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My
helpers in Christ Jesus |
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I
was reflecting on how God had been actively working in our life since we
joined Couples for Christ and was shifting my thoughts on God’s future
plan for me and my family when the thought came to me that the time had
come for Couples for Christ to formally inaugurate a new ministry for the
evangelization of non-Christians. 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 those who are already baptized as Christians, although in certain very special cases non-Christians (for example, those who are married to Catholics), are accepted to the program. 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. In 1999, CFC founded a new order of clerics called the Society of the Holy Family. And recently, a new congregation of religious sisters, the Missionary Handmaids of the Holy Family, was established. But
CFC has not really formally gone into the missionary work of converting
non-Christians into Christianity, although there have been a number of
cases of non-Christians attending the Christian Life Program with their
Catholic spouses and later converting to Christianity. When we were still
serving in Jakarta, we had a few cases of Muslim Indonesian husbands
married to Catholic wives who attended the CLP and later converted into
Christianity. In fact I was the Baptismal godfather to one of them and I
gave him his Christian name, Stephen, after the first Christian martyr.
But these cases are few since CFC has no ministry specifically for the
evangelization of non-Christians. But
now the time has come. God is calling Couples for Christ to work for the
conversion of the Gentiles and the evangelization of non-Christians. And
this work is to start in Thailand. In
a recent trip of the members of CFC Bangkok to northern Thailand, a talk
on Couples for Christ and the Christian Life Program was organized in a
parish. Dozens of Buddhist participants came to listen to the talk. Many
were interested to find out more about Couples for Christ. The
recent CLPs in Bangkok and Baan Phu Waan attracted couples in mixed
marriages (Catholic Filipina wife and Buddhist Thai husband). Although
only one such couple completed the program, there were five such wives who
finished and are now members of CFC Handmaids of the Lord. We have been
informed that there are over thirty such couples known to these new
members of the community. CFC Thailand has now a HOLD household composed
of six Filipina wives (although they are now all Thai citizens) who are
all married to Buddhist Thai husbands. As they become actively involved in
the CFC community, we believe that the Holy Spirit will sooner or later
draw their husbands into the CFC community. A
Thai priest who gave a homily at the Holy Redeemer Church just over a
month ago stressed that there is a failure of evangelization in Thailand.
After three hundred years of Christianity in Thailand, there are today
only about 300,000 Catholics out of a population of over 65 million. The
priest called on the laity to actively help in the evangelization of
Thailand, to be the co-workers of the priests and the religious in
bringing Christ to more people in the cities and hinterlands of Thailand. I
am convinced that the Holy Spirit wants Couples for Christ to now
establish a new ministry to work for the conversion of non-Christians. We
may call this new ministry the Ministry of Aquila and Priscilla (MAP). For
this purpose, CFC has to design a new program for the religious
instruction of non-Christians. We may call this new program, Knowing
Christ Program (KCP). This program should be based on the Catechism of the
Catholic Church but enriched with Scriptural readings and conducted with
CFC songs very much like in a CLP. It should culminate with the rite of
the Sacrament of Baptism being administered to the catechumens. Just as
the CLP is the entry point for Christian couples into a new life in the
Holy Spirit, the KCP will be the entry point for converts into a new life
in Christ. While
the KCP is being prepared, special CLPs could be offered to couples in
mixed marriages. After the CLP, they could be placed in special households
headed by spiritually mature couples who could provide proper pastoral
guidance and religious instruction. Once the KCP has been designed and the
expanded outlines of the talks have been completed, it could initially be
offered to interested Buddhist couples in Thailand. The
work of the Ministry of Aquila and Priscilla should be just like the work
of the couple from whom the ministry has been named after. Aquila and
Priscilla worked with Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. The Book of Acts
tells us that when Paul left for mission to Syria, he brought Aquila and
Priscilla with him. Then he left Aquila and Priscilla to continue the
mission in Syria while he proceeded to Caesarea and Antioch. The
members of this new ministry must be well versed in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and the Scriptures. The Book of Acts tells us that Aquila
and Priscilla instructed Apollos, an eloquent preacher and authority on
the Scriptures, more accurately about the way of Jesus: A certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived at Ephesus.
He was an eloquent speaker and an authority on the Scriptures, and he had
some knowledge of the Way of the Lord. With great enthusiasm he preached
and taught correctly about Jesus, although he knew only of John’s
baptism. As he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, Priscilla and
Aquila heard him; so they took him home with them and explained to him the
Way of God more accurately (Acts 18:24-26). Like
Aquila and Priscilla, the members of MAP must be ready to face
difficulties and danger in their missionary work: Greetings
to Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus. To save my life, they
risked theirs; I am grateful to them, as are all the churches of the pagan
nations (Rom 16:3-4). They must be prepared to join and assist
missionary priests who live in remote non-Christian villages. They
must be ready to open their homes to people who may come from the remote
areas of the countries in which they serve:
The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you in the
Lord, as does the church that gathers in their house (1 Cor 16:19). Greetings also to the church that meets in their house (Rom 16:5). My brothers and sisters, the time has come for Couples for Christ to work for the conversion of non-Christians. Let us help make this happen. Let us found the Ministry of Aquila and Priscilla. Through the intercession of these saints, may the Holy Spirit guide us in this new ministry for, indeed, the Church desperately needs new helpers in Christ Jesus. It needs couples who, with God’s grace, could become like Aquila and Priscilla. |
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