Catchfire 2015

Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, D.D. thanked the members of various communities or movements for their intimate connection with the Church in Davao. He said that first of all they don’t belong to their group, but they are the faithful of Davao. Their belongingness to their beautiful communities, the spirit, the teachings, the formation that they received, the charisma that they discovered, all these help them to become good baptized Christians of Davao. Then the Archbishop emphasized the importance of the Solemnity of Christ the King, and the readings pointed to Jesus being the King who will gather all the nations. He asked: “Are we included in God’s kingdom which is not of this world? Have we become Christlike children of the Kingdom? What is the basic description of a child of God?

Explaining the meaning of sacrificial love, he quipped:

“The behavior of a child of God is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This command from Jesus is only the minimum because Jesus later taught that we should love one another as He has loved us.

“If we love our
neighbors
as God loves us
it will be as
if we have 10 items
divided by two;
it will be
10 for you,
nothing for me!”

When we love our neighbor as we love ourselves it is as if we have 10 items and we have to divide it with someone, it is 5 for me, and 5 for you. But if we love our neighbors as God loves us it will be like we have 10 items divided by two, it will be 10 for you, nothing for me! It is difficult for us to be able to do the latter.”

Everyone was reminded to thank God for the gift of faith, as each will strive to be better citizens of His kingdom, who will be able to love as God loves and to be able to give as God gives.

To conclude, Yanong Muloy mentioned that he just came from the Synod of Bishops in Rome and he is bringing to the lay people and members of organizations and movements, greetings from our Holy Father Pope Francis because they are close to his heart. (Manilee Araune)