For many of us, at the turn of the millennium and before the internet came to dominate the media, watching Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments on television was an annual Holy Week ritual.

I always found the scenes of the wonders God wrought through Moses and Aaron fascinating, but the scene that impressed me the most was of Moses singing over the Passover meal while the plague claimed the lives of first-borns throughout Egypt. I especially remembered the scene whenever elders would stop me (I sometimes unselfconsciously break into song), from singing at our own dining tables. Doing so was rude, they said. I guess it depends on context—what song is being sung, what one’s disposition is toward the meal.

I remembered the movie scene again while reflecting about the start of the year-long celebration of the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. Just as in the Jewish Passover, Moses and the Israelites shared a meal and sang at table while death and devastation surrounded them, we in the Archdiocese of Cebu have been celebrating the quincentenary while the plague that is the covid-19 pandemic rages on. In fact, we have been celebrating with a capital “C,” with exhibitions of Christian art in two waterfront malls, at least four nights of musical shows, and four days of celebrations of high Mass. People are dying yet we have been having a fiesta—singing, dancing, acting in plays. Are we heartless?

Moses could not have celebrated the Passover while rejoicing over or denying the grief that gripped Egypt. He had, after all, at least felt imperfect contrition after having killed an Egyptian who had beaten a Jew. Moses did celebrate, however, because the Passover ceremony was commanded by God himself and He orchestrated his people’s liberation to the point that the Israelites left Egypt with gold, silver, and clothing generously given to them by the Egyptians when they asked for them.

To celebrate as we are doing when there is no longer Gentile or Jew, slave or freeman (as there was in the time of Moses), to celebrate while we mourn and weep amid a pandemic is not to be heartless, denying or shallowly rejoicing in the face of suffering. It is rather to testify to what matters most—that in a world where everything and everyone can be taken from us any time, God is always with us, is taking care of us, and holds all reality in his loving hands.

In the Passover, the Jews saw themselves saved from the angel of death by the blood of lambs that they painted on the doorposts of their homes. The Exodus was a journey in which God continually saved his people from death through his bountiful gifts—freedom from slavery, riches from the Egyptians, coveys of quail, manna from heaven, water from the rock, healing through the bronze serpent, the Decalogue. But the Exodus was also an exchange of gifts. The Israelites who were faithful gave back to God in their commitment to the commandments, obedience to Moses, and worship of the Lord in many ways, including through the Canticle of Moses that we still sing especially during the Easter Vigil.

On Wednesday of the second week of Easter, before the shrine that commemorates the planting of Magellan’s Cross in Cebu City, seven children received from the Church that is the Body of Christ gifts that are far greater than the ones the Israelites received in the Exodus, gifts that all of us, too, have received—Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, by which we and the children have become one with the Lord and with one another. In the preceding days, these sacraments and Confirmation, by which we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit were also administered to hundreds of men, women, and children in Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu cities.

That these celebrations happened in the time of covid-19 makes them similar to the Passover in the time of the angel of death. This time, however, we are being kept safe from eternal death by One who is infinitely more precious than lambs—the Lamb of God himself, the One who by dying for us turned death from a dead end into a door—“I am the door,” He said—so that while we do our best to protect one another or weep just as “Jesus wept,” we neither need to fear dying nor despair about the loved ones we have parted from for now (John 10:9; 11:35).

So like Moses who sang over supper to the God who freed the Israelites, we, too, out of gratitude, offer our celebrations to the One who gave us faith and himself. Above all, we thank God with prayer and song at the Last Supper, in the Holy Eucharist. We also thank him through art exhibits in the malls, concerts like Musika Sacra dances like Chronos et Kairos, and plays like Credo in Unum Deum and the reenactment of the Philippines’ first baptism with presentation of the image of the Child Jesus. We further thank him by—among other actions—joining our Commission on Youth and its partners in giving helpful equipment to persons with disabilities, helping communities like Five Loaves and Two Fish distribute provisions to families that were badly affected by the pandemic, working for justice and peace with our Commission on Social Advocacies, and caring for the earth through projects like the planting of trees by parishioners of Santo Niño in Santa Fe town.

Inspired by the sacraments and our faith that are more real than any adversity, we celebrate through the arts. At the same time, as God’s works of art, we live Christian lives, in secret as salt of the earth or publicly as light of the world, demonstrating the faith that works through love.

As mentioned above, the article is of the opinion that celebrating Christianity’s 500 years of existence in our country is an insult to the hallowed memory of our forebears and the forfeiture of their dream to be free. Then the article proceeds in narrating the abuses our ancestors suffered under the cross and the sword. It cites “State and Society in the Philippines” authored by Patricio Abinales and Donna Amoroso in order to “provide much vivid detail(s)” of these abuses, e. g., the Reduccion, Polo y Servicios, and the destruction of native religion (the worship of anitos and belief in the baylans).

While respect is accorded to the article, but opinions are not necessarily true. So, let us answer these and other accusations hurled against Catholicism in our county. The main assertion of the said article stands on the abuses done by the colonizers. But let us view our history from a higher and wider perspective. All these accusations will eventually fall under the weight of truth.

THE REDUCCION

The Spanish colonial government in the Philippines adopted a policy of gathering the inhabitants of far-flung barangays into a centralised resettlement or reductions. The reduccion was built near the church and the ayuntamiento. Other than the civil motives of collecting tributes and controlling the natives, the reduccion also allowed the missionaries to easily Christianize the Filipinos then. Also, defending the natives can be easily done by the government (cf. Patricio N. Abinales & Donna J. Amoroso (2005). State and Society in the Philippines. USA;Rowman & Littlefield, 2005, pages 53, 68).

POLO Y SERVICIOS

We are familiar with the Spanish phrase “Polo y Servicios.” It is taught that those words mean “Forced Labor” or “Sapilitang Paggawa.” We have equated Polo y Servicios with slavery. That is why some find it so easy to say that the Spaniards enslaved the Filipinos. But as stipulated in its laws, the Spanish government in this country required able-bodied males to render at most 40 days for public service like building bridges, waterways, churches, etc. These “polistas” were paid a daily wage. Were there abuses? For sure there were. However, we should also ask: Who benefited from the products of the Polo y Servicios? Certainly, the Filipinos themselves. Our forebears benefited from what they built. And up to now, we are enjoying them. Heritage advocates, like the National Historical Commission, are preserving and defending them. Is this a betrayal to the ideals of our ancestors? If it is, then, by all means abolish this government which places high importance on these “artefacts of slavery”!

CHRISTIANITY AND THE DESTRUCTION OF NATIVE RELIGIONS

Although missionaries destroyed images of the anitos, the majority of those missionaries relied on non-violent persuasion to convince local converts to abandon their indigenous worship and practices. The missionaries even studied the dialects in order to effectively communicate the message of the Gospel to the natives. In other words, the natives were called to leave their animistic religion in order to live in Christ.

However, the ingenuity of the missionaries can also be seen in the way they made use of the good aspects of native beliefs in their missionary campaigns. The missionaries were not a bunch of brainless celibates, but a pack of ingenious artisans. Philippines: History and Government. Evelina M. Viloria, Ed. D., Nelia R. Dela Cruz, and Ruth V. Legaspi. Quezon City: Vibal Publishing house, 2005, page 81 — “The Filipinos readily accepted Christianity because the missionaries made use of many aspects of the natives’ former religion. In the pagan religion, the natives worshipped a powerful god called Bathala and other lesser gods. To make the natives understand the concept of the Christian God and of the saints, the friars cited the similarities between the gods of the pagans and that of Christianity. Aside from this, the missionaries allowed the natives to retain many beliefs, practices and traditions related to the old religion and adopted these to the rituals and ceremonies of the Catholic faith.”

EVANGELIZATION WASN’T JUST A FOOTNOTE

The article also says that evangelization “was just a footnote to an imperialist scavenger hunt, not the realization of a divine plan.” In saying this it sounds to me that the author seems to have a special access to the mind of God. Anyway. We have been told that the goals of Spanish regime are: God, glory, and gold. The conquistadores came with the missionaries. Evangelization, therefore, is not a mere footnote, but one of the principal motives for which those people were sent to east (Political and Cultural History of the Philippines, Vol. I. Manila: Alip and Sons, Inc., 1954, page 109). I hope the author of the article has read this quotation from Dr. Wilhelm Roscher in Zaide’s “The Philippines: A Unique Nation” (p. 102) which says, “ The principal aim of Spanish colonisation was the conversion of the heathen peoples to Christianity (cf. The Spanish Colonial System. New York, 1904, page 7).” In hoc signo vinces; by the sign of the cross the missionaries won the hearts of our forebears.

CHRISTIANITY AND FREEDOM

St. Paul says where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3: 17). One of the contributions of the missionaries in our country is the abolishment of the old practice of slavery. Philip II issued a decree in 1569 prohibiting slavery and ordering the punishment of those who would disobey. Two years later, the Supreme Pontiff issued a decree to the same effect. Thus, both in civil and ecclesiastical laws slavery in the Philippines was prohibited. However, we also the note the process of implementation needed some time since slavery had been so ingrained in the lives of our ancestors. Added to this is the establishment of schools and colleges, and the instructions given by the missionaries to our ancestors. For sure, these have helped them acquire freedom to think by and for themselves. We should not fail to note that Christianity has also empowered the Filipinos to struggle and fight for freedom against the colonizers. Historian Reynaldo C. Ileto makes the case that our ancestors saw themselves in the suffering Christ in the Pasyon they were chanting during the Mahal na Araw. Filipinos saw this religious practice from a different perspective. It inspired them to offer their lives, like the suffering Christ, for the redemption of this country.

ABUSING THE ARGUMENT FROM ABUSES

That there were abuses during those times we do not and should not deny. We do not defend the indefensible! The Church strikes her breast as she says, “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” However, reason demands that we be truthful also. We should avoid irresponsible generalization. The abuses do not constitute the essence of Catholicism. It is unreasonable and unjust to equate these abuses with the essence of the Catholic religion. As we recognize those abuses in the past we should not also brush off the fact that Catholicism has done so much for this country, for our ancestors and which we still now enjoy. Should we allow ourselves to be imprisoned by these so-called abuses? Or we should rather soar higher and see the bigger and brighter picture? We do not deny the abuses, but using them to the detriment of all the good things that happened is another form of abuse. And no one abuses us more than we abuse ourselves.

IN CONCLUSION

It is easy to accuse Catholicism of these and those sins. Many things have been said against Catholicism, different accusations hurled against it. Why? Because most of her so-called “children” are reluctant to stand in her defense. It is imperative to re-examine the prejudices against the missionaries — or against Catholicism as a whole. These are prejudices perpetuated by anti-Catholics under the guise of nationalism. If Catholicism is so alien to our ancestors, and even an insult to them, they would have repudiated it long time ago, especially during the Aglipayan Revolt and the influx of American Protestantism. But why majority of our forebears decided to remain Catholics? The answer is simple: Because they did not equate Christianity with colonialism. They embraced it; we cherish it. Whether you like or not, Catholicism’s influence affected our everyday life. Though imperfect because we are its imperfect members, but truth remains that Catholicism has been a force for good in our country. The Catholic Church played an important role under the Marcos dictatorship. As the persecution carried on, the Catholic Church was the only institution that could credibly contest the power of the state on behalf of the Filipino people. What we celebrate this year 2021 is not colonialism, but Catholicism, that is, the Christian faith that our ancestors received and cherished as a gift. With all their imperfections, warts and all, we still believe that through them, in his divine providence, God deigned this country, the Philippines, to be the cradle and bulwark of the Christian faith for the past 500 years. God is the God of history (Catechism of the Catholic Church #314). Let us also pray that as the Lord blessed the beginning, He may also bring all of these to fruition — usque ad vitam æternam. It is said that the Spaniards conquered the Philippines by the sword and the cross. The Spanish regime has collapsed, but the cross is still standing — for 500 years now! History proves that indeed the cross is mightier than the sword. Isn’t this a good reason to celebrate?

— Fr. Fran Villegas

Archdiocese of Cebu, Catholic Faith Defenders, Inc.

As we celebrate the quincentenary of our faith, the question that keeps popping out in my mind is this: as a Cebuano believer, am I excited about it? Yes, there is the pandemic to worry about, the restrictions to deal with and the surviving to struggle through, so does celebrating this event have a significance in my life right now? My humble yet resounding answer is yes! Yes, for three reasons: the event is unrepeatable, irreplaceable, irrevocable.

The event is unrepeatable. Philosophers speculating on the flow of time would say that it is a continuum whereby the past present and future is connected. Yet even in this conceptual view, there is a recognition of luminous landmarks that shaped the flow of history. One such precious gem is April 14, 1521 where the First Baptism in Cebu occurred. From this germinal foundation of Christianity, it spread to the rest of the country. The amazing thing is that we are here, alive at this point of history 500 years later. Our lifetime could have been in another period of history, yet here we are. It is therefore a great privilege or better, a great gift to be ‘caught’ in this quincentenary moment. There is only one 1521. And only one 2021. This moment is ours as a gift to cherish, to look back and to touch and to hold precious. There will only be one moment in time like this, it is only most fitting that we seize the day, seize the time and celebrate it.

The event is irreplaceable. Historians concur that the first baptism was celebrated here in Cebu last April 14, 1521. It could have been anywhere else, but the truth is that It happened in Cebu. When I was missioned here by God to serve, I have fallen in love with the local church of Cebu and its people. Looking from both perspectives of having been made part of this church, I am deeply appreciative of being here in this point of time. I am also immensely grateful and blessed that in some mysterious way God placed me here. I could be elsewhere or anywhere or not here but there, yet amazingly I am here. Sometimes we yearn for faraway places seeking for meaning only to find out at the end of our journey that it is to be found right where we started. Being here, where the germinal foundation of Christianity happened is such a great blessing. In the plan of God, the local Church of Cebu is irreplaceable. This is not only because the first foundation occurred here but that the mission to spread the faith emanated from right here.

It is irrevocable. Many years ago, when I read ‘Ecclesia in Asia’ and arrived at the text stating the Jesus Christ was born in Asian soil, I dropped the document and shed tears. Perhaps one can blame it to my geographical ignorance of missing the fact that the Holy Land is after all part of the Asian continent, but that for years I have been thinking of Christ as different from my world. To read that He was born in Asian soil, like me, — for the first time, I as an Asian felt closer to him. As a theologian I am overwhelmed with wonder and joy that the mystery of incarnation occurred in Asian soil. Jesus is Asian like me. Now going to our history when our ancestors received the gift of faith here in Cebu, Christianity came to us in the face of the Holy Child, the Sto. Nino. This then in some way became our contact with the reality of the incarnation. This is not only historic but ecclesiologically life giving because the Filipino church was born. Alas, the

epiphany wherein Jesus was revealed to the nations, became concrete for us. Christ is not just born in Asian soil; God has finally arrived in Philippine soil. God is no longer just far. As a Cebuano and ultimately as a Filipino, God is truly close. His irrevocable love has been manifested as our most precious gift and heritage.

So, should we be excited.? Or better still, should our hearts be ignited? Yes, yes yes indeed! For this celebration is celebrating not only our past where we caught the first spark of faith. Above all, it is celebrating who we are and who we are meant to be, ‘faith given and faith giving!’

Quincentenary Prayer

Loving Father, Sovereign Lord of the ages
Praise and glory be to your name.
When we look back at the past
We marvel at your boundless fidelity and mercy
Written in every strand of our history.

Unworthy though we are
You have gifted us with the fire of faith
brought to our shores five hundred years ago.

As we remember and make present
this graced moment in our lives
where you came to us Filipinos
in the form of a little child, Sto. Nino
We awaken to the wondrous reality
that we have been bestowed the eternal gift
of your love through the Word made Incarnate.

From memory, made alive
may we celebrate this most precious heritage
Let our voices resound through the hills
Let our feet dance as if on fire
Let our spirits soar in joy, for
we have become your own
and you have become one of us!

We ask pardon for blurring our memories
with the mundane pursuit of trivialities in life.
We ask that you clear the cobwebs of our consciousness
and grant us fresh eyes of understanding
of how graced we are!

Let the jubilation generate faith confirmation
so that renewed by your everlasting love
The whole people of God
Clergy, laity and especially the youth.
are transformed for mission.
And our mission lead to the world’s transformation.

For having been gifted
we offer our lives to be given away
In faith, having been ignited
we now to go to set the world on fire! Amen.

In 2021 the Philippines will mark half a millennium of Christianity in the country.  And this is indeed something to celebrate, for in 500 years the Christian faith in the country has not only survived but has been a strong influence in the culture and character of the nation, and is still going strong. We are the third country in the world with the most numerous Catholic population. The Catholic faith and devotion of the Filipinos is recognized all over the world. Through our Filipino migrants and missionaries, we also strengthen the Church in most of the 200 countries all over the world where Filipinos are found. There is really something to celebrate here.

In order to make this celebration more meaningful, since 2013 the whole Philippine Church has embarked on a 9-year preparation with a priority theme every year. The hope is that in these 9 years, a renewal may take place in the Catholic faith of the Filipinos to make the quincentenaries’ celebration more meaningful. We recognize that a lot has still to be improved in the way we live the faith. It still has to be purified, deepened and fortified.

The 2021 celebration will be marked with great thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great gift of the Christian faith. In God’s providence the Christian faith has come to our shores, took root in it, and bore much fruit among its people. Although the Cross of the faith had come with the Sword of the conquistadores in the time of colonialism, through time the Filipinos have learned to distinguish between the Christian faith and the Spanish colonialism. We had fought against the Spanish masters and drove them out but we have remained fervent in our fidelity to the Catholic Church. In fact, among the patriots who shed their blood in their struggle against Spain were the native Filipino clergy, famous among whom are Fr. Gomez, Fr. Burgos and Fr. Zamora—the GOMBURZA.

Year 2021 is also a celebration of thanksgiving to all the missionaries and the Christian lay leaders, among them our great, great grandparents, who passed on the faith from one generation to the other. We owe who we are and what we have to so many people down through the centuries, with their defects and with their virtues—Filipinos and foreigners, priests, religious and lay people.

But the quinquennial event is not just a looking back to the past. It is also a looking forward to the future. Yes, we have been chosen and truly gifted with the faith. This carries a great responsibility. We gratefully accept the gift, we develop it, and now it is our turn to pass it on to the others. By “others” I mean to the coming generations of Filipinos and also to the other peoples in Asia and in the world. Jesus has come for the salvation of all peoples. Since we received the Good News, we have to share this Good News to others, especially to our neighbors here in Asia. Hence, the celebration is also a call to mission. In fact, the encompassing theme of the celebration, which also serves as a challenge, is GRACIOUSLY GIFTED TO GIVE. Let us vigorously celebrate so that we will all be vigorously motivated to go out to share the gift of the Christian faith!

The same Christian faith that the conquistadores tried to use in order to pursue their colonial purposes in our country also inspired our revolutionaries around three and a half centuries later to dream of freedom and democracy. It is the same Christian faith that eventually motivated them to defend the basic human dignity of the Indios and to desire to put an end to tyranny and colonial rule.

The Spanish missionaries had taught the natives to chant the Pasion during the Holy Week. Unknown to the authorities, the same Pasion which was about the suffering Messiah offering his life for the redemption of humankind had inspired our heroes to offer their lives for the redemption of our country—at the cost of their own blood, sweat and tears. (See Reynaldo Ileto’s Pasyon at Rebolusyon.)

We were of course bitterly divided during the time of the transition: between the pro’s and the anti’s, between those on the side of colonial politics, and those who dared to be on the side of revolutionary politics. Division is not always a negative thing. As St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:19, sometimes “there have to be divisions… in order that those who are approved among (us) may become known.” Or think about what Jesus said when he spoke like an angry prophet of doom, “I have come to light a fire on earth; how I wish it were already ablaze. Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No not peace but division…”. These are unpleasant words that we’d rather not hear, especially when we make unity into an absolute value. People forget that unity can sometimes be negative too—when it is about uniting around an ungodly purpose. No wonder God sowed division on the builders of the tower of Babel, so that he could later genuinely reunite them in the Spirit through Pentecost.

Our own ancestors were intelligent enough to accept what was good and reject what was evil in what the Spaniards had brought with them when they came to our land. They also eventually learned to distinguish between the missionaries who had totally allied themselves with the colonial politics of the conquistadores and those who were critical of it, those who had the courage to defend the rights of the natives against the abuses and cruelties of the colonial masters.

The mere fact that we eventually repudiated colonial rule but continued to embrace the Christian faith even after we won the revolution could only mean that the natives did not equate Christianity with Colonialism. At some point, the faith that they had embraced was no longer alien to them. It had succeeded in taking root on the fertile ground of our innate spirituality as a people.

Let us, therefore, make it clear: what we will celebrate in 2021 is not colonialism but the Christian faith that the natives of these islands welcomed as a gift, albeit from people who were not necessarily motivated by the purest of motives. God can indeed write straight even with the most crooked lines. CBCPNews

The Philippine Church rejoices as it enters a national celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in our treasured homeland. Five centuries ago we received the marvelous gift of the Christian faith; our hearts overflow with joy and gratitude. Why of all the nations and peoples in Asia was the Philippines chosen by God to be among the first to receive this precious gift? The clear answer is simply this: God’s magnanimous, overflowing love.

We recall what God told his people Israel regarding his choice: “It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity…” (Dt 7:7-8). Only God’s freely given love can illuminate the choice of the Filipino people to receive this valuable gift of faith!

The Christian faith arrived and prospered in our land through the dedication and heroic sacrifices of thousands of men and women missionaries from various parts of the world. They treasured the gift of faith they had received and desired to share this gift with others. As the theme chosen by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for this fifth centennial notes: all Christians are “gifted to give.” This “giftedness” motivated generous missionaries over the centuries; it must also enflame the hearts of all of us today to engage in mission here at home and in other countries (missio ad gentes). Indeed, this is part of Jesus’ mission mandate to his disciples: “What you have received as a gift, give as a gift” (Mt 10:8). We pray for a missionary renewal of our Church—both at home (ad intra) and beyond our borders (ad extra) during our celebration of the 500 years—and into the future!

Missionary Transformation. Our beloved Pope Francis, who visited us in 2015, is committed to the missionary renewal of the entire Church; we can take inspiration from his document Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). He asserts that we need an “evangelizing Church that comes out of herself,” not a Church that is “self-referential” and “lives within herself, of herself, for herself” (cf. EG 20-24). Francis says: “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation…. All renewal in the Church must have mission as its goal if it is not to fall prey to a kind of ecclesial introversion” (EG 27). We seek to renew our mission enthusiasm here at home as well as missio ad gentes, mission to other nations and peoples.

Pope Francis continues: “Missionary outreach is paradigmatic for all the Church’s activity…. We need to move ‘from a pastoral ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry’” (EG 15). “I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has programmatic significance and important consequences…. Throughout the world, let us be ‘permanently in a state of mission’” (EG 25). We must seek to “put all things in a missionary key” (EG 34). We recall the challenge of Pope John Paul II during his 1981 visit to our Church: “I wish to tell you of my special desire: that the Filipinos will become the foremost missionaries of the Church in Asia.” This is a clear invitation to engage in missio ad gentes!

Pope Francis’ insights about Church missionary renewal come from his deep personal relationship with Christ. He writes: “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ…. I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day” (EG 3). A pivotal insight of Pope Francis is that “we are all missionary disciples” (EG 119); through baptism, “all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples” (EG 120). All Christians are “agents of evangelization.” Missionary evangelization “calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized…. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are ‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries,’ but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples’” (EG 120).

Joy: A Convincing Sign. For Pope Francis, salvation history is a “great stream of joy” (EG 5) which we must also enter. Let the joy of faith be revived, because God’s mercies never end (cf. EG 6). Unfortunately, “there are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter” (EG 6). “An evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral” (EG 10). We must not become “querulous and disillusioned pessimists, ‘sourpusses’” (EG 85). “May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ (EG 10; cf. EN 75). We all must not “end up stifling the joy of mission” (EG 79), both here at home and in other lands!

Mercy: Today’s Pathway in Mission. Pope Francis continually insists that mercy is the very essence of God. In his Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy) Francis expresses it this way: mercy is God’s identity card. He says: “We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace…. Mercy [is] the bridge that connects God and man” (MV 2). Francis quotes Saint Thomas Aquinas, who asserts that “mercy is the greatest of all virtues; … all the others revolve around it … it is proper to God to have mercy” (EG 37). “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love” (MV 10).

“The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person…. As the Church is charged with the task of the new evangelization, the theme of mercy needs to be proposed again and again with new enthusiasm and renewed pastoral action…. In our parishes, communities, associations and movements, in a word, wherever there are Christians, everyone should find an oasis of mercy” (MV 12).

Conclusion. Pope Francis’ profound thoughts on missionary renewal, joy, and mercy provide a solid compass to guide us as individuals and communities during our 500-years celebration and in the year 2021 which is dedicated to missio ad gentes (mission to all peoples). With Pope Francis we ask two graces of the Lord: “Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary vigor” (EG 109). “Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary enthusiasm” (EG 80). We remain constant in prayer, asking our two canonized “foreign” missionary saints, Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod, to intercede for us so that our loving God will always abundantly bless our Church in the Philippines and all her many missionary endeavors!

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+ ROMULO G. VALLES, D.D.
Archbishop of Davao
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
29 November 2020
First Sunday of Advent
(From CBCPnews.net)