A Forum on the Jubilee of Mercy Held

Paranaque City, the Philippines, November 19, 2015—The FIN students of Theology launched Talakayan, a monthly theological and pastoral forum at the Don Bosco Center of Studies. This initiative has been put up in order to better equip themselves for the pastoral ministry ahead. Though the forum is mainly for the FIN students of theology, it is open to all interested individuals.

Br. Juvelan Paul Samia, SDB presented his talk on the Systematic Reflections and Some Pastoral Guidelines on the Year of Mercy. His two reactors were Br. Ryan Oliver Bautista, SDB, himself a student of theology, and Fr. Cris Magbitang, SDB, Vice Dean on Student Affairs of DBCS.

The talk was not just theological, it also tackled the spiritual aspect of the jubilee.

Quoting Cardinal Walter Kasper’s work, Br. Juvelan emphasized that “The Church gives witness to divine mercy by (1) proclaiming the mercy of god, (2) by making the sacrament of reconciliation readily available, and (3) by allowing God’s mercy to appear and be realized in its concrete structures, its entire life, and even in its laws.”

His presentation also traced the teachings of the recent Holy Fathers on the subject of mercy–from Pope John XXIII down to Misericordiae Vultus, the Bull of Indiction heralding the Jubilee of Mercy, proclaimed just this year by Pope Francis.

Br. Juvelan culled some concrete suggestions from the Bull for the faithful on how to celebrate the jubilee:

1. The practice of pilgrimage and entering the holy door (14)
2. The practice of the corporal and spiritual works on mercy as a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face if poverty (15)
3. Meditation on the passages of scriptures that deal with God’s mercy, especially during the season of lent (16)
4. The celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation (17)
5. Gain indulgence (22)

Reflecting on the literatures he perused on the Jubilee of Mercy, Br Juvelan is “convinced that only when, on a personal level, we become aware of our own need for god’s mercy, this jubilee of mercy, for which we are preparing for, will attain a special and very personal significance in our lives.”

The talk was held at the Benedict XVI Library, 3/F Seminar Room from 1:30-3:00 in the afternoon. Three talks are slated after yesterday’s symposium. To wit:

Dec 14 The World We Shall Leave Behind
Scientific, Philosophical and Spiritual Reflections on Laudato Si’
By Br. Ryan Oliver Bautista, SDB (Second Year, ITF)

Feb 8 Christ in You, Our Hope of Glory
Reflections on the International Eucharistic Congress 2016
By Br. Ramil Maranan, SDB (Third Year, ITF)

Mar 14 Emerging Theologies on the Family
The Long Journey from Gaudium et Spes to the 2015 Synod on the Family
By Br. Marc Will Lim, SDB (Third Year, ITF)

Cardinal Quevedo Reflects on the Eucharist at DBCS

QUEVEDO: Paschal Mystery means “Christ in mission.” Photo by Dcn. Donnie Duchin Duya, SDB

Don Bosco Center of Studies, Parañaque City, 15 September— His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, OMI, gave a talk on “The Eucharist as Mission and Dialogue” yesterday, 14 September at Don Bosco Center of Studies (DBCS) in Parañaque City.

He noted that Eucharist as Mission is a major theme in the theological and pastoral reflection for the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC), and that it is necessary to realize “more deeply its implications on personal and communal life.”

Cardinal Quevedo, one of the speakers in the 51^st International Eucharistic Congress which will be held in Cebu next year, manifested his being a teacher and pastor through his exposition of the theme.

Recalling his experience of a mother who lined up for communion and received the Sacred Host but gave it to her very young infant, he asked the assembly to ponder on whether “Do we really live what we celebrate?”

In a hall packed with audience composed of nuns, parish priests, theology students, seminarians and lay people, he emphasized that every celebration of the Eucharist is a dynamic commemoration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. Paschal Mystery means “Christ in mission.”

Thus, by its very nature, the Eucharist has a missionary dimension.

In the second part of his talk, he developed the theme on “Mission as Dialogue.” In the same way that Jesus narrated stories, the Asian bishops also wanted to tell the story of Jesus over merely proclaiming Him.

Cardinal Quevedo was the secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops´ Conferences in 2005. A priest for over 50 years, he was elevated to the Cardinalate on Feb 22, 2014.

The talk, a part of DBCS’ Ongoing Formation Seminar Series aims to look forward to the IEC next year. Its last speaker, Sr. Maria Anicica Co, RVM, is scheduled to deliver a talk on The Eucharist, Mary and Evangelization” on 9 November.

FIN has a new Doctor!

Don Bosco Center of Studies (DBCS) is proud to announce that there is a new doctor in the house—Fr. Anthony Nguyen Ngoc Dung, SDB. He obtained his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the Royal and Pontifical University of Manila.

Fr. Anthony delivers his first lecture as a Doctor. Photos courtesy of Br. Joseph, SDB.

After returning from Papua New Guinea where he was a missionary for some years, he began teaching in DBCS. He began his licentiate at the University of Sto. Tomas in Moral Theology in 2010, and took on his doctorate studies in 2013.

His dissertation is entitled “The Personness and Roles of the Three Divine Persons in the Divine Plan of Salvation from the Perspective of “Acting Person”: John Paul II’s contribution to Trinitarian Theology.”

He successfully defended his work last Thursday, April 16, before a five-member panel who grilled him on his paper. He obtained a distinction of Magna Cum Laude at the end of this defense.

The following day, April 17, he delivered his ‘lectio coram,’ which was his very first lecture as a Doctor in Theology, before a panel of theology professors and other members of the academic community of UST. The topic assigned to him by the panel was “Dives in Miserecordia,” which is a chapter of his dissertation. The one-hour lecture he gave merited Summa Cum Laude.  

Fr. Anthony is the current Director of the Institute of Theologic al Formation (ITF) of DBCS.

Congratulations, Dr. Anthony Nguyen Ngoc Dung, SDB!

Final Exams in Homiletics

Like most educational institutions in the Philippines, Don Bosco Center of Studies (DBCS) is wrapping up the school year. Here, majority of the schools mark the beginning of the school calendar in June and end in March. This week saw its Institute of Theological Formation students, composed mostly of seminarians from various religious congregations of various nationalities, hurdling up their final exams.

DBCS may be any other school which dishes out final examinations in both oral and written forms, but since it takes care of forming future priests, one type examination is noteworthy to mention. This examination is specific to a subject called Homiletics. In this subject, seminarians learn the art and science of giving homilies.

And precisely the final examination in this subject comes through preaching homilies.

The class brings an end to a semester of learning how to give birth to the fundamental message (the class calls it ‘the pearl’) after synthesizing the Biblical readings of a particular liturgical celebration—and even meditating on the prayers proper of the priest-celebrant (that is, the opening prayer and the preface).

Under the guidance of the professor, Fr. Vic Cervania, SDB, the class has learned to appreciate where Pope Francis is coming from in terms of his emphasis in the quality of homilies prepared and delivered by priests.

Fr. Vic has emphasized that writing homilies is not just about pushing an idea forward, but also must inspire the people to pray. This is only possible if preachers themselves pray.

A month ago, the seminarians drew which liturgical celebration they would prepare homilies for. The past three meetings were spent hearing the seminarians deliver their respective homilies before the class. Two seminarians join Fr. Vic in assessing the quality of the homily of the ‘preacher.’ After which, the class contributes additional positive points—and even points for improvement—on how the seminarian delivered his homily.

Fr. Vic also gave relevant comments: from the proper handling of the microphone to further improving the structure of the homilies.

To carry out their final examinations, the actual preaching was held in the school chapel and the ambiance of a typical Sunday congregation was simulated. Fr. Vic gave strict instructions to the class to help the ‘preacher’ by preventing distractions.

Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of homilies. In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he writes: “The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness and ability to communicate to his people. We know that the faithful attach great importance to it, and that both they and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them! It is sad that this is the case” (art. 135).

This course is definitely of help to our priests in the making.