Easter Announcement

Last night, the Cathedral was packed with the brothers as we gathered together to hear the Easter Announcement from Father Pius.  It was also an opportunity to see the newly born communities that were formed recently this year.  Unfortunately, the community at the Department of Corrections could not attend due to obvious reasons.  Nevertheless, even in DOC, there was a new community born with 19 brothers.  Agana, Agat, Barrigada, and Tamuning had newly born communities as well.  Agat has 25 brothers in the new community and Barrigada has 34 brothers.  Father Pius pointed out the age group in these newly formed communities.  Although there were a few older people in the new communities, the large majority appear to be in their twenties and thirties and some in their teens. 

During the Easter Announcement, we watched a video of the NCW's recent meeting with the Pope.  Everyone recognized Father Santigo in the film as he came upstage to receive the Pope's blessing.  The NCW cheered and applauded when he appeared on film.  Father Pius also said that Father Santiago's sister was part of the mission family who was sent off to evangelize.  Father Pius pointed out Father Santiago's sister and her family as they approached the Pope, and everyone applauded. 

The video also showed Kiko Arguello giving Pope Francis a gift of his most recent drawings.  A small card showing Kiko's drawing and personal handwritten note (on the back of the card) was also given to all the brothers in the Way.  The Pope's speech to the NCW was also distributed to the brothers. 

“I confirm your calling, I support your mission, and I bless your charism,” the Pope told the group. “It is your witness of life that demonstrates the heart of Christ’s revelation.”  

According to Dictionary.com, "confirm" is defined as: 

1. to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify: 

 

2. to acknowledge with definite assurance:

 

3. to make valid or binding by some formal or legal act; sanction; ratify:

 

4. to make firm or more firm; add strength to; settle or establish firmly:

 

5. to strengthen (a person) in habit, resolution, opinion, etc.:

 

6. to administer the religious rite of confirmation to.

 

Pope Francis confirmed our calling.  What better way to say that the Neocatechumenal Way is indeed Catholic.   

 

Paschalis Sollemnitatis

It was the Congregation of Divine Worship who expressed how saddened they were that the Easter Vigil in many parishes worldwide have become nothing more than a night mass. According to the document Paschalis Sollemnitatis:

However, in some areas where initially the reform of the Easter Vigil was received enthusiastically, it would appear that with the passage of time this enthusiasm has begun to wane. The very concept of the vigil has almost come to be forgotten in some places with the result that it is celebrated as if it were an evening Mass, in the same way and at the same time as the Mass celebrated on Saturday evening in anticipation of the Sunday.

It also happens that the celebrations of the Triduum are not held at the correct times. This is because certain devotions and pious exercises are held at more convenient times and so the faithful participate in them rather than in the liturgical celebrations.

Paschalis Sollemnitatis

The Statutes of the Neocatehcumenal Way states:  

§ 3. In this way, the Neocatechumenate will stimulate the parish to have a richer celebration of the Paschal Vigil.46

Considering that the Vatican was not very happy with the way many parishes were celebrating the Easter Vigil, I highly doubt that the NCW was supposed to follow the Easter Vigil of the parish, but rather that we were the example and role model that the parishes were supposed to follow.  As the Statutes stated, "the Neocatechumenate will stimulate the parish to have a richer celebration of the Paschal Vigil".  It was not the other way around.  

The Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil in the Way takes approximately 6-7 hours. Preparation for the Vigil starts on Saturday morning. The community gets together for morning prayer and then breaks up into groups. Many communities have their Easter Vigil at a hotel. There would be a set up group setting up the place, a cantors practice, and readers practicing the readings and their admonitions on that day. By the afternoon, everything would be set up, and members would go home to prepare for their agape. Some communities do not need to prepare their agapes because the hotel provides it.

The Easter Vigil usually starts at 10:00 or 11:00 pm. The community does not go to the regular parish Mass for Easter Vigil. Why? Because they are at home sleeping.  We need to sleep in order to attend the NCW Easter Vigil.  Those who are in the NCW already know that the preparations have all been set up since Saturday morning after morning prayer. The NCW Easter Vigil also do not start until an hour or two hours after the parish Easter Vigil ends.  And the NCW members know that they need to sleep after the preparation in order to keep awake for the next 6 or 7 hours during the Easter Vigil.  

It is only during Holy Thursday and Good Friday that we attend the parish Mass before going to our own community celebration, which always takes place in the home. And even then, we do not rush out of Church early because the home celebrations have already been set up in the morning.

What I find even more remarkable about the Easter Vigil is that people (especially the youths and the children) stay up for six or seven hours celebrating the Easter Mass. It is a long night, but no one feels the time because everyone (including the young children) participate in the celebration.  Below is a video of children participating in our 6-7 hour Easter Vigil.   

Some Clarifications

Antoine Tajalle wrote the following comment, which can be found here.  (Spacing is mine.)

Antoine TajalleMarch 26, 2015 at 4:14 AM
 

I am not turning a blind eye to the FACT that Fr. Luis was found alone with a 17yr old girl and that he was charged with Custodial Interference. However, there are a few things that I would like to point out that are false and or questionable in the Deacons letters.

1. The statement that the girl and her parents are members of the community that Fr. Luis is presbyter to is FALSE. This implies that the girl and her parents are members of the Merizo Community. There are no couples in the Merizo Community who have a 17 year old daughter.

2. The details as to the exact span of events that led to the incident are QUESTIONABLE. To know exactly the course of events would mean that the informant had to have followed Fr. Luis from Merizo to Southern High, enter the school campus to witness the girl enter the car and hide, then follow them to Subway then follow them all the way to the beach and witness them in the act. Not to mention that this informant would have had to been looking in through the front windshield to clearly see the supposed act because the parish car has very dark tint. If this info did not come from the girl or her parents did it come from Fr. Luis? If it came from GPD then these details would have been in the report. It must have come from a private investigator, a stalker or a very creative mind.

Also, CPS may not have any role in this supposed incident since it did not happen at any home.

The FACT remains that Fr. Luis was charged with Custodial interference after being found with a 17 yr old alone in a parked car. This is the only scandal. Until the Archdiocese and or the Attorney General release any info, it remains just that. I understand that the silence may tempt one to begin speculating but dont deter from the FACTS.

Let us hope that whatever the reason may be that caused Fr. Luis to place himself in a compromise, let us hope that the reason was for the benefit of the girl. Let us stay clear from causing any unneeded speculations.

It is said, "all things shall pass." Let this be our prayer too. I pray that whatever may unfold in the investigations that all are able to accept the reality, heal and move on.

 

In addition to what Antoine stated above, I would like to point out that Deacon Steve Martinez said that it was a person who came to him and told him this information.  I find it suspect that any person would go to a deacon rather than to the police to report such information.  Any person with information of child abuse always turn to the police. These are questions the jungle folks did not ask, but took the jungle's word for it.   When the jungle said that the girl is in the Way, they were brainwashed to swallow that information without questioning it.    

Pope Says: If Laws Don't Lead People To Jesus, They Are Obsolete

In my last entry post, a commenter who goes by the name "delta force" wrote a comment to Keith regarding legalism within the Church, which can be found here.  For those who do not know what legalism is, it is focusing too much on the law that it makes people think that our faith is all about following rules, rather than love for God and our neighbor.  Legalists are those who treat the Laws governing Catholicism with more reverence than the Gospel message the faith is trying to convey.

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If laws don't lead people to Jesus, they are obsolete, pope says

In what appears to be a rebuke to legalism within the church, Pope Francis declared in his morning homily that if laws do not lead people to Christ then they are obsolete.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God’s laws are meant to lead all people to Christ and his glory, and if they do not, then they are obsolete, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.

In fact, the scholars of the law in Jesus’ day were so wrapped up in doctrine as an end in itself, they were unable to see that Jesus was leading people down a new and surprising path toward his glory, the pope said Oct. 13 during his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lives.

Jesus did “strange things,” like “walk with sinners, eat with tax collectors” — things the scholars of the law “did not like; doctrine was in danger, that doctrine of the law” that they and the “theologians had created over the centuries,” he said, according to Vatican Radio.

The scholars were safeguarding the law “out of love, to be faithful to God,” the pope said, but “they were closed up right there,” and forgot all the ways God has acted in history.

“They forgot that God is the God of the law, but is also the God of surprises,” he said.

“God is always new; he never denies himself, he never says that what he had said is wrong, but he always surprises us,” the pope said.

The scholars of the law had forgotten how many times God surprised his people, like when he freed them from slavery in Egypt, he said. They were too wrapped up in their perfect system of laws — “a masterpiece” where everyone knew exactly what he or she was supposed to do; “it was all settled. And they felt very secure there,” he said.

They couldn’t see beyond “this system made with lots of good will,” and they could not read the “signs of the times,” the pope said.

They couldn’t see that what Jesus was doing was a sign indicating “that the time was ripe,” he said. This is why in the day’s Gospel reading (Lk 11:29-32) Jesus said, “This generation is an evil generation,” because it sought the wrong kind of sign, the pope said.

The scholars of the law also forgot that the people of God are a people on a journey, “and when you journey, you always find new things, things you never knew before,” he said. But the journey, like the law, is not an end in itself; they are a path, “a pedagogy,” toward “the ultimate manifestation of the Lord. Life is a journey toward the fullness of Jesus Christ, when he will come again.”

The law teaches the way to Christ, and “if the law does not lead to Jesus Christ,” he said, “and if it doesn’t get us closer to Jesus Christ, it is dead.”

Pope Francis asked people to reflect, “Am I attached to my things, my ideas. Am I closed?”

“Am I at a standstill or am I a person on a journey? Do I believe in Jesus Christ, in what Jesus did,” dying for humanity’s sins and rising again? he asked.

“Am I able to understand the signs of the times and be faithful to the voice of the Lord that is manifested in them?” he asked.

Pope Francis urged people to pray to be able to walk “toward maturity, toward the manifestation of the glory of the Lord” and to have a heart “that loves the law, because the law is God’s.”

But may people also be able to “love God’s surprises and to know that this holy law is not an end in itself,” he said.

 

Going Around In Circles

There has been several comments coming through my blog regarding the liturgy of the Neocatechumenal Way.  I have not published all of them simply because these questions have already been answered, and we are only going around in circles and repeating the same things over and over. I have already given you the answers.  Whether you believe it or not was never my problem.  In fact, even the Archbishop has given the same answer.  We have permission from Rome to celebrate the Eucharist the way we do. 

If you have a problem with the Eucharist of the Way, the only solution I can recommend for you is to write your letters of complaint to Rome.  Continue to write your letters.  If you have Archbishop's Krebs email or phone number, by all means go ahead and contact him.  But please do not tell us that we should follow this or follow that.  We know that you have never even seen the Pope.   The Archbishop, on the other hand, has seen and spoken to the Pope; therefore, we follow him.  I will no longer entertain any comments regarding the liturgy of the Way simply because we are only going around in circles.  I have already given you the answer to your question, and if you are not satisfied, then simply write to Rome or to the Nuncio.  Good luck and God bless.  :-)    

How The Way Helps Families

Neocatechumenal Way : Families are destroyed, causing a phenomenon of loneliness

 

Every four minutes a family in Spain and Italy is broken. This figure demonstrates a major problem with modern society, according to Kiko Argüello. He is the initiator of one of the Catholic Church's largest institutions, the Neocatechumenal Way. It has more than one million members throughout the world. 

 

KIKO ARGÜELLO

Initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way

"Families are destroyed and there is a new phenomenon where people live alone. They're lonely. And being alone makes it very difficult to communicate. Atheists are amazed to see a Christian family. It impresses them. We invite them to eat in a home with seven children and they love it and do not leave. It is ten o'clock at night and do not leave, because otherwise they are alone with a bottle of whiskey. "

 

He says it's an increasingly dramatic problem and that the Neocatechumenal Way tries to offer the right answer.

 

KIKO ARGÜELLO

Initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way

"We must make Christians. If people do not understand what Christianity is, they will never know God. Nobody offers a path to Christianity. We ask the brothers what sense is there in the suffering in your life? Illuminating the suffering is fundamental. Or how you understand your sexuality, or what is your relationship with money? This is educating them in faith. Well, there are parishes where they merely offer masses and social things but not catechism."

 

Just a few weeks ago, the Pope sent 250 families from the Neocatechumenal Way on mission. They are going to places where there are no Christians. Argüello said that on that day, the Pope wanted to show them that the Church was with them.

 

KIKO ARGÜELLO

Initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way

"I showed him the papers saying that we had a meeting in Madrid with two million people in favor of the family. Also the Family Day in Italy. And I said, 'How is it possible that after all we are doing for the family, you have not invited us to the synod? Everybody may think that you are against the Way.' And he told me, 'No. No.'   He wanted to show the whole Church that he is with us. "

 

A million people follow the Neocatechumenal Way, and they are divided into 21,000 communities in 124 countries. The Way is a program of catechesis initiated by Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández in the slums of Madrid more than 50 years ago.

 

http://www.romereports.com/pg160693-neocatechumenal-way-families-are-destroyed-causing-a-phenomenon-of-loneliness-en 

 

Kiko's Theology???

The following statement was made by an anonymous commenter: 

AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 10:32 AM

A number of practices of the movement are not approved by the Holy See. Founding father and founding mother Carmen failed to understand theology and this led to the confusion of their faith which they taught others. As a result today we have a confused church on Guam because of them. Anthony Apuron adopted Kiko theology which ultimately now leads to the archdiocese questioning his ability to lead. Following man made theology is a disaster.

Chuck White who has no degree in Theology has been spreading the false rumor that the catechesis (which was approved by Rome) is NOT Catholic teaching.  In the first place, the Catechetical Directory was approved by the Vatican; therefore, EVERYTHING in it is Catholic teaching.  If there is even one single error, the Vatican would have changed it.  That was the  whole purpose of Kiko turning in those books so that the Vatican can review it and correct it if necessary. 

Furthermore, on June 2013, Kiko Arguello received an honorary doctorate in Sacred Theology by the Catholic University of John Paul II in Poland.  If Kiko was giving incorrect theology, he would not have received this degree.  In his humble way, Kiko stated, "Carmen Hernandez deserves this degree much more than me.  Today I receive this in her place, because it is she who has brought, plus much more, all the paschal theology and has brought us closer to the Jewish people." 

Another person who received this same degree was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  Yes....both Kiko Arguello and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received the same honorary award in Sacred Theology.  Chuck White did NOT and NEVER received any degree in Sacred Theology.  All he did was deliberately misinterpret the Catechetical Directory for the sole purpose of discrediting Kiko Arguello and the Neocatechumenal Way.  Why some people chose to believe a man with no degree in theology is beyond me.  Andrea Riccardi, Founder of the Sant'Egidio Community and Chiara Lubich, Founder of the Focolare Movement were also awarded the same degree. 

Kiko receives honorary doctorate

Kiko Arguello awarded honorary doctorate in Sacred Theology and contribution to family studies.

Results Of The Neocatechumenal Way

The following information was taken from this weblink.  The bold is mine:

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The Neocatechumenate's Charisma and Strength

 

        Before starting their evangelizing activities, Kiko and Carmen asked themselves: where did the strength of the early Church lie, and what accounts for weakness in the modern Church? The answers are to be found in the "Neocatechumenate Way" they eventually mapped out: post-baptismal Christian initiation realized with the methods and forms of the early Church.

            The Neocatechumenate movement has revolutionalized parish life in the churches to which it has been called. No longer do sociological criteria divide groups by age - children, adults, the elderly. Parishes rather become true communities of 30-50 individuals of diverse ages, social conditions, mentalities, and cultural backgrounds, growing together in faith and commitment. These communities act in the parishes with a "tripod" basis of catechesis (as suggested by Vatican II): Word, Liturgy, and Community.

            For the Neocatechumenate movement, the Word implies the proclaiming of the Gospel (Kerygma) anywhere and everywhere; the Liturgy represents the celebration of Faith, within which all the symbols of tradition are remembered; and the Community (Koinonia) signifies the communion between those who have heard the Word and those who live in the unity of love under the sign of the Cross.

            The Neocatechumenate community celebrates Mass with slight variations conceded by the Congregation of the Divine Liturgy and Sacraments (Note of December 19, 1988). After the three Scripture readings and before the homily, members engage in commentary, comparing their readings with their personal experiences. The homily then takes account of the observations made, corrects deviations, and stimulates reflection. Next, as in the Ambrosian rite, is the Rite of Peace. The rite of the Eucharist follows early Christian practices, using unleavened bread and wine. 

            The re-discovery of the liturgy has been a determinant factor in overcoming cynicism and indifference, especially affecting Catholics in the prosperous and comfortable Western world. At present, thousands of parishes have passed from a state of limited activity to one of florid growth thanks to the Neocatechumenate. (In Spain in recent years, there has been a 17.5% growth in parishes with Neocatechumenate leadership). Neocatechumenate communities have been able to overcome two serious problems in today's Church: defections among the young and among couples. 

            In the Roman diocese alone, where 25% of the parishes are Neocatechumenates, 50% of the members are persons 25-50 years - the age group most minimally represented in other Italian parishes. As for couples, the average birth rate in the Roman diocese is 3.11%, considerably higher than the national average of 1.2 children per woman.

            The teachings of Kiko and Carmen are based on two main Scriptural passages. The first refers to love: "As I loved you, so you should love one another... By this love, all will recognize that you are my disciples" (John 13: 34-35).

            The second passage refers to death. In Chapter 2 of the Letters to the Hebrews, it is taught that Jesus Christ has come to "destroy the mediator of death, the Lord of death, i.e. the Devil, and to free those, in fear of death, who were subjected to this slavery during life" (Hebrews 2: 14-15). This victory over death is the essential Christian message Jesus left us, and it is central to the teachings of the Neocatechumenate movement.

Pope: You Make The Church "Sick"..........

I published the following article back in March 1st, but I think it is worth repeating.  You make the Church "sick" if you do not support your bishop. 

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Vatican City - During his weekly general audience on Wednesday Pope Francis said that a Church which does not foster communion with the bishop is unhealthy.

In his remarks to the crowds gathered in Saint Peter's Square on Nov. 5, the Pope called on Christian communities to “nurture a sincere and profound communion” with the bishop, “starting with the priests and deacons.

“There is no healthy Church if the faithful priests, deacons are not united around their bishop,” he said. “This Church not united around their bishop is a sick Church.”..............

Turning to the reading of Paul to Titus read out during the audience, Pope Francis acknowledged it is “not easy” to practice the “many virtues” which Saint Paul commends to bishops, “because we are sinners.”

He therefore asked for prayers that they “can at least hope to be closer to the things that the Apostle Paul advises for all Bishops.”

Of all the “ordained ministries” to which Christ gives rise “in order to build up the Christian community as His Body,” the Pope said the ministry “of the bishop stands out.”

“Assisted by priests and deacons,” the Holy Father said “it is Christ himself who is present” in the bishop, “and who continues to take care of his Church, ensuring his protection and guidance.” In their “presence and ministry,” he added, “we can recognize the true face of the Church: she is our Holy Mother the Hierarchical Church.”

He explained that “the Church exercises her motherhood” through her bishops, priests, and deacons, sustaining the faithful from Baptism until death.

This motherhood is “expressed in particular in the person of the bishop and in his ministry,” the Pope said.

“As Jesus chose the Apostles and sent them out to preach the Gospel and shepherd his flock,” he said, “so the bishops, their successors, are placed at the head of the Christian community, as guarantor of their faith and as a living sign of the presence of the Lord among them.”.........

Awaken The Faith

Awaken the faith

The invitation to "awaken the faith,"
once again bringing the evangelical message among so many "non-Christians," that today because of secularization have forgotten who Jesus is, was addressed by Pope Francis to thousands of adherents of the Neocatechumenal Way, who filled Paul VI Hall in the morning of Friday, March 6th.


Dear brothers and sisters,

Good morning to all of you! And thank you, thank you, because you have come to this meeting.

Peter's task is to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. So you too have wanted with this sign to ask the Successor of Peter to confirm your call, to support your mission, to bless your charism. And I want to confirm your call, support your mission and bless your charism. I’m doing that not because he [pointing to Kiko] has paid me: No! I’m doing it because I want to. You will go forth in the name of Christ into the whole world to bring His Gospel: may Christ precede you, may Christ accompany you and may Christ fulfill the salvation of which you are bearers!

Together with you I greet all the Cardinals and Bishops who accompany you today and who in their dioceses support your mission. In particular I greet the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández, with Father Mario Pezzi: I also would like to express my appreciation and my encouragement for the great benefit they bring to the Church through the Way. I always say that the Neocatechumenal Way is doing great good in the Church.

As Kiko said, our meeting today is a missionary sending, in obedience to what Christ asked us and we heard in the gospel. And I am particularly glad that this mission of yours is carried out thanks to Christian families who, united in a community, have the mission to give the signs of faith that attract people to the beauty of the Gospel, according to the words of Christ: “Love one another as I have loved you; by this all will know that you are my disciples"(cf. Jn 13:34), and "that you may be one so that the world will believe"(cf. Jn 17:21).

These communities, called by the Bishops, are formed by a priest and four or five families, with children including grown-up ones, and are a "missio ad gentes", with a mandate to evangelize non- Christians. Non-Christians who’ve never heard about Jesus Christ and the many non-Christians who’ve forgotten who Jesus Christ was, who Jesus Christ is: baptized non-Christians, but to whom secularization, worldliness and many other things have made them forget their faith. Awaken that faith!

So, even before words, it is with your witness of life that you manifest the heart of Christ's revelation: that God loves man to the point of laying down His life for us and that he was raised by the Father to give us the grace to give our lives for others. Today’s world badly needs this great message. How much solitude, how much suffering, how much distance from God in the many peripheries of Europe and America, and in so many cities of Asia! How much today’s humanity needs, in every latitude, to hear that God loves us and that love is possible! These Christian communities, thanks to you missionary families, have the essential task of making this message visible. And what is this message? “Christ is risen, Christ lives. Christ lives amongst us.”

You have received the strength to leave everything behind and set off for distant lands thanks to a way of Christian initiation, experienced and lived in small communities, where you have rediscovered the immense riches of your Baptism. This is the Neocatechumenal Way, a true gift of Providence to the Church of our times, as my Predecessors have already stated; especially St. John Paul II when he said: "I recognize the Neocatechumenal Way as an itinerary of Catholic formation, valid for society and for our times." (Epist. Ogniquavolta, August 30, 1990: AAS 82 [1990], 1515).
 

The Way is based on the three dimensions of the Church which are the Word, the Liturgy and the Community. Therefore the obedient and constant listening to the Word of God; the Eucharistic celebration in small community after the first Vespers of Sunday, the family celebration of lauds on Sunday with all the children gathered round and the sharing of one’s faith with other brothers and sisters are at the origin of the many gifts that the Lord has given to you, as well as the numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

It is a great consolation to see all of this, because it confirms that the Spirit of God is alive and active in His Church, even today, and that He answers the needs of modern man.

On several occasions I have insisted on the need that the Church has to move from a pastoral ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry (cf. Ap. Exhort. Evangelii gaudium, 15).

How many times, within the Church, we have Jesus inside and we don’t let him out. .... How many times! This is the most important thing to do if we do not want the waters to stagnate within the Church. For years now the Way has been undertaking these missio ad gentes among non- Christians, for an implantatio Ecclesiae, a new presence of Church, where the Church does not exist or is no longer able to reach people. "How much joy you give us with your presence and your activity!" - said Blessed Pope Paul VI during the very first audience with you (May 8, 1974: Teachings of Pope Paul VI, XII [1974], 407). I also make these words my own and encourage you to go forward, entrusting you to the Blessed Virgin Mary who inspired the Neocatechumenal Way. She intercedes for you before her divine Son.

My dearly beloved, may the Lord accompany you. Go forth, with my Blessing!

 

Contradiction In The Jungle

There appears to be some contradiction in the jungle.  According to Tim Rohr, Jonathan Bordallo was not kicked out, but left on his own.  Rohr wrote (the bold is mine): 

I've been hearing that Jonathan Bordallo is saying that I kicked him out of the meeting last week in Agana.  For the sake of his personal credibility I sure hope Mr. Bordallo is not saying that and that others just have the story wrong.

As everyone who was there knows - at least 60 people - I invited Mr. Bordallo to the front to give his speech and then I sat down.  As he began to speak about Msgr. James I asked him if he had spoken with Msgr. James. When he said no, the crowd began protesting.

One attendee stood up and said that we should all be thankful to Mr. Bordallo because "we just learned more about the real problem in 5 minutes listening to him than we did in listening to Tim for an hour." 

Mr. Bordallo then left without my help.

I am posting this here because if my account is not true then I have just damaged my credibility and the credibility of this blog forever. 

http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/03/tim-rohr-kicked-me-out.html


And then the very next day, Tim Rohr wrote (the bold is mine): 

Ms. Cottman, take Pius and go! before the people rise up and throw you out like they did to Mr. Bordallo last week. Go find some place else to destroy and let us put ourselves back together. Oh, and give us back our hotel on your way out.

http://www.junglewatch.info/2015/03/pat-cottman-archbishop-apuron-is-failure.html

So, which is it????  Did Jonathan Bordallo left on his own or was he thrown out??  So much for the jungle's credibility.  They never could get their stories straight.  At least, we do not change our story.  When we say that we received oral instructions, that has not changed.   

"Move Forward" - Pope To NCW

The following article was written by Pat Cottman:

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“MOVE FORWARD” - POPE TO NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY

Pat Cottman

“A true gift of Providence … that does great good to the Church of today.” With these words Pope Francis reiterated his validation to the members of the Neo-catechumenal Way, who last Friday March 6th, crowded the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. The occasion was the blessing of   the Pope to the 220 families of the Way, ready to go on a mission to all nations, from Thailand to Papua New Guinea, from Australia to France, from Ukraine to Vietnam.

There are already 1,100 families with their 4,600 children spread throughout the five continents. Fathers, mothers, children, who felt called to leave home and establish themselves in areas where Jesus Christ and his Gospel have not yet found roots in the local culture or where Christianity is not as vibrant as before.

"Reawaken faith"

One could perceive the joy of Pope Francis who embraced – literally - these Neo-catechumens who plainly exhibit a generosity and love for Christ that is admirable.  He was full of warmth and gratitude to the Neocatechumenal Way that matures this type of vocation, the "missio ad gentes": "You have received the strength to leave everything behind and set off for distant lands through a process of Christian initiation, experienced and lived in small communities, where you have rediscovered the immense riches of your Baptism. This is the Neocatechumenal Way, a true gift of Providence to the Church of our times.” Indeed, these families are the fruit of the tree that is the Neocatechumenal Way.

Before he gave his speech, Pope Francis listened to the presentations done by the initiator of the Way, Kiko Argüello. These missio ad gentes are “communities, called by the Bishops, formed by a priest and four or five families, with children including grown-up ones, with a mandate to evangelize non-Christians”. They ‘relocate’ to these places with a mission, namely to announce the Resurrection of Jesus, the message of which the world today, says the Pope, desperately needs: “Today’s world badly needs this great message. How much solitude, how much suffering, how much distance from God in the many peripheries of Europe and America, and in many cities of Asia! Today, in every latitude, humanity greatly needs to hear that God loves us and that love is possible! These Christian communities, thanks to you missionary families, have the essential task of making this message visible. And what is this message? “Christ is risen, Christ lives. Christ lives amongst us… Reawaken that faith!”

 Amongst the 33 priests who will be responsible of a missio ad gentes in Japan is Father Santiago Flor, who for many years served as pastor in Chalan Pago. During this event, he received a special cross from the Pope. His married sister, with her family, was sent to Thailand.

Strong Endorsement of the Pope

Applause punctuated the speech of Pope Francis. His initial sentence was very clear. "I always say that the Neocatechumenal Way does a great good in the Church (...) I now confirm your call, I support your mission and bless your charism."

There are many "gifts" that God has bestowed upon you, says the Pope, amongst them the numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, but above all Christian families: "Seeing all this is a consolation, because it confirms that the Spirit of God is alive and active in his Church, even today, and that He meets the needs of modern man. On several occasions I have insisted that the Church has to move from a ministry of simple conservation to a decidedly pastoral missionary. How many times, in the Church, we have Jesus in and not let him get out ... How many times! This is the most important thing to do if we do not want the water stagnating in the Church. "

The Pope wanted also to endorse explicitly the three pillars of this Neo-catechumenal Way - the Word of God, the "Eucharistic celebration in a small community after the first Vespers of Sunday Liturgy” and the community.

Interviewed immediately after this meeting, Kiko Argüello, the initiator of the Way, expressed his joy by saying, “We are amazed by the love he (the Pope) has shown us!  Maybe someone thought that after all those beautiful and positive things he said, there would be a "but”. Instead there was no "but"…” And then he continued, “Today there is a need for something new and I can say that the Way fulfills this mission with great creativity, showing an original form of presence of the Church in the world…God is so good to us”

Like his predecessors, Blessed Paul VI, St. John Paul II, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis has once more given the Church's blessing to the work of evangelization that the Neocatechumenal Way has brought forward for almost half a century across the globe, above all through the families.

Pope Francis concluded, "How much joy you give us with your presence and your activity!" - said Blessed Pope Paul VI during the very first audience with you (May 8, 1974). I also make these words my own and encourage you to move forward, entrusting you to the Blessed Virgin Mary who inspired the Neocatechumenal Way.  May she intercede for you with her divine Son.  My dearly beloved, may the Lord accompany you. Go forth, with my Blessing.”

BOX : I  confirm your call, I support your mission and I bless your charism.

 

 

 

Pope Francis among Neocatechumenal Way members, smiling.

 

The Mission Families Speak Out

Neocatechumenal Way mission families: We will give as freely as we have received

Excitement, laughter and uncertainty. Those were the range of emotions during an encounter with Pope Francis.

 

These are members of the Neocatechumenal Way. They met with the Pope because he has sent 250 families on mission. Many will go to places where the Church is not very active, like China, India or even Europe. Mercedes and Laure are headed to Mukachevo, Ukraine.

 

MERCEDES AND LAURE

"Where there is war, we bring peace with joy. We are happy because it was random. They said Ukraine and our names. We are happy and content. We will go wherever the Lord wants to take us...To give freely what He has given to us.”

 

Alberto and Sonia, however, already lived in Serbia for four years.

 

ALBERTO AND SONIA

"We were very afraid when we arrived, thinking every day that we will die. But that did not happen. God leads our lives.”

 

The new missions are composed of three or four families, a priest, a seminarian and two single women. The Neocatechumenal Way has more than 90 "missio ad gentes" like these throughout the world.

 

During the meeting, Pope Francis blessed crucifixes that 31 priests will carry in their new missions. Father Manuel Capa will be responsible for the new mission in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

MANUEL CAPA

Priest of the new mission in Stockholm

"I felt humbled and very loved at the same time. Love from the Church and love from God through the Holy Father has assured me in this calling and in this mission."

 

The complicated feelings are common in these new missions. A sense of uncertainty can prevail, especially in the smaller ones.

 

LAURA

"I did not know how to feel at the start of my trip.”

 

She said that the ability to learn a new language and make friends in a new country outweighs the costs.

 

LAURA

"It was difficult at first but later teachers helped me and got me to learn."

 

From now on, these families have a single mission: to speak about God in their new homelands. They will do this in countries where God has been forgotten or never arrived.

 

http://www.romereports.com/pg160634-neocatechumenal-way-mission-families-we-will-give-as-freely-as-we-have-received-en