1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Introduction

Brother Al and Sister Terri Albarracin asked Noemi, my wife, and myself to serve with the Alliance circa the Feast of the Assumption, 2007.

Since then I have been hounded by the nine-word phrase, “Our mission is to serve, unify, and build up ..” in the first person, present tense, active voice, indicative mood, transitive verbs. Like a mantra, I would instinctively repeat the mission phrase over and over. Gift of tongues? No.  Beef of angst!

Like a forming arterial blockage, every each of these 9 words have been in my system raising the pressure the past seven months. I tried thinning them out with Heparin hem and haw, Plavix personal plans, Coumadin concerns for home economics , and other concocted RXcuses. Yet, “There is nothing I can do to relieve this pleasant ache. I’m not sick. I’m just in Love!?

Let it be known at the outset that as for Joshua and my household … I am the head, I think; my wife is the neck! Noemi has been supportive of my titular compunctions, tolerant of my nominal achievements, and altogether has been a wonder-ful wife these forty-one years —-still wondering how, for Cana’s sake! could she have been stuck with me. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Darl.

I’ve never been accused of being swift on my toes. Nor have I been reputed to be able to think on my feet … I seem to always have one of them in my mouth. A more chilling affliction of my medulla oblongata is its inability to process blocks of information — I have this compulsive propensity to crush large chunks into manageable cubes I can chew on in my own terms.

I forgot how to say it in Swahili; Latin is deader than Old English; anyway, it’s all Greek to me, so let me jive with you: “the message is just as effective as the disposition of its recipient”. We are Pilipinos. (Hello, Fr Bill Halbing! Are you getting this? ‘Sama-sama’) “Awar pusisyon is dis:

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of Eternal Life.We have come to believe; we are convinced You are God’s Holy One” (John 6:68-69)

Thus, we offer our reflections on a) our Goal in this life for the next; b) the Mission of the Alliance, and c) how we relate ourselves and the Cape Coral prayer community to this Mission.

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Goal: Beatific Vision

Conceived in sin and born into darkness, “…we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known. Then in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love” (1 Corinthians 13: 12-13)

“Dearly beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall later be has not yet come to light. We know that when it comes to light we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He Is” (1 John 3:2).

For the moment, here and now, we see God reflected in His creation, know God by our finite reasoning, and see Him through the eyes of faith. When we get to Heaven with the blessed, we shall “see” the Divine Essence that is God because we are all then elevated by the “light of glory”. With the consummation of sanctifying grace the blessed will be able to see God as He sees himself.
(cf The Catholic Encyclopedia)

Goal setting, in my estimation, is important, necessary, and crucial in our way through life. Important because a goal gives us encouragement and hope when the road seems rough and far from where we want to go. Necessary because it allows us to measure our progress or lack of it. Crucial because it demands objective judgment whether or not we are indeed moving towards our destination, or away from it.

Goals, therefore, are impartial markers of our motivation, the pace of progress, and the desired direction of whatever mission we choose to undertake. I subscribe to that aphorism, “If you do not know where you are going, you will get there every time.” More tragic is not knowing if you are already there. Without goals, we would be either spinning wheels or re-inventing the wheel.

Our goal, then, is to get to Heaven/Beatific Vision and to bring with us as many as God allows us. We shall take liberty in bringing with us any and all sisters / brothers in Christ to our Goal. Cursory research failed to yield evidence of someone being dragged kicking and screaming in protest against Celestial Confinement.

We pray that our affinity with the Alliance is mutually beneficial among ourselves, our families, our communities, and the One Body of Christ. (cf Ephesians 4:2-6)

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Mission of The Alliance

1. To Serve, Unify, and Build Up the Filipino Catholic Charismatic prayer groups and prayer communities
2. To enable them to
   1. evangelize
   2. proclaim effectively the lordship and the good news of Jesus Christ with the fire of the Holy Spirit
   3. to bring the renewal
      1. to the heart of the Church
      2. and to individuals through Baptism in the Holy Spirit
   4. to encourage the charismatic renewal by promoting national, regional, and local conferences
   5. to promote
      1. the teachings of the Catholic Church
      2. and its Magisterium
   6. to encourage believers to use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and
   7. to nurture the Fruits of the Holy Spirit for the edification and sanctification of the Body of Christ
   8. to print, publish, purchase, sell, donate, or otherwise distribute Christian literature.

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Focusing on the Mission

Reflecting on the Mission, we could make out two aspects.

First, the strategy or the careful plan or method for achieving an end or, in our context, the Goal. In the military sense, the science and art of command aimed at meeting the enemy under conditions advantageous to one’s own force. Strategy is people-oriented.

Second, the tactics or the skills using available means to reach an end. In the military, the science of maneuvering forces in combat. Tactics are tools- or process- oriented

Allusion to military sense is brought about by Ephesians 6:11 in our battle against evil.

The Strategic aspect of the Alliance Mission is three-fold
To Serve, Unify, and Build Up

1. Service is individual-oriented and directly corresponds with the character of the person serving. To serve is more than to work which means to toil, to labor, a task, or a job. To serve is to work for others. To be a servant. In a recent edition of The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the second sense listed for “serve” is “to render obedience and worship to God.” We offer the following character-istics of a S-E-R-V-A-N-T:
   • Selfless “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself …” (Mark 8:34)
   • Exemplifies Jesus Christ in His humility, compassion, obedience to His Father’s Will
   • Resourceful in finding means to help/serve ; e.g. four men lowering their paralytic friend through the roof to be healed by Jesus (Mark 2:4-5)
   • Vigilant “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour.” (1Peter 5:8)
   • Available Learning that “Elizabeth has also conceived in her old age, and this is the sixth month” …Mary set out and traveled the hill country in haste … Mary remained with her about three months..” (Luke 1: 36, 39, 56)
   • Needs-Oriented “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? .. a scorpion when he asks for an egg.” (Luke 11: 11-12)
   • Timely at the right time; appropriate to the time “…do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst … (Matthew 9: 17)
2. Unity among believers is community-oriented.“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. …If [one] part suffers, all parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” (1 Corinthians 12:12; 26)Members of the community can U-N-I-F-Y by:
   • Using the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12: 4-11)
   • Nurturing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-24)
   • Integrating our fleshly desires with the will of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17)
   • Focusing on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2)
   • Yielding totally to God (Philippians 2:7).
3. Building up the prayer communities is Church-oriented and Christ-centered.“According to the grace of God given to me like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)Our various prayer communities can B-U-I-L-D U-P the Catholic Church through:
   • Bible Study and Catechesis (Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum)
   • Unceasing praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
   • Instilling Faith/Values/Morals (Deuteronomy 6: 1-7)
   • Loving one another (1Cor 13)
   • Dedicating ourselves to the evangelistic work at hand (Catechism par 849)
   • Upholding our Church authorities and their pastoral directives, etc
   • Participating in Parish, Diocesan, ministries, activities, initiatives.

The Tactical aspect of the Mission is mutual service to and for one another. Enabling prayer communities to carry out their mission purposefully, efficiently and effectively.

1. Evangelization, in the context of Vatican II’s Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity (Ad Gentes) is “the whole mission of the Church and the apostolate through which she announces, implants and brings to maturity the Kingdom of God.”
2. Evangelization also means “to promote God’s glory through the spread of His kingdom and to obtain for all men that eternal life which consists in knowing the only true God and Him whom He sent, Jesus Christ.”
3. Evangelization is “showing the Gospel as a revelation of the plan of salvation in Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit and carrying on this activity through the ministry as the instrument for the building up of the Church itself for the glory of God.””Every disciple of Christ has the obligation to do his part in spreading the faith.” “ …through the Holy Spirit, who distributes His charismatic gifts as He wills for the common good (1 Cor 12:11), Christ inspires the missionary vocation in the hearts of individuals.”
4. “All sons and daughters should have a lively awareness of their responsibility to the world. They should foster themselves a truly catholic spirit. They should spend their energies in the work of evangelization.”
5. “The Catechism of the Catholic Church , which I approved June 25th last and the Publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition, and the Church’s Magisterium…Therefore, I ask all Church’s Pastors and the Christian faithful to receive this catechism in a spirit of communion and To use it assiduously in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life. (Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution, October 11,1992)
6. “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, ,in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12: 4-8)
7. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, Gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25)
8. “There also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)

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Cape Coral Prayer Community vis-à-vis Alliance Mission

Re: Strategy

1. SERVANT character is, by and large, evidently pervasive among members. Vigilance occasionally tested on Scriptures and tenets of Faith. More assiduous study is appropriate and called for.
2. Generous room of opportunity and benefit from Using Gifts and Nurturing Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship with Area charismatic communities could foster desire for Gifts/Fruits of the Holy Spirit.
3. Bible study and Catechesis are opportune.

Re: Tactics

1. Evangelization: is stated as the Vision and a Core Value of the Couples For Christ-FFL. We pray that we are saying what we are seeing ;we hope to be living what we are believing.
2. Proclaiming effectively the lordship and the good news of Jesus Christ with the fire of the Holy Spirit: Dichotomy in CFC global leadership (reminiscent of 1Corinthians 1:10 ff) is distracting and disconcerting us, local fellowships. Worldly power plays usurp the Lordship of the Jesus Christ; self-serving sound bytes garble the good news. With fire of the Holy Spirit, local fellowships will burn out factional rhetorics and histrionics. Our actions should speak louder than our words that they cannot hear us. The name of the game is The Name; it’s the word for The Word.
3. Bringing renewal to the Church:
   There are presently eight (8) parish-based charismatic prayer groups in the Central Area of the Diocese. At least, three (3), including ours, rotate weekly prayer meetings among member homes. Nonetheless, we registered our prayer group with the Diocese Charismatic Renewal Commission. This Coordinator is on the Renewal Commission. He is the commissioner for ethnic Filipinos.

   While the Ordinary of the Diocese of Venice is not averse to the Charismatic Movement, it is gathered that The Most Reverend has not yet claimed intimate familiarity with the movement, and less so with the renewal.In November 2007, while preparing for Brother Bob’s Healing Ministry, scheduled for January, we realized certain reticence from our proposed parish venue. Erstwhile welcome “Healing Masses and Healing Services” now needed a) change in terminology and b) an explicit approval from the Diocese.We are forecasting a warming up of the Diocesan cold front on the Charismatic Renewal. Isolated showers of charisms in Southwest Florida are breaking into scattered thunderstorms of enlightenment accompanied by strong gusts of inspiration and increasingly heavy rains of Gifts nurturing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit by November. (see 2.D. below).

   The Commission has been working with the Chancellor re: the Conference of Charismatic Renewal in the Fall. The Bishop, Holy Spirit willing, would probably celebrate the Holy Mass opening the two-day conference. His Most Reverend’s participation should signal, if not endorsement — yet, Diocesan approval and support of the Charismatic Renewal Movement in Diocese.

   We, in Southwest Florida, have the singular blessing and privilege to have the opportunity Sr. Nancy Kellar mentioned in the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference: “Instead of the Church bringing the Charismatic Movement to us, we should (and We will) the Movement to the Church. And quoting Cardinal Suenens, “charisms of the Holy spirit should not be extraordinary but ordinary …”

4. Bringing renewal to individuals through Baptism in the Holy Spirit:
   As part of the worldwide, Couples for Christ-Foundation for Family and Life, our group conducts Christian Life Seminars (CLS) – legitimate equivalent of the LSS – when/where there is sufficient interested candidates.

   Unfortunately, I am not aware of any graduate or someone having been Baptized in the Holy Spirit during the past two years or so. Seminars have been started but no candidate, as far as I know, has actually persevered to Baptism at CFC, Cape Coral.

5. To encourage the charismatic renewal by promoting local, regional, national conferences: Our prayer community has been attending local, regional, and national CFC conferences. The CFC conferences are specifically CFC-oriented more so than the “generic” mainstream Charismatic renewal. Presently, there are three from our group on the planning Conference Committee 31st-November 1st, this year. The three appetizingly named themselves the “BLT”. Not for the sandwich but as the “Boxed Lunch Team”. The group is ruminating on their culinary country theme song. Willy Nelson’s On the Food Again, Roger Miller’s King of the Food or Robert Gourmet’s Lunch Is Tastier the Second Time Around.
6. To promote the teachings of the Catholic Church and its Magisterium.The veracity and authenticity of Church teachings and the authority of the Magisterium have been, on occasion, challenged by mid-level leadership of one CFC faction.We find it necessary to pro-actively impart Catholic teachings and confirm authority of the Magisterium, after every prayer meeting without detracting from the primary and principal purpose of the meeting, viz., Praise and Worship. These one-page, 5-minute excerpts will be posted in our personal website soon.
7. To encourage believers to use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
8. To nurture the Fruits of the Holy Spirit for the edification and sanctification of the Body of Christ.
9. To print, publish, purchase, sell , donate, or otherwise distribute Christian literature
   We have contacted the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Purchased sets of all 5 leaflets available from the NSC: re: Charismatic Prayer Meetings, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Understanding and Exercising Gift of Prophecy, Prayer Ministry, and Living Baptized in the Holy Spirit.The group will be purchasing Bibles and books of Catechism for individual members.A ‘book exchange” will facilitate circulation of personally owned books/literature among the members. We are waiting for a volunteer with some knowledge of cataloging and circulation to be the turnkey of our Christian library.

   We pray that each and all of us are catalogued in the Book of Life, our page tabbed and dog-eared, marked in Divine Script,
   
   “Well done My good and faithful servant”