What, indeed, did we receive? On March 31, 1521, the redeeming powers of the Cross of Jesus entered our space and time. On March 31, 1521, Holy Mass, the sacramental memorial of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, was celebrated for the first time on the shores of Limasawa Island by the Franciscan Fray Pedro de Valderrama, Magellan's chaplain. Then on April 14, 1521, on the island of Cebu (Sugbu), he baptized the first Christians. Holy Mass and Baptism, these are the foundational sacraments of our Faith!
Last April 14, I concelebrated Holy Mass in Cebu, with our Apostolic Nuncio and Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, to launch the 500th year of Christianity. Last November 17, I celebrated Holy Mass with the Bishop of Maasin and his clergy for the townspeople of Limasawa and spoke at their Eucharistic Congress. To think that I was celebrating Holy Mass, presumably on the very spot that Fray de Valderrama celebrated the first Mass 500 years ago, what an awesome reality! But now the "natives" are no longer pagans, but devout Catholics, led by their Mayor. Limasawa Island of the Diocese of Maasin in the province of Southern Leyte has a population of about 6,190 people. The island is approachable by ferry boats, about one hour and a half from Maasin City. It is being developed as a place of pilgrimage.
At the Limasawa Eucharistic Congress, I spoke on the theme: Gifted to Give. Countless are our gifts for the past 500 years -- our Faith, our beliefs in the Trinity, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the supernatural origins of creation, redemption, and sanctification; the Scriptures, the Church community of lay faithful, Religious Men and Women, priests and bishops; the Sacraments and, let us not forget our Blessed Mother, whose two important Filipino feastdays we celebrate in December, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the first and second Patroness of our country, "un pueblo amante de Maria."
Through 500 years, our country, our families, parishes and dioceses have enjoyed these gifts, a poor country enriched by God's blessings.
Gratitude is our response, but gratitude is not meant to remain as a prayer of the heart. It is meant to be expressed in Mission, in sharing our gifts with others. Already, hundreds of Filipino Religious Men and Women are serving as missionaries in all the continents of the world. Miliions of Filipino Overseas Workers and migrants, such as Tanghalang Anluwage, are likewise demonstrating their firm religious faith. Bishops, Cardinals, and even the Holy Father have remarked to me how lively, joyful, and vibrant our Catholic faith is. I remember the observation of St. John Paul II that we are called to be missionaries in Asia and beyond, proclaimers of Jesus, his Gospel and Kingdom.
And, indeed, we should be. Through Baptism, every disciple of the Lord is also an apostle, one sent in mission who shares and continues the mission of the Lord to proclaim his Kingdom of salvation.
We do not have to go out of our homes and be missionaries abroad. We do not have to say any word. We do not have to preach. The living of a faithful Christian life is a silent but most eloquent proclamation of the Lord Jesus. Our faithful discipleship is a cry from the housetops that the Lord Jesus is central to our life and to our family. Jesus, his Gospel -- the whole Christ-event -- redemption, his Blessed Mother, discipleship, all these and many more are our gifts to share in Mission. We have been gifted. We are called to give.
My prayers and blessings for all the members of Tanghalang Anluwage. May you grow in communion with one another through your novena of prayer to prepare for Christmas in these difficult times of pandemic. Christians of the 1st century, faced with persecutions, looked for help from the Lord. Their plea of confident hope is our own Advent cry, Come, Lord Jesus, come!
+Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo, OMI
Archbishop Emeritus of Cotabato
Philippines
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