Lay-Teachers: Partners in Church’s mission

This article will focus on the lay-teachers who are working in the Catholic educational institutions. This thought has been circulating in my mind after attending various seminars given to the teachers. We, the delegates of representing schools, cannot help but express to our dismay that most of the speakers, usually appointed religious people, are one-sided. The content of their talk is substantial for our professional growth, but somehow detrimental both to the lay people in general, and to the Church, whom we dearly loved most, in particular. What I want to explain here are of two things: the lifestyle of the lay people is different from the religious men and women, and the crucial role of the lay in the mission of the Church. Hopefully, in the end, this will help us enlighten that lay people and religious are unique partners in being the hands of Jesus in spreading the Gospel values.

Objectively speaking, the lifestyles of the lay people and the religious are different. What makes the two peoples different is not their status of life like being single or married. It is because some lay people are also internally professed celibate for Christ like the religious. However, lay people have so many responsibilities than the religious. Lay people, either single or married, have to support their family members and loved ones. Of course the religious people are not exempted from this duty. But the lay people have to divide their meagre salary for his self, and for others. Who is this ‘his self?’ A teacher whose work is far from his hometown, has to divide the monthly salary for the boarding house, for food, and other basic needs like cellular phone load, cosmetics, etc. If the teacher is married, his self is his own partner in life, his children, housing loan, and other basic necessities. On the other hand, the religious people, although they do not receive single peso as his salary, he is provided with everything, from shelter, food, clothing, and other basic necessities too. And somehow they are free from manual work, because they have hired people to do those things. Thus we cannot, and will not ever be, put these two peoples on the same footing.

The role of the lay-teachers in the Church is so crucial for two things. First is that lay-teachers are part of the definition of the word ‘laity’ as members of the Church whose mission is to sanctify all temporal realities. This people are indeed part of the world, immersed in the world, struggling in the world, and spreading the Word of God in their respective places and real-life situation. An example of the crucial role of the lay-teachers, and the lay in general, in the Philippine setting is during the conduct of local and national elections of choosing leaders-to-be of our country. The religious people, who are part of the Church hierarchy, are in neutral status or non-partisan. As part of the mission of the Church, these religious people are giving political education to the lay, because change in the society can be done with them as front liners of the Church. And secondly, the Catholic Church needs the help of the lay people particularly their financial assistance to support her projects and activities. The Church, objectively speaking, cannot survive solely on spiritual assistance alone. An example to this is the dissemination of Mission Sunday envelopes, because financial assistance could not be provided by the Church’s hierarchy alone. Thus there is the existence of benefactors and generous donors.

The invited speakers, who belong to any religious groups, have to understand better their vocation within the Church and the position of the lay-teachers in their educational institutions. Being one-sided is tantamount to say as being insensitive to the realities of life. Religious people have to care more these lay-teachers who are front liners and supporters of the Church, lest they become too narrow-minded, selfish and day-dreamers of the impossibilities.

‘Reason ought to be slave of the Passion’ – David Hume

The month of February is known to many as the month of the hearts. During these times, people who are full of love and who are loveless are meditating on how they are going to celebrate love. Love, as we know it, is not only intended between two lovers. Love is for everyone, between family members, classmates and schoolmates, girl or boy, rich or poor, elder and younger people. The effect of love is to spread and to share it to all. As they say, love comes from the heart. But love is now being manipulated by reasons. It is not that bad at all so long as it does not go against the nature of love.

As expected by many, the fruit of love is good. This good comes from favourable actions done by anyone to anybody. And since everyone is good, this goodness would naturally come out from everyone. When the result is bad, then, that is not the manifestation of love, but rather a manifestation that reason or the manipulator is using love for other purposes, and their intention is artificial – flowing unnaturally. And they would remark proudly that ‘we are doing it in the name of love.’ But the right thing to say is ‘we are doing it with the use of love.’

David Hume, a British empiricist, asserts that reason ought to be slave of the passion. Here one may think of him that he is the promoter of pleasure. The connotation of the term passion is related to it. But following his thought in one of his writings Enquiry on Human Understanding, he has that good intention of saying it. And what is it? He says that No amount of reasoning can persuade evil people (those with evil desires) to any course of action except that which already attracts them. Two points can we get out if this statement. First is that many people are manipulating the objective meaning of love and their true calling to love others. These people have evil desires, for the result of their action is not good. And the second point is that, being intelligent and possessing intelligence is not a guarantee that he is formed to be loving person.

The resolution to this scene is right for Hume. A person with evil intention could not produce good results. It is because that person thwarts the real nature of love. It is only when that person, having the right intention of loving, could produce hundreds of positive relationships. A piece of advice to intelligent people is: follow your passion to love, and not waste your intelligence on your unreasonable reasons of being unloving.

Being broken...

Broken family may be defined when a parent left his partner and children and cling to another partner. This may be easily said that the person has left one’s family and built another family. It happens because of various and unavoidable reasons and we cannot confine only to a particular reason. It is a reality that cannot be denied that it breaks the family as an institution – the societal unit and cell of the community. Thus when one belongs to this institution, one cannot help but he or she is also broken in one’s personality.

Effects of being broken

Let us focus on the person who is part of the broken family. That person is in one way or another is broken. There is a leak or crack in one’s personality, an imbalance self. It affects too one’s perspective and principles too. The worst is that it affects in dealing with another person the way we deal that hurts others as well. Here the hurt dominates, and so it blinds him from not hurting others. Unless one is ready to face and figure out the source of this hurt, one cannot move on in his life but continually hurting innocent and wonderful people especially when the subject of conversation is about family.

Remedy

Only in being conscious of one’s brokenness can help remedy the situation, and then healing begins to take place. But being conscious is not enough. One needs to exert extraordinary effort in getting healed by accepting the reality. It will be of help when one develops a positive attitude and value towards human relationship especially family relationship. The consequence is this that wounded person becomes defender and protector of family.

Is it possible?

Yes, it is possible, even the wounded or broken person did not experience having a complete family; so long our willingness to live in the realm of possibility is present. Our brokenness must not hinder us from taking good care of others, lest we scar others with our own wounds. Just live life with acceptance, and by treating each other as brothers and sisters, and the older ones as if he or she is one’s mother and father. If one strives and believes in making this messy world like heaven (like St. Therese did), why can’t the broken?

The simple way of being a true Christian

Who are Christians? Christians are those who professed their belief in the Son of Mary as the ‘one sent by God’ to be the savior and liberator of mankind from the bondage of sin and death. Every Christian has gotten his identity on the savior and liberator of the world, whose name is no other than Jesus the Christ. Each Christian should anchor his life on this significant person. It means that one’s life should be patterned after the life of Christ, i.e. following his examples by living a simple lifestyle amidst the materialistic world (not by being one of them), and being close to the poor by giving much time and attention to these little ones (not the rich ones that makes each Christian bowing down before them because of their wealth). This I believe is what makes each followers of Christ true Christians.

 

The goal of this article is not theological by giving high-sounded and academic approach, but by simply showing the basic means on how to be a true Christian. This item is timely as the world joyously waits for the second coming of Jesus into our hearts. Being authentic Christians should live up one’s life according to the patterns of Jesus’ life – simple lifestyle and close to the poor. What mars the face of Christianity is the absence of the two, mostly done by our leaders in the Church. It is undeniably a fact that when our lifestyle is one with the affairs of the world, it follows that one is also worshipping the false God – money – at the expense of the rich. Even the rich become their own God to these people of cloth who values and loves money at the expense of the Church.

 

This season of Christmas is the right time to renew our faith in Jesus by welcoming Him again into our life. Jesus has become poor for us to see the real essence that life on earth is not all that is the case, i.e. there is only one life and world to live forever. Thus it is an opportune time for each Christian to make Jesus again rich in the hearts of many. This is the best Christmas gift that we can give to Jesus. To all of us, have a blessed and merry Christmas!!!

Church’s media: a source of division?

In this age, no other powerful tool can be compared to media. It is the most important means of getting across the message to the people around the globe. This means of communication can be in any forms like television, radio, tabloid, internet and cellular phones. No person in this world is free from the influence of media. Even the most secluded and private of a person cannot escape from its reality.

The Church in her mission of fulfilling the mandate of the Lord by going out to the whole world and preach about Him is exhausting all the means available on media. It is of great help to the Church in fulfilling the mandate given to her by Jesus. Thus the Church benefits from the means of media. On the other hand, media also benefits from her by making her its guide to what is right and what is wrong. It becomes the vanguard of truth.

People, since they are the subjects of the Church’s mission, expect that kind of standard, i.e. to be examples of what all should be. Though all are equals in the eyes of God, but prime importance are anticipated from these leaders who preach every now and then the real message of Christian life. Much as people who look toward them as their guide, they are now misguiding the people.

As an avid reader of the Catholic Herald, a weekly local newspaper of the city, bias in relaying simple information happen. Since I have come from one of the theological seminaries in this group of islands of Mindanao, I cannot help but express my dismay that the newspaper, supposed to be an example of equality, does not show fairness by introducing the names of these institutions, where young men of certain dioceses get ordained are graduated. The writers only focus on the seminary of DADITAMA where majority of the shepherds of Mindanao studied there.

It is not wrong to patronize one’s own seminary. But the driving point of this article is, why not treat all these religious institutions on the same footing. When God calls young men to be his future servants, he establishes the seminary as the seed bed of their vocation. All the seminaries throughout the world are God’s own design to nurture the scattered seeds in the hearts of these aspirants. In fact, it is the apple of the eye of the local Church. But by using the media as means of communicating the Word of God should transcend the focus of being locale. Mentioning these other institutions does not harm one’s own seminary. Competing against other religious institutions is totally out of the picture and never in God’s sight, lest the newspaper appears to be the source of division in the Church.

Philippine Election is all about MONEY!!!

Last 25 of October, the whole country experienced and witnessed a new version local barangay election. When I watched the news on the evening of that day, deaths of some candidates cause by oppponents were broadcasted. That is not the point I would like to drive at this corner.

What is shocking to many is how the practice of cheating in the national level has brought to the barangay level. We have heard many times of national and local candidates buying votes in exchange of money. And this scenario has really happened among candidates as head barangays and kagawad. What can we say the kind of leaders we have now? Are they credible enough to be in the so-called 'in the service?'

Maybe this scenario will be getting worst in the next barangay election. God forbids it will not happen to the SK positions. But it is not far from the reality that thing will soon take place. Everybody is exposed to this event. Maybe the essence of service is not anymore important to be in the position. Money in itself is not a sin. But St. Paul is right in saying that money is the root of all evil.

God’s love is greater than sin

Everybody sins. It is a reality cannot be denied. Thus we say all human beings are sinners. No one is exempted. But some people are grounded to a situation where he feels, thinks and lives always and forever in a sinful situation. He believes that there’s no way out of it, even when he goes to confession frequently for absolution. Gradually he hesitate going to confession, being convinced that it’s useless to avail the gift of forgiveness. He, also, is isolated by the pure and judgmental, sinless hypocrites.


But he misses one thing. He looks only to one face of reality, and that is, sin is lurking every part of his life. And he keeps postponing and doubting to confess his sins because of the mentality of irremediable condition of committing again the same sins. The evil of sin is what preoccupied in his minds. Sometimes the one who preaches and teaches has the same mentality – people with condemning-mentality – around him. Thus psychologically they are influencing him.


On the other hand, there is a way out to this desperate situation. The solution is the love of God per se. Yes, it’s true. The love of God does not only serve as medicine to the hopeless situation. The love of God is undeniably greater than sin. All we have to do is to open our eyes wide and see that reality. And that serves as reasons why God sent his only Son into this world to give us the chance to believe in him that he is LOVE (John 3:16); and Peter, the first pope, despite of committing the same gravity of sin like that of Judas, has escaped the trap and able to see the light. A text message sent to me by my friend, who herself a living testimony to this reality of God’s love after realizing what she did – aborting supposed her first child: Whatever you confess, it won’t make me love you less – Jesus.