Atty. Aurora A. Santiago
Duc in altum
THE year 2021 is a year of thanksgiving for the 500th Anniversary on March 16, 2021 of the arrival of Christianity in the country. We remember the first Mass celebrated in Limasawa Island on that Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521. That was the day of baptism of Rajah Humabon, given the Christian name Carlos, and his wife Hara Amihan, baptized Juana. The image of Sto. Nińo de Cebu, the oldest religious icon, was the gift of Ferdinand Magellan to the first Filipino Catholics.
The 9-year journey for the New Evangelization offers a different theme for each year. The first 3 years’ themes are: Integral Faith Formation, Year of the Laity, Year of the Poor and this year is the Eucharist and the Family which coincides with the Holy Year of Mercy.
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Pope Francis proclaimed the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy on Dec. 08, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. He opened the Holy Door which will become “a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instils hope.” Pope Francis opened the Holy Door on the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council.
The Holy Door of the Cathedral of Rome, the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, will be opened on the Third Sunday of Advent. Thereafter, the Holy Doors of the other Papal Basilicas will be opened. The Holy Father will also announce that in every cathedral, a Door of Mercy will be opened for the duration of the Holy Year.
“In the Diocese of Kalookan, aside from San Roque Cathedral, which will have the Rites of Blessing and Dedication of the Cathedral on December 12, its Apostolic Administrator Most Rev. Francisco De Leon, will declare two churches in each of the 5 Vicariates in the Diocese as the Jubilee Church, to give all parishioners the opportunity to have immediate access to the Jubilee Churches they will visit.”
The faithful who visit the Holy Door of a Church is given a Plenary Indulgence, a “remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints”.
Gaining of indulgences, whether plenary or partial, requires prescribed conditions and the performance of certain prescribed works. The faithful should be in the state of grace. Indulgence can be gained only once a day. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that Confession, Holy Communion, and praying for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed, to be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.
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During the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis reflected on the relationship between the Church and the family, with a view to the common good of society. “When families journey along the way of the Lord, they offer a fundamental witness to God’s love, and they deserve the full commitment and support of the Church. In the family we learn the bonds which unite us, of fidelity, sincerity, trust, cooperation and respect, even when difficulties abound. Indeed it is in family life that the most vulnerable of society are cared for”.
“Like Saint Peter, the Church is called to be a fisher of men, and so needs a new type of net. Families are this net. They free us from the sea of loneliness and indifference, so that we can all experience the freedom of being children of God. May the Church go out into the deepen (duc in altum) confident that the catch will be great.”
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The Papal Family of the Diocese of Kalookan held its Advent Recollection with Most Rev. Francisco De Leon as the Recollection Master. Adventus is coming, the coming of Christ in three ways: He arrived when He was born in Bethlehem; He came in mystery (in the Sacrament, in Word, the King); He will come in glory at the end of the world.
How do we wait for the coming of Christ? Our First Model is John the Baptist who espoused repentance and avoidance of sins, and the proclamation of the coming of the kingdom of God. Our Second Model is Mary: it is difficult to accept God’s will but she accepted it with its consequences. She asked how she could conceive when she did not know any man. In her time, a woman who was not married and got pregnant was stoned to death. Everything that Mary did not understand, she kept in her heart.
In the Year of Mercy, Bishop Francis enjoined the Papal Awardees to be merciful as the Father is merciful. Do corporal works of mercy—feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead. Also do spiritual works of mercy—counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish the sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear wrongs patiently, pray for the living and the dead.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation—to forgive sin is to erase irrevocably what happened in the past; it is like punishing the victim the second time. Victims demand repentance. God is the forgiver of sins; when we forgive, we accept God’s love. It is an act of freedom, that no one is bound to the power of the past. If one is able to forgive, the victim becomes the survivor.
To forget painful memories, you belittle the event or belittle the victim. Urging the victim to forget is to victimize him again. In forgiveness, we do not forget but we remember it in a different way in such a way that anger and resentment is no longer present. It becomes constructive. To erase part of our memory is to erase part of identity. We forget that we are not bound by the sad emotions in the past. Why did the Risen Christ show Himself to the apostles with wounds? His sufferings are still part of His life but His wounds became a source of healing to doubting Thomas. We remember the hurts and the wounds caused upon us has become a source of healing for others. Ask God to heal your memory so that memory will not bring bitterness and resentment.
Bishop Francis also presided over the Holy Mass where he introduced new experiences: Mass where everyone was seated; in the Prayers of the Faithful, seat mates pray for each other’s intention; Communion was given to each other by seat mates. Thank you Bishop Francis for the very enlightening talk and new experiences in the Holy Eucharist. We learned a lot and we will greatly miss you.
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We greet Most Rev. Deogracias Iñiguez, Jr., D.D., Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Kalookan, and Fr. Mario Cueto a very Happy Birthday! Happy Sacerdotal Anniversary to Fr. Rico Ayo, Fr. Romy Tuazon, Fr. Jeff Aytona,O.P., Fr. Dennis Salise, Fr. Larry Frias, Fr. Nestor Estanislao, Fr. Patrick Hiwatig, O.P. Happy Birthday also to my brother, Dr. Andres “Roy” Santiago, and Kalookan Diocese Curia staff Jun Acebuche.