It’s truly a great blessing to
practically have a
dam-burst of popular piety in many places of our country. It can only
mean that in spite of our warts and all, we have an inculturated, if
rudimentary, faith that can’t help but show itself in public in some
specific forms.
It means our faith has already entered deep into our
people’s psyche and ethos, such that it more or less spontaneously,
and surely under God’s grace, bursts forth in public display. It means
the Holy Spirit is at work and we are responding to his promptings.
The devotions and other pious practices surrounding our
faith and love for the Black Nazarene, Santo Nino, our Lady and saints
attest to this wonderful phenomenon, now hardly seen in many other
countries, especially the more developed but already secularized ones.
We have to do all to keep, nourish and protect such
popular piety from forces that seek to undermine, weaken or empty it
of its proper substance and spirit. We cannot deny the fact that while
Christ attracted a great crowd, a good number of them were there for
inadequate if not wrong reasons, and with ulterior motives flowing
galore.
In fact, at one point Christ lamented: “When the Son of
Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18,8) We need to
understand that while our popular piety can contain a lot of good, it
will always need some purification, some improvement. This is not
supposed to be a wet blanket, but a norm of prudence so that what is
good can keep on being good and even better.
We have to understand that this is a continuing task. We can never
rest in this. We have to be wary of our tendency to be taken in by a
sense of euphoria, very understandable, that can deaden our sense of
duty.
We have to make sure that the religious dimension is
always preserved as the main animating element of the celebration. We
need to strengthen it, and equip it with the appropriate “antidote”
against foreign elements that can also be expected to come.
Popular piety can attract all sorts of things. It’s like a
pie or a cake in the open air. It can delude people to think that with
it, they would be already spiritually ok. They can easily fall into
self-righteousness.
Many other people can take advantage of it. We have to be
most wary of the possibility that these expressions of popular piety
can deteriorate into some ugly mob rule.
Politicians, for example, will certainly be most tempted
to exploit its possibilities. For good or evil, we cannot determine
for now. So, some regulating indications have to be made. And we have
to remind and encourage politicians to always have rectitude of
intention whenever they take part in these manifestations of popular
piety.
Business people, the big ones and the small ones,
obviously will also do some milking and killing of the big event. This
is all very understandable. Again, some effective regulating
provisions have to be made without alienating them.
Different people from different fields will use it from
their respective interests. There has to be a way of determining which
is compatible with the over-all celebration and which is not. People
from the fields of culture, education, sports and entertainment, etc.
will all have a field day.
The Church leaders have to be most active and persistent
in underlining the spiritual and supernatural dimension without
detracting from the legitimate human dimension. This is not an easy
task. They have to acquire the necessary competence.
Often, the way to go is by trial and error, and errors
will surely come. But as long as the concern remains, and the people
involved have the proper dispositions and competence, then we can only
expect success especially in the spiritual side. A lot of coordination
is inevitable.
For sure, a lot of catechesis given in ways very much
adapted to the different mentalities of the people is a must. Priests,
nuns and others can expect a more receptive attitude from the people
given the general atmosphere.
Homilies and other forms of preaching have to be very well
prepared. As much as possible, we avoid improvised preaching that
either turns off people or spoil them in their ignorance, confusion
and other forms of deficiencies.
By now, Church leaders should have a good idea of what to
tell the people, how to motivate and inspire them. This idea should be
well articulated and developed in appropriate modules and preaching
plans that can make use of modern technologies like the social media.
dam-burst of popular piety in many places of our country. It can only
mean that in spite of our warts and all, we have an inculturated, if
rudimentary, faith that can’t help but show itself in public in some
specific forms.
It means our faith has already entered deep into our
people’s psyche and ethos, such that it more or less spontaneously,
and surely under God’s grace, bursts forth in public display. It means
the Holy Spirit is at work and we are responding to his promptings.
The devotions and other pious practices surrounding our
faith and love for the Black Nazarene, Santo Nino, our Lady and saints
attest to this wonderful phenomenon, now hardly seen in many other
countries, especially the more developed but already secularized ones.
We have to do all to keep, nourish and protect such
popular piety from forces that seek to undermine, weaken or empty it
of its proper substance and spirit. We cannot deny the fact that while
Christ attracted a great crowd, a good number of them were there for
inadequate if not wrong reasons, and with ulterior motives flowing
galore.
In fact, at one point Christ lamented: “When the Son of
Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18,8) We need to
understand that while our popular piety can contain a lot of good, it
will always need some purification, some improvement. This is not
supposed to be a wet blanket, but a norm of prudence so that what is
good can keep on being good and even better.
We have to understand that this is a continuing task. We can never
rest in this. We have to be wary of our tendency to be taken in by a
sense of euphoria, very understandable, that can deaden our sense of
duty.
We have to make sure that the religious dimension is
always preserved as the main animating element of the celebration. We
need to strengthen it, and equip it with the appropriate “antidote”
against foreign elements that can also be expected to come.
Popular piety can attract all sorts of things. It’s like a
pie or a cake in the open air. It can delude people to think that with
it, they would be already spiritually ok. They can easily fall into
self-righteousness.
Many other people can take advantage of it. We have to be
most wary of the possibility that these expressions of popular piety
can deteriorate into some ugly mob rule.
Politicians, for example, will certainly be most tempted
to exploit its possibilities. For good or evil, we cannot determine
for now. So, some regulating indications have to be made. And we have
to remind and encourage politicians to always have rectitude of
intention whenever they take part in these manifestations of popular
piety.
Business people, the big ones and the small ones,
obviously will also do some milking and killing of the big event. This
is all very understandable. Again, some effective regulating
provisions have to be made without alienating them.
Different people from different fields will use it from
their respective interests. There has to be a way of determining which
is compatible with the over-all celebration and which is not. People
from the fields of culture, education, sports and entertainment, etc.
will all have a field day.
The Church leaders have to be most active and persistent
in underlining the spiritual and supernatural dimension without
detracting from the legitimate human dimension. This is not an easy
task. They have to acquire the necessary competence.
Often, the way to go is by trial and error, and errors
will surely come. But as long as the concern remains, and the people
involved have the proper dispositions and competence, then we can only
expect success especially in the spiritual side. A lot of coordination
is inevitable.
For sure, a lot of catechesis given in ways very much
adapted to the different mentalities of the people is a must. Priests,
nuns and others can expect a more receptive attitude from the people
given the general atmosphere.
Homilies and other forms of preaching have to be very well
prepared. As much as possible, we avoid improvised preaching that
either turns off people or spoil them in their ignorance, confusion
and other forms of deficiencies.
By now, Church leaders should have a good idea of what to
tell the people, how to motivate and inspire them. This idea should be
well articulated and developed in appropriate modules and preaching
plans that can make use of modern technologies like the social media.
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