BEC initiatives don’t end with ‘Year of Parish’

A Catholic bishop stressed on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, that the culmination of the Year of the Parish celebration should not be the end of Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) formation and initiatives. “Please do not espouse a mistaken notion that our efforts (with) BEC communion end here at this culmination. Do not make this an excuse to become mediocre with our BEC formation efforts,” said Talibon Bishop Patrick Daniel Parcon in a homily on the 2nd day of the national gathering. The prelate noted how the Blessed Mary’s act of faith is an impeccable “model of the ecclesial communion of faith in charity and in union in Christ.” He encouraged the BEC directors and coordinators that the end of the Year of the Parish should be a call to persevere in “realizing God’s kingdom on earth” by living a deep commitment in Christ. Ongoing evangelization Emphasizing further the role of evangelization and of the parish, Parcon pointed out how the next pastoral year is exactly in the middle of the 9-year novena in preparation for the celebration of the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines. According to him this “highlights our need to foster deeper communion [in] our BECs and the rest of the faith communities of our parishes.” “Working towards a deeper and stronger communion is a perpetual undertaking. There can be no end to it. The Year of the Parish, therefore, holds all the years of the novena together,” he added. Personal encounter with Christ Parcon went on to explain how having Jesus encounters ensures the best formation for BECs and the Church. “Continuing forever presupposes the tight grip of the spirituality in which all such actions and endeavors are anchored upon.” Furthermore, the bishop reminded those tasked to manage BEC formation to “first and foremost recover stronghold of experience with the person of Jesus himself.” “What we are handing down to others is our personal encounter with our Lord — that makes Christians grow in the faith no matter how trying the time are,” he said. This continuing tradition, according to the prelate, requires a personal experience for “one can not give what he does not have.” Niceforo Vince A. Balbedina III/CBCPNews