We celebrate milestones. Thus we
celebrate the silver (25 years), and much more, the golden (50 years)
anniversary of a wedding, or a company, or of a foundation of an institution.
Such celebrations are occasions to thank God and one another, to renew our
commitment and effort, and to push more vigorously forward to the future. If
this is true for 25 year, or 50 years, or even a hundred years of existence and
continued service – how much more for 500 years! That is half a millennium!
This is what we will do for 2021 in the
Philippines. We will celebrate half a millennium of Christianity in the country!
And this is indeed something to celebrate, for in 500 years the Christian faith
in the country has not only survived but has been a strong influence in the
culture and character of the nation, and is still going strong. We are the
third country in the world with the most numerous Catholic population. The
Catholic faith and devotion of the Filipinos is recognized all over the world.
Through our Filipino migrants and missionaries we also strengthen the Church in
most of the 200 countries all over the world where Filipinos are found. There
is really something to celebrate here.
In order to make this celebration more
meaningful, since 2013 the whole Philippine Church has embarked on a 9-year
preparation with a priority theme every year. The hope is that in these 9 years,
a renewal may take place in the Catholic faith of the Filipinos to make the
quincentenaries’ celebration more meaningful. We recognize that a lot has still
to be improved in the way we live the faith. It still has to be purified,
deepened and fortified.
The 2021 celebration will be marked with
great thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great gift of the Christian faith.
In God’s providence the Christian faith has come to our shores, took root in
it, and bore much fruit among its people. Although the Cross of the faith had
come with the Sword of the conquistadores in the time of colonialism, through
time the Filipinos have learned to distinguish between the Christian faith and
the Spanish colonialism. We had fought against the Spanish masters and drove
them out but we have remained fervent in our fidelity to the Catholic Church.
In fact, among the patriots who shed their blood in their struggle against
Spain were the native Filipino clergy, famous among whom are Fr. Gomez, Fr.
Burgos and Fr. Zamora – the GOMBURZA.
2021
is also a celebration of thanksgiving to all the missionaries and the
Christian lay leaders, among them our great, great grandparents, who passed on
the faith from one generation to the other. We owe who we are and what we have
to so many peoples down through the centuries, with their defects and with
their virtues - Filipinos and foreigners, priests, religious and lay people.
But the quinquennial event is not just a
looking back to the past. It is also a looking forward to the future. Yes, we
are been chosen and truly gifted with the faith. This carries a great
responsibility. We gratefully accept the gift, we develop it, and now it is our
turn to pass it on to the others. By “others” I mean to the coming generations
of Filipinos and also to the other peoples in Asia and in the world. Jesus has
come for the salvation of all peoples. Since we received the Good News, we have
to share this Good News to others, especially to our neighbors here in Asia. Hence,
the celebration is also a call to mission. In fact, the encompassing theme of
the celebration, which also serves as a challenge, is GRACIOUSLY GIFTED TO GIVE.
Let us vigorously celebrate so that we will all be vigorously motivated to go
out to share the gift of the Christian faith!
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