THE CHURCH TODAY AND THE CRUCIAL TASKS FOR HEALING

By: Rev. Fr. John Jonah A. Orat

OPENING GOSPEL: Mt 13:10-17

The disciples approached Jesus and said,“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”

He said to them in reply,“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been
granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.

“To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he
has will be taken away… This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and
hear but do not listen or understand.”

Mysteries are something you have to accept. These are mysteries of our Church.

• The mystery of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• The mystery a Child of God by virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism.

• The mystery of the eating the Body of the Eternal God

Not anybody can become a Catholic. You have to undergo evangelization.The Church was mysterious.
You have to be a “LIFE WITNESS,” that is, you are willing to die to be a member of this Church.

To become Pope is a death wish.

• Saint Peter ( c. 67),

• Pope St. Linus (c. 67…],

• Pope St. Anacletus (c. 79 – c. …]

• Pope St. Clement I,

• Pope Evaristus (c. …

• Pope St. Sixtus I (c. …],

• Pope St. Telesphorus (c. ...

• Pope St. Anicetus (155–166)…

WE ARE ONE BODY. ONE CHURCH. ONE BREAD. ONE PEOPLE.

“WE ARE ONE FAMILY”

Different gifts. We know. It is from gift to gift. Different graces. From grace to grace.

• From reception to reception.

• From application to application.

• From devotion to devotion.

 • From conviction to conviction.

• From discipline to discipline.

• From humility to humility.

From obedience to obedience. From sacrifice to sacrifice. From receptacle to receptacle.

All from the HOLY SPIRIT, the SANCTIFIER, and how you cooperate with it. To know that all of us are
called to Holiness. IT IS FROM SANCTIFICATION TO SANCTIFICATION.

AYAW PANAWAY!

The Church Today

=One Seminar.

The Crucial Tasks for Healing =One Congress.

Compressed into One Talk

BACKGROUNDER:

We will start with the Infant Church. When the Church was young. When the Church started with the
descent of the Holy Spirit. The official birthday of the Church. You All know that because you are
charismatics and all of them became evangelizers.

All of them were “afire,” “aflame,” “blazing.” However, you imagine it, you cannot imagine it how it was.
You have to be there! The gifts of the Holy Spirit made them Saints and martyrs. Your neighbor was a
saint. Your father, a martyr. Your uncle, a priest. Your aunt, a consecrated virgin. So much persecution,
and so many miracles.

The ACCCRS Spiritual Directors and Advisers had a Zoom meeting with Fr. Bart Pastor. One priest said,
Does he have to attend an LSS because he was a spiritual director. “Of course.” Fr. Bart answered.

“You cannot understand the charismatic renewal and the charismatics if you have not attended the
seminar because it is EXPERIENTIAL. Like the first PENTECOST you have to experience it in order to
understand it. Even in understanding it, YOU CANNOT EXPLAIN IT.

It is mysterious and mystical.

SAMPLE: St. Paul tells us, “It is the Holy Spirit who comes to the aid of our weakness.” [Rom 8:26-27] We
do not know how to pray, and praying while deep in sin, we do not really know if God will respond to our
prayers favorably.

St. Paul continues, “The Holy Spirit himself intercede for us with inexpressible groaning!” This is praying
in the Holy Spirit. Do not wonder then if the words you speak while praying in the Spirit cannot be
understood by others because they are not supposed to be understood by others. “…
PRAYING WITH INEXPRESSIBLE GROANING! Can you understand that?”

Or explain it? Theologians?

THE EARLY CHURCH

TRADITION: FAITHFUL HANDING DOWN OF THE TEACHINGS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THROUGHOUT
THE AGES

SAMPLE: JESUS CHRIST > ST. JOHN THE BELOVED > ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH… >>>>>>> up to the
present…

St. Paul [2 Thes 2:14]

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by
our epistle.”

[From our Lord Jesus Christ]

St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop of Antioch, on his way to be executed for his faith in Jesus Christ in Rome
was met by 2 priests sent by the Bishop of Magnesia. He writes his Epistle to the Magnesians for the
Church in Magnesia.

1.UNITY AND SUBMISSION TO THE CHURCH

“The Lord did nothing either of himself or through his apostles without his Father, with whom he is
united; so too, “you should undertake nothing without the bishop and the presbyters.”

Do not attempt to persuade yourselves that what you do “on your own account” is right and proper, but
when you meet together there must be “ONE” petition, “ONE” prayer, “ONE” mind, “ONE” hope in love
and in holy joy, for Jesus Christ is “ONE” and perfect before all else.

You must all be quick to come together, as to “ONE” temple of God, “ONE” altar, to the “ONE” Jesus
Christ, who came forth from the “ONE” Father, while still remaining “ONE” with him, and returned to
him.

2. CAUTIONS AGAINST FALSE DOCTRINES

“Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live
according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace.”

“Daghan kaayo ron nga mga bakakon nga profeta.”

3. OBSERVE THE LORD’S DAY, SUNDAY RATHER THAN SATURDAY, THE SABBATH DAY OF THE JEWS.

“If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of
a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day…

Sumala pa ni Fr. Gitgano: “Ang among simbahan gipakamatyan sa Ginoo, gipakamatyan sa mga Apostoles
ug gipakamatyan sa mga martires. Kinsa may nagpakamatay sa inyong Simbahan?”

THE CHURCH TODAY

Needs Healing

Our Catholic Church in the Philippines is dying. In many parts of the world, it is already dead. Large
Basilicas and Cathedrals have become more tourist attractions. Only old people go to Church in those
parts of the world.

This is general knowledge.

To remember that there was no Bible yet at the time of the infant Church. There was “zealous
evangelization by holy Catholics in the Holy Spirit.” As they evangelized, miracles happened. The greatest
miracle was that they were not afraid to die. They were “hoping to die,” rejoicing and praising the Lord!

There are many indicators that we can see:

1. The poor are not going to Church and not many are reaching out to them.

[95 years old, criminal, PWD. Grade 12]

They cannot identify with the Church and priest does not have

the “smell of the sheep”?

2. Our youth are enticed by Christian denominations. The Catholic Church is not very attractive to them.
Born Again teachers are proselytizing students. They are the ones evangelizing according to their
“carenderia teachings.”

They are the ones reaching out. Monitoring. It is social, psychological, emotional, financial…
Simplification of salvation…

Story: Ang among simbahan gipakamatyan ug Dios, ug mga apostoles, ug mga martires?

Story: Panglakaw kamo. Isangyaw ang maayong balita. Pagsugod sa Jerusalem…

3. Make a survey of religious organizations and you will find that most of their members are senior
citizens. There are religious organizations that only have 3 or 4 old members. If that is the case, that is no
longer an organization.

4. [According to a survey, in 40 years time, the Catholic Church will not anymore be the “majority church
in the Philippines.”

The downtrend will continue. We will have to be convinced of the dire need for a seismic shift in the
Church for the greater role of the laity in evangelization.]

5. [Part of that seismic shift is for the lay in the Apostolic Church to be…

“APOSTLES” … sent to evangelize!

Disciplined disciples who make disciples ! That the real mission of the Church is “EVANGELIZATION,” not
FUNDRAISING.]

6. Survey of Religious organizations >CWL, DMI, Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus, Columbian
Squires, Holy Face Crusaders,… Members are becoming old. Mandated organizations with 3 or 4
members is no longer a religious organization.
BE ALARMED!

Religious organizations do not exist for themselves but for the Church. Including charismatic and
covenanted communities. If the local church dies they also die.

BE ALARMED.

SUGBUSWAK SURVEY.

Membership of the clergy. Many are senior citizens maybe 1/3. In demographics there should be a
replacement level! Every year there are less and less ordinations. This year only 4 entered the minor
seminary.

The early Charismatics > Sto. Rosario... A firestorm! People came in droves.

Then there were those who did not accept them. They have no place in the parish.

They became “Trans-parochial communities” transferring from one place to another ! Back! Be parish-
based!

Back to the Church

TO FORTIFY, EDIFY, SANCTIFY AND VIVIFY THE CHURCH. This is the greatest “MISSION” now for all
charismatic communities.

What are the prayers of the Faithful for more vocations to the priesthood if we are not reaching out to
the youth !

We should be concerned.

WE SHOULD BE ALARMED!

When I was assigned in Taytay, Danao City, I was very active in the CCR. 3 LSS in a week… many gifts…
many vocations…

> A daughter of my lay minister entered to be a nun and my parish secretary became a nun. She is now a
Mother Superior of her community in Italy.

My laundry woman entered to be a nun.

My CCR animators, two sisters, entered to be nuns. One is now a nun of the Merciful Sisters.

My cook entered to be a brother in Manila.

One entered the seminary.

And others…

Pope St. John Paul II has declared, “The Philippines is truly a ‘light’ for the evangelization of the Asian
continent. In another way of saying, “The Philippines is going to be the springboard of evangelization in
Asia. How?

THE ANSWER:
THE PROGRAMS OF POPE FRANCIS:

1. THE SYNODALITY AND

2. REAWAKENING OF

HEALING THE CHURCH

Go back to your Parish Church. Make a Charismatic Parish. Afire. Aflame. Ablaze. In the Holy Spirit. The
whole Parish REKINDLED praising and glorifying God! Just like the early church.

THE CRUCIAL TASKS FOR HEALING

• Our Task to Heal the Church

• We have to Heal ourselves.

• We have to Heal our Families.

• We have to Heal our Parishioners.

OBJECTIVE:

1.To realize the vision and prophecy of Pope St. John Paul II.

2.To realize the Synodal and CHARIS program of Pope Francis.

3. To edify, fortify, sanctify and vivify “ALL” the parishes of the Archdiocese of Cebu and “ALL” the
dioceses in the Philippines, and then to Asia and the whole world.

Holiness starts in the Church and ends in the Church. Your sanctification started when you received the
Sacrament of Baptism and you became a child of God and a Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:1-2 “Do not conform yourselves to this age. [So many are conforming] but be transformed by
the renewal of your mind so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.”

Preconditions: “BE IN THE STATE OF SANCTIFYING GRACE ALWAYS.

Sin displeases God. To be a baptized Catholic, to be a son of God because of baptism, to be like God, we
should be displeased at what displeases him. [St. Augustine]

“Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

[St. Augustine]

HEALING AND DELIVERANCE

And the Higher Level of Healing!!!

1. Integrated Comprehensive Evangelization Synodal Program [LLS, BEC and Family and Life
Ministry]

2. Going to the chapels. Reaching out to the poor.

3. Praying Meeting every Monday with different communities leading.

4. Healing Mass every 4th Monday.

5. Deliverance.

THE END