+Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo, O.M.I.
Cebu Archdiocesan Mission Congress
20 November 2021
Introduction
Greetings of Peace and Joy in the Lord!
This year the whole country is celebrating the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines.
While Fray Pedro de Valderrama celebrated the First Mass in Limasawa on 30 March 1521, Cebu has the unique and distinctive honor of being the birthplace of the Christian Faith in the Philippines.
On 14 April 1521, 15 days after the First Mass, Fray de Valderrama baptized some 500 men and 40 women on the island of Cebu, led by the Rajah of Cebu, King Humabon, together with his chief consort, Queen Humamay, and his other wives. Fray de Valderrama also baptized the ruler of Limasawa, King Kulambu. They were given Christian names. To King Humabon’s chief wife, Hara Humamay, Magellan gave the Sto. Niño.
Magellan also planted the Cross, now well known as the Cross of Magellan, a proud historical legacy of Cebu.
But the Cross of Magellan is not simply a material gift. More profoundly, Magellan’s Cross symbolizes the great spiritual gift of the Cross of Christ that the Holy Spirit planted in the hearts of those who were baptized. By Baptism, they became disciples of Christ, to follow his way, which was the way of the Cross, the Cross of salvation and liberation.
- Gifted to Give – Called to Mission
In the past 500 years, we have received countless precious blessings from the Lord.
We thank God for the gift of faith.
We thank God for the Church and the sacraments, most especially the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our Christian life.
We thank God for our continuing fidelity to the Lord Jesus and to his Church.
We thank God for our great devotion to the Blessed Mother of God, our own Mama Mary.
For 500 years, God has protected us and kept us faithful.
We are truly gifted.
But God’s most precious gift of faith to us is not meant to be selfishly treasured and kept to ourselves. Gratitude cannot remain in the heart. Gratitude for our faith must be expressed in action.
God’s gift of faith calls us to Mission – to share with others our faith in Christ and his Good News of salvation and liberation, the Good News of the Reign of God, the of God’s Kingdom.
St. John Paull II noted that we are the biggest Catholic country in Asia. He desired that Filipinos be the foremost missionaries in Asia. He said, “There is no doubt about it. The Philippines has a special missionary vocation to proclaim the Good News, to carry the light of Christ to the nations” (To the Asian Bishops, February, 1981).
Presently, hundreds of Filipino missionaries from various Religious Congregations of men and women are ministering in all the continents of the world.
Millions of OFW’s share the joy of their faith at Holy Masses, wherever they are located. If not for Filipinos, many European churches would have only a few parishioners attending Mass. And Europeans edified by the lively faith of Filipinos. They are attracted to go to Holy Mass to hear their joyful singing.
- But What is Mission?
First of all, Mission is not “our” Mission. It is God’s Mission. It is the same mission that God the Father sent his own Divine Son to do.
The first words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark were: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mk. 1:15).
Jesus himself gives us this mission of proclaiming the Good News of salvation and liberation in the Kingdom of God. He sends us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold I am with you all always till the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20).
Our mission then is to proclaim the Good News of salvation, and to lead people to follow Christ and obey his commands.
But Mission is not only about spiritual salvation. The Good News, the Gospel of Jesus, has a social dimension. He himself denounced the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of Israel, the pride and selfishness of the rich, the neglect of the poor.
Mission, therefore, is also to proclaim temporal liberation, liberation from everything that oppresses the human person, especially sin – liberation from ignorance, corruption, sickness, criminality, injustice to human life. This is part of integral salvation or integral liberation.
In this way, we actively participate in the transformation of our world, our society. Such participation is a fundamental part, “a constitutive dimension” of the preaching of the Gospel. This is the great teaching of the Synod of Bishops in 1971 on Justice in the World, confirmed by Pope Paul VI in his post-synodal exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Announcing the Gospel to the Modern World.
Mission then is to ensure that the values of the Good News, such as truth justice, love and peace will penetrate the fabric of society and transform it for the better.
- Mission to Build “A New Way of Being Church”
To proclaim the Kingdom of God credibly and effectively, we, as Church, have to undergo conversion. We have to become “a new way of being Church.” This “new way of being Church” is actually the vision of Church in PCP-II in 1991.
PCP-II said that we have to be:
- A Church of authentic disciples;
- A Participatory Church;
- An Inculturated Church;
- A Church active in social transformation;
- and a Church of the Poor.
To achieve this vision of what we should be, in 2001 at the National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR), we discerned nine major pastoral priorities, namely:
- Integral Faith Formation;
- Empowerment of the Laity toward Social Transformation;
- Active Presence and Participation of the Poor in the Church;
- The Family as Focal Point of Evangelization;
- Building and Strengthening Participatory Communities in the Parish;
- Integral Renewal of the Clergy and Religious towards Servant Leadership and Prophetic Witness;
- Journeying with the Youth;
- Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue’
- Animation and Formation for Mission ad Gentes.
It is our mission to realize the above pastoral priorities so that we, as Church, will be renewed and live a new way of being Church.
Let us focus on five of the pastoral priorities, and see why conversion is so necessary. These five priorities are:
- Empowering lay people for active participation in the Church and its mission;
- Building participatory communities or BEC’s;
- The Renewal of the Clergy (Bishops and Priests) and Religious as Servant Leaders and Prophetic Witnesses;
- The Family as the Focal Point of Evangelization;
- and Mission ad Gentes.
In our vision of Church, we need to be a Communion of Christ’s Disciples. To be authentic disciples, we have to follow the way of Christ’s communion of love with people, especially his preferential love of the poor.
The Church has to become a Church of the Poor, where the poor in the Church can actively participate in the Church’s mission. This requires “empowering the poor.” However, the poor cannot be empowered unless the clergy become servant leaders.
These are matters that require conversion of mind sets and values.
As NPCCR stated, “Each of (the major pastoral) priorities calls for a radical conversion of mind and heart. Their realization demands deep prayer and union with Christ, especially in the Eucharist.”
- The Beginning of Renewal – Conversion
It is impossible for us then to become a new way of being Church unless there is a profound conversion.
Radical Conversion sometimes takes place dramatically when one comes face to face with Jesus and becomes suddenly aware of one’s distance from the source of holiness.
Thus, the example of Simon, the fisherman, coming face to face with Jesus after the miraculous catch of fish. He could only say, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” But Jesus tells him, “Come follow me.” He left his boat, his wife, his livelihood and followed the way of Jesus.
Another example, that of Saul on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians. He falls off his horse, blinded by a bright light and hears a voice, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” He is transformed by grace to become Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles.
Likewise, many other Saints, such as St. Augustine and St. Ignatius.
But conversion usually comes as a process after we become aware of what is and what can be.
- Mission Agenda Beyond the 500th Anniversary
- Empowering the Laity for Active Participation
Empowering the Laity is not a matter of giving them powers that they do not have. It is a process of activating the charisms that they already possess through Baptism. Each one has a gift. Such is the Body of Christ, made up of many parts, with diverse gifts that are at the service of the whole Body.
Active participation in the Church is usually limited to members of established “mandated” organizations, from where members of Parish and Finance Councils are elected or appointed. The participation of the generality of the lay faithful is almost nil, or merely limited to attending Holy Mass and contributing to the collection.
When a parish is made up of Basic Ecclesial communities, rich and poor mingle together, know one another, make decisions together, and serve one another in various ways. It is there where the priest meets his parishioners. It is there where they are empowered, as the members become aware of the skills and abilities of one another.
For example, because of his skills and his way of life, a farmer is recommended as a “kaabag,” a lay minister of Holy Communion or a BEC officer. The more educated are usually chosen as lectors. But as long as the lingua franca is the dialect, the participation of farmers and fisherfolk will always be active. The same process of power activation takes place among the youth.
And when everyone participates, the result is a vibrant, dynamic community and parish. I have seen this miracle of transformation happen in a hundreds BEC’s in Kidapawan, Nueva Segovia, and Cotabato.
- The Clergy as Servant Leaders
By virtue of his ordination, a priest is conformed to Christ, as Head and Shepherd of the Church. By ordination, he exercises great power and authority, for he stands before the community “in the name and in the person of Christ,” “in nomine et in persona Christi,” as theology tells us. He is in communion with Christ, Priest, Prophet and King.
Yet, Christ, the Son of God, exercised his Divinity as a Servant, sent by the Father, obedient to the One who sent him. And serving the Father, he serves us all. Imagine the unimaginable – Jesus, the Christ, the eternal Son of God, becoming our servant.
Therefore, the Model for Servant Leadership is Jesus. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11-16) is a paradigm of Jesus serving us, his flock, with the greatest love. He cares for us personally, knowing each of us by name, aware of our needs. He looks for the stray ones, carries the sick on his shoulder. He is a Shepherd “with the smell of the sheep,” as Pope Francis would say.
His service to us is one of total dedication and love, willing even to lay down his life, so that we “might have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).
After the Zebedee brothers, James and John, asked Jesus to have them sit at his right and left in the Kingdom of heaven, he said to the Apostles,
You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them…. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many” (Mk. 10:42-45; Mt. 20:24-28; 1 Pt. 5:1-4).
To serve rather than be served, this was also the lesson that Jesus taught his Apostles through the Washing of the Feet (see Jn. 13:12-17).
Jesus came to serve. So, must his disciple-priest be. Conformed by ordination to Christ, the Shepherd, the priest has to serve the flock, know them, care for them feed them with Word and Sacrament, especially those in the peripheries who seem to be far away from the sheepfold.
- Becoming a Church of the Poor
The PCP-II Vision of a Church of the Poor was one that the Conciliar members approved with great enthusiasm. Let me try to summarize what PCP-II says about the Church of Poor in nos. 126-136 of the Conciliar document.
What is the Church of the Poor?
The Church of the Poor means a Church that embraces and practices the evangelical spirit of poverty, which combines detachment from possessions with a profound trust in the Lord as the sole source of salvation (no. 125). The Church of the Poor is one whose members and leaders have a special love for the poor, yet a love that does not exclude those who are rich (no. 127).
The Church of the Poor is one where at the very least the poor are not discriminated against, nor be deprived of their rights to the spiritual goods of the Church, and puts into question the practice of a hierarchy of “class” in the celebration of the Sacraments (no. 128).
It means that the leaders of the Church shall give preferential attention and time to those who are poor, and share their resources with the poor. They should be directly knowledgeable with the life-situation of the poor (no. 129).
The Church of the Poor is in solidarity with the poor, collaborating with others to lift them out of poverty (no. 130). It is a Church where pastors defend the rights of the poor and the oppressed even when doing so will mean alienation or persecutions from the rich and powerful (no. 131).
It is a Church that experiences evangelization by the poor, where pastors and leaders learn to be with, work with, and learn from the poor (no. 132). It is a Church where pastors do not ambition for honors and titles or for more prosperous parishes or offices (no. 133).
It is a Church where all members will tilt the center of gravity towards the poor (no. 134), a Church where members are willing to follow the way of the Lord through poverty and oppression in order to carry out the work of salvation (no. 135). It is a church where the poor truly feel at home (no. 136).
For me, this vision of the Church of the Poor, is a most formidable task. It requires detachment and independence from age-old connections with the better off classes of society, a radical conversion of values and mentalities, an ability to see reality from the viewpoint of the poor, to live the Gospel value of the spirit of poverty, to be comfortable with poor people, to bridge the gap between “them” and “us.”
- The Family as the Focal Point of Evangelization
Early Christianity spread from family to family, from household to household. Peter preached the Good News of Christ Risen from the dead to the household of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, in Joppa. Cornelius, his household, relatives and friends who listened to Peter were converted to the household of God, the family of God (see Acts 10:24-27).
In a similar way, St. Paul preached the Gospel to the household of Lydia in Philippi, Macedonia. She and her household became Christians (see Acts 16:12-15).
As with the Christians of the 1st century, so now in the 21st century, the family should be the focal point of evangelization, the place from which the Gospel emanates. The family is “the domestic church.”
Parents are the first teachers, the first catechists, of their children. They do this by word and example. That is how they fulfill their mission as disciples of Christ.
They tell stories of Jesus to their children as they grow up. They lead their children in prayer, before and after meals, daily devotions and novenas, praying the rosary daily and going to Holy Mass.
They teach their children about honesty, faithfulness and obedience to God, about assisting the poor, the neighbor in need, about praying to God and the Saints, and most of all about, loving God and neighbor.
That is how the Good News of Jesus is proclaimed in the family — by word and example.
From the family to other families. From children to other children, from youth to other youth, and to the community at large, that is how the Good News of Jesus and of the Kingdom spreads. That is how the Church of Christ’s disciples is built up. It begins with the family. An evangelized family is an evangelizing family.
- Animation and Formation of Mission ad Gentes
Pope Francis reminds us in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, the Joy of the Gospel, that we are not only disciples. We are “missionary disciples.
By Baptism, we become Christians, sons and daughter of God, disciples of the Lord, to follow him, his message of salvation, his way of life and his mission. By Baptism, we are disciples sent on mission by the Holy Spirit.
Many of us become missionaries as Priests, Religious Sisters and Brothers, and, in fact, many are sent abroad to be missionaries in other countries. We have our own Mission Society of the Philippines, a society of priests.
Two of our Bishops in the Philippines were members of the Mission Society and were missionaries abroad. Now they are missionaries at home, serving as Bishop of Marawi (Bishop Edwin de la Peña) and Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa (Bishop Socrates Mesiona). Other bishops, who are members of Religious Congregations, were missionaries abroad before they became bishops.
Many lay people have also volunteered to be missionaries abroad, such as the members of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, organized and formed by the Maryknoll Fathers and Sisters. They are trained and formed as missionaries. Their volunteers are single people, married couples, even couples with children. More than 700 of them have served abroad.
In this year of Mission, 2021, we are reminded of our Baptismal call to be missionaries. But we need not actually go on mission ad gentes (“to the nations,” foreign missions). We can be missionaries at home.
As missionaries at home, we pray for our foreign missionaries, we support their work through donations, especially during World Mission Sunday. But doing our ordinary daily work is already doing our mission.
In his post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Asia (On Proclaiming the Gospel in Asia, 1999), St. John Paul II said that, in many parts of Asia, Christians cannot explicitly mention the name of Jesus as God and universal Savior.
This is so in some Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim countries. But the “silent witness” of a faithful and devout Christian life remains the only way of “proclaiming the Kingdom” of God. Let me repeat what St. John Paul II is telling us: By the silent witness of our faithful Christian life, we are proclaiming the Lord Jesus and the Kingdom of God to others.
Therefore, jeepney and tricycle drivers are missionaries. Teachers and engineers are missionaries. Nurses, doctors and their patients are missionaries. Housewives and tinderas are missionaries.
In whatever profession or work you may be, you are proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus and the Kingdom of God by the silent witness of your faithful and devout Christian life.
- Mission Beyond our 500th Anniversary
In 2013 we began a nine-year preparation for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the 1st Baptisms of the first Christians. They were Indigenous Peoples of Cebu.
A historical irony, since one of our major pastoral priorities has to do with interreligious dialogue with IP’s and ecumenism with peoples of other faiths. The succeeding generations of our first Christians in Cebu presumably transmitted the Faith to other IP families, even after the first Spanish missionaries arrived with Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, 44 years after the first Mass on Limasawa island and the first Baptisms in Cebu.
But the fact that we dedicated a year for each of the nine major pastoral priorities indicates that they continue to serve as objectives of mission in the Church.
The major pastoral priorities are on-going challenges that are not fully realized. They are our dreams that are being slowly realized by dioceses and parishes. There will always be a need for integral faith formation. There will always be a need for priests, seminarians, religious to be formed as servant leaders. There will always be the poor and the youth to journey with. There will always be families to be evangelized and evangelizing.
To realize the PCP-II visions of a renewed Church, of a Church of the Poor, and of a renewed Nation, will remain our mission beyond our 500th year as Christians. We will continue to realize inculturation, participation, communion in the Church.
There is no end to our striving to live a faithful, devout, and authentic Christian life that would silently, but eloquently and credibly proclaim the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion
PCP-II identified the third millennium as a new age of Mission.
Forming servant leaders, empowering lay people and the poor, building Basic Ecclesial Communities, realizing our vision of a renewed Church, a Church of the poor, an evangelized nation, will remain our mission objectives. We will need to form more missionaries. We will need to send more missionaries ad gentes. We will continue forming ourselves as missionaries at home, witnessing to Christ by our fidelity to him as his authentic disciples.
We have, indeed, been gifted to give. And in order to give and share more, we need to be evangelized more.
In this 500th year of our Filipino Christian faith, born in Cebu, we give thanks to God and to Mary, the Star of Evangelization and Mother of the Church.
God bless you, your parishes, and your families! Thank you for your patient listening.