Silence on injustice is negligence, Manila archbishop tells priests

THE head of Manila’s Roman Catholic Church said that priests, as shepherds, have a duty to speak against violence and injustices

At a priesthood ordination recently, Cardinal Jose Advincula warned the clergy against the “temptation” of silence to play safe because “the flock will be in danger of getting lost”.

“Do not be afraid to speak, especially in the face of oppression, injustice, violence, and evil,” Advincula said. “A silent shepherd when he is expected to speak is a form of negligence.”

“When the sheep do not hear the voice of their shepherd, they may easily follow false shepherds who will only do them harm,” he said.

Advincula made the statement in his homily during the priestly ordination of Fr. Florencio Unida at the Sagrada Familia Parish in Manila’s Sta. Ana district on May 18.

The cardinal, who is also a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy, emphasized that priests must speak up, but that their words must be of God.

“The flock will recognize our voices as their shepherds only if we speak the words of God to them,” he added.

The Manila archbishop also reminded the clergy that their prophetic ministry goes beyond the voice that comes from their mouths.

The more powerful and credible proclamation of Jesus is made, according to him, “through the voice that comes from the witness of our lives”.

“Let your life be a living proclamation of God’s word. May people see you, and by simply looking at you, may they already hear God speaking to them,” he said.

CBCP News

Quiapo Church elevated as ‘Archdiocesan Shrine of the Black Nazarene’

THE St. John the Baptist Parish or Quiapo Church has been elevated to the status of an archdiocesan shrine.

Following a petition to the Archdiocese of Manila by the parish’s Rector, Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr, Cardinal Jose Advincula gave his approval to the new shrine in a decree dated May 10, 2023.

“We hereby decree that the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene – St John the Baptist Parish (Quiapo Church), be conferred the title of the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Black Nazarene,” Advincula decreed.

The Quiapo Church

The parish’s new status was formally announced Wednesday during Mass presided over by Fr. Reginald Malicdem, the archdiocese’s vicar general.

In his homily, the priest said that for the parish church to be declared as an archdiocesan shrine is “long overdue”.

“But for us devotees, whether there is a formal declaration, or none is made, this church is a real shrine because here we feel the presence of God,” Malicdem said.

“In this place we experience

VATICAN—Attention

#CatholicTwitter and keyboard warriors: The Vatican has released recommendations for how to better “love your neighbor” on social media.

The 20-page text, “Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media,” published on May 29, addresses the challenges Christians face in using social media.

Topics covered in the pastoral reflection include information overload, constant scrolling, not giving others one’s full attention, being an “influencer,” witnessing to Christ, “digital detox,” the need for silence, intentional listening, and building community in a fragmented world.

“One significant cognitive challenge of digital culture is the loss of our ability to think deeply and purposefully,” it warns. “We scan the surface and remain in the shallows, instead of deeply pondering realities.”

The Vatican Dicastery for Communication published the document, which was signed by its lay prefect Paolo Ruffini and its Argentine secretary Monsignor Lucio A. Ruiz, who cite many of Pope Francis’ speeches from past World Communications Days.

The text is “not meant to be precise ‘guidelines’ for pastoral ministry,” the dicastery clarified, but seeks to promote a common reflection on how to foster meaningful and caring relationships on social media.

Robbing our attention

The Vatican’s pastoral reflection posits that social media’s constant demand for people’s attention “is similar to the process through which any temptation enters into the human heart and draws our attention away from the only word that is really meaningful and lifegiving, the Word of God.”

“Different websites, applications, and platforms are programmed to prey on our human desire for acknowledgment, and they are constantly fighting for people’s attention. Attention itself has become the most valuable asset and commodity,” it says.

“Instead of focusing on one issue at a time, our continuous partial attention rapidly passes from one topic to the other. In our ‘always on’ condition, we face the temptation to post instantly since we are physiologically hooked on digital stimulation, always wanting more content in endless scrolling and frustrated by any lack of updates.”

The text highlights the need for silence and for schools, families, and communities to carve out times for people to detach from digital devices.

It warns that space for “deliberate listening, attentiveness, and discernment of the truth is becoming rare.”

“Without silence and the space to think slowly, deeply, and purposefully, we risk losing not only cognitive capacities but also the depth of our interactions, both human and divine.”

Social media pitfalls

The document raises red flags about “pitfalls to avoid” with social media, such as aggressive and negative speech shared under the “cloak of pseudonymity.”

“Along the ‘digital highways’ many people are hurt by division and hatred. We cannot ignore it. We cannot be just silent passersby. In order to humanize digital environments, we must not forget those who are ‘left behind.’ We can only see what is going on if we look from the perspective of the wounded man in the parable of the Good Samaritan,” it says.

The text notes how algorithms’ content personalization can reinforce people’s own opinions without exposure to other ideas, which at times can lead to “encouraging extreme behaviors.”

It also raises concerns about how social media companies treat people as commodities whose “profiles and data are sold.” The text underlines that social media “is not free: We are paying with minutes of our attention and bytes of our data.”

Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency

We celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity this Sunday. In the second reading, we have the classic greeting of St. Paul to his communities, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). St. Paul who was a Jewish convert and came late to the faith had a very good grasp of the Holy Trinity. St. Paul assigned roles to each person of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is the Father’s grace or gift given to us out of the Father’s love for humanity as the gospel tells us (Jn. 3:16). The Holy Spirit is the one who unites and brings to fellowship the church so that the believers “agree with one another and live in peace” (2 Cor. 13:11).

Unity in Diversity

Reflections

The Most Holy Trinity is at the core or Christian doctrine. No matter how difficult it is to grasp intellectually, God revealed Himself to us in three ways: as Creator and maintainer of the universe, as Savior who became flesh, and as Spirit who though invisible animates the Church. There were many efforts to explain this mystery of God as Three-In-One . St. Patrick who brought the faith to Ireland used the most common plant, the shamrock with its threepointed leaves. What I love most is this explanation of an African chief who was listening to a missionary trying to explain the intricacies of the Trinity, and making no headway. The chief said, “ I get it. God is like the Sun, who sends the Light (Jesus), and who keeps us warm (the Holy Spirit). The three are always together and remain as One.” These are poor human attempts to explain the mystery of the Trinity, but these attempts give us a little glimpse into the mystery. God is a communion of persons.

In his call to Synodality, Pope Francis, Pope Francis invites the universal church to journey together towards

Daily

1) Communion,

2)Participation, and

3) Mission. The call to Synodality is a call to live the life of the Trinity. Because God is community, we in the church are also invited to live a life of communion with one another. We are invited to communion with God, with our co-believers, and even with those outside of the church. Communion is the mark of Christian disciples so that an early observer of the life of Christians remarked, “See, how they love one another.” A mark of communion is participation in the life of worship, service, and witness. As St. Paul encouraged his communities, each one is given a charism to serve the church. Each one is unique but each one contributes to building up the Body of Christ, which is the Church. It is not enough to keep God’s gift of salvation within the circles of the church. As Pope Francis repeats, the Church is not self-referential. The Church and each of its members have an obligation to share the faith “to all the world”. Each disciple is duty-bound to witness to his faith in love, service, and proclamation.

In the personal level, we can live the Trinitarian spirituality, like St. Paul. When we pray, we address God the Father in worship, and petition. We imitate Jesus who “went about doing good” and who showed the face of the Father as love. We seek the guidance of the Holy Trinity in every activity that we do so that we can further communion and unity.

Indeed, although we are many and each one is unique, we are called to be a unity in diversity, just like the Holy Trinity.

Readings

Readings: no. 353, p. 972 or no. 577, p. 1779

1st Reading: Tobit 1.1ad, 2a, 3, 17; 2.1-8++

Gospel: Mark 12.1-12

Readings: no. 354, p. 975

1st Reading: Tobit 2.9-14; 3.1++

Gospel: Mark 12.13-17

Readings: no. 355, p. 977

1st Reading: Tobit 3.1-6a, 7-10a,11-13, 15b-17a

Gospel: Mark 12.18-27

Readings: no. 356, p. 981

1st Reading: Tobit 4.20; 5.4; 6.10-11b; 7.1, 9-16; 8.1, 4-9++

Gospel: Mark 12.28-34

Readings: no. 357, p. 985

1st Reading: Tobit 11.5-15

Gospel: Mark 12.35-37

Readings: no. 358, p. 987

1st Reading: Tobit 12.1-20

Gospel: Mark 12.38-44