manug-ukay
Taking care of the things of the cathedral is one heck of a job. It is by itself a full-time job. But I like this job, probably because it is part of my nature. I am what one would usually call in hiligaynon a “manug-ukay.” You may call it a hobby, a pastime or whatever, but I do enjoy discovering and eventually preserving things. Do you know that because of this “nature” it was I who discovered that the first Diocesan Synod called for in 2001 was actually the third? Well, tucked in a very old baol full of dust and other debris, which caught my fancy in a bodega in the seminary, I came to discover the documents of the Second Diocesan Synod of Jaro written in Spanish and convoked and approved by Bishop James McCloskey. I also came to discover many very old pictures of the Cathedral and the old Iloilo itself which became partly the basis why the cathedral came to be repaired as it appears now.
Well a few months ago, I came to discover a lot of chalices and ciboria lying around the cabinets in the sacristy. I gathered some of them, selecting the things which could still be put to good use, sent them to Tayuman in Manila with the tabernacle of the main altar and had them repaired and gold-plated. Well, it had cost the cathedral a lot considering also that at this time, with the economic crisis going on in the United States and Europe, the price of gold shot up with so many people investing on the more stable gold instead of stocks. So there we have - a very steep price for the heritage liturgical objects of the cathedral. Thank God there are people, old Jareño families, who pooled their resources to pay for them, otherwise my fate would have been sealed in Pingol’s workshop in Tayuman - always in a hurry to have the job done but very delayed in paying. Now, we are fully paid after just a month. I would like to thank the donors who wish to remain anonymous. May God repay you for your generosity.
Even when I was assigned in the seminary I have always called upon the attention of seminarians in the way they use the goods of the church. We do not own these things. We are only stewards - stewards of the church, stewards of the people of God. These things were made possible because of the sweat, the labor, the unbounded generosity and the love of the people for God and the church through generations. It is our duty to preserve them and to hand these over to the next generation when our time is up. This has always been my attitude to the goods of the church. In the seminary then and wherever, anybody who would go against such value is bound to bear my wrath. Ask my students, some of them are priests now and they will tell you of their experience of this uncontrollable passion, the ira diablo itself.
Well people may get hurt in the process and I am sorry for that, really sorry. But when things calm down, as custodians of things not really our own, I would like you to see things from this perspective - take good care of the goods of the church, and of the earth for that matter. They are God’s gifts to us and the people’s gift for our use and they are not there for the taking or to be abused. This outlook does not entitle us in anyway to do whatever we want. That for me is sin.
__________________
Last August 8 we made the final preparations for our weekend children’s catechesis in our barangays. We have 36 volunteers raring to go, some are old (veterans at that), some are middle aged, and at least 4 are young people (I am really amazed and inspired by what these young people can do). This catechesis is not your usual catechesis because, for one, we could not duplicate what is already given in the schools in our parish. This catechesis is geared towards establishing the Basic Ecclesial Community Culture in the young, from 7 to 12 years old. It is to establish in them a way of looking at the church as a community - a communion of communities by forming them into small groups, praying together, relating with one another, helping each other, learning the faith together and living the faith together under the guidance of their volunteer catechist. This is the main purpose of our weekend catechism, that at a very young age we could have established in them, in their hearts and in their minds and manners the “new” way of being church. Thus, we could already begin planting in them the seeds of the BEC “way of life” and the Filipino Catholic Culture.
This is not your usual catechism, as I said, like the “pila ang Dios” catechism of old. Yes they will learn the faith but they will learn by doing it, not by memorizing it solely. So they will learn the value of praying together by praying together. They will be taught the Sacrament of Anointing by visiting the sick and praying with the priest, laying their hands on the sick person and experience what it feels like. They will learn the importance of gathering as the family of God on a Sunday by going to the cathedral together, touching the altar, having a close look at the tabernacle, having the feel of the baptismal font from where they were reborn, going up the shrine to greet the Mother of Jareños. They will learn to appreciate God’s creation by caring for the earth and become stewards of creation by picking up garbage in their barangay. They will learn about mission by coaxing their parents to go to mass with them on Sunday and inviting along their peers with them. They will learn the fourth commandment of honoring their parents by making them birthday and anniversary greeting cards. They will celebrate not just their and their peers’ birthday but above all the anniversary of their baptism.
These are the little things that these 36 volunteers shall teach the kids under their care. That is the reason why they can only accommodate 10 to 15 children per catechist in their own locale, and if they grow to be more than that number, we have to recruit another volunteer and divide the group. And no, you will not find them in the chapel. They will be gathered in the homes, in a garage, in a large enough place to accommodate them so as to give them the feel of what it is to be a small community, a family of God.
This is the catechesis that some volunteers would start this Sunday. Hopefully we can also imbibe in them the idea that learning catechisis can be fun again.
Hey, we’re still open for more volunteers and we meet every 1st Sunday of the month from 9 in the morning to 11:30. You will be gladly welcomed.
Well a few months ago, I came to discover a lot of chalices and ciboria lying around the cabinets in the sacristy. I gathered some of them, selecting the things which could still be put to good use, sent them to Tayuman in Manila with the tabernacle of the main altar and had them repaired and gold-plated. Well, it had cost the cathedral a lot considering also that at this time, with the economic crisis going on in the United States and Europe, the price of gold shot up with so many people investing on the more stable gold instead of stocks. So there we have - a very steep price for the heritage liturgical objects of the cathedral. Thank God there are people, old Jareño families, who pooled their resources to pay for them, otherwise my fate would have been sealed in Pingol’s workshop in Tayuman - always in a hurry to have the job done but very delayed in paying. Now, we are fully paid after just a month. I would like to thank the donors who wish to remain anonymous. May God repay you for your generosity.
Even when I was assigned in the seminary I have always called upon the attention of seminarians in the way they use the goods of the church. We do not own these things. We are only stewards - stewards of the church, stewards of the people of God. These things were made possible because of the sweat, the labor, the unbounded generosity and the love of the people for God and the church through generations. It is our duty to preserve them and to hand these over to the next generation when our time is up. This has always been my attitude to the goods of the church. In the seminary then and wherever, anybody who would go against such value is bound to bear my wrath. Ask my students, some of them are priests now and they will tell you of their experience of this uncontrollable passion, the ira diablo itself.
Well people may get hurt in the process and I am sorry for that, really sorry. But when things calm down, as custodians of things not really our own, I would like you to see things from this perspective - take good care of the goods of the church, and of the earth for that matter. They are God’s gifts to us and the people’s gift for our use and they are not there for the taking or to be abused. This outlook does not entitle us in anyway to do whatever we want. That for me is sin.
__________________
Last August 8 we made the final preparations for our weekend children’s catechesis in our barangays. We have 36 volunteers raring to go, some are old (veterans at that), some are middle aged, and at least 4 are young people (I am really amazed and inspired by what these young people can do). This catechesis is not your usual catechesis because, for one, we could not duplicate what is already given in the schools in our parish. This catechesis is geared towards establishing the Basic Ecclesial Community Culture in the young, from 7 to 12 years old. It is to establish in them a way of looking at the church as a community - a communion of communities by forming them into small groups, praying together, relating with one another, helping each other, learning the faith together and living the faith together under the guidance of their volunteer catechist. This is the main purpose of our weekend catechism, that at a very young age we could have established in them, in their hearts and in their minds and manners the “new” way of being church. Thus, we could already begin planting in them the seeds of the BEC “way of life” and the Filipino Catholic Culture.
This is not your usual catechism, as I said, like the “pila ang Dios” catechism of old. Yes they will learn the faith but they will learn by doing it, not by memorizing it solely. So they will learn the value of praying together by praying together. They will be taught the Sacrament of Anointing by visiting the sick and praying with the priest, laying their hands on the sick person and experience what it feels like. They will learn the importance of gathering as the family of God on a Sunday by going to the cathedral together, touching the altar, having a close look at the tabernacle, having the feel of the baptismal font from where they were reborn, going up the shrine to greet the Mother of Jareños. They will learn to appreciate God’s creation by caring for the earth and become stewards of creation by picking up garbage in their barangay. They will learn about mission by coaxing their parents to go to mass with them on Sunday and inviting along their peers with them. They will learn the fourth commandment of honoring their parents by making them birthday and anniversary greeting cards. They will celebrate not just their and their peers’ birthday but above all the anniversary of their baptism.
These are the little things that these 36 volunteers shall teach the kids under their care. That is the reason why they can only accommodate 10 to 15 children per catechist in their own locale, and if they grow to be more than that number, we have to recruit another volunteer and divide the group. And no, you will not find them in the chapel. They will be gathered in the homes, in a garage, in a large enough place to accommodate them so as to give them the feel of what it is to be a small community, a family of God.
This is the catechesis that some volunteers would start this Sunday. Hopefully we can also imbibe in them the idea that learning catechisis can be fun again.
Hey, we’re still open for more volunteers and we meet every 1st Sunday of the month from 9 in the morning to 11:30. You will be gladly welcomed.
Comments