Month: April 2020

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Buddhists and Christians: Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity

Vatican City

Dear Buddhists Friends,

1.         On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we extend our heartfelt greetings and good wishes to you and to all Buddhist communities around the world as you celebrate the feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri. For the last twenty-four years, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has sent greetings to you on this happy occasion. Since this year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of this traditional message, we would like to renew our bond of friendship and collaboration with the various traditions you represent.

2.         This year, we would like to reflect with you on the theme “Buddhists and Christians: Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity”. We are mindful of the high value our respective religious traditions give to compassion and fraternity in our spiritual quest and in our witness and service to a wounded humanity and a wounded earth.

3.         The Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together states: “Authentic teachings of religions invite us to remain rooted in the values of peace; to defend the values of mutual understanding, human fraternity and harmonious coexistence”. Meeting the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch in Thailand last November, His Holiness Pope Francis expressed that “we can grow and live together as good “neighbors” and thus be able to promote among the followers of our religions the development of new charitable projects, capable of generating and multiplying practical initiatives on the path of fraternity, especially with regard to the poor and our much-abused common home. In this way, we will contribute to the formation of a culture of compassion, fraternity and encounter, both here and in other parts of the world” (cf. Visiting the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch, Bangkok, 21 November 2019).

4.         The Feast of Vesakh/ Hanamatsuri prompts us to recall that Prince Siddhartha set out in search of wisdom by shaving his head and renouncing his princely status. He traded his garments of Benares silk for the simple robe of a monk. His noble gesture reminds us of Saint Francis of Assisi: he cut his hair and traded his fine clothes for the simple robe of a mendicant because he wanted to follow Jesus, who “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Philippians 2:7) and had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Their example and that of their followers inspire us to a life of detachment in view of what is most important. Thus, in consequence, we may more freely devote ourselves to fostering a culture of compassion and fraternity for the alleviation of human and ecological suffering.

5.         Everything is related. Interdependence brings us back to the theme of compassion and fraternity. In a spirit of gratitude for your friendship, we humbly ask you to accompany and support your Christian friends in fostering loving kindness and fraternity in the world today. As we, Buddhists and Christians, learn from one another how to become ever more mindful and compassionate, may we continue to look for ways to work together to make our interconnectedness a source of blessing for all sentient beings and for the planet, our common home.

6.         We believe that to guarantee the continuity of our universal solidarity, our shared journey requires educational process. To this end, a global event will take place on 15 October 2020 on the theme “Reinventing the Global Compact on Education”. “This meeting will rekindle our dedication for and with young people, renewing our passion for a more open and inclusive education, including patient listening, constructive dialogue and better mutual understanding” (Pope Francis, Message for the Launch of the Global Compact on Education, 12 September 2019). We invite you to work together with all to promote this initiative, individually and within your communities, to nurture a new humanism.  We are also happy to see that Buddhists and Christians are drawing on deeply held values and working together to uproot the causes of social ills in various parts of the world.

7.         Let us pray for all those who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic and for those who are caregivers. Let us encourage our faithful to live this difficult moment with hope, compassion, and charity.

8.         Dear Buddhist friends, in this spirit of friendship and collaboration, we wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri.

Miguel Ángel Card. Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ
President

Msgr. Kodithuwakku K. Indunil J.
Secretary

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
00120 Vatican City

My dear people of God in the Archdiocese of Manila,

We truly miss going to Church by now. We may see their big structures from a distance.

We may hear the regular ringing of their bells. We see them in our screens as we watch the online Masses. But oh, how we wish to go to them and pray. This feeling is very understandable after several weeks of quarantine. But let us not forget that though we may not be able to go to church, we can still live the church in our homes.

For the first three hundred years of Christianity, there were no big churches. Christianity was forbidden so the Christians could not construct big buildings; they gathered instead in their homes. They live the experience of being Church in their homes. Let us return to this. Let us be churches in our homes.

What makes a building a church? It is not the structure, nor the paintings or statue, much less the design. We go to church because there we are in the presence of God. We want to meet the Lord. There we experience the Lord in prayer. A building becomes a church because people gather there to pray together; it is there where the Word of God is being proclaimed. There we experience together that we are loved by God and we strive to love others too. Prayer. Word of God. Love. These are the essentials of the Church.

We can live these in our homes now. Let prayers be echoed in our homes, not just individual prayers but family prayers together. The Lord Jesus said: “In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.” (Mt. 18:19-20) During this quarantine days let us set aside time together to pray as a family. We join as a family in the online Masses, most especially on Sundays. The  church bells are rung daily at 12 noon and 8 pm, inviting families to pray the oratio imperata and the family rosary.

In our homes too, the Word of God can be proclaimed and reflected upon. It would be good to have the family gathered together to hear passages of the Bible read as part of the family prayer. The family can have Bible sharing. Stories of the Bible can be told and retold within the family walls. The faith is not just a personal matter. It should be a family affair.

The Bible tells us: “We have recognized for ourselves, and put our faith in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” (1 Jn. 4:16) Where there is love, God is there. Let us strive during these days to really love one another in very practical ways. Love is not just in emotions. It is shown in deed. “Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7) We can strive to do these in our  life together in our homes. Parents can set the example to their children and thus lead them to holiness. Then love is there. Then God is there. Then the Church is there.

This love within the family can expand to the people around us. We do not have contact with many people during the quarantine, but surely we can be kind, courteous and generous to some neighbor, to the garbage collector, to the barangay tanods, to the storekeepers, to the poor around us. Then the church in the family is in action!

We can live the experience of Church in our homes. God is very much present among us even if we cannot go to Church. He comes to our homes when we pray together, let the Word of God be heard within our homes, and love is lived among us as a family.

Mother Mary lived that experience of church in her own home in Nazareth. Let us make the Holy Family the protectress of our family.

Yours truly in Christ Jesus,

+ BRODERICK PABILLO
Apostolic Administrator of Manila
1 April 2020

Prayers of the Faithful for the Heroic Health Workers on the Frontline of COVID-19 Fight

29 March 2020

In response to the call for prayers today, 29 March 2020, by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for the country’s medical frontliners against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the women and men of the EcoWaste Coalition earnestly offer the following prayers:

1.  For the doctors, nurses, clinical laboratory technicians, administrative personnel, ancillary staff, paramedics, funeral home and crematorium workers, as well as volunteers, that they may remain healthy — physically, mentally and emotionally — as they continue putting their own lives at risk to be of service to others in these troubled times (Lord, hear our prayer);

2.  For the families of healthcare workers and other frontliners to have hope, serenity and peace of mind that their loved ones will be spared of coronavirus infection as they perform their all-important services for society (Lord, hear our prayer); 

3.  For all healthcare frontliners to be provided with continuous supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as medical-grade masks, facecovers, goggles and gowns to protect themselves from being exposed to the dreaded coronavirus in the line of duty (Lord, hear our prayer);

4.  For the bereaved families of healthcare frontliners who succumbed to COVID-19 to find solace in the fact that the whole nation is with them in spirit as they mourn the passing of their loved ones (Lord, hear our prayer);

5.  For healthcare frontliners undergoing home quarantine not to develop symptoms of coronavirus infection and for them to be able to re-join their colleagues on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 outbreak (Lord, hear our prayer);

6.  For more doctors, nurses and other medical professionals and volunteers to come forward to replace those who have fallen ill and to attend to the growing number of COVID-19 cases (Lord, hear our prayer);

7.  For the stigma and discrimination being faced by some healthcare frontliners to come to an end, and for such paranoia to be replaced with love and respect that all frontliners deserve for their selfless and most courageous service in the face of an invisible enemy (Lord, hear our prayer);

8.  For local government units, hotels, churches and other institutions to open their facilities to healthcare workers and other frontliners where they can adequately and comfortably rest and recharge after work (Lord, hear our prayer);

9.  For the government and hospital authorities to also look after the mental health of frontliners, ensuring their access to counseling services and other mechanisms to cope with fatigue and stress (Lord, hear our prayer); and