ni Analou De Vera

HINIKAYAT ni Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo ang mga Pilipinong mananampalataya na maging “on missionary mode” sa pagpapakalat ng salita ng Diyos sa pagdiriwang ng bansa ng ika-500 taon ng Kristiyanismo sa Pilipinas.

“We open today the Year of the Mission. Let each of our community enter into the missionary mode,” pahayag ni Pabillo sa kanyang homily sa Manila Cathedral nitong Sabado.

Sinabi ni Pabillo na hindi dapat panghinaan ng loob ang mga mananampalataya sa pagpapakalat ng salita ng Diyos sa gitna ng banta ng coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. “To leave the comfort zone is difficult. We would rather stay in our cozy and familiar situations, but COVID-19 has pushed us out of our comfort zones, whether we liked it or not,” aniya.

“Now that we have the initial push to get out of our comfort zones and to reach out to the peripheries, let us continue on this missionary mode,” dagdag pa niya.

Hinikayat din ni Pabillo ang mga miyembro ng klero “to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities.”

“Yes, let us be bold in striking out new grounds. Naturally, There will be expenses. We will make mistakes. There will be criticisms but move on,” saad pa ng obispo.

Dapat, aniyang gamitin ng mga pari ang digital technology upang maabot ang mas maraming tao.

“Let us invest, let us improve, let us learn to bring God’s word in the world of the internet. Let us recruit people, and many of them the young, for this mission,” aniya.

“Let us not say that I am too old for this. The internet is not only for techies and for the young. It is also for us seniors. And let us not be afraid of this technology. It has great potentials for the good,”giit pa ni Pabillo.