THE PHILIPPINE CHURCH HISTORY

“The Filipino’s historical encounter with Christ”

It is an assertion that the Filipino’s encounter with Christ and his response to this living experience have all passed through a process in history.

The main actor- Spanish friar-missionaries who brought Christianity to the Filipinos.

The Filipino Encounter with Christian God

The first attempt to colonize and evangelize the Philippines happened with the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, in 1521.

In 1565 and through the endeavors of the Spanish Adelantado, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi that Christianization and colonization in the islands formally began.

The first missionaries who launched a modest but daring attempt to convert the natives were the Augustinians who came with the Legazpi expedition.

Then arrival of the Franciscans in 1578. The Jesuits followed suit in 1581. The Dominicans and Augustinian Recollects

arrived in 1587 and 1606 respectively.

The missionaries played a major role in the Filipino’s “encounter” with Christianity and the Christian God. This in a way became the ground of Filipino Spirituality.

However, it was not a one-sided process in which the Spanish missionaries shaped the Filipino spirituality.

At the end of the process, the resultant spirituality is a syncretic blend of Hispanic imposition and the natives’ Filipinization of Christianity.

According to John Leddy Phelan asserts that Spanish missionaries viewed themselves as soldiers of Christ waging with spiritual weapons a war to overthrow the devil’s tyranny over pagan peoples and they envisaged their work as a “spiritual conquest” of the minds and hearts of the natives, a supplement to, and the ultimate justification for, the military conquest.

Methods of Evangelization

The methods used by the missionaries in the propagation of the faith can be reduced into the following:

1. Catechism2. The introduction of liturgical practices, fiestas,

etc. 3. Preserving the native’s political structure

The barangay set-up was basically retained. The role of municipal mayors (gobernadorcillo), capitanes de barrio, cabeza de barangay were given to the elite class (principalia).

The principales eventually became the intermediaries between the new rulers, the Spaniards and the local communities. They consequently became the intermediaries (fiscales) between the Church and the people.

The missionaries also introduced many of the religious and liturgical practices that they themselves had in Spain but not without innovations to fit the native culture.

Fast and abstinence during Lent and the Holy Week, sanctorum (religious contribution during confessions), feast days of obligation, devotion to the saints, and the misa de aguinaldo(Christmas dawn masses).

Another devotion that was brought from Spain and took root in the religiosity of the natives was the reading of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. At the beginning of its practice, the Pasiones, as the narrations of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord were called, were literal translation from Spanish.

Missionaries came as innovators and saw Christianity as a very effective means of incorporating the natives into Spanish culture. And besides, the missionaries were themselves product of the Council of Trent and self-proclaimed agents of the Catholic Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries

Challenge and ConclusionIt is a true that our spirituality is mix and

rooted in the Spanish tradition because they are the one who introduced to us the Christian rituals and practices. On the other hand, our native beliefs and mentality of divine is still anchor in that native spirituality and custom.

We might look western in the way we shows our religious practices but inside we still hold on to these native beliefs about Spirit’s and God

The challenges to our Filipino Catholics is to reconcile these Filipino practices, in the way we understand our Christian faith.

This is evidenced by the reality of Filipino spirituality today. It is like praying to Jesus and Mama Mary with bended knees inside the steaming Baclaran or Quiapo Church with a recently purchased anting-anting in one hand and a rosary in the other, while wearing a western-designed pair of jeans and shirt to top it all.

General Background A response to the changing

situation of the Philippines.

The Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines called a Council

( Piscos, Church Sacrament and Liturgy).

It was attended by priest, bishop, superiors of religious order both men and women, seminary rectors and formators, lay leaders and pastoral workers.

It started January 20, 1991 and ended February 17, 1991.

The year 1991-was a time of calming the storm(Corazon C. Aquino was about to finish her term-1986)

Many people hoped to find a better situation, and yet miseries and abundance of discrimination proliferate,

(Piscos, Church and Sacrament)

Why the Church? Why called a council and what the Church should do? The growing consciousness on the connection between the church is at its peak as influence by the role of the church during the critical time of 1986 Revolution.

The Church concern in religion and politics. The capital P and the small p’s. The art of influencing people and the type of politics that considered dirty politics, using all unjust means to win the votes of people, especially the poor.

The council was called, The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines. The whole council was guided by the theme taken from Ephesians 1:10 “ UNITE ALL THINGS UNDER CHRIST” Does our profession of Jesus Christ make any different?

Where we are now and where are we going? Renewal of Church and ultimately to unite all God’s whole creation. PCP II documents was produced taking this into consideration.

The are five parts of the document with the following titles:

Part I: Our World- The Philippines Light and ShadowsPart II: Envisioning a Church

RenewedPart III: A Renewed Integral

Evangelization

Part IV. The Community of Disciple Workers of RenewalPart V. Agenda towards Renewal( Resolutions).

The Church looks backs to the past. The Shadows and Lights of the Christian faith. EvangelizationSocio-Cultural ContextEconomic and Political Context Religious context

…retelling the story of Jesus. Jesus’ way was proclaiming the message of the Kingdom of God-a relationship based on mutual recognition of each other’s importance

“LEAST, LAST and LOST”

We have to follow the pattern of Jesus’ way by opting for “ the poor and sinners. The Church should be seen as community of disciples. PCPII took a particular model, and that is communion of communities of disciple in which there is unity amidst the diversity of charism.

DISCIPLESHIP IN COMMUNITY – The Church

Our first apostolate

is our community (PCPII Manila, 1992. p.87)

The Church is a Communion In community a Christian grows in faith. Acts 2 “They were “of one heart and mind” and shared even the things they owned so that no one among them was in want. (PCPII Manila, 1992. p.89-90)

Unity in Diversity St. Paul expressed the unity of Christian, he compared the group of believers to human body and called it the body of Christ. Many different part but each part has to role to play in the one body.Vatican II has highlighted the same characteristics of the Church. It describes the universal church as people made one with the unity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

(PCPII Manila, 1992. p.91-94)

Equality in Dignity In the Unity of the Church there is equality in Christian dignity in all the members. Lumen GentiumPope John Paul II says and draws a conclusion from the equality in dignity of all Christians: “ each member of the lay faithful, together with ordained ministers and men and women religious, shares a responsibility for the Church’s mission”

Participation In the Philippines, participation largely means enabling the laity to participate more fully in the life of the Church. Vatican II = co-responsibility, shared responsibility in the mission of the entire Church.

A community in a mission The community exist not only for itself and for its members but for the whole world.it send for a mission to proclaim the good news of Christ.

Our Missionary Vocation The Philippines has a special missionary vocation to proclaim the Good News, to carry the Light of Christ to the nations.A growing awareness of the missionary potential of Filipino migrant workers abroad has also dawned upon us.

Inter-Religious Dialogue In the Philippines Catholic is not the only existing religion. God makes himself present in many ways. A Priestly, Prophetic and Kingly People.

The Church of the Poor In the Philippines today, God calls us most urgently to serve the poor and the needy. Poverty in the sense of destitution is not God’s will.

( PCP II Manila, 1992. p122-136)

Church of the poor embraces and practices the evangelical spirit of poverty which combines detachment from possessions with a profound trust in God as the sole source of salvation. “Live simply so that others may live”

Renewed integral evangelization

1.Announcing the message of salvation

2.Announcing the message of liberation

The guiding principle for this segment is all are called to mission and communion.

This part also looks on the importance of religious education as a core subject.

The challenge of our Filipino church is to have a thorough integral evangelization so that the concept will be well-understood.

The Church makes her own aspiration the aspiration of the society for development of Justice, reconciliation and peace.

The Filipino Church is the moral prophetic voice of the people. She speaks in the name of JUSTICE, TRUTH, HUMAN RIGHTS, DIGNITY and TOTAL WELL-BEING. ( PCPII Manila, 1992. p.122-144)

Expression in Reality and of Renewal

Inculturation BEC = Basic Ecclesial Community Kristianong Pamayanan/Sambayanan

If she ceases to do so, then its search for authentic Church will be a mere artistic cliché, a poor slogan of being a “Church of the Poor”.Inculturation = Means the process by which there comes about on-going integration of the Christian experience of the local church into the culture of the people.

THANK YOU !