the book, Campos narrated the miraculous intercession of Padre Pio for his son, who was diagnosed with an atrial flutter,

Village for Yolanda survivors named after Pope Francis

A NEW settlement in Cebu for Yolanda survivors currently under construction is named after Pope Francis and has come to symbolize fresh hope for many families. Funded by Xavier School and the Educational Research and Development Assistance (ERDA) Group, the Pope Francis Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village in Ticad, Bantayan, Cebu had its groundbreaking rites on March 30. Sweat equity Named after Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope who is inspiring Catholics to live the faith through concrete acts, the GK Village will house typhoon survivors from different parts of Northern Cebu. With GK Cebu facilitating the community organizing component of the Pope Francis GK Village, prospective recipients are screened to accommodate only those willing to provide sweat equity, which is based on the concept of bayanihan. The community will also be organized through formation and livelihood programs. Ticad, which has an existing set of houses built by various donors, is set to become a bigger community and potentially, the biggest GK site in Cebu. The village consists of 45 houses with each unit costing P150,000. Xavier School sponsored 30 houses, while the ERDA Group sponsored 15. The groundbreaking ceremonies began with a mass celebrated by Xavier School president Fr.

Jesuit fathers Ari Dy, Xavier School president and Bienvenido Nebres, former president of the Ateneo de Manila University bear the heat at the groundbreaking rites of the Pope Francis Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village in Bantayan, Cebu which will benefit survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

TV Maria app out

CATHOLIC television station TV Maria has extended its reach into cyberspace with its newly launched mobile application that caters to the spiritual needs of the faithful. The application, dubbed TV Maria Philippines, was launched in an attempt to extend the reach of Catholic evangelization to different media platforms, maximizing new technology for the purposes of spreading the Good News. This is an important development because at present, TV Maria is only available in cable television. But through the (advent of new) technology, we are able to bring our presence to mobile devices. This allows us to move with the pace of modern technology, said Sharon Joy Isla, TV Maria supervisor and production coordinator in Filipino. TV Maria Philippines features video streaming of TV Maria programs, updates on the its daily programming schedule, sharing of prayer intentions, access to different Catholic content and libraries through congregation websites, and the latest updates on church news and events. The Roman Catholic Church recognizes the importance of keeping up with the times to reach out to a greater number of people. TV Maria is its means to cater to a Filipino audience who are hungry for Gods Word through television, as well as through various alternatives such as the Internet and the cellphone, the applications description in Google Play read.

article.wn.com

Canon lawyers gathering inspired by Year of Laity

and its Juridical Implications. A doctor of both canon law and civil law, he will also discuss the theological and juridic implications of such movements, vis--vis the rights and duties of the lay faithful in general. Fr. Achacoso, also a doctor of canon law of the Pontifical University of Navarre, Spain, shall deliver a lecture on The Pastoral Demands of the New Evangelization: The Canonical Obligations of the Parish Priest. Finally, a workshop shall be held on the new praxis for the Procedure for the Dispensation from the Clerical State, also to be conducted by Prof. Navarro, who has extensive experience on the matter in his work at the Holy See. Hosted by the Archdiocese of Lipa, the gathering is an opportunity for training, prayer, reflection, and priestly camaraderie. While preference is given to the members of the CLSP (with a subsidized fee of P2,000), a limited number of slots are available to non-members (full fee of P12,000 for single or P6,000 for twin-sharing accommodations). Interested parties can direct all inquiries to the CLSP Secretariat at the CLSP Bldg., 470 Gen. Luna Street, Intramuros (Manila). Tel: (02) 5235301. E-mail: fr.jim.achacoso@gmail. com; cbcpcanonlaw@yahoo.com. (CBCPNews)

The free application can be download using IOS or Google Play. Isla added, the newly launched application will increase TV Marias presence and visibility in the online world. She noted that TV Marias increased presence will also help in deepening the faith of Catholic individuals. If we will only rely on TV Marias availability in cable stations, it will have a very limited reach. Through this development, our goal to extend TV Marias reach to a nationwide level becomes more realistic, she added. According to Isla, the app will also encourage interactions among users through the sending of prayer intentions and receiving of prayer grants, which reassures people that a religious group is praying for the intention. The TV Maria application is not only meant for interaction. With its use, you will get to know our programming schedule, receive daily gospel reflection, as well as mass and prayer intentions, she said. TV Maria is available in Dream Satellite TV (channel 1), Sky Cable (channel 160), Destiny Cable (channel 94), as well as in local cable operators all over the Philippines. (Jennifer M. Orillaza)

Paraaque faithful hold marathon Pabasa

A FEW weeks ahead of Holy Week, a lay group decided to hold a marathon praying Sunday, using the traditional Pabasa at the Santa Monica Sub-Parish in Barangay Don Galo. The group, mostly composed of elderly women, started the Pabasa (Reading) at four in the morning, lasting until roughly six in evening with more participants joining each hour. The Pabasa is an honored Lenten season tradition among Filipinos. Mindless of fatigue, those who participated closely followed every line of the Pabasa, making sure they do not miss a single word or syllable. They [participants] believe that the Pabasa is their way of making amends of whatever transgressions they have committed that offended the Lord, said Santa Monica Sub-Parish coordinator Malu Dandan. Others think that any wish of theirs would be

Ari Dy, SJ and Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, former president of Ateneo de Manila University and a core member of GKs national board. Also present was Xavier School treasurer Edison Sian. Frs. Dy and Nebres also blessed two houses built by the Singapore American School during their annual house build visit in February. ERDA-Xavier School tandem Right after Yolanda crippled most of Eastern Visayas, and parts of Cebu, Panay, and Pala-

wan in November 2013, Xavier School launched a fund-raising relief drive that attracted the attention of both local and foreign philanthropists. Net proceeds of the 2014 Xavier School fair were also used for the project. The ERDA Group funds came from long-time benefactors of the ERDA Foundation and ERDA Tech Vocational Secondary School who took it upon themselves to send funds to ERDA to help the typhoon survivors. In June, Xavier School with

the help of GK Ateneo de Manila will be organizing a group of students, alumni, and faculty/ staff, to participate in the Bayani Challenge, a five-day program for volunteers to help build houses in Ticad. Xavier School and the ERDA Group hope to maintain an ongoing relationship with the residents of Pope Francis GK village. Volunteers and new donors for this project are very welcome. For more details, please contact the Xavier School presidents office. (Raymond A. Sebastin)

According to Santa Monica Sub-Parish coordinator Malu Dandan, Pabasa participants believe the tradition is a way of making amends for their transgressions against the Lord.

granted by God once they get to finish the Pabasa, she added. Magdalena Angeles, one of the regular Pabasa chanters, vowed that she will be doing the Pabasa

until her dying breath. In an interview with the CBCPNews, Dandan explained, the Pabasa has been an honored tradition among the residents of Paraaque, particu-

larly the old-timers. The participants, who were mostly grandmothers, commonly referred to as manangs, came from the different barangays (villages) and par-

ishes of Paraaque like La Huerta, San Dionisio, Tambo, Santo Nio, and Multinational. The Pabasa is the ritual reading of the Pasyon, an epic poem in stanzas of five lines of eight syllables, each interwoven with a dramatic theme recounting the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is said to be a Christian adaptation of a preHispanic Filipino custom of chanting epic poems. The Pabasa is usually, but not exclusively, recited during Holy Week. Its full title is Casaysayan nang Pasiong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Sinomang Babasa (The History of the Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord that Surely Shall Ignite the Heart of Whosoever Readeth), but is better known as Pasyong Pilapil, after the famous foreword by Fr. Mariano Pilapil in 1814. (Raymond A. Sebastin)

A rare gathering of canon lawyers from April 28 to May 1 in Malvar, Batangas is inspired by the Churchs major direction of celebrating a Year of the Laity. Bringing together an estimated 120 canon lawyers from all over the country, the 22nd National Convention of the Canon Law Society of the Philippines (CLSP) is themed, The Filipino Laity and the New Evangelization: Opening the Divine Paths of the Earth, and will be held at the Lima Park Hotel, Lima Industrial Park, Malvar. With so much talk about a new evangelization, it is important to keep in mind the strict obligation of the sacred ministers to give the lay faithful the full resources of the Churchthe Word and the Sacramentsin order for them to live out their common priesthood to the full, and thus be the agents of that new evangelization, explained CLSP executive secretary, Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso. The main speaker for the conference is Prof. Luis Navarro, Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. To better understand the countrys numerous and active ecclesial movements like Couples for Christ and El Shaddai, Prof. Navarro, will talk about The Canonical Status of the Layperson and New Ecclesial Movements in the Papal Teaching

Raymond A. Sebastin

Fr. Ari Dy, SJ

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Pastoral Concerns

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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3)
Message of Pope Francis for the 29th World Youth Day 2014
If you are really open to the deepest aspirations of your hearts, you will realize that you possess an unquenchable thirst for happiness, and this will allow you to expose and reject the low cost offers and approaches all around you. When we look only for success, pleasure and possessions, and we turn these into idols, we may well have moments of exhilaration, an illusory sense of satisfaction, but ultimately we become enslaved, never satisfied, always looking for more. It is a tragic thing to see a young person who has everything, but facing the great challenges of life! 3.Blessed are the poor in spirit... The first Beatitude, our theme for the next World Youth Day, says that thepoor in spirit are blessed for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. At a time when so many people are suffering as a result of the financial crisis, it might seem strange to link poverty and happiness. How can we consider poverty a blessing? First of all, let us try to understand what it means to be poor in spirit. When the Son of God became man, he chose the path DEAR Young Friends, How vividly I recall the remarkable meeting we had inRio de Janeiro for the Twenty-eighth World Youth Day. It was a great celebration of faith and fellowship! The wonderful people of Brazil welcomed us with open arms, like the statue of Christ the Redeemer which looks down from the hill of Corcovado over the magnificent expanse of Copacabana beach. There, on the seashore, Jesus renewed his call to each one of us to become his missionary disciples. May we perceive this call as the most struggle for justice, persecutions, the difficulty of daily conversion, the effort to remain faithful to our call to holiness, and many others. But if we open the door to Jesus and allow him to be part of our lives, if we share our joys and sorrows with him, then we will experience the peace and joy that only God, who is infinite love, can give. The Beatitudes of Jesus are new and revolutionary. They present a model of happiness contrary to what is usually communicated by the media and by the prevailing wisdom. A worldly way of crib when we see the Son of God lying in a manger, and later on the cross, where his self-emptying reaches its culmination. The Greek adjectiveptochs(poor) does not have a purely material meaning. It means a beggar, and it should be seen as linked to the Jewish notion of the anawim, Gods poor. It suggests lowliness, a sense of ones limitations and existential poverty. Theanawimtrust in the Lord, and they know that they can count on him. As Saint Therese of the Child Jesus clearly saw, by his incarnation Jesus came among us as a poor beggar, asking for our love. TheCatechism of the Catholic Church tells us that man is a beggar before God (No. 2559) and that prayer is the encounter of Gods thirst and our own thirst (No. 2560). Saint Francis of Assisi understood perfectly the secret of the Beatitude of the poor in spirit. Indeed, when Jesus spoke to him through the leper and from the crucifix, Francis recognized both Gods grandeur and his own lowliness. In his prayer, the Poor Man of Assisi would spend hours asking the Lord: Who are you? Who am I? He renounced an affluent and carefree life in order to marry Lady Poverty, to imitate Jesus and to follow the Gospel to the letter. Francis livedin imitation of Christ in his povertyandin love for the poor for him the two were inextricably linkedlike two sides of one coin. You might ask me, then: What can we do, specifically, to makepoverty in spirit a way of life, a real part of our own lives? I will reply by saying three things. First of all, try to befree with regard to material things. The Lord calls us to a Gospel lifestyle marked by sobriety, by a refusal to yield to the culture of consumerism. This means being concerned with the essentials and learning and avoid so much wastefulness. Just as we need the courage to be happy, we also need the courage to live simply. Second, if we are to live by this Beatitude, all of us need to experience a conversion in the way we see the poor. We have to care for them and be sensitive to their spiritual and material needs. To you young people I especially entrust the task of restoring solidarity to the heart of human culture. Faced with old and new forms of povertyunemployment, migration and addictions of various kindswe have the duty to be alert and thoughtful, avoiding the temptation to remain indifferent. We have to remember all those who feel unloved, who have no hope for the future and who have given up on life out of discouragement, disappointment or fear. We have to learn to be on the side of the poor, and not just indulge in rhetoric about the poor! Let us go out to meet them, look into their eyes and listen to them. The poor provide us with a concrete opportunity to encounter Christ himself, and to touch his suffering flesh. Howeverand this is my third pointthe poor are not just people to whom we can give something. They havemuch to offer us and to teach us.How much we have to learn from the wisdom of the poor! Think about it: several hundred years ago a saint, Benedict Joseph Labr, who lived on the streets of Rome from the alms he received, became a spiritual guide to all sorts of people, including nobles and prelates. In a very real way, the poor are our teachers. They show us that peoples value is not measured by their possessions or how much money they have in the bank. A poor person, a person lacking material possessions, always maintains his or her dignity. The poor can teach us much about humility and trust in God. In the parable of the pharisee and the tax-collector (cf.Lk18:9-14), Jesus holds the tax-collector up as a model because of his humility and his acknowledgment that he is a sinner. The widow who gave her last two coins to the temple treasury is an example of the generosity of all those who have next to nothing and yet give away everything they have (Lk21:1-4).

Delegates of the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil celebrate the Closing Mass with Pope Francis in July 2013.

important thing in our lives and share this gift with others, those near and far, even to the distant geographical and existential peripheries of our world. The next stop on our intercontinental youth pilgrimage will be in Krakow in 2016. As a way of accompanying our journey together, for the next three years I would like to reflect with you on the Beatitudes found in the Gospel of Saint Matthew (5:1-12). This year we will begin by reflecting on the first Beatitude: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt5:3). For 2015 I suggest: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt5:8). Then, in 2016, our theme will be: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Mt5:7). 1.The revolutionary power of the Beatitudes It is always a joyful experience for us to read and reflect on the Beatitudes! Jesus proclaimed them in his first great sermon, preached on the shore of the sea of Galilee. There was a very large crowd, so Jesus went up on the mountain to teach his disciples. That is why it is known as the Sermon on the Mount. In the Bible, the mountain is regarded as a place where God reveals himself. Jesus, by preaching on the mount, reveals himself to be a divine teacher, a new Moses. What does he tell us? He shows us the way to life, the way that he himself has taken. Jesus himselfisthe way, and he proposes this way asthe path to true happiness. Throughout his life, from his birth in the stable in Bethlehem until his death on the cross and his resurrection, Jesus embodied the Beatitudes. All the promises of Gods Kingdom were fulfilled in him. In proclaiming the Beatitudes, Jesus asks us to follow him and to travel with him along the path of love, the path that alone leads to eternal life. It is not an easy journey, yet the Lord promises us his grace and he never abandons us. We face so many challenges in life: poverty, distress, humiliation, the

Jesus challenges us, young friends, to take seriously his approach to life and to decide which path is right for us and leads to true joy. This is the great challenge of faith. Jesus was not afraid to ask his disciples if they truly wanted to follow him or if they preferred to take another path.
thinking finds it scandalous that God became one of us and died on a cross! According to the logic of this world, those whom Jesus proclaimed blessed are regarded as useless, losers. What is glorified is success at any cost, affluence, the arrogance of power and self-affirmation at the expense of others. Jesus challenges us, young friends, to take seriously his approach to life and to decide which path is right for us and leads to true joy. This is the great challenge of faith. Jesus was not afraid to ask his disciples if they truly wanted to follow him or if they preferred to take another path (cf.Jn6:67). Simon Peter had the courage to reply: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (Jn6:68). If you too are able to say yes to Jesus, your lives will become both meaningful and fruitful. 2.The courage to be happy What does it mean to be blessed (makarioiin Greek)? To be blessed means to be happy. Tell me: Do you really want to be happy? In an age when we are constantly being enticed by vain and empty illusions of happiness, we risk settling for less and thinking small when it comes to the meaning of life. Think big instead! Open your hearts! As Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati once said, To live without faith, to have no heritage to uphold, to fail to struggle constantly to defend the truth: this is not living. It is scraping by. We should never just scrape by, but really live (Letter to I. Bonini, 27 February 1925). In his homily on the day of Piergiorgio Frassatis beatification (20 May 1990),John Paul IIcalled him a man of the Beatitudes (AAS 82[1990], 1518).

Kris Bayos / YouthPinoy

is weary and weak. Saint John, writing to young people, told them: You are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one (1 Jn2:14). Young people who choose Christarestrong: they are fed by his word and they do not need to stuff themselves with other things! Have the courage to swim against the tide. Have the courage to be truly happy! Say no to an ephemeral, superficial and throwaway culture, a culture that assumes that you are incapable of taking on responsibility and

of poverty and self-emptying. As Saint Paul said in his letter to the Philippians: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness (2:5-7). Jesus is God who strips himself of his glory. Here we see Gods choice to be poor: he was rich and yet he became poor in order to enrich us through his poverty (cf.2 Cor8:9). This is the mystery we contemplate in the

to do without all those unneeded extras which hem us in. Let us learn to be detached from possessiveness and from the idolatry of money and lavish spending. Let us put Jesus first. He can free us from the kinds of idol-worship which enslave us. Put your trust in God, dear young friends! He knows and loves us, and he never forgets us. Just as he provides for the lilies of the field (cf.Mt6:28), so he will make sure that we lack nothing. If we are to come through the financial crisis, we must be also ready to change our lifestyle

4. for theirs is the kingdom of heaven The central theme of the Gospel is the kingdom of God. Jesus is the kingdom of God in person; he is Immanuel, God-with-us. And it is in the human heart that the kingdom, Gods sovereignty, takes root and grows. The kingdom is at once both gift and promise. It has already been given to us in Jesus, but it has yet to be realized in its fullness. That is why we pray to the Father each day: Thy
WYD / B5

Kris Bayos / YouthPinoy

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By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
IN the Philippines, fortunately, one hardly needs to be reminded of the Eucharistic precept: the Sunday Masses are noteworthy for their long queues of people coming to receive the Holy Eucharist. In this connection, it would be good to be reminded of yet another disposition of the 1983 Code of Canon Law: Can. 989 After having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation to faithfully confess serious sins at least once a year. Definitely, the canon does not lay down this law for any specific time of the year, nor does it lay it down for everyone. It binds only those who are aware of having committed a mortal sin and have not yet had it absolved in sacramental Confession, and he may go to Confession any tim e during the year. But the long queues in the confessionals of many churches during Lent and Easter season are an eloquent manifestation of the common sense of the faithful that even the just man falls seven times each day; furthermore , as John Paul II reminded the faithful: the individual and integral confession of sins with individual absolution

Updates

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

The Law of Annual Confession

constitutes the only ordinary way in which the faithful who are conscious of serious sin are reconciled with God and with the Church (Reconciliatio et paenitentia, 33). I ndeed, the faithful are all too aware of that warning of St. Paul to the Corinthians: Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lordfor he who eats and drinks unworthily, without distinguishing the body, eats and drinks judgment to himself (I Cor 2, 27-28). Herein lies the nexus between the Easter Eucharistic precept and the law on yearly confession of serious sins: To receive Holy Communion worthily at Easter time, it seems logical that the best way to prepare for it is with individual sacramental Confession. Duty of Parish Priests to Facilitate Confession If the obligation exists for the faithful to go to confession at least once a year in case of serious sins, and the just man falls seven times each day, there seems to be a corresponding duty on the part of the sacred ministers to enable the faithful to fulfill the duty. Indeed, a series of simple calculations can serve to quantify this duty of the pastorat least in a general way. In the Philippines, there is an average of 15,000 Catholics for every priest. Now according to the population profile of the Philippines, roughly 68% of the population falls in the 10-60 years old bracketwhich, presumably, is the age group to which (roughly) the law of annual confession applies. Assuming that the same percentage holds for the Catholics too, then there should be 10,200 Catholics of 10-60 years of age for every priest in the Philippines. Even if each of these faithful only went to the minimum once-a-year confession, this would mean that the pastors, if they are to fulfill their duty, should on the average hear about 30 confessions daily throughout the year. There has been a lot of talk of the need for moral recovery in Philippine society and politics. Such moral recovery cannot happen in a collective way, in a mass action. The moral recovery of a society depends ultimately on the individual personal conversion of its membersa conversion that is not possible without the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Here indeed is a point of self-examination for the pastor of souls, and a possible point of redress for the parishioners.

(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following queries:)

Penitential Rite on Easter

Q: In the circular letter Paschalis Solemnitatis, concerning the preparation and celebration of the Easter feasts, the following pastoral directive is given for the penitential rite on Easter Day (No. 97): It is appropriate that the penitential rite on this day take the form of a sprinkling with water blessed at the Vigil, during which the antiphon Vidi aquam or some other song of baptismal character should be sung. As the water blessed at the Vigil doesnt need to be blessed a second time, does this mean that on Easter Day both the invitation spoken by the priest and the benediction of water are omitted when using the sprinkling rite, and that one starts with singing Vidi aquam or another song right away after the sign of the cross and the greeting? -- S.V.R., Breda, Netherlands A: The blessing of the water is omitted on this day as is also done during baptism during the 50 days of Easter in which the water blessed during the vigil is used. It must be noted that while the aforementioned directive is precise in mentioning the use of sprinkling with previously blessed water and the antiphon to be sung, both it and the missal are silent as to the precise rite to be used to introduce the sprinkling on Easter Sunday. Beginning abruptly with the sprinkling and antiphon might well be essentially meaningless to the faithful. Therefore, I think that the priest should foresee some form of commentary or explanation of the meaning of the rite so that its connection with the penitential rite is understood. Although it is not specified, I believe that it would also be possible for the celebrant to use the habitual formula of introduction to the penitential rite before beginning the sprinkling. The missal also offers an alternative to this procedure for Easter Sunday. The habitual penitential rite is used, but the baptismal promises are renewed after the homily according to the rite proposed for the Easter Vigil, omitting the Creed. In this case the sprinkling with the Easter water and the singing of the antiphon are carried out as the conclusion to the renewal of baptismal promises.

Stipends and Mass Obligation

Q: Does an ordained priest have the duty and responsibility to say Mass only on Sundays and on the days of obligation? What about the weekdays when he does not get an intention from faithfuldoes he have any obligation or is it optional (Canon 904)? Does he have to say daily Mass so as to help his bishop fulfill the bishops Mass intentions which he has requested and received from other countries? In my diocese we work in mission churches where we get two or three Mass intentions for a month. The other days we apply for the bishops intention, for which he receives money to support his diocese. In this context I base my question. -- P.D., Orissa state, India Canon 945 1. In accord with the approved practice of the Church, any priest celebrating or concelebrating is permitted to receive an offering to apply the Mass for a specific intention. 2. It is recommended earnestly to priests that they celebrate Mass for the intention of the Christian faithful, especially the needy, even if they have not received an offering. Canon 946. The Christian faithful who give an offering to apply the Mass for their intention contribute to the good of the Church and by that offering share its concern to support its ministers and works. Canon 947. Any appearance of trafficking This is a fairly common practice, and those who do so make these transfers with the specific intention of helping to support the Churchs missionary efforts. They are aware that differences in exchange rates make relatively small European and American donations go a long way in other countries. According to Canon 945.1, the stipend attached to a priests daily Mass intention is for the diocesan priests personal use. In some places all offerings are received by the diocese, parish or religious community in lieu of a salary or other retribution equal or higher than the totality of Mass offerings. Authoritative canonists consider

CNS

You also made water the instrument of your mercy: for through water you freed your people from slavery and quenched their thirst in the desert; through water the Prophets proclaimed the new covenant you were to enter upon with the human race
On Easter Sunday this second option should probably be favored over that of sprinkling during the penitential rite, as it is the only Sunday that this possibility is available. On the other Sundays of Eastertide, however, it is recommendable that the rite of blessing and sprinkling be used as the penitential rite. In this case the practice differs from Eastertide baptisms in which the water is not blessed. The appendix to the missal offers a prayer of blessing and antiphons proper to this season for the Sundays of Eastertide. The blessing is the following: Lord our God, in your mercy be present to your peoples prayers, and, for us who recall the wondrous work of our creation and the still greater work of our redemption, graciously X bless this water. For you created water to make the fields fruitful and to refresh and cleanse our bodies. You also made water the instrument of your mercy: for through water you freed your people from slavery and quenched their thirst in the desert; through water the Prophets proclaimed the new covenant you were to enter upon with the human race; and last of all, through water, which Christ made holy in the Jordan, you have renewed our corrupted nature in the bath of regeneration. Therefore, may this water be for us a memorial of the Baptism we have received, and grant that we may share in the gladness of our brothers and sisters who at Easter have received their Baptism. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen. This beautiful prayer would appear to be a relatively
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A: There are two separate questions involved here. One involves a priests obligation to say Mass, the other regards the rules for the distribution of stipends. Although many Catholics are unaware of it, strictly speaking, a priest has no obligation to say Mass at all. With respect to Mass, the priest has the same obligation as every other Catholic to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation. This fact does not make saying Mass a mere question of option or personal choice. Canon 904 of canon law, mentioned by our reader, actually recommends priests to celebrate daily. To wit: Remembering always that in the mystery of the Eucharistic sacrifice the work of redemption is exercised continually, priests are to celebrate frequently; indeed, daily celebration is recommended earnestly since, even if the faithful cannot be present, it is the act of Christ and the Church in which priests fulfill their principal function. Therefore the Church highly favors priests to celebrate daily, because the Mass is his greatest privilege and the highest thing he can do. Even if no one else is present and there is no specific intention, the Mass glorifies God, intercedes for the living and the dead, increases the Churchs holiness and is the primary source of the priests spiritual growth. Some priests do have a certain obligation to say Mass in virtue of their office as pastors. Some also acquire an obligation to say, or have said, a weekly Mass for the intention of the souls entrusted to their care. Once more, the obligation derives not from the priesthood itself but from the office for which they have been appointed and the obligations they freely assume on accepting this office. The question of stipends is somewhat more complex. This is governed by canons 945-958.

In most Western countries the established stipend for Masses is such that it would never amount to more than a small fraction of a priests sustenance.
entrust to others the celebration of Masses to be applied is to entrust their celebration as soon as possible to priests acceptable to him, provided that he is certain that they are above suspicion. He must transfer the entire offering received unless it is certain that the excess over the sum fixed in the diocese was given for him personally. He is also obliged to see to the celebration of the Masses until he learns that the obligation has been accepted and the offering received . Canon 957. The duty and right of exercising vigilance that Mass obligations are fulfilled belong to the local ordinary in churches of secular clergy and to the superiors in churches of religious institutes or societies of apostolic life. In the case mentioned by our correspondent in India, it would appear that excess Mass intentions requested outside of the country are transferred to the diocese to be celebrated in a mission diocese.

or trading is to be excluded entirely from the offering for Masses. In order to avoid the appearance of trafficking or trading, there are rules governing such aspects as the obligation of celebrating even if an offering has been lost and limiting the number of intentions per day. With respect to how to act when more intentions than can be celebrated in a year are received in a parish or shrine, the following laws are observed: Canon 954. If in certain churches or oratories more Masses are asked to be celebrated than can be celebrated there, it is permitted for them to be celebrated elsewhere unless the donors have expressly indicated a contrary intention. Canon 955 1. A person who intends to

this a legitimate practice provided that it is voluntary. In most Western countries the established stipend for Masses is such that it would never amount to more than a small fraction of a priests sustenance. In the case at hand, however, even a $10 stipend (the stipulated amount in many U.S. dioceses) could far exceed average daily income in a poor area and give the wrong impression. Likewise, those transferring Mass intentions usually intend to aid the missionary work in general and not the priests personal income. In this context it is probably legitimate for the bishop to retain for diocesan projects a part of stipends received from other countries, especially if he has actively sought this form of help. However, in virtue of Canon 945.1, it would be proper for him to transfer to the priest at least the amount corresponding to the established local stipend unless, as mentioned above, a voluntarily alternative is already established. It would also be feasible for the bishop to transfer the whole stipend to the parish and determine how much the priest retains for personal use while transferring the rest for parish projects. This is, of course, merely a technical consideration. In truth it must be recognized that most priests working in missionary diocese show little concern for their personal comfort and a great deal for the spiritual and human welfare of their flocks. Finally, with respect to the first part of the question: A priest would not be obliged to say Mass just to fulfill the intentions requested by the bishop. If the priest does request an intention, however, he acquires an obligation of justice to celebrate Mass for that intention. In doing so, not only does he glorify God by celebrating Mass, but also helps the missionary effort of the whole diocese to make progress.

CBCP News File Photo

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Year of the Laity

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Excerpts from the

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy Principles and Guidelines

(Issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on April 09, 2002)
to read the account of the Lords Passion. Such reading, which is doctrinally significant, attracts the attention of the faithful because of its content and because of its narrative form, and inspires true devotion: repentance for sins, since the faithful see that Christ died for the sins of the entire human race, including their own; compassion and solidarity for the Innocent who was unjustly condemned; gratitude for the infinite love of Jesus for all cis, widely promoted by St. Leonardo da Porto Maurizio ( 1751), was approved by the Apostolic See and indulgenced(137), consists of fourteen stations since the middle of seventeenth century. 133. The Via Crucis is a journey made in the Holy Spirit, that divine fire which burned in the heart of Jesus (cf. Lk 12, 49-50) and brought him to Calvary. This is a journey well esteemed by the Church since it has retained a living memory of the words and of the journey to Calvary which are traditionally included in the Stations of the Cross; * alternative forms of the Via Crucis have been approved by Apostolic See(138) or publicly used by the Roman Pontiff(139): these can be regarded as genuine forms of the devotion and may be used as occasion might warrant; * the Via Crucis is a pious devotion connected with the Passion of Christ; it should conclude, however, in such fashion as to choose texts resonant with the biblical narrative and written in a clear simple style. The Via Crucis in which hymns, silence, procession and reflective pauses are wisely integrated in a balanced manner, contribute significantly to obtaining the spiritual fruits of the pious exercise. The Via Matris 136. As Christ and Our Lady of Dolours were associated in Gods saving plan (Lk 2, 34-35), so too they are associated in the the middles ages. Holy Week 138. In Holy Week, the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of the earthly life, beginning with his messianic entry into Jerusalem(141). The people are notably involved in the rites of Holy Week. Many of them still bear the traces of their origins in popular piety. It has come about, however, that in the course of the centauries, a form of celebrative parallelism has arisen in the Rites of Holy Week, resulting in two cycles each with its own specific character: one is strictly liturgical, the other is marked by particular pious exercise, especially processions. This divergence should be oriented towards a correct harmonisation of the liturgical celebrations and pious exercises. Indeed, the attention and interest in manifestations of popular piety, traditionally observed among the people, should lead to a correct appreciation of the liturgical actions, which are supported by popular piety. Palm Sunday Palms, olive branches and other fronds 139. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday, which unites the royal splendor of Christ with the proclamation of his Passion(142). The procession, commemorating Christs messianic entry into Jerusalem, is joyous and popular in character. The faithful usually keep palm or olive branches, or other greenery which have been blessed on Palm Sunday in their homes or in their work places. The faithful, however, should be instructed as to the meaning of this celebration so that they might grasp its significance. They should be opportunely reminded that the important thing is participation at the procession and not only the obtaining of palm or olive branches. Palms or olive branches should not be kept as amulets, or for therapeutic or magical reasons to dispel evil spirits or to prevent the damage these cause in the fields or in the homes, all of which can assume a certain superstitious guise. Palms and olive branches are kept in the home as a witness to faith in Jesus Christ, the messianic king, and in his Paschal Victory. The Paschal Triduum 140. Every year, the Church celebrates the great mysteries of the redemption of mankind in the most sacred triduum of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection(143). The Sacred Triduum extends from the Mass of the Lords Supper to Vespers on Easter Sunday and is celebrated in intimate communion with Christ her Spouse(144). Holy Thursday Visiting the Altar of Repose 141. Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the wake of the Mass of the Lords supper(145). Because of a long historical process, whose origins are not entirely clear, the place of repose has traditionally been referred to as a a holy sepulchre. The faithful go there to venerate Jesus who was placed in a tomb following the crucifixion and in which he remained for some forty hours. It is necessary to instruct the faithful on the meaning of the reposition: it is an austere solemn conservation of the Body of Christ for the community of the faithful which takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and for the viaticum of the infirmed(146). It is an invitation to silent and prolonged adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted by Jesus on this day. In reference to the altar of repose, therefore, the term sepulchre should be avoided, and its decoration should not have any suggestion of a tomb. The tabernacle on this altar should not be in the form of a tomb or funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should be conserved in a
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Veneration of the Crucified Christ 127. The journey of Lent ends with the Easter Triduum, initiated by the celebration of the Coena Domini Mass. During the Triduum, Good Friday which is dedicated to the celebration of the Lords Passion, is eminently suited for the Adoration of the Holy Cross. Popular piety tends to anticipate the cultic veneration of the Cross. Throughout Lent, every Friday is observed, since very ancient times, as a commemoration of the Lords Passion and the faithful easily direct their devotions towards the mystery of the Cross. They contemplate the crucified Saviour, they sense more easily the great suffering which Jesus, the Holy and Innocent One, suffered for the salvation of mankind. They understand his love and the effectiveness of his redemptive sacrifice. 128. The various and numerous devotions to the crucified Christ acquire a special significance in those churches dedicated to the mystery of the Cross or where authentic relics of the true cross are venerated. The invention of the Cross in the early fourth century, and the subsequent diffusion throughout the Church of particles of the true Cross, gave notable impulse to devotion to the Cross. Devotions to the crucified Crist contain many elements usually found in popular piety: hymns and prayers, acts such as the unveiling and kissing of the Cross, processions and blessing with the Cross. These can lead to the development of pious exercises often containing many valuable formal and material elements. Devotion to the Cross, however, sometimes requires a certain enlightenment. The faithful should be taught to place the Cross in its essential reference to the Resurrection of Christ: the Cross, the empty tomb, the Death and Resurrection of Crist are indispensable in the Gospel narrative of Gods salvific plan. In the Christian faith, the Cross is an expression of the triumph of Christ over the powers of darkness. Hence, it is adorned with precious stones and is a sign of blessing when made upon ones self, or on others or on objects. 129. The Gospel texts of the Passion are especially detailed. Coupled with a tendency in popular piety to isolate specific moments of the narrative, this has induced the faithful to turn their attention to specific aspects of the Passion of Christ, making of them specific devotions: devotion to the Ecce Homo, Christ despised, crowned with thorns and clothed in a purple cloak (John 19, 5), and shown to the multitude by Pilate; devotion to the five sacred wounds of Christ, especially to the side of Christ from which flowed blood and water for the salvation of mankind (John 19, 34); devotion to the instruments of the Passion, the pillar at which Christ was scourged, the steps of the Praetorium, the crown of thorns, the nails, the lance that pierced Him; devotion to the Holy Shroud. Such expressions of piety, often promoted by persons of great sanctity, are legitimate. However, in order to avoid excessive fragmentation in contemplation of the mystery of the Cross, it is always useful to emphasise the whole event of the Passion, as is the case in biblical and patristic tradition. Reading of the Lords Passion 130. The Church exhorts the faithful to frequent personal and community reading of the Word of God. Undoubtedly, the account of the Lords Passion is among the most important pastoral passages in the New Testament. Hence, for the Christian in his last agony, the Ordo untionis informorum eorumque pastoralis curae suggests the reading of the Lords Passion either in its entirety, or at least some pericopes from it(136). During Lent, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays, love for our Crucified Saviour should move the Christian community

the brethren, which was shown by Jesus, the first born Son, in his Passion; commitment to imitating his example of meekness, patience, mercy, forgiveness of offenses, abandonment to the Father, which Jesus did willingly and efficaciously in his Passion. Outside of the liturgical celebration of the Passion, the Gospel

gestures of the final earthly days of her Spouse and Lord. In the Via Crucis, various strands of Christian piety coalesce: the idea of life being a journey or pilgrimage; as a passage from earthly exile to our true home in Heaven; the deep desire to be conformed to the Passion of Christ; the demands of follow-

leave the faithful with a sense of expectation of the resurrection in faith and hope; following the example of the Via Crucis in Jerusalem which ends with a station at the Anastasis, the celebration could end with a commemoration of the Lords resurrection. 135. Innumerable texts exist

Liturgy and popular piety. As Christ was the man of sorrows (Is 53, 3) through whom it pleased God to have reconciled all things through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross (Col 1, 20), so too, Mary is the woman of sorrows whom

The Easter liturgy is permeated by a sense of newness: nature has been renewed, since Easter coincides with Spring in the Northern hemisphere; fire and water have been renewed; Christian hearts have been renewed through the Sacrament of Penance...
narrative can be dramatized, giving the various parts of the narrative to different persons; or by interspersing it with hymns or moments of silent reflection. Via Crucis 131. Of all the pious exercises connected with the veneration of the Cross, none is more popular among the faithful than the Via Crucis. Through this pious exercise, the faithful movingly follow the final earthly journey of Christ: from the Mount of Olives, where the Lord, in a small estate called Gethsemane (Mk 14, 32), was taken by anguish (cf. Lk 22, 44), to Calvary where he was crucified between two thieves (cf. Lk 23, 33), to the garden where he was placed in freshly hewn tomb (John 19, 40-42). The love of the Christian faithful for this devotion is amply attested by the numerous Via Crucis erected in so many churches, shrines, cloisters, in the countryside, and on mountain pathways where the various stations are very evocative. 132. The Via Crucis is a synthesis of various devotions that have arisen since the high middle ages: the pilgrimage to the Holy Land during which the faithful devoutly visit the places associated with the Lords Passion; devotion to the three falls of Christ under the weight of the Cross; devotion to the dolorous journey of Christ which consisted in processing from one church to another in memory of Christs Passion; devotion to the stations of Christ, those places where Christ stopped on his journey to Calvary because obliged to do so by his executioners or exhausted by fatigue, or because moved by compassion to dialogue with those who were present at his Passion. In its present form, the Via Cruing Christ, which imply that his disciples must follow behind the Master, daily carrying their own crosses (cf Lk 9, 23). The Via Crucis is a particularly apt pious exercise for Lent. 134. The following may prove useful suggestions for a fruitful celebration of the Via Crucis: * the traditional form of the Via Crucis, with its fourteen for the celebration of the Via Crucis. Many of them were compiled by pastors who were sincerely interested in this pious exercise and convinced of its spiritual effectiveness. Texts have also been provided by lay authors who were known for their exemplary piety, holiness of life, doctrine and literary qualities. Bearing in mind whatever instructions might have been God associated with his Son as mother and participant in his Passion (socia passionis). Since the childhood of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Marys life was entirely lived out under the sign of the sword (cf, Lk 2, 35). Christian piety has signalled out seven particular incidents of sorrow in her life, known as the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Modeled on the Via Crucis, the pious exercise of the Via Matris dolorosae, or simply the Via Matris, developed and was subsequently approved by the Apostolic See(140). This pious exercise already existed in embryonic form since the sixteenth century, while its present form dates from the nineteenth century. Its fundamental intuition is a reflection on the life of Our Lady from the prophecy of Simeon (cf. Lk 2, 34-35), to the death and burial of her Son, in terms of a journey in faith and sorrow: this journey is articulated in seven stations corresponding to the seven dolours of the Mother of Our Saviour. 137. This pious exercise harmonizes well with certain themes that are proper to the lenten season. Since the sorrows of Our Lady are caused by the rejection of her Son (cf. John 1,11; Lk 2, 1-7; 2, 34-35; 4, 28-29; Mt 26, 47-56; Acts 12, 1-5), the Via Matris constantly and necessarily refers to the mystery of Christ as the suffering servant (cf. Is 52, 13-53, 12). It also refers to the mystery of the Church: the stations of the Via Matris are stages on the journey of faith and sorrow on which the Virgin Mary has preceded the Church, and in which the Church journeys until the end of time. The highest expression of the Via Matris is the Piet which has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Christian art since

stations, is to be retained as the typical form of this pious exercise; from time to time, however, as the occasion warrants, one or other of the traditional stations might possibly be substituted with a reflection on some other aspects of the Gospel account

established by the bishops in the matter, the choice of texts for the Via Crucis should take a count of the condition of those participating in its celebration and the wise pastoral principle of integrating renewal and continuity. It is always preferable to

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Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

B4 The nameless man

Thursday, 20 March 2014
IN his homily at Holy Mass, Pope Francis commented on the days Readings from the Prophet Jeremiah (17:5-10) and the Gospel of Luke (16:19-31). The two readings invite us to trust in God and not in ourselves, the Pope said. Todays first reading begins with a curse: Cursed is the man who trusts in man (Jer 17:5). He then noted that the same curse exists in other passages of the Bible, although perhaps phrased differently, for example: Cursed is the man who trusts in himself, adding that the man who trusts in his own strength is always cursed because he bears a curse within himself. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, the Pope continued. The prophet says of him: he is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. This image makes us think of Jesus words concerning ones house, the Pope said. Happy is the man who builds his house upon the rock, he shall stand secure. But unhappy is the man who builds his house upon sand, since he lacks a firm foundation. Today, therefore, Gods word teaches us that only our trust in Jesus is secure: other trusts are useless, they do not save us, they do not give life, they do not give joy. Indeed, they bring us death and drought. We all agree on this clear teaching, the Pope said. Our problem as the Scriptures tell us, is that our hearts are treacherous. Thus, even though we realize we making a mistake, still we like to trust in ourselves or trust in a particular friend, or trust in a good situation, or trust in an ideology. We follow that tendency to decide where to place our trust, leaving the Lord aside. But why is the man who trusts in man and in himself cursed?, the Pope asked. Because that sort of trust causes him to look only at himself; it causes him to withdraw into himself, without horizons, without open doors, without windows. He becomes a man who is closed in on himself and who will not be saved, since man cannot save himself. The Pope then turned to the days Gospel from St Luke, in which the evangelist recounts the parable of a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day, and who was leading the good life. Pope Francis observed that he was so content that he failed to realize that Lazarus lay at the door of his home covered in sores: a poor homeless man, and like a good homeless man he had a dog. Lazarus lay there, hungry, and he ate only what fell from the rich mans table: crumbs. The Pope remarked: Perhaps when Jesus was recounting this parable, he was thinking of the Canaanite woman who begged him to restore her daughters health: she only asked for the crumbs that are given to the dogs. The Gospel account of Lazarus and the rich man causes us to reflect, Pope Francis said. We know the homeless mans name: his name was Lazarus. But what was the rich mans name? He doesnt have a name!. This is the most powerful curse for the person who trusts in himself or in the strength and human abilities rather than in God: he loses his name!. Such a man, when asked his name, responds not with his own proper name but by pointing to his possessions, his property and villas, or to things, to idols. Looking at these two men, the Pope continued, to the poor man with a name who trusts in the Lord; and the rich man who has lost his name and who trusts in himself, we can say: it is true, we need to trust in the Lord!. And yet, he said, we all have this weakness, this frail tendency to place our hopes in ourselves or in our friends or in human possibilities alone, and we forget the Lord. It is a frame of mind that leads us down the road of unhappiness far away from the Lord. This, Pope Francis said, is the authentic meaning of the biblical expression: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord; cursed is the man who trusts in himself of in human abilities. This reflection is especially fitting for Lent, the Pope said. And so today we would do well to ask ourselves: Where do I place my trust? Have I placed it in the Lord or am I a pagan who trusts in things, in idols that I have fashioned? Do I still have a name, or have I begun to lose my name and to identify myself only as I with all its variations: me, with me, for me, only me: always egoism, I!. This way of living, the Pope said, will most certainly not bring us salvation. And yet the Gospel offers a door of hope to all those who have rooted themselves in a trust in man and in themselves, who have lost their name. In the end, in the end, there is always a way, he said. The rich man himself bears witness to this. When he realizes that he has lost his name, that he has lost everything, he raises his eyes and speaks a single word: Father!. And God responds with one single word: Son!. Thus, for those who have placed their trust in man, in themselves, and who have lost their name and dignity, there still remains the possibility of speaking this word, which is far greater than magic, far greater and more powerful: Father!. We know that he is always waiting for us, waiting to open a door that we do not see, and he will say to us: My child!. Pope Francis concluded: May the Lord grant us all the wisdom to trust only in him and not in things or in human strength: only in him. He also prayed for all those who have lost this trust, that God might grant them at least the light to perceive and pronounce this word that saves, that opens a door and enables us to hear the voice of the Father who calls us: My child. IN his homily at Holy Mass, Pope Francis commented on the Readings from the days liturgy, taken from the Book of Genesis (37:3-4; 12-13; 17-18) and from the Gospel of St Matthew (21:33-43, 45). During these days of Lent, the Pope began, the Lord draws close to us and the Church leads us towards the Paschal Triduum, towards the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The first Reading recounts the story of Joseph, who is a prophetic figure and type of Jesus: he was sold for 20 shekels by his brothers. The Gospel of Matthew presents the parable of the householder who let his property out to tenants. Jesus tells the people and the Pharisees, the priests and the elders of the people this parable to make them understand how far they have fallen. Pope Francis observed that the Gospel places us before a drama, not of the peoplefor the people understood that Jesus was a great prophetbut of the leaders of the people, and some of the priests of that time, of the doctors of the law, and of the elders whose hearts were not open to Gods word. In fact, they heard Jesus, but rather than seeing in him Gods Promised One, or rather than considering him to be a great prophet,

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CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

(Morning Meditations of Pope Francis in the Chapel of Domus Santae Marthae; LOsservatore Romano)

Salvation is a gift
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
IN his homily on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Pope Francis invited those present at Holy Mass to celebrate and give thanks to God because today we commemorate a definitive step along the journey of salvation since man first departed the garden of paradise. Today marks the celebration of the journey from one mother to another mother, from one father to another father, the Pope explained. He therefore invited those present to contemplate the image of Eve and Adam, the image of Mary and Jesus, to survey salvation history, and to contemplate God who continually journeys together with his people. Today, the Pope said, we can embrace the Father who, through the Blood of his Son has saved us. Pope Francis then reflected on Gods command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth and subdue it, and on his promise of redemption after they had sinned. With this commandment and with this promise, he said, our first parents began their journey, a long road travelled over the course of many centuries that began through their disobedience. Indeed, Adam and Eve were deceived and seduced; they were seduced by Satan, who suggested: you will be like Gods!. Pride and haughtiness prevailed in them, the Pope said. They fell into sin: they sought to take the place of God through self-sufficient pride. The Pope added that this is precisely the attitude that Satan himself embodies completely. Our first parents did not make this journey alone, the Pope explained. The Lord was with them, and has accompanied mankind on the long road that began with disobedience yet ended in an act of obedience. By way of explanation, and citing the famous words of a second century Bishop and Church Father, Pope Francis noted that the Second Vatican Council takes up a beautiful expression of St Irenaeus who said: the knot of Eves disobedience was loosed by Marys obedience.

God always abides with his people along their journey, the Pope added. He sends the prophets and sends others to explain the Law. But why has the Lord walked with his people with such tenderness?, the Pope asked. To soften our hearts. In fact, he said, through the Scriptures God tells us explicitly: I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. The Lord desires to soften our hearts so that we might receive the promise which he made in paradise: as sin came into the world through one man, so also through another Man salvation has come. This long journey has helped us all to have a more human heart, closer to God; not so proud, not so self- sufficient. Today the liturgy speaks to us about this journey of restoration and it speaks to us about obedience, about docility to Gods word. The days second Reading taken from the Letter to the Hebrews (10:4-10) is very

clear: Brothers, it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Therefore, Pope Francis said, salvation cannot be bought and sold; it is given as a gift, it is free. We cannot save ourselves, salvation is a totally free gift. As St Paul affirms in his Letter to the Hebrews, it cannot be bought with the blood of bulls and goats. The Pope continued: since it cannot be bought, in order for this salvation to enter into us we need a humble heart, a docile heart, an obedient heart like Marys. Moreover, the model on this journey of salvation is God himself, his Son, who did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross. In conclusion, Pope Francis asked: what does the path of humility, of humiliation mean? Simply put, he said, it means saying: I am a man, I am a woman, and you are God! And going forward in Gods presence, as a man, as a woman, in obedience and docility of heart.

Marginalized and therefore saved

Monday, 24 March 2014
IN his homily at Holy Mass, Pope Francis delivered a powerful reflection on the virtue of humility, based on the days Readings from 2 Kings (5:1-15a) and the Gospel of Luke (4:24-30). The Pope began by noting Jesus statement that he was unable to work miracles in Nazareth because of the lack of faith. They did not have faith where the Lord was raised. Jesus in fact states that no prophet is acceptable in his own country. He then recalls the story of Naaman the Syrian and the prophet Elisha that is recounted in the days first Reading, and that of the widow in Sidon with the prophet Elisha. The lepers and widows of that time were marginalized, the Pope emphasized. The widows who lived on public charity had no place in the normal spheres of society, while the lepers had to live outside society, far from the people. Thus, the Pope continued: in the Synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus says that there shall be no miracle: no prophet is accepted here because you have no need of one, you are two self-assured. The people whom Jesus had before him were so secure in their supposed faith, they were so secure in their observance of the commandments, that they had no need of any other form of salvation. This inner attitude, this to come and tell me that those who are marginalized, the leper and the widow, are better than I. Yet the Pope summarized Jesus words in this way: Take he alone who saves and not our observance of the precepts. Yet, as the Pope observed, Jesus teaching was received with such displeasure by the people of Nazareth that they became enraged and wanted to kill him. It is the same anger that Naaman the Syrian exhibited in todays first Reading from the Old Testament. In order to be healed of his leprosy, Naaman goes to the king with many gifts, with great riches: he feels secure, he is the head of the army. However, the prophet Elisha invites him to humble himself and to wash in the river Jordan seven times. An invitation which must have seemed a bit ridiculous to him, the Pope said. Indeed, Naaman felt humiliated, and was angry and went away, just like those from the Synagogue in Nazareth. In fact, the Scriptures use the same verb to describe both responses: they became indignant. Naaman was asked to perform an act of humility, of obedience, like a child: to do the ridiculous!. But he reacts with indignation: are not the Abana and Pharpar, the rivers

the Pope explained, reveals the tragedy of observing the commandments without faith: I am saved only because I go to Synagogue every Sabbath, and because I seek to obey the commandments; and who is

care because if you do not feel that you are on the margins, you will not be saved!. And he added: this is humility, the path of humility: to feel so marginalized that one feels ones need for the Lords salvation for it is

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The imprisoned word

Friday, 21 March 2014
fruit. But the tenants, who had already placed themselves as masters of the vineyard, said: no, let us cast them out, this is ours! This parable recounts the drama of this people and of us all, the Pope added. They made themselves masters of Gods word; and the word of God became their word, a word fashioned according to their own interests, their own theologies, their own ideologies everyone interpreted it according to his own will, according to his own interests; and they murdered to maintain this. In fact, the Pope added, this is precisely what happened to Jesus. The chief priests and the Pharisees understood that he was speaking about them when they heard this parable, and thus they sought to capture him and have him killed. Yet in this way the Word of God becomes dead, it becomes trapped, he added. And the Holy Spirit becomes locked up in the desires of each of them. The same thing happens to us when we are not open to the newness of Gods word, when we are not obedient to Gods word. Disobeying the word of God is like trying to say: this is no longer Gods Word: now it is ours. As the word of God died in the heart of these people, it can also die in our hearts, the Pontiff observed. And yet the word does not end there, for it is alive in the heart of the simple, the humble, the people of God. In fact, those who were seeking to capture Jesus were afraid of the people because they considered him to be a prophet. The simple crowd followed Jesus because what Jesus said did them great good and warmed their hearts. They didnt use the Word of God for their own interests. Rather, they listened and sought to be better. At this point, the Pope suggested that we think about what we can do so as not to kill the Word of God, so as not to make ourselves masters of this word, to be docile, and not to lock up the Holy Spirit. He indicated two simple ways: humility and prayer. The people who would not accept Gods word but rather who said this is Gods word, but I interpret it according to my own interests! were certainly not humble, he remarked. They were proud, self important, they were the supposed doctors. They were people who believed they had the power to change the meaning of Gods word. However, he said, there were also good and humble priests, humble Pharisees who received the Word of God in the right spirit; for example, the Gospels speak about Nicodemus. Therefore, the main disposition one needs in order to listen to Gods word is humility, since without humility one cannot welcome and receive Gods word. The second disposition needed is prayer. The people of whom the parable speaks did not pray, they didnt need to pray: they felt quite secure and strong, they felt that they were gods. Therefore, Pope Francis said: with humility and prayer let us go forward in listening to Gods word and obeying the Church. Thus, what happened to these people will not happen to us: we will not kill in order to defend a word which we believe to be Gods word but which in reality is actually a word we have utterly altered. The Pope concluded, praying that the Lord grant us the grace of humility to look upon Jesus as the Saviour who speaks to us: he speaks to me! Each one of us ought to say: he speaks to me! When we read the Gospels: he is speaking to me! Pope Francis also invited those present to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit, who gives power to these words and to pray, to pray much that we might all be docile to receive this word and to obeying it.

they were afraid of him. Essentially, the Pope said, theirs was the same sentiment as Herods. They too thought: this man is a revolutionary, let us stop him in time, we must stop him!. Therefore they sought to capture him, and they sought to put him to the test so that he would fall and be captured: it was a persecution against Jesus. But why this persecution, the Pope asked? Because these people were not open to Gods word; they were enclosed within their egoism. It is within this context that Jesus tells the parable: God gave as an inheritance a land with a vineyard which he had planted and tilled with his own hands. In fact we read in the Gospel that the householder planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. They are all things which he did himself, with great love. And then he let the vineyard out to tenants. This is exactly what the Lord has done with us, the Pope explained. He has lent us life, and with it, the promise that he would come to save us. Yet this people saw a profitable business venture in it: the vineyard is beautiful, lets take it, its ours!. Thus, as the Gospel tells us, the season of fruit drew near, and the householders servants went to get his

Lauren Cater/CNA

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Statements Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? (1 Cor 15:55)
Easter Pastoral Instruction on Stewardship of Health
our risk of developing chronic diseases. While many persons have a positive attitude toward regular exercise, some persons need more encouragement and motivation to start a habit of exercise. The virtue of fortitude can help a person to persevere in physical exercise and not be discouraged when progress is slow or difficult. Fortitude enables a person to work toward the goal of good health while bearing with maintain our physical well-being for the present and the future. Unhealthy Perspectives on the Human Body While it is quite clear that doing little to take care of our health is wrong, doing too much to achieve physical perfection can also be unhealthy and harmful.Moralityrejects a neopagan notion that tends to promote the cult of the body, to sacrifice from the richness of the Christian tradition, particularly the practice of Christian virtues, this pastoral letter seeks to offer guidance to those who strive to be responsible stewards of bodily health. Called to a virtuous life Human virtuesare firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and commandments to honour means showing proper gratitude, affection, respect, obedience and care to parents. (CCC 2214f) On the other hand, the church teaches that parents have the duty to provide so far as they can for their childrens needs, guiding them in faith and morals and creating for them an environment for personal growth (CCC 2221 31). We must admit, however, that the continuous migration of our people, especially

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Education and Health known as MAPEH. Educators point to the multiple intelligences that must be developed in each child and young person. Learning after all is not simply an intellectual pursuit. It is the wholesome and holistic program to bring out the best in the person. In Catholic Education, the formation in the school has one objectiveto make saints of our students! Catholic Hospitals and Community based Health Care Workers The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines points to institutions of health care as agents of renewal. Physicians, nurses, midwives, physical therapists, medical technologists have been gifted by God with the graces to heal and make people whole again. They should be reminded that there may not always be cure but there must always be care. In the end, it is the compassionate love of Jesus expressed by health care workers that makes a difference in the lives of the sick among us. Conclusion St. Paul tells us that our body is temple of the Holy Spirit which we have received from God.You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.(1 Cor. 6: 19-20). Taking good care of our health is a fitting response of gratitude for Gods graciousness in creating us in his image and likeness. Like the good steward in Scripture, may we also be responsible stewards of the gift of health that God has granted us as we make our earthly pilgrimage to our heavenly home, where the fullness of life awaits us. The healthiest person on earth is the saint. Through self-denial and asceticism, mortification and prayer, the saint is one who seeks God in all his/her endeavours. Our health, after all, should be at the service of our primary vocation to seek the Kingdom of God. Let us renew our faith in the resurrection of the body, an important part of what we believe in as Christians. We beg our Lady who gave her body to Jesus as His dwelling place for nine months to make us ready and willing to give our bodies to Jesus too so that we receive the promised fullness of life. For the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, April 20, 2014, Easter Sunday +SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS Archbishop of Lingayen Dagupan CBCP President

TODAY the Church returns to the tomb and sees it empty. The tomb without the body inside leads us to an act of faith He is risen! The resurrected Jesus had a body but quite different from the way the disciples experienced Jesus before the Passover. The body of Jesus was both resurrected and changed. As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, let us also renew our faith in the resurrection of the body. This body as we have it is a gift from God. This body as we have it will be resurrected and will be changed. Taking care of this body is not always an exercise of vanity. Taking care of the body is a spiritual duty as good stewards of health. Saint John Paul II tirelessly reminded us during his papal ministry that we are created in the likeness of God. The human body is sacred because the human body is a gift from God. We must act and live like God because we were created like Him. The passage of the Reproductive Health Law also prompts us to lay down these teachings about the Christian understanding of health. While we respect and recognize the duty and right of the State to pass laws, we deem it our duty as pastors to teach you about the Christian understanding of health which the present RH law seems to misunderstand. Stewardship of health As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of Gods varied grace. (1 Peter 4.10) God has bestowed on us the great gift of life. As Christians we promote and defend a consistent life ethic symbolized by the seamless garment. Human life ought to be promoted and defended from the moment of conception to natural death. Our life is in our hands as stewards of the gift of life. And our stewardship of life calls us to be responsible stewards of health. While health may not be the greatest value and good of the person, health is a gift and a task for all of us. The American bishops define a steward in the following way: a steward is one who receives Gods gifts gratefully, tends them in a responsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love for others and returns them with increase to the Lord. (USCCB. Stewardship: A Disciples Response, 1993) What is health? The World Health Organization in 1948 defines health as follows: a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Later, the WHO added a significant reality to health that includes the spiritual aspect of human life. At its best, health is drawing our capacity to fullness of life. Health entails the harmony of the person with himself or herself, with others in the community of people and the whole created order. The Church teaches us that our bodies are not simply material vessels for our souls. They are integral and essential aspects of who we are as persons created in the image and likeness of God. Vatican II reminds us that we are obliged to regard the human body as good and honourable since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day. (Gaudium et Spes 14, par. 1). The human person is a unity of body and soul. Just as we are called to care for the spiritual health of our souls, we are also called to be responsible stewards of the health of our bodies (CCC 364).Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.(CCC 2288)Taking care of ones health is not a selfish activity but rather it is a necessary and important task related to the building of Gods Kingdom. A person with good health will have more time and energy to participate in the life of the Spirit and the saving mission of Christ. O ur contemporary times present various challenges to living a healthy life. Drawing
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faith. They make possible ease, selfmastery, and joy in leading a morally good life (CCC 1804).Virtues can be learned by education, developed by habitual and deliberate practice, and sustained by Gods grace. Through Gods help, our efforts at living out Christian virtues will enable us to grow more perfectly in our following of Christ There are four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. Prudence enables us to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means to achieve it (CCC 1806). Justice moves us to give what is due to God and to our neighbour (CCC1807). Temperance moderates our attraction to pleasures and provides a balance in the use of created goods (CCC1809). Fortitude enables us to be firm in the face of challenges and to persevere in our pursuit of good (CCC 1808). Each of these virtues comes into play as we strive to care for our bodies and our health. Food and Drink: Called to live in Moderation Some of the leading causes of mortality for Filipinos, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, are either caused or aggravated by inordinate consumption of food and drink. Being responsible with ones diet is one way of being a good steward of ones health. The virtue of temperance can help us deal with our appetites for certain types of food and drink that can cause harm to our health. Temperance teaches us self-control and discipline with regard to our appetites in pursuit of the goal of good health. The virtue of prudence guides our practice of temperance by reminding us not to consume too much or too little; one needs to discern the right type and quantity of food and drink that is appropriate to maintain ones health. Exercise: Mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) Along with a correct diet, exercise is also an important element in maintaining good health. Exercise enables us to control our weight and reduce

the challenge of being faithful to regular exercise. Prudence accompanies fortitude in this case when careful discernment is needed in choosing the appropriate type and amount of exercise for the persons condition. Prudence will tell a person not to exercise too much in a manner that would cause injury and not to exercise too little in a way that has negligible effect. All experts agree: no exercise is bad, too much exercise is bad, some exercise is good. Rest Maintaining proper health also requires sufficient rest to allow the body to renew its energy and repair itself. Catholic social teaching remind us that rest from work is a right (Laborem Exercens #19).Human life has a rhythm of work and rest(CCC 2184).Everyone should take care to set aside sufficient time for leisure(CCC 2187). The virtue of justice requires that employers, despite economic constraints, should make sure that employees have adequate time for rest (CCC 2187). Prudence will remind us that too much rest can lead to slothfulness while too little rest can cause grave harm to the body and spirit. Harmful Substances and Activities The natural law urges every person to do good and avoid evil. While we should pursue what is good for our health (e.g., proper nutrition, adequate exercise, and sufficient rest) we should also avoid what is harmful to our wellbeing. The virtue of temperance disposes us toavoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others safety on the road, at sea, or in the air(CCC2290).Theuse of drugsinflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense.(CCC2291). Prudence would remind us that there are substances and activities that should be avoided if we desire to

everything for its sake, to idolize physical perfection and success at sports(CCC 2289).Vanity, idealized body images, and excessive competitiveness can lead people to manipulate their bodies in ways that do not respect the human bodys health, integrity, dignity, and intrinsic value. Examples of such harmful manipulation of bodies include excessive use of cosmetic surgery, unhealthy forms of dieting, and the use of banned substances in sports. What gives meaning to health? Love and life!As Christians, we believe in the priority of these values over health. We live healthy lives because we are willing to nurture and to care for the gift of life. And we are willing to care for others in love and concern for them. We are reminded of this: there may not always be cure in the many illnesses that people face every day, but there must always be care and love for those who are ill among us. And it is love that enables life to grow and even to improve. We live in a stressful world. So many demands and many deadlines keep us on our toes. There are two kinds of stress: eu stress (good stress) and dis stress (bad stress). Work is stressful and thus good when it brings out the best in us when it challenges us to excel and be the best for people around us, especially the poor and marginalized. Work is distressful when it diminishes our humanity when it manipulates and exploits others and the whole created order. Agents of healthy living The Family The sanctuary of life, and thus of health is the family. Healthy living is exemplified in the dynamics of a family life that nurtures the values of love and temperance, respect and responsibility. A healthy balanced lifestyle promotes family bonding of parents and children. One must take into serious consideration the responsibility of the family to instil a healthy sense of self in relation to others. On the one hand, the

parents have created unhealthy family situations. There is still no substitute to a parents love and concern, supervision and guidance. We therefore exhort the extraordinary work performed by guardians. You have an obligation to help in the strengthening of character building among the children and the young. Treat these children and young people as if they were your own. Love them as best as you can. The School Healthy living is exemplified and strengthened in the school. The whole school curriculum is directed to the integral formation of the person. A specific school discipline is Music, Arts, Physical

Statement of the CBCP President on the Supreme Court Decision on the RH Law
I ENCOURAGE our Catholic faithful to maintain respect and esteem for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has decided on the RH issue based on existing laws in the Philippines. The Church must continue to uphold the sacredness of human life, to teach always the dignity of the human person and to safeguard the life of every human person from conception to natural death. Although the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the RH law, it has truly watered down the RH law and consequently upheld the importance of adhering to an informed religious conscience even among government workers. It has also stood on the side of the rights of parents to teach their children. We cannot see eye-to-eye with our pro-RH brethren on this divisive issue but we can work hand-in-hand for the good of the country. Let us move on. On the part of the Church, we must continue to teach what is right and moral. We will continue to proclaim the beauty and holiness of every human person. Through two thousand years, the Church has lived in eras of persecution, authoritarian regimes, wars and revolutions. The Church can continue its mission even with such unjust laws. Let us move on from being an RH-law-reactionary-group to a truly Spirit empowered disciples of the Gospel of life and love. We have a positive message to proclaim. +SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS Archbishop of Lingayen Dagupan CBCP President April 8, 2014

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kingdom come. There is a close connection between poverty and evangelization, between the theme of the last World Youth DayGo therefore, and make disciples of all nations! (Mt28:19)and the theme for this year: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt5:3). The Lord wants a poor Church which evangelizes the poor. When Jesus sent the Twelve out on mission, he said to them: Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborers deserve their food (Mt10:9-10). Evangelical poverty is a basic condition for spreading the kingdom of God. The most beautiful and spontaneous expressions of joy which I have seen during

my life were by poor people who had little to hold onto. Evangelization in our time will only take place as the result of contagious joy. We have seen, then, that the Beatitude of the poor in spirit shapes our relationship with God, with material goods and with the poor. With the example and words of Jesus before us, we realize how much we need to be converted, so that the logic ofbeing morewill prevail over that ofhaving more! The saints can best help us to understand the profound meaning of the Beatitudes. So the canonization of John Paul II, to be celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter, will be an event marked by immense joy. He will be the great patron of the World Youth Days which he inaugurated and always

supported. In the communion of saints he will continue to be a father and friend to all of you. This month of April marks the thirtieth anniversary of the entrustment of the Jubilee Cross of the Redemption to the young. That symbolic act by John Paul II was the beginning of the great youth pilgrimage which has since crossed the five continents. The Popes words on that Easter Sunday in 1984 remain memorable: My dear young people, at the conclusion of the Holy Year, I entrust to you the sign of this Jubilee Year: the cross of Christ! Carry it throughout the world as a symbol of the love of the Lord Jesus for humanity, and proclaim to everyone that it is only in Christ, who died and rose from the dead, that salvation and

redemption are to be found. Dear friends, theMagnificat, the Canticle of Mary, poor in spirit, is also the song of everyone who lives by the Beatitudes. The joy of the Gospel arises from a heart which, in its poverty, rejoices and marvels at the works of God, like the heart of Our Lady, whom all generations call blessed (cf.Lk1:48). May Mary, Mother of the poor and Star of the new evangelization help us to live the Gospel, to embody the Beatitudes in our lives, and to have the courage always to be happy. From the Vatican, 21 January 2014 Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr FraNcIs

new composition although inspired by ancient models found in sixth- and seventh-century manuscripts. The five possible Easter antiphons are all taken from Scripture. The first antiphon Vidi aquam is inspired by Ezekiel 47:1-2,9. I saw water flowing from the Temple, from its right-hand side, alleluia: and all to whom this water came were saved and shall say: Alleluia, alleluia. After completing the sprinkling, the priest returns to the chair and concludes the penitential rite saying, May almighty God cleanse us of our sins, and through the celebration of this Eucharist make us worthy to share at the table of his Kingdom. R. Amen.

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Ref lections

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

The Eucharist: Christs empowering and transforming gift

Holy Thursday, Lk 4:16-21 (A) April 17, 2014
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
GIFT-GIVING is an interpersonal and social activity that is found in all human societies. A gift is a sign of love. This is what makes it precious and meaningful. The greater the love, the more precious the gift, even when the object chosen to express it may not be proportional to the intensity of the love it is meant to signify. All of us have received gifts, just as all of us have given gifts to some person or other. We should never forget that our very existence, with its rainbow of corollary gifts such as intelligence, affectivity, memory, and all the resources of our bodies, are gifts from the Creator -- so is the world in which we live, the family and society into which we were born. All these are signs of Gods immensely generous love for us. Unfortunately, even this splendid expression of love has been tainted with the dark stigma of sin. And so there have been and there are people who use gifts not to express love but enslave and hurt others. These are the gifts of the Padrino, who buys a guilty silence or obtains an even guiltier cooperation in committing crimes; the gifts of the one who bribes his/her way to success at the expense of worthier ones; the gifts that choke consciences and gag voices in order to let evil prevail and continue . . . . But a genuine gift should always be a sign of generosity and selfless love. Ultimately, it should signify the donors desire to give himself/ herself totally to the recipient, in love. This is why all gifts fall short of really being what they are meant to express -- all, except the Eucharist. The Eucharist is precisely what it is meant to be: Christs total gift of self to us in the fullness of His divinity and humanity, in spite of the poverty of the material elements used to convey it. It is impossible to express in words the preciousness of the gift of the Eucharist. The more we say or write, the more we feel that we are only mumbling something that miserably falls short of the reality we are talking about. It is only in the life to come that we will be able to understand the wonder of the Eucharist, for, indeed, it is the Mystery of Faith. demands nothing in return. For Him, it is enough to give, enrich, strengthen, and empower us. And yet, on our part, if we are people with a sensitive heart, we feel that we must do our best to reciprocate the gift, no matter how short we may fall in our effort. Such a TOTAL GIFT elicits from us a TOTAL RETURN. In practical terms, this means that we should make a gift of our poor livesthe best we can to the Lord and to our neighbor. This requires that we do our very best to please God in all we think, say, and do. It demands that we place ourselves at the service of others in all humility and sincerity. It entails forgetting ourselves and giving priority to our neighbor. In short, this demands that we, too, become eucharists a eucharist with a small e; a pale reflection, we must admit, of the one with a big initial, but the best we can be, nonetheless. This will be our reciprocation to the Gift we have received from Him. And Jesus will receive it with a sincere, grateful smile, like the one of parents who accept and appreciate the simple gifts of their little children.

But even with all the limitations that characterize us, it is good that we realize how the Eucharist is a LIFE-GIVING and EMPOWERING GIFT. It gives life and strength to our weary souls, for in it we receive

Jesus himself, the source of our spiritual life. This is why it empowers all the baptized to honor the commitments undertaken at their baptism. It supports people of every profession and walk of life in the fulfillment of their

duties. It sustains the virgins in their effort to keep their hearts and bodies pure as the Lord deserves. It gives the martyrs the strength to witness to their faith even at the cost of their life. In His generosity, Jesus

Easter Sunday, Jn 20:1-9 (A) April 20, 2014

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
THE resurrection of Christ is intrinsically connected with His bitter passion and death. Together with them it constitutes the global saving event called Paschal Mystery. The Resurrection is not simply Christs personal triumph after the terrible sufferings/humiliation He endured in His passion and death. It is also the resurrection of mankind as a whole and of each human being. It brings about the end of the long night of Satans sovereignty over the children of Adam, and ushers in an era of new life for all humansthe life of the redeemed children of God. Christs resurrection, then, concerns us, too. We benefit from it, just as we benefit from His death on the cross. Both are expressions of His universal love for us. As the first Easter Preface proclaims, by dying, Christ has destroyed our death; and by rising, He has restored our life. This is so because we are part of His Mystical Body. In baptism we have come to share both in His death and His resurrection. We have become one with Him in everything. His destiny is our destiny, too. This is why the Resurrection grounds our hope in the life to come. We too shall rise, thanks to the resurrection of Jesus. He is the first-fruits, the first-born from death. We shall be the plentiful harvest, the numerous brothers and sisters He saved from the power of hell. Christs triumph over death is also ours, not only for the life to come, but also in this present earthly existence. Christs resurrection proclaims loud and clear that, already now, life is stronger than death, and love is stronger than hatred. Therefore, the Resurrection grounds also our hope in this life. It fills it with meaning and worth. Without such a hope in the present life, all hope in the life to come would be baselessjust an impotent consolation and a form of alienation. Jesus resurrection must be made relevant to our life now. We have to understand and believe that our life on earth has meaning because Christ rose from death. What we do

Easter: the dawn of a new era

No greater love than Christs

Good Friday, Jn 18:1 19:42 (A) April 18, 2014
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
WE are fond of measuring everything. We measure distances in meters or yards; we measure weights in kilograms or pounds; we measure electricity in watts and the frequency of magnetic bands in hertzes. We have even learned how to measure the intelligence of a person in order to determine his/her IQ... But can we measure love? Lovers may think, for a time, that love can be measured by the number of kisses they exchange, or the number of times they see or text each other. But eventually, they come to realize the inadequacy of such units of measure, for the depth and width of genuine love go far, far beyond what can be expressed or measured in kisses or various types of love messages. A sure way to measure the genuineness of love and its intensity was given by Jesus Christ when He said: There is no greater love than this: to lay down ones life for ones friends (Jn 15:13). This essentially means that we can measure the intensity and genuineness of a persons love by the amount of sacrifice he/she is prepared to make for the beloved. When we see people going to work very early in the morning and coming back dead tired in the evening, day in, day out, even though sometimes they may not feel to be in the best shape, we know what genuine love is. Their sacrifices are the measure of their love for the other members of their families. Those parents who do overtime to earn a little more in order to pay for the tuition of their children are surely proving their love for them. Those who renounce going out with friends in order to stay with their elderly parents who are confined to a wheelchair or need constant attention, surely show how deep and sincere their love for their parents are... And there are even some who, literally, give their life for the person(s) they love. We all know of parents, and especially mothers, who have given their life for their children. We know of thousands of soldiers who have given their lives for their country. Several years ago, we heard of the hundreds of American firefighters who lost their lives in their effort to rescue the victims of the World Trade Center. We admire them all. This is the utmost, for there is nothing more one can give after having offered ones life. Jesus Christ belongs to this category of heroes, but He has outranked them all in at least two ways. First of all, He offered His life not just for many or even thousands of people, but for all human beings of all generations, from the very first who lived on earth to the very last who will see the end of the world. And considering that His love is absolutely personalized we can conclude that no one has loved unto death as many people as Jesus did. But there is moresomething no one else has ever done: Jesus loved intensely and gave His life on the cross even for His own enemies! He offered his life for the salvation even of those who hated Him during his earthly life, those who did not have peace till they wrested from Pilate His death sentence by crucifixion; those who insulted Him while He was agonizing on the cross. He offered His life also for the millions of others who, over the centuries, would betray or reject Him, insult and profane Him in the Blessed Eucharist . . . . Amazingly, He knew and endured in advance the most bitter taste of every drop of their hatred! And yet, in spite of all this, He still loved them tenderly and offered His life for each of them as for the dearest friend. This is what brought St. Paul (one of the beneficiaries of Christs love for His enemies) to exclaim: It is precisely in this that God proves His love for us: that while we were still sinners (i.e., Gods enemies), Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Indeed, there has never been, nor will there ever be on earth a greater love than that of Jesus Christ, who Though He was in the form of God,He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, He emptied himself and took the form of a slave . . . . And it was thus that He humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross! (Phil 2:6-8) Applying this universal truth to himself, Paul wrote the vibrant sentence: The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me! (Gal 2:20) a memorable, unforgettable statement which each of us should make his/her own and sign with tears of grateful love.

in this life can acquire a tremendous value because of His resurrection because He shattered the power of sin. This is why our life is filled with HOPE; it is filled with LIFE. This is why, as far as we are concerned, the resurrection of Christ is not

an isolated event of the past, but an everpresent reality that benefits us all. It should be our program of life, till it becomes our way of life already here on the earth, while waiting for the endless day when it will be our permanent state of life.

2nd Sunday of Easter, Jn 20:19-31 (A) April 27, 2014

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
THE disciples had locked themselves up in the Upper Room. They had every reason to be afraid of the Jews. And their hearts were locked, too locked with the chains and bars of confusion, disappointment, remorse... They knew they had not put up a great show of solidarity in the face of their Masters arrest. And now that He had been humiliated, killed, and buried, their lives had been plunged into an abyss of failure and meaninglessness. But all of a sudden, unexpectedly, Jesus appears in their midst, in spite of all those locks, both material and spiritual. Nothing can stop Him. He is not there o show off or to get even with the disciples who deserted Him. In His mercy and love He comes to offer giftsthe gifts/fruits of His resurrection: His presence, His peace, His joy, the participation in His mission, and His Spirit. These gifts are the tangible signs of His enduring and forgiving love. They are plenteous and most precious gifts. They are for each and every one of His that Jesus can do is offer them and encourage all to accept them with grateful appreciation. On our part, we must have a clear idea of the immense value of the gifts, the great difference for the better that they can make the privileged instruments of Gods forgiveness and sanctification. We should also become aware of the immense loss we will inflict on ourselves if we refuse them. The choice between accepting or rejecting Christs gifts is not like the choice between colors or what shoes to wear. Rather, it is a choice between life and death. So much is at stake. Christs gifts are forever. They are for us, today, as they were for His disciples on the first Easter day. And they will be for all believers, till the end of time. His Spirit makes them present and alive in every generation. In this way all feelings of dejection, confusion, anxiety and fear...are banned, and are replaced by that sublime peace and joy which the Risen Christ alone can give. Thus, Easter becomes always and everywhere the lasting season of a renewed mankind. All that we have to do is stretch out our hands in acceptance and proclaim, My Lord and my God!

Gifts of the Risen Christ

The choice between accepting or rejecting Christs gifts is not like the choice between colors or what shoes to wear. Rather, it is a choice between life and death. So much is at stake.
disciples, including the latecomer and slow-to-believe Thomas. Christs gifts are for all. No one is excluded by Jesus, not even the greatest sinners. But gifts are gifts. They are not impositions. They may be accepted or ignored, or even disdainfully rejected. All in our lives. By making us share in His mission the Risen Christ raises us to an unprecedented dignity: the dignity to be sent to all mankind as signs and bearers of Gods love and of the Good News. By receiving from Jesus the gift of the Spirit of Holiness, we become

Noel Coypel

Guillermo Viciano

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Social Concerns

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IBON Survey: Many Filipinos IBON Survey: have difficulty spending for Corruption, poverty did basic needs not lessen in last 3 years 15 March 2014: 54.8% of respondents had difficulty in
5 April 2014: 3 out of 5 or 58.9% of the respondents disagreed. Only 27.0% of the respondents said that corruption lessened.
MAJORITY of Filipinos believe that poverty and corruption did not decrease in the last three years, according to results of the latest IBON nationwide survey. Asked if they think there was less corruption in the last three years, 3 out of 5 or 58.9% of the respondents disagreed. Only 27.0% of the respondents said that corruption lessened. The respondents were also asked if there was less poverty in the last three years. Only 19.1% said yes, while 7 out of 10 or 72.7% did not agree that poverty decreased. The same questions were asked in the IBON surveys October 2013 round, showing that results were unchanged in the latest survey. The recent IBON nationwide survey was conducted from January 16 to 24 among 1,500 respondents, 18 years and above. The survey used a multi-stage probability sampling scheme and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. The October 2013 round was a non-commissioned survey conducted across various sectors in 16 regions. Below is the tabulation o f re s u l t s o f p e o p l e s perception on corruption and poverty.

buying enough food in the past three months, while 53% had difficulty in buying medicine or paying for medical treatment

In your opinion, is there less corruption in the country in the past three (3) years?

In your opinion, was there less poverty in the country in the past three (3) years?

Food security remains a major issue for a lot of Filipino families.

AS the country observes Consumer Rights Day, research group IBON revealed survey results showing that many Filipino consumers have difficulty in spending for basic goods such as food and medicine. According to the groups latest survey, 54.8% of respondents had difficulty in buying enough food in the past three months, while 53% had difficulty in buying medicine or paying for medical treatment. Meanwhile, 43.6% respondents said that they had difficulty meeting transportation expenses from the third to the fourth quarter of 2014. The group earlier announced its survey results
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showing that 7 out of 10 Filipinos have trouble paying for electricity. The survey also asked respondents to describe their livelihood today compared to a year ago. Majority (56.1%) answered that it is the same while 25.5% said that it is worse. Only 16.1% said that their livelihood today is better than it was last year. The latest IBON nationwide survey was conducted from January 16 to 24 among 1,500 respondents, aged 18 years and above. It employed a multi-stage probability sampling scheme and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. The January 2014 round is a non-commissioned survey conducted across various sectors in 16 regions.
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closed tabernacle and should not be exposed in a monstrance(147). After mid-night on Holy Thursday, the adoration should conclude without solemnity, since the day of the Lords Passion has already begun(148). Good Friday Good Friday Procession 142. The Church celebrates the redemptive death of Christ on Good Friday. The Church meditates on the Lords Passion in the afternoon liturgical action, in which she prays for the salvation of the word, adores the Cross and commemorates her very origin in the sacred wound in Christs side (cf. John 19, 34)(149). In addition to the various forms of popular piety on Good Friday such as the Via Crucis, the passion processions are undoubtedly the most important. These correspond, after the fashion of popular piety, to the small procession of friends and disciples who, having taken the body of Jesus down from the Cross, carried it to the place where there was a tomb hewn in the rock in which no one had yet been buried (Lk 23, 53). The procession of the dead Christ is usually conducted in austere silence, prayer, and the participation of many of the faithful, who intuit much of the significance of the Lords burial. 143. It is necessary, however, to ensure that such manifestations of popular piety, either by time or the manner in which the faithful are convoked, do not become a surrogate for the liturgical celebrations of Good Friday. In the pastoral planning of Good Friday primary attention and maximum importance must be given to the solemn liturgical action and the faithful must be brought to realize that no other exercise can objectively substitute for this liturgical celebration. Finally, the integration of the dead Christ procession with the solemn liturgical action of Good Friday should be avoided for such would constitute a dis-

torted celebrative hybrid. Passion Plays 144. In many countries, passion plays take place during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday. These are often sacred representations which can justly be regarded as pious exercises. Indeed, such sacred representations have their origins in the Sacred Liturgy. Some of these plays, which began in the monks choir, so as to speak, have undergone a progressive dramatization that has taken them outside of the church. In some places, responsibility for the representations of the Lords passion has been given over to the Confraternities, whose members have assumed particular responsibilities to live the Christian life. In such representations, actors and spectators are involved in a movement of faith and genuine piety. It is singularly important to ensure that representations of the Lords Passion do not deviate from this pure line of sincere and gratuitous piety, or take on the characteristics of folk productions, which are not so much manifestations of piety as tourist attractions. In relation to sacred representations it is important to instruct the faithful on the difference between a representation which is commemorative, and the liturgical actions which are anamnesis, or mysterious presence of the redemptive event of the Passion. Penitential practices leading to self-crucifixion with nails are not to be encouraged. 145. Because of its doctrinal and pastoral importance, it is recommended that the memorial of Our Lady of Dolours(150) should be recalled. Popular piety, following the Gospel account, emphasizes the association of Mary with the saving Passion her Son (cf, John 19, 25-27; Lk 2, 34f), and has given rise to many pious exercises, including: * the Planctus Mariae, an intense expression of sorrow, often accompanied by literary

or musical pieces of a very high quality, in which Our Lady cries not only for the death of her Son, the Innocent, Holy, and Good One, but also for the errors of his people and the sins of mankind; * the Ora della Desolata, in which the faithful devoutly keep vigil with the Mother of Our Lord, in her abandonment and profound sorrow following the death of her only Son; they contemplate Our Lady as she receives the dead body of Christ (the Piet) realizing that the sorrow of the world for the Lords death finds expression in Mary; * in her they behold the personification of all mothers throughout the ages who have mourned the loss of a son. This pious exercise, which in some parts of Latin America is called El Psame, should not be limited merely to the expression of emotion before a sorrowing mother. Rather, with faith in the resurrection, it should assist in understanding the greatness of Christs redemptive love and his Mothers participation in it. Holy Saturday 146. On Holy Saturday, the Church pauses at the Lords tomb, meditating his Passion and Death, his descent into Hell, and, with prayer and fasting, awaits his resurrection(151). Popular piety should not be impervious to the peculiar character of Holy Saturday. The festive customs and practices connected with this day, on which the celebration of the Lords resurrection was once anticipated, should be reserved for the vigil and for Easter Sunday. The Ora della Madre 147. According to tradition, the entire body of the Church is represented in Mary: she is the credentium collectio universa(152). Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as she waits near the Lords tomb, as she is represented in Christian tradition, is an icon of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb of her Spouse while awaiting the

celebration of his resurrection. The pious exercise of the Ora di Maria is inspired by this intuition of the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the Church: while the body of her Son lays in the tomb and his soul has descended to the dead to announce liberation from the shadow of darkness to his ancestors, the Blessed Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son over death. Easter Sunday 148. Easter Sunday, the greatest solemnity in the liturgical year, is often associated with many displays of popular piety: these are all cultic expressions which proclaim the new and glorious condition of the risen Christ, and the divine power released from his triumph over sin and death. The Risen Christ meets his Mother 149. Popular piety intuits a constancy in the relationship between Christ and his mother: in suffering and death and in the joy of the resurrection. The liturgical affirmation that God replenished the Blessed Virgin Mary with joy in the resurrection of her Son(153), has been translated and represented, so as to speak, in the pious exercise of the meeting of the Risen Christ with His Mother: on Easter morning two processions, one bearing the image of Our Lady of Dolours, the other that of the Risen Christ, meet each other so as to show that Our Lady was the first, and full participant in the mystery of the Lords resurrection. What has already been said in relation to the processions of the dead Christ also applies to this pious exercise: the observance of the pious exercise should not acquire greater importance than the liturgical celebration of Easter Sunday nor occasion inappropriate mixing of liturgical expressions with those of popular piety.

Blessing of the Family Table 150. The Easter liturgy is permeated by a sense of newness: nature has been renewed, since Easter coincides with Spring in the Northern hemisphere; fire and water have been renewed; Christian hearts have been renewed through the Sacrament of Penance, and, where possible, through administration of the Sacraments of Christian initiation; the Eucharist is renewed, so as to speak: these are signs and sign-realities of the new life begun by Christ in the resurrection. Among the pious exercises connected with Easter Sunday, mention must be made of the traditional blessing of eggs, the symbol of life, and the blessing of the family table; this latter, which is a daily habit in many Christian families that should be encouraged(155), is particularly important on Easter Sunday: the head of the household or some other member of the household, blesses the festive meal with Easter water which is brought by the faithful from the Easter Vigil. Visit to the Mother of the Risen Christ 151. At the conclusion of the Easter Vigil, or following the Second Vespers of Easter, a short pious exercise is kept in many places: flowers are blessed and distributed to the faithful as a sign of Easter joy. Some are brought to the image of Our Lady of Dolours, which is then crowned, as the Regina Coeli is sung. The faithful, having associated themselves with the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin in the Lords Passion and Death, now rejoice with her in His resurrection. While this pious exercise should not be incorporated into the liturgical action, it is completely in harmony with the content of the Paschal Mystery and is a further example of the manner in which popular piety grasps the Blessed Virgin Marys association with the saving work of her Son.

of Damascus, better than all waters, and I am supposed to wash in this little stream? Something isnt right here!. Yet those who were with him, who had good sense, helped him to place himself on the margins, to humble himself. And Naaman comes out of the river Jordan healed of his leprosy. This is todays message in this third week of Lent, the Pope said. If we wish to be saved, we must choose the path of humility, and of humiliation. Mary is our greatest witness, Pope Francis said, for in her canticle, she does not say that she rejoices because God has looked upon her virginity, her goodness, her sweetness, on the many virtues which she possessed. Rather, she exults because God has regarded the humility of his handmaiden, her littleness. For it is humility which the Lord regards with pleasure. We must also learn the wisdom of placing ourselves on the margins so that the Lord will find us, the Pope continued. The Lord will not find us at the centre of our self- assurance. No, there the Lord does not go! He will find us on the margins, in our sins, in our mistakes, in our need to be healed spiritually, in our need to be saved. It is there that the Lord will find us. This is the road of humility, the Pope said. Christian humility is not a virtue which leads us to say I am not needed, and which thus masks a hidden pride. Rather, Christian humility prompts us to speak the truth and to say: I am a sinner!. Essentially, he said, it is a matter of speaking the truth, and this is our truth. Yet there is also another truth the truth that God saves us! However, he saves us when we are marginalized. He does not save us in our self-assurance. Pope Francis concluded his homily in prayer, asking that God might grant us the grace to marginalize ourselves; the grace of humility to receive the Lords salvation.

CBCP News File Photo

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Non-stop
US federal air marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is on board a non-stop flight from New York to London when he receives a strange message on his secured phone that demands $150 million transfer to a bank account or someone dies every 20 minutes. He consults his fellow air marshal on board, Jack Hammond, (Anson Mount) about the message only to discover that Hammond has smuggled cocaine in his briefcase on this flight. This discovery leads to an argument that ends in Marks killing Hammond in the lavatorythe first death in 20 minutes. Mark manages to get Jen Summers (Julianne Moore) to cooperate with him in tracing the texter but while doing so, another death in 20 minutes happens, this time involving the captain, apparently poisoned. While they are trying to uncover the identity of the texter, a plane passenger uploads a video footage of the chaos, making Mark appear as the culprit. The video becomes viral worldwide, convincing the public that he is a hijacker and a suicide terrorist. The movie Non-Stop has commendable technical qualities thrilling the viewing public. The story is good despite poor development of the plot. It is a known fact that use of any electronic gadgets on a flight is strictly prohibited because it interferes with the communication signals between the pilot and the air traffic transmitter and may

Entertainment
pose danger especially for a commercial flight. But the film disregards this fact and instead the entire movie shows constant exchanges by use of mobile phone and even uploads on the internet. However, this loophole is hardly noticed in view of exemplary treatment of the director especially in the presentation of details and their relevance to arising conflicts and resolutions of the story. The director has successfully highlighted the central character which is given justice by excellent acting of Neeson as well as the supporting characters. The editing work meets the required fast pace and e ff e c t i v e l y m a i n t a i n s t h e combined fears, tensions and excitement in every scene. The cinematography captures the heightened emotions, complemented by of music scoring, lights and sounds. Overall, the film is engaging because of its good technical attribution. In a life-threatening situation some people may think only of saving themselves but not for William Mark of the film NonStop. As an air marshal it is more than a call of duty for him, he does not think twice in breaking protocol when time is of the essence and precious life is at stake. The entire run of the film projects his heroic act as an instinct to protect life more than selfinterest to be recognized. In the end, his sacrifices pay off, lives are saved and rightfully, he is regarded as a hero. The film likewise imparts the message to the viewer to be responsible in the use of social
DIRECTOR: Jaume ColletSerra LEAD CAST: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Jason Butler Harner, Anson Mount Lupita Nyongo SCREENWRITER: John W. Richarson, Chris Roach, Ryan Engle PRODUCER: Joel Silver, Alex Heineman, Steve Richards, Andrew Rona EDITOR: Jim May MUSICAL DIRECTOR: John Ottman GENRE: Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure CINEMATOGRAPHER: Flavio Martinez Labiano DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures LOCATION: United States, France RUNNING TIME: 106 minutes Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: CINEMA RATING: V 14
Moral Assessment

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 18 No. 8

April 14 - 27, 2014

Technical Assessment

Abhorrent Disturbing Acceptable Wholesome Exemplary

Poor Below average Average Above average E xcellent

media particularly in the use of crucial images that can be taken or interpreted out of context. A passenger who uploads the video footages misinforms the public of what is really happening, could have implicated an innocent person and diverted the investigation. Also, keeping a grudge is like a poison in the dart that kills innocent people. Non-Stop injects positive values of choosing to protect life, focusing on accomplishing a mission, having presence of mind in stressful situations, and being responsible in the use of social media. But the entire run of the film is stressful for children below 14 years old.

Buhay San Miguel

Brothers Matias

300: Rise of an Empire

DIRECTOR: Noam Murro; CAST: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, Rodrigo Santoro SCREENPLAY: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad CINEMATOGRAPHY: Simon Duggan EDITING: Wyatt Smith, David Brenner MUSIC: Junkie XL PRODUCERS: Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Bernie Goldmann GENRE: Fantasy-Adventure-Action LOCATION: Greece /Persia DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros RUNNING TIME:102 minutes TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT: 3 MORAL ASSESSMENT: 2 CINEMA Rating: V18

After witnessing General Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) of Greece murder his father, King Darius, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) through the malicious prodding of his adoptive sister Artemisia (Eva Green) journeys through the desert and becomes transformed as a golden God-King. Xerxes returns to Persia and declares war on Greece with Artemisia leading the naval fleet. Artemisias reasons for fighting for Persia despite being Greek are self-serving. Apparently, her family was raped and

murdered by Greek hoplites when she was a young girl while herself made into a sex slave before being left for dead. Fortunately, she was rescued and trained by the Persians until King Darius, recognizing her sword fighting skills, promoted her as naval commander. Meanwhile, Themistocles gathers his Spartan fighters and delivers his most soulful speeches to unite the Athenians to fight for Greece. Lena Heady (who provides a voice over narrative) plays Leonidas wife who advocates the superiority of Sparta and in time leads her fleet to the action. 300: Rise of an Empire reeks with male testosterone as it narrates events before, during and after the 2007 film 300 and deliberately fills the screen with blood and body parts at every opportunity. Sans the waves of blood every 10 seconds, the movie is a visual feast with ambitious computergenerated effects blended evenly with live action footages. The cast was authentically graphic and caricature-like with lust for violence, aggression and more blood. The scoring is suitable and paces the movie well. The narrative is complicated as it tries hard to hold on to history and recreate imaginary characters in events leading to the Battle of Salamis but again with all the blood so pointlessly gushing, splattering and spurting here and there, ones senses are numb before they can try to comprehend the gist of the story. But is it any good?

Depends on ones preference for gore over a solid and creative story telling. Needless to say, the movie will only be remembered for the amount of carnage on screen. While people suffer injustice and abusesadly from people they trust and rely onthey also experience healing and love, surprisingly from strangers. Artemisia learned bothbetrayal from her countrymen and care from the enemy country. She could have taken the higher road and practised forgiveness for her abusers and gratitude for her rescuers but instead she let vengeance consume her soul and turn her into a monster. Christ did otherwise. He forgave those who hurt Him. So did most of our Church heroes and heroines who embraced those who persecuted them and returned love and forgiveness for every violent action received. And at the end, the fruit is peace and reconciliation. Something Artemisia never experienced but unwittingly longed for. She had everything laid down at her feet yet she was never complete and never happy. The movie showed glimpses of the ill-effects of harboring revenge but did so in the most brutal and graphic manner. Technically and visually 300: Rise of an Empire is an artistic, well-crafted film, but the carnage and the amount of blood shed in so many scenes deduct from the films aesthetic value, and overshadows whatever morals the story could have portrayed. seems he and Captain America have met before, and have a lot more in common than a penchant for masks and costumes. Co-directors -- and brothers -- Anthony and Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree) handle the requisite (and noisy) action scenes with flair, although these may be too intense for younger viewers. But the siblings are to be commended for the many quieter moments they include, which allow the audience to catch its breath and the characters to develop amid witty repartee. How do we tell the good guys from the bad guys? Falcon asks. Replies Captain America: If theyre shooting at you, theyre bad. The film contains intense but largely bloodless violence, including gunplay. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (Joseph McAleer/ Catholic News Service)

Need for speed

DIRECTOR: Scott Waugh LEAD CAST: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Keaton SCREENWRITER: George Gatins PRODUCER: John Gatins, Patrick OBrien, Mark Sourian EDITOR: Paul Rubell, Scott Waugh MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Nathan Furst CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shane Hurlbut GENRE: Action and Adventure DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture RUNNING TIME: 130 mins

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The big guy with the red, white and blue shield returns to save the planet in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Disney), a rousing follow-up to two films, 2011s Captain America: The First Avenger and 2012s The Avengers. This 3-D popcorn movie is sure to please fans of the Marvel Comics superhero with its patriotic, gung-ho tone and grandiose action sequences. But screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who penned the first Captain America script, expand their horizons with a smart and timely story touching on national security, government surveillance and the price of freedom. At times, the picture has the feel of an old-fashioned conspiracy thriller like Three Days of the Condor or All the Presidents Men

-- a comparison reinforced, perhaps, by the presence of Robert Redford, who starred in both those movies, in a major role. For those unfamiliar with the Marvel universe, a brief recap: Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), was a 98-pound weakling transformed into a he-man fighting machine by the U.S. government during World War II. He leads a successful campaign against a terrorist organization, then goes to sleep in a cryogenic state for 70 years. Thawed out in the current century, Captain America is recruited by the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division) to defend Earth from an alien invasion. His sidekicks include Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place two years after The Avengers. Rogers is living in Washington, struggling to fit in, a man (literally) out of time and place. He takes his orders from two

S.H.I.E.L.D. bigwigs, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Alexander Pierce (Redford). Fury and Pierce are at odds over Pierces pet project, a plan to circle the planet with massive helicarriers -- think aircraft carriers with wings and propellers -- equipped with super-intelligence gadgetry to root out and destroy security threats. Fury suspects a hidden agenda, and fears that innocent people may be the real targets. Before you can say Kapow! Pierce unleashes his fury on Fury, who narrowly escapes death. He warns Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised, and no one can be trusted. So its Captain America to the rescue, as he tries to uncover the conspiracy, with the help of two comrades: fellow Avenger Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and a new buddy, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who earns his moniker Falcon thanks to a nifty pair of mechanical wings. But the baddies have a super warrior of their own who goes by the name of the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). It

Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a mechanic by day and an underground street racer by night. The basic plot has Marshall traveling cross country from New York to California to take part in an underground race set up by a guy named Monarch (Michael Keaton). Marshall has forty-something hours to get to California in order to participate in the race. He manages Marshall Motors Garage, a sinking business his father put up. One day, Dino, (Dominic Cooper) an old acquaintance, asks Tobey to assemble an unfinished Ford Mustang originally designed by legendary car customizer Carroll Shelby and offers him 25% of the selling price. Being deep in debts, Tobey agrees despite his crews hesitation. However during the post-auction race, Dino runs Tobeys best friend, Little Pete (Gilberston) off the road to his death and frames Tobey for the crime. After serving two years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Tobey decides to avenge his fate and his friends death through an underground winner take all race wherein only selected drivers are invited. Tobey gets together his old Marshall Motors crew and Julia (Poots) to condition another Mustang and give Dino a taste of his own medicine. Their cross-country adventure from New York to California and their actual participation takes up most of the running time of the movie. Lets talk about the more tolerable part of the film first. The performances are blandly boring and there is just no chemistry between the male and female romantic leads. While Coopers Dino delivers some texture, it does so in a clichd villainy fashion. As an action film it does deliver enough to reach the classification but barely keeps the audience awake and sane with its ever so slow pacing and ridiculous stunts. Cinematography, and car race sequence choreography, despite being on point fails to bring home a maximum impact because of the very thin storyline. Now for the killer: Need for Speed made lame attempts to anchor characters and scenes from other successful movies (e.i Smokey and the Bandit, Speed Racer, Fast and the Furious) but nowhere did it come close in chemistry, wisdom or sensuality to sell the plot. The story is poorly constructed and the script even more pathetic. For a franchise off a popular high-adrenalin video game with a sure following, Need for Speed is a very big disappointment. How many people have met their untimely demise because of irresponsible egoistic drivers who care not for anyones safety? Other race movies try to justify its existence with a good soul of a hero who is just so talented at racing and may have been forced to ignore safety rules for the greater good. But Need for Speed, perhaps because it is based on a video game with no responsibility to deliver a rational storyline, neglects every rule of story telling and just throws in an identifiable hero, a lot of expensive cars and even more crashes and speed. It is simply offensive to see how it puts bystanders at riskand such carelessness is glorified. More disturbing is the fact that the offenders were merely given a slap on the wrist by the police when they were arrested. Impressionable teenagers, who are more likely also supporters of the video game, will get the wrong message about safety, concern for others and getting away with it.

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CBCP Monitor

Vol. 18 No. 8

April 13 - 27, 2014

A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

The Cross
Rebuilding lives in typhoon-hit Central Philippines
THE knock of hammer and the swish of brooms clearing up debris: life goes on in a coastal village of Hernani, Eastern Samar over four months after Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated parts of Central Visayas. On the side of heavily damaged houses, the buzz of chainsaw roared across the village of Garawon as people put their lives back together. Donated by the Knights of Columbus, the chainsaws were among the aid that the Order has provided to help victims rebuild their homes in Eastern Samar and Leyte. Sawed into the plans, the coconut trees felled by the typhoon are used in repairing damaged houses and building new ones. The chainsaws were donated to salvage the fallen trees amid enormous need for temporary and permanent homes. Immediately after the onslaught of the typhoon, the K of C joined the rest of the international community in giving relief assistance amid calls for concerted efforts to help the affected areas. Aside from relief goods, the K of C has also provided construction materials such as plywood and bags of cement to some families and for the repair of chapels ruined by the storm surge. Last November, the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) the insurance arm of the Order of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines likewise donated more than P700,000.00 to the victims of Super typhoon Yolanda. Then in December, a health mission was conducted by the K of C to provide medical assistance to typhoon survivors in Balangkayan town, Eastern Samar. In Palo Leytes San Joaquin village, where more than 300 people died, the chainsaws continue to provide solutions to people left homeless. The relief operation of the Knights of Columbus reached to a remote village in Leytes La Paz town, where sacks of rice were distributed to the survivors of the disaster in December. To help farmers recover from the devastation, the Knights of Columbus initially donated 10,000 coconut seeds to some farmers in the sourthern part of Eastern Samar. As the worlds second-largest coconut producer, the Philippines accounts for more than 25 percent of global production in 2013. The Philippine government has estimated losses at $396 million. Yolanda destroyed an estimated 33 million coconut trees, affecting the livelihood of more than one million coconut farmers in Eastern Visayas region alone. Four months after the disaster, Demitrio Gullan, a 48-year old farmer from Hernani, said that assistance to recover their livelihoods is needed more than ever. As food aid is declining, he said that the situation is pressuring them to start earning an income. We want to work but we dont have the agricultural tools like bolo knife, Gullan said. Fishermen have also taken the biggest hit to their livelihoods. Boats are costly to rebuild. To help them, the members of Knights of Columbus pooled their efforts and resources to reach to fishermen who lost their livelihoods by providing them new fishing boats. This month, some pump boats were awarded to poor fishermen in Guiuan, Eastern Samar who lost their boats during the typhoon. Majority of this regions labor force depends on agriculture for income. With land and crops devastated, the Knights of Columbus initiated a project to help people recover their agricultural and fishing assets. (Roy Lagarde)

New pump boats were awarded to qualified fishermen in Guiuan, Eastern Samar whose fishing boats were lost to super typhoon Yolanda last November. Present during the awarding were Supreme Director Alonso L. Tan (2nd from right, front row), KCFAPI President and Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G. Yap (2nd from left), KC Philippines Foundation Chairman Justice Jose C. Reyes, Jr.(3rd from right), KCFAPI Executive VicePresident Ma. Theresa G. Curia (rightmost), Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III (leftmost), KC Regional Deputy Fred Lagria (in blue shirt, front row) and KC local officers and members. Fr. Art Cablao officiated the blessing of the boats (not in photo). (RL)

His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo

His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo OMI, the first ever Cardinal from Mindanao, is the youngest among four siblings and a proud Fourth Degree Knight whose father was a Past Grand Knight of the Order of the Knights of Columbus. On his return from a consistory of more than twenty fellow new cardinals from all over the world in Vatican, he celebrated a thanksgiving mass last March 11, the date of his 75th birthday, at the Cathedral in Cotabato City. Shown in photo above are [L-R] Volmar Clavano State Secretary, Balbino Fauni Mindanao Deputy, His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, and Juan Abraham Abando State Membeship Director.

KCFAPI joins Walk for Life

Doctor by profession, Catholic Gentleman by heart

WHEn Benefit Certificate Holder, Bro. Albert T. Lim, a medical doctor by profession and past Grand Knight of Council 7843 was asked why he availed of KCFAPI insurance protection, he said he has two reasons for doing so. One, he believes that insurance is for investment and two, he sees it as a safety net for his family in case of his untimely demise. He remains steadfast and confident in his belief about KCFAPI being a fraternal religious organization, and he never doubted its capacity to deliver what was promised in his benefit certificate especially now that he reached the age of 65. "From the time the benefit certificate was delivered up to maturity date, KCFAPI stood the test of time to deliver the benefits it promised to their BC Holders. Whether you are a doctor or not, as long as you are a member of the Knights of Columbus, you may avail of the insurance protection for yourself and your immediate family being offered by the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI). (RJ Mariano)

AboUt 10,000 joined the Walk for Life held in the morning of March 22, from Intramuros to San Andres Manila, passing through Roxas Boulevard. The walk that was organized by the Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus was participated by Luzon councils of Knights of Columbus, Daughters of Mary Immaculate, Columbian Squires, KCFAPI employees and their children. (Roy Lagarde)

Benefit Certificate Holder, Bro Albert T. Lim (center) receives the maturity proceeds of his benefit certificate from Benefit Certificate Holders Relations Office Manager, Bro. Edwin B. Dawal. Together with them in the photo are Area Manager of Central Luzon Believers, Bro Efren M. Casupanan, his wife, Sis Veronica S. Casupanan, and Customer Relations Assistant, Rick Jayson D.L. Mariano.

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Hilario G. Davide, Jr.

The Cross
Ma. Theresa G. Curia

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

Chairmans Message
EASTER is the principal feast of the Liturgical Year of the Catholic Church. St. John Chrysostom calls it the feast of feasts (festum festorum). It is the solemnity of solemnities. It is the Great Sunday. It is a great celebration of Christs victory over deaththe death that has enslaved man since original sin expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Without it, our faith would be worthless according to Saint Paul (cf. 1 Cor 15:17). Easter Sunday is also the day when the pope traditionally imparts his Urbi et Orbi which is both an apostolic blessing and a papal address proclaimed to the City of Rome and to the world. He does this, too, during Christmas which is a paschal feast leading to its completion at the Easter Vigil. Incidentally, in both instances the Supreme Office of the Knights of Columbus has been the one facilitating the satellite uplink of the Popes video messages to the entire world for many years now. In his first Easter Message last year, Pope Francis exhorted the whole Christendom, saying: Let us accept the grace of Christs Resurrection! Let us be renewed by Gods mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish. And so we ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace. Yes, Christ is our peace, and through him we implore peace for all the world. But hereabouts we have reduced Easter Sunday and the whole of the Easter season into mere religious activity without bearing or relevance to our concrete lives as Christians. For many, this very significant day has even became an occasion for other social events but bereft of its original meaning. It is like celebrating a thanksgiving without minding the reasons we are thanking God for. It is no wonder that the inner spiritual change and healing that Easter brings about is seldom realized in our livesif at all. Let this Easter be a challenge to us all. Happy Easter to one and all!

Pro-life
LEt us now talk about an advocacy dear to our hearts -- pro-life. Why is this really close to our hearts? Why are we Pro-lifers? Tingnan nga nating isalin ito sa Tagalog. Ano kaya ang magandang pagsasalin? --- Maka- buhay. Umisip nga tayo ng iba't ibang action words, verbs that refer to being MAKA-BUHAY. Ipagtanggol ang buhay; Ipaglaban; Itaguyod ; Alagaan; Ingatan; Parangalan; Payabungin. May naiisip pa ba kayong mga dapat nating gawin dahil tayo ay isang samahan na nagsasabing tayo ay MAKA-BUHAY? Kung tatanungin tayo kung paano natin magagawa ang maging mga MAKA- BUHAY ayon sa mga nasabing paraan, aba eh di tayo matatapos. The hows of being Pro-lifers will be innumerable, endless. So perhaps the best thing is that we leave it to our individual selves or groups to respond to the hows of those topics. Perhaps it is easier to ask ourselves the whys of being Prolifers. The hows will vary from person to person, from region to region... but the whys might be less wide. Why then are we pro-lifers? Why do we advocate for prolife? Bakit tayo para sa buhay? Bakit mahalaga sa atin ang buhay? At kapag sinabi nating para tayo sa karangalan ng buhay, Anong buhay naman ang pinaguusapan natin? Buhay pisikal lang ba? Buhay lamang ba ng tao ang dapat parangalan? Paano naman ang iba pang nilalang na binigyan din ng buhay? At ngayon sinasasabi rin nating may buhay ang mga puno, at ang kalikasan... In the face of the wide range that the reality of LIFE covers, and the extent of the layers that surround LIFE, I propose that we limit our reflection on some reasons why it is good to be Pro-lifers. Why are we Prolifers? We are not scientists nor theologians or philosophers, we are humble human beings who appreciate the value of life, the dignity of being alive as humans. We like to celebrate our lives. I realized that the direct opposite of what we advocate is to annihilate, attack, threaten, belittle, ignore, or take life for granted. We rally together so that we can honor, value, dignify, promote, defend human life. So, what is behind our advocacy? Allow me to propose few points: 1. We are recipients of this precious gift, we are grateful for our lives and we all want to pass it on to the next generation. Gratitude is best shown in sharing what we have received. 2. We continue the process of creation in this way. Of course only God is the creator of life. ... and only He has the absolute right over our lives. But parents are co-creators. And all communities have a role to play so that the new life that will be born in our midst will be honored and loved. Even if we did not participate directly in the conception of life in the mothers womb, all of us have a share in the care and protection, in the promotion and uplifting of lives of other people: our relatives, neighbors, friends, students, patients, clients, employees, companions in our different journeys. 3. And because we acknowledge that the only real source

Pro-life / C3

Michael P. Cabra

My Brothers Keeper

Arsenio Isidro G. Yap

Presidents Message
Bakasyon Na! Mahaba-habang bakasyon ito! Wheee! Starting April 11-16 people will be trekking to the provinces for a ONE WEEK or so vacation. Some would start their vacation as early as April 9 (Day of Valor), others April 12 a day before Palm Sunday and the greater majority on April 17, Maundy Thursday. All would start to return by April 20, Easter Sunday or even by April 21. Some would get themselves burnt under the heat of the sun in beaches and resorts with huge swimming pools, giant slides and wave pools to boot. This would advertise where they spent their Holy Week. No need to ask them, but they would still expect you to do so. This would give them the chance to brag where they got those sunburn from as if they were not burnt enough before going there. Those going to cooler places like Baguio and Tagaytay would be making the rounds of the different attractions of the two top tourist destinations. Para bang Visita Iglesia. The elite of course would be in Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan. They would also be having their Visita Iglesia in different malls and tourist attractions spending money as if its the end of the world. The tambays would be having seven rounds of tagay. The chismosas would share their sietes. Hindi ko po nilalahat. There are still devotees who do Visita Iglesia, or visit to seven churches. Or so it seems. Some would make the rounds to give themselves an excuse to indulge themselves in food, chismisang walang lagot, tagayan all night long. Mall Tours, chismisang walang lagot, tagayan all night or even all week long, pasyalang walang kapaguran at shopi-ngang walang katapusan. These are some of the things we do on Holy Week. Its becoming synonymous with Visita Iglesia, Siete Palabras, Santo Entierro Procession and Salubong. Is this what Holy Week is all about? Puro pasarap at wala kahit kaunting sakripisyo? Lets review for a moment what happens in a Holy Week. Its the week where we commemorate the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest tragedy and sorrow of the Catholic faithful. Lets not talk about His triumphant entry into Jerusalem nor of His Resurrection. Lets just focus on His death. Lets give it a current perspective. Lets pretend that someone in the family died. That we are in mourning and that we are grieving. If we are in such a state, would we do any of the above I have mentioned? All of them would be considered a taboo, a no-no for someone in grief. If you agree with me, then why do we have to enjoy when we should be grieving? Why do we have to indulge when we should be suffering? If we could mourn and be in grief when a loved one dies, then why cant we when we recollect our Lords suffering and death? After all its the Holiest Week of the year for us Catholics. Let us keep it holy and act accordingly.

Men of Valor: Past, Present and Future

Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), also known as Bataan Day or Bataan and Corregidor Day, is a national observance in the Philippines which commemorates the fall of Bataan during World War II. It is also the day we honour the Men of Valor in our history. Let us review what these courageous men experienced. On 9 April 1942, against the orders of Generals Douglas MacArthur and Jonathan Wainwright, the commander of the Luzon Force, Bataan, Major General Edward P. King, Jr. surrendered more than 76,000 starving and disease-ridden soldiers (67,000 Filipinos, 1,000 Chinese Filipinos, and 11,796 Americans) to Japanese troops. The majority of these prisoners of war had their belongings confiscated before being forced to endure the infamous 140 kilometre (90mile) Bataan Death March to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. En route, thousands died from dehydration, heat prostration, untreated wounds, and wanton execution while walking in deep dust over vehicle-broken Macadam roads, and crammed into rail cars for transport to captivity. The few who were lucky enough to travel by truck to San Fernando, Pampanga would still have to endure more than 25 additional miles of marching. Prisoners were beaten randomly and often denied promised food and water. Those who fell behind were usually executed or left to die, the sides of the roads becoming littered with dead bodies and those moaning for help. Only some 54,000 of the 76,000 prisoners reached their destination; the exact death toll is difficult to assess because thousands of captives were able to escape from their guards. Approximately 5,000-10,000 Filipino and 600-650 American prisoners-of-war died before they could reach Camp O'Donnell. These are what Men of Valor in the past are made of. At present, for the Knights of Columbus Order, Men of Valor are those men who are committed to the primary objective of Fr. Michael McGivney, SJ, which is To provide financial support to the K of C member and K of C family members. They are the Fraternal Counselors (FCs) who conscientiously commit themselves in providing fraternal benefits to the members of the order, and all those K of C officers and members who incessantly promote and support them. They are considered Men of Valor because they know how important financial protection is for Fr.McGivney, the founder of the K of C Order. Men of Valor of the Future are none other than the BC Holders of KCFAPI, especially those who have enough insurance protection. They will be considered heroes, not only by their respective immediate families but also by the next generation after them. They are Men of Valor of the Future because they exhibit an extra ordinary bravery and courageousness in availing KCFAPI benefits while others remain sceptics. Are you a Man of Valor of the Present? Or a Man of Valor of the Future? I believe you can be both.

Roberto T. Cruz

How Relevant Is Lent For Me?

OncE again, it is the season of Lent and after forty days, we will celebrate the most meaningful feast of the Catholic Church the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ or simply called Easter. For our Foundations, the season of Lent coincides with Graduation time when the scholars officially complete their College courses after successfully hurdling a myriad of requirements, problems and hardships. For our Seminarians or Priest-Scholars, they finally fulfill their respective Theology or Licentiate/ Doctorate courses. After graduation, the Collegiate graduate is thrust into a world where he/ she must start giving up the comforts of the parents home to provide for himself/ herself and earn his/her sustenance. For the seminarian or priest, completion of his respective Theology course or Licentiate studies usually brings him back to his own diocese where he must serve the congregation in whatever manner best deemed by his Bishop. For the seminarian, with his service, he is being groomed for the Deaconate and hopefully, the Priesthood. Looking at both Graduations and Easter, before one can celebrate and enjoy both these joyous milestones, he/she generally passes thru a series of sacrifices, trials and even adversities before he/she is finally able to relish the fruits of his/her labor. As the clich goes: NO PAIN, NO GAIN. This seemingly declares that we all need to work for and justifiably earn our triumphs and successes. As a fitting example of this adage, the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ is highlighted during Lent. It was not enough that Christ gave up His life to bring us salvation. He volunteered to go through the extremely painful humiliation and misery of the Way of the Cross just for us all. Personally, whenever I pray, I humbly and shamefully admit to God that I cannot match the sacrifices that Jesus endured for Man during His Passion. I am even more in awe when I realize that from the very start, Jesus was fully aware that He had nothing to personally gain from all His pains. His only reward was that Mankind would be saved by His death. We each carry our own unique and personalized crosses when we face the continuous flow of various challenges in our daily lives. Some observe Lent as that particular time for a serious evaluation of how well we have carried our own cross. Unfortunately, nowadays, others are too busy or preoccupied with other activities or they simply decide to ignore the relevance of Lent. It is definitely more enjoyable to be with family or friends in a vacation trip or to drink and dance the night away in wild and carefree parties. True, it is every individuals personal choice and all voluntary. In closing, all I can say is that we owe our salvation to Jesus Christ. I therefore consider it as a minimum courtesy we can give to our Lord if ordinary sinners, like us, devote some time to at least look into ourselves this Lent and Holy Week to reevaluate how we have been carrying our own cross and better still, plan how we can become better Catholics overcoming the burden of our crosses. No dramatic realizations let us just give it some time in serious thoughtsome quality time with Him. Good luck.

Luzon unveils Squires Academic Excellence awardees

THE Knights of Columbus, Luzon Jurisdictions Recognition for Squires Academic Excellence Program is an award given to deserving Columbian Squire members who are graduating Top Five for School Year 2013 - 2014 in the Primary and Secondary levels. Awardees who will receive specially designed medallions and certificates are: LD Academic Excellence Awards a. VALEDICTORIAN: 1. WENDELL L. LIPANA, Circle 4977, Pulong Palazan Elem School, Candaba, Pampanga 2. JULIUS, EDUARD B. PUSTA, Circle 15702, Mystical Rose School of Caloocan, Inc., Camarin, Caloocan (High School) 3. WALTER DAVID M. VILLEGAS, Circle 4336, Saint Joseph Academy of Dasmarinas Inc. Dasmarinas, Cavite 4. GLENN RAMESIS M. PIAD, Circle 5684, Bacoor National High School, Molino I, Bacoor City, Cavite b. SALUTATORIAN 1. KURT ALLEN PANINGBATAN, Circle 3340, St. William School, San Marcelino, Zambales 2. JAMES BRYAN D. GALIMPIN, Circle 15702, Mystical Rose School of Caloocan, Inc., Camarin, Caloocan (High School) 3. JOHN ANDREW A. LUNA, Circle 4206, Panghulo National High School, Malabon City c. HONORABLE MENTION First Honorable 1. RICO Q. MADELA, Circle 3738, Magarao National High School, Camarines Sur 2. MAYNARD TIMOTHY O. FLORES, Circle 3777, Tomas Pinipin Memorial Elem School Abucay, Bataan 3. BOYD WILLIAM C. BAYALAS, Circle 5684, Christ the King College of Cavite Foundation, Salawag, Dasmarinas, Cavite 4. ROBERT MICHAEL R. TAAN, Circle 5684, Bacoor National High School, Molino I, Bacoor City, Cavite 5. CHRISTIAN PAUL O. MIQUE, Circle 4206, Panghulo National High School, Malabon City 6. GIORGIO ARMANI G. RIVERA, Circle 4336,St. Jude College of Dasmarinas, Salitran IV, Dasmarinas City, Cavite 7. JAMES BENEDICT A. PEREZ, Circle 4277, Green Ridge

Angelito A. Bala

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is a term life insurance? What are its features or advantages? Answer: Term insurance is basically a pure income replacement tool. It provides pure protection against lost of life for a short period of time. Normally, no cash values are available. It is best suited for those working on a limited budget. Even if you believe you are healthy, there is still a need for insurance. Before long, you will need to pay off a lot of debt home mortgage loan, car loans, credit card dues, consumer debts, and college loan among others. You can either make no preparations for the future and burden your loved ones with debt or prepare for the future with a term life insurance. The common forms of term insurance are yearly term or level term insurance. The annual term offers a years worth of protection but can be renewed at anniversary date at a higher contribution subject to proof of insurability. A major disadvantage or challenge is if the insured contracts a terminal illness within one year but survives the contract period. Most likely the insurer will no longer renew the yearly term because the insured is now categorized as an uninsurable risk. For some companies, the annual term can be extended up to age 90. However, since the cost of insurance increases as the person ages, the accumulated contributions will likely exceed the promised death benefit. The level term insurance, on the other hand, provides protection up to a limited period but keeps the contributions uniform for the duration of the contract period. Level term insurance, somehow, mitigates some of the disadvantages of the yearly term. Competition, innovation or improvements in mortality has led to the development of new features on term insurance plans. Most, if not all, term insurance plans now have guaranteed renewability option and guaranteed term conversion option. The guaranteed renewable option allows the insured to renew his yearly term for another year without providing any evidence of insurability. An insured is likewise given the privilege to convert or switch all or part of his term insurance into a permanent insurance plan (insurance with cash values) without submitting himself to a physical/medical examination. This protects the application of the insured from being declined due to changes in occupation or health conditions. The exercise of this conversion privilege is made available prior to some predetermined ages like 70 or 75.

Awardees / C3

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 8
April 14 - 27, 2014

The Cross

C3

Champion of Human Love

Through his personal witness and tireless defense of the family, St. John Paul II proclaimed the dignity of every person
By Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
THIS month, we will celebrate the canonization of Blessed John Paul II. Some years ago, as part of the process for his canonization, I was interviewed by the office of the postulator of his cause. That interview was later published in the postulators magazine, Totus Tuus. I thought that this month would be an appropriate time to reprint a portion of that interview in place of my monthly column. On June 28, 2005, you and your wife, Dorian, participated in the Opening Ceremony of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II. You also had the opportunity to be received on a number of occasions in private audience by John Paul II. What do you remember in particular about those meetings? Earlier, Dorian and I were together in St. Peters Square for the funeral Mass of John Paul II. We saw those beautiful banners that proclaimed Santo Subito [Sainthood Now] and on that day we made that prayer our own; so we had to be in Rome in 2005 to participate with so many friends in the opening ceremony of the cause of John Paul II. Private meetings with John Paul II were always remarkable because of his great interest in what was happening; he wanted the latest information about how situations were changing, what should be done to help and especially what could he do as pope to help. Yet conversations would often include questions about people he knew were they well, how were their families, how was their work going? He was pastor of the universal Church, and he was also pastor of individuals and of families. One special occasion was a meeting in which he blessed a painting of the Divine Mercy that we then used for a special pilgrimage throughout the Knights of Columbus. He wanted very much to spread this devotion throughout the world, and we wanted to be more closely united with him in this prayer. On one of our last visits, the Holy Father was having great difficulty speaking, and so our conversation was mostly one-sided. We said good-bye and received his blessing. When we reached the door of his study, I turned to wave a final good-bye and he was sitting there repeatedly making the sign of the cross. Not even illness could prevent his desire to communicate with others. This was just a small glimpse of what the world would later see during the last days of his life. Loving Human Love: The Heritage of John Paul II on Marriage and the Family was the theme of the 25th International Congress of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. In what way do you hand on this rich heritage as supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus? Loving human love is such an accurate way to describe the heritage of John Paul II because perhaps more than anyone else in our time, he was truly the champion of human love. He knew that without love mans life is unintelligible and that each person is of such tremendous dignity that only the response of love is worthy of the human person. The teaching of John Paul II in this area is so rich and complex that it will require many decades of scholarly study to do it justice. In the Knights of Columbus, we take a more direct approach: we strive to build stronger Catholic families and parish commu-

nities through works of charity, unity and fraternity. We view the pastoral legacy of John Paul II regarding marriage and family as the prophetic key to the future of strong Catholic communities. We take his message to

heart of a new evangelization in which the role of the family and of the laity is central to the future well-being of the Church. John Paul II will remain a spiritual father to us for many years to come. Vivat Jesus!

to Commemorate or to Celebrate?
A LONG vacation is the first thing that some people think of today when they hear Holy Week. They start planning for out of town trips, to travel, to go to the beach, to party, or be princess Aurora and wait for Prince Monday morning to kiss them and awaken them from their long slumber. They may know the reason why these sacred days were declared holidays Jesus Christ. For we are, generally speaking, a Catholic country. But are they entirely aware why this particular week is holy, let alone how it should be observed? How about us who are aware of its significance? Have we wondered, if we should commemorate or should we celebrate Holy Week? Read further and you may learn something you never knew you were clueless about before. Let us refresh the A.D. times and reflect why it was proclaimed Holy Week. The Holy Week begins at the quadragesima (Latin for fortieth day) since Ash Wednesday hence, the word Lent for Lenten season or Cuaresma in the Philippines. It was after Jesus Christ wandered for forty days as he began his ministry. He entered Jerusalem in a donkey symbolizing peace and humility while people celebrated laying down their cloaks and branches of palm trees ergo, Palm Sunday. We can go to the church and relive how the people in Jerusalem welcomed him. Pray that we can keep our feet on the ground. Jesus has managed to do it, how difficult can it be for us. So, follow the Holy or great Monday when He has performed other miracles and Jesus disciples kept humbled before Him and God. Then, on Holy Tuesday He named the disciples who will betray and who will deny him. Yet as Jesus did so he has not shown any resentment towards them but rather told them to learn to forgive, ask for forgiveness, and to give glory to God. But come Holy Wednesday, while Jesus continues his ministry and heals people, Judas has become resentful and decided on betraying Him trading his loyalty with 30 silver coins. Thus, this day has been called Spy Wednesday. And comes Maundy Thursday, when the Last Supper along with Jesus washing the feet of his disciples significantly happened. Why Maundy? It was derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment, from the first word of Jesus phrase during that time Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos (A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you) After that is Good Friday, good as for scholars say it is an obsolete word for holy. This is the day Jesus was arrested, tortured, put into trial, sentenced to death, walked all the way to Calvary with the cross at his back, and then crucified. Jesus had gone through all these because of our sins and for the salvation of our souls. We nailed him to that cross and yet He accepted it with all His heart and soul to save us. He has been betrayed, denied, tortured, mocked, and accused wrongly but still He has forgiven us and loved us. Wouldnt we spare this day to reflect solemnly? Atone for our sins; commemorate everything He has done to us and for us. Then comes the Holy or Black Saturday as we call it because among us Filipinos it is a sign of mourning, for this is the day Jesus Christ has rested in his tomb. This is the last day of the Holy Week which lasts until dusk and by that time Easter Vigil starts giving another term as Glorious Saturday or Sabado de Gloria in commemoration of glorifying Jesus in Easter Vigil. And so is the beginning of Easter Sunday, the beginning of the new church. This is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. Wonder why it is called Easter? And what is it with Easter eggs? In medieval Europe, aside from meat, Christians abstain from eating eggs due to 1 Corinthians 5:7 saying Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. And with that, uneaten eggs were then boiled and preserved. And the cracking of which symbolizes Resurrection from the dead. However, later scholars then claim that the word Easter originated from the word oster meaning to rise. Jesus wandered for forty days into the wilderness for his own time of spiritual reflection, in which we have our Lenten Season to have our own spiritual reflection. But He did not require us to do it, we had it for the commemoration of Him and mirroring what He did, and that is to repent, believe in the Gospel, and go forth to God. To fast, deny worldly desires, to atone for our sins, to give alms, and to pray. Jesus has done all these and He suffered yet He never abandoned us and still saved us. Can we do the same for Him? On Palm Sunday? Holy Monday or Tuesday? Black Saturday? How about on the entire Holy Week? Even if were out of town, on the beach, or just merely lying on our beds we can do a simple reflection. Spare a thought for the Passion of Jesus Christ and say a little prayer. We have to start living with His commandments to forgive and to love one another, and to follow His example of humility and righteousness. Simple ways of acknowledging what He has done for the salvation of humanity, couldnt we at least make an effort to do these? We can celebrate the love of Jesus Christ that He has unselfishly given us by commemorating what has transpired during the Holy Week. So, no one is really stopping anyone to have fun, relax, and enjoy the long vacation but as a Catholic let us never forget why we even had these days free from work, problems, and stress. After all, Hes the cause of these holidays and Hes the rightful reason to have these spent for. Jesus sacrificed His life, His body, and His blood for us, can we sacrifice few days for Him? Do we celebrate or do we commemorate Holy Week? We can do either or we can do both as long as we know what it is for. (Concha Angeles)

Holy Week:

The Gentle Warrior

By: James B. Reuter, SJ Part VI of Chapter One of the Gentle Warrior series

So George was happy to receive high marks, happy to pass all his subjects, but he was not hungry for honors. He was only eager to learn! He was at peace in grade school, with many friends. What the nuns noticed about George was . . . responsibility! They said to Julia Corcoran Willmann: All of your children are bright! All of them are so neat and orderly! But the thoughtful one, the responsible one, is George!

After graduating from Our Lady of Good Counsel, George went on to Boys High School in Brooklyn, for one year. Then he transferred to the new Jesuit School in Brooklyn Brooklyn Prep. This school opened only in 1908, when George was eleven years old. Suddenly, academics became very serious Latin, which was hard; Greek, which was hard; Physics, Biology, Chemistry, which were all very hard. Mathematics, which was Godsend, a relief. German, which was a reprieve from hard labor he received First Honor cards in German. This was probably a throw back to his German Aunties, who would only pray in German. But George was deeply impressed by the young Jesuit Scholastics who taught him. These teachers were,

on the average, between 25 and 28 years old. They were good in Latin and Greek. Good in English, good in Mathematics, and in Science but best of all in sheer, straight, simple guidance. One Scholastic, talking about the value of a human person, said: Five thousand years from now New York will be a hole in the ground, and pythons will be moving up and down where Wall Street is not. All the buildings will be gone there will not be left a stone upon a stone. All the money will be gone all the gold will be melted and all the paper will be burned. But five thousand years from now you will be beginning to live with God! What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his immortal soul? (To be continued on the next issue.)

10,000 join Walk for Life

MEmbErs of the Order of the Knights of Columbus walked all the way from Laoag City in Ilocos Norte to participate in the annual Walk for Life of the Knights of Columbus, held in Manila on March 22. This year about 10,000 joined the walk that started in Intramuros and culminated in San Andres, Malate with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. This event was simultaneously participated in by the members of the Knights of Columbus in Baguio City, Tarlac City and in the provinces of Bataan, Quezon and Zambales. More than 10,000 Brother Knights together with the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, Columbian Squires, families and friends joined the annual Walk for Life last March 22 from Intramuros to San Andres gym in Malate, Manila to demonstrate their Pro-life advocacy and their
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opposition against the Reproductive Health Law This is a fight against the sinister laws being proposed in Congress such as same sex marriage, abortion, divorce and euthanasia, said Luzon Deputy and KCFAPI President, Arsenio Isidro G. Yap. The current RH law is not just against our faith, but is also against humanity. These are the real ultimate goals of the RH law, he said. The RH law that provides state funding for contraceptives has not been implemented due to a restraining order issued by the Supreme Court. The KofC and other critics of the law have repeatedly warned that it was just cleverly packaged as a health measure when it is clearly about population control. Meanwhile, Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, III emphasized the

Brother Knights from Ilocos together with KC Luzon Jurisdiction officers during the Annual Walk for Life held in Manila last March 22, 2014.

commitment of the Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus is committed to life, we are committed to life and we cannot do anything to destroy life, once we do that, we destroy everything. RH Law will not help the country, he said.

The Knights of Columbus Walk for Life is the seventh edition of a simultaneous rally nationwide aimed to raise awareness and indignation against the controversial Reproductive Health law and other anti-life measures. (KC News)

School, Soldier Hills 4, Molino 6, Bacoor City, Cavite 8. DARREN CHRISTOPHER M. PITOS, Circle 4206, Tinajeros National High School, b. Rivera St., Tinajeros, Malabon City Second Honorable 9. MERLITO REYES,
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Circle 4206, Panghulo National High School, Malabon City 10. MARK JAMES O. REFE, Circle 3776, Marie Franz Learning Center, Barangay Pasong Buaya II, Imus City, Cavite (Elementary School) 11. VICTOR JOSE A. BAJO, Circle 5614, Ceria-

co A. Abes Memorial National High School, Mahal na Pangalan, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro Third Honorable 12. GODWIN NOEL SJ. MANALO, Circle 4927 , St. Paul College San Rafael, Talang, Candaba, Pampanga (Elem School)

13. MARLON T. CAPUCAO, Circle 5610, Aurora A. Quezon Elem. School, Cordillera, Quezon City. The Excellence Award aims to recognize the efforts of active Columbian Squires, who give importance to Academic Education as one step towards developing leadership ability.

The program will inspire and motivate Columbian Squire members to exert more efforts academically, and exemplify leadership in their respective schools. It can also help Knights to organize Circles and recruit new members. (Squire News)

and origin of life is God, its rightful destiny and destination is also God. Nobody, therefore, should mess with that precious life. When we pray, we connect with the origin of our personal and collective lives, and we learn best how not to waste our own and others lives. 4. We were made to the image and likeness of our creator. All who came from the heart of God have innate beauty and dignity that should be allowed to flourish and develop to their fullest potentials so that all can proclaim the glory of God. The glory of God is the human being fully alive. 5. Our first focus is of course the right to live. All have a right to be physically born. We need to be able to populate the earth so that other lives on this earth can continue. Promote the lives of the unborn because that value of life begins where God intervened, from the very start. 6. And after physical life has been conceived, then greater responsibilities for life begin too. Here is where parents, relatives, communities, governments, groups like ours start to be responsible for people around us.

Education, politics, governments, churches, economics and all other institutions should function without corruption so that our children can enjoy dignified lives. 7. We educate ourselves so that we can make our children live dignified, responsible, orderly, productive, helping lives. We cannot be parents who spoil our children or they will end up spoiling their lives, and others too. 8. Groups like us sponsor scholarships, livelihood projects, formation, even enjoyment and relaxation because life is good and short and precious. The greater is the quality of life, the more dignified it is and the more dignifying it is for others. I encourage all of us to continue thinking about being pro-lifers and to enrich our ideas. I stop at number eight (8) because this number suggests to many cultures the concept of eternity. Life is eternal. It does not end with physical death. It goes on and on in the bosom of the Father, in the company of the angels and saints and that is why we need to promote life.

Have a good day fellow PRO-LIFERS. (The Walk for Life, held last March 22, 2014, was an outstanding demonstration of prolife sentiment and Unity. This was also an opportunity to network with each other, encourage activism to strengthen the future of the culture of life. Through our responsible speakers, participants had increased knowledge about the issues at hand giving them an intellectual weapon to defend human life at all stages of its existence. The Knights of Columbus, Daughters of Mary Immaculate International, Columbian Squires, and Squirretes of Mary and the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) with their children paraded and joined hands and shouted how we stand for this advocacy. The author is the Executive Vice-President of KCFAPI and also the Vicarial Regent of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate International, Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception, Diocese of Malolos. She is also the Diocesan Chairperson for Pro-Life, DMII- Diocese of Malolos)

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The Cross

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 18 No. 8

April 14 - 27, 2014

Fast Facts about KCFAPI

Fast Facts about Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI)
KCFAPI at a glance KCFAPI advocates and practices the immediate release of substantial death claims benefits and immediate release of 100% of benefits (advances 80% of death benefits but not more than 100k) The only Catholic Institution that provides life insurance protection to members of the Knights of Columbus. Established and operated by Brother Knights for Brother Knights and their families. The first MBA to be ISO certified as a seal of excellence, ISO 9001:2008. Financial strength and stability From a seed money of P32,000.00 in 1958, total resources is now P4.2Billion. With strong Risk Based Capital (RBC) ratio of 199% versus the required minimum RBC ratio for an MBA of 125%. No corporate borrowings KCFAPI and the Roman Catholic Church Allocated P10M CBCP Seed of Hope Fund and disburses P1M interest income from the Seed of Hope Fund yearly to CBCP for its priority projects 2013 1,000,000 2012 787,000 2011 763,000 2010 809,000 2009 777,000 2008 Fund set up Lends financial support to Bishop-delegates to Annual Supreme Convention Co-sponsors TV program The Word Exposed, allocating P25,000 monthly since Jan 2013 The Word Exposed is an early Sunday morning program of His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle where he, as host, tackles the Gospel for that particular day, fully explaining its meaning and relevance to a wider audience.

KCFAPI and the Knights of Columbus (KoC) Supports activities of the three (3) Jurisdictions: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Subsidizes membership promotion

Sponsors membership expansion Provides jewels and cash incentive in new council development, assemblies and circles Coordinates with the Order of the KoC in awarding the Most Outstanding District Deputy

KCFAPIs products and services Traditional individual life insurance Group life insurance BC holders 73,854 Insurance In force 10.544 billion

Consistently distributes 50% of regular net income to BC holders in the form of certificate dividends, annual dividends better than previous year. Total living and death benefits paid to date is P3.5B.

KCFAPI Wholly-owned and Majority-owned Corporations

Keys Realty and Development Corporation
As of 31 Dec 2013 Total Assets: 430,715,442 (audited) Net Worth: 388,963,563 (audited) Founded on August 18, 1992, Keys is headquartered in the heart of Intramuros, it is mandated to acquire real estate for development, management or disposal. KRDCs housing projects: Cartagena Grand Villas at BF Homes, Paraaque Keysville Townhomes, Bacoor, Cavite

Holy Trinity Memorial Chapels and Crematorium

In Loving Memory of Bro. Antonio B. Borromeo

Mace Insurance Agency, Inc.

As of 31 Dec 2013 Total Assets: 9,206,960 (audited) Net Worth: 3,230,654 (audited) For non life insurance requirements, Mace continues to provide incomparable coverage at the lowest premium rates and with additional benefits at no extra cost. Situated in Sucat Paraaque, it offers personalized burial and cremation service with compassion to KC and non-KC members. It envisions itself as the premier provider of memorial care befitting the dignity of man.

As of 31 Dec 2013 Total Assets: 17,680,945 (audited) Net Worth: 17,435,297 (audited)

Provides scholarship grants for students to pursue college and technical courses to deserving and qualified, socially depressed and less-privileged citizens of

KCFAPI Foundations KC Philippines Foundation, Knights of Columbus Inc. (KCPFI) Fr. George J. Willmann Charities, Inc. (KCFGJWCI)
the country Provides educational program, assistance, relief and rehabilitation for calamity victims Funded the construction of Knights of Columbus Gawad Kalinga Village in Tungkong Mangga, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. As of 31 Dec 2013 Total Assets: 34,902,957 (audited) Net Worth: 34,018,998 (audited) Provides scholarship grants and assistance to deserving and qualified seminarians and priests, both here and abroad Initiates and governs the furtherance of the Cause of Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ Combined scholars and graduates of KCPFI and KCFGJWCI Current Scholars (2013-2014) Theology Collegiate Licentiate Local Licentiate Rome Graduated Scholars Ordained Priests (Theology) Ordained Deacon (Theology) Waiting for Ordination Licentiate Local Licentiate - Rome Collegiate Scholarship Vocational Scholarship High School Prominent KCFGJWCI Scholars: H.E. Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, D.D. , Archbishop of Manila H.E. Most Rev. Rodolfo F. Beltran, D.D. H.E. Most Rev. Manolo A. Delos Santos, D.D. H.E. Most Rev. David William V. Antonio, D.D. Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III 128 1 16 24 27 296 114 1 23 65 7 2

Jurisdiction, performances and awards

(Based on 131st Supreme Council Awards) 2012-2013 Century Club Award Mary Mother of Good Counsel Council 11847 in Marcelo Green, Paraaque Adds 100 new members net of suspensions and withdrawals 2012-2013 New Council Development Award 100% growth or more over new council development quota Luzon: 190% Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G Yap Visayas: 190% Visayas Deputy Rodrigo N Sorongon Mindanao: 160% Mindanao Deputy Balbino C. Fauni 2012-2013 Very Important Proposers (VIP) Club Jurisdiction with most number of recruits as of June 30, 2013 Luzon: 11,754 Mindanao: 5,433 2012-2013 International Church Activity Awardee Marikina Valley Council 6178 2012-2013 Columbian Squires Award Promoting the growth of Columbian Squires youth organization Luzon: greatest net gain in membership recruitment of 476 Squires with 8,835 Squires to date Luzon: greatest net gain of circles with 35 2012-2013 Jurisdictions with the most Star Council Awards Luzon highest at 93 2012-2013 Jurisdictions with the most Star District Awards Luzon highest at 115 Visayas 66 Mindanao 65 Founder Chairman Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ (June 29, 1897 September 14, 1977) Hilario G. Davide, Jr.

THE Knights of Columbus in the Philippines together with its insurance arm, the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) offered a funeral mass in honor of former KCFAPI President, Bro. Antonio B. Borromeo. KCFAPI Spiritual Director, Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, led the group that paid their last respects on April 2 at the Christ the King Parish in Green Meadows, Quezon City. The funeral mass was followed by a short program and interment which were attended by Brother Knights and the officers and staff of KCFAPI led by KCFAPI Chairman Hilario G. Davide

Jr., KCFAPI President Arsenio Isidro G. Yap and KCFAPI Executive Vice President, Ma. Theresa G. Curia. Bro. Borromeo became a member of the Knights of Columbus Order since 1960. He occupied various important positions in the Order, even earning Star Distinctions when he was District Deputy of M44 and Grand Knight of Quezon City Council 3695. He became one of KCFAPI Board of Trustees from 1993 1996 (first term), 1997 1998 (second term) and 2001 2002 (third term); Treasurer from 1995-1996, President from December 2002 to June 2004 (first term) and from July 2007 to 2010 (second term). He died on March 28 at the age of 78. (KCFAPI News)

P r e s i d e n t a n d Arsenio Isidro G. Yap Trustee Concurrently serves as Luzon Deputy Date Established 09 September 1958 (now on its 56th year of providing fraternal service)

Kompass Credit and Financing Corporation (KCFC)

Incorporated in 2013, KCFC extends credit and other loan facilities to qualified borrowers Major loan products: home and car loan financing Other loan facilities include leasing, discounting of receivables, business loan, and salary loan

National Head- Fr. George J. Willmann SJ Ctr. Gen. Luna cor. quarters Sta Potenciana Sts., Intramuros, Manila (Home of Luzon Jurisdiction, largest in membership)