Re-learning the values which make us human
March 27, 2002 | 12:00am
If you ask any Filipino what his fondest memories are, you will most likely get answers that revolve around family traditions – customs that serve as patterns of behavior often passed down from generation to generation. Family traditions are important to the strength of the most basic unit of society. A lot are carried out daily, and they vary from family to family – grace before and after meals, reciting the Angelus or the 3 ’O Clock prayer, kissing the hands of the elderly. Others happen once a year – reunions during the Christmas season, reading the pasyon during Holy Week, joining processions every Good Friday, egghunts and outings every Easter. These activities help promote love, unity and stronger ties in our families.
The Holy Week provides every Filipino family the unique opportunity for bonding, reviewing lives, reliving past memories, renewing spiritual commitments, and resurrecting noble traditions that bring family members together. In doing so, the family is enriched, and a deeper appreciation for one another is developed. Sharing stories, updating each other, eating together, singing as a group and praying collectively during this time are indeed great ways to keep the family alive and well.
As Adin Steinsaltz wrote, everybody is connected in one way or another with family. Besides being a part of the larger family –the Family of Man, or one’s own people – everyone belongs to some sort of family. People have diverse emotional responses to the notion of family, as well as to their own private families.
For many, even the word "family" has a strong appeal, since it evokes memories, the strongest of which is the feeling of deep love. There are people for whom the family connection is not only the most powerful tie, but also the only relationship that really counts. They may easily change countries and nationalities, political and commercial affiliations, but they remain constant and loyal in their family ties. Others may be indifferent toward their families, viewing family simply as a fact of life that has to be accepted and dealt with in the best way possible. There are also people who actually dislike their families, or even hate them. Whatever the emotional relationship, families do exist, and everyone has to deal with them, both practically and emotionally.
On January 23 – 26, 2003, the Philippine Church will host the Fourth Meeting of Families. For the first time in the 12 years that the meeting has been called by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, it will be held in Asia, the vast continent of billions of people described by the Holy Father as the new frontier of evangelization of the Third Millennium.
The opportunity to host this important meeting is a blessing to the Philippine church. It is a way to fulfill the special mission given by the Holy Father during his graced-filled 1995 visit to the Filipinos to be missionaries in and for Asia. It will, of course, be doubly meaningful if the Pope can revisit the Philippines, and bless all families who will come to embrace the task of spreading the Good News.
The Meeting of Families in Manila will be held at the World Trade Center Manila, and the Philippine International Convention Center. It will follow the format of previous such meetings held in Rome, and various key cities in the world. The celebration of the meeting though, will carry the distinctive Filipino, as well as Asian character, unparalleled hospitality, serene exuberance in the form of unique dances and songs, and great enthusiasm as will be manifested in the huge number of participants expected to congregate in Manila.
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila Socrates Villegas, or Bishop Soc to many, has been designated overall coordinator of the event. He will be the direct link to Cardinal Trujillo of the Pontifical Council of the Family, and will work under the wing of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. Considering the magnitude of the gathering, various committees have been formed to take care of logistics. The vast human resources of the Philippine Church from among the clergy, religious, and the laity have likewise been mobilized to help.
The Meeting of Families is the result of the forward plan set by the Apostolic Familiaris Consortio on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World. "It came at a time when the world was opening up to the emerging world of technology, that in a few years would change the way the world and its people thought, learned, communicated, and lived," Bishop Soc shares. The effects of the rapid changes in the world today has its greatest impact on the traditional cultures of families, where the damage is most palpable and harmful – breakdown of values, separation, isolation, desperation, hatred, anger, and loneliness.
Bishop Soc believes that the answer to the problems and potential crisis confronting families today is in the re-learning and re-affirmation, in our new contexts, of the basic meanings and values which make and keep men and women human. This echoes the position of Pope John Paul II that states "every human person cannot know what true human-ness is, and cannot come to it, except by knowing Jesus Christ, and being empowered by him." The Holy Father believes that the Word of Christ has to be spoken afresh for families to hear anew the virtues of love and fidelity, self-sacrifice, and courage. Re-learning and re-affirming all these will enable human families to reach authentic fulfillment, fullness of marriage and family life made truly possible and real.
"The Manila Archdiocese is the largest in all of Asia, and has been witness to the power of Jesus Christ and His Gospel in enabling the family to resist the onslaught of the ‘shadows’ like modern secularism, materialism, religious indifference, and the destructiveness these bring to family-life and the lives of young people," Bishop Soc avers. Hope for the present and the future is not totally lost among the Filipino youth.
Research will tell us that our young people, by and large, despite massive and increasing temptations and inducements, have not surrendered to drugs, to the culture of instant gratification and easy sex. They have not let go of their religious faith.
Filipino families – despite increasing pressures, especially those arising from spreading, worsening poverty – have held on to the enduring strength of family bonds. Despite everything that is falling apart around them, the young continue to find in their families a secure ground that provides stability, strength, hope and life-giving love.
Through all the shifting forces of darkness, there is always light at the end of the tunnel because of the Good News. "In the third millennium, the Christian Family is the Good News because it is the Christian Family, founded in the love of Christ living in this communion of love, that will endure," Bishop Soc reveals. It is along this line that the World Meeting of Families becomes very significant. It will give Asia and the rest of the world, a vision of the Face of Jesus, and the true Face of Hope.
The event will be popularized via an integrated marketing communication (IMC) program. It will be highly visual using gigantic billboards in strategic locations; colorful banners, streamers and posters will adorn parish courtyards and houses. Secular media will also be encouraged to lend airtime and print space, while a vigorous campaign will be waged on the Internet. An advocacy song with an accompanying MTV produced by Star Records will be aired in major TV shows across all free and cable channels. The music and lyrics of the song were composed by Fr. Carlo Magno Marcelo, and sang by Jaime Rivera, of the Jubillee Song and Heal Our Land fame. All of these efforts primarily aim to generate awareness, interest, and participation for the event, but more importantly, to project its significance to the life families all over the world.
To date, four major preparatory events have been lined up. These activities will stress the roles of the various members of the family in the realization of the two-fold mission of evangelization and formation. Focused modules will highlight the specific roles of mothers, fathers, children and the youth in general. A catechesis for each of these events will permeate the schedule dedicated to each member, and the culminating activity will be both a celebration and an affirmation of the lessons learned and the commitments that will be made.
Join the 4th World Meeting of Families and be truly blessed!
For comments and suggestions, e-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net.
The Holy Week provides every Filipino family the unique opportunity for bonding, reviewing lives, reliving past memories, renewing spiritual commitments, and resurrecting noble traditions that bring family members together. In doing so, the family is enriched, and a deeper appreciation for one another is developed. Sharing stories, updating each other, eating together, singing as a group and praying collectively during this time are indeed great ways to keep the family alive and well.
For many, even the word "family" has a strong appeal, since it evokes memories, the strongest of which is the feeling of deep love. There are people for whom the family connection is not only the most powerful tie, but also the only relationship that really counts. They may easily change countries and nationalities, political and commercial affiliations, but they remain constant and loyal in their family ties. Others may be indifferent toward their families, viewing family simply as a fact of life that has to be accepted and dealt with in the best way possible. There are also people who actually dislike their families, or even hate them. Whatever the emotional relationship, families do exist, and everyone has to deal with them, both practically and emotionally.
The opportunity to host this important meeting is a blessing to the Philippine church. It is a way to fulfill the special mission given by the Holy Father during his graced-filled 1995 visit to the Filipinos to be missionaries in and for Asia. It will, of course, be doubly meaningful if the Pope can revisit the Philippines, and bless all families who will come to embrace the task of spreading the Good News.
The Meeting of Families in Manila will be held at the World Trade Center Manila, and the Philippine International Convention Center. It will follow the format of previous such meetings held in Rome, and various key cities in the world. The celebration of the meeting though, will carry the distinctive Filipino, as well as Asian character, unparalleled hospitality, serene exuberance in the form of unique dances and songs, and great enthusiasm as will be manifested in the huge number of participants expected to congregate in Manila.
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila Socrates Villegas, or Bishop Soc to many, has been designated overall coordinator of the event. He will be the direct link to Cardinal Trujillo of the Pontifical Council of the Family, and will work under the wing of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. Considering the magnitude of the gathering, various committees have been formed to take care of logistics. The vast human resources of the Philippine Church from among the clergy, religious, and the laity have likewise been mobilized to help.
The Meeting of Families is the result of the forward plan set by the Apostolic Familiaris Consortio on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World. "It came at a time when the world was opening up to the emerging world of technology, that in a few years would change the way the world and its people thought, learned, communicated, and lived," Bishop Soc shares. The effects of the rapid changes in the world today has its greatest impact on the traditional cultures of families, where the damage is most palpable and harmful – breakdown of values, separation, isolation, desperation, hatred, anger, and loneliness.
Bishop Soc believes that the answer to the problems and potential crisis confronting families today is in the re-learning and re-affirmation, in our new contexts, of the basic meanings and values which make and keep men and women human. This echoes the position of Pope John Paul II that states "every human person cannot know what true human-ness is, and cannot come to it, except by knowing Jesus Christ, and being empowered by him." The Holy Father believes that the Word of Christ has to be spoken afresh for families to hear anew the virtues of love and fidelity, self-sacrifice, and courage. Re-learning and re-affirming all these will enable human families to reach authentic fulfillment, fullness of marriage and family life made truly possible and real.
"The Manila Archdiocese is the largest in all of Asia, and has been witness to the power of Jesus Christ and His Gospel in enabling the family to resist the onslaught of the ‘shadows’ like modern secularism, materialism, religious indifference, and the destructiveness these bring to family-life and the lives of young people," Bishop Soc avers. Hope for the present and the future is not totally lost among the Filipino youth.
Research will tell us that our young people, by and large, despite massive and increasing temptations and inducements, have not surrendered to drugs, to the culture of instant gratification and easy sex. They have not let go of their religious faith.
Filipino families – despite increasing pressures, especially those arising from spreading, worsening poverty – have held on to the enduring strength of family bonds. Despite everything that is falling apart around them, the young continue to find in their families a secure ground that provides stability, strength, hope and life-giving love.
Through all the shifting forces of darkness, there is always light at the end of the tunnel because of the Good News. "In the third millennium, the Christian Family is the Good News because it is the Christian Family, founded in the love of Christ living in this communion of love, that will endure," Bishop Soc reveals. It is along this line that the World Meeting of Families becomes very significant. It will give Asia and the rest of the world, a vision of the Face of Jesus, and the true Face of Hope.
To date, four major preparatory events have been lined up. These activities will stress the roles of the various members of the family in the realization of the two-fold mission of evangelization and formation. Focused modules will highlight the specific roles of mothers, fathers, children and the youth in general. A catechesis for each of these events will permeate the schedule dedicated to each member, and the culminating activity will be both a celebration and an affirmation of the lessons learned and the commitments that will be made.
Join the 4th World Meeting of Families and be truly blessed!
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