The leader of the island's Catholic faithful addressed his flock last night, finally shedding light on his pastoral visit.
While he's been noticeably silent on this and other controversies facing the church in recent history, he spoke from the pulpit and used his voice to call for unity from followers, reminding them of the virtue of forgiveness.
And the message seemed to be well received, as parishioners indicated a renewed sense of direction.
"In my pastoral visit, I have seen the suffering of our people and the longing to be healed and made whole again it is our strength. We are and must be supportive in this way and those who support us and work with us are here represented here today. I realize that many people are hurting and suffering and I myself have my share of pain this is our church and coming together which we must do allows us to get healed let us all help in the process we all make mistakes because we are all too human, but God is among us and always he is the one who can bring us together for healing."
This was the message Archbishop Anthony Apuron shared with hundreds of the Catholic faithful who gathered Wednesday evening to participate in the Chrism Mass, an annual religious service in which the archbishop blesses the sacred oils for the catechumens, the oil for the sick and the oil of the chrism. As we have reported over the course of a year controversies have emerged from within the church to include the removal of Father Paul Gofigan as pastor of Santa Barbara Church in Dededo, and the removal of Monsignor James Benavente as rector of the Cathedral Basilica. But in last night's the chrism mass both were present as the celebration which holds a special meaning.
Archbishop Apuron officiated jointly with all priests as a sign of their unity.
By the end of the mass parishioners like Ivan Babauta and Rosalee Santos, who've watched the controversies within the church over the past several months, saw hope.
Babauta said, "I believe it was very inspirational he spoke about our Catholic faith and that as human we are not perfect and we need to forgive one another and you know the main thing is putting Jesus Christ first not serving man but serving God." And Santos added, "I think it is just absolutely beautiful. I received a word of love and compassion that the Lord is always good and loves us all even if we are sinners I think it is beautiful. I think so I have always felt that the archbishop is the vicar of our church and we should be obedient to him this is my firm belief I think it is beautiful tonight because there is a sense of forgiveness and truly love from the Lord. The Lord loves us so much that we really should love each other."
http://www.kuam.com/story/28701750/2015/04/02/possible-healing-within-guams-catholic-church
Amen!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 10:58 am,
DeleteEven when it does happen, you still won't believe it simply because you chose not to.
I attended the Chrism Mass on Wednesday, and I was happy to see our Parish priests, deacons, and the seminarians. Unfortunately some of the Parish Priests and most especially a couple of deacons were a bit stiff and appear to be stoic during the Mass. It is so sad that they acted in this way. On the other hand the seminarians seem to be comfortable with one another. I have to really pray hard for patience, compassion, and most especially for love for Deacon Martinez. He has truly disappointed me, truly. His actions this pass weeks really indicated that he has no love for our Church.
DeleteDon't judge me Diana...I said I will believe it when I see action on AAA's part. Don't tell what I will or will not do.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 2:00 pm,
DeleteYou stated: "Don't tell what I will or will not do."
Well......in case you did not notice........I just did.
ReplyDeleteDiana's real name is Liz.
Dear Anonymous at 5:44 pm,
DeleteI assure you I am not Liz. I do not even know who Liz is.
Diane, the NCW is heretical. Kiko's theology is not Catholic. Chuck explained it very well.
DeleteChuck WhiteApril 6, 2015 at 6:04 PM
Did you know that the word "trinity" only appears once in the body* of the 427-page English version Volume I of the Neocatechumenal Catechetical Directory?
"All of this he has fulfilled in Jesus, since he, brothers and sisters, really entered with human nature into the divinity, into the Trinity. He has achieved transcendence, he has been resurrected by God and he has entered into the Promised Land." pp. 217-218, 10th Day
What do you think?
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* for those that quibble, the word "Trinity" appears only one more time, in a quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a footnote on page 152. But only once in the body of the text.
Hello Diana,
ReplyDeleteI don't often visit the blogs, but felt you should clarify an article written by a Jonathan Del Rosario Jr., written in the PDN, "Neocatechumenal Way Gone Astray". He quotes a Father Enrico Zoffoli. Unfortunately, Mr. Del Rosario, not sure if intentionally or not, failed to note that Fr. Zoffoli passed away in 1996, before Saint pope John Paul asked for the review of the statutes and 12 years before the statutes were approved. He also failed to note that Fr. Zoffoli was a GLBT supporter. These are 2 critical pieces of information that the readers should be aware of.
Si Yuus Maase.
Dear Anonymous at 5:59 am,
DeleteThe article in today's PDN stated: Rome has told the group twice to cease and desist from its doctrinal presuppositions".
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20150406/OPINION02/304060011/Neocatechumenal-Way-gone-astray
Where in any of the Pope's speech did it tell the Neocatechumenal Way to "cease and desist" from its doctrinal presupposition?????
I do not believe Del Rosario article is worth answering to.
ReplyDeleteIt is a rehash of an article he wrote for the Saipan Tribune last week.
Regurgitation of the same vomit.
The article is poor, inconsistent, out dated, obviously written by someone who has no clue that Pope Francis himself recently praised highly the Neocatechumenal Way, and it is just an excuse to attack absurdly our Archbishop.
Poor editorial policy of PDN to even publish it. It is unbelievable how PDN filters all articles in favor the Neocatechumenal Way and puts front page any and all articles against the Neocatechumenal Way and Archbishop Apuron. Speaking of an obvious agenda….
There is a great opportunity to ease up on the tension and reconcile all Catholics under the umbrella of peace, faith and unity. This is the time NOW! What are you waiting for?
ReplyDeleteDo you want the devil entrap your souls for eternity? Please, say NO, firm and loud! There is absolutely no reason to withhold our love from our beloved Church. Otherwise the benefits of the precious sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb will have been wasted on anger, hatred and individual egotism.
Look at the great pain of Him, who gave you reason to have compassion for His Church and share love in His Kingdom. Therefore be considerate and sensible. This is the time NOW. (The same message is posted at the other blog, as well.)