Chapter 7

BY: Andrea Patrisse Eugenio

 The Catholic church in the Philippines held its second plenary council in Manila from January 20 to February 17, 1991 Attended by five hundred participants CONFRONTED WITH SUCH CALLING AND THE URGENCY TO MAKE THE GOSPEL MESSAGE RELEVANT TO THE LIVES AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

Our vision of the Church as communion, participation and mission, about the Church as priestly, prophetic and kingly people, and a Church of the poor, that is a renewed Church, is today finding expression in one ecclesial movement, that is the movement to foster Basic Ecclesial Communities (PCP II 137).

 450 YEARS OF CHRISTIANITY, WE FIND REASON TO PERSIST IN OUR LABOR IN THE LORDS VINEYARD 1. The Filipino Culture as the context.
We observe the INCREASING GAP BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR, THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION, the need for further formation, the sustenance of families and communities in and by the Word of God and the need for more vocations in celibate loving. 2.

The Spirit of the New Evangelization.

Thus, we subscribe to Pope John Paul IIs call to New Evangelization in order to revitalize faith, give a new dynamism to the building up of the Church, draw near to the unity Christ desires for his disciples and respond to the expectations of the human person.

3. Christ as Focus.
We carry such spirit and mission with Christ as the center, transforming and leading all our efforts towards him. We then seek to enrich the strong Filipino faith in their belief, worship and witness.

4. Pastoral Orientation.
We constantly remain to be pastoral in our orientation: responsive to the need and situations of people, especially the poor and the marginalized in our society. Rightly, then, the church fulfills its mission, taking its inspiration from Jesus himself, to be a Church of the Poor.

2.1. Jesus Preferential Option for the Poor

Jesus preference for the poor was made evident in his public ministry when he called the poor to be blessed, frequented the company of those who sought him in their poverty of the spirit, the morally poor and those who were uninstructed in the law. Showed his love for children and women and led a striking life of poverty PCP II emphasizes Jesus call that he wanted his disciples to imitate. Our destiny depends on how we treat his brethren Evident poverty and great destitution of the great mass of our people Philippines contrasting with the wealth and luxury of few families.

 Power and control are also elitist, lopsidedly concentrated on established families that tend to perpetuate themselves in political dynasties.
The call to be the Church of the Poor is even made urgent and necessary Let us not be misled that poverty is desired by God or think of it as something desirable. PCP II re-affirms Vatican IIs claim proper to every person EVERY MAN HAS THE RIGHT TO POSSESS A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF THE EARTHS GOODS FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY

1. The church of the poor means a church that embraces and practices the evangelical spirit of poverty, which combines detachment from possessions with a profound trust in the Lord as the sole source of salvation; 2. It is one whose members and leaders have a special love for the poor..[which] is not an exclusive or excluding love in such a way that there is no room in a Christians heart for those who are not poor; 3. It is one where, at the very least the poor are not discriminated against because of their poverty; 4. It means that the pastors and other Church leaders will give preferential attention and time to those who are poor and will generously share their own resources in order to alleviate their poverty and make them recognize the love of the lord for them despite their poverty;

5. It is one that will be in solidarity with the poor.. [and[ does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she tries to serve Christ; 6. It also means that the Church will not only evangelize the poor, but that the poor in the Church will themselves become evangelizers; 7. Pastors and leaders will learn to be with, work with and learn from the poor; 8. Pastors and leaders of such a Church for the Poor will not compete for the most prosperous parishes or offices and will not ambition for titles and honors; 9. It is one where the entire community of disciple especially the rich and better of sectors of the community and its leaders and pastors, will have such a love and preference for the poor; 10. It is one that is willing to follow Jesus Christ through poverty and oppression in order to carry out the work of salvation.

BY: Michelle Ann B. Tarrobago

 They

are called, by various names, in the many languages of the Philippines Gagmayng Kristohanong Katilingban,

INTRODUCTION

Simbaan Sangakarrubaan, Mimting Samba-yanang Kristiyano, etc. - - - - but they are all Basic Ecclesial

Communities (BECs).

Basic Ecclesial Community(BEC)

Basic

ecclesial communities, also called basic Christian communities, small Christian communities is a Christian movement. The communities are considered as a new way of "being the Church" the Church at the grassroots, in the neighbourhood and villages. The earliest communities emerged in Brazil and in the Philippines in the late 1960s and later spread to Africa, Asia and in recent times in Australia and North America.

BEC DEFINITIONS

The PCP II gives us a phenomenological description of BECs:

small communities of Christians, usually of families who gather around the Word of God and the Eucharist. These communities are united to
They are their pastors but are ministered to regularly by lay leaders. The members know each other by name and share not only the Word of God and the Eucharist but also their
concerns both material and spiritual. They have a

strong
of

sense of belongingness responsibility for one another. (par 138)

and

BEC DEFINITIONS
In

another definition, the late Bishop Francisco F. Claver (2009) states that Basic Ecclesial Community is:

root level which meets regularly under the leadership of a lay minister to express their faith in common worship to discern on their common living of the faith to plan and act on common decisions regarding the life of faith in community, as community.

community of believers at the grass

BEC ACTIVITIES
BIBLE

SHARING

The practice lies in the time-worn practice of lectio divina in which the community does theological reflection from the perspective of faith and followed by discernment that takes place when the Word of God is made to cast light on the current problems of the community.

BEC ACTIVITIES
Pastoral

Planning

Refers to that application of the Word of God to the life of the community by asking the question: What is God, through Scripture, asking us to do about our situation today, about its problems and its opportunities?

BEC ACTIVITIES
Participatory

sharing and planning

Requires a participatory leadership that knows how to get the members of the community to share of themselves in the discerning and planning that are ordinary tasks of the BECs.

Through the BEC, the community:

Shares their stories and concerns, success and struggles; Listen and discern together the Word of God in their liturgical celebration and Bible fellowships; Grieve together when the time of sorrow or misfortune afflicts a fellow member; Get updates from the parish and from their parish priest through their leaders inputs. Conduct flores de mayo and basic catechism for the members; Celebrate fiesta; Decide important matters for the betterment of the faith under the guidance of their parish priest.

BEC IN THE PHILIPPINES

Expressions

of the Second Vatican Councils call for renewal which was first organized in the island of Mindanao, particularly the PRELATURE NULLIUS OF TAGUM.
Considered

as the pioneer of BEC building in the year 1930s

Followed

by: Prelature of Malaybalay in 1971; and Prelature of Iligan and Marbel in 1971 and 1974.

 Fe

Mendoza states that the priests of the Foreign Mission Society of Quebec (PME) were responsible for the establishment of Basic Ecclesial Communities.

BEC IN THE PHILIPPINES

The

Mary knoll missionaries took over in 1960s, under the leadership of Bishop Joseph Reagan.

 Gagmayng

Kristohanong Katilingban (GKK) became the name of each of the local, organized communities in the Prelature of Tagum. Kasaulogan sa Pulong (Celebration of the Word) under the guidance of a kaabag or lay minister.

BEC IN THE PHILIPPINES

 On

the other hand, the Jesuits in the Prelature of Bukidnon, with Bishop Claver as its shepherd, made a great difference in the formation of a Christian Community in the Barrio. In the Prelature of Iligan, BEC was named as KRISKA, for Kristohanong kasilingan, means Christian Neighborhood.

BEC IN THE PHILIPPINES

Consisted of six neighboring families. Had a simple structure: weekly meetings for Scripture study and prayer including the application of the Scriptural message to their situation.

Characteristics of the BEC

In

the light of this biblical model of Christian community, the following characteristics of the Basic Ecclesial Community can be better understood: 1. Faith-based -A BEC is first a community of believers in Jesus.; serves as a community of faith in order to pray, read and reflect on the word of God in Sacred Scriptures. By this, members of BEC confirmed one anothers faith and celebrate the faith they hold in common.

2. Christ-centeredness
- BEC people speak of Jesus as God and Savior at the very center of their lives as well as of their community. He is the Word of Lift and the Bread of Life, the Eucharist. His life and message in the Gospels serve as inspiration and norm of behavior and action. BEC people speak of the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed as the goal of salvation history. In their situation of poverty and deprivation, they speak of Jesus as Healer and Liberator, Teacher and Guide.

3. Community-oriented, CoResponsibility and Solidarity

These

flow fundamentally from a deep sense of community among the members, their striving to be of one mind and heart. They have a strong sense of coresponsibility and solidarity, in the sense of a "firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good

4. Participatory

Participation is based on the understanding of and respect for the different charisms given by the Holy Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation. "There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes ail of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4-12). For this reason, participation is absolutely necessary in the BEC.

5. Service and Sharing

These inspire them to be otheroriented rather than selforiented, to give rather than to take, to serve rather than be served. This attitude requires a lot of humility. One of the harshest evaluations that members could give would be that their leaders are arrogant and self-serving. For them, leadership has to be patterned after that of Jesus, who was ready even to lay down his life for others.

6. Love

This is the value that underlies all others. It is the giving of oneself for others because of one's friendship with the Lord and with one's neighbor. Only love can really adequately explain the persevering service of lay leaders in Basic Ecclesial Communities during the dark days of Martial Law when many of them were suspected as subversives, picked up, detained, and even tortured. Some were in fact killed.

the BEC is a new way of being Church, It represents a new paradigm of Church. It is a Church that is genuinely a "community of families," making the parish a "community of communities." It is a Church at the grassroots that is transforming itself into a Church of the Poor, a Church of servant leadership by the clergy and religious with full participation by empowered lay people, particularly by the poor. It is finally a Church that is engaged in transforming the wider community into a better reflection of the Kingdom of God.
Truly

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION
A BEC: Learns Lives Loves In the Spirit of Jesus

Thank you for LISTENING!! !

By: Christian Artocilla

BECs are composed of families. The church recognizes the essential role of the family in its evangelizing mission. PCP II
The family is the church in the home.

It is the primary community of Christs disciples whose members are bound together not only by flesh and blood but by the grace and obedience to the fathers will.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The

Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial communion and for this reason it can and should be called a domestic church.
of faith, hope and charity.

Community

Children
they grow and develop, the need for sustenance and guidance increased as they start to be curious and ask questions about the world and their surroundings. Rasa (empty tablet)

As

Tabula

Duties of Parents Stands as crucial instruments for the proper education of their children. Pope John Paul II (1990) The family environment, enlightened by the parents timely teaching, represents children best preparation for life and thus also for marriage.

Duties of Children the respect of children, to their father and mother is nourished by natural affection born of the bond uniting them. true docility and obedience. Expected to show respect and understanding to their siblings and contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents Generous and tireless in forgiving one another for offenses, quarrels, injustices and neglect.

Conclusion 7 brings the Church closer to us., even into our home and family, the domestic church. We come to realize that the Church is concerned with our own sorrows and struggles and share our joys and triumphs.

Chapter