University of Santo Tomas

College of Education
España, Manila
S.Y. 2018-2019

A Community of Faith: Overview of the Role of Basic Ecclesial Community in the Philippines

Lynus Oliver V. del Mar

1RVEM

April 01, 2019

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Faith and History of the Community

Faith is where we believe in God as revealed by His only begotten Son through the
teachings of the Church or in the Magisterium. In today’s generation, people seek for tangible
truths as their basis of faith. As the Church heeds the call to serve the masses they go through
many trials or challenges that hinder the people to go to Church. Likewise, it is the Church who
believes and thus supports and nourishes our faith. 1 Even though there are a lot of scandals the
Church is facing, the people of God are being reminded that we go to Church not because of the
people but because of Jesus and the sacraments. The Church never forgets the community in
bringing Jesus and the faith. Reaching out to the peripheries just to bring the faith. Also, every
baptized Christian has their duty and responsibility in building and making a community faith.
The fellowship with the community and unity with the apostles: Jesus left a community to
continue his mission. To be united with this community is a sign of an effective relationship with
Jesus and his Spirit.2 Wherein, we are one with the common faith brought by the apostles of
Christ to the peripheries. Christ’s paschal mystery is a sign of his deep love for the people and by
that it enables us to see the beauty of our faith by just looking on our faith through our
communities where we live and on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ that redeemed us back to
God.

In 1960’s, after the proclamation of Vatican II council, there are foreign missionaries
came to the land of Mindanao and Negros to form the first BEC. The MSPC or the Mindanao-
Sulu Pastoral Conference was first held in 1971 and meets every (3) three years was instrumental
in propagating these BEC’s all over Mindanao with its local clergy and lay pastoral workers of
the church. Continuing what the foreign missionaries started. The first wave of the BEC’s
emerged and was formed under the martial law regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
There are militaries and some bishops suspected many of the BEC’s of being influenced and
infiltrated by the leftists. Accordingly, there were BEC’s that were harassed by the military
groups and some of neither their leaders nor the members arrested and even murdered. Many of
those were affected just like the communities organized by the Basic Christian Community –
Community Organizing (BCC-CO) program which was suspected of supporting and exercising
the ideologies or political agenda of the National Democratic Front (NDF) and of the Communist
party of the Philippines (CPP).

There were some bishops who would not allow the BEC’s to be formed in some of their
dioceses. But some of the progressive bishops continued and supported the BEC’s, but they were
a minority. Some of the BEC’s play safe and would limit their recreational activities through
prayer meetings and bible sharing and toning down the responsibilities in the social
action/prophetic component for them not to be oppressed by the regime of Marcos during their
time. In 1991, the PCP II or the Second Plenary Council was held and the strong promotion and
the formation of BEC’s all over the country were adopted as a pastoral priority. 3 The PCP II
came up with a decree saying:

1
CBCP, Catechism for Filipino Catholics (Manila: ECCE/Word and Life Publications, 1997), par. 151
2
Jose Marins et.al., The Church from the roots (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1983), 29
3
CBCP, Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Philippines. http://cbcpbec.com/?p=397 (accessed March 30,
2019)
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 Basic Ecclesial Community under various names and forms – BCC’s, small
Christian communities, covenant communities – must be vigorously promoted for the full
living of the Christian vocation in both urban and rural areas4

Our faith helps us conquer our daily angst and through the help of the community it nourishes us
not because we need it but because it guides us through the days of our life. An example would
be an anecdote that talks about the experiences of a seminarian in living in the slums of Tondo
where the BEC’s are trying its best to redeem back the least, lost and the last of the community.

There was a seminarian named Bro. Raymond Oliver of the Order of Augustinians. He
was living in the seminary for almost seven (7) years. He was in a community exposure
together with his brothers in Tondo, Manila. They live at the parish together with the
parish priest. He kept thinking and thinking about how they will be able to teach the
people the faith and how they can attest that the person has faith and believes in God. Not
because of stereotyping, but do they really seek God before anything else just like
stealing, begging, or killing? How is it possible that people do those kinds of prayers and
seek God? He always wonders how the BEC helps nourish the faith of the people living
there and how they can be strong amidst the challenges they may face regardless of what
the problem is. Every after the mass, he would always seek advice from the parish priest.
Because he has many questions about the community, they are staying in. Then the parish
priest always reminds them that we must look at the people in the community as the face
of Jesus. The seminarians met a leader of the BEC in a certain barangay and they
discussed how possible it is to divert the attention of the community into the way of
Christ. They have created various recreational activities that would aim to bring back the
people to God and to really help them to change and help them to stop those immoral
acts. Brother Raymond and the other seminarians never fail to help and assist the BEC’s
near them. Because every time that they have recreational activities and other religious
activities people are drawn near to re-establish their faith and promise to turn away from
their old self.

The unreserved love of God evokes awe, for the gift of God’s love is an experience of
holy. The faith as the eyes of this love is manifested and expressed in different ways, especially
in the way we reach out to others, to the society, and to the world, in the way individual
operation is transformed into cooperation within a community. 5 These things are most commonly
orchestrated in the communities and through each member of the community just like in the
anecdote about the struggles of a brother and how he fought those struggles through the help of
the community he was living. As the ministry of Prophet, Priestly and Kingly that has been
imparted to us by Jesus Christ through the sacrament of holy baptism, we are being called to do
our part in making the community a community of preaching the good news of salvation, to
bring people to God and help them know God well, and to serve the people of God and not to be
served. The whole Church is to be of service to the world as salt, leaven, light and liberation. 6
Regardless of what hierarchy we have in the Church they still consider going down to their
4
CBCP, PCP II (2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines (Manila), Art. 109
5
Marina Obal Altarejos, Filipino Basic Ecclesial community between Limitation and Self Transcendence
“A Longeran-based Edcuation of Fundamental Spirituality (Quezon City, Philippines, 2007), 79
6
Jose Marins et.al., The Church from the roots (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1983), 32
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pedestals and be with the communion of the people of God amidst the vicious attacks of the
enemies.

In the Basic Ecclesial Community, it is not merely a sociological or psychological

community but rather a theological one. It is the “socialization” of the mystery of the Triune God
and represents the seed of the new pilgrim – the People of God in the way to fulfillment. 7
Through the communion of love with the Holy Trinity, we may be able to fulfill the mission
entrusted to us by God being and socializing in the community of faith and of non-believers
because it is where we can unite with all the members of the community. Faith, the object of the
search is the human good. We search for meaning and direction in the movement of life to
achieve what is true, good, and beautiful… faith that animates the search and gives it dynamism
and the vitality necessary to pursue what is true, good, and beautiful against all odds. Liberation
theology claims that commitment to the priority of praxis comes from faith.8 This also means
that in whatever we search about our faith, we should really seek for the true, good and the
beauty of how God nourishes our faith. Now, liberation theology has something to do in which
we need to apply neither all our commitments nor the faith and put it to practice.

The Meaning of Basic Ecclesial Community

There are four different meanings of the word “basic” and these four are relevant in our
purposes.

I. Basic
The sociological sense9 means that it has its grassroots. It goes down to the lower class of
the society: the marginalized, the humbled of heart, etc.
The theological sense10 It means that it has the fundamental principle of a Christian. It is
truly basic because of the essential elements of the Church which is the people of God in the
community.
The descriptive sense11 means that it has a point of origin. Working through the bottom
ups of the community. It illustrates the vital network which is the church. It enhances
passionately the present-day Church as the leaven, salt, light and as one of the parcel of the
society;
The strategic sense12 it is a reality of the institutions that should have a vital need to make
a matrix at the “hoi pollo” for the common people of the community in order be in touched with
the life-processes that change over the time. To assemble the masses and to be vigilant in any
significant changes that is taking place in the society and in the community.

7
Jose Marins et.al., The Church from the roots (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1983), 29
8
Marina Obal Altarejos, Filipino Basic Ecclesial community between Limitation and Self Transcendence
“A Longeran-based Edcuation of Fundamental Spirituality (Quezon City, Philippines, 2007), 78
9
Ibid. 29
10
Ibid. 29
11
Ibid. 29
12
Ibid. 29
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 II. Ecclesial
From the Greek word “ekklēsia” or “ecclesia” meaning a congregation or church.13 It
marks the BEC’s basic provocations through their faith in Jesus Christ. It is their ultimate desire
to live and follow the two (2) greatest commandments of love and by fulfilling the mission
entrusted to the people of God through the power of the Holy Spirit in the communion of the
universal Church. because the BEC exhibits and to achieve integral salvation.14 As mentioned
above, ecclesial means that it is not merely a sociological or a psychological community but
rather it is a theological community. It is the interaction of the mystery of the Triune God and
constitutes to be the seeds of the new pilgrim – the People of God in reaching out to the
fulfillment of the plans of God. The “ekklēsia” or “ecclesia” refers to “the new community of
believers gathered to praise and serve God in response to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
and in the power of the Holy Spirit.” 15 Through the paschal mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ we
can create a new community of believers after His death and His resurrection. After the sending
forth of the Holy spirit through the tongues of fire the apostles were commissioned and were on a
mission to preach the good news of salvation to the ends of the world.

III. Community
Each community is defined by its purpose and consequently obeys specific rules; but “the
human person… is and ought to be the principle, the subject, and the end of all social
institutions.16 Because of the essential connection uniting the members, living in the spirit of
camaraderie and correlative help towards the members of the community. Through the
communion with God, we may be able to help and give support to every member of the
community. The shift of focus from ecclesial to human communities highlights the commonality
that exists among neighbors. It is now directed to the promotion of human dignity and kingdom
values in our quest for total human development.17 As Msgr. Manuel Gabriel was saying in his
book entitled “Doing Theology”, through humanitarian works we may achieve the total
promotion of the human dignity and rights of every member of the society and of the
community. As baptized Christians, we have this responsibility to be with the community and of
service to others. That is one of the reasons why we have BEC here in the Philippines.

Mission on New Evangelization through BEC

The Church by its very nature is missionary and the solid ground of contemplation and
ongoing conversion is the springboard for the promulgation of the mission of evangelization. 18
This embrace of the Church’s social doctrine should infuse the content of catechesis, Christian
education, formation of seminarians and religious, the continuing formation of bishops and
13
William Collins and Harper Collins, Collins English Dictionary.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ecclesia (accessed March 30, 2019)
14
Pope Paul VI, Lumen Gentium (Rome, 1964), 12
15
Daniel Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1991), 189
16
CBCP/Word and Life Manila, Definitive Edition: Catechism of the Catholic Church Based on the Latin
“Editito Typica” Including the Latest Modifications (Manila, 1994), 1881
17
Msgr. Manuel G. Gabriel, Doing Theology: Basic Ecclesial Community, A New Way of Being Church
in the Philippines (Pasig City: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2008), 117
18
Gill K. Goulding C.J, A Church of Passion and Hope (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark Publishing,
2016) , 280
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priests and most especially the formation of the laity. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of
the Church was recovered as a previous resource in accomplishing this continuing formation. 19
Through various help of these instructional materials, it enables each member of the community
to be more educated and equipped in regards to the magisterium and of course it helps them to
always be prepared in preaching the good news of salvation to the whole community of believers
and non-believers and Christ founded his Church to continue his saving mission on earth. 20
Through the Church Christ has founded, his mission here on earth is not the end but it is the
beginning of what it means to be in the community of the faithful. Christ found this Church
because of the love of the Triune God to the whole mankind. Through his Apostles, the mission
for mankind has been promulgated and preached to the ends of the earth.

One component of the community of faith is an individually experienced alteration of

existence toward redemption.21 In our community of faith, we acknowledge our very existence.
Because of the intellect and will God has given us we may be able to seek for the things yet to be
known towards the freedom from the slavery of sin. Because the matrix of this experience is a
determinate intersubjectivity, a specific structure of co-intentions which makes the faith-
community distinctive as a community.22 Because of the uniqueness of the members of the
community, we can gather and help share our different knowledge on a certain matter that would
help us gain new information and be able to build connections. The Church helps us through
various formations and activities that would enhance each and everyone’s uniqueness for us to
really create a community of not just the believers but also those who are inspired to serve the
community and that they may be able to share its uniqueness to every member of the community.

This dimension of witnessing remains crucial in the birth and growth of BEC’s simple
problems between neighbors can be easily magnified; ordinary spats between and among the
members of the BEC’s and neighborhood could escalate into misunderstanding and conflicts…
The BECs’ task to proclaim the good news through witnessing remains an uphill climb or roller
coaster ride.23 As the history of BEC tells us, it never went easy to build this kind of community
of Christians during the time of the martial law regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Because of the oppression they experience there are a lot of BEC’s that were never established in
a certain community or area. But now, the BEC’s are very alive and active because of the
democracy we have gained and fought against the late dictator. The BEC now is progressive and
more active in bringing Jesus and the good news of salvation to every home.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the star of new evangelization, through people’s full,
conscious, and active participation on the Church’s mission through the Basic Ecclesial
Community can lend a hand to the least, lost, and the lasts of our society bringing the devotion to
the Blessed Virgin and making Her known as the start of the new evangelization. As our country
is called the Pueblo Amante de Maria”, Filipinos tend to
19
Gill K. Goulding C.J, A Church of Passion and Hope (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark Publishing,
2016) , 280-281
20
CBCP, Catechism for Filipino Catholics (Manila: ECCE/Word and Life Publications, 1997), par. 1412
21
Edward Farley, Ecclesial Man (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975), 108
22
Ibid.108
23
Msgr. Manuel G. Gabriel, Doing Theology: Basic Ecclesial Community, A New Way of Being Church
in the Philippines (Pasig City: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2008), 117
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(Insert the role of Mary in the new evangelization.)

BEC and the Ecumenism

When the ecumenical spirit exists as is the case among some members of the World
Council of Churches (i.e. Methodists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, etc.), witnessing to Christian
faith creates deep trust, openness and collaboration in the community, as ecumenism has become
an effective tool in promoting a shared mission among Christians. The BEC’s that have
experienced this have grown sturdier and more deeply rooted in Christ’s own injunction: “Go
and proclaim the Good News… Make disciples of all nations…” 24 Being a Church of love and
full of acceptance, we never fail to reunite with our brothers and sisters in other denominations
of faith. And through this, the BEC is being enriched through the commissioning of his disciples
in Matthew 28:19 to go to the ends of the earth to preach the good news of salvation and
baptizing all of those who was evangelized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Ecumenism aims to build good relationships with every church and/or Christian denomination.
That is what the Church is trying to build up until now. Because we all know that the leaders of
our Church build bridges to have unification and a communion with faith and Christian
denominations so that these Churches can build strong connections and may have unified faith in
our one Lord Jesus Christ.

BEC and the Communal Shift

BEC’s one way of evangelizing and preaching the good news is going to different
communities and households and discussing a little bit about what faith is and what we mean by
believing in God. Also, it is enough that the BEC’s can proclaim the good news through the
witnessing of faith life or to evangelize culture and the cultures of communities. The
evangelization process must enhance social equality among people.25 Through that, there are
some recreational activities that may enhance and nourish the faith of each member of the
community.

The Church involvement in the social question is multifaceted and multi-layered. One of
the major strategies identified that could facilitate the Church’s effective response to the issues of
justice and poverty lies in the mobilization and development of basic human/Christian/ecclesial
communities.26 As the Church heeds the call to serve the masses, it always seeks for the best to
help the people of God and through arousing or the agitate the masses, we must also organize
them and to mobilize them for the time to come for the betterment and the development of the
basic communities (i.e. human, Christian, and ecclesial).

The BEC’s focus is on the grassroots’ participation in the Church through lay
empowerment and ministries, but more particularly, in the bigger society where they belong.
Through organization and education for justice which justice in the world has stressed and must
be directed to the plight of the poor, the marginalized, and the victims of oppressions and

24
Msgr. Manuel G. Gabriel, Doing Theology: Basic Ecclesial Community, A New Way of Being Church
in the Philippines (Pasig City: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2008), 117-118
25
Msgr. Manuel G. Gabriel, Doing Theology: Basic Ecclesial Community, A New Way of Being Church
in the Philippines (Pasig City: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2008), 119
26
Ibid. 119
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discrimination in society.27 In today’s society, the plight of the poor, the marginalized and the
victims of oppression and discrimination is prevalent. We can see that even if this is happening
now in our society the members of the community and/or the society continuously fight against
the vicious attacks of this regime.

Conclusion

The BEC aims not just only to preach the good news of salvation and to evangelize the
least, lost and the last. We should never really underestimate the faith which God has given us
and through the various organizations or Christian communities that help us nourish our faith and
have different support groups for us to really feel that the love of God surpasses everything we
may do and whatever faults we may have. Just like the love of God to the community of
believers and non-believers alike. The love of God to us is reconciling because it really creates a
community of love that will further call us to reconcile to whoever wronged us.

It calls for us to really understand that the community is being drawn to the sight of God.
As a result being drawn to Christ was the natural desire of the disciples to seek out the company
of fellow Christ thus creating the first Christian Communities. 28 Throughout the century that the
Christians lived, there is a proven need that there is a need of a Church for the people to come in
and as one family of Christ share in the love and of the communion with the Church founded by
Christ. It is also by the love of God that enables the Basic Ecclesial Communities to really
respond to the call of serving the masses and to really see that the people are learning, and they
are really trying their best to reconcile before the mercies of God.

As our own response to God’s universal call to friendship with Him and with one another
is supported and sustained by the other members of our Christian community. 29 Now, the BEC is
certain to really be out to the periphery. Serving and preaching the love of God to every
community and each household. It really defines the BEC of going down to its pedestals and
continuously being an advocate for life and of the love of God. That God’s people is rooted in
His original intention and ultimate design to call all the creation out of isolation into covenant
and communion with God and each other.30

As the Basic Ecclesial Community experienced a lot of challenges and faced it with faith
without knowing of what will happen next. The members of BEC and of the community itself
always think that they are doing this for the Love of Christ and for His people. Even though this
happens a lot in each BEC, they always seek Christ, and the ultimate goal of God is to bring back
the people to Him especially those who are the least, lost and the last in our society. We learn
from the grassroots of the society that we may be able to help the people to be more critical in
thinking and in choosing, mobilizing the masses, and equipped with certain knowledge and
organize them as they preach also the good news to the peripheries where the plight and the fight
of the lower class of the society is very prevalent because of the system that our country has.
27
Ibid. 119
28
CBCP, Catechism for Filipino Catholics (Manila: ECCE/Word and Life Publications, 1997), par. 965
29
Ibid. par. 965
30
Tyron Inbody, The Faith of the Christian Church: An Introduction to Theology (Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Corporation, 2005), 255
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Jose Marins, Carolee Charona, and Teolide Tuvisam, The Church from the roots. Quezon City:
Claretian Publications, 1983

CBCP, PCP II (2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines). http://cbcpbec.com/?=323 (accessed

March 29, 2019).

CBCP, Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Philippines. http://cbcpbec.com/?p=397 (accessed

March 30, 2019)

Marina Obal Altarejos, Filipino Basic Ecclesial community between Limitation and Self
Transcendence “A Longeran-based Edcuation of Fundamental Spirituality. Quezon City,
Philippines, 2007

William Collins and Harper Collins, Collins English Dictionary.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ecclesia (accessed March 30, 2019)

Pope Paul VI, Lumen Gentium. (Rome, 1964): 12

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_const_19641121_lumen_gentium_en.html (accessed March 28, 2019)

Daniel Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology (Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991

ECCE/Word and Life Manila, Definitive Edition: Catechism of the Catholic Church Based on
the Latin “Editito Typica” Including the Latest Modifications. Manila, 1994

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Church in the Philippines. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2008

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Publishing, 2016

Tyron Inbody, The Faith of the Christian Church: An Introduction to Theology. Wm. B.
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Developments and Trends. http://cbcpbec.com/?p=397 (accessed March 25, 2019)

Edward Farley, Ecclesial Man. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975

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