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To be at the forefront of evangelization is every missionary’s life and purpose. Fr. Randy Recalde, who has been serving in the mission in Pangoa in Peru since 2011, shares how his interest to become a missionary began and how he continually finds the hope and inspiration to continue preaching and reaching out to God’s people despite the heavy challenges.
Even before the Pope’s much-awaited eco-encyclical Laudato Si hit the websites and bookshelves, it already caused a stir among those who are hoping to use it to further environmental, and even political, agenda. With its release and with a scathing admonition from the Pope to the world’s decision-makers for their failure to stifle the climate change crisis, the Vatican now trusts that the Pope’s reflections will resonate within the august halls of policy-making institutions, both national and international. More importantly, the Church hopes to instill an “ecological conversion” in everyone – before it’s too late to save our common home.
After the overhaul of the religious life by Vatican II, many religious women are still struggling , if not confused, about their “new calling.” Up until today, their actions are being misunderstood, even by the Church itself, because of this re-orientation. However, many women religious are convinced that the direction they have taken is appropriate and is a reflection of the true and the same apostolic service they have committed to before the Council.
Christmas and Easter are the two times of the year that provide more social visibility for Christians in the Holy Land. But these “visible” Christians are likely to be pilgrims, mere transients, who go on tours, usually to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. One cannot help but wonder: who are the real Catholics and Christians who live in the land of Jesus? Where and how do they live?
Back then, cultural identity was simply defined by natural selection, geography, and locale-specific customs and traditions. However, because of migration, rapid trade and industrialization, cultural identity is easily blurred, if not constantly shifting or evolving. Factors that influence such rapid change seem to be easily accepted, but is the loss of identity, as a result of these factors, really worth it?
Mapuordit Hospital has been a life-saving institution through the generous dedication of missionaries and lay people prepared to serve, to heal and to rekindle hope in the distressed hearts of many South Sudanese people. Bro. Rosario, a Comboni Missionary Brother, is the key not only in running the Hospital but also in creating human resources to meet the basic medical needs of a people still striving to build their lives after the cruel war.
With further advances in treatment techniques and counseling and rethinking of theological premises, hospitals’ pastoral care becomes even more critical in the lives of patients and families. Is pastoral care relevant in the contemporary scene? Absolutely!
The family has always been regarded as the nucleus of society, the “domestic Church” in the Catholic manner of speaking. Values, education, and how children eventually turn out in life depend on how solid a family is. These days, however, a new and evolving concept of the family is emerging, founded on the pretext of gender equality and human rights, and compounded by “new winds of doctrine”
or simply the erosion of traditional values. Recognizing the need to address the changing tide as well as the needs of Catholics who, although they may be in a situation deemed sinful, sincerely want to participate in the life of the Church, Pope Francis has convened the bishops of the world to find out how best to resolve these challenges – through the standpoint of doctrine and the eyes of mercy.
In an interview with WM, lawyer and agrarian reform advocate Christian Monsod gave an insight into the struggling farmers’ mind, what the farmers’ dreams, aspirations, and frustrations are, as the fight for land continues, amid the growing indifference shown by the government and influential landowners. As a constitutionalist, Monsod shared his thoughts on why
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Act failed and, on a larger scale, why social reform programs in the country continue to fail, even after a dictatorial regime. Finally, as a fighter for freedom and justice, Monsod warned of possible upheaval and bloodshed if the farmers’ patience continues to be tested, and their rightful share of the land persistently withheld.
Man’s obsession with technology and advancements in food production, trade, and even how time is perceived, has made him seemingly detached more and more from nature and the environment he lives in. What used to be an integral part of man and his survival has now become an accessory which, more often than not, is rendered irrelevant to how life should be lived. Perhaps it would be best to revisit the rudiments of survival, look towards nature, and teach younger generations of its value and importance – before we lose a sense of who we are and what we originally stood for.
