The Renewed Mission of the Church

RENEWED INTEGRAL EVANGELIZATION

Message of Salvation 1. A Renewed Catechesis

Christo-centric and rooted in the Word of God Authentically Filipino and Systematic

2. A Renewed social apostolate

A Constitutive dimension

Evangelization is
the proclamation, above all, of SALVATION from sin; LIBERATION from everything oppressive to man; the DEVELOPMENT of man in all his dimensions, personal and communitarian; and, ultimately, the RENEWAL OF SOCIETY in all its strata through the interplay of the GOSPEL TRUTHS and mans concrete TOTAL LIFE.

Renewed Evangelization
Goals
Formation of Catholics in a properly integrated spirituality

Unites faith in the Lord with justice and charity Seeks the salvation of total human person while keeping in mind the primacy of her spiritual needs Seeks for change not only in the interior attitudes but in ecclesial and societal structures Witnesses through action to the faith she profess Dynamically inter-relates communion and mission in the Church life.

Evangelization
seeks to transform the whole fabric of society according to the values of the Kingdom and of Christ total human development, integral liberation, justice and peace in society integrity of creation

Evangelization
The first and most potent means of renewed evangelization is not the teaching of doctrine, but the witnessing to others of the working of Gods grace in our lives. How? 1) by living according to the Gospel, so that our lives may be Gospel inspired 2) by giving testimony to our experience of Gods grace

The Holy Spirit: the Principal Agent of Evangelization

It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that the Incarnation was accomplished It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ carried out his evangelizing work, (his first gift to the Church after His resurrection was the Holy Spirit.) A dramatic outpouring of this Spirit took place on the Pentecost, inaugurating the Churchs evangelizing mission. It is the Holy Spirit who continues and brings the work of Christ to perfection. It is the Holy Spirit who impels each individual to proclaim the gospel, and it is he who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood.

3. A Renewed Worship
All of life is worship Renewal of prayer life Renewal of popular piety Liturgical renewal

Message of Liberation
Evangelization and liberation The Church, a flawed but potent resource A vision of a people and nation renewed Social Apostolate towards Transformation A Spirituality of Social Transformation Formation of a Social Conscience The Social Doctrines of the Church Lay Empowerment

Evangelization and liberation

Evangelization: proclamation of salvation Salvation: freedom from the power of sin and being brought into communion of love with God Liberation: temporal order

The Church, a flawed but potent resource

The Church is perceived as the bastion of conservatism and as the defender of the social status quo But the Church can should be a power towards integral national development The Church is a light the illumines a spiritual force that needs to critique the social, political and cultural fields in order to affirm, denounce, purify or reinforce in the light of the Word of God.

A vision of a people and nation renewed

Maka-tao Maka-bayan Maka-Diyos

Our Vision of a New Filipino Nation

We shall have to create a free nation; where human dignity and solidarity are respected and promoted; where moral principles prevail in socio-economic life and structures; where justice, love and solidarity are the inner driving forces of development.

We shall have to build a sovereign nation: where every tribe and faith are respected; where diverse tongues and traditions work together for the good of all; where membership is a call to participation and involvement, and leadership a summon to generous service.

Ours will have to be a people: in harmony with one another through unity in diversity; in harmony with creation, and in harmony with God. Ours shall be a civilization of life and love.

Social Apostolate towards Transformation

How should the Church foster social transformation and assist the little people in bringing about harmony and kaayusan in their lives? How should the Church announce the Kingdom of Justice, Peace and Love in the context of great social, economic, political and cultural imbalances? How can we, as a community of the Lords disciples, be a leaven of social transformation?

A Spirituality of Social Transformation

Our struggle to build the Kingdom of God is a pilgrim journey, a journey to truth and justice, to love and peace, a journey to full life. In the poverty and underdevelopment of our nation, in its conflicts and divisions, we see the hand of human sinfulness, particularly the grasping paws of greed for profit and power.

It is sinfulness that is the root of our socio-economic and political problems, and we need to name the problems by their true name of sin.

Structures of sin or social sins, which consist of situations, collective behavior, or structures that cause and perpetuate social injustices. the all-consuming desire for profit, the thirst for power, with the intention of imposing ones will upon others

The acknowledgment of sinfulness as the root cause of our social problems must perforce lead to conversion and social transformation. Conversion requires the renewal of peoples relationships and their social structure.

Jesus Christs message of transformation and liberation in the Kingdom of God is concretized by his own life and death. The Beatitudes of the Kingdom are embodied in his own person, as he went about doing good.

Our way of life- our spiritualityfor social transformation is nothing more and nothing less than a following of Jesus in-mission.
It is the spirituality of the community of disciples. Spirituality is a radical living of what we preach, a witnessing to the radical demands of the Gospel.

A spirituality of social transformation:

is marked by a love of preference for the poor, shares Good News, joy in the midst of deprivation, hope in situations of cynicism and pessimism, a faith that is fully aware of the enduring presence of God-with-us and of the ultimate victory of goodness over evil, Listens to and heeds Gods word, discerns and follows the Spirit in the Scripture, in the Church and in history, in the voices of the voiceless and powerless and finds in the Eucharist not only its full nourishment but also its total prayerful communion with the Lord of salvation and liberation. It urges one to care for the earth as Gods gift.

Formation of a Social Conscience

Two dimensions:
Persons basic moral tendency in the depths of a persons being
A basic moral value that summons the person to obedience, to love good and avoid evil

A practical moral judgment in the persons heart telling the person inwardly at the right moment: do this, shun that.
The dimension of being obliged by God whose voice echoes in the most secret core and sanctuary of the human person

The Social Doctrines of the Church

Integral Development: Human dignity and solidarity
For development to be integral it must serve the total person in all dimensions including the interior, that is the spiritual dimension and eternal salvation of human person.

Universal Purpose of Earthly Goods and Private Property

God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity.

Social justice and love

Development cannot be achieved unless it is thoroughly imbued with justice and love

Peace and active non-violence

The Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is not a Kingdom to be imposed by the force of arms. It is a Kingdom to be built by love, the love of the suffering servant.

Peace is a harmony in the human heart and in the social order brought about by justice, requiring respect for human dignity and human rights, the promotion of the common good by one and all, and the constant practice of solidarity.

Love of Preference for the Poor

The common good dictates that more attention must be given to the less fortunate members of the society. Eternal salvation depends on the living out of love of preference for the poor because the poor and the needy bear the privileged presence of Christ.

The Value of Human Work

A just development would have to give full recognition to the dignity of human work. Jesus worked as a carpenter The human person is the subject of work and must not be treated as an instrument of production. The person has primacy over things.

Integrity of Creation
A true and just development must fundamentally be concerned with a passionate care of our earth and our environment The sovereignty granted to us by the Creator is not a license to misuse Gods creation. We are but stewards of creation, not its absolute master. And stewards are accountable to the Creator and giver of all good things.

People Empowerment
No social transformation is genuine and lasting where people themselves do not actively participate in the process. Persons are the active and responsible subjects of social life. Peoples participation is a recognition of Gods fundamental gifts of freedom and responsibility.

The building of Gods Kingdom begins, after all, on earth and depends on human cooperation with the grace of God, Empowering people is thus a prerequisite in the renewal of our country. Without it, our destiny as a people would remain in the hands of the few.