17. Sacraments

17. Lineamenta on Sacraments

The Meaning of Sacraments in People’s Lives

God calls us gratuitously and freely to participate in his divine life through Jesus Christ in whom we have become a new people of God (Lumen Gentium [LG], 2 & 9). As a new people of God or Church, we manifest Jesus Christ’s presence on earth as the “primordial sacrament of the Father” whose saving mission is to bring the life of fullness. As Church we are a “kind of sacrament of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all mankind” (LG, 1). Just as human beings make use of signs and symbols to express man’s relationship with God, God also uses signs to communicate with us. Arguably, the seven sacraments of the Church are the sensible and effective signs of Christ’s presence in our midst, sanctifying us and nourishing us to sustain and strengthen our faith-life. Through the sacraments, Christ encounters and saves us. “As actions of Christ and of the Church, they are signs and means by which faith is expressed and strengthened, worship is offered to God and our sanctification is brought about. Thus they contribute in the most effective manner to establishing, strengthening and manifesting ecclesiastical communion” (Canon 840).
1) Baptism. The first of the three sacraments of initiation and the gateway to all other sacraments, it incorporates men and women into Christ. It obtains forgiveness of their sins and incorporates them into the Church, the community of faith, hope and charity and calls them to the common sharing of gifts and efforts to exercise Church’s mission.
2) Eucharist. It is the source and summit of all the Church’s worship and of the entire Christian life wherein all other Church’s activity are bound up with it for it contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, Jesus Christ himself. Every Christian community is rooted and has its center in the Eucharist, which is “the indispensable starting point for leading people to a sense of community” (Presbyterorum Ordinis [PO], 6). The Eucharist brings about the unity of the people of God, bringing them to perfection, nourishing them in charity and providing them the foretaste of the heavenly banquet (Sacrosanctum Concilium [SC], 8). In the Diocese of San Carlos, the Eucharist, which shows forth Christ’s preaching of the good news, death and resurrection is the center of the local Church up to the GKK level. It fosters the community spirit in such a way as to make all feel united with their brothers and sisters in the communion of the local and universal Church and even in some way with all humanity.
3) Confirmation. In this sacrament the baptized continue the path of Christian initiation where, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, the believer is conformed more fully to Christ and strengthened to bear witness to Christ, in building the Christian community in faith and love. It reawakens the Christian community to the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit who bestows the members the different gifts which help in the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth.
4) Penance and Reconciliation. Instituted by Jesus Christ the Lord so that sinners may receive pardon from God’s mercy at the same time may have reconciliation with the Church and with our brothers and sisters who are always harmed by our sins. Here the Church finds herself face to face with the human person—in all his/her weakness, wounded and affected by sin in the innermost depths of his/her being and yet desirous to be freed from the bondage of sin and be reconciled back to God, to other people and to the whole creation. In our Diocese, this profound grace of conversion and reconciliation is celebrated in three forms: a) Individual confession, b) Communal preparation followed by individual confession and absolution and c) a collective form of reconciliation with a single, general absolution in special occasions allowed by the local Church.

5) Matrimony. This sacrament cooperate celebrated by the couple - and with solemn witness of the bishop, priest or deacon and other witnesses - signifies the mystery of unity and fruitful love that exists between Christ and his Church (Ephes. 5:32). The institution of marriage requires fidelity to the couple’s covenant where the irrevocable consent that the spouses freely give to and receive from each other manifests Christ’s nuptial bond with the Church. Its purpose is the procreation and education of children where the couples with the love of the Creator, who through them, will constantly enrich and enlarge Christ’s own family.
6) Holy Orders. In this sacrament, some of Christ’s faithful who answer their call to the priesthood “are taken from among men and made their representative before God” (Hebr. 5:1). They are set apart, through their vocation and ordination, not that they may be distant from the people or from any human being but that they may be totally dedicated to the work for which the Lord has raised them up. They fully live the Church mission and exercise it in different ways in communion with the entire people of God.
7) Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament is a sign of Christ’s concern for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the sick. The Church, through her care and ministry for the sick, commends to the Lord the faithful who are sick so that the Lord strengthens the sick and provide him/her with the strongest means of support. This sacrament as a community aspect where the family and some members of the community shall show concern and care for the sick. This is not a sacrament for those who are at the point of death only but for all who are sick.

Through this sacraments, Christ encounters and saves us and are formed into a community of Christ’s faithful people.

Questions for small group discussions:
1. How shall we celebrate our sacraments so that they express Christ saving action and at the same time is building up our local Church in the context of our local culture and situation?
2. How shall we prepare those who will receive the sacraments so that they will find meaning and sense in the liturgical celebration of the sacraments?
3. What norms and guidelines shall guide us for the better celebration of the sacramental liturgy?

12. Education, Catechesis and Lay Formation

12. Lineamenta on Education, Catechesis and Lay Formation

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, CATECHESIS AND LAY FORMATION

The mission of evangelization was entrusted by Christ Jesus to the apostles. “Make disciples of all nations…teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you.”(Mt 28:19-20). The Church, through the help of the Holy Spirit, spreads this call to all peoples by her education ministry, catechesis and formation programs. Through these, the Church as mother and teacher forms, guides and nurtures communities and individuals, especially the youth, in the Gospel message.
The Ministry of Education provides appropriate systems and structures, contextualized pedagogy and curriculum and relevant programs and activities at the diocesan and parish level for the advancement of arts, sciences, humanities and various disciplines in the light of the Gospel message. It defines human beings under formation as created subjects with a destiny, who are promised a resurrected life within the incarnational world and, exercising their gift of freedom, are called to serve the community for the greater glory of God. They are formed as creatures and children of God who are objects of His love and have a personal and transcendental destiny and can see the universe, ennobled by the incarnation of Jesus Christ, in a new meaning. They are nurtured to have a new vision of a human person with a promise of life after death that changes the whole reality of life as we live now. They are educated so that their physical, moral and intellectual talents are developed harmoniously to attain a greater sense of responsibility and the right use of freedom towards a worthy service of God with free will. They are guided to imitate Christ, who proclaims Himself to be the servant of all, making them realize that they are called to use their talents in the service of the community in whose life they participate. The Education Ministry of the Diocese shall abide with Vatican II’s exhortation, “every effort should be made to see that suitable coordination is fostered between various Catholic schools and that between these schools and others that kind of collaboration develops which the well-being of the whole human family demands.”(Gravissimum Educationis[GE], 12)
The Catechetical Ministry echoes what John Paul II said, “Guarding the deposit of faith is the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church, and that which she fulfills in every age.” (John Paul II, Fidei Depositum) It is aimed at making a person’s faith become living, conscious and active through the light of instruction. Through this Ministry the Church realizes its educative function in collaboration with all institutions of learning whether Catholic or non-catholic, private or public schools. It uses approved doctrinal instruments in teaching catholic doctrine and in assiduously “fulfilling the mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life.”(Catechism of the Catholic Church [NY: Image Doubleday, 1995], p.6) In line with the call for catechetical renewal as Church of the poor of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines [PCP II] toward a renewed integral evangelization as developed in the National Pastoral Plan [NPP] (Cfr. Catechism for Filipino Catholics [Makati: Word & Life Publications, 1997] pp.1-6), the ministry shall design an appropriate common diocesan curriculum of catechesis and establish a common catechetical institute in collaboration with existing tertiary catholic schools within the diocese for professionalizing the catechists.
Lay Formation Program is a common diocesan formation program and training design for lay leaders to enhance their competence in evangelizing the world and to have an active participation in the saving mission of the Church. The challenges of daily life marked by poverty and injustice, violence and destruction of environment, modernization and globalization, consumerism and individualism call for a new form of integral faith formation and well-rounded education for lay leaders. The Church in her mission of love, freedom, justice, peace and care for creation enunciates a relevant lay education that responds to the needs of all segments of society and rooted in the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Magisterium.

Guide questions for small group discussions:
1. How can we have a proactive Education Ministry that responds to the Catholic education needs of our parishes, quasi-parishes, mission areas and schools?
2. How can we sustain an effective and relevant catechesis in our parishes, quasi-parishes, mission areas, schools and GKKs?
3. What should be our common diocesan program for formation of lay leaders?

15. LOMAS

15. Lineamenta on LOMAS

THE ROLE OF LAY ORGANIZATIONS, MOVEMENTS, ASSOCIATIONS AND SPIRITUAL GROUPS IN PARISH RENEWAL

God’s call to holiness is for the entire human race and for the whole Church. “Thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ in whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (Lumen Gentium [LG], 40). This common call is to be involved in the mission of the Church for evangelization and renewal. “The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on every disciple of Christ according to his ability” (LG, 17). The present developments in our present world and fast-moving pace of our present-day society, however, require a more organized form of spreading the faith and infusing the spirit of renewal into the temporal order. “In the present circumstances, it is quite necessary that, the area of lay activity, the united and organized form of apostolate be strengthened”(Apostolicam Actuositatem [AA], 18). Hence, lay organizations, movements, associations and spiritual groups are formed in response to this and “to put to use every Christian and evangelical possibility latent but already present and active in the affairs of the world” (Evangelii Nuntiandi [EN], 20). These forms of Catholic Action have the combined and simultaneous possession of the following characteristics (AA, 20):
a) The immediate aim of organizations of this kind is the Church’s apostolic aim, that is to make the gospel known and men holy, and to form in them a Christian conscience so that they can infuse the spirit of the gospel into the various communities and spheres of life.
b) Cooperating with the hierarchy in their own way, the laity contribute the benefit of their experience to the running of these organizations, to the weighing of the conditions in which the pastoral activity of the Church has to be conducted, and to the hammering out and carrying out of a program of action. In such matters, they assume responsibility.
c) The laity act together in the manner of an organic body so that the community nature of the Church is more fittingly symbolized and the apostolate rendered more effective.
d) Whether they offer themselves spontaneously or are invited to act and to cooperate directly with the apostolate of the hierarchy, the laity function under the direction of the hierarchy itself, and the latter can sanction this cooperation by an explicit mandate.

Traditional Church associations and organizations like the Legion of Mary, CWL, MBG, KofC, DMI, COM, CFD and others “have been doing a tremendous work of evangelization [and] provide an environment and support for apostolic endeavors” (PCP II, 608). Movements of renewal like Cursillos de Cristianidad, Samaria, Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Neo-catechumenal Way, Christian Family Movement, Christ Family Mission (ChrisFaM), Marriage Encounter, Focolare, Movement for a Better World, Parish Renewal Experience (PREX), Couples for Christ, lay covenant communities and other several movements are instruments of genuine conversion and venues of life-changing encounters with the Lord (PCP II, 610). “When properly guided they draw attention to the continuing presence, power, and activity of the Spirit in the Church and in the world…foster an intense Christian and apostolic life, move passive Catholics by their witnessing, and prevent the lapse of many Catholics into other Christian groups” (PCP II, 612). These organizations, associations, movements and spiritual groups, however, “must not degenerate into elitist religious clubs” (PCP II, 609). “When they develop loyalty to their leader or group loyalty stronger than their loyalty to the wider Church, they become sects” (PCP II, 611). “While they should continue to foster national and international ties with their mother organizations, their members should be encouraged to be involved in BEC’s and their parochial activities should be in accord and in coordination with parish priorities and programs” (PCP II, 609.). “They should become schools of sanctification and reach out to the unchurched and the poor” (Ibid.). They should provide a special contribution to formation expected of lay organizations, associations and movements - particularly on lay spirituality - and deepen the spirituality common to all Christians.

Question for small group discussions:
1. Are lay organizations, movements, associations and spiritual groups greatly involved in building and strengthening BECs and actively participating in parish program and apostolate? If yes, how? If not, why not?
2. Do lay organizations, movements, associations and spiritual groups coordinate always with the parish priest and parish pastoral council and make their programs and activities in accord with the priorities and programs of the parish? If yes, how? If not, why not?
3. How do we shepherd lay organizations, movements, associations and spiritual groups so that they can be tapped for the well-being and renewal of the BECs and the parish? What shall we do with those who are not in accord with parish priorities and programs and do not coordinate with the proper authorities of the parish and local Church?

13. Marian Devotions and other Devotions

13. Lineamenta on Marian Devotion and Other Devotions

MARIAN DEVOTIONS AND OTHER DEVOTIONS

The search for God, which is a yearning rooted deeply in the human soul, is sometimes expressed in a particular form of piety among common people called popular devotions. They are called “popular” because they originated from the people at a certain time and in a given culture and so loved and cherished by the people that they become widespread and are more practiced by them than the official liturgy of the Church (Bernhard Raas, SVD, Popular Devotions [Manila: Divine Word Publications, 1992], p.13). “Devotions”, from Latin devotio meaning consecration, surrender or dedication to perform all for God or anybody who is object of one’s desire, add life to the otherwise stale formality of the official traditional liturgy. A great number of these popular devotions have long and glorious history with them, such that the Church has considered them as veritable helps in one’s sanctification and in building Christian communities. Vatican II commended them to be practiced in proper context and in accord with the existing norms and guidelines of the Church. “Popular devotions of the Christian people are warmly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church” (Sacrosanctum Concilium [SC], 13). The liturgy, however, takes precedence over popular devotions. “These devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them” (Ibid., 13).
In the Diocese of San Carlos, popular devotions are prayers and practices which originate from different circumstances and are promoted by some groups and take the form of novenas and pious practices to the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Blessed Sacrament, Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, particularly St. Vincent Ferrer. Christian values are learned through these devotional practices and the people are lead to God through them. We know Christ is our savior because we have the Friday novenas to the Sacred Heart and prayers to the Lord of the Divine Mercy and we understand His Passion and death through the Stations of the Cross. We venerate Mary as our spiritual Mother because we pray the Rosary, have our Wednesday devotion to our Mother of Perpetual Help, honor her in Flores de Mayo and have our Marian novenas. Popular devotions play an important role in the life of faith of the people (Catechism for Filipino Catholics, 1470-1471).
The factors that contribute to the spread and rise of Marian devotions and other popular devotions are political and historical events and circumstances, private revelations and visions, cold liturgy, and charismatic promoters of devotions. Even if popular devotions are a help in sustaining faith, there are inherent dangers to popular devotions. They can become more important than the liturgy since sentimentalism and subjective external experiences in the practice of popular devotions can give a wrong feeling of security in the presence of the living God and can easily degenerate into superstitious practices and idolatry. They can also be one-sided and can cause people to develop false priorities and values that they can be abused by their promoters for other purposes like moralizing or didactic intentions. There should be a proper way of dealing with popular devotions since they affect a great number of our lay faithful. There will always be a tension between liturgy and popular devotions but liturgy must remain the critical norm for popular devotions since it is superior to any of the popular devotions. That is to say that one must have a positive attitude to popular devotions and learn from them. To deal properly with popular devotions one must know the people’s conditions and their needs and desires. They must have good knowledge about popular devotions and a solid knowledge about the liturgy and a love for it. What matters most is the sincerity one witnesses to his or her faith and the intimacy with God one gains with the practice of piety and devotions.

Questions for small group discussions:
1. What are the existing popular devotions in your parish? What are the positive elements brought about by the practice of these devotions? What are the negative elements?
2. How can we shepherd these devotions so that we can harness their great potential for the well being of the parish, the Christian communities and families?