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[Home] Couples for Christ’s
by Jun Uriarte
In the
book of the prophet Isaiah, there is a prophecy, which I believe is addressed
today to the community of Couples for Christ. It is the second of the four
“Servant-of-the-Lord” oracles. In this oracle, the Servant’s vocation is
described as to be not only the restoration of Israel but the conversion of the
world:
“It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the
tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light
to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (Is 49:6).
The
theme of this First CFC Southeast Asian Regional Conference is taken from this
oracle. It is a timely and appropriate theme.
My
brothers and sisters, the current total world population is around 6 billion.
Of this, only about 18 to 20 percent are Catholic.
For
this reason, the words that Pope John Paul II uttered over a decade ago in 1990
still ring sadly true today. He said, “The mission of Christ the Redeemer,
which is entrusted to the Church is still very far from completion.” It is a
sad fact that nearly 30 years after the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii
Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World) issued by Pope Paul VI and
nearly 40 years after the publication of the Decree on the Church’s Missionary
Activity Ad Gentes Divinitus there are more people in the world who do
not know or barely know Christ than those who proclaim him Lord and Savior.
Two
thousand years after the death and resurrection of our Redeemer, indeed two
thousand years after the beginning of missionary activity at Pentecost,
The
importance and nature of this challenge were recognized in Ad Gentes
Divinitus almost four decades ago: “There are two billion people – and
their number is increasing day by day – who have never, or barely, heard the
Gospel message; they constitute large and distinct groups united by enduring
ties, ancient religious traditions, and strong social relationships. Of these,
some belong to one or another of the great religions, others have no knowledge
of God, while others expressly deny the existence of God and sometimes even
attack it. If the Church is to be in a position to offer all men the mystery of
salvation and the life brought by God, then it must implant itself among all
these groups in the same way that Christ by His incarnation committed Himself
to the particular social and cultural circumstances of the men among whom He
lived.”
Ad
Gentes Divinitus was referring precisely to the situation we have in
During
the CFC anniversary celebration in
How
difficult then has been evangelization in the past?
The
Portuguese were the first to open a Christian mission in
The
mission in Laos commenced in 1876. After almost 200 years, there are less than
40,000 Catholics in Laos or around 0.7 percent of the total population. It has
also been hundreds of years since Christianity came to Cambodia but today there
are only about 20,000 Catholics in the country, or an extremely low figure of
0.2 percent of the population.
Some
months ago, a Thai Redemptorist priest said in his homily at the Holy Redeemer
Church that there had been a failure of evangelization in Thailand. He stressed
that Thailand would only be converted if the laity would actively participate
in the work of evangelization. He cited that there were more Christians in
Korea – a predominantly Buddhist country like Thailand – because of the work of
the laity.
Indeed
the evangelization of Korea was begun by a laity, Peter Li, and his companions.
Christianity in Korea therefore has the distinction of being founded by the
laity. And since that time, the laity has played a significant role in
evangelizing the Korean people. Today, Korea is around 40 percent Christian
although Catholics constitute only around 8 to 10 percent – but still a figure
significantly higher than Thailand’s 0.4 percent or Southeast Asia’s 3 percent.
If
in the past evangelization in Southeast Asia has been difficult and has yielded
only very modest results, how then can we accomplish the “mission of Christ,
the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church”?
Ad
Gentes Divinitus has provided the answer. The Church “must
implant itself among all these groups in the same way that Christ by His
incarnation committed Himself to the particular social and cultural
circumstances of the men among whom He lived.”
In
order to evangelize effectively, we must commit ourselves to the particular
social and cultural circumstances of the society within which we live. Perhaps
the Redemptorist missionaries in Thailand had this in mind when they decided to
place a large golden figure of Christ standing up, with hands and eyes raised
up to heaven, at the main altar of the Holy Redeemer Church at Soi Ruamrudee in
Bangkok. Being a predominantly Buddhist country, there are many images of
Buddha in Thailand. While most figures show Buddha sitting in the well-known
posture, there are also many showing him standing up. Many of these figures are
painted gold or are covered with many small pieces of very thin gold leaves. It
was perhaps because the Redemptorist fathers felt that Thai Buddhists could
better relate with a golden figure of Christ triumphant rather than with a
brown figure of Christ crucified that they had chosen to place the former at
the main altar.
After
their ad limina visit to the Vatican in November last year, Pope John
Paul II stressed to the Catholic bishops of Thailand, “There can be no true
evangelization if the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, is not
proclaimed.” “Evangelization in Asia, with its many ancient cultures and
religious traditions, presents many challenges,” the Pope said. “Nonetheless,”
he continued, “the Church must pursue its missionary work while showing respect
and esteem for listeners, taking account of their cultural, philosophical and
spiritual values, and engaging in dialogue with them.” “Today,” the Pope said,
“the Thai Church is challenged to present the mystery of Christ to the people
of Thailand in a way that corresponds to their cultural patterns and ways of
thinking and by drawing on the positive elements of Thailand’s great human
patrimony.”
In
August 1996, after a similar ad limina visit to the Vatican, the Holy
Father had the following words to the bishops of Thailand: “A specific problem
which you are facing in the care of families involves interfaith marriage.” The
Pope stressed the need to “ensure that there are proper pastoral safeguards for
the faith of the Catholic partner and its free exercise, above all with regard
to the duty to do everything possible to ensure the Catholic Baptism and
education of the children of the marriage.” “Authentic inter-religious dialogue
and understanding within families,” the Pope emphasized, “is not furthered by
religious indifferentism but by love for the truth and by sincere mutual
respect.”
Interfaith
marriages are particularly prevalent in Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand,
Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia. In Thailand, there is the special situation of
thousands of Catholic Filipinas married to Buddhist Thais. For many years, God
sent thousands of young Thai students – young Buddhist Thais – to study in the
Philippines. In fact when I was a young instructor at the University of the
Philippines in the 1960s, I had a number of Thai students in my classes. Many
of these students returned to Thailand with Filipina wives – Catholic Filipina
wives. In effect therefore, Christian believers have been “implanted” into the
midst of a “large and distinct groups united by enduring ties, ancient
religious traditions, and strong social relationships.” This did not happen by
accident. This is all part of God’s great plan for the conversion of Thailand,
and subsequently, of Southeast Asia.
In
the light of all this, what is the task for Couples for Christ in Asia, in
general, and for Southeast Asia, in particular? Where is God calling us?
Since
the founding of Couples for Christ in 1981, its work has focused mainly in the
area of re-evangelization or the new evangelization – the spiritual renewal of
Christians so that they can become families in the Holy Spirit renewing the
face of the earth. The entry point into the CFC community, the Christian Life
Program, is basically a program designed for the spiritual renewal of baptized
Christians.
In 1993, CFC established its Family Ministries, as its work for building the Church of the Home. Then the Social Ministries were established, to make up CFC’s work of helping build the Church of the Poor. But CFC has not really formally gone into the missionary work of converting non-Christians into Christianity, although there have been some cases of non-Christians attending the Christian Life Program with their Catholic spouses and later converting to Christianity. In fact when we were still in Jakarta about five or six years ago, I became godfather to the first Indonesian who converted to Christianity through the Christian Life Program. I gave him the name, Stephen, after the first Christian martyr. He was married to a Catholic Filipina. But these cases are few because CFC has no ministry specifically for the evangelization of non-Christians.
Since
we arrived in Thailand almost two years ago, I have been seeing signs of God’s
desire for Couples for Christ to commence its mission ad gentes. Allow
me to share with you just some of these.
During
one CLP in Cambodia, I was deeply touched by the sharing of two new members. A
new member of HOLD, a Filipina, related that she came from a devout Catholic
family and had relatives who were priests and nuns. When she was still in
college, one of her ardent prayers was to be given the grace of marrying a
devout Catholic man. But it did not happen that way. Instead she fell in love
with and married a Buddhist Thai. Of their two sons, one remained a Catholic
but the other converted into Buddhism. And so she asked, “Why did God allow it
to happen this way?” She longed to have a family that could worship together, that
would share the same faith, and that would have the same spiritual aspirations.
After
her sharing, I could not resist approaching her to tell her that God had a
better plan for her. While she asked to be given a devout Catholic husband, God
instead wanted her to be an instrument for the conversion of another person –
her husband.
The
other sharer, a young Khmer SFC, said that she was the only Christian in a
family of Buddhists. Thus her parents were always wondering where she was going
and what she was doing every Sunday while attending Mass and the Christian Life
Program. She wondered how she could serve actively in SFC when she was
surrounded by family members, relatives and friends who did not understand her
faith and the work she was doing.
In
CFC Thailand, we now have Buddhist members who have Catholic spouses. We have
many more CFC HOLD members who have Buddhist husbands. Also in Cambodia and
Myanmar, we have many more CFC HOLD members in mixed faith marriages. This is
happening because God has planned to use these mixed faith marriages to
inaugurate CFC’s mission
ad gentes.
In the
beginning of my talk, I cited Isaiah 49:6: It is too little, he says, for
you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the
survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation
may reach to the ends of the earth. These words are being addressed to
Couples for Christ today. God is saying “it is too little” for Couples for
Christ just to “restore the survivors of Israel,” that is, just to restore or
re-evangelize the Christians. It is too little for Couples for Christ just to
“raise up the tribes of Jacob,” that is, just to raise up people from poverty
and want. Since God has given us so much, God is asking us to do more.
Yes,
God raised CFC to help build the Church of the Home with the formation of the
Family Ministries. Yes, God tasked CFC to help build the Church of the Poor
with the establishment of the social ministries. But God is now saying that
these are “too little.” God wants CFC not just to “raise up the tribes of
Jacob,” not just to “restore the survivors of Israel,” but also to be light to
all nations and to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. God is calling CFC
to mission ad gentes.
The
Lord has shown us the task ahead. We need to respond. We are being asked to
care for our non-Christian brothers and sisters so that they may gradually get
to know and profess their faith in Christ. We are being asked to bring more of
them into our community. This is a formidable and difficult task. How are we
going to do this? How can we convince them that Christ is the way, the truth
and the life? How do we undertake mission ad gentes?
I
believe that Couples for Christ’s mission ad gentes should have at least
three components. First, it should initially focus on the evangelization of
non-Christians who are married to Christians. In the case of Thailand, this
work would be carried out primarily in the urban areas, where there are
thousands of Buddhist Thais married to Catholic Filipinos and other
expatriates. Second, it should gradually expand into the predominantly poor
rural and tribal non-Christian communities. The evangelization of these
communities would be accomplished primarily through the social ministries, in
particular through Gawad Kalinga. Third, it should include in the long
term the area of educating the young, opening up institutions to provide
Christian education to young men and women, Christians and non-Christians
alike.
In
order for Couples for Christ to “implant itself among the non-Christian
groups,” it should bring Gawad Kalinga to the rural poor and tribal
communities of Thailand, Cambodia, and other predominantly non-Christian
countries. The success of Gawad Kalinga in the Philippines should be
replicated in these countries. This strategy is in line with the exhortation of
Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi: “It is therefore primarily by her
conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other
words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus – the witness of
poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the power of the world, in
short, the witness of sanctity.”
My
brothers and sisters, it is through the kind of life that we live as Christians
that we will draw our non-Christian brethren to Christ. As Pope Paul VI has
said, the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentic
Christian life. We must live as Christ lived. We must imitate Christ. The
witness of sanctity is what will bring others who do not know Christ to God. We
must show others how Christ has transformed our lives by being more caring,
more patient and more generous. For when they see Christ in us, when they feel
the love of Christ through us, they will seek and follow Christ.
Couples
for Christ is now being called to help complete the mission of our Redeemer.
Let us pray that God will make us worthy to respond positively to this call. We
should come before the Lord to ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
because evangelization is always the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy
Spirit who moves the hearts of men and women. Therefore, we should ask the
spouse of the Spirit, the Blessed Mother, for help. We should entrust this work
to our Lady of Guadalupe, the Star of Evangelization, whose feast day we
celebrate on the 12th of this month. She is the means through which
Christ’s salvation will reach to the ends of the earth. She is the key to the
conversion of Southeast Asia, and of Asia.
For those who still doubt if Couples for Christ should now commence its mission ad gentes, I ask you to reflect on the words of Pope Paul VI, who said, “It would be useful if every Christian and every evangelizer were to pray about the following thought: men can gain salvation in other ways, by God’s mercy, even though we do not preach the Gospel to them; but as for us, can we gain salvation if through negligence or fear or shame – what St. Paul called ‘blushing for the Gospel’ – or as a result of false ideas we fail to preach it?” Yes, my brothers and sisters, by the great mercy of God, our non-Christian brethren “can gain salvation in other ways, even if we do not preach the Gospel to them.” But then we should ask ourselves, “Can we gain salvation if we fail to preach the Good News to them?” Pope Paul VI had asked us to pray about this thought. The message is very clear. God is telling us that what we are doing now is still “too little.” Yes, God wants us to “raise up the tribes of Jacob” and we are now doing this. Yes, God wants us to “restore the survivors of Israel,” and we are now doing this. But God wants to make Couples for Christ “a light to the nations, that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Let us pray that God in His infinite mercy may give us the grace to respond positively. Amen.
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