Year: 2019

TOPIC 10 Week 20
THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY: The Church at Home

Sub-Topic:  Week 21( May 12-19) : The Biblical Family at ang Pamilyang Pinoy

The Church in the Philippines takes pride in the fact that the country is the only nation in the world, together with the Vatican that does not allow divorce.  While there is a pending bill in Congress filed by the Gabriela Women’s Party named House Bilee #1799, Aan act introducing Divorce in the Philippines”, that seeks to legalize divorce, it has not been passed.  It is predicted that this bill will take a long arduous, if not impossible journey for it to even reach final discussion and agreement among lawmakers. The strong opposition against legalizing divorce in the country is rooted in the Filipinos’ long standing respect for the sanctity of marriage and family life.  The family and the values connected to it like love and respect for parents and siblings, unity, close ties and sharing in the joys and pains of each member are anchors that keep the family strongly embedded in the bedrock of solidarity.

The reality that divorce has a long way to go before it becomes a law, if it will become a law, is not reason for Filipino families to turn a blind eye to stark realities that threaten its solidarity. in an article written by Jeoffrey G. Abalos published in July 10, 2017 in the IUSSP New Magazine, (http://www.niussp.org/article/the-rise-of-divorce-separation-and-cohabitation-in-the-philippines/)  he presents the following statistics:

• The proportion of spouses who separate, both legally and informally, is increasing as attested by the increase in the number of annulment and nullity cases filed at the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG). Such cases have increased from 4,520 in 2001 to 11,135 in 2014

• There is also an increase in the proportion of Filipinos who live together with their partner without marrying. In the past two decades, the proportion of cohabiting Filipino women of reproductive age almost trebled, from 5.2% in 1993 to 14.5% in 2013

• •                Over the last decade the proportion of Filipinos who agreed that “Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile anymore should be allowed to divorce so that they can legally marry again” increased from 43% in 2005 to 60% in 2014.

The statistics presented above cannot and must not be ignored because they militate against the sanctity of marriage and threated the very foundation of the family.  The Church in the Philippines, in fidelity to the teachings on marriage and the family contained in the Scriptures, vehemently objects to practices that threaten the very core of family life.  She strongly rejects practices that impede the family from faithfully carrying out its mission as  the domestic Church.   Proof of this is the pastoral letter released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines that express its strong opposition to divorce.   The said pastoral letter is reprinted below (source: http://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/pastoral-statement-against-divorce/)

Pastoral Statement against Divorce

 “I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and to honor you all the days of my life”. This Matrimonial Covenant is promised by married people before God and before each and every one of us. This marriage our Constitution recognizes “as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State”. In fact, our Constitution was once touted as the first pro-family constitution in the world.

Couples who overcome trials in marriage together grow in virtue and happiness. That is why decent peoples of the world accompany couples and families toward reconciliation and healing. And our holy Mother, the Church, will always and everywhere be there to help.

Children deserve a Home where love, faithfulness, and forgiveness reign. In particular, they don’t want to see their parents quit because there are difficulties in their relationship. The sight of their parents persevering together will always remain with them especially when they will have their own families.

Science and human experience tell us that marriage is an immutable and undeniable good. Even in difficult marriages, children have benefited psychologically, physically and spiritually. Its demands and benefits lead to a better, compassionate, stable and more dynamic society. Our Constitution’s goal of the common good demands all these.

The dignity of women and men require all these. Because of all of these, Christ the Lord raised Marriage to the dignity of a Sacrament. Let not Congress lay waste these victories with a divorce bill.

“Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses wrote you this commandment [on divorce]. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Mk 10:5-9).

While rejection of practices that militated against marriage and the family is a must if we are to preserve these two institutions, Pope Francis, in his visit to the Philippines present tips for family holiness.  here are some of them (https://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2015/01/pope-visit-reflections.html):

1. “Today, with so many means of communication we are overloaded with information. So we run the risk of becoming museums of young people who have everything, but not knowing what to do with it. We don’t need young museums, but we do need holy young people. What is the most important subject you have to learn at university? What is most important subject you have to learn in life? To learn how to love. Not just to accumulate information without knowing what to do with it. But through that love let that information bear fruit.“

2.  “Beware of the new ideological colonization that tries to destroy the family. It’s not born of the dream that we have from God and prayer – it comes from outside and that’s why I call it a colonization. Let us not lose the freedom to take forward the mission God has given us, the mission of the family.  And just as our peoples were able to say in the past “No” to the period of colonization, as families we have to be very wise and strong to say “No” to any attempted ideological colonization that could destroy the family. And to ask the intercession of St. Joseph to know when to say “Yes” and when to say “No”.

3. Resting in prayer is especially important for families.  It is in the family that we first learn how to pray. And don’t forget when the family prays together, it remains together.  This is important.  There we come to know God, to grow into men and women of faith, to see ourselves as members of God’s greater family, the Church.  In the family, we learn how to love, to forgive, to be generous and open, not closed and selfish.  We learn to move beyond our own needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them.  That is why it is so important to pray as a family!  That is why families are so important in God’s plan for the Church!

4. “It is important to dream in the family. All mothers and fathers dream of their sons and daughters in the womb for 9 months. They dream of how they will be. It isn’t possible to have a family without such dreams. When you lose this capacity to dream you lose the capacity to love, the capacity to love is lost.

Word of God

First Reading:                      I MACCABEES 2:19-22

Mattathias answered in a loud voice: “Although all the Gentiles in the king’s realm obey him, so that they forsake the religion of their ancestors and consent to the king’s orders, yet I and my sons and my kindred will keep to the covenant of our ancestors. Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.22We will not obey the words of the king by departing from our religion in the slightest degree.”

Res. Ps.: PS 128:1-4

Happy is everyone who fears the Lord
who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine  within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots  around your table.
Thus shall the man be blessed  who fears the Lord.

Second Reading: EPH. 6:1-4

Children, obey your parents [in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise, “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.”
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.

Gospel:                    MT. 10:1-6

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
When Jesus* finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan. Great crowds followed him, and he cured them there. Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him,* saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

Values/Attitude
Respect         Piety                       Honor
Obedience       Solidarity             Faithfulness

Doctrine
The word of God tells us that the family is entrusted to a man, a woman and their children, so that they may become a communion of persons in the image of the union of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Begetting and raising children, for its part, mirrors God’s creative work. The family is called to join in daily prayer, to read the word of God and to share in Eucharistic communion, and thus to grow in love and become ever more fully a temple in which the Spirit dwells (AL, 29).

Moral
The family is the first and fundamental school of social living: as a community of love, it finds in self-giving the law that guides it and makes it grow. The self- giving that inspires the love of husband and wife for each other is the model and norm for the self-giving that must be practiced in the relationships between brothers and sisters and the different generations living together in the family. And the communion and sharing that are part of everyday life in the home at times of joy and at times of difficulty are the most concrete and effective pedagogy for the active, responsible and fruitful inclusion of the children in the wider horizon of society. (FC 37).

Worship
Family prayer is a special way of expressing and strengthening this paschal faith.376 A few minutes can be found each day to come together before the living God, to tell him our worries, to ask for the needs of our family, to pray for someone experiencing difficulty, to ask for help in showing love, to give thanks for life and for its blessings, and to ask Our Lady to protect us beneath her maternal mantle. With a few simple words, this moment of prayer can do immense good for our families. The various expressions of popular piety are a treasure of spirituality for many families. The family’s communal journey of prayer culminates by sharing together in the Eucharist, especially in the context of the Sunday rest. (AL, 318).

Faith Realities in Local Context

Reflecting on the example of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, share how you will actively  participate in the four tasks of the Christian family, namely:

1) forming a community of persons;
2) serving life;
3) participating in the development of society;
4) sharing in the life and mission of the Church.

Faith Response

Affirmation/Conviction
The family is meant by God to be the first school of discipleship where tha parents are the first catechists of their children, and where all the members mutually evangelize each other. It is also the first school of evangelization where the members learn to share with others the grace and light of Christ (PCP II, 576).
Action/Commitment:  Having learned that the family is the “Church in the home” and the “first school discipleship”, do you:
* in your own capacity as a young person assume an important responsibility you received when you were baptized, that is, to spread the good news of salvation? 
* strive to contribute to transforming your family in the likeness of the Holy Family in Nazareth, where love, respect and fidelity to God’s law prevail?
*actively participate in family prayer and in the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist?

Celebration/Prayer

Prayer to the Holy Family
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate the splendour of true love;
to you we turn with trust. Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again experience violence,
rejection and division;
may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Graciously hear our prayer.
Amen.

TOPIC 10 Week 20 THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY: The Church at Home

Sub-Topic:  Week 22 ( May 26- June 1) : Marriage and Family: the Wellspring of Life and Love in the Church

In his Post Synodal Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis presents powerful and insightful description of the realities that beset marriage and family, citing both the lights and shadows that mark these realities. He first cites the observation of the Spanish bishops who note that “families have come to enjoy greater freedom ‘through an equitable distribution of duties, responsibilities and tasks”; that “a greater emphasis on personal communication between the spouses helps to make family life more humane’, and that it is also evident that ‘the principal tendencies in anthropological-cultural changes” are leading “individuals, in personal and family life, to receive less and less support from social structures than in the past’ (AL 32).

In contrast, Pope Francis also explains that there is in our society the “an extreme individualism which weakens family bonds and ends up considering each member of the family as an isolated unit, leading in some cases to the idea that one’s personality is shaped by his or her desires, which are considered absolute”. He further explains that this extreme individualism, coupled with the desire for possessions and pleasures, leads to intolerance and hostility in families (AL 33).

Other threats to the family which Pope Francis mentions in his exhortation are:

• today’s fast pace of life, stress and the organization of society and labour which militate against permanent decisions and thus threaten the very institution of marriage which rests on the bedrock of commitment.
• widespread uncertainty and ambiguity which puts a premium on the value a personalism that opts for authenticity as opposed to mere conformity. He explains that while “this can favour spontaneity and a better use of people’s talents, if misdirected it can foster attitudes of constant suspicion, fear of commitment, self-centredness and arrogance.
• the freedom of choice which makes it possible to plan our lives and to make the most of ourselves may turn out to be a threat especially when it lacks noble goals or personal discipline because it will degenerate into an inability to give oneself generously to others.
• the praiseworthy concern for justice if misunderstood, can turn citizens into clients interested solely in the provision of services
• the decreasing number of marriages induce more and more people are to choose to live alone or simply to spend time together without cohabiting.

Pope Francis, however, stresses that “there is no sense in simply decrying present-day evils, as if this could change things. Nor it is helpful to try to impose rules by sheer authority”. He explains that what is needed is “a more responsible and generous effort to present the reasons and motivations for choosing marriage and the family, and in this way to help men and women better to respond to the grace that God offers them (AL 35) He adds that there is also a need to be humble and realistic, acknowledging that at times the way we present our Christian beliefs and treat other people has helped contribute to today’s problematic situation and to have a healthy dose of self-criticism (AL 36).

Pope Francis also invites us to examine how we present marriage to various audiences. He observes that, “we often present marriage in such a way that its unitive meaning, its call to grow in love and its ideal of mutual assistance are overshadowed by an almost exclusive insistence on the duty of procreation”. e also laments that we have not “always provided solid guidance to young married couples, understanding their timetables, their way of thinking and their concrete concerns” and that “at times we have also proposed a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families.” He warns that “this excessive idealization, especially when we have failed to inspire trust in God’s grace, has not helped to make marriage more desirable and attractive, but quite the opposite” (AL, 36).

Finally, Pope Francis exhorts us to encourage openness to grace and not simply stress doctrinal, bioethical and moral issues, in order to provide sufficient support to families, to strengthen the marriage bond and to give meaning to marital life. According to him, without openness to grace, we will find it difficult to present marriage more as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfillment rather than as a lifelong burden (AL 37).

In the context of the Filipino family, the Catechism for Filipino Catholics observes that “most Christian Filipinos connect the family with God creating Adam and Eve through love, and calling them to mutual love, since He made them in the image and likeness of Himself who is absolute and unfailing Love. They thus realize in a general way that man and woman are created for one another, to unite and become one flesh in a communion of love that grounds their marriage and family life. But perhaps many do not reflect, amidst all the difficulties of family life today, how the family union is modeled on the covenant God made with his people when He promised them unswerving fidelity and love (CFC 1012).

Word of God

First Reading: GENESIS 2:18;21-24

The LORD God said:
It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a helper suited to him.
So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs
and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built the rib
that he had taken from the man into a woman.
When he brought her to the man, the man said: 
“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh; 
This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.”  
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.^*

Res. Ps.: Psalm 85:11-14
Love and truth will meet;
justice and peace will kiss.
Truth will spring from the earth;
justice will look down from heaven.
Yes, the LORD will grant his bounty;
our land will yield its produce.
Justice will march before him,
and make a way for his footsteps.

Second Reading:   HEB. 13:4-5
Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.
Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you

Gospel:    LK. 2:41-52
THE BOY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.  And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

Values/Attitude
Selflessness     Detachment     Patience
Simplicity       Love                Generosity

Doctrine
Love as the Principle and Power of Communion

The family, which is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons: of husband and wife, of parents and children, of relatives. Its first task is to live with fidelity the reality of communion in a constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons.

The inner principle of that task, its permanent power and its final goal is love: without love the family is not a community of persons and, in the same way, without love the family cannot live, grow and perfect itself as a community of persons.

The love between husband and wife and, in a derivatory and broader way, the love between members of the same family-between parents and children, brothers and sisters and relatives and members of the household-is given life and sustenance by an unceasing inner dynamism leading the family to ever deeper and more intense communion, which is the foundation and soul of the community of marriage and the family  (FC, 18).

Moral
Inspired and sustained by the new commandment of love, the Christian family welcomes, respects and serves every human being, considering each one in his or her dignity as a person and as a child of God.

It should be so especially between husband and wife and within the family, through a daily effort to promote a truly personal community, initiated and fostered by an inner communion of love. This way of life should then be extended to the wider circle of the ecclesial community of which the Christian family is a part. Thanks to love within the family, the Church can and ought to take on a more homelike or family dimension, developing a more human and fraternal style of relationships.

Love, too, goes beyond our brothers and sisters of the same faith since “everybody is my brother or sister.” In each individual, especially in the poor, the weak, and those who suffer or are unjustly treated, love knows how to discover the face of Christ, and discover a fellow human being to be loved and served. (FC 64).

Worship
            Mutual self-giving in the sacrament of matrimony is grounded in the grace of baptism, which establishes the foundational covenant of every person with Christ in the Church. In accepting each other, and with Christ’s grace, the engaged couple promise each other total selfgiving, faithfulness and openness to new life. The couple recognizes these elements as constitutive of marriage, gifts offered to them by God, and take seriously their mutual commitment, in God’s name and in the presence of the Church. Faith thus makes it possible for them to assume the goods of marriage as commitments that can be better kept through the help of the grace of the sacrament(AL, 73).

Faith Realities in Local Context
The Filipino family, caught in rapid changes in society mired in individualism, materialism, securalism and alienation, needs to look deeply into itself and reflect on the original design of God for marriage and the family – a community where love is alive and life is nurtured. A fruit of this reflection invites you to engage in your own self-introspection and to design ways on how you will:

• help nurture the love and commitment of your parents for each otheryou’re your love and commitment to them and your siblings;
• share with other families the joy of the message of God’s love for each and every family;
• ensure that the sacredness of life is upheld and how each person, not only the members of your family experience fullness of life?

Faith Response
Affirmation/Conviction
Noted for our love of family and child-centeredness, we Filipino Christians would seem to have little difficulty with the Fourth Commandment. Yet, problems do arise. To address these problems, first, parents and children alike must learn how to communicate with one another openly and deeply, in a loving, forgiving, mutually supporting atmosphere that is honest and truthful. Secondly, parents as well as children must be willing to admit errors, since: a) no one is perfect or sinless; b) loving forgiveness is what Christ asks of all; and c) truth and a proper sense of right and wrong are the only bases for genuine forgiveness and interpersonal relationships. Thirdly, the whole family must look beyond itself and strive to offer Christian witness of the Gospel values of jus-tice and protection of human rights to the wider Philippine community of town, province, region, and nation. (cf’ CFC, 1027).

Action/Commitment:  As a member of the larger family of God, the Church, the responsibility to keep the family a cradle of love and life, do you:
* honor your parents, obey and respect them, pray for them and make a commitment to care for them, especially in their older years? in your own capacity as a young person assume an important responsibility you received when you were baptized, that is, to spread the good news of salvation?
* witness to the love of Christ by genuinely giving up the comforts you wish to enjoy for the sake of your parents and siblings?
*actively participate in reaching out to other families, especially those who are in the margins of society for them to see the love of God for them through you?

As we speak, NAMFREL volunteers in far flung areas are still waiting for replacement vote counting machines or SD cards so that the vote of the people in those areas can be truthfully counted.

We have all been witnesses to the many problems that attended the conduct of the midterm elections on May 13, 2019. While the count of the VCMs that broke down or malfunctioned, corrupted SD cards and the problematic Voter Registration and Verification Machines in pilot areas continue to tick, we have yet to determine the full impact of those problems on the voters, especially in remote areas of the country. Did those problems result to disenfranchisement of voters? This, we have yet to determine.

What everyone saw are VCMs in voting precincts, VRVMs in selected voting precincts, and canvassing servers at the city or municipal canvassing centers. A limited number of citizens saw and witnessed the operations at the Pope Pius Center that hosted the Transparency Server. Hidden behind the cloak of secrecy are the COMELEC’s Central Server and its backup as well as what is referred to as the “transmission router” which in reality is a network of computers and devices through which all election results transmissions were routed.

The transparency server data outage on the night of Election Day was worrisome for stakeholders, especially among candidates, causing them to wonder the possibility of data manipulation. The data outage cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of election results.

Following this fiasco are issues raised – the secrecy of the location of COMELEC’s Central Server and, again, the “meet-me-room” operations.

It is now time for COMELEC to come forward and lay down the cards for full transparency:

 We call on the COMELEC to fully explain the Java error which caused the delivery of election returns to various recipients to stall;

 We reiterate our request for access to the logs of all machines used in the automated election system, without restrictions and consistent with Open Data Principles;

 We call on COMELEC to reveal the location of its Central Server and its backup and who are managing their operations;

 We call on COMELEC to fully disclose and explain the “transmission router” or the “meet-me-room” network set up, how it operates, and who are behind its operations;

Lift the veil of secrecy and let the people know.