Ugnayan
THE NEWS SUPPLEMENT OF COUPLES FOR CHRIST CBCP Monitor. Vol. 21 No. 25
December 18 - 31, 2017 C1
CATCHFIRE EXHORTS: ‘BE FEARLESS!’ By Andrelene Veloso
Every year, members of the Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon Community (ALNP), Couples for Christ (CFC), Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) and Familia gather during Christ the King Sunday to celebrate the Lordship of Jesus, the King of Kings through Catchfire, a prayer rally featuring rousing worship and powerful testimonies. The theme for this year was Fearless, gleaned from Matthew 14:27: 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.'
His Excellency The Most Reverend Honesto Ongtioco, Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, was the main Mass celebrant, with His Excellency The Most Reverend Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan concelebrating. In his homily, Bishop David, seeing the many members of the four Catholic prayer communities gathered, quoted Psalm 133—"How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!" The prelate challenged the congregation to proclaim fearlessly only one kind of Kingship, the kingship of the One who reigns with humility and willingness to serve, Jesus Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth, King of the Universe. After the Mass, main preacher Bobby Quitain, full time evangelist-preacher of Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon, reminded the 10,000-strong crowd who attended the prayer rally that only God can turn fear into great faith, and that there are four important points to take to heart: Listen to God's voice Quitain shared, “I used to be a basketball player, at naalala ko po, when
Catchfire was an afternoon of worship, the Eucharist, healing and basking in the glory of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings!
I was in grade school, my father would always be in the crowd. And he would be shouting the loudest. Sa dinami dami ng boses sa gym na naririnig ko, I have a choice whose voice I would listen to.” He continued, “In the same way, every time I pray, I choose to listen to the voice of Somebody who loves me.” He noted that followers of Christ have a choice who to listen to, what to listen to. One can either listen to the bad news or the Good News, to listen to the voice of hope rather than the voice of despair, the voice of victory rather
than the voice of defeat, the voice of God rather than the voice of the world. Quitain exhorted, “Sasabihin sa iyo ng mundo, ‘You can do it!’, but Philippians 4:13 says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ The world will tell you, ‘Your life has no direction, you’re not getting anywhere!’ Why don’t you listen to Jeremiah 29:11 which says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” “The world will tell you that you are
Archbishop Auza to CFC: ‘Rediscover the joy of the gospel!’
“The mission core teaching night tonight is providential,” Arnel M. Santos, Couples for Christ International Council member, noted in his introduction of the speaker for the Metro Manila Mission Core Teaching Night on November 23, 2017 at the Christ the King Parish, Green Meadows Avenue, Quezon City. According to Santos, it was providential for two main reasons. First, the topic, “Social Dimensions of the New Evangelization according to the priorities of the Holy See’s Multilateral Diplomacy set by Pope Francis” is totally relevant for CFC which is still observing the theme “Standing Firm in the Faith” and which has of late been focused on reviewing the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its teachings. It was even more providential because the speaker, His Excellency Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, is the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. Archbishop Auza used as anchor Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’ 2013 apostolic exhortation on “the Church's primary mission of evangelization in the modern world” which is known to lay people as the ‘Joy of the Gospel. Archbishop Auza exhorted, “New evangelization is to rekindle our enthusiasm in our journey of faith, to rekindle our love for that faith, to rekindle our love to proclaim the joy of the gospel.” The prelate identifed three subjects of the New Evangelization: the self, the family, and society. New evangelization as evangelization of the self The archbishop explained that new evangelization of the self simply means renewing one’s relationship with God. “Rediscover that
friendship, rediscover that relationship, kasi baka nakalimutan na natin magdasal, magbasa ng Bible, nakakalimutan na natin magsimba— these are signs that we need to be evangelized anew,” he shared. The archbishop invited those present to fire up their love for the Rosary, to be enthusiastic again in participating in the Holy Mass, to pray together as a family again, to read the Bible again and to take time to enrich one’s spirituality. The prelate added that, with the invitation from Pope Francis to be ‘Spirit-filled Evangelizers’, we need to be enthusiastic about sharing the gospel and to fearlessly work with the Holy Spirit. He added, “But spirit-filled evangelizers do not only pray. They feel the balance between prayer and action.”
nothing, that you have no value and you have no worth! Why don’t you read Psalm 139:14 which says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made? You don’t have a choice as to what you will hear, but every day you have a choice as to what you would listen to.” Obey The central message of Quitain’s second point was “It is in obeying God that miracles happen in our lives.” What does it mean to obey God? For
CATCHFIRE, C4
GMC shares love on Christmas The CFC Global Mission Center celebrated Christmas season with a gift-giving activity for about 250 families from Brgy. Mangga in Cubao, on December 11 at the PACMAC Plaza. The families reside in the same vicinity where CFC is located. The day started with Holy Mass presided by Fr. Lawrence Leona, SVD who, in his homily, expounded on the story of the healing of the paralytic. Noting that everyone has something to share, and that each one is a gift to GMC, C3
CFC Core Group told: ‘Wait and Watch!’
New evangelization of the domestic church, the family Archbishop Auza stated that the key to understanding the call to new evangelization is to link it to the loss of transmission of the faith from one generation to the next. The biggest and the most exclusive key to this transmission is the family or from parents to children. The family should be the first to be evangelized so that the family could become the protagonist, the real actors in the new evangelization. New evangelization of society Archbishop Auza encouraged the Metro Manila Mission Core to enlarge their witnessing beyond themselves, beyond their families, towards the whole of society. “The apostolic exhortation ‘Joy of the Gospel’ is a rallying cry for this. The world that we are called to evangelize constantly changes, that’s why the social aspect of our faith is also fundamental,” the prelate urged. He invited those present to always remember to “Live your faith.” Archbishop Auza concluded by reminding the MC members of three ways by which we can engage with society according to the inspiration of Pope Francis: engage with the world with mercy and compassion; develop a culture of dialogue; and be in solidarity with the poor. To watch the full talk, visit Couples for Christ on YouTube (http://bit.ly/CFCytube) and search for MC Teaching Night - H. E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza. (Yvonne Grace Dolorosa)
others it could simply mean living a life that honors God, or following God’s commandment. “When we choose to honor God, we must prepare ourselves for miracles!” Quitain quipped. “It was when Peter stepped out of the boat that he saw the miracle.” He added that for others, it could simply be a choice between a bad thing and a good thing. He challenged, “How about choosing between two good things and obeying which thing God wants you to do?”
In keeping with tradition, the Metro Manila Mission Core had an Advent Recollection on the last Mission Core gathering for the year, on December 3, 2017. The gathering was held at the St. Paul College Gym, Pasig City. The December gathering recorded the highest attendance for this year, with 1,434 attendees. The recollection began with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist presided by Msgr. Jesus Norriel Bandojo, WAIT AND WATCH, C4
A Household without walls The CFC International Council marked the coming of the Advent season with a simple yet memorable gathering. Accompanied by Spiritual director for the IC, Msgr. Allen Aganon, they visited the Our Lady of Banneux (OLB) ANCOP Community in San Mateo, Rizal on December 2 to hold what they called “household without walls.” The household without walls is the community’s reHH WITHOUT WALLS, C4