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The Archdiocese of
Lipa will celebrates its centenary on April 10, 2010. Archbishop Ramon
C. Arguelles, D.D. envisioned a year ago that there would be a three
year preparation and celebration of this meaningful event. The themes
for each year depict the other side of the Glorious Cross of the
Archdiocese which represents the Holy Family as the Community in Time in
contrast to the Holy Trinity as the Community in Eternity on the other
side. The first year theme is centered on Jesus Christ, the Son of God
and the invitation is towards conversion and evangelization.
The Lipa
Archdiocesan Commission on Migrants and Mission was tasked to initiate
activities on this first year by organizing an Archdiocesan Mission
Congress which will be the centerpiece of the celebration. With the
assistance of the formation committee and Fr. Manny Guazon, we started
the process by having mission orientation seminars to all the
vicariates, to religious and seminarians and to the youth. The process,
content and direction of the seminars will lead to the grand event of
the Archdiocesan Mission Congress on October 18-20, 2007.
It is inspiring to
witness the participants of the mission orientation seminars that beside
the numbers (average of 200 participants from each vicariate and group
except Vic. 1 which had close to 600 delegates) you could feel and
recognize the need, the longing and the faith of all the participants
for this congress. I consider this as a gift and a grace from God that
we are blessed as an Archdiocese, our local Church by God. The centenary
is not just a date or a memory to remember, it is a more importantly and
more meaningfully a confirmation of the history, faith and Christian
life of the Batangueños!
The congress now
is a manifestation of our greater faith in God, in Jesus Christ our
Savior. With an effort to strengthen our local church and to grow as an
archdiocese, the mission orientation seminars and the congress attempt
to improve our highly hierarchical and cultic church, to become a more
missionary church. The invitation to tell the story of Jesus to all
inside and outside the Archdiocese is a call to everyone, to make Jesus
alive in every person, every family and every community and parish.
The basic, deep
and simple faith of Batangueños will be highlighted in the congress.
More meaningfully, this faith will come alive in the parishes as they
hold their own parish mission congresses as an offshoot of the
Archdiocesan Mission Congress. The mission of everyone, priests,
religious, parish lay leaders and all the faithful to go and tell the
Good News of Jesus now becomes a testament of faith of all Batangueños.
If we miss doing this, we completely miss our identity as baptized
Christians and as a Church. The very nature of our baptism and the
Church is to be missionary. If we do not believe this and if we do not
accept this truth, we completely miss to understand our true identity.
Priests and
religious are first and foremost called to this mission in a very
special way. Seminarians and lay people participate in this mission by
virtue of their baptism and confirmation. Through the leadership of the
local ordinary, the Archbishop, we need to move in faith with God’s
grace to make the Mission Congress our act of faith as a people. The
results and effects of this event must be leading us to integrate in
every parish, vicariate and archdiocesan activity the spirit, grace and
invitation of Jesus’ Mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I am
sending you…”; “Go to the whole world and preach the good news to all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 28:18-20)
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