Takbo Maharlika Run ends
Rejoice with us in praising God! At 7Am today Takbo Maharlika team reached Zamboanga City Port ending a 7 month run of 2,387 km (83% of Maharlika highway allowed to TM) covering 11 regions, 30 provinces, 13 chartered cities outside Metro Manila with EDSA from Valenzuela to Muntinlupa.
Visit to Fuente Street Kids
A fun afternoon with our friends in Fuente. :) Enjoy your weekend! :)
Takbo Maharlika in Cebu
TM's Cebu Run with the CPNP. A run jived with PDG Nicanor Bartolome's call to Bishop Joe Palma. About 500 PNP, AFP and civilian runners started at 3 different ppints merging at the finish line, the Mandaue Sports Center.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Salesian Network
The undersigned had a chance to meet Bishop Buzon of Kabangkalan after a talk before the Salesian network in Cebu and other places in the country. Bp Buzon shared his observation that in his diocese the men and women in uniform are making a positive impact in the communities they serve. This is indeed good news and a change for the better.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
SUBIC International Marathon
One of our Dilaab trustees, Ret. Gen. Samson R. Tucay organized, for the 5th time, the Subic International Marathon (SIM) last 25 October. Nearly 10 thousand runners participated. The undersigned joined the 5k event and made it alive, by God’s grace. Kuya Sam’s dream of a nationwide fitness advocacy is achievable. Running, according to him, is cheap, doable – and it works! I attest to this.
The marathon provides a good analogy to the Dilaab journey. We are in it for the long haul, not just periodic bursts of speed that fizzles out. Only the Holy Spirit can provide us the sustaining energy.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Cardinal's speech during cocktails for a cause
My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
I thank you for coming over tonight to lend your support to the efforts of Dilaab in responding to the call of the times. The Archdiocese of Cebu is maximizing its available resources both to ensure that we shall have honest and credible elections, and that we shall have honest and credible candidates. The two-pronged approach is spearheaded by two movements in the Archdiocese: for the poll-watching, we have the C-Cimpel, and for the process of discernment, we have the Dilaab. The two are not mutually exclusive, but they are distinct, although in the end, they are complementary. Because of the position of parish priests, however, where they are at the frontlines of poll-watching, they cannot be involved in the Dilaab- initiated “Circles of Discernment”. Poll-watching requires that parish priests are free from any impression of partisanship, which they may incur if they are also spearheading the “Circles of Discernment”. The only way priests can involve themselves in discernment is to provide criteria for the mature evaluation of the faithful. Beyond this task, the lay faithful must take over. In this regard, I would like to refer to the Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Council of the Laity last June 15, 2008. He says (and I quote):
I CONFIRM THE NECESSITY AND URGENCY OF THE EVANGELICAL FORMATION AND PASTORAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF A NEW GENERATION OF CATHOLICS WORKING IN POLITICS, THAT THEY BE COHERENT WITH THE PROFESSED FAITH, THAT THEY HAVE MORAL FIRMNESS, THE CAPACITY OF EDUCATED JUDGMENT, PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND PASSION FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMON GOOD. (end of quote)
The idea of pastoral accompaniment may confuse us as to the role of the clergy in political affairs. Does pastoral accompaniment require that priests “accompany” their flock in discerning together whom to vote for in this coming election? Not necessarily. The Holy Father enumerates five areas which require pastoral accompaniment: 1.) coherence with their professed faith; 2.) moral firmness; 3.) capacity for educated judgment; 4.) professional competence; and 5.) passion for service to the common good. The first area, coherence with their professed faith, is properly the task of the priest. It is the role of the pastor to enlighten the faithful on the implications of their faith on any political issue. This is where pastors ought to show that the issue of the Reproductive Health Bill is very much an election issue, because Catholic social doctrine is an integral body of teachings: it begins with the teaching on the sanctity of human life without which we cannot even speak of human rights. The second and third areas, moral firmness and capacity for educated judgment, respectively, are also within the competence of the pastor. These areas are spoken of in Pope Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus caritas est, where the Pope mentions the role of the Church in political matters as “awakening moral energies” and “purifying reason”. It is the proper role of the Church to awaken moral energies so that people may be “morally firm”, and to “purify human reason” so that people may have the “capacity for educated judgment”. In classical moral philosophy, the intellectual and moral virtues are closely connected by the common virtue of prudence. The intellectual virtues are supposed to be strengthened and given proper orientation by the moral virtues, whereas moral virtues are supposed to be enlightened by the intellectual virtues. The fourth area is mostly the field of the lay faithful. Professional competence belongs to the avocation of each person, an area which is as varied as the number of human endeavors. The priest cannot presume to know everything; he must rely on the capacity of the lay faithful in their various fields of expertise. The fifth area, passion to serve the common good, seems to me to be a result of all the above-mentioned four. Passion comes from competence, and competence is refined by moral energies and purified intellect. All flow from the same fountain of a coherent faith. While the abovementioned areas may be a locus for pastoral accompaniment, there is a point in each where the pastor must pause and stay, while the lay faithful must continue and move on to complete the mission. This is not because an invisible line exists that divides the world of the lay and that of the clergy, but because the areas of pastoral accompaniment by nature must grow into autonomy and maturity. Coherence in faith, moral firmness, educated judgment, professional competence, passion for service, all of these can only be tested to have gained full maturity when pastoral accompaniment lets go. The true test of a baby walker’s effectiveness is when a baby no longer needs it and walks on his own two legs. This is where I call on the lay faithful to spearhead the mission of a participative role in the elections that goes beyond poll-watching. In saying this, I do not commit myself to any one candidate, nor exclude from the list of choices anybody. It is precisely by your own coherent faith, moral firmness, educated judgment, professional competence and passion for service, that you will determine for yourself whom to vote for, and whom to reject. I thank you once again for your presence tonight. I pray that beyond this “cocktail”, you may blaze a new path of political engagement for the Church in the Philippines.
I CONFIRM THE NECESSITY AND URGENCY OF THE EVANGELICAL FORMATION AND PASTORAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF A NEW GENERATION OF CATHOLICS WORKING IN POLITICS, THAT THEY BE COHERENT WITH THE PROFESSED FAITH, THAT THEY HAVE MORAL FIRMNESS, THE CAPACITY OF EDUCATED JUDGMENT, PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND PASSION FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMON GOOD. (end of quote)
The idea of pastoral accompaniment may confuse us as to the role of the clergy in political affairs. Does pastoral accompaniment require that priests “accompany” their flock in discerning together whom to vote for in this coming election? Not necessarily. The Holy Father enumerates five areas which require pastoral accompaniment: 1.) coherence with their professed faith; 2.) moral firmness; 3.) capacity for educated judgment; 4.) professional competence; and 5.) passion for service to the common good. The first area, coherence with their professed faith, is properly the task of the priest. It is the role of the pastor to enlighten the faithful on the implications of their faith on any political issue. This is where pastors ought to show that the issue of the Reproductive Health Bill is very much an election issue, because Catholic social doctrine is an integral body of teachings: it begins with the teaching on the sanctity of human life without which we cannot even speak of human rights. The second and third areas, moral firmness and capacity for educated judgment, respectively, are also within the competence of the pastor. These areas are spoken of in Pope Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus caritas est, where the Pope mentions the role of the Church in political matters as “awakening moral energies” and “purifying reason”. It is the proper role of the Church to awaken moral energies so that people may be “morally firm”, and to “purify human reason” so that people may have the “capacity for educated judgment”. In classical moral philosophy, the intellectual and moral virtues are closely connected by the common virtue of prudence. The intellectual virtues are supposed to be strengthened and given proper orientation by the moral virtues, whereas moral virtues are supposed to be enlightened by the intellectual virtues. The fourth area is mostly the field of the lay faithful. Professional competence belongs to the avocation of each person, an area which is as varied as the number of human endeavors. The priest cannot presume to know everything; he must rely on the capacity of the lay faithful in their various fields of expertise. The fifth area, passion to serve the common good, seems to me to be a result of all the above-mentioned four. Passion comes from competence, and competence is refined by moral energies and purified intellect. All flow from the same fountain of a coherent faith. While the abovementioned areas may be a locus for pastoral accompaniment, there is a point in each where the pastor must pause and stay, while the lay faithful must continue and move on to complete the mission. This is not because an invisible line exists that divides the world of the lay and that of the clergy, but because the areas of pastoral accompaniment by nature must grow into autonomy and maturity. Coherence in faith, moral firmness, educated judgment, professional competence, passion for service, all of these can only be tested to have gained full maturity when pastoral accompaniment lets go. The true test of a baby walker’s effectiveness is when a baby no longer needs it and walks on his own two legs. This is where I call on the lay faithful to spearhead the mission of a participative role in the elections that goes beyond poll-watching. In saying this, I do not commit myself to any one candidate, nor exclude from the list of choices anybody. It is precisely by your own coherent faith, moral firmness, educated judgment, professional competence and passion for service, that you will determine for yourself whom to vote for, and whom to reject. I thank you once again for your presence tonight. I pray that beyond this “cocktail”, you may blaze a new path of political engagement for the Church in the Philippines.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
CiDE Tacloban
A CiDE seminar for students, hosted by the St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban Inc. (STEFTI) attended by nearly 300 young people (i.e. both the youth and the youthful). We are grateful to the STEFTI family, particularly Mr and Mrs Palami and to Sr. Digna C. Dacanay, RSCJ who coordinated the entire event.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
CiDE Hongkong
A Dilaab team was in Hong Kong from 25 to 28 September, thanks to a very low plane fare and the hospitality of Fr. Emil Lim, SVD, who is chaplain to OFWs. While there, we conducted two highly modified versions of circles of discernment for elections with two groups of OFWs. The participants were far from politically apathetic; most were registered as absentee voters. The positive response is summed up by the honest comments of one participant: “I feel less depressed, having attended the seminar and knowing that there is a group doing what you are doing.” Many expressed anger over the fact that their hard-earned money is just wasted by corruption. They are voting. They want to do something. Yet, how can they make up their mind regarding choices?
We failed to do a radio stream from Hong Kong for our Dilaab radio program (Pwede Diay Pinoy) in Cebu. Some lessons learned. We also witnessed our OFWs day of rest and where they do it, at HK Central. It’s home away from home where our people can share goods, friendship, gossips, manicures, haircuts, etc. Some very high-end stores close shop on Sunday because of the sea of OFWs. At least Sunday becomes a day of rest. OFWs are a force to reckon with.
Friday, September 18, 2009
PMA'ers goes on retreat with their spouses
Last Friday (18 Sept) a group of PMA graduates and spouses gathered at the Talavera House of Prayer, Cebu for a retreat called Duc in Altum (“Put Out into the Deep”). The gathering had been initiated by the Cavaliers Prayer Warriors that was celebrating its 10th year of existence. Participants ask for other similar activities in various areas. Praise God!
Yesterday was the 37th year anniversary of martial law. It is time to move on.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Dilaab Gathering
Tuesday (15 Sept) witnessed the second get-together of the Dilaab network. This was organized by CiDE youth. We started with a lectio divina session. Active sharing and participation was evident. Dinner followed. The gathering was successful although more could be done in terms of invitations and getting to know what is happening in different Dilaab initiatives.
Monday, September 7, 2009
CiDE Dagupan
From Monday to Saturday (7 to 12 Sept) we were in Dagupan (about an hour away from Bauang) to give a Duc in Altum (“Put Out into the Deep”) and CiDE seminar for Catholic school teachers of the Diocese of La Union. Before this, we had met Bishop Artemio Rillera who oriented us on his expectations. The good bishop is indefatigable. He is leading the charge in keeping up pressure for the prosecution of those involved in the huge shabu laboratory that was busted in La Union last year.
Although hampered by its absence of facility in the Ilocano tongue, the Dilaab team managed to communicate the basics of these seminars at the Center for Lay Formation in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. While we were there, news of the retirement of the local ordinary reached us. Fare thee well Archbishop Cruz; welcome Archbishop Villegas.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
CiDE Bauang, La Union
Technology is enabling Dilaab to reach out even in difficult circumstances. Last Sat 5 September on the way to Bauang, La Union for a CiDE seminar, a Dilaab team spent time at the NAIA to do a radio patch to our Saturday radio program in Cebu. We discovered an ideal spot at an otherwise noisy airport: a relatively silent corner at a restaurant.
We arrive at the Sts. Peter and Paul parish in Buang, La Union around 11 pm. Fr. Romy Lopez, parish priest was there to welcome us.
Sunday 6 Sept gave birth to a whole day seminar for parishioners. Many older people attended. Fr. Romy tells us that he had approached some of them and asked when they would retire. “We would serve the Church until we die,” said one.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Pwede Diay! Radio Program
Several significant events happened in the last two weeks.
These include the launch of the Dilaab radio program (“Pwede Diay Pinoy”) last 1 August in partnership with the radio station of ABS-CBN Cebu. It is a two-hour program that enables us to ignite spaces of hope through the air in several places in Visayas and Mindanao, and promote various Dilaab initiatives.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Dilaab's DYAB Radio Program
Another gift just fell, so to speak, into our laps. Dilaab will be assuming a two-hour radio program, courtesy of ABS-CBN, every Saturday from 2 to 4 pm. Friends of Pedro Foundation Inc., a precursor of Dilaab, had a radio program about 4 years ago. The radio space is offered to the Archdiocese of Cebu as part of DYAB’s public service. We are now busy preparing for our launch this Saturday 1 August. Praise the Lord for media at the service for the gospel.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Fr Melo's 50th Birthday!Ü
The undersigned turned 50 last 16 July. This earned me the right to celebrate it at the Cebu Cathedral Museum with family and friends. What great joy I felt at being part of a family held together by blood and faith. I was also very grateful for all the prayers and best wishes texted to me. My special thanks to Rudy and Loy Alix, and to all who came from Manila, namely Grace Marci, Vicky Ortega, Guido and Joy Delgado. Guido, a classmate from high school and UP Los Banos, made sure his fires were ready to roast me during the post-dinner program. Making time for intercessory prayers, I now realize, is the best service a 50-year old priest can give to the Dilaab network. I feel the hunger to make myself more available for this service.
Monday, June 15, 2009
CiDE Mabolo
Dilaab has developed the “Mabolo seminar/workshop” - after the St Joseph parish in Mabolo, Cebu – that was the first parish to invite parishioners to undergo a circle of discernment for elections. This workshop has now been tested in another parish in Cebu and with a CiDE group for Lipa and Novaliches. So far, the feedback has been very positive, thanks be to God.
The next steps for Dilaab are captured by three expressions: “Forming CiDEs”; “Taking CiDES”: and “CiDE by CiDE.”
The next steps for Dilaab are captured by three expressions: “Forming CiDEs”; “Taking CiDES”: and “CiDE by CiDE.”
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