of pioneers and stablilizers
Now I understand what Jesus meant when he said, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains but a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it will bear much fruit.” I wrote here in this column the many things that Nay Coroy left me to take care of – novenas galore and candles to be lighted at certain days of the year. As of this writing there have been many offers from our parishioners to lead the various novenas said in the parish and as of last count, at least four people offered to sponsor the 14 candles to be lighted on the altar of the Sacred Heart. Now that altar will not only have 14 lighted candles on a First Friday. It will have 42! I have also informed Nani (she has been substituting Nay Coroy in the novenas even when she was still alive) that I intend to distribute these to different people. That way the parish wouldn’t find it too difficult when such unavoidable transitions, such as death, occur in the future. I am in the process of filling up the list and it’s a long list, but in this parish, per experience, it is not really that hard to look for volunteers. There are always people willing and ready. The death of a seed continues to bear fruit in the generosity of these people.
In the same length and breath, the parish has just sent the second wave of volunteers, joined by 9 catechists to begin the work of establishing Basic Ecclesial Communities in our three pilot barangays, namely, Barangay Tabuc Suba, Sitio Ilaya, Barangay Simon Ledesma and Barangay San Vicente. These Barangays have been prepared beforehand by a bigger group of volunteers and because of this preparation we are now able to establish a foothold to help us begin the arduous work of organizing.
Next week, on Saturday, the pioneers, together with some who have responded to our call to offer a small part of their weekend for the parish, are going to gather to plan out our next strategy for the rest of the barangays in our parish.
Let me explain in passing the groups we are establishing for this important work of building Basic Eccelsial Communities. In this strategy it helps to look back and copy the strategy established by the apostles of the early church. The first group is the group of Peter and Paul and the second is the group of Timothy and Titus. The first group (Peter and Paul) are the pioneers. They go from one place to the other to establish the churches in different locales. They never stay too long in one place. In the words of St. Paul, they plant the seed.
When the communities they have established start growing or should I say, when the seed grows into a seedling, another wave of apostles take over. Rather than a pioneering spirit, they possess that spirit that helps the fledging seedling establish stability. This is the group of Titus and Timothy. They are in the words of St. Paul, those who water and take care of the plant so that it can grow to maturity thereby establishing itself more firmly.
In the parish it pays (in the future, I mean) to have an eye to recognize the pioneers and (for want of a better term) the stabilizers. And it also helps to recognize one’s giftedness in the scheme of things. Frankly, I’m more of a pioneer than a stabilizer. I’m a better strategist to jumpstart things. But when the communities have established roots, I can become or I feel I have become a redundancy which in the long run can make me restless. And in most cases I can even become a stumbling block to its growth. That’s because I am not a stabilizer. I am more of a pioneer.
One of the pains of a pioneer always feel is the recognition that at a certain point in the life of the community, you are no longer needed. Added to this is the pain of seeing ones work reworked and even at certain times demolished for what your successors deem as a more effective strategy. But the redemption of a pioneer is precisely to recognize that one is not up for that kind of work – the stabilizing work, that he is a pioneer and not a stabilizer. It is to recognize at exactly the right time that one has to fade away and let others finish the task. It is to recognize that I may have a better insight “on planting the seed” but other people have a better insight when it comes to “making things grow.”
Paul in his letter to Titus made a list of criteria for the selection of a bishop who will serve the community in a stable manner. When one compares the criteria he listed to his personality, he is exactly that person whom his list disqualifies. But who can ever discount now the contribution of St. Paul to the Church?!
There can be no church without the pioneering spirit of Peter and Paul and there can be no church as it is right now without the stabilizing spirit of Titus and Timothy. Both are needed and both are important. Precisely we are a Church and the differences in our charisms and giftedness are exactly the things that keep it going through the ages.
So who’s the bigger person now, Peter and Paul or Titus and Timothy? O, forget it! One doesn’t get extra pay and special treatment for being Paul or Timothy. It all boils down to the satisfaction of knowing that I have contributed my “brick” to that magnificent edifice which is the Church of God.
In the same length and breath, the parish has just sent the second wave of volunteers, joined by 9 catechists to begin the work of establishing Basic Ecclesial Communities in our three pilot barangays, namely, Barangay Tabuc Suba, Sitio Ilaya, Barangay Simon Ledesma and Barangay San Vicente. These Barangays have been prepared beforehand by a bigger group of volunteers and because of this preparation we are now able to establish a foothold to help us begin the arduous work of organizing.
Next week, on Saturday, the pioneers, together with some who have responded to our call to offer a small part of their weekend for the parish, are going to gather to plan out our next strategy for the rest of the barangays in our parish.
Let me explain in passing the groups we are establishing for this important work of building Basic Eccelsial Communities. In this strategy it helps to look back and copy the strategy established by the apostles of the early church. The first group is the group of Peter and Paul and the second is the group of Timothy and Titus. The first group (Peter and Paul) are the pioneers. They go from one place to the other to establish the churches in different locales. They never stay too long in one place. In the words of St. Paul, they plant the seed.
When the communities they have established start growing or should I say, when the seed grows into a seedling, another wave of apostles take over. Rather than a pioneering spirit, they possess that spirit that helps the fledging seedling establish stability. This is the group of Titus and Timothy. They are in the words of St. Paul, those who water and take care of the plant so that it can grow to maturity thereby establishing itself more firmly.
In the parish it pays (in the future, I mean) to have an eye to recognize the pioneers and (for want of a better term) the stabilizers. And it also helps to recognize one’s giftedness in the scheme of things. Frankly, I’m more of a pioneer than a stabilizer. I’m a better strategist to jumpstart things. But when the communities have established roots, I can become or I feel I have become a redundancy which in the long run can make me restless. And in most cases I can even become a stumbling block to its growth. That’s because I am not a stabilizer. I am more of a pioneer.
One of the pains of a pioneer always feel is the recognition that at a certain point in the life of the community, you are no longer needed. Added to this is the pain of seeing ones work reworked and even at certain times demolished for what your successors deem as a more effective strategy. But the redemption of a pioneer is precisely to recognize that one is not up for that kind of work – the stabilizing work, that he is a pioneer and not a stabilizer. It is to recognize at exactly the right time that one has to fade away and let others finish the task. It is to recognize that I may have a better insight “on planting the seed” but other people have a better insight when it comes to “making things grow.”
Paul in his letter to Titus made a list of criteria for the selection of a bishop who will serve the community in a stable manner. When one compares the criteria he listed to his personality, he is exactly that person whom his list disqualifies. But who can ever discount now the contribution of St. Paul to the Church?!
There can be no church without the pioneering spirit of Peter and Paul and there can be no church as it is right now without the stabilizing spirit of Titus and Timothy. Both are needed and both are important. Precisely we are a Church and the differences in our charisms and giftedness are exactly the things that keep it going through the ages.
So who’s the bigger person now, Peter and Paul or Titus and Timothy? O, forget it! One doesn’t get extra pay and special treatment for being Paul or Timothy. It all boils down to the satisfaction of knowing that I have contributed my “brick” to that magnificent edifice which is the Church of God.
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