The bell lap

In track, when the runners are doing the mile, a bell rings as the leader goes into the last lap. That bell rang for the Fourth World Meeting of families last Sunday, November 24, the Feast of Christ the King.

At three in the afternoon, at Baclaran Church, Bishop Soc Villegas said Mass, and launched a nine-week novena of prayer to prepare for the World Meeting of Families, which will begin on January 22, 2003, in the Philippine International Convention Center. The theme of this Mass was: Fathers, as witnesses of the Providence and Love of God.

In a track meet, when that bell rings, the people in the stands usually rise, shouting and screaming, praying, rooting for their runner who is giving his all in that last sixty seconds, the bell lap. It is a tense time, an exciting time, an emotional time, for everyone: The milers have been preparing, all season long, for this last crucial stretch:

So it is for all those who are preparing for the World Meeting. They have been working at this for the last two years. For most of that time the central figure in this international event was John Paul II. When it was announced that he could not come, the work became harder. Now the Archdiocese of Manila is begging everyone to "Fall on Your Knees!" and pray that God will truck the heart of everyone who attends this Congress.

The image of the Holy Family will remain at Baclaran for a full week, from November 24 until December 1. Then it will travel to San Roque Church, in the Ecclesiastical District of Kalookan. There, Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani will say Mass at 5 p.m. on the second Sunday of the Novena. The theme will be: Mothers as models of Mary’s humility and strength.

Each week for seven weeks, the Novena will be centered in a special Church, in one of the seven Ecclesiastical Districts of the Archdiocese of Manila. And the image of the Holy Family will be honored in that Church, for that week.

• From December 8 until December 15 at Saint Peter’s Church, Commonwealth, in the Ecclesiastical District of Novaliches

Mass will be said on Sunday, December 8, by Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani. The theme will be: "Children as the fruits of God’s love and blessings on humility.

• From December 15 until December 22 at theHoly Family Church, San Andres, in the Ecclesiastical District of Manila

Mass will be said on December 15, at 5 p.m. by Bishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona, Carmelite. The theme will be: Young people as signs of Jesus’ trusting friendship.

• From December 22 until December 29 at the Manila Cathedral, in the Ecclesiastical District of Manila

Mass will be said on December 22,at 5 p.m., by Bishop Teodoro J. Buhain. The theme will be: The Elderly as instruments of God‘s steadfastness and wisdom.

• From December 29, 2002 until January 5, 2003, at the Presentation Church in the Ecclesiastical District of Parañaque

Mass will be said on December 29, at 5:00 p.m., by Bishop Jesse E. Mercado. The theme will be: The Christian family as a haven of peace in the home.

• From January 5 until January 12, 2003, at Immaculate Concepcion Church in the Ecclesiastical District of Pasig.

Mass will be said on January 5, at 5 p.m. by Bishop Nestor C. Cariño. The theme will be: The Christian Family as the catalyst of peace in society.

• From January 12 to January 19 at Immaculate Concepcion Church in the Ecclesiastical District of Cubao.

Mass will be said on January 12, at 5 p.m. by Bishop Soc Villegas. The theme will be: The Christian Family as a giver of peace to the world.

• On January 19, 2003, the image of the Holy Family, and the focal point of the novena, will be at the Shrine of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, in the Reclamation Area.

Mass will be said, on January 19, at 5 p.m., by Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto. The theme will be: The Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millennium.

The image of the Holy Family will be brought to the Philippine International Convention Center, where it will stay throughout the International Theological and Pastoral Conference, and the Sons and Daughters Congress. On Saturday, January 25, it will lead the procession of twenty Santo Niño carrozas to the Luneta for the closing events of the Fourth World Meeting of Families.

The Archdiocese of Manila has celebrated four major festivals this year, in preparations for the World Meeting. Fathers on March 17, Mothers on May 12, Youth on August 17 and 18, children from September 29 until October 5. And on December 14, at the Araneta Coliseum, at 7 p.m., we will have a Grand Concert of Families, called: "Yes to family, forever."

The special guests will be: Jolina Magdangal and her Family, Jeanne Young, Gino Padilla, Isay and Didang Alvarez, Adrian Panganiban, the Oasis of Love Music Ministry, Inggo 1587, Middle C. and Jamie Rivera.

When Bill Carr was the quarter mile champion of the world, a high school runner asked him: "What is the secret of running the quarter?" Bill wondered at the question, because he did not think there was any secret about running the quarter. The school boy said: "Well . . . pacing! How do you pace the quarter?"

Bill said: "Ah! Yes! Pacing! When you run the quarter, you dig your holes like a sprinter. You start like a sprinter, and in that first 100 yards give all you have, maximum effort, hold nothing back, so that you’ll be ahead at the first turn." The high school boy said, breathless: "Yes? And then?" Bill said: "Then . . . then . . . you gradually . . . increase the pace."

That is exactly what members of the Central Committee of the World Meeting of Families is doing. They have been at maximum effort for two years. Now, gradually, they are increasing the pace.

But it is worth it! They are promoting the family! And the family is the basic unit of our whole civilization. As the family goes, so goes the country. As the family goes, so goes the world.

The message of the Gospel is: Give! Give yourself! And when you give yourself, that is love . . . and love is born in the family, rooted in it, living in it. Love grows in the family. The heart of religion is the Church of the Home!