Year of the Laity

A talk for the Catechist

Katekista: Banal at Bayani, Ikaw Na!
Introduction:
The CBCP declared 2014 to be the Year of the Laity. It officially
began last Dec 1 with the release of the Pastoral Exhortation
titled, Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be Saints Sent
Forth as Heroes penned by Archbishop Soc Villegas, the new
CBCP President.
As some of you may know, the Philippine Church is preparing for
2021 the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines (from 1521
to 2021). The highlight of the preparations is 9 years of intensive
evangelization with a different theme each year from October 21,
2012 until March 16, 2021.
A nine-year journey for the New Evangelization has already been
charted climaxing with the Jubilee Year 2021:
Integral Faith Formation (2013);
the Laity (2014);
the Poor (2015);
the Eucharist and of the Family (2016);
the Parish as a Communion of Communities (2017);
the Clergy and Religious (2018);
the Youth (2019);
Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Dialogue (2020);
Missio ad gentes (2021). These are the nine pastoral
priorities of the Church in the Philippines. Last liturgical year,
2013, we celebrated a Year of Faith.This liturgical year, 2014,
is time for a Year of the Laity.
Called to be Saints Sent Forth as Heroes
It is a vocation, a calling: as we all know there are 3 major
vocations
o Married life
o Single Blessedness
o Ordained life/ religious life
Ex. Going to manila-by land, by sea or by airbut the same
destination Manila!
But all of this is geared towards HOLINESS!
A saint is one who has been recognized for having an exceptional
degree of holiness. The original Christian usage referred to any
believer who is "in Christ" and in whom Christ dwells, whether in
heaven or in earth
A hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) (Ancient Greek: ,
hrs) refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or

from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for selfsacrificethat is, heroismfor some greater good of all humanity.
St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians talks of a crown of glory but we
need to work on it, we need to run the race and keep the faith!
In running the race, there are many obstacles that will come, but we
need not to lose Hope for the future Glory in heaven!
Since we are talking of calling, let us see how we must do these things.
What is our guide?
The Gospel would tell us that when we are Called to be Saints
Sent Forth as Heroes we are Salt of the earth and light of the world
(Matthew 5:13-16)
Fr. Bob Titco, in one of his homilies, has a beautiful analogy of this
Gospel. Please allo me to deliver t in tagalog, anay tagalong din naman
ang Tema Ninyo..hehehehe..
Hindi po lahat ng tao ay mahilig kumain. Pero lahat po ng tao ay
mahilig sa masarap na pagkain. Meron po ba sa inyong kapag kakain
ay naghahanap ng matabang na pagkain? Wala. Naiinis o nagagalit
pa nga po ang iba kapag matabang ang timpla ng inihain sa kanila.
Dapat malasa. Pero hindi rin po basta malasa ay masarap, hindi ba?
Paano po kasing malasa nga kasi sobrang maalat. Dapat tamang
timpla.
Ano po ba ang naglalabas ng lasa ng pagkain? Pagkatapos paghaluhaluin ang mga sangkap ng isang putahe, ano po ang hindi puwedeng
mawala? Asin. Bakit po? Dahil asin ang nagpapalitaw ng lasa ng
pagkain. Kapag walang asin, sigurado pong matabang. Kapag walang
asin, puwede rin pong nuknukan din ng asim kasi hindi nailabas ang
lasa ng ibang sangkap. Puwede rin naman pong kauyam-uyam na
tamis kapag walang asin kasi hindi nga nailabas ang lasa ng ibang
sangkap. Kaya nga po sinasabing asin ang nagbibigay-lasa sa pagkain,
pero ang katotohanan ay pinalilitaw ng asin ang lasang ambag ng
bawat sangkap ng putahe.
Nang sabihin ni Jesus na tayo, ika, ang asin sa sanlibutan, ito nga po
ang ibig Niyang sabihin. Palabasin natin ang lasang ambag ng bawat
sangkap. Bagamat maraming sangkap na nag-aambag upang
mapasarap ang isang putahe, animoy tayo ang nagbibigay-lasa sa
kabuuan.
Ngunit paano na po kung pati tayo, na mga asin, ay nawalan na rin ng
alat? Paano pa natin magagampanan ang ating napakahalagang
papel?
Nawawalan po tayo ng lasa kapag pinatabang na rin tayo mismo ng
kamunduhan. Kapag sunud-sunuran na lang po tayo sa pabagobagong pauso ng mundo, nawawalan ng saysay ang ating pagiging

Kristiyano. Ang taong makamundo, kapani-paniwala po ba siya kapag

nangaral siya tungkol sakabanalan? Kapag babaero ang isang lalaki,
puwede ba niyang pangaralan ang kumpare niya tungkol sa katapatan
sa asawa? Ang lasengero, may karapatan po ba siyang pagsabihan
ang kaibigang sugapa sa alak? Kung sugarol ang magulang, susundin
pa ba siya ng anak niya kapag pinaalalahanan niya itong huwag
magwawaldas ng pera? Ang mangongopyang estudyante, may lakasloob po ba siyang isumbong ang kaklase niyang mandaraya? Ang
taong sinungaling, maaaring po ba siyang magbigay ng panayam
tungkol sa katotohanan? Kung kawatan, may karapatan ba siyang
mangaral tungkol sa pagiging mabuting katiwala?
Kung kapareho na rin po tayo ng mundo, paano pa natin mababago
ang mundo tungo sa mabuti? Kapag wala na rin po tayong lasa, paano
pa natin mapapaalat ang ating kapwa? Kung pare-pareho po tayong
matabang, saan pa tayo kukuha ng alat? At kapag wala na pong lasa
ang pagkain, wala na itong silbi. Itinatapon na lang ito o pinakakain sa
hayop. Kung wala na po tayong lasa, wala na rin tayong silbi. Ano
pong gusto nating gawin sa atin: itapon na lang o ipakain sa hayop?
Payag naman po kaya tayo?
Kaya, mag-ingat po tayo. Huwag po nating hahayaang patabangin
tayo ng mundo. Manatili tayong asin na, bukod sa nakapagpapalinis,
nagpapalasa rin sa sanlibutan.
Pero, ingat din po na baka sumosobra naman tayo. Kapag sobrang
alat, nasisira rin ang pagkain. Kaya kailangan din po nating tanungin
ang sarili natin: Nakapagpapasarap pa ba ako ng pagkain o nakasisira
na lang? Sa aking tahanan, sa aking parokya, sa aking bansa, ako ba
ang pampasarap o pansira?

Sinabi rin po ni Jesus, Kayoy ilaw sa sanlibutan. Naalala ko po ang

isang kuwento.
Matanda na ako, wika ng isang amo sa kanyang tatlong katiwala.
Gusto kong malaman ninyo na ang lahat ng aking kayamanan ay
ipamamana ko sa isa sa inyo. Pero kailangan muna kayong dumaan sa
pagsubok na ito. Heto ang salapi, tig-sa-sampunlibong piso kayo.
Heto rin ang tatlong malalaki, bakante, at madilim na silid, tig-isa rin
kayo. Ngayon, humayo kayo at punuin ninyo ang silid ng anumang
mabibili ng tig-sampunlibong piso ninyo. Ang makapupuno ang siyang
magiging kaisa-isang tagapagmana ng lahat ng kayamanan ko.
At humayo na po ang tatlong katiwala.
Ginamit ng una ang kanyang salaping tinanggap para bumili ng ibat
ibang uri ng papel na kanyang pinagpira-piraso at inilagay sa malaki,
bakante, at madilim na silid na natoka sa kanya. Ngunit ni hindi man
lang niya po napangalahating punuin ang silid.

Ang ikalawa naman ay bumili ng mga buhangin. Subalit bigo rin

siyang punuin ang malaki, bakante, at madilim na silid.
Magtatakipsilim na po nang dumating ang ikatlo, may tangan-tangang
kandila. Isinama niya ang amo sa malaki, bakante, at madilim na silid
na dapat niyang punuin ng kahit ano. Pagpasok nila sa silid, ipinatong
ng katiwala ang kandila sa sahig at pagkatapos ay sinindihan ang
mitsa nito.
Boss, wika ng ikatlong katiwala, may nakikita po ba kayong madilim
na bahagi ng silid na ito?
Wala, sagot ng amo.
Kung gayon, hindi lamang po sa hindi na madilim ang silid na ito,
hindi na rin po ito bakante. Pagkalaki-laki man po ng silid na ito,
kayang-kaya naman itong punuin ng liwanag na mula sa kahit munting
kandilang ito.
Ang ikatlong katiwala ang nagwagi. Hangang-hanga sa kanyang
katalinuhan, ipinamana sa kanya ng kanyang amo ang lahat nitong
kayamanan.

Hindi lang daw po tayo asin sa sanlibutan, ilaw din pala tayo sa
sanlibutan, sabi ng Panginoon. At dapat din daw po nating paliwanagin
ang ating ilaw sa harapan ng mga tao hindi para purihan tayo kundi
ang ating Ama sa langit.
Paano nga po ba nating paliliwanagin ang ilaw natin? Balikan po natin
ang pahayag ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ni Propeta Isaias sa unang
pagbasa ngayon. Ipinasasabi raw sa atin ng Panginoon, ayon sa
Propeta, Ang mga nagugutom ay inyong pakanin, patuluyin sa inyong
tahanan ang walang tirahan. Yaong mga tao na halos hubad na ay
inyong paramtan, ang pagtulong sa mga kasama ay huwag tatalikdan.
At kung magkagayon, matutulad kayo sa bukang-liwayway. Kung
titigilan ninyo ang pang-aalipin at pagsuway sa akin, at ang masamang
salitay iiwasan, kung ang nagugutom ay pakakanin ninyo at
tutulungan, ang kadilimang bumabalot sa inyo ay magiging tila
liwanang sa katanghalian.

Ngayon alam na po natin kung bakit, sa kabila ng ilang bilyon nang

taon ng pagsikat ng araw, paglitaw ng buwan, at pagkakatulas ng tao
sa apoy, marami pa ring madidilim na sulok sa mundo. Kulang na
kulang pa po ang mga Kristiyanong nagliliwanag sa pamamagitan ng
tapat na pagsasabuhay ng kanilang pananampalataya. Kailangangkailangan pa po ang mga alagad ni Jesus na, tulad ni San Pablo Apostol
sa ikalawang pagbasa natin ngayon, aakit sa lahat ng tao sa
pamamagitan ng patutoo ng Espiritu at namumuhay sa pananalig kay

Kristo nang hindi batay sa karunungan ng tao kundi sa kapangyarihan

ng Diyos. Sa kasawiampalad pa, kulang na kulang na nga at
kailangang-kailangan pa nga, pero meron pang mga Kristiyano raw
na, sa tutoo lang po, kadiliman ang dala sa buhay ng maraming tao.
Sana po, huwag na tayong dumagdag pa.

Gaya rin sa asin, ingatan din po natin na baka sa sobrang pagliliwanag

natin ay nakabubulag naman tayo sa halip na nakatutulong
makakita. Lagi lang po sana nating tiyakin na ang liwanag ng ating
ilaw ay hindi lamang nagmumula kay Jesus kundi si Jesus mismo. Kasi
po, aminin man natin o hindi, minsan ang liwanag-liwanag nga natin
pero hindi naman talaga si Jesus ang ating ilaw. Baka hindi na
pagpupuri sa Diyos ang pakay natin. Baka sarili na natin ang gusto
nating sumikat, palakpakan, at papurihan. Baka lang naman po.
With this insights I believe we are already most likely enlightened.
Now well talk about these things squarely. We will talk of the concrete
things that we need to address.
First is FAITH AND EVANGELIZATION!
Fr. James Kroeger in his article Celebrating the Year of the Laity
envisions this empowerment as
o a renewal of the laity, a renewal that is founded on the
pillars of faith and evangelization.
o We constantly need to ask: What is the role of faith-filled
laity in evangelization?
o How do laity live, proclaim, witness, and transmit Christs
Gospel to humanity?
o How can the laity facilitate the opening up of peoples lives,
society, culture and history to the person of Christ and his
living community, the Church?
Our Philippine history would tell us that, we look forward with
gratitude and joy to March 16, 2021, the fifth centenary of the
coming of Christianity to our beloved land.
We remember with thanksgiving the first Mass celebrated in
Limasawa Island on Easter Sunday March 31 that same blessed
year.
We remember the baptism of Rajah Humabon who was given his
Christian name Carlos and his wife Hara Amihan who was
baptized Juana in 1521.
Our eyes gaze on the Santo Nio de Cebu, the oldest religious
icon in the Philippines, gift of Ferdinand Magellan to the first
Filipino Catholics that same year. Indeed the year 2021 will be a
year of great jubilee for the Church in the Philippines.(CBCP
Pastoral Letter on the Era of New Evangelization)

 Moreover, when we talk about faith and evangelization, we are

reminded that Evangelization indicates
o proclamation, transmission and witnessing to the Gospel
given to humanity by our Lord Jesus Christ and
o

the opening up of peoples lives, society, culture and history

to the Person of Jesus Christ and to His living community, the
Church.

GOAL/ CHALLENGE:
This New Evangelization is primarily addressed
o to those who have drifted from the Faith.
o we are being called to
Evangelization in Asia is

do

by

this

task

of

New

o to consider anew the new methods and means for

transmitting the Good News more effectively to our people.
o We are challenged anew to foster in the Church in our
country a renewed commitment
o and enthusiasm in living out the Gospel in all the diverse
areas of our lives, in real-life practice,
o challenged anew to become more and more authentic
witnesses of our faith, especially to our Asian neighbors as a
fruit of our intensified intimacy with the Lord.
SECOND : BEING A WITNESS TO THIS FAITH!

Since we are talking about faith and evangelization, we will not go

further in looking for examples, we should see the situation of our
own local Church here in the Philippines.
Bishop Socrates Villegas recounted that, while the Philippines has
been a Catholic nation for almost 500 years and a vast majority
of Filipinos are Catholic, majority of the corrupt people in
government and business are Catholic, majority of politicians who
buy votes are Catholic, and majority of Filipinos who sell their
votes are Catholic.

 Hence, there is an urgent need to renew the social and political

fabric of our country.
The bishops further add, Individual goodness is not sufficient
anymore. The good individual will only be swallowed up by the
evil system.
Bishop Soc notes the insufficiency of our religious festivities and
educational systems, It is certainly a shameful proof of our
failure to evangelize our country that our churches are filled with
people, our religious festivities are fervent, our Catholic schools
are many, but our country is mired in poverty and in corruption.
There appears to be a disconnection between the faith we profess
and the actions we commit.
On the positive side, the CBCP lauded the faith exhibited by
Filipinos, especially when faced with devastating calamities. They
said, what Filipinos have is a paradox of poverty and abundance.
We may be anguished, dazed, and lost in the face of recent
calamities but amid all these, the abundance of hope, faith, and
love surfaces.
These are the jewels of Filipino dignity. The first and most
important truth about you Filipino Catholic laity is not poverty but
the greatness of your dignity.
The CBCP went on to stress the role of the laity to transform the
world by penetrating the different straits of society where we
participate.
Noting the words of the Supreme Pontiff, they said, You must go
into the world of the family, of business, of economics, of politics,
of education, of the mass media and the social media, to every
human endeavor where the future of humanity and the world are
at stake and to make a difference.
We can draw strength from reading the Word of God and the
seeking recourse to the Sacraments. More importantly, we must
evangelize through our own simple means by making our faith
bear on our day-to-day decisions and activities.
THIRDLY: CONCRETE IDEAS!
In order to concretize these basic statements of faith and
evangelization, The Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines In their pastoral letter, Live Christ, Share Christ, state
their vision for the Year of the Laity. and outlined important
pillars for evangelization.
First, fostering and fulfilling the missio ad gentes, as a special
vocation of the Church in our country, effectively involving our
laypeople, our Christifideles brothers and sisters; our priests
and seminarians; men and women in consecrated life.

 Secondly, bringing Good News to the poor. Again and

again, Filipino Catholics coming together to discern priorities,
have seen that the Church here must become genuinely a
Church for and with the poor.
Thirdly, reaching out to those among us whose faith-life has
been largely eroded and even lost due to the surrounding
confusion, moral relativism, doubt, agnosticism; reaching out to
those who have drifted from the Faith and the Church, and
have joined other religious sects.
Lastly, awakening or reawakening in faith, forming and animating
in Christian life our young people and youth sector groups, in
both urban and rural settings
the pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature (AG 2).
o Without a commitment to missionary evangelization, the
Church (laity, religious, ordained) is simply not true to her
identity as the Church Christ established!
Indeed, lay people are challenge to bring the Gospel into all strata
of humanity [social, political, economic, cultural, spiritual, etc.]
and thus transform the world?
Our Pope, bishop-shepherds continue: Yet, the gifts of the Holy
Spirit through these sacraments [Baptism and Confirmation] often
remain dormant.
This year is to be devoted to the renewal of the laity, to their
empowerment or more accurately to activating their charism
from the Spirit, so that they may indeed take up their role as coresponsible agents of evangelization and lead in the task of social
transformation.
FOURTHLY:A challenge left for us
We need to hear again the great commandment for mission, the
mission mandate of Christ Jesus himself: As the Father has sent
me, even so I send you (John 20:21).
So as we embark on a nine-year spiritual journey that will
culminate with the great jubilee of 2021 we must bear in mind of
this grace-filled event of blessings for the Church.

 We should always remember that indeed that October 21 of last

year, when the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI add another Filipino
to the canon of saints of the Church, our very own Visayan protomartyr Pedro Calungsod who gave his life for the faith on the
morning of April 2, 1672 in Guam, it was a great honor as well as
a great challenge to all of us.
We should not also forget our First Filipino saint in the person of
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, who died for the faith. His famous sord were:
"Ego Catholicus sum et animo prompt para to que pro Deo
mortem obibo. Si mille vitas haberem, cuncta sei offerrem." {I am
a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for the Lord; If I
had a thousand lives, all these I shall offer to Him
May our Lady, Mary Mother of Our Lord, the star of the Sea, lead
us all in our longing and labors to bring her son Jesus Christ into
our time and our world, our Emmanuel our God who remains
with us now and yet whose coming again in glory we await.
LASTLY, A STORY of A SON
The Story of a Son
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They
had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would
often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Viet
Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous
and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was
notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the
door.A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your
son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying
me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died
instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art. The young
man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a
great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have
this."The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son,
painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had
captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so
drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked
the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I
could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."The father hung
the portrait over his mantle.
Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the
portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works

he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a
great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered,
excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to
purchase one for their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded
his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who
will bid for this picture?"There was silence. Then a voice in the back of
the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this
one."But the auctioneer persisted, "Will someone bid for this painting?
Who will start the bidding? $100,
$200?"Another voice shouted
angrily, "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van
Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"But still the
auctioneer continued, "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the
longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the
painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford."We have $10,
who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10
is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry.
They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy
investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the
gavel."Going once, twice, SOLD for $10! A man sitting on the second
row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid
down his gavel, "I'm sorry, the auction is over.""What about the
paintings?""I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was
told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that
stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire
estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets
everything!"God gave his Son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross.
Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The Son, the Son,
who'll take the Son?" Because you see, whoever takes the Son gets
everything.
- Source: E-mail Inspirational Message
Maranatha, AMEN.!
Sources:
1. Bishop Soc Villegas, Year of the laity intro Document
Transcript at http://www.slideshare.net/karlolara/year-of-thelaity-intro
2. Celebrating the Year of the LaityFiled under: Living Mission Fr. James Kroeger |
3. CBCP Pastoral Letter on the Era of New Evangelization
4. Fr. Bob Titco 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Homily
5. PCC 102: Msgr. Pedro Gerardo O. Santos Ed. D.

Deogratias
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