Jubilee of

Blessings,

mission of

renewal:

A discussion on the CBCP Pastoral Exhortation for the Jubilee of Mercy and the Year of the Family

and the Eucharist

The Pastoral Exhortation’s titleJubilee of Blessings, mission of renewal:CBCP Pastoral Exhortation for the

Jubilee of Mercy and the Year of the Family and the Eucharist

Part 1: Jubilee of Blessings The Pastoral Exhortation began by

acknowledging the year 2016 as a year of many blessings: Jubilee Year of Mercy Year of the Eucharist and the Family 51st International Eucharistic Congress 25th Anniversary of the Second Plenary Council

of the Philippines

The Jubilee Year of Mercy From Dec. 8, 2015 to Nov. 20, 2016. “Misericordiae Vultus” – Papal Bull All priests have the faculty to forgive

reserved sins. The Church as a sign of pardon,

strength, aid and love, mercy, compassion and comfort.

The Year of the Eucharist and the Family Commenced last Nov. 29, 2015. The third year of the nine-year

preparation for the Jubilee of 2021, the 500th year of the Christianization of the Philippines.

The themes for the 9-year preparations

Integral

Faith Formation

(2013)

Laity (2014)

Poor(2015)

Eucharist and the

Family (2016)

Parish as

Communion of Communities(2017)

Clergy and the Religio

us (2018)

Youth(2019)

Ecumenism and Inter-

Religious

Dialogue

(2020)

Missio ad

GentesThe

500th year

Anniversary

(2021)

51st International Eucharistic Congress Held last January 24-31, 2016 in

Cebu, Philippines. People from around the globe

gathered to partake and to celebrate.

People gathered to study and to celebrate the mysteries of the Holy Eucharist.

The 25th Anniversary of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines

January 20-February 17, 1991 in Makati.

It was the greatest ecclesial event in the Philippines in the 20th century.

It was presided over by the late Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., D.D.

For all these things, indeed, 2016 is a year of many blessings for the Philippines- a Jubilee of Blessings!

Part 2: Mission of Renewal With all these blessings, our question is:

“In this forthcoming year of renewal dedicated to mercy, the Eucharist and the family, under the light of PCP 2, how shall we as a people respond?”

The bishops answer:“If we want renewal, let us learn how

to kneel again.”

Why Kneeling? With all the blessings we are all invited

to kneel. Today’s generation lost the gesture of

kneeling (humility). Ours is a clapping generation (praise).

Everybody seeks self-security and independence. God is made irrelevant.

By kneeling, we acknowledge that we need God.

By kneeling, we humble ourselves before God.

The 3 reasons for kneeling 1. We kneel for God’s mercy.2. We kneel to adore God.3. We kneel as a sign of love and

service for one another.

“For Mercy let us kneel…”

1. We kneel for God’s mercy

Kneeling is a sign of repentance. This year’s Year of Mercy calls for

repentance. We cannot celebrate mercy without

repentance. We are called to kneel and to pray

for each other, to pray for the forgiveness of sins.

What is Mercy? A wellspring of joy, serenity and

peace. It reveals the very mystery of the

Most Holy Trinity. The ultimate and supreme act by

which God comes to meet us.

The fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life.

The bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.

In the Jubilee of Mercy… We are invited to kneel down in

humility and repentance (Confession).

Kneeling: an act to seek mercy for our sins “Kneeling is necessary if we want to

admit our sins before God and seek His mercy”. (Origen).

It is the symbol of one “who has fallen but trusts in the loving mercy of God.”

When we do not kneel, our prayers become dry and boring.

“The bending of the knee is a token of penitence and sorrow of a penitent heart.” (John Cassian).

“The knee has been made flexible so that by means of it, more than any other limb, our offences against the Lord may be mitigated and God’s displeasure may be appeased, grace called forth.” (St. Ambrose of Milan).

Kneeling: a gesture of compassion for our fellow sinners

We kneel to bind the wounds of those who are bleeding and hurting

Mercy is not just an action of the Father, but an action of his true children.

An pinatawad makakanuod man na magpatawad.

We kneel in contrition for abusing Mother nature.

We kneel before the poor we ignored.

We kneel in sorrow for our abuses against the weak, the vulnerable, the marginalized, the misjudged, the suspected and gossiped.

We kneel in seeking pardon for our misplaced prudence and cowardice to stand for the Lord and die with Him.

We kneel for renewal but we must humbly kneel with all our heart.

The Church: Called to be Merciful like the Father

When we kneel, we remember that we are sinners.

When we kneel, we feel God’s mercy and when we feel that mercy we are also compelled to share that mercy to others. We’re called to be Merciful like the Father.

Not, however, as a merciful judge but as a person sharing the same sinful condition.

“In adoration

let us kneel…”

2. We kneel to adore

God

Last January 2016, we knelt down to adore Jesus present in the Most Holy Eucharist at the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu.

Kneeling in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament brings us renewal

How does kneeling in adoration bring us renewal?

Pope Benedict XVI: kneeling is a symbol of strength.

When we kneel, we bend our strength before God-we acknowledge that everything we are and we have are from God.

The problem: no more kneeling

Nowadays, people no longer want to kneel in adoration before God. No more genuflection. No more kneeling during consecration. No more kneeling to adore the exposed

Blessed Sacrament.

The Wrong Idea This attitude of kneeling comes from

the idea that as free men we must face God with our feet.

The idea is wrong because although we are free men, we remain as creatures of God and God remains our Creator.

Renewal? That’s why there is no renewal

because we do not acknowledge GOD’s POWER in our lives!

Renewal? The solution is to kneel again!

We kneel in contrition… For the profane actions against the Eucharist. For the sacrileges and desecration. For liturgical experiments and abuses. For the narcissism among ordained ministers

seeking popularity instead piety. For taking the Mass for granted. For the irreverent attire and the cold interior

disposition in the Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI: “The inability to kneel is seen as the very essence of the diabolical.”

“If we want renewal in spirituality, we must recover the Christian culture of kneeling.”

“For love and service let us kneel…”

3. We kneel as a sign of love and service for one another.

The year of the Family and the Eucharist challenges us to kneel down to bring renewal to the family.

“…he [Jesus] rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist.”

John 13:4

Let us kneel at home for family prayer and for feet washing, where……love and service prevails instead of pride

and grudges.…humility of pardon prevails instead of

revenge and bitterness.…siblings wash one another’s feet and

parents do the same.…the culture of family kneeling is present.

The family that… …prays together

stays together. …kneels together

will be refreshed and renewed together.

…kneels together will remain young and fresh and new.

The importance of Kneeling in the family “Kneeling empowers family to stand

up against the storms of life.” “Kneeling is strength.”

The family and the Church If kneeling should be

done in the families, so also in the Church.

As a Church, we have to kneel to pray TOGETHER and to WASH EACH ONE’S FEET.

“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

John 13:15

We should do what Jesus did with humility, joy, faith and love.

Conclusion

We kneel for Renewal The Jubilee Year of Mercy and the

Year of the Family and the Eucharist invites us to “go back to the basics” of kneeling.

Let us relive and appreciate again the value and beauty of kneeling.

“No prayer should be done without kneeling.”

-Tertullian

Questions to ponder: We want renewal, but how can we be

renewed without prayer? But how can we pray without

kneeling for repentance? How can we receive mercy if we are

proud and self-secure?

How can we worship without kneeling when the Apostle says: “At the name of Jesus every should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10)?

How can we show that we are His disciples without kneeling down to wash one another’s feet as He has mandated?