Ugnayan
THE NEWS SUPPLEMENT OF COUPLES FOR CHRIST CBCP Monitor. Vol. 21 No. 1
January 9 - 22, 2017 C1
CFC Opens the Year with First Fruit Offering By Alma Alvarez " ... you shall take some first fruits of t he various products of t he soil which you harvest from t he land which t he Lord, your God, gives you, and putting t hem in a basket, you shall go to t he place which t he Lord, your God, chooses for t he dwelling place of His name. There you shall go to t he priest in office at t hat time and say to him, 'Today I acknowledge to t he Lord my God t hat I have indeed come into t he land which He swore to our fat hers He would give us.' The priest shall t hen receive t he basket from you and shall set it in front of t he altar of t he Lord, your God. Then you shall declare before t he Lord, your God, 'He gave t his land flowing wit h milk and honey. Therefore, I have now brought you t he first fruits of t he products of t he soil which you, 0 Lord, have given me. ' And having set them before the Lord, your God, you shall bow down in His presence. Then you and your family... shall make merry over all t hese good t hings which t he Lord, your God, has given you."
This passage from Deuteronomy 26: 2-11 has been the community’s anchor verse and center of the exhortation for the annual First Fruit Offering, a Couples for Christ tradition that members of the Mission Core have been faithfully practicing.
The Metro Manila Mission Core held the First Fruit Offering for 2017 last January 8, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Several areas in the Philippine Missions held their First Fruits Offering simultaneously with Metro Manila. In his exhortation, Rouquel Ponte, Director for Pastoral Formation, shared three important points: 1. offering of the first fruits is God’s call to CFC to express gratitude for His abundant blessings; 2. the envelope containing the first fruit
The Metro Manila Mission Core Gathering featured the traditional First Fruits offering. The MCG was held last Sunday, January 8, 2016 at the Ynares Gym in Pasig City, with His Excellency Most Reverend Francisco de Leon, D.D. Auxilliary Bishop of the Diocese of Antipolo, celebrating the Mass.
offering is a symbol of giving oneself, an expression of profound worship and an act of consecration; and lastly, 3. the faith in the divine principle that God will truly take care of all of the needs of those who believe in Him. Ponte encouraged the Mission Core
to utter a sincere prayer of thanksgiving before offering their first fruit. As the music ministry played an offertory song, the Mission Core members, led by the International Council and their spouses, proceeded to offer their First Fruits envelopes. At the start of every year, the very first
CFC, ABS-CBN Sign Pluma 2 MOU
Mission Core Gathering, and the subsequent gatherings of every group down the line in every area, province and country, are consecrated to the Lord through this tradition. It is a most solemn and sacred occasion, worthy of the Lord's Holiness.
“Life is valuable. Killing is not the answer.”
ABS-CBN executives and CFC leaders renewing agreement for Pluma Season 2
Couples for Christ, represented by CFC Chairman Joe Tale, CFC President George Campos and Director for Communications
Michael Ariola signed the Memorandum of Agreement with ABS-CBN for the telecast of Season 2 of Pluma. The formal sign-
ing ceremony was held on January 11, 2017. Ma. Socorro V. Vidanes, Chief Operating Officer PLUMA ABSCBN, C2
Former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza of the BUHAY Partylist, LAIKO President Zenaida Capistrano, Bishop Broderick Pabillo and CFC Chair Joe Tale answer questions from the media regarding the sanctity of life.
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JANUARY
14
CFC Leaders Conference
All CFC and Family Min members
SATURDAY
15
SUNDAY
17
GLEC
8:00am-5:00pm
TUESDAY Teaching Night
7:00pm-10:00pm MCG Members & Intl Mission Leaders
EA Meeting
Elders Assembly 8:00am-5:00pm
11-13 16&18
Mission 101
Foreign Deligates
20-22
MM Mission Core Weekend
SAT-SUN MM MCG
Members
JUNE
24
36th Anniversary Celebration All CFC and Family Min members
According to Philippine National Police statistics, the war on drugs of the current administration has taken more than 6,000 lives during the period from June 2016 to the present. The daily news about the extrajudicial killings were recently replaced by the proposal by the House of Representatives Justice Committee to reimpose the death penalty in the Philippines. These developments are a source of concern for pro-life advocates, particularly the Catholic Church in the Philippines. What has been even more alarming is that even those who call themselves Christian seem to approve of the killings and of reimposing the death penalty. The Council of Laity of the Philippines or Laiko held a press conference last January 11, 2017 to
further articulate their sentiments with regards to the reimposition of the death penalty and the war on drugs. The members of the panel who faced the press were Mrs. Zenaida Capistrano, President of Laiko; Atty. Jose Tale, Chairman of Couples for Christ; Congressman Jose “Lito” Atienza; and Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo. The Council of Laity of the Philippines is a national public association of the lay faithful composed of 52 lay organizations and 51 diocesan councils. Couples for Christ is one of these lay organizations. Most Rev. Pabillo noted that the Church is mostly composed of the lay faithful, not the clergy. He reiterated that the conference was held to give the lay faithful a chance to speak and be heard.
To the oft-repeated claims of some that the Church has remained silent when it comes to issues affecting life, Rev. Pabillo said that the Church has kept on speaking even if no one was listening. The Church’s stance opposing extrajudicial killings and the death penalty remains constant, recognizing the value of the life of every individual, even those who have committed wrongdoings. Rev. Pabillo added that the Church encourages the lay faithful to be involved in politics. “Politics is supposed to be a higher form of service. It is a service for the common good. Politics is an exercise of love, love for the common good.” Rev. Pabillo concluded in his opening statement. The press conference was also called because
Laiko is launching “Walk for Life,” an annual event that aims to promote the value of life. “‘Walk for Life’ is not a form of protest [by the Catholic community] but it is an expression of our gratitude for life.” Mrs. Capistrano stated. “Walk for Life” will be held at the Quirino Grandstand on February 18, 2017. Details of the event are published on the Laiko website. Mrs. Capistrano added that she is 100% against the reimposition of the death penalty. “For us, life is valuable. It is given to us by God and only He can take it away.” She highly encouraged the institution of reforms instead of capital punishment and encouraged the lay faithful to support the Church’s position. LIFE, C2