The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (or “Laiko”), formerly Council of the Laity of the Philippines, is composed of Archdiocesan/Diocesan Councils of the Laity and Catholic Lay Organizations and Ecclesial Communities in the country. It is the implementing arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines –Episcopal Commission on the Laity in the area of lay apostolate.
LAIKO spearheads the annual celebration of the National Laity Week (NLW) from Sept 21- 28, 2019. This coincides with the feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz, first Filipino Lay Saint. This week-long celebration is oriented towards lay empowerment and will highlight the critical role of the lay- faithful in the building of the Church and in the transformation of the present-day Philippine society.
The 2019 Strategic Planning of the LAIKO Board, resulted in the crafting of the theme for the 2019 National Laity Week ‘Journeying Together with the Youth… Heal our Land by Rekindling the Faith and Defending the Church.’ This emanates from the call of the CBCP’s 9-year spiritual journey towards New Evangelization and the 2019 theme for the Year of the Youth.
Furthermore, the theme is the fruit of the prayer and reflection of the LAIKO Board using the Unified Formation Framework of the Archdiocese of Manila as a tool. One component of the said framework is a reality check; hence, we invited different resource persons to share with us how they see the present situation of our society now. “ANO BA ANG TUNAY NA KALAGAYAN NG BAYAN, NG PAMAYANAN AT NG SIMBAHAN?, was the question we wanted to be answered. The insights of the resource persons heightened our awareness of the pains and hurts of those affected by the extra- judicial killings and the other forms of injustice. Likewise, the insights served as the point of reference for the Board to formulate the theme which is composed of three challenges:
Heal our Land: ‘If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.’ (2Chronicles, 7:14).
Reflecting on the bible text from 2Chronicles, we believe that our society today suffers from a worsening socio – political, cultural and spiritual malaise. The continuing shift in religious values and a decline in morality characterized by the different degrees of violence, discrimination, corruption, the deterioration of the environment, are some of the apparent indicators of a sick society. We can attribute this persistent malady to a crisis in Leadership in our government, as well as, to the attitude of indifference among many of us. Only when we join our mind, spirit and body together with God our Creator, can we attain the holistic healing we deeply need as individuals and as a nation. As members of the People of God, we the lay faithful should proactively play our transformative role in society. We begin by ‘coming home’ to God and by always applying His Word to our daily undertakings.
Rekindle the Faith: ‘For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God… For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power love and self-discipline.’ (2Timothy 1:6-7)
With these words St. Paul encourages Timothy to faithfully evangelize and stick to the truth despite the sufferings that would inevitably come his way. The socio-political, cultural and ecclesial landscape in our country today lay bare the incessant threat to the lives of our Church leaders or whoever openly opposes the government; the killing of priests who fight for justice and truth in behalf of the disadvantaged; the destruction of our places of worship; the deportation of foreign religious workers who are considered undesirable by the present regime; and the stifling of journalists who do not concur with the present administration.
Acutely aware that our faith is indeed challenged during this time of chaos and complexity, let us not be baffled and cowed. Clearly, this is the time to be steadfast and allow the Giver of faith to control our lives. Lastly, since faith is a life lived in God’s grace, let us nurture it with a life of prayer anchored in the Word of God. Let us not use the same weapons utilized by the enemy. Instead, we recommend that the underlying motivation in the conduct of our evangelizing programs and activities (in the local and national levels) should be redemptive, salvific, positive and healing.
Defend the Church: ‘’I am the Vine, you are the branches.’ (Jn15:5)
This is the figure and symbol of the People of God/ Church, of which, as lay faithful we are members, together with the clergy and the religious. All members are led by the spirit of Christ, the true vine who gives fruitfulness to the us, the branches. Belonging to the Church implies a role to play and a responsibility to carry out proactively. The document Christifidelis Laici intends to deepen the awareness of the lay faithful to have: ‘an ever-clearer consciousness not only of belonging to the Church but by being the Church.’
Strong in the belief that as lay faithful we are in the frontlines of the Church’s life, we are not ‘to stand idle all day’ (Mt. 20:6). On the contrary, we have to courageously join forces to defend our faith and stand up for the truth of God’s Word. The public statements issued by LAIKO in defense of Life, the Truth, Justice and Peace, are clear evidence of how LAIKO proactively takes its ‘essential and irreplaceable role to make the Church present in society.’
Let us ‘fight the good fight’ by using weapons that edify and build. Let us be more focused in our mission towards New Evangelization employing new methods, new expressions and fired up with a new ardor.
It is our wish as Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas to share with the Diocesan Councils of the Laity and the National Lay Organizations what we have heard and discerned. We continue to work for the healing of our land and show the young not only during the Year of the Youth, that ‘It is not by might nor power, but by Spirit’ that we evangelize.
This year, (the week-long celebration) the National Laity Week will open on September 21 and will end on September 28, 2019. The Opening Celebration will be held in the Diocese of Surigao, while the Closing Event will be in the Diocese of Novaliches.
PROPOSED ACTION
The Diocesan Councils of the Laity, the Diocesan Pastoral Council and National Lay Organizations shall organize a Laity Week Celebration Steering Committee in their respective dioceses down to parish level. Programs should put emphasis on the theme.
Announcements shall be made during Church celebrations, meetings, through newsletters, tri- media and other means to ensure total awareness and participation of parishioners and members. Impact activities to usher this celebration may be through parade of local bands, motorcades, buntings and banners around the Church. Closing ceremonies may be capped with fellowships, potluck meals, soup kitchens, medical missions, recognition awards and other social work activities.
PROPOSED ACTIVTIIES
1. Eucharistic Celebration, Liturgy of the Hours, Holy Hour, Bible Sharing,
Novena to San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod
2. Talks, Seminars and For a focused on
the National Laity Week Theme
3. Sponsorship of daily Masses during the Laity Week by different lay
organizations and allow them to give brief talks about their organization
particularly their involvement in the youth
formation and other related activities
4. Setting up of mini-libraries in the parishes that contain literature available
for research or study on various Church
documents particularly those dealing with the Year of the Youth and the life of San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod.
5. Setting of booths by different Church organizations in the parishes that
contain literature about their
organizations;
6. Homilies of Priests shall give emphasis on the Year of the Youth;
7. Campaign for more involvement on the youth apostolate;
8. Parish Renewal Seminars;
9. Blessing of the images of San Lorenzo Ruiz and/or San Pedro Calungsod; and
10. Singing the San Lorenzo Ruiz and/or San Pedro Calungsod hymns.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Sacred Scriptures
Documents of the Second Vatican Council
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines
CBCP, Pastoral Exhortation Live Christ, Share Christ on the Era of New
Evangelization
CBCP, Pastoral Letter for the opening of the 2019 Year of the Youth entitled:
Filipino Youth in Mission: Beloved, Gifted, Empowered.
An Open Letter of the Filipino Youth to the Catholic Church in the Philippines
