Bishop: Repudiate the
devil and his wiles

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra during the Paschal vigil called on the faithful to repudiate the devil and his pomp and wiles and to live the values of Christ, the Resurrected God-Man.

This was the principal message of Bishop Navarra who surprisingly called on the jam-packed San Sebastian Cathedral to the small group of white-robed members of the Catechumen Way of Bata Community One who sat around the Church.

The community members, themselves, were caught by surprise with the way Bishop Navarra cited them as examples of dedicated devotion to the Word of God and His example at denouncing pomp, the temptations of money and other materials enticements reiterating their baptismal vow to do away with the values of the world.

Fr. Angel Mojica, the Columbian priest-Catechist, from Rome, and Fr. Bong were the ones who presided over the dressing up of the Neo-Catechumen members of the white robe symbolizing their re-commitment to their baptismal vows.

The bishop’s call for a Christ like life, was issued during his homily at the Paschal Vigil of the San Sebastian Cathedral.

Several priests, headed by Fr. Felix Pasquin, rector of the Cathedral, attended rite that lasted until almost 11 p.m. Saturday night.

The Pascal vigil was preceded by the procession of La Soledad which wound it way into the Cathedral just shortly before the first fire’s burning signifying the advent of the of Christ into the life of man.

This impressive annual rite was held in front of the darkened cathedral before the clergy led by the Bishop entered the cathedral, intoning the “Lumen Christ (The Light Christ)”.

But it was during his sermon that the Neo-Catechumenal community (small) were startled when the prelate called the attention of the jampacked crowd of the faithful to them as examples of how, for 31-years, they had lived with the word and the Eucharist invoking God’s help in living up to the Gospel and to Christ’s message of love for one another.

“I never realized that the bishop, who presided (over) the writing down of their names in the Bible, had been impressed by what the community had been trying to do all these year commented Anita Gonzales

A similar incident must have been replicated in the Jaro Cathedral by Archbishop Lagdameo, the first prelate who had earlier been convinced about the value of the quite silent way the community members went about their evangelization.

The way had spread through the length and breadth of the Jaro archdiocese and even to Aklan and Antique.

Evangelizations catequesis had also been started in the Kabankalan Diocese where a team from the Hua Ming community had just finished the convivence of the first community in that diocese.

There are also several communities in the Dumaguete Diocese in Negros Oriental.

The Iloilo community had also been chosen to send a family to China in what is called the mission advents. That is a mission which had been gradually spreading the word of God to several countries in Europe, including the Scandinavian countries.

In contrast to the often belabored issue of poor vocations for the priesthood, these Redemptorist Mater Seminaries have shown more than a thousand new priest.

The most dramatic manifestation of this phenomenon was during the last World Youth Day in Madrid when some 5,000 young people from various parts of the world rushed forward to offer themselves for the priesthood and some 3,000 young girls also rushed to the platform to offer themselves as cloistered nuns or sisters.

This despite the objection of the secular government of the once famed Catholic country of Europe.

But the more important thing is not what they have achieved, but the way chosen by God as the means by which the Good News was being spread throughout the world small communities of dedicated Christians displaying their lives their of God and love for their fellowmen. That was why Bishop Navarra asked the congregation to pray for the neo-members that they continue walking in the Lord and not to be discouraged by temptations of the Devil.

The members of the community are Samuel and Ma. Lourdes, Raymund and Teresita, Roberto and Martina, Vicente and Corazon, Antonio and Ma. Elena, Risalina, Rolando, Wilhelmina, Cecilia, Corazon, Emilia, Marelik Lolita, Salvacion, Donar Mrele, Ma. Marlee, Pastore, Editha, Ma. Estesa, Myrna, Lina, Lydia, Antia, Amelita and Violet.

Christ is risen, He is truly risen. That’s the Eastern Greeting of Catholic Christians on Eastern Sunday.*

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