Institutionalizing School-based Catechesis: The Batan Experience

The Christian communities in the Parish of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Batan, Aklan are experiencing a sort of aggiornamento in practicing their faith through renewed catechesis. This sort of revitalized witnessing to the Word evolved out of the introduction of monthly masses in the chapels and schools all throughout the jurisdictional bounds of the parish. Today, all public schools within the Batan parish, both elementary and secondary, have appropriated 90-minute catechetical instructions given voluntarily by the teachers themselves for their pupils or students.
The transformation though did not come that easy. Sometime in August 2007, the Batan parish welcomed Msgr. Pedro C. Frac as its parish priest. The Bishop of Kalibo also appointed as the monsignor’s associates a couple of priests (right now, Fr. Charles V. Isagan and Fr. Antonio C. Supranes). Together, these dedicated servants of God, reached out to their people through consistently holding masses in the sitios of the 17 barangays under the Parish of Batan. They introduced the Pledge System (pre-tithing--some Dioceses though considered pledge and tithing as one) as an alternative to the Arancel practice which had taken a semblance of commericalism in the way pastors dispense sacraments and sacramental to the faithful. The centralized Parish Pastoral Council was reorganized in such a manner that cluster communities in the sitios and barangay chapels were empowered and given a voice in the PPC. School-based Christian communities slowly emerged as the priests faithfully officiated monthly Eucharistic celebrations in school campuses.
The teachers, noting the positive effect of the sustained Eucharistic celebrations in their schools, took upon themselves the role of dispensing catechesis to their pupils and students. Seeing their zeal and initiative, the parish decided to sit with them and organize them in the process. The parish was happy to invest in them by providing them the necessary trainings and resources. Semestral recollections were scheduled and prominent and effective resource persons from the region were invited to provide the teachers the much needed catechetical orientation.
The response of the lay faithful especially in the barangays to these initiatives was simply overwhelming. One is reminded of Jesus’ pronouncement: “The harvest is great but the laborers are few…”(Lk. 10:2; Mat. 9:37-38). Attendance to the masses in the chapel swelled and the laity actively participated in church activities (each chapel organized their own choir, Finance and Education committees and during the offertory almost all of the hearers queue to offer something). Reception of the sacraments (confession, communion, etc.) dramatically increased. Financial and material support to the catechetical seminars of teachers and other volunteers came in handy. All of the sudden, the indifferent Catholics flocked to the chapels and broke bread with "conservatives". Now, the so called unchurched displayed zeal in community organizing and are taking lead roles. Msgr. Frac thus is recommending that the Christian communities in Sitio Himbis and its neighboring sitios and barangays shall be made into the 23rd parish in the Diocese of Kalibo.
Ad majorem dei gloriam.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Something About Tumbo (Cara y Cruz): A Hypothesis

Image
They say that mahjong is just a diversion, a recreation of some sort of the bored and the retired. But they say that cara y cruz is a different case. However you look at it--in both sides of the coin (pun intended), it is gambling and therefore those who indulged in it (read, the poor ones) are playing in conflict with law. And so, since yesteryears, people accepted those facts. Mahjong is recreational while cara y cruz or tumbo is gambling and illegal at that. An Alfonso showing its head and tail or if your prefer its "hari" & "corona" But I was amused at the scene of a group of individuals by an "island" at corner T.M. Kalaw and Taft Avenue I happened to pass by while doing research at the National Archives of the Philippines sometime in August 2010. I just alighted from the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at UN Station and was finding my way to cross T.M. Kalaw when I noticed a bunch of lot playing cara y cruz on the elevated concrete "isla
Read more

SOOTHING AS NIGHT WINDS ARE: An Interpretation of the poem by that title by Salvador B. Espinas

Image
Love is gentle, love is quiet Like any distant star; In loving by which we approximate the nature of love, we do not coerce those we love—as much as possible we give room for freedom to grow and respect each other’s independence, i.e., each other’s time of searching. In loving, the lover is like the distant star, manifesting his presence and yet quietly, not trying to obstruct or block the path of the beloved. He stands besides quietly assuring her of his gentle presence and constant attention. Love is beauty, love is music Soothing as night winds are. Lovers are enchanted by the wonders of creation. One who is in loved would often quips that everything seems beautiful and that “ life has music, rhythm and rhyme” –which actually is. Somehow, love enables man and woman to see reality as God sees it. As even in times of trouble, loves comes like night winds, soothing our weary mind and aching heart.
Read more

Maeocong, Chieftain of the Jae-o No More

Image
There was a time when the early settlers by the Jal-o regarded the river with a sense of foreboding. While it served as the main thoroughfare, their public baths and laundry pond, the river held many mysteries kept hidden among its lush mangroves and adjoining swamps and tributaries. Rumors and reports of actual sightings of monstrous amphibians wading its waters had been told in every household. The authorities had warned the villagers to stay out of the water especially at nighttime. Of those crocodiles, Maeocong was regarded as the dominant bull--the king of the Jae-o. He was long as a boroto (local banca) and heavier than an adult carabao. It was said that he was more deadly if paired with his favorite mate, Pingan Nonay . Together, they wreck terror along the Anao and Bag-ot swamps. For a time, the settlers tolerated their fear. They lived their lives by the Jal-o with that ominous awareness that they were not the masters of the river. But such fears had hounded them even in th
Read more