26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C): "He feasted sumptuously everyday"

For my commentary on Luke 16:19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus (26th Sunday in Ord Time - C), please click on this or on the title above.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C): "Dishonest Wealth"

Please click on this or on the title above for my commentary on Luke 16:1-3 (25th Sunday in Ord Time - C).

Old Testament Group Meet in Fairview

Members of the OT Group of CBAP

September 2007 meeting

Although this post is not exactly about news in and out Divine Word Seminary, this may interest readers of this blog.

Last Sept. 19 (2:00 pm - 4:00 pm) the Old Testament group of the Catholic Biblical Association of the Philippines (CBAP) met in the hall of the Holy Spirit Church in B.F. Homes, Fairview (QC) to listen to and discuss the papers of two pastors/professors.

Pastor Leo F. Galanza, Jr delivered a paper on "Biblical Interpretation in the Second Period" where he outlined the complexities of this period. The body of literature in the Second Temple Judaism is not only diverse but also bigger than the canonical texts of the Old Testament. He assured that this period provides a better background to the New Testament rather than the Old Testament. He recommended to the group to take a look at George W. E. Nickelsburg, Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins: Diversity, Continuity, and Transformation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003). The group also also referred to Gabriele Boccaccini, Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism (Grand Rapids, Mi / Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1998) and idem, Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, From Ezekiel to Daniel (Grand Rapids, Mi / Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002).

Pastor Leo is a senior pastor of Marikina Christian bible Church and faculty member of Center for Biblical Studies. He is working on an MA degree at the Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary.

The second paper was delivered by Pastor Noli Mendoza on "The Threat of Chaos: Jeremiah's Vision of a Suffering Earth". He argues that the "in the book of Jeremiah there exists and intimate relationship between God, human community, and the environment... the threat of chaos... in Jer 4:23-26 portraying the reversal of creation into disorder, is cuased by a profound violation in the symbolic relationship between God, the environment and human community" (from the abstract).

Pastor Noli is a faculty member of Asian Theological Seminary teaching where he also finished Master of Divinity in Biblical Studies (2001). He is writing a thesis for his Master of Theology in Biblical Studies at the Asia Graduate School of Theology - Philippines. he is a chaplain and translator in the Philippine Bible Society, pastor of Family Christian Fellowship of the Conservative Baptist Association of the Philippines (also abbreviated CBAP). He is married to Ma. Melissa Mendoza with whom he has two daughters, Haraya Marikit and Biyaya Marilag.

Listening to these pastors before a Catholic organization such as CBAP in Catholic parish, I remember what the late Raymond E. Brown said of biblical studies as the greatest achievement of ecumenism ("The Contribution of Historical Biblical Criticism to Ecumenical Church Discussion," in Richard John Neuhaus (genearal ed.), Biblical Interpretation in Crisis: The Ratzinger Conference on Bible and Church, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989), pp. 24-49.

Present in this meeting were Sr. Arleene Riccio, DSMP who hosted the meeting; Sr. Helen Graham, MM; Fr. Fruto Ramirez, SJ; Msgr. Noe de los Santos (who came all the way from Naga); Fr. Mer Viuya, MJ; Fr. Chris Pine, OFM; Bishop Ambo David; Pastor Caleb Dignadice; Mr. Resty Adoremus; and Ms. Bing Kasilag acted as the coordinator.

Important Announcements

1. The next OT meeting will be on February (date to be fixed yet) in Villa San Miguel in Mandaluyong. Speakers will be Bishop Ambo David and Carmelo Sorita (author of The Son of Man as Jesus and His Messianic Community (Naga: Ateneo de Naga, 2005). They will be discussing collective messianism and the "son of man". Bishop Broderick Pabillo will host this February meeting.

2. The New Testament group will meet here in Divine Word Seminary (Tagaytay) on October 6 (Sat) beginning at 9:00 am. Frs. Vic Nicdao and Carlito Reyes will discuss issues in Paul as preliminaries to the celebration of the Year of St. Paul (2,000th birthday; celebration is from June 29, 2008 - June 29, 2009).

3. The Ad-Infinitum group (members are lay who are into biblical studies) will hold their regular meeting tomorrow (22 Sept) beginning at 2:00 pm where Mr. Mike Lapid will deliver a paper on the Crisis of the Documentary Hypothesis and will also share his experiences with the Bat Kol program in Jerusalem.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C): "Until one finds it"

For my commentary on the Gospel reading, please click on this or on the title above.

Canon Law Festival held

Fourth year students of Canon Law under Fr. Jerome Marquez, SVD, JCL hosted a Canon Law festival last Friday (14 Sept) at the Mariapolis Center auditorium here in Tagaytay City. They presented an audio-visual production on the Teaching Office and Temporal Goods of the Church elaborating the canonical, theological, and pastoral aspects of these legal provisions. The production was divided into these six themes:

• 1) Understanding CBCP
• 2) “How Catholic is your School?”
• 3) Sustaining Dioceses
• 4) Sustaining Poor Parishes
• 5) Banking Options for the Church
• 6) Microfinance for the Poor

The festival, which began at 9:00 am until 11:00 am, was attended mostly by members of the academic community of Divine Word Seminary and a number of religious brothers and sisters. Fr. Nielo Cantilado, SVD and current provincial of the Philippine Central Province was one of the board of judges. Show director was Fr. Joey Guinto, SVD, parochial vicar of Hesus Nazareno Parish in DBB, Dasmarinas, Cavite.

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (C): "Hate Your Family"

For my commentary on the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time year C: Luke 14:25-33, please click on this "Hate your Family"or on the title above.

Family Feast 2007

Fr. Antolin Uy, at 70 something,

still plays tennis and wins;
here with Fr. Alex Muana playing
doubles for his family.

Not a few readers of this blog wonder why its hibernation. The double demand of teaching and dissertation writing was taking toll on me plus the ongoing operation to locate our missing seminarian. This holds true, likewise, for my other blog Misalinggo (commentaries on Sunday readings) whose last post was on May 5.

Nonethless, here's an opportunity to resume blogging - on the 132th anniversary of the SVD (founded in Steyl, Holland in 1875) celebrated traditionally in the seminary with a Family Feast.

Family Feast kicks off with a cheering competition

Ate Cory Belardo, the most senior of the employees,
leads this cheering squad

Ate Viray of the laundry department

Manang Andring and some of the girls

Volleyball game:
Basketball used to be the major game,
times have changed.

In his book Witness to the Word (Logos, 2005), Fr. Estioko portrayed Arnold Janssen with these four characteristics: hard worker, silent type, true to his ideals, closeness to God (pp. 23-24) In short, the founder is a serious person or, or as we often say of him, “strict”.

In all that seriousness,, we are surprised that he knew how to have fun. The founder established July 2 as the common feast day for all priests, brothers, and sisters, in order to foster a feeling of belongingness. It was to be celebrated this way: a free day for everyone; solemn High Mass with deacon and subdeacon; celebration in the aula with a missionary theme; a community excursion in the afternoon. The joint celebration was restricted to the priests, brothers and seminarians; sisters were not invited (Alt, Journey in Faith, p. 841).

In 1905, he wrote to his assistant with the suggestion “to introduce a celebration in connection with our patrons and the goals of our Society. It should be on the feast of the Transfiguration (Aug 6) or on the following Sunday.” After the Founder’s death, this feast developed into what we call and celebrate every year as family feast.

Fr. Schenk and Fr. Ronnie perform
at the cultural night --
a rare appearance of Fr. Schenk,
the most senior of the confrères,
to bring his team to no. 1

Also starring: Frs. Gerry Paat,
Lito Reyes (guest professor),
Meng, and Mike Layugan

scholastics and staff

audience

Board of Judges