A brother in the Neocatechumenal Way allowed me to use his testimony in a post. His comment is found here.
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Peace!
My name is Antoine Tajalle and I am from the parish of San Dimas.
As we all know San Dimas had Father Mike Crisostomo for many years. The news of his transfer to Toto was not taken lightly, but then who wouldnt in any case? He was down here for many years. We were so comfortable with him that initially we all had planned that we would follow him to Toto. In fact, I did.
I have always looked and sought guidance from Father Mike, even to this day. Recently I chatted with him the day before the Prayer Service, I had some hesitations on attending and needed a word of encouragement but yes, I a "neo" attended the Prayer Service.
Well after the transfer of Father Mike, we all began the speculations on what exactly we will see unfold in our Parish.
1. A "neo" will be assigned.
-Indeed it happened, Father Wolchek was the 1st neo priest to be assigned to San Dimas.
2. Our Divine Mercy Chapel would cease, since the "neos" dont believe in the Eucharist.
-The Chapel is still open to this day, One of the First things that was encouraged of me by my "neo" Catechist was to frequent the Blessed Sacrament, If I could get to an Exposed BS then even better.
3. We will eventually become a "neo" parish.
-To this day I dont understand the difference.
The team of catechists did a couple rounds of catechesis and I ignored them all. I was recovering from an illness, directing the choir in San Dimas and eventually I was teaching Confirmation at Toto after removing myself from this now "neo" parish. I guess it wasnt my time. Forgot to mention top it off I was already a "brother" in the Cursillo.
Eventually I gave it a shot. I was also looking for something at the time and was experiencing a moment of spiritual dryness but at the same time living my faith as if I was okay. I thought to myself if I gave the Cursillo a chance I must give the NCW a chance, especially since I had grown accustom to despising anything "neo". It was in fairness that if I were to continue to judge the NCW, I should do it from the view of a person who has "tried" it out, rather than a person who heard this from someone who heard this from someone....get my drift? Well here I am today, a sinner, who wishes to tell the Archbishop to go ahead and discard all the nasty emails that I sent him all those times I did not understand something that was happening in our church. I want to apologize to the Communities of Barrigada who celebrate at the Chapel in Canada, for me driving up there with other ministers and placing judgement on their "weirdness" when we would park outside and spy on them dancing after their Eucharist.Today I would rather pray for our church. We have reached a milestone in our church where the "boat is being rocked" and no one likes this. This shaking of the boat is good, it can only make us stronger. Suffering brings families and communities together as seen at the prayer service and the many campaigns of support to all the clergy and also to the Archbishop.Fortunately, I rally behind the Archbishop because his YES has allowed me to now experience the NCW in its fullness. I am now blessed with an Itinerary of Faith that encourages me to celebrate the WORD of God alive in me, I now approach the LITURGY of the Church where I am given this taste of Heaven on Earth and God blesses me with a COMMUNITY to live in praise and simplicity like the Family of Nazareth.
Continued...
As for the Cursillo, at the Prayer Service held on the Cathedral steps I reminded and explained to the wife of the President of the Cursillo, that even if I am in a Community, I would still like to be informed of activities within the Cursillo, I would love to continue my support, it seemed that as soon as people found out about my involvement with the community, all info was discontinued towards me. This may just be coincidence or an error but I mention this because I realize how the Cursillo may be of help to others and I would love to contribute to this. I also share this because being in the NCW does not mean that I can no longer be a part of other movements, groups within the church.
As Christians we must rise above what we are experiencing within our church. We must continue to pray. There is definitely something that must be worked out but it does not help to be all crowded in a small room yelling at each other, nothing will be communicated. Am I yelling in this post? No, this is not my intent.
My Intent is to support the Archbishop and encourage everyone to unite in prayer.
*you may use this as a comment or as a new blog entry to encourage the support of others towards our Archbishop. Thanks!
Are there new invitations at any parishes?
ReplyDeleteNice, but it still does not make it right to lie, cheat, steal, or defame.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 5:33 a.m.,
DeleteI agree. Lying, cheating, and defaming are all sins, which God does not approve. But God still loves us. God loves all sinners, and He died for sinners.
But we cannot sin, and we are not sinners since man is not capable of offending God? Isn't that a kiko teaching . So who are the sinners? I notice you did not use "us" sinners and only wrote sinners.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 7:46 a.m.,
DeleteAll you have to do is come to the catechesis and listen for yourself to see if we actually teach that we are not sinners. You are even welcome to browse through my entire blog. You will find that not one NCW member ever say that he/she is not a sinner.
God loves all sinners and died for all sinners. That means He loves and died for you and me.....all sinners.
Anon 7:46AM Kiko never ever said that we are not sinner because we can't offend God. You picked this up from the Jungle and a hate Italian blogger. What was said is it possible to offend God? No cause he is the creator and he is powerful to take up our sins. Again, twisting the night away. Stop already. No Kiko did not claim he is sinless. This is slander.
DeleteNo thanks, not my cup of tea. Don't need it. My faith is good and strong it was through good nurturing and education. All the stories do marriage infidelity, drugs, suicide- maybe it was Gods way of purging? The youths and young adults who have attended 4 world youth days as part of the NCW and are "walking" are a big turn off as well. They are all "holy holy" and then post pictures of drunken binges, partying, sex talk etc on social media- I don't need to be surrounded by bad fruit or influences. My kids and grandsons are doing fine.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 8:10 a.m.,
DeleteAll you had to say was "No thank you. It is not my cup of tea." and leave it at that. The person who wrote this testimony was only expressing his experience of what he found in the NCW and wrote nothing negative about you. The fact that you had to put in your negativity says where this division is really coming from. God bless you and we will pray for you, your children, and grandchildren.
Went to World Youth Day and posting photos only proves one thing. The devil exists. Don't be so quick to blame the youth in the NCW. Those who aren't members are the same.
DeleteIt's only because of your hatred towards the NCW that you make stupid bias comments like this. You have grandkids?! Then GROW UP!!!
God bless you Antoine. I am happy that your Neo community has improved your spiritual health. However, the Archbishop's decisions have been to force the Neo down people's throats. It is wrong to get rid of priests who have been successful in helping others grow spiritually. Fr. Paul, for example, was not removed because of the sex offender. I know the real reason and Diana, herself, admitted indirectly it was his refusal of accepting the Neo at Santa Barbara. It is wrong to remove Msgr. James or put a gag order on Fr. Mike who only wants to speak the truth. It is wrong to demand priests or deacons to make a choice of join the Neo or face repercussions. It is wrong to deny an aspiring priest that the only choice you have is to be a Neo priests. I understand that the Neo has helped you but it is not the only way to enter our Lord's kingdom. The Archbishop was chosen to lead his entire flock and not a select few. I hope he realizes that he is the cause of this division because of his personal agenda. What works for him might not work for others but do not force it down our throats, especially to priests that have good intentions. I pray that he follows what he usually ends his letters with " Servus Tu'us", serve your flock and not yourself!
ReplyDeleteYour Cursillo Brother
To the Cursillo brother of Antoine
Deletethe Shepard does take take of the flock but his mission is to is not centered within but to seek those who gone astray....lost. The church needs to be missionary.
I have indeed invited many people to the catechesis and there are those who dont find it their "cup of tea". This is understood. In regards to those youth that you speak of, it is totally understood that they are human and although it is the hope of every individual to become a saint we cannot forget the seed of the devil that has been planted in our hearts. There can be two things that happen when we sin, First, we involve ourselves in the games and lies of the devil and this pulls us further from God, the more we sin the more we feel we are a disgrace to God so this moves us further and further away, or we are a sinner that accepts the reality of our tendencies but also believes in the Mercy of God. I hope we are the latter. I dont think anyone in the NCW denies the fact they have sinned and will probably do so in the future. We need to come to turns with our humanity and face the realities involved. This can be a "turn-off" to some but we must be encouraged by the Saints themselves, they too were sinners but now we honor them with all the Holy Ones. How we wish that we were like the Blessed Mother to be chosen at birth to a pure vessel of our redeemer? Nonetheless, God chooses us again in our day and age to become the vessels of himself, His Word, so that we can bring the Good News to the Ends of the earth. What is the Good News? That God Loves You, A Sinner! How do we spread the Good News? We live it!
ReplyDeleteAntoine - I understand your passion and love for the Church. But as a fellow parishioner, do you really see and understand what is happening in front of you? Do you really believe that Archbishop is right to do what he did and must continue on the same path as what he is doing now?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, you do not see or you don't want to see things he has done. For myself, I respect the office that he holds....no longer the person holding that office. Office he holds as the Archbishop or bishop is given to one who promises to carry the work of St Peter and his successors. Many bishops have failed to do this job and were let go as shown in history. It's very much our dear Archbishop is heading on that path of failure. Catholic Church will and always will be forever.....movement such as the NCW is only an ancillary....Catholic faith will go on with or without it. Same goes with all Bishops....they can be replaced...but the Catholic Faith will always be alive!
In 1969 Pope Paul VI, with serious misgivings, published Memoriale Domini and opened the fateful door to communion-in-the-hand. He stated that the traditional way of receiving on the tongue was preferable, and then spelled out the threat to Holy Communion with very specific warnings:
ReplyDelete"A change in a matter of such moment, based on a most ancient and venerable tradition, does not merely affect discipline. It carries certain dangers with it which may arise from the new manner of administering Holy Communion: the danger of a loss of reverence for the august sacrament of the altar, of profanation, of adulterating the true doctrine..."
All of the pope’s misgivings have come true. The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Savior is frequently being treated with disdain and irreverence; communion-in-the-hand has opened the door to trivialization, sacrilege, abuse and indifference. The vast majority of Roman Catholics no longer kneel to receive Him, and a significant percentage of Catholics no longer recognize the Holy Eucharist as the Real Presence.
As Memoriale Domini dictates, Rome firmly respects your right to receive on the tongue and encourages you to do so. No priest in the world has the right to refuse communion in the traditional manner.
-http://www.communion-in-the-hand.org
This is why the NCW has got it all wrong. They are receiving the source and summit of our faith irreverntly and with much abuse. Abuse of the Lord's body is a most heinous crime. If they can abuse Him we cant expect much from them.
Dear Anonymous at 11:33 p.m.,
DeleteWhen an epidemic flu hit the United States, the receiving of the Body of Christ by hand became much more preferable rather than by the tongue. Also, the Church changed the sign of peace. Rather than shaking hands with the people to simply giving them the "peace" finger. This was done to eliminate the spreading of disease. The life of a person is more important than the Memoriale Domini.
anonymous, there is only one church. To understand Anotoine's passion is nothing. You have to experience it. You have to live it. I didn't choose Anthony Apuron to be Arch Bishop, the head of our church. Its apparent you didn't either but maybe we can agree that only God chooses and that he is always right.
ReplyDeleteDear Cursillo Brother and Annon@5:20pm
ReplyDelete1. The NCW was never forced upon me and it is not being forced upon anyone.
2. Yes the Archbishop should be held accountable for his actions if he is wrong in any of them. The only ones dishing out accusations against him are those who already had an agenda to rid our church of him. The Successor of Peter is the Pope and the case of Fr. Paul has gone to Rome for his review, have we heard anything saying that the Archbishop was wrong? Nope. The issue with Msgr. Benavente, have we heard anything on that one too? Nope.
What we are hearing are attacks from a select few of our local church who really dont have the best interest of our church in their hearts. If they did have the interest of the church(Gods People) they would not be approaching this in a manner that is evident on the other blog (junglewatch). Tell me how christian are the comments over on that end? Not much.
I didnt want to judge anyone or anything but we have to be realistic here. We are undermining the Archbishop in accusing him of being at the mercy of the NCW. He does have a mind of his own. If he was wrong in any decision that he made, he will surely feel the consequences but until then who do we believe? what do we do? We Pray! Pray! and Pray even the greater for our entire church not just our friends but also our enemies.
Indeed the Catholic Church will be Alive because God will be with us always to the end of time.
What about Fr. Mike your beloved pastor? Aaron Quitugua, The Filipino priest( Fr Manny/June, the permanent deacons who admitted that it is requirement to join the Neo. Like I mentioned, it is not the only path to our salvation.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 9:43 a.m.,
DeleteFirst of all, the Way cannot bring salvation. Only God brings salvation. The Neocatechumenal Way has been known to help people in troubled marriages and the youths. Why is it that Father Mike, the Filipino priest, and Aaron Quitugua (who is pursuing the priesthood) against something that can help some of their flock?
They were requested to walk so they can also use this Way to help some of the couples who have troubled marriages, the youths, and many others to rediscover their baptismal promises.. Also, the Filipino priest who complained of lack of attention.....the Way can also help him. A priest walking in a community would find it difficult to be lonely because the community relies on him.
I understand that the Neo can help people who are experiencing problems but so can other groups( Cursillo, Marriage encounter, Couples for Christ, Divine Mercy etc.) I don't have nothing against the Neo and I am happy it has helped you and many others. However, they should be given a choice without facing any repercussions. What works for some might not work for all. There are many other groups that our leader can encourage our clergy to participate in. It doesn't have to be limited to one.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 10:2 a.m.,
DeleteIn the case of a priest, he is different because he promised to be obedient to the Archbishop. Therefore, the Archbishop can tell a priest to go here or to go there. The laity, on the other hand, do not have to join the Way.
Archbishop never REQUESTED....HE DEMANDED for US to JOIN the NCW or else...best we leave the island. This is what he said EXACTLY. These words clearly does not reflect the Office he is supposed to uphold. He is supposed to be the Bishop of a Catholic Church...not the NCW.
DeleteThis is plain English....forcing NCW down our throats.
If you cannot understand this...then nothing I will say will make sense to you, Diana and to all that walks the Way.
Our dear Archbishop has been brainwashed by someone or something because some of his actions and words no longer fit his character as a true Bishop.
Dear Anonymous at 11:39 a.m.,
DeleteWhen you said "He demanded for US"......I assume you must be a priest or a group of priest under "anonymous." The Archbishop gave you a choice. You can join the Way by opening up your parish to the NCW or say good-bye to your parish within a year. Pick which one you want.
If you read the Holy Bible.......and I am sure you do.... you will find that sometimes God will tell us things we do not really want to do. For example, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.
And yet Diana when ABAA is in front of the Papal Nuncio the Archbishop and Fr. Adrian both apologize for these "misunderstandings" about the requirement to join the NCW as a prerequisite
DeleteNo other Catholic Diocese in the WORLD requires it's diaconate candidates and budding seminarians to join the NCW.
Why did ABAA and Fr. Adrian BACK PEDAL IN FRONT OF AUTHORITY if they were so RIGHTEOUS in their position? If the Bishop's word is law to his clergy then why did he change his position on the matter when the Vatican came to town?
Diana same with Jonah.
DeleteTo Anon 11:39AM. Are you a Priest under this Archdiocese of Agana? If so, you like it or not. You made an OATH with the Archbishop. You sound like you refuse and now you disobey. That's how the cookie crumble.
Dear Destruction,
DeleteThey apologized for those misunderstandings because those clergy misunderstood. They thought they were being forced to when actually they were given a choice. They had two choices: 1) Walk in the Way as you open your parish to the NCW or 2) say good bye to your parish after one year. Take your pick!
Diana, I thank you very much for exactly proving my point!
DeleteDiana,
ReplyDeletePeople have set their minds already, we cannot change it with any response we have to offer. I learned a great lesson yesterday, the affection of friends caused me to believe that they would know that I was telling the truth in my experiences of the NCW, did they believe me? Nope. Now the persecution continues. I have been removed from existence all because of my involvement in the NCW. We wonder who is causing division? Not me. Not the NCW.
Obedience is the only point. We are either obedient to the church as priest's and laity or not. Yes or no. Opinions and excuses are the devils work and I don't believe we have legal counsel durng our day of judgement.
ReplyDelete