Lenten Season 2012

Lenten Season is here again. It is a sacred time cherished by the Church for it opens up to her members the opportunity to connect their lives with Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. To go through the variegated religious practices lined up by the Church during these days of Lent is the way to personally encounter Christ, pray to Him, engage Him in a heart-to-heart talk, perhaps, wrestle with Him, and hopefully end up surrendering with that deep feeling that peace of soul has been achieved.
Hence, it is not true that the Catholic Church sets aside the forty days of the Season of Lent in order to make people who are happy unhappy; that she is a big killjoy damping an otherwise bright atmosphere with a suffocating air of sober and serious practices of strict penances, long drawn prayers, fasting and abstinence. The Church knows full well that no amount of human effort can erase the gnawing and perennial questions of suffering and death from man’s his consciousness; that they are there forever haunting and gnawing the soul of her faithful. The Season of Lent is meant to lead us to Christ. For only He has effectively grappled with the stark realities of suffering and death of His existence, and effectively transformed it into a new life. Hence, He alone can truly helped man to effectively face these existential problems. Christ is the center of the Church, and central to Him is the Paschal Mystery, his willing acceptance of his suffering, death, and thereby transforming it with the Resurrection. As He Himself declared: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains but a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest” (Jn 12:24).
When in the Mass we sing full-throated the phrase “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”, or, in a drawl of one whose mind is not entirely there we tag along with the congregation mumbling it, we are actually proclaiming the very core of our Christian faith. It is called the Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection, the center of the Good News that the Church proclaims to the whole world. All the religious activities, the penances, prayers and works of love and compassion, the liturgical celebrations and private devotions that lead to discipline and self-mastery, connected with the Season of Lent are all about Christ and His Passover. For it is only through our identification with Christ crucified can we participate in the redemption as planned by God.
To avail of this life that Jesus merited for us we have to be incorporated to Him, undertake the Paschal journey with Him, suffer with Him, die with Him, and be transformed into His likeness, the pleasing Son of the Father. How are we to be incorporated to Christ? The story of Nicodemus could give us a glimpse of the way we will be incorporated to the life of Christ. He was a knowledgeable man, a man who knew about God and His commandments. But with the spiritual stuff that he had in his brain, he was nagged by some questions that eventually brought him to Jesus. Before he even could state his question, our Lord told him: “Unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” When Nicodemus intervened with this remark: “How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied: “I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God; what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (cf. Jn 3:1-6).
The Sacrament of Baptism is the means whereby sinful man is incorporated into the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. From the day of our baptism, we share Christ’s death and Resurrection and start the wonderful journey of His disciples. Along this line Benedict XVI in his 2011 Lenten message said: “Hence, Baptism is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ, which informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by Grace, it permits the baptized to reach the adult stature of Christ.
The Season of Lent, then, is our journey towards the center of our faith: an encounter with Christ in his suffering, death, and Resurrection. It is for us a revisit to our original vocation to be holy in Christ. As St. Paul succinctly put it: “You have been buried with him, when you were baptized; and by baptism, too you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead” (Col 2: 12).

DIOCESAN CENTRUM OF TAGBILARAN

In line with the five year preparation for the Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of the Foundation of Diocese of Tagbilaran that set up pastoral programs for the development of the Basic Ecclesial Communities through the proclamation of the Gospel and subsequent catecheses on several important areas of our faith, the administration also envisions the integral development of the physical plant of the center of the diocese. Called the Development of the Diocesan Centrum of Tagbilaran, it is a project that serves to complement the spiritual growth of our people as it is envisaged to express in stone, concrete, wood, arts, hues, and lines the lived and in some way inculturated Faith of our people. With this project the Diocese hopes that our cherished Catholic Faith may live on.

Rationale of the Development of the Diocesan Centrum

The Diocesan Centrum of Tagbilaran is the administrative, religious, liturgical, historical, and pastoral centre of the Diocese of Tagbilaran. Located in kilometer 0, it is the heart and nerve of the People of God in the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It encompasses the Bishop’s Palace (PALASYO), the Cathedral , the Formation Center, and its open Spaces.

The development of the Diocesan Centrum is a project envisaged to streamline the governance of the particular Church in Tagbilaran by rationalizing the areas where the administrative and pastoral work of the Bishop, his priests, and lay cooperators are conducted and by maximizing its physical spaces to accommodate the living quarters of its priests.

The project proceeds in two phases. The first phase is to revitalize the Palasyo. This is an undertaking that would rehabilitate its late 18th-century historical core and the 1950 façade. Its rear elevation and interior will be substantially renovated to articulate Boholano architecture.

The second phase involves the reconfiguration of the Diocese’s formation house located at the back of the Cathedral converting it into additional office spaces for the other departments of the Diocesan Curia, and into meeting rooms and conference halls open for the use of the Christian Faithful. Living suites on its upper floors are also contemplated to serve the guests, visitors, and pilgrims who would wish to avail of the Diocese’s modest hospitality.

PHASE 1: Rehabilitating the Tagbilaran Palasyo
The Palasyo is the official residence of the Bishop of Tagbilaran. It is the seat of the Diocesan Curia. It is from its hearth that our Bishop governs the Diocese as father in the Faith, and as faithful steward of Catholicity. It is from its heart where young priests are nurtured, the middle-aged are nourished, and the senior clergy are nursed.

The Palasyo is also the priests’ home, the central residence, the common resting abode – as it always had been for their Jesuit and Recollect predecessors.
However, the Palasyo has seen better days. We need a better home that addresses the priests’ personal and pastoral needs. Hence, the urgent need for the rehabilitation project. It has to be a residence that respects the structure’s late 18th century historical core. While preserving its 1950’s façade, the Palasyo articulates Boholano architecture on its rear elevation and in the interior design so that it becomes iconic for the island and its inhabitants, an emblem of the Church taking its root in Bohol, a symbolic capital of God’s home for His children.

In brief, the project Development of the Diocesan Centrum of Tagbilaran, Phase 1, calls for the following major structural alterations, viz., a renovated and capacious chapel where the Bishop, together with his priests, celebrate the canonical hours, the Holy Sacraments, and especially the worship of the Most Holy Eucharist; lounges, courtyards, balconies, and recreation rooms for communal activities; and, personal living quarters, formal and informal dining halls, receiving halls, and a reading room will complement the residence. The office spaces of the Diocesan Curia will be optimized to streamline the diocesan pastoral governance.

…that Faith may live on.

New Year 2012

“Happy New Year”. It is a greeting that though commonly used still packs potent message presaging brighter future come the new year. For I know that 2012 with a clean slate comprising of three hundred sixty six days will uncover the untapped potential that is still in us. Predictions of more intense natural calamities such as storms and earthquakes, of more political tensions and party squabbles, of arm skirmishes and human right violations here and there in the country, of economic depressions and insufficient incomes both individually and collectively, have already been lined up by scientists and business experts. But people remain undaunted. Lodged within them is that deep feeling that all these negative predictions are for people who have hope opportunities for the betterment of their status.

After all for men of faith the answer to our sad plight goes beyond socio-economic analysis and political maneuverings. For the start our faith believes that this God-made-Man gives us the stubborn hope that blossoms best in moments of darkness and ambiguity; that it would give us the needed courage to pick up again the communal problem of searching for the truth that we have temporarily left off; that we can readily face up to the moral problems, political confusions, and social illusions, that have through these years tightly gripped the soul of our country. Time visited by God gives us the hope to extricate ourselves from the sad situation that we are in, the time when work is scarce, when families are so poor they can no longer live with dignity, when the greed of those in the corridors of power has drowned away all their shame and decency, when corruption has become our greatest shame as a people”, when the chaotic climate change with its flashed floods has threatened thousands of lives living in the low land.

This hope is dynamic, alive, vigorous. It pushes us to action. It is alien for people of hope to say that the event of our times is inevitable. A Filipino Christian, whose spirit is soaked with the Christmas experience, plunges himself into action, for he knows that at the heart of this topsy-turvy nation of ours there is the God who in His incarnation definitively took unto himself human history. Christmas has taught him that God has accompanied man in his journey in this world and eventually overcome the negative elements that are in it, death, sickness, and sin included. As Jesus said: “In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33).

By action here is meant concrete involvement in the unfolding of our history. Christians who possess the seed of hope in their hearts cannot be passive or indifferent bystanders in the drama which we call “everyday life”. “We can open ourselves and the world and allow God to enter: we can open ourselves to truth, to love, to what is good” (Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 35). “Even when we are fully aware that Heaven far exceeds what we can merit”, the Pope says, “it will always be true that our behavior is not indifferent before God and therefore is not indifferent for the unfolding of history” (35). Even when we seem powerless before the enemy, “our actions engender hope for us and for others…” (35).
In other words, the more we engage actively and constructively in the efforts to improve society, the more we make alive the hope that is in us. Conversely, the more indifferent we are, the more cynicism destroys our capacity to dream for a better, renewed life.

And when we act, when we actively involve ourselves in the unfolding of history, the element of suffering becomes all the more unavoidable. Being a consequence of our finitude, suffering is already inevitable, but it can swell into horrifying levels when we labor for truth and justice. We can perhaps minimize it by leading a life of utter indifference. We can close our eyes from falsehood and tyranny, and spare ourselves from hostility.

But is this the Christian option? The Holy Father says, “It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love” (37). And with a rather stunning emphasis, he repeats at least three (3) times in the encyclical that the capacity to suffer for truth and justice is an essential criterion, the very measure, of humanity (cf. 38 and 39). To abandon this capacity would destroy man himself. “Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie” (38).

2011 Christmas Message

Like any precious gem the message of Christmas is wrapped up with a protective coat to shield its divine content from impurities of secular biases and worldly interpretations; from the banality of a Christmas atmosphere turned into business schemes and sales strategies; from the shallowness of Christmas gifts devoid of the human heart that gives; from the opaqueness of our interpersonal and communitarian relationship born out of pride and high-handed arrogance, our selfishness and greed, our excessive love of possessions and riches; from lack of concern for others. For the substance of the message of Christmas is Gift of Self – God giving up his dignity of God to become like us puny mortals taking up the name “Emmanuel”, that is, God living with us, sharing the sad story of our humanity that has for time immemorial been suffering the weight of human frailties. The motivation behind this divine act is simply beyond comprehension, unbelievable. But acts of love are always that: they are unbelievable. St. John the Evangelist described this God’s act of love in this simple line: “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Truly, the greetings of Christmas are glad tidings of love and compassion for us all.

It is, however,interesting to note that the message of Christmas comes out handy and useful when man, down and out with great losses in life, still sees a ray of hope at the end of the dark tunnel; its true worth appreciated when he, left vulnerable to the stark negativity of life, feels the naked Baby Jesus lying within his being.

With this observation it is safe to say that sad realities of life help man break open the secret message of Christmas. Of late our country has undergone social, political, and climactic upheavals whose impact cannot as yet be measured or figured out. That these happened in this moment of our history is worth looking into. What is God’s Christmas message to us?

It all started with the issuance of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) effected by no less than the Supreme Court itself deliberating in banc. Its content was to allow the former President Gloria Arroyo to set out of the country for health reason and thereby suspend the power of the Watch List issued by the Department of Justice, an Executive Branch of the government, barring the same to leave the Country. It was a clash of conflicting orders each side advancing grounds for their actions. While this dispute was going on, an order came out from the Judiciary – a lower court it’s true , yet has power to make a court order - to disallow her to leave the country because she has a pending case in court to respond and to settle. Caught up with these legal complexities the former president has to remain in the country, in a hospital specifically designated for her while on trial.

Then came the impeachment case against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. To the amazement of everybody, the lower House of Congress came up with the move to impeach the Chief Justice. Signed by a big number of congressmen, the impeachment case was then submitted to the Senate for consideration. The Senate went over the case, appreciated its merit, and promptly sent a summon to the Chief Justice to answer the accusations regarding the issue at bar.

Then, a more deadly tragedy struck the nation. Tropical Storm Sendong stealthily entered the Southern part of the Country, bringing with it lots of rain that caused rampaging floodwaters thickened along the way with mud and all sorts of debris , flushing through towns and villages in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. Thousands of lives have been lost at its tail, homes were destroyed and entire villages wiped out.

All these happened just some days before Christmas 2011. Is there a message to all these sad events? Yes, there is.

Firstly, It is in the midst of these misfortunes that God is deeply sensed to bring redemption to a man who needs redemption; to a person who is weighed down by his guilt, and is suffering from an existential evil, such as flood that drowned his loved ones and carried away all his belongings. It is in the midst of these variegated ills and tragedies of life that God is discovered to be the God who existentially listens to the cry of the poor. Keeping records of these encounters would eventually develop within man a solid foundation of his being. God becomes his foundation.

Secondly, our Christmas would be meaningful this year if we get up and help our brothers and sisters who fell victims to this force of nature. Our disciplined celebration of Christmas, the restrained cut-down of our holiday expenses for the sake of our brothers and sisters would in a long way teach us precious lessons of compassion, care, and concern. As beautifully expressed by Pope Benedict XVI: “The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer” (Encyclical Letter “Spe Salvi”, 38). Adversity, suffering, mysterious events do instruct.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

New Ecclesial Movements and the Pastors

It has been for some time now that dioceses in the Philippines in setting up their pastoral programs in consonance with the desideratum expressed by PCPII has more often than not to contend with the existence of charismatic communities and other ecclesial movements. These are entities that have helped the parishioners to appreciate the variegated charisms that they have received from baptism, lived their Christian life with vitality, joy and enthusiasm, carried the love for neighbours in their day-to-day living, helping build up shelters for the homeless, taking care of the sick, proclaiming the good news to far flung barangays and urban slums. They are great Christians. And yet, they seem to be on their own, doing their own thing independently from the administration of the local church, gyrating around themselves without a bother with what is happening in the parish. Through the years they have created that impression that they are a parallel, if not rival, communities.
It is for this reason that the local Church authority has to seriously look into their nature, appreciate their existence, and consider the possibility of working harmoniously with them without stifling the fresh spiritual air that they have been enjoying. However, to welcome these ecclesial movements and faith communities into the working organizational structure of the same demands from the diocesan bishop and the parish priest the exercise of a high quality of leadership. This implies above all the study of the Magisterium’s recent pronouncements on new lay movements and ecclesial communities.
Blessed John Paul II who has meticulously followed the evolution of the movements and the fruits of renewal has made through the years some insightful conclusions. These conclusions could serve as excellent guidelines to local pastors in their approach to these movements.
First, John Paul II concluded that ecclesial movements are important for the Church. As he observed these movements are deeply rooted in the Church; nay, the Church herself is a movement. As early as 1981 he already applied the term “movement” to the Church. He said: “as you know the Church herself is a “movement” (John Paul II, Homily, 27 September 1981). And as such she participates in the dynamism of the Blessed Trinity who even up to now works and acts in the day-to-day history of man. In a mysterious way she dispenses the mystery of the eternal Love of Father, of his fatherly heart, from which the mission of the Son and of the Holy Spirit begins (cf. ibid). As a movement therefore the Church not only initiates the redemptive works of God in humanity, but is ever opened to the initiative of the Holy Spirit who causes irruptions in the hearts and consciences of the baptized. Pope Benedict XVI in his address to the bishops in 1999 made a sweeping observation that the Church is not just programs and organizations. She is shaped by her spirituality born in her openness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He said: “It is important that the spiritual office, the priesthood, itself be understood and lived charismatically. The priest himself should be a ‘pneumatic,’ a homo spiritualis, a man awakened and driven by the Holy Spirit… It must not overinstitutionalize itself, but must always remain open to the Lord’s unforeseen, unplanned call” (Ratzinger,Theological Locus of Ecclesial Movements).

Second, John Paul II saw that charism is vital to the Church’s life. At the origin of these ecclesial movements and faith communities there has always been a charism granted to the founder. It is a grace, a gift freely granted by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Church. It is therefore a boon to the community and not a bane; not a threat to the institution but a support to it. John Paul II in his 2 March1987 address clearly said: “In the Church, both the institutional and the charismatic aspects, both the hierarchy and associations and movements of the faithful, are co-essential and share in fostering life, renewal and sanctification, though in different ways.”

Third, the late Pope observed that communities are the fruits of charism. Charism builds communities. It is of its nature to reach out to people and lead them to unite together, eventually forming them into associations. Charism therefore takes its root in communities. John Paul II finely described this reality when he said: “In the Church’s history we have continually witnessed the phenomenon of more or less vast groups of the faithful, which, under the a mysterious impulse of the Spirit, have been spontaneously moved to join together in pursuit of certain charitable or sanctifying ends “ (ibid., Address 2 March 1987). .

Fourth, these movements lead the members to deeply appreciate the sacrament of baptism which they had received. No matter the diversity of forms, these ecclesial movements are marked by a common awareness of the newness and radicality of life which baptismal grace awakens in them. They deeply realize what it means to be a baptized person, that is, a person who is committed to the mystery of communion with Christ and with their brethren. In sum, these movements do not affect only partial aspect of Christian life, but are new ways of living the Christian message.
Lastly, the late John Paul II emphasized on the need of the movements for complete communion with the Church. This communion with the Church is for the pope the critical path which the movements have to trod. In Christifideles Laici he said: “This journey requires of movements an ever stronger communion with the Pastors God has chosen and consecrated to gather and sanctify his people in the light of faith, hope, and charity, because no charism dispenses the person from reference and submission to the Pastor of the Church” (n. 24).

Ecclesial movements and new faith communities are there for the taking. They are precious gifts of God to the particular Churches, ever ready to be tapped and availed of.

BLESSED PEDRO CALUNGSOD AND THE YOUTH OF BOHOL

Somewhere in the Eastern part of the City of Tagbilaran, in a place where the urban trash has for time immemorial been dumped, sorted out and combed through to recover some items for resale, along the boundary that civilly cuts off Tagbilaran from the town of Baclayon, in a secluded sitio of Barangay Dampas pops up a new building visible to passersby due to its pleasing yet unassuming dirty-white coloration. It has two classrooms with a floor elegantly tiled ready to receive twenty-five to thirty young students. Soon, it will with pride and poise bear the name Beato Pedro Calungsod Foundation Training Center for the Youth.

The structure, small it may appear, is the incipient realization of a dream that is ambitious in its vision and goals, extent, and intensity. For, the founding officers and members of the Foundation that give it existence have been impelled not by any hint of monetary consideration, but by their obligation to society and by their Christian responsibility to love and care. In their meeting some two years ago or thereabouts, they saw and were shocked to face ugly reality. The number of school dropouts among the youth has risen into a mind-boggling proportion. As responsible citizens they have seen that society seems not to care for them and their future. For sure, the government that is tasked to give general education to its citizenry and, therefore, has the primary obligation to look after this social problem, has not been remiss in this matter. For so long has it been dwelling on this snag and has tried several means to untangle itself from it. But the enormity of the problem is simply staggering. The government for one does not have the sufficient resources to manage this increasing dysfunctional state of the young and their poor families.
The founding officers saw this problem, and decided to throw in its share to its eventual resolution. They are for sure not dreamy eyed individuals. They are hard-core realists, persons who could call a spade a spade. If the government is financially incapable of meeting the enormity of the problem, they too are aware that they do not have the monetary resources needed for the task at hand. But they believe in their resourcefulness, their native creativity to look for solutions to problems that come their way. Huddling together and discussing, they came up with the concept of partnership, tying up, that is, with other generous and well-intentioned citizens and organizations, and forging them into multi-sectoral stakeholders. Pooling together their competencies as well as their variegated capabilities they can serve as a network of relationships, building up that bridge to fill up the gap confronting the youth and their poor families on the one end and, the responsible individual citizens, the different communities and organizations, and the government of the Province of Bohol on the other.

After all, every responsible citizen or social organization in the Province has the primary obligation to contribute to national and local development that has long been overdue. It is high time that every Filipino no longer waits for the government to do the things for him. He must do his share.

It is along this line of thought that the Beato Pedro Calungsod Foundation was born. To propel it to action and to persevere in its pursuit for the star, it envisioned itself as: “A Foundation of Christ’s faithful in the Diocese of Tagbilaran, inspired by the Word of God, nourished by the Eucharist, strengthened by constant prayer, ever conscious of its social and spiritual life in the integral human development.”
It is not mere convenience that the Beato Pedro Calungsod was taken as the title of the Foundation. The founding officers saw the heroism of this young gentleman, a martyr whose life of heroism could be a constant inspiration. Because of the Faith that he had embraced and boldly proclaimed, he was ordered to be killed by a primitive Chieftain in Guam, brutally executed by a tribal soldier. The youthful saint, who, as tradition has it, lived in Bohol, Cebu, and Iloilo, was known for these virtues, to wit: scientific and intellectual discipline; patience; hard work; bravery; and lived Faith.

This kind of life could indeed be the needed inspiration for the youth of Bohol, a life around which values-driven transformation programs and activities could be drawn up. The Foundation is hoping that this could be one of the entry points to touch base with the out-of-school youth and their families, and a medium for transforming societies into centers for integral human development.

“Thank God It’s Friday”: A Weekend Spirituality

There has been for some time now an activity of the youth in the Cathedral Parish of Tagbilaran that has particularly caught my attention. It is the jamming session that they put up every last Friday of the month. It is curious because they hold it in the Cathedral square just in front of the Bishop’s residence, a place set aside for many other religious and social activities but not for this kind of program. It is just too secular, too mundane to merit the place for their merry making. We know that the activities that have sprung up from this jovial creation of the young to take it easy on a weekend are light merry making, a celebration of being released from the tension of so much work in the classrooms, the school activities, home works and other related assignments. There is nothing objectionable to be at ease on a Friday, to relax, to unwind, to shake oneself off from the drudgery of the classroom. To say “Thank God it’s Friday” means to throw the books away and hit the bar, disco or movie houses, to take out the latest video games, pore nonstop into internet surfing, to sing, to dance, to celebrate. All these are activities that are spontaneous and natural to the young of today. They need them so they say, for they need to be recharged and to ease up for their sanity’s sake. On the other hand, they could easily go awry, resorting for example to heavy alcohol drinking, or, to the taking of drugs, that could in time drive them to violent acts, untoward incidents, even sexual revelry. These latter apprehensions may sound prudish, but definitely not unfounded. Hence, the question remains: are our youth jamming their hearts out in the Cathedral ground on a weekend doing things improper?

A cursory look into the matter at bar, however, has brought me to a happy disclosure. Our young have found in this activity Jesus Christ as the source of their joy. For sure, they too are young and need the relaxation of their body and their emotions, they want to remain sane in the midst of so much work in the classrooms and at home, they like all the other kids around are searching for a place to unwind, just to be at ease, and they find it in the cathedral parish program called “Thank God It’s Friday” - TGIF. The songs, the percussions, the inputs, the dramatization of the characters of the Bible, the catechetical teaching consciously done in active dialogue with the listeners, the singing, the cadenced clapping of hands and the rhythmic stomping of feet on the ground, and the smooth swaying of the bodies in response to the discoveries and new insights of the Word proclaimed, the spontaneous reaction and the interpersonal communications that came out of it, the whole atmosphere is soaked not only with the message of Jesus but also with His person encountered somehow along the whole celebration. TGIF has its way of transforming everything and everyone into a prayer, urging each one to make that attempt, tentative sometimes it may be, to reach out to Jesus who once had made this avowal: “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete... It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another” (Jn:15: 11; 16-17).

TGIF, however, is not finished with that temporary joy. Its creativity lies in the follow up that is done in the Facebook. The organizers instructed the participants to always check their Facebook for the insightful questions and thought provoking queries regarding the TGIF experiences. It is surprising to note that the youth eagerly access this part of their computer to react to the posted questions and queries. This forms an essential part of the TGIF activity. The responses of the youth participants are encouraging to the organizers of the TGIF. Judging from the responses, they know that the Good News have again been proclaimed, no matter the unorthodox way that it is being done.

Joy is a state we all seek. A drab world is a place not worth living in. Our young, having a claim to that joy, is however exposed to the world of virtual realities created by the computer set; action pact pictures and other marvellous illusions in video games marvellously displayed in the monitor; the ephemeral things of the tube and the movies, the thrill, the glitz and sheer excitement of the entertainment world. Everything is virtual, passing illusions, good for the here and now. Nothing is absolute anymore; everything is ephemeral, passing shadows, to stimulate and to tease the heart of the young hungry for thrills in life but cannot fully satisfy the deep longing of his young and adventurous soul. For the spirit of man is made for the absolute; his purpose goes beyond himself. He is made for the eternal good, the summum bonum, endowed with that power to reach out for the Truth that is clothed in pure Beauty, ever ancient and ever new. Such is human nature that deprived of that, he remains for ever a restless being. It is along this line that a French philosopher of our age observed that a man exposed to an empty world eventually withdraws into himself; his action is no longer perceived as a gift of self but an uninhibited seeking of personal satisfaction in the fear of losing something (cf. Nault: “Acedia: Enemy of Spiritual Joy”, 2006). Man becomes a living dead.

TGIF is a youth program that aims “to provide an alternative experience of fun, freedom, fellowship, and catechesis.” It tries to reach our youth to tell them that life is worth living, that God is truly concerned about him, knows him, loves him, watches over him, and is close to him; that joy is just around the corner. Jesus Christ is there too on a weekend.