THE INCARNATE WORD GODS GREATEST GIFT TO HUMANITY!

PASTORAL LETTER FOR CHRISTMAS 2011

Dear People of God in the Diocese of Daet: Once again the spirit of Christmas is upon us! I take this opportunity to invite you to reminisce the story of Christmas and rediscover its true meaning. The real Christmas story is the story of God becoming man in the Person of Jesus Christ. With this, God has gifted humanity. Why did God do such a thing? The Gospel of St. Johnanswers the question directly by saying thatFor God so loved the world He gave His only Son!(John 3:16). That is why, every time we celebrate Christmas, we re-enact this incredible act of love. Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious and responsive to the needs of the poor and less fortunate. Generous Giving to the Church: Reciprocating the Gifts of God We, who love and follow Jesus,give gifts to reciprocate the true "Gift" given by the Father. Wetook this idea of gift giving at Christmas based on the Scripture account about theThree Magi (wise men) giving gifts to Jesus: "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then, they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh"(Matthew 2:10-11). Focusing on the wonderful gift of salvation the Lord has given us (Isaiah 9:6), giving becomes a natural expression of gratitude. Giving and receiving gifts can be part of fulfilling what St. Paul says about giving when he writes in 2 Corinthians 8:7-8: "But just as you excel in everythingin faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for ussee that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others." St. Paul was talking to the churches who were giving him gifts (financial) so that he could keep on in the ministry. We can apply this same lesson to our own lives by giving to the Church and to others, not just at Christmas, but year round!

God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7) Recently, we received feelers that some of our faithful struggle with the issue of giving for the needs of the Church or the so-called donation fatigue. Some have purposely asked to be spared from any monetary contributionsasked by the Church community. Are they already tired in making offerings to the Church? Isnt giving intended to be a joy and a blessing, and not asa burden? St. Paul teaches us to listen to our hearts as far as giving is concerned:Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause (2 Cor 9: 7-8).The practice of our giving, coming from the heart, would cause us to be moved by compassion (cfr. Eph 4:28). Every Christian,therefore,should diligently pray and seek Gods wisdom in the matter of participating in giving and/or how much to give (James 1:5). Above all, all tithes and offerings should be given with pure motives and an attitude of worship to God and service to the body of Christ. Thus, every time we donate to the Church, we express to God our love for Him and the work that He has entrusted to us. The Duty and Rightof Every Faithful to Provide for the Needs of the Church The Church, despite not having a purpose of a political, social and economic nature, does need human resources to achieve its mission (LG 8). In particular, it should have at its disposal those temporal goods needed for the worthy celebration of divine worship, for the honest sustenance of its ministers and for other ends inherent to it, primarily, works of apostolate and of charity. To provide for the needs of the people of God is not only a duty of the faithful, but also a right, which means that the faithful have the right in the Church to undertake initiatives to contribute in order to meetHerneeds. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that among the precepts of the Church, the faithful have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities (n. 2043). Likewise, the 1983 Code of Canon Law provides that: The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers (Can. 222, 1). This obligation of the faithful to provide for the needs of the Church derives not only from the inherent right of the Church to require from the faithful whatever is necessary for its proper objectives(Can. 1260), but even more radically, from the shared responsibility of the baptized in the single mission

of the Church that of announcing to all peoples, at all times and in all places the salvation that God has wrought in Jesus Christ. Thus, no one should fail to take note of the material needs which the achievement of this mission entails. Each one needs to contribute in order to satisfy the needs of the Church generously according to the extent of ones own particular possibilities and resources. Further, the Christian faithful have a true obligation to ensure the priests do not lack the means to live decently and with dignity (PO 20). The assistance given by the faithful is meant to provide for the appropriate support of the ministers, as they completely render service to God and the Gospel. For the laborer deserves his wages(Lk 10:7), and the Lord commanded that they who proclaim the Gospel should obtain their living by the Gospel (1 Cor 9:14). The faithful can satisfy their duty to provide for the needs of the Church in multiple ways: from donations (alms, contributions, wills, etc.) which are given spontaneously. This obligation extends not only through monetary offerings but personal services as well. Some Practical Considerations In order to affirm the right and every duty of the faithful to provide for the needs of the Church and to avoid any misunderstanding on the practice of giving donations to the Church, I deem it opportune to give some practical pastoral guidelines for the entire diocese, to wit: 1. To design and implement a formation program on stewardship that will help both priests and laity discover and live out the different evangelical values especially those that deal with the material goods of the earth; 2. To establish finance council in each parish so that the priests especially parish priests will have collaborators in taking care of the material resources that are entrusted to them and 3. To reorient and revitalize the parish pastoral councils, the barangay pastoral councils and members of the different religious organizations so that they will also encourage more people especially those who live in the periphery of the Church to take a more active part in the building up of the Kingdom of God here on earth. Conclusion To end, I go back to what I have said at the beginning of this letter. On Christmas day, God has gifted us with His Only Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed, Christmas will always be the best gift of God to humankind. For this reason, we are filled with joy! Moreover, Christ dwelling among us is an expression

par excellence of Gods love: For God so loved the world He gave His only Son!(John 3:16). For this, we are also called to radiate this love. Thus, if we want Jesus to be born today, it must be through our love! Let us then reciprocate Gods gift of love with our own ways of gifting, excelled in the grace of giving(cf. 2 Cor 8:7-8); not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver(2 Cor 9: 7).Mabiyayang Pasko po sa lahat!

Most Rev. GILBERT A. GARCERA, D.D. Bishop of Daet December 25, 2011