Smokey Norful- I Need You Now

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WeCare Foundation

WeCare Foundation is an organization which was created last May 1, 2010, through the initiative of Mrs. Lorena Opong and Ms. Geline Cabrera. The thrust of this organization is to extend a helping hand for the less fortunate children in different districts and barangays of Iloilo City. It is composed of young professionals who serve as volunteers and donors for every outreach activities.

The Organization collects unused clothes, shoes, bags, etc. from donors, and holds a rummage sale as a form of fund raising activity. Volunteers gather plastic bottles, tin cans, and old newspapers which will be sold (in junk shops). The proceeds are used for the FEEDING PROGRAM and GIFT giving to children as beneficiaries.

In Cooperation with the St. Isidore Music Ministry and Zone Leaders of Barangay Balabago Jaro, more than a hundred children were fed and given school supplies. It was a successful activity conducted due to the positive response of the people in the community. This was the first Feeding Program and Gift Giving Activity of the Foundation which was held in Barangay Balabago Jaro, Iloilo City last June 27, 2010. Thus, the foundation aims to continue this noble act of community service and to reach out to the different barangays of Iloilo City.


WeCare Foundation will be having another Gift Giving activity this coming December 29, 2010 at _______________________________________________________. In this regard, members of the foundation and volunteers are gathering sellable items for the rummage sale, doing solicitations and reaching out for possible donors as part of our fund raising for the purpose of the said activity. Any amount collected will be used to purchase the items for our Gift giving.

WeCare foundation would like to invite everyone who is willing to be a part of this simple act of sharing love and care in this season of Christmas, especially for our less fortunate children. Jon us in expressing this: “simple act of love within our capabilities, originating in our attitudes and culminating in our actions. Every trait of authentic love begins with small things...let us be authentic lovers; let us make a difference in a world of turmoil, for love is not only realistic but our hope for survival.” WeCare Foundation: We Share....we Love....WeCAre!



By:
– Lorren M. Opong –
- VRhiynS.A -

The Christian Education and Catechesis: Primary Mission of all the Baptized

I. General Introduction: God’s Revelation
It is the duty of all the baptized Christians to proclaim what has been witnessed by the first apostles, which is the fulfillment of God’s covenant to mankind, through the prophets, from which, it was inaugurated by the coming of the Messiah, in his passion, death and resurrection – for the salvation of mankind. It is in these that I would like to start off the points of my paper; presenting this very mission which it has been handed down by God (in his act of revealing himself), accomplished through Christ – and to the apostles, who was ordered by Christ himself to proclaim the message of salvation throughout the world.

On St. John’s account, he said, “We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ”. It is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. Out of God’s love and his own free will, he created men, and thus draws himself intimately to us by unveiling the very mystery of His person. This is a gratuitous act of God, from which He opened the eyes of men to have a glimpse of the mystery of his being. With man’s infidelity, God remained faithful to his act of love, by sending His Son, Jesus Christ in reparation of what has been damaged and corrupted by sin and disloyalty. Christ is the new Adam, as God has promised (through the prophets) to restore everything (in Christ); manifesting His great love by bringing salvation to mankind.

With Christ’s entering into human history, thus the promise of God has been fulfilled – (centered on Christ’s paschal mystery). This dynamic act of God’s manifestation of his love was now carried by Christ, who is from God, who became man to proclaim the glory and the kingdom of the Father in heaven. Thus, this mission was handed down by Christ to his apostles who became the very first witnesses: so thus he commanded them to proclaim the Gospel to all the peoples. This call should resound throughout the world, Christ sends forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the Gospel: “Go therefore 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 lo, I am with you always until the end of time.” Christ has left to his apostles the mission – that all baptized Christians must freely and actively respond to the same call as to the apostles. This is the treasure left to us by Christ, and thus this must be shared all throughout the world. Therefore, this mission that has been handed down (as Tradition recorded in Scripture and preserved by Church’s Magisterium) from generation to generation, we too, share in the dying and rising up of Christ, must spread the good news which Jesus Himself delivered to us. In the spirit of love, as an act of our profession of faith, this task must be faithfully and authentically spread for the salvation of all mankind… (Therefore, God has revealed himself by creating man, and continues to reveal himself out of love – send forth his Son Jesus Christ to fulfill what has been planned by God from the very beginning of time, to save us all, that in the end, we may all share in the glory of God in Heaven). Henceforth, as St. Augustine would say, “the New is hidden in the old, and the Old is revealed in the New” – thus, whatever God has revealed, man must see, understand and share to all the peoples and nations.
In the Chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation – it elaborates more and defines this “mission”, the duty of every baptized Christians in the transmission of divine revelation. “In the mission of the Church as the depository of revelation, the document (DV) recognizes the primacy of the ecclesial community over any group of which it is composed – not because the whole church is its interpreter, but because of the whole Church lives from it. Since the word of God has been entrusted to the whole church (pastors and faithful) as a gift and a deposit, the whole church assumes the responsibility of its conservation and transmission. All Christian people: is bearer of the Word and participates in the transmission; the attachment of Christian people to the sacred deposit assures the continuity of the actual Church with the teaching, the worship and the life of the apostolic church; it assures besides the unity between pastors and faithful”. With this dense commentary, it is expected to be made clear for every Christians the very responsibility attached to our being (a Christian).

II. Christian Education – Our Mission:
As it was stated above, I would like to attempt to accentuate (my personal understanding) the meaning of Christian Education. Equipped of some Teachings of the church, and with selected scripture passages, thus catechesis must be geared on this concept and must be given a new way of understanding and emphasis. This thrust, vis-à-vis, to the Christian education aspire to express a new way of understanding the demands and signs of the times; to identify and present the common causes (hindrances) in the realization of the objectives of the church, primarily focusing on the area of catholic education and catechesis in the Philippine context. The Second Vatican Council has been consistent in stressing the Inculturation of Christian message in the ministry. In the first chapter of NNCDP (2007), presents the realities, factors and conditions of the country at present. Thus, this is an attempt to translate the sacred mandate into the present times.

III. Etymology:
Catechesis – Gk. Word means “recount” or “give instruction” – or derived from the physical which was to “echo” or “resound”. The very definition of the word strikes the truest mission which handed down by Christ to his apostles and to the community of the people (Church). Furthermore, catechesis means “the passing of the deposit of faith to the new members acquired by the Church”. This is somewhat a technical concept of the word. However, it is not just an echoing, rather, requires all baptized Christians to actively participate in carrying out this mission of evangelization. We must not simply dwell on “resounding” but on “re-live” and give life to the truths revealed. Every Christian must become the witnesses through faith and actions and worship. It is not enough that the teachings of the Gospel will simply in the level of echoing or resounding in the ears of men. Dei Verbum points out the criterion in carrying out the mission of the transmission of the Gospel; it must be perpetuated through the centuries, as present and effective (efficacious) as on the first day.

IV. Philippine Context:
Of all the Southeast Asian Countries, Philippines, is known of its unique stand as the only catholic/Christian nation among others. With variety of cultural ethnicity and traditions, language and customs – molded by its history, we can see its richness in every aspects of its identity. With a swift development I terms of socio-economic/political/spiritual and other aspects (faces and phases) of human life, situations were no longer the same as before. Materialism, hedonism and mass media has been the primary influences for the past decades. This has been the challenge in the pastoral ministry of the church, and thus, God is slowly becoming invisible in the lives and hearts of the people in this present generation. God did not die! But hunger for progress, power, influence and material goods – people slowly and blatantly killed God in their lives. The God who is the ultimate source of everything has been replaced by the kind of god (greed for power, immoralities and possession) which men idolized, praised and worshiped. The God of compassion is replaced by the god of oppression (murder, blasphemy, hunger and war). What could have been the causes of these events? Who can be blamed? Has God truly abandoned his people? Will He allow these distractions to happen and see the people suffer? No! Because of human freedom, we choose to replace the God of compassion into a kind of god that binds us into these oppressive conditions. With the growing population of Catholics, thus the demand for integral faith formation faces a new challenge to respond to the spiritual and moral needs of the Filipino people.

V. Response – Catechesis and the Pastoral Ministry:
Thus, with the enormous challenges presented above, a more rigorous and passionate response must be made to combat all of these realities of the present times. Catechesis and pastoral ministry are both important elements; thus, must be understood as complementary. “The sheer number of Filipinos who need to be given basic catechesis…confirms PCP II’s judgment that catechesis is the most basic area of renewal in the Philippines and should receive first priority; Integral Faith Formation.” Thus, there is an in-dire need of redirection of mind and heart; centering our gaze once again into the light of God, by pointing again to the challenge of the Gospel – that the word of God propagated not only through the medium of catechetical institutions, also in a more diffuse way by means of the whole life of the church itself. New way evangelization means of new approach that coincides to the present context of the life of the people. The church could not afford to be passive confronting these realities of the present generation. Many books have been published to address the psycho-spiritual needs and dryness of the people. Coupled with the vast and enormous advancements man has ever achieved, comes the deep psycho-spiritual and moral confusions, hunger and emotional dryness are confronted.

Thus, PCP II’s evaluation challenges not the content of the catechesis, but highlighted the methodology and approach of Christian education. The Word of God, Traditions and Church Magisterium – translated and contextualized, points out in the same TRUTH – directed towards God. The Church‘s documents and teachings, as records of God’s words (revelation of truth) translated into human language (CCC, CFC, Compendium of the Social Doctrines of the Church, PCP II, etc.) are rich resources, (substantially) pointing towards maturity of faith and relationship with God.

Therefore, catechesis or Christian Education is a ministry which must be (according to CBCP) the priority concern of the Church in the Philippines now-a-days. Catechetical institutions must be established, and formal training and formation of catechists, thus, must be given primary importance. New (inculturated/simplified) Approaches (different recipients), Methods and skills must also be thought in every seminary, so as the seminarians may apply these skills and methods in their pastoral works. Priests, as the primary agents of evangelization in the local parishes, therefore, must engage into an active and authentic catechism. These facts precisely points out that, it is the duty common vocation of all the baptized to participate in Christ’s prophetic and priestly ministry. Hence, catechism is not merely categorized as work or duty, but it is indeed a ministry mandated by Christ to the baptized; “for what is hidden has been revealed by Christ…” and thus, he commanded all to preach the good news of salvation.

VI. Our Journey:
The “Word of God” as the primary source of Christian education and catechesis, the Church is blessed with the abundant resources, the recorded/oral traditions, doctrines and teaching of the Church. Thus, the content must carry the same truth which God revealed, carried and inaugurated by the epiphany of Christ by entering into the history of human kind must be authentically transmitted all throughout the generations. Hence, we are called to open our hearts and eyes to what has been inaugurated by Christ through his paschal mystery. If we let Christ enter fully into to our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him we can find the fullness of life.
“if we let Christ enter into our lives, we lose nothing…what makes life free, beautiful and great…Only in this friendship that doors of life open wide… Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return…open wide the doors to Christ and you will find true life.”

The book Our Journey is one of a good material for catechesis. It has characteristics (inculturated) which it is easy to understand the context, with integrated and simple content and approach. This is one of a good attempt to modify the approaches in giving Christian education and catechesis, which could be easy to use by catechists and easily be absorbed by the given audience. With all of its integrated content, giving catechesis would no longer be difficult. However, skills of catechists must be developed, updated and enhanced to suit the demands of the present time. Allegorically speaking…if dioceses have the good facilities and committed catechists and collaborators of Christian education, half of the problem of dioceses can be given attention and solution. Thus, this attempt of upgrading and inculturating the approach for catechism, is a remarkable, groundbreaking effort in expressing the faithfulness to the vocation and mission for evangelization, a ministry translated into charity in full obedience to the mandate of Christ to preach the good news. In response to the evaluation of CBCP on catechesis and Filipino people, this book is a good start and take off in doing the ministry; a method which everyone can access easily, understand clearly its content. This material, in its specific objective is a form of response to the challenge of integral formation of faith in simplest and noble way. Thus, this kind of material, if possible distributed to schools in the far flung areas of different towns under the Archdiocese of Jaro that’s needs primary attention.

Conclusion:
Catechesis is not just a task, but a ministry…which Christ did, and handed over to his disciples…to go preach throughout the nations. Thus, it is in this foreground that I would like to give emphasis on the importance of Catechesis – the carrying out of the mission (the task of evangelization), and to remain faithful to the ministry which Jesus Himself ordered to all believers to preach the good news of salvation. “I chose you, before your birth, to live my life on earth. So go and share my love to all…You’re my catechist…forevermore!” This was the song sang during our graduation at Pius XII Institute. I found these lines: as a concrete invitation of the Lord to each of us; and the vocation of every baptized Christians in proclaiming God’s kingdom. It is in this that we profess our faith…proclaiming the One True God who made every marvelous things, who made a covenant with man, who remained faithful amidst of man’s infidelity, promised to restore everything in Christ through the prophets, who ultimately revealed the same truth in Christ; Jesus has left us the mission with a promise (beatific vision) to gain God’s glory in heaven in the end of time.
In my part, as a seminarian aspiring to become God’s agent for evangelization, I have to understand the ministry which I am about to dedicate everything for the rest of my life. I am a seminarian – a catechist…as I prepare myself in formation for evangelization, these lines would remind me of my true vocation, “I chose you before your birth, to live my life on earth. So go and share, my love to all…you’re my catechist…forevermore!”
There is indeed a great challenge among the people of God today, which is transformation of mind and heart in accepting Jesus’ words and commandments. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom” (1 Cor 15:50), our present bodies must be radically transformed. St. Paul illustrates this transformation by contrasting the natural body that is sown with the spiritual body that is raised”. This is the challenge for us, the challenge which was identified by CBCP, and thus, must be given a priority…in our aim to be faithful to the ministry Christ has left to His Church. With this concept and understanding, one cannot but embrace the truth, by the sacraments we received through Jesus Christ; we have the common mission, a common vocation of being Christ’s catechists…forevermore.

References:

____________. Catechism for Filipino Catholics; Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. ECCCE – Words and Life Publication, Metro Manila Philippines (1997).
____________. Catechism of the Catholic Church; Catholics Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. ECCCE Word and Life Publication, Metro Manila, Philippines (1994).
Cataluna Zosonte, Commentaries on Dogmatic Constitution on Devine Revelation; Second Vatican Council (1984).
Flannery Austin, O.P.; Second Vatican Council Revised Edition (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation) Daughters of St. Paul Publishing, 2650 Pasay City, Philippines (1984).
National Catechetical Directory for the Philippines (Our Philippine Context); Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines: Authorized Commission for Catechesis and Catholic Education, Metro Manila, Philippines (2007).
Our Journey Student’s Textbook # 5 (Liturgical Seasons, Feasts, Church Events, Saints and Basic Prayers); Bukidnon Association of Catholic Schools Diocese of Malaybalay, Malaybalay City: San Isidro Diocesan Press Datu Mampaalong St., Malaybalay City 8700, Philippines (2006).

what is it to be popular? is their really satisfaction or happiness one can experience?
can this bring any good in one's life, or drag one into a state of "lost" in the wilderness of success and popularity?

Got my New Album "Captured" Feat. Paris Hilton...Available now on all Music Unlimited outlets.

Shows:

1. Wowowee March 10, 2009
2. SM City Iloilo Activity Center on March 12, 2009
3. Broadway New York, USA on April 2, 2009
4. Dubai on April 19, 2009
5. Singapore on May 6, 2009
6. Hong Kong on May 22, 2009

Thanks for all the support!

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What shall be done...?

"Tama Na!Sobra Na!Palitan Na! This is the most used statements people had clamored during the height of Revolution against the Marcos Regime.

And now we once more echo this firm statements to those corrupt and useless leaders running our government. We will no longer allow these evils in our society to dictate us, nor to drag us down into grave oppression, hunger, violence and injustice. Enough is enough!