The Word of God comes alive in people’s hearts

THE Word Alive Biblical Institute (WABI), a summer institute of John Paul I Biblical Center (JPIBC) in Vigan, recently concluded its three weeks summer course for Lay Ministers of the Word held at the Lay Formation Center of the diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan from April 16-May 6, 2007.

The summer institute is a trainer’s training course in the Biblical-Pastoral Ministry for those who work in the biblical apostolate. Sixty participants from 13 dioceses all over the Philippines completed the three-week lived-in program.

Started in 1991 by John Paul I Biblical Center, WABI has become a training ground for Lay Ministers to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the Scriptures so essential in the biblical-pastoral ministry they are involved in.

Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) executive secretary, Fr. Oscar Alunday, SVD, said the summer institute was started as a fruit of a regional discernment concerning the pastoral-biblical needs of Luzon and the Cordillera regions.

The idea of a biblical summer institute sprung out of a four-month biblical course which Alunday participated in at Nemi, Rome. The participants then were challenged to implement in a local setting what they have learned and experienced in the course.

When Alunday took over the directorship of JPIBC in 1991 he integrated his learning experience at Nemi with the thrust of JPIBC, which is an ongoing formation for lay and pastoral leaders of Northern Philippines.

Although it was originally established to cater to the needs of the dioceses in Northern Philippines, WABI has now broadened its services to other dioceses outside Northern Luzon. Participants come as far as Guam, Davao, nearby Manila and Bulacan.

Initially taught in Ilocano, the medium of instruction was later changed into English and Tagalog to oblige other students coming from various parts of the country.

“We shifted to English and Tagalog to accommodate people from other regions of the Philippines. The course is open to anyone who wants to work with the biblical apostolate,” said Alunday.

Alunday explained that WABI has a standing agreement with the Divine Word College of Vigan to accredit the course as BA in Religious Education. The course has three levels with beginners starting at Level 1. For three weeks during summer, students live, study and experience together the richness of the word of God. WABI requires its students to go back to their respective dioceses to serve their communities after their summer course. They can only proceed to the next level until they graduate if their parish priest and community recommend them.

“It is part of the requirements of WABI that the animators should live in the community and recommended by the community. They are the servants of the community,” Alunday explained. “If he/she deserves it, he/she is installed officially by the bishop as [Lay Minister] in the parish and part of the diocese,” added Alunday.

The bible animators are installed in a rite within the mass. Once they are installed, the lay ministers make up the core team of the biblical apostolate of the diocese.

The bible core team is ideally composed of five people headed either by a priest or a nun. Two young people and two adults comprise the members.

Alunday said it is important to have young people in the team since they can reach out to the youth and can teach songs to older people in the community.

Although he is no longer a part of JPIBC, Alunday continues to avail his services to WABI by providing updates on national and world events concerning biblical apostolate.

The biblical apostolate is a member of the Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF) through the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Alunday explained that CBCP is the only full member of the Catholic Biblical Federation. Other biblical centers in the Philippines are associate members, like Paul VI of Mindanao and JPIBC. CBF members meet every 7 years. The Philippines is represented by the Chairman and Executive secretary of ECBA.

Alunday expressed satisfaction on the services WABI has rendered to the dioceses in its 16 years of existence. Musing on the difficulties they encountered in the beginning, Alunday cannot help but voice out his surprise on how positively WABI is doing now. He recalled how difficult it was for them to get professors to teach in the institute. Now getting professors to teach seems like a breeze.

“Can you imagine five doctors for a three-week institute, with their own field [of expertise]? Liturgy, bible, religious education…,” Alunday rattled off.

The institute accepts around 30 to 50 regular students every summer. They pay their board and lodging for a three-week stay.

Alunday said living together gives the participants an experience of community life and the ability to work as a team.

WABI aims to form Lay Ministers of the Word who live by the word as a family man and can contribute in creating a new way of being Church through basic ecclesial communities centered on the word of God.

Alunday hopes that through WABI similar institutes in local churches will be strengthened to provide biblical formation to people hungry on the word of God. He is confident dioceses will give priority to forming people for the biblical-pastoral ministry. He said it is important that people are fired up by the word of God, because this is what will remain in them and eventually passed on to the next generation of leaders.

WABI is an experience, Alunday opined. It is making “the Word alive in people’s lives and hearts.”

Vatican grants public status to WUCWO

THE World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO), has recently been granted public status by the Vatican in conformity with the canonical norms in force and according to canons 298-320 and 327-329 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Pontifical Council of the Laity (PCL) confirmed in a statement the erection of WUCWO as a public international association of the faithful.

PCL President Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, PCL secretary Bishop Josef Clemens, and staff members, gathered with the members of the WUCWO leadership in the Aula Magna to celebrate the historic occasion. Archbishop Rylko noted that WUCWO is one of the first associations to receive this public status.

Dr. Maria Rocio Figueroa, head of the Pontifical Council’s Women’s Section, read the act of Consignment to WUCWO President-General, Karen M. Hurley. Hurley was accompanied by WUCWO’s Ecclesiastical Assistant, Father GianMaria Polidoro, OFM; former WUCWO President-General, Maria Eugenia Diaz de Pfennich; Secretary-General, Gillian M. Badcock; and Vice President of the European Region, Maria Giovanna Ruggieri.

Acknowledging the public rank given to WUCWO, Hurley said, “…This status honors the tireless efforts of millions of faithful Catholic women active in our Union at the parish, diocesan, national and international levels. We appreciate the decision of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and, with the grace of God, will work diligently to fulfill the responsibilities which accompany this status. We pledge to you our fidelity to the Church and our faithful Catholic witness to the world, which is rooted in spiritual formation, evangelization and the Social Doctrine of the Church…”

WUCWO has been active in the promotion of women and their role in the Church and society. Its various advocacies include education, poverty alleviation, peace building and eradication of violence against women.

Through its accredited organizations, WUCWO “promotes the presence, participation and co-responsibility of the Catholic women in the Church and society in order to enable them to fulfill their mission of evangelization and to work for human development.”

In its 2006 General Assembly, WUCWO pledged to work for building a culture of peace with special attention to education and the alleviation of poverty as its priority for 2006-2010.

Founded in 1910, WUCWO has a membership of almost 100 organizations, active in 66 countries, representing millions of Catholic women from all walks of life.

The Catholic Women’s League of the Philippines is an accredited member of WUCWO.

Unraveling the mystery of the Shroud of Turin

THE Shroud of Turin, a centuries-old linen cloth showing the image of a crucified man has, for hundreds of years, been revered as the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth. It has been kept in a chapel in the Cathedral of Turin since 1694 where pilgrims get the chance to see it two or three times within a century when it is put up for public exposition.

Last exhibited to the public on October 22, 2000, the Shroud's next official exposition is scheduled in 2025. However, Filipinos need not have to wait for 18 years nor travel thousand of miles to see it. The Shroud Exhibits International, Inc., the local counterpart of the Shroud Exhibits International Limited in USA, has been granted the license to manage the exhibits of the Holy Shroud in the country which will go on until the first quarter of 2008. The Philippine exhibit will be the first in Asia and second in the world. It will start on July 20 at SM City, Pampanga, and then go on exhibit at SM Mall of Asia from Sept 8 to Dec. 9; SM Davao from Jan. 18 to Feb. 3, 2008; and SM City Cebu from April 4-27, 2008.

Shroud Exhibit International president, Irene Lloren said the exhibit items are part of the collection of Mr. Barrie Schwortz, a photographer; who was officially commissioned by King Umberto II of Savoy, the Shroud’s previous monarch-owner; to document the Shroud.

“The exhibit features exclusive video clips, special artifacts, and over 80 items never been shown before in the Philippines and in Asia,” said Lloren.

Lloren said visitors will be given a tour of the historical journey of the shroud and the various theories surrounding its authenticity.

She also said the exhibit is envisioned to be a “spiritual journey for every Christian, a soulful pilgrimage in search of a symbol of faith.”

Visitors viewing the exhibits will be divided into groups of fifty. They will be shown first a comprehensive video summary of what to expect from the journey they are about to commence.

The visitors are then led along the Way of the Cross, reliving the passion of Christ, journeying from the trial to Calvary, until his death and burial.

“Featured in this section of the exhibit are artifacts, such as the whip, crown of thorns and nails, that are commissioned from the armourer of the movie Lord of the Rings,” explained Lloren. “A virtual showcase also awaits visitors, as there will be moving images of the scourging at the Pillar and the scene at Mt. Calvary to further the spiritual experience,” she added.

The exhibit also shows the varied means applied to establish the Shroud’s authenticity, based on art and architecture, science and technology, and the Bible. The different theories surrounding the Shroud are also tackled, such as the Leonardo Da Vinci theory, the Photograph theory, Middle East Pollen theory, Hemoglobin discovery, Templar theory, the Risen Christ theory and the Carbon Dating story.

A replica of the Shroud of Turin recreated in 2005 from Shwortz' original photos are also on display. The replica is reproduced in full-size transparencies and digital prints in both positive and negative formats.

An adoration chapel has been put up in the exhibit area to provide a quiet place for visitors who may wish to spend some moments of prayer and reflection.

“The area allows visitors to relive their experience, to reflect on the Shroud and what it means to their faith, and to carry out the message of the Shroud in their activities,” explained Lloren.

Organizers expect large crowd of visitors from various sectors especially students, the academe, religious organizations, Church groups and the general public to come and view the exhibit.

The exhibit has been endorsed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education. Proceeds from the exhibit will benefit the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Face, The Holy One of the Lord Catholic Foundation, Inc. and the Diocese of Parañaque.

Anyone who wants additional information on the event can contact Shroud Exhibit International, Inc. at 895-2966 or 610-0870, or email shroudexhibits@yahoo.com