The Ordained Ministry vis-à-vis BECs

1. The Ordained Ministryvis-à-vis BECs Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, STD

2. Is the formation of BECs really a constitutive dimension of ministry of the ordained? • How can the priestly ministry be understood and exercised in relation to the BECs? • What is the role of the ordained priest vis-à-vis the BECs?

3. Vision A renewed community of believers fully knowing, loving and serving Christ, proclaiming the good news and actively participating in the building of a society of justice, peace and love

4. Mission “We, the servant-leaders of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, in collaboration with and in participation of the fullness of the Bishop's priesthood, and making our own the call of the Plenary Council of the Philippines II for renewal and transformation, commit ourselves: to live a life that is rooted in Christ; to live the life of evangelical poverty, celibacy and apostolic obedience;

5. to serve as pastoral leaders with the compassion and humility of the Good Shepherd; to celebrate the Eucharist as authentic presiders and to proclaim the Word credibly; to live as brothers respecting each one's freedom and fostering a sense of belonging; to be in the midst of our people, to know their plights, anguishes, hopes and aspirations; to be imbued with deep love of preference for the poor, defending and vindicating their rights; to nurture a filial devotion of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother

6. If our understanding of the priesthood is exclusively “cultic,” forming BECs is not part of our ministry. Our only duty is to say mass and administer the sacraments and respond to the spiritual needs of the faithful. • If our understanding of our ministry has no communitarian dimension, then forming BECs is not part of our responsibility. Our role is purely administrative Our concern will primarily be the maintenance and management of the parish, building beautiful churches, rectories and parish centers, raising parish income.

7. But the understanding of ministry since Vatican II and PCP II is broader than that. • The vision of a renewed Church in Vatican II and PCP II has broadened the understanding of the life and ministry of the ordained: Church as communion and as people of God participating in Christ’s mission as a priestly, prophetic and kingly people as a Church of the Poor • The Vatican II & PCP II theology of ministry is based on this ecclesiological framework.

8. Vatican II: Lumen Gentium 28 “By virtue of the sacrament of Orders, they are consecrated in the image of Christ, supreme and eternal priest to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful as well as to celebrate the divine worship as true priest of the New Testament.” 8

9. The three-fold office (Triplex Munus) of Christ is used as a framework for the ordained ministry • This provides a holistic framework for ministry: prophetic ministry pastoral ministry liturgical/sacramental ministry • The ministry of the ordained is always at the service of the people of God and is to be lived in a communitarian context.

10. “The priesthood is instituted within the People of God for the sake of the People of God… Priests and their ministry cannot therefore, be understood apart from this community setting. The ordained priest does not stand outside the Christian community. He remains in the community. He is ordained for the community.” (PCP II 510)

11. PCP II (no. 511-531, 558) Priests are ordained to “preach, sanctify and shepherd God’s people” As representatives of Christ the Head they are servant-leaders of the Priestly/worshipping community Prophetic/evangelizing community Servant/ministering community 11

12. Constitutive Dimensions of the Ordained Ministry • Pastoral Ministry - Ministry of Communion & Pastoral Leadership. Forming and Leading a genuine Christian Community (network of SCCs/BECs) • Prophetic Ministry – Ministry of the Word. Forming and leading the prophetic, evangelizing and witnessing community. • Liturgical/Sacramental Ministry - presiding over & actualizing the priestly/worshipping community. • Social Action/Service Ministry – organizing and mobilizing the servant community

13. Ministry of Communion & Pastoral Leadership

14. “to serve as pastoral leaders with the compassion and humility of the Good Shepherd”

15. “Fulfilling the role of Christ the head and shepherd they gather and lead the family of God or local community into one fellowship.” (Presbyterorum Ordinis 6) 15

16. Shepherding requires gathering and forming the sheep into one flock, making each sheep feel and behave as a member of the flock. Pastoral Leadership involves not just leading the Christian Community but also forming the community. Without genuine a Christian community what is there to lead? The building up and strengthening of the Christian Community is a constitutive dimension of the ordained/pastoral ministry. 16

17. “We priests have been consecrated in the Church for this specific ministry. We are called in various ways to contribute, wherever Providence puts us, to the formation of the communityof God’s people. Our task is to tend the flock God entrusted to us” (John Paul II, quoted in The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community 4. Congregation for Clergy) 17

18. PCP II: Forming & Leading the Christian Community “Hence, we can appropriately call ordained ministers as servant-leaders of the community. They are in charge of the community. They are to build up the Christian community. Their task extends by right also to the formation of a genuine Christian community.” (PCP II, 518) 18

19. Ecclesiology of Communion & Ordained Ministry The ecclesiology of communion becomes decisive for understanding the identity of the priest, his essential dignity, and his vocation among the people of God (PDV 12) John Paul II Pastores Dabo Vobis

20. The Servant of Communion (PDV) 16) “The priest is “a servant of the Church as communion – because in union with the bishop and closely related to the presbyterium – he builds up the unity of the Church community in the harmony of diverse vocations, charisms and services.”

21. The ordained ministry is at the service of the Christian community It is a ministry of pastoral leadership over the Christian community – the parish community & the network of BECs within the parish. It is a ministry of building up the unity and communion of the Christian community. The priest is a builder not only of the church made of marble, but of the living church, the Christian community. Ministry of Pastoral Leadership:Promoting Communion 21

22. The priest builds the unity of the Church community and promotes communion (unity & solidarity) in the Christian community. The priest is called to be a Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep & who gathers them together as one flock. He not only builds the community, he also presides over the community & leads it. Thus, he has to be close to his flock. 22

23. The priest has a responsibility to help develop the sense of community & communion in the parish level However, the large size of the parish makes it difficult to develop communion among the members There is therefore a need to break up the parish into smaller Christian communities. Thus, the need to build Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) The BEC is the locus of communion where the members become one heart and mind (unity & friendship) and share their resources (community of goods). The concept stewardship and practice of modified tithing is a concrete expression of communion of goods. 23

24. The role of the priest is to promote this communion within BECs and between BECs Thus, the parish will be developed as the network of BECs under the leadership of the priest. Communion requires that the BECs are united to their priest (vice-versa) and the priest develop closer relationship with the members of the BECs. The priest must also promote communion among the members of LOMAS (lay organizations, movements and associations) and the BECs, and encourage their members to actively participate in their respective BECs.

25. The Church according to Vatican II & PCP II is called to be a participatory church. The BECs are an expression of this participative nature of the Church. The priest must enable the lay faithful in the parish & the BECs to actively participate in the life & mission of the church. He has to listen to them and encourage them to participate in the process of decision-making, planning & implementation (pastoral councils, parish assemblies). He should avoid an authoritarian and dictatorial style of leadership. The priest should see himself not as king but the servant leader of the community and the BECs. This requires a more participative and collaborative style of leadership 25

26. What is the nature of the community that the priest seeks to form and lead? PCP II gives us an answer. a Prophetic/Evangelizing community a Worshipping/Eucharistic community a ministering Servant community 26

27. The Prophetic Ministry “To proclaim the Word credibly”

28. The ordained ministry is a ministry of the Word • The priest preaches and teaches the Word of God and gives witness to it with his life • The mission of renewed evangelization and catechesis is a primary task of the ordained minister. Thus, a priest must see to it that a systematic program of evangelization & catechesis is in place. • The ministry of the Word is geared towards the formation of a genuine Christian community/BECs (PCP II 519) • It should lead to the growth of a truly prophetic and evangelizing community (and BECs) where the lay faithful actively participate in Christ’s prophetic mission.

29. Prophetic Community (PCP II 525) “The community over which the priest presides is also a prophetic community. The Word is announced by the priest to the people not only so that they may themselves have life or may be built into a community of believers, but in order that they may in turn become witnesses to the Word that they have believed. People shall have truly grown in their faith when they emerge as announcers of the Word. Through the servant-leadership of the priest, the people of God are inspired and formed into an evangelizing and prophetic community.” 29

30. The prophetic ministry requires that the priest becomes a conscience of society who can denounce all forms of evil in society (injustice, oppression, violation of human rights, ecological destruction, etc. • The prophetic ministry is also geared towards the formation of conscience of the people - the members of the parish/BECs • They will then become truly prophetic communities that denounce evil in all its manifestation and announces the Good New of salvation, liberation, justice and peace.

31. Liturgical/Sacramental Ministry

32. “to celebrate the Eucharist as authentic presiders”

33. Celebrating the Eucharist and administering th sacraments remain an essential dimension of the ordained ministry But this is to be understood in a communitarian context. According to Vatican II & PCP II, the priest presides over a priestly community. The ministerial priesthood enables the people of God to actualize its common priesthood. The task of the priest as leader of the priestly community is to foster full & active participation in the liturgical celebration. He forms the community into a truly worshipping & celebrating community. 33

34. Priestly Community (PCP II, 511, 522) “The Christian community is a priestly community where all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. Both the priesthood of the faithful and the priesthood of the ordained ministers are a participation in the one priesthood of Christ… The priest is the servant-leader of the Eucharistic community. The Word that the ordained minister speaks achieves its greatest intensity in the Eucharist. Every Christian community must be Eucharistic because the Eucharist is the source and apex of the whole Christian life.” 34

35. In exercising his sacramental/liturgical ministry, it is not enough that the priest administer the sacraments at the parish church. He has to go out more often to the barrios & neighborhood communities to celebrate the Eucharist with the BECs more frequently (monthly, bi-monthly). He also has to make sure that even in his absence the communities/BECs can continue to come together to pray and celebrate (bible-service, Kasaulogan sa Pulong, etc). 35

36. Social Service/Action Ministry

37. “tobe in the midst of our people to know their plights, anguishes, hopes and aspirations; to be imbued with deep love of preference for the poor, defending and vindicating their rights”

38. The ordained ministry cannot be limited to leading the Christian community, preaching the Word, or administering the sacraments. • The people that we are called to serve are not only hungry for the Word, or want to receive the grace that the sacraments confer • There are many people who are poor, hungry, sick, broken-hearted and oppressed – whose rights are violated and who are victims of violence, calamity, etc. • They face so many problems – poverty, corruption, injustice, armed conflict, environmental degradation. • What can the priest do? Is responding to these concerns still part of his ministry?

39. The Synod of Bishops in 1971 in their document on the ministerial priesthood affirms that the ministry of priests include the task of promoting justice, peace and development and the defense of human rights. • The code of canon law enshrines the idea that priests have a duty to work for peace and harmony based on justice (Canon 287). • PCP II affirms that the priest must be at the service of total human development and must have an “attentive, compassionate, generous and responsive heart which impels him to be in solidarity especially with those who are in need. (538)

40. “Like the compassionate Good Shepherd, the priest reaches out to the sick and disabled in the community, the poor and victimized in society. Recognizing the plight of the poor and deprived who are so often neglected by the rich and the mighty, the servant-leader encourages the Christian community to reach out with compassion for the weak. He makes real to the Christian community Christ’s love of preference for the poor.” (PCP II 526-27)

41. “The community over which the priest presides is a ministerial (servant) community… The priest is a servant and leader when he reaches out to all classes of people in the community with great kindness after the manner of the Lord. He inspires, leads, and coordinates the members of the community so that they will become what they are supposed to be as Christians. Very special among his concerns are once again the poor, the young people, and parents who are special evangelizers to their children.” (PCP II 528) 41

42. Thus, the priest has to address the problems that his people face – not just the spiritual but also the temporal – the social, economic, political. But he cannot solve this alone – he is not the Messiah or superman. The ministry of social service/action must be understood and lived in relation to the Christian community that he leads and serves. According to PCP II, the community over which the priest presides is a ministering servant community 42

43. The task of the priest is to animate the community to exercise its role as a caring, servant community. • His pastoral ministry involves animating his parish community & the BECs to address the problems that they face – especially poverty, injustice, armed conflict & the destruction of the environment. • He should encourage and support the BECs to work for justice, peace, development, and integrity of creation and thus help transform society. • This means helping set up in the parish and BECs structures of care, or programs that that respond their concrete needs: disaster relief, IGP, coops, health programs, NFP, sustainable agriculture, ecology, etc.

44. In order to be credible servant-leader, the priest is called to live a simple lifestyle and make a preferential option for the poor. Like Christ, he must bring the good news to the poor and help empower them so that the Church can truly become the Church of the poor. By his words and example, the priest must also encourage those who are not poor to make the option for the poor, to be in solidarity with the poor and to help the poor. 44

45. In exercising his ministry of social concern, the priest should avoid becoming subservient to ideologies and political parties. He should maintain autonomy and independence from these while at the same time engaging in dialogue with them when necessary. The motivation and dynamism in the social apostolate springs from our faith and mission, not from ideologies. 45

46. The Episcopal Ministry viv-a-vis BECs 46

47. The understanding of the ministry of the bishop has the same framework for the priestly ministry: • Ministry of Pastoral Leadership & Communion (Pastoral Ministry) • Ministry of the Word (Prophetic Ministry) • Liturgical/Sacramental Ministry (Sacerdotal Ministry) • Social Action/Service Ministry • According to PCP II: “When we speak of priests we refer at the first instance to bishops. They are the high priests and servant-leaders of the Christian community…” (PCP II 559)

48. “They bishop is the visible foundation of unity in the diocese… The Bishop is responsible before the Lord and his people for the realization of the priestly ideal both in himself and in those who share the apostolic ministry with him. He is to consider priests as his helpers, sons and friends. He must affirm and encourage them, inspire them to make the best use of their gifts. When needed be, he should correct them, but always as a father lovingly correcting a son.” (PCP II 560)

49. BECs cannot flourish without the support and encouragement of the bishop As head shepherd of the local/particular Church, it is the primary responsibility of the bishop to see to it that the vision of a renewed Church promoted by Vatican II and PCP II be received, owned and implemented in his diocese What matters most is the building up of a network of genuine Christian communities in the parishes within the diocese which are signs of the vitality of the local Church 49

50. It is the bishop who inspires and challenges his priests to truly live out their role as good shepherds who build up and lead genuine Christian communities in their respective parishes. The bishop makes the priests accountable regarding the vitality of the BECs in their parish (progress reports and pastoral visits) He ensures that there is coordination among the various diocesan commissions in contributing to the growth of BECs. The bishop has to lead & guide the whole flock in the journey. He must make sure that everyone – clergy, religious & lay faithful – will journey together to make their dream and vision a reality. 50