CFC West C Magnificat Echo Weekend

This article came out today on the Ugnayan issue of the CBCP Monitor.


A month after the first Magnificat Weekend for the leaders of Couples for Christ Metro Manila was held, it was time to bring the message to the Unit Leaders, Household Leaders and senior members of CFC West C.  Led by Bro. Steve and Sis. Minnie Maningat, the sector held their Magnificat Echo Weekend at the Teacher's Camp in Baguio City from March 2-4, 2012.

Steve Maningat, sector head of West C, Metro Manila

As early as the morning of Friday, more than six hundred participants from the six clusters of West C converged in Baguio City to participate in this monumental event.  By Friday night, the echo conference proper started with a fellowship night-cum-chorale competition entitled "West C Goes Glee."

Saturday's and Sunday's activities started with the praying of the Rosary followed by a Mass celebrated by Msgr. Allen Aganon, Couples for Christ Spiritual Director.  To kick off the Saturday sessions, Msgr. Aganon gave the prologue, expounding on the significance of the Magnificat from which CFC's theme this year is based on.

Over the course of the conference, four talks were delivered and all of them delved on the faithfulness of Mary to her Son, Jesus.  From these words, we learned that Mary was always there for Him at all phases of His life and therefore, she could be considered the first disciple of Jesus.  It was Mary's "yes" to Angel Gabriel that paved the way for mankind's salvation.  The Blessed Sacrament was exposed at the end of the Saturday sessions.

The CFC West C Magnificat weekend ended with a praisefest and healing session.  As the echo conference came to its inspiring end, everyone was spiritually high and ready to emulate Mary and ready to take on the mission that God has entrusted to them.

Magnificat Weekend

One of the biggest activities that we go to being leaders of the Couples for Christ community is the MC Weekend.  This is a gathering of the members of the Mission Core (MC) Group, the top leaders of Couples for Christ. The MC Weekend Conference is a retreat cum fellowship that every MC member looks forward to every year.  It is held at Baguio City on the last weekend of January.  Every year, the theme for the conference changes.  For this year, it is called the Magnificat Weekend based on the community's theme "Proclaim the greatness of the Lord"  (Luke 1:46).

Photo taken from the CFC website

My husband and I prepared well for this trip.  As early as the first week of January, Jun bought a new pair of tires to replace the worn-out ones.  He also made sure that our vehicle was in tip top condition so as not to encounter mechanical problems while out of town.  Three years ago we had that unfortunate experience when this same vehicle conked out in Baguio City for the 2009 MC Weekend.  We had to leave the vehicle in the repair shop of Jun's client.  We traveled back by Victory Liner a week later to retrieve the vehicle.  Meanwhile, Bro. Rainier and Sis. Meng Figueras welcomed us in their vehicle for our trip back home to Manila.

We checked in at Hotel Elizabeth on a Friday afternoon.  I readily fell in love with the hotel the moment I stepped in their lobby.  The hotel staff were friendly and attended to our needs immediately.  I am not surprised, Hotel Elizabeth has been voted Baguio's Best Hotel a few years back.  The room was clean and doesn't smell musty.  I told myself, "I have found my home in Baguio".  After resting and freshening up, we, together with another CFC couple, Bro. Deng and Sis. Reiah Yango proceeded to the venue, Camp John Hay. 

Breakfast with Reiah at Hotel Elizabeth.

Jun and I at the driveway of the hotel.

The conference had fellowship on the first night and talks on the next two days.  There were worships and Mass before each session and a praise fest capped the conference on Sunday noon.  Though Sis. Reiah and I suffered from hypertension from Day 1, the conference and bonding time with CFC brothers and sisters made the trip all worthwhile.

Great Divide

This is the original article that I submitted for In His Steps, the daily prayer guide of the members of Couples for Christ and its ministries.  My initial attempt at writing for In His Steps appears in the Sept. 12, 2012 issue.

LUKE 6:20-26

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:  “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.  Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.  Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.  Blessed are you when people hate you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!  Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.  For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.  Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Jesus Christ has always been the champion of the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed.  At the time this gospel was written, there was no middle class to speak of that would bridge the elite class and the poor.  The elite had everything including access to the churches but the poor had practically nothing. Fast forward to the 21st century and although there is already a middle class, the elite still owns almost everything while the poor still suffer. Look around and the great divide is still evident.  Though it is not a sin to be rich and endowed, sharing of resources to the poor is expected of us.  Sharing could be in the form of giving them equal opportunities and opening doors for them to uplift them from their present predicament. This gospel is about hope.  Jesus is assuring us that there is something better to look up to in His kingdom.  Whatever suffering we have endured or are enduring on earth will be rewarded in the afterlife.  Heaven is one great equalizer:  both rich and poor have equal chances of entering His gate.

Christmas is Sharing Love

It is officially Christmas season for me with the onset of Simbang Gabi.  Though the puto bumbong and bibingka are available all year round, they seem to taste better when you eat them after attending the dawn Masses of which they become synonymous with.  As the days get nearer to Dec. 25, everyone is busy preparing for the countless Christmas Parties, Noche Buena, and gift giving.  I am no exception.  Christmas has taken a very materialistic meaning to it which veered away from the reason why we are celebrating it.  That He was sent to save mankind.  That God the Father in His deep love for us has sent His own Son to save us.

While watching the Christmas episode of Glee 3 on TV the other day, I heard the cast sing "Do You Know It's Christmas".  This song dates back to 1984 when Band Aid, a group made up of British bands, sang this to raise funds for famine-stricken Ethiopia of which more than a million died.  BBC crew referred to the famine as "the closest thing to hell on earth".  The lyrics of the song hasn't escaped me.  It sings about sharing what we have to those whose concern is when their next meal will be.  I don't think that Christmas was in the minds of the Ethiopians during the great famine of 1983-1985.

Amidst the revelry of this season, let us all reflect on the real meaning of Christmas, that is, sharing love.  Would you rather be on the receiving end of relief lines or be the giver?

Clinging to God's Promise

I saw this image earlier in Facebook which was shared by my cousin.  What immediately came to mind is the verse from the book of Jeremiah (29:  11-14) that goes like this:  

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe, plans to give you a future full of hope.  When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.  When you look for me, you will find me.  Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot, I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you, says the Lord, and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you."

This verse is one of the more popular verses of the Bible.  I am not surprised at all with that because people who have reached the end of the rope will cling on to even a flicker of hope.  Just by reading it will put a damper to an episode of hopelessness.  I am no different from other people.  I, too, like to escape from the pits of despair.  Just thinking that there is a God who knows what's best for me and that He won't allow me to fall and fail, immediately lifts my spirit up.

So when everything else doesn't seem right, cling on to His promise.  Read Jeremiah 29: 11-14.