MESSAGE TO THE DELEGATES OF 84th Bi-Annual
General Assembly OF THE PHILIPPINE FEDERATION OF CATHOLIC BROADCASTER – CATHOLIC
MEDIA NETWORK ON AUG. 19 – 20, 2014 AT FACENDA DE ESPERANZA, MASBATE CITY
Dear
Reverend Monsignori, Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters in Media:
Greetings in the Lord!
We are at the crossroads of our country’s religious
history. once again, the Holy Father is
going to visit and bless the Philippines.
Pope Francis desires to be one with us and more particularly, to visit
those who faced and survived the wrath of the storm “Yolanda” and other
calamities. We need to prepare for such an event, not just to let people see
the Holy Father come to our shores, but more importantly, to prepare our hearts
to discern the very message of this visitation and the implication it brings to
our lives as Catholics and Christians.
As head of the Episcopal Commission on Social Communications,
I bring this challenge to all Filipino Catholic Media groups towards empowering
the Filipino Catholic to prepare spiritually for the coming of the Holy Father
so that we can be a “nation of mercy” as envisioned by the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines in its pastoral letter titled “A nation of mercy
and compassion.” “Let us make mercy our national identity,” the document says.
How do we prepare the Filipino people to become a nation of mercy through
media?
First, as the pastoral letter says, “Let us allow Pope
Francis himself to prepare us for his visit.
How? The guiding motto of our dear Pope Francis is ‘Miserando atque
eligendo’ (meaning ‘lowly but chosen’).”
Let us develop programs that would capitalize on the messages, quotes,
and apostolic exhortations of Pope Francis regarding mercy and compassion.
Second, let us challenge our Catholic audience to choose and live out Mercy,
“incarnated, embodied, symbolized in the poor amongst us.” Let us develop programs that would explain,
expound, and bring to life the Church’s teachings on the corporal and spiritual
works of mercy. Third, let us catechize our people on the importance of
encountering Jesus, Divine Mercy, in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the
Eucharist, in the Eucharistic adoration and the Basic Ecclesial Communities
which are sure venues of mercy and reconciliation. As the document suggests, let us revive
personal and family prayer as well.
Furthermore, the document mentions mercy in the societal
level, “Let us not forget to address justice and mercy issues in the root
causes of poverty and inequality – protecting environment, completion of
agrarian reform, continuing challenges of good governance, etc.” Finally,
“Encourage each person to make an act of mercy each day.”
Let me end with the words of the pastoral letter:
“When the Pope comes, he will bring with him the message of the mercy and
compassion of God. When he meets us, may he see in us a people touched by the
mercy of God, living out the compassion of God, a people truly rich in mercy
and compassion and grateful to those who have shown mercy to us especially
after various calamities hit our country.” As Jesus announced this at the time
of his Ascension, I also call on everyone in media: “Proclaim this Good News
and make disciples of all nations!” God
bless all of you and I continue to pray for the success of all your Catholic radio
programs.
