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SuLU

Mother of Good Counsel Seminary


An InterdIscIplInAry JournAl of theology And phIlosophy
Marian Devotion and Liturgy in the Churchs
Evangelizing Mission in Asia
Josefna M. Manabat, SLD
Veneration of Saints in Popular Religiosity
Fr. Oliver G. Yalung, SLL
The Paschal Mystery in Hans Urs von
Balthasars Trinitarian Theology
Fr. Jesus B. Layug, Jr., SThL
Becoming-Religion: A. N. Whitehead
and the Process Metaphysics of Religion
Fr. Kenneth C. Masong, PhD
Book Reviews:
Evangelization for the Third Millennium
Israel Enero C. Camara
Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the
Communion of Saints
Jowel Jomarsus P. Gatus
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
ISSN XXXXXXXXX
Pamisulu comes from the Kapampangan word sulu meaning light (in
the sense of a bonfre or a torch) and the prefx pami- which means
sharing or being together. The word pamisulu
suggests the dual meaning of sharing around the light of
fre and sharing the very fre itself. The journal Pamisulu
seeks to be an avenue for a communion of ideas in
theology and philosophy. It seeks to embody the mutual
interaction of a searching faith and an open reason.
Pamisulu is a refereed, print, and open access journal
published bi-annually by the Graduate School of
Theology and the Faculty of Philosophy of the Mother of Good Counsel
Seminary, San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines.
Pamisulu:
an interdisciplinary journal of
theology and philosophy
Graduate School of theoloGy
faculty of PhiloSoPhy
Mother of Good counSel SeMinary
uniSite, del Pilar, San fernando, PaMPanGa 2000
PhiliPPineS
telefax: +63.45.963.5463
eMail: registrar.mgcs@gmail.com
iSSn:
coPyriGht 2011 Mother of Good counSel SeMinary
PAMI
editor
Fr. Kenneth Masong, PhD
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL BOARD
PhiloSoPhy
Andre Cloots, PhD, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)
Mark Joseph Calano, PhD, Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines)
ScriPtureS
Teresa Kuo-Yu Tsui, SThD, National Chengchi University (Taiwan)
Fr. Victor Nicdao, SThD, Mother of Good Counsel Seminary
(Philippines)
church hiStory
Fr. Jose Femilou Gutay, OFM, HED, Our Lady of Angels Seminary
(Philippines)
canon law
Msgr. Edgardo Pangan, JCD, Mother of Good Counsel Seminary
(Philippines)
liturGy
Josefna Manabat, SLD, San Beda College (Philippines)
Fr. Oliver Yalung, SLL, Mother of Good Counsel Seminary
(Philippines)
Moral theoloGy
Fr. Roland Tuazon, CM, SThD, St. Vincent School of Theology
(Philippines)
doGMatic theoloGy
Fr. Daniel Franklin Pilario, CM, SThD, St. Vincent School of Theology
(Philippines)
Fr. Lope Lesigues, SThD, Fordham University (USA)
EDITORIAL STAFF
aSSociate editorS:
Ranniel Soriano
Dave Andrew Valencia
BuSineSS ManaGerS:
Mark Airho Manio
Raymond Emilie Garcia
lay-out artiStS:
Al Manacmul III
Mark Christopher De Leon
Table of Contents
From the Editor 7
Marian Devotion and Liturgy in the
Churchs Evangelizing Mission in Asia 11
Josefna M. Manabat, SLD
Veneration of Saints in
Popular Religiosity 29
Fr. Oliver G. Yalung, SLL
The Paschal Mystery in Hans Urs von
Balthasars Trinitarian Theology 50
Fr. Jesus B. Layug, Jr., SThL
Becoming-Religion: A. N. Whitehead
and the Process Metaphysics of Religion 57
Fr. Kenneth C. Masong, PhD
Evangelization for the Third Millennium
Dulles, Avery, SJ 73
Review by: Israel Enero C. Camara
Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary
in the Communion of Saints
Johnson, Elizabeth A. 77
Review by: Jowel Jomarsus P. Gatus
Table of Contents
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
PAMISULU
7 | PAMISULU
From the editor:
ON WRITING
In thinking, one gives birth to ideas from the womb of the eternal.
In writing, one salvages these born ideas from the fragility of memory and
inscribes them in the enduring passage of history. That which is written
is written to be remembered so that in remembering, one may continue to
celebrate the singular birth of an idea.
We belong to the generation of the text. From among friends and
acquaintances countless text messages are sent to and fro; innumerable
emails are transmitted across the globe; tweets and facebook shoutouts
are posted for the anonymous public. This is but a fraction compared to
the books published, news and magazine articles written, both in printed
and digital format. Since writings birth in pre-historic pictographs, to
the ancient scripts and now the modern written symbols or graphemes,
writing has become a symbol not only of the human need to
communicate (for such can be achieved by the spoken language), but of
the equally human need to remember that which is communicated. The
intimate link that exists between writing and remembering is attested to
in historyall because we can speak of history in a global and long-term
sense precisely because of the perennial presence and testimony of the
text.
Such scenario is not foreign to the discipline of philosophy
and theology. The dialogues of Plato, at least the earliest ones, try to
immortalize the philosophic conversations spearheaded by Socrates who,
fortunately or unfortunately, has not left us with a personal inscription
of his own ideas. The Christian Scriptures in general, and the Gospels in
particular, also immortalize the sayings and deeds of Jesus who, like
Socrates, never left us a text of his very words (ipsissima verba)save
perhaps that single account of Jesus writing on the ground in the event
of the woman caught in adultery (cf. Jn 8:6). However, the very text
written is forever lost to us. Indeed, the Hebrew Scriptures are
replete with instances of writing in order to remember and celebrate the
utterances and the mighty deeds of YHWH. After the breaking of the
frst tablets of the Law, the Lord instructed Moses to prepare two stone
tablets again. Write down these words, for in accordance with them
I have made a covenant with you and with Israel (Ex 34:27). Also,
when Joshua won against the Amalekites, the Lord instructed Moses
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concerning their victory, Write this down in a document as something
to be remembered (Ex 17:14).
In remembrance lies the secret to redemption. These words
attributed to Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) points to the importance of
writing in the economy of salvation. Nowadays, the saying is often quoted
in view of the Holocaust memorial signaling the moral that in forgetting
one is bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. But the moral dwells not
simply in the negative warning. We dont simply remember lest we forget.
We also remember in order to celebrate and make real again that which we
recall and inscribe in writing. The rituals, gestures and spoken words in
the Eucharist summarize the recollection and celebration of the Paschal
Mysteries. These manifold textualizations of the redemptive sacrifce
of Christthe inscription of the Christian eventum tantum into texts-in-
actionis an immortalization of the past to be forever celebrated: Do
this in memory of me (Lk 22:19; also I Cor 11:23-26).
The possibility of an inscription of an idea or event into texts-
in-action, or better yet, into performatives, is a singular grace of religion,
particularly Christianity, in its sacramental theology. What is highlighted
in the importance of Scriptures in Sacramentology is not simply the
recollection of the Word of God that entered into time and space in
the history of the Israelites and the Christian religion. It is not a mere
remembering of what has happened. In taking up the Word, the
sacrament makes real that which was real before in history into the
here and now of the present. In the sacramental action, the performative
character of the word of God becomes actual. Hence, Benedict XVI insists
in his latest Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation that the People of God
ought to be educated to discover the performative character of Gods
word in the liturgy in order to help them to recognize [Gods] activity in
salvation history and in their individual lives (Verbum Domini, 53).
To link writing with remembrance is only one-dimensional.
Perhaps there is an other to which writing is a necessary correlate. One
can discover this in the writings of the great St. Augustine of Hippo (354-
430). In one of his sermons Augustine wrote, I endeavor to be a man
who writes while he progresses, and who progresses while he writes
(Epistulae 143). For Augustine, he writes not simply to record the
development of his own ideas and the progress of his life and
ministry. The very act of writing is also performative. To write is to do
something. To write is to progress. Here, writing becomes a condition for
the advancement of oneself. Augustine eschews the static view of writing
where we write simply to record events, ideas and details: a logbook
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mentality. Rather, writing is active. True to the present progressive
verbal tense of the word, writing is dynamic. This performative character
illustrates how writing becomes a tool for self-refection, that is, we
write to crystallize our thoughts to ourselves. It becomes a tool for self-
assessment for in objectifying ourselves to ourselves, we more
easily and dispassionately evaluate our actions, attitudes and aspirations.
Furthermore, in writing, we set ourselves various purposes. It is not
simply an activity to record the past, writing can become a tool to make
our goal, which lie in the future, normative to the present. In the true
spirit of spoken performativity in Rom 4:17, one can speak of writing
things into existence.
Writing as celebratory remembering and performative
progressing underlies why this topic was taken as the academic theme of
the school year 2011-2012 at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary. The
intellectual formation of the seminary necessitates the appreciation of
writing as testimony of the past. But this appreciation needs to create
a room for writing as an instrument for self-advancement in the
confguration of candidates according to the heart of the Good Shepherd
(cf. Jn 10:11). It is opportuneand providentialthat the maiden issue of
Pamisulu is published within this academic year where writing becomes
an object and condition for intellectual formation. Although the frst
issue contains articles from the professors in the Graduate School of
Theology and the Faculty of Philosophy, it is envisioned that
seminarians and other learners and researchers in the ecclesiastical
sciences may soon contribute scholarly articles to this interdisciplinary
journal.
The choice of Pamisulu as the name for the journal is both
illustrative and programmatic. Colloquially, the Kapampangan word
pamisulu means to gather together and share a meal, exemplifed
in the Tagalog meaning of a salu-salu. Looking into the etymological
derivation, pamisulu comes from the word sulu which means light, and the
prefx pami- which suggests sharing or to distribute. Pamisulu then
becomes illustrative of an academic ambience of a sharing of ideas in
both theology and philosophy. Like people gathered around a campfre
on a dark night, this interdisciplinary journal seeks to become an avenue
for inquiring people to share, exchange and debate on their ideas and
refections on the one light of faith and reason. Programmatically, the
people behind the journal believe that there is only one light, sulu, by which
we see, under which we stretch out, and which we contemplate as lovers
of wisdom and prophets of God. Despite the distinct and sometimes
differing discourses of philosophers and theologians, the light shared and
refected upon fow from the same source (cf. Jas 3:11). The proper object
10 | PAMISULU
of faith and reason is one, that is, the Truthwhat differs is the stance
we take before this Truth: on the one hand, a searching faith, on the other
hand, an open reason.
In this spirit of sharing the light, the articles in this issue
manifest a balance between praxis and theoria, between the practical and
the speculative. The frst two articles deal with issues in liturgy and
popular religiosity. It is well-known that Philippine piety is
markedly Marian in character. The Filipino people is un pueblo amante de
Maria. Precisely because of this strong devotion to Mary, according to Dr.
Manabat, sometimes popular piety needs to be re-aligned and purifed
according to norms of liturgical worship in order to highlight
Marian devotion as a means in the Churchs evangelizing mission in Asia.
Dovetailing on the issue of popular religiosity and its importance in
Filipino culture, Fr. Yalung inquires into some local sanctoral devotions
or forms of veneration of saints, particularly in the province of
Pampanga. He highlights their religious signifcance and certain
deviations, putting them in their proper liturgical perspectives. The last
two articles are speculative in character. On the one hand, Fr. Layug
revisits the Paschal Mystery in the current revival of Trinitarian thought,
particularly in the aesthetic theology of the Jesuit theologian Hans
Urs von Balthasar. The Paschal Mystery is the revelation in time of the
immanent Trinitarian life of the eternal God. Fr. Masong, on the other
hand, argues that in the contemporary conceptual landscape, there is
a re/turn to religion, but religion here is now grounded on a different
metaphysics, one exemplifed in the philosophy of Alfred North
Whitehead. The affrmation of the inherent dynamism of religionthe
Church understood as ecclesia semper reformandarequires a revisit of the
metaphysics that underlies ones concept of religion.
These four writings constitute a record, a testament, of the
authors ongoing theological and philosophical refection. They narrate
not simply what the authors have thought about, but also charts the
trajectory of their thinking concerning their various interests. It is hoped
that in publishing them, readers may come to share in the glimpse of the
light being offered. May these articles stir up one to think, refect, ponder.
Hopefully, in the end, may one be inspired to write something because of
theseperpetuating the very life of writing itself.
Fr. Kenneth C. Masong, Ph.D.
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Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
MARIAN DEVOTION AND LITURGY IN THE
CHURCHS EVANGELIZING MISSION IN ASIA
1

Josefna M. Manabat, SLD
In his encyclical Ecclesia in Asia (n. 51), the late Pope John Paul II
recalled a statement made by the Synod Fathers at their Special Assembly
for Asia in 1998: Asian Christians have a great love and affection for Mary
revering her as their own Mother and the Mother of Christ. He noted,
moreover, the presence of hundreds of Marian sanctuaries and shrines
where not only the Catholic faithful gather, but also believers of other
religions too.
2

Indeed, the phenomenon of a vibrant Marian devotion in
this part of the world would never escape notice with its various
manifestations that are embedded in the religious cultures and
consciousness of our people. In the Philipines alone, such manifestations
include numerous parishes, barrio chapels, shrines, and oratories
dedicated to her,
3
not to mention the innumerable institutions and
establishments like schools, hospitals, and even business and sports
facilities, named after her or after one of her many titles and invocations
.4

Notable too are the various practices of devotion like novenas, Block
Rosary, visits to Marian shrines in rural and highly urbanized areas alike.
Who has not seen frst hand the fervor with which novenas to the Mother
of Perpetual Help are held every Wednesday not only in her central shrine
in the Redemptorist Church of Baclaran but practically in every church all
over the archipelago?
The Filipino celebration of Christmas has acquired a distinct
trait emanating from the nine-day dawn Masses (popularly known as
Aguinaldo or Simbang Gabi Masses) preceding the Solemnity of Christmas
itself. Celebrated as votive Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, these
dawn Masses accord Filipinos with the experience of having the Blessed
Mother as special companion in eagerly anticipating the feast of the birth
of her Son. Popular devotion too has its share in making Mary

1
A paper given at the ASIA-OCEANIA MARIOLOGICAL CONFERENCE (AOMC)
held in Lipa City, Philippines on September 12 to 16, 2009 on the theme MARY AND THE NEW
EVANGELIZATION OF ASIA: Forerunner, Witness and Fullness.
2
John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia In Asia on Jesus Christ the
Saviour and His Mission of Love and Service in Asia (New Delhi, India: November 1999), n. 51.

3
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Pastoral Letter Ang Mahal na Birhen
on Mary in Philippine Life Today (Manila: February 2, 1975), n. 6. [Henceforth: Ang Mahal na
Birhen.]
4
Ibid.
12 | PAMISULU
conspicuously visible in the celebration of Christmas with her fgure
indispensably present in the belen or the nativity scene found not only
in churches and homes but also in malls and town squares. And how
about the dramatic re-enactment of Mary and Josephs search for an
inn in which to give birth to the Son of God, known in the Philippines
as Panunuluyan? Holy Week and Easter too have their share of such
distinctive Marian favor. She fgures in the Way of the Cross, in the
recollection of the Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross, and in the
Good Friday evening procession in her fgure as Mater Dolorosa
following the image of the dead and buried Christ (Sto. Entierro). We could
go on and on but we certainly will never run out of illustrations of such
fervent devotion to the Mother of God.
However we do not wish to dwell only on the observable
facts. We would like to look beyond what is obvious and see what lies
underneath that provides the source and foundation for such
manifestations of warm and fervent devotion to the Mother of the Savior.
Such devotion emanates from sincere veneration of her who was not only
introduced to them as the Mother of God but whose love and protection
they have experienced in some personal way as from their own
Mother, both individually and as a people. This veneration has
consequently taken deep roots not only in their history as a people but
also in their hearts
5
and has become a positive and powerful force in and for
their Christian life.
6
Together with other forms of popular religiosity, and
by no means the least, forms of Marian devotion have provided occasions
for the faithfuls deepening in their understanding of the Christian faith
and for their growth in liturgical life and participation.
7
Marian devotion
provides a concrete mode in which Christianity is incarnated in our
people, deeply lived by them, and manifested in their daily experience.
8
It
has led to the special closeness with which Christians regard the Blessed
Virgin as their own Mother and intercessor.

As well as being called a Christian nation, Filipinos love to be
called a Marian nation. They have an instinctive awareness that the
Christian faith was introduced to them and they were initiated into it in
the context of devotion directed to both Christ and his Mother.
9
As the
Philippines was initially evangelized in the Christian faith through forms
of Marian devotion so shall she continue to be evangelized through the
same fervent and authentic devotion to Mary. Devotion to Mary has been
5
Ibid., n. 97.
6
Ibid., n. 65.
7
Ibid., n. 70.
8
Ang Mahal na Birhen, n. 70.
9
Ang Mahal na Birhen, n. 72.
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a potent factor that preserved our faith and has provided the occasions
for deeper and fuller evangelization of the Catholic faithful.
10

However, the reality of Marian popular piety in the Philippines
is not without its shadows. The otherwise bright horizon against which
Marian piety fnds itself is at times dotted with elements that need to
be purifed and re-aligned with orthodox faith and practice. Some forms
of popular Marian devotion are sometimes penetrated into by certain
syncretistic and superstitious elements. In some other instances, the
Marian piety found among our people lacks the necessary foundation
in the Christian faith and genuine religiosity that it fails to have a real
bearing in their behavior, decisions, and outlook in life. Marian
popular devotions are often exploited for show and touristic
purposes, not to mention the two malaises that creep into the use of
religious articles associated with Marian devotion. The attractiveness of
medals, rosaries, scapulars, stampitas and votive candles is exploited for
commercial purposes, as the simple-minded among our people regard
them as magic charms possessing miraculous healing and sometimes
apotropaic powers. Moreover, the fervor with which Marian devotional
practices are kept is too often left unmatched by equally fervent efforts
to ground such devotion on adequate understanding of the person of the
Blessed Virgin Mother and her role in the redemptive mission of her Son.

A concomitant problem is the failure to see the proper
relationship between Marian popular religiosity and the Churchs liturgy.
In many instances, the importance of these popular forms is
overestimated practically to the detriment of the Churchs liturgy
11
the
result of which is paradoxically the impoverishment of Marian piety.
True Marian piety, after all, fnds its richness in its rootedness in and
orientedness to the Paschal Mystery of Christ which is celebrated and
made present in a most excellent way in the liturgy.
LITURGICAL WORSHIP AND MARIAN DEVOTION:
THEIR PROPER RELATIONSHIP
The key to striking a correct harmony between liturgical
worship and Marian devotion is a sound understanding of their
proper relationship. In maintaining that the faithful assimilated the true
Christian spirit by drawing from its primary and indispensable source,
which is active participation in the most holy mysteries and from the

10
Cf. Ibid., n. 73; Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (Vatican City: December 2001), n. 46.

11
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 51.
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solemn public prayer of the Church, Pope Pius X, at the beginning of the
twentieth century, asserted the objective superiority of the Liturgy over
all these forms of piety, their distinction, and their relationship.
12

On its part, the Vatican II Liturgy Constitution also sought to
clarify the relationship between the Liturgy and popular piety. It is not
one of contradiction, equality, or of substitution.
13
On one hand, the
Constitution declared the unquestionable primacy of the Sacred Liturgy
and the objective subordination and orientedness of pious exercises to
it.
14
Even the laudable quest to make Christian worship more accessible
to contemporary man, especially to those insuffciently catechized, should
not lead to either a theoretical or practical underestimation of the primary
and fundamental expression of liturgical worship, notwithstanding the
acknowledged diffculties arising from specifc cultures in assimilating
certain elements and structures of the Liturgy. Solution to such
diffculties should be sought with patience and farsightedness and not
withsimplistic remedies that may lead to the overestimation of the
importance of popular piety to the detriment of the Churchs Liturgy.
On the other hand, the Liturgy Constitution also emphasized
the validity of forms of popular devotion if they harmonize with the
liturgical seasons, accord with the Sacred Liturgy, are in some way
derived from it, and lead the people to it (SC 13). Recognition of the
primordial importance of the Liturgy, and the quest for its most
authentic expressions, should never lead to the neglect of the reality of
popular piety, or to a lack of appreciation for it, nor any position that
would regard it as superfuous to the Churchs worship or even injurious
to it.
15
It has to be candidly accepted that popular piety itself, especially
that which is directed to the veneration of the Holy Mother of the Lord,
is an ecclesial reality prompted and guided by the Holy Spirit.
16
Rather
than being mere expressions of excessive sentimentalism, certain forms
of popular piety are manifestations of authentic and legitimate spiritual
aspirations.
12
Pope Pius X, Motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini (22.11.1903)
13
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 50.
14
Ibid.; cf. SC 13.
15
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 50.
16
Cf. John Paul II, Homily at the Celebration of the Word in La Serena (Chile), 2, in
Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, X/1 (1987), cit., p. 1078. Cf. Directory on Popular Piety and the
Liturgy, n. 50.
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THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN LITURGY
AND IN POPULAR PIETY
the Commemoration oF the Blessed Virgin
mother oF god in the liturgy.
Nowhere do we fnd a more excellent veneration of the Holy
Mother of God than in the celebration of the Liturgy, above all, in the
celebration of the Eucharistic Mystery, in the Divine Offce, in the
celebration of the Sacraments and Sacramentals, and in the observance
of the various feasts and seasons of the Liturgical Year. In all of these,
her being united to her Son by a close indissoluble tie is brought out in
the various texts proclaiming her singular dignity of being the Mother of
the Son of God, beloved Daughter of the Father, and Temple of the Holy
Spirit (LG 53).
in the euCharistiC CeleBration.
17
The singular honor accorded
to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the celebration of the Eucharist is seen
especially in its euchological and lectionary texts. On the euchological
side, deserving frst mention are the Eucharistic Prayers, both ancient and
new compositions, which express such affectionate commemoration of
the Blessed Virgin. With the ancient Roman Canon, or Eucharistic Prayer
I, for example, the Church fondly honors the Mother of the Savior in terms
that combine doctrinal precision and ardent devotion: In union with the
whole Church we honor Mary, the ever-virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our
Lord and God. In turn, with the Eucharistic Prayer III the Church prays
as a People that longs to share in the glorious destiny of the Mother of
their Lord and who is also their own: May he make us an everlasting gift
to you [the Father] and enable us to share in the inheritance of your saints,
with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God. It is but ftting that the Eucharist,
being the most sublime celebration of the mysteries of salvation worked
by God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, must necessarily recall the Holy
Mother of the Savior united indissolubly to these mysteries.
18

The reform accomplished by the Second Vatican Council on the
Lectionary Readings for Mass has resulted to a richer fare of Old and
NewTestament readings concerning the Blessed Virgin. This numerical
increase has not however been based on random choice: only those
readings have been accepted which in different ways and degrees can be
17
Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus for the Right Ordering and Development
of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Rome: February 2, 1974), n. 10, 12.
18
Congregation for Divine Worship, Letter Orientations and Proposals for the Celebration
of the Marian Year 1987- 1988 (Rome: April 3 1987), n. 19. Cf. SC,103; LG, 53, 57.
16 | PAMISULU
considered Marian, either from the evidence of their content or from the
results of careful exegesis, supported by the teachings of the Magisterium
or by solid Tradition.
19
Three types of readings form part of the
Lectionary to honor her and her role in the redemptive mission of her
Son:
20
a) readings from both the Old and the New Testament that relate
to the life or mission of the Blessed Virgin Mary or that contain prophecies
about her; b) readings from the Old Testament that from antiquity have
been referred to Mary, for in the perspective of the venerable Fathers of
the early Church, certain events, fgures, or symbols of the Old Testament
foretell or suggest in a wonderful manner the life and mission of the Blessed
Virgin Mary; and c) readings from the new Testament that, while not
referring to the Blessed Virgin, are assigned to the celebration of her
memorial in order to make clear that all the virtues extolled in the
Gospelfaith, charity, hope, humility, mercy, purity of heartfourished
in Mary, the frst and most perfect of Christs disciples.
Our consideration of the special honor accorded to the Blessed
Virgin in the celebration of the Eucharist will be sorely defcient without
mention of the promulgation in 1984 of the Collection of Masses of the
Blessed Virgin Mary by the Congregation for Divine worship with the
approval of Pope John Paul II. The Collectio comprises principally the texts
for Marian Masses that are found in the propers of the particular
Churches or of religious institutes or in the Roman Missal (Sacramentary).
21
Intended for use in Marian shrines where Masses are celebrated
frequently and in ecclesial communities that on the Saturdays in Ordinary
Time desire to celebrate a Mass of the Blessed Virgin, the Collectio seeks to
promote celebrations that are marked by sound doctrine, the rich
variety of their themes, and their rightful commemoration of the saving
deeds that the Lord God has accomplished in the Blessed Virgin Mary
in view of the mystery of Christ and the Church.
22
The formularies are
characterized by doctrinal richness and are a happy synthesis between
the best tradition and the best creativity; a prayerful resonance of the
Magisterium of the Church and of post-Conciliar theological refection
on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
23

19
Marialis Cultus, n. 12
20
International Commission on English in the Liturgy (tr.), Collection of Masses of the
Blessed Virgin Mary 2: Lectionary (Praenotanda), n. 3.
21
Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1, n. 20.
22
Ibid., n. 19, 21.
23
M. Aug, Maria nella Celebrazione del Mistero di Cristo, in Liturgia. Storia,
Celebrazione, Teologia, Spiritualit, Milano 1992, 300.
17 | PAMISULU
in the other saCraments and saCramentals.
24
Expressions of
affection and trustful confdence in the Mother of the Lord are likewise
found in the celebration of various sacraments and sacramentals. In the
celebration of Baptism, the Church invokes her, the Mother of God, before
immersing candidates in the saving waters of baptism.
25
Upon mothers
who have just given birth, grateful and joyful for the gift of motherhood,
the Church invokes the Blessed Mothers intercession.
26
Upon those who
embrace the religious life and those who commit themselves to the life
of consecrated virginity, the Church invokes Marys motherly assistance
and presents her as model in living out their sacred vows and state.
27
For
those who have come to the hour of their death and for those who have
departed from this world into the eternal Light of Christ, the Church
prays fervently for the Blessed Mothers intercession.
28
Upon those who
mourn the loss of their loved ones as well, the Church invokes Gods
consolation and comfort through the prayer of the Blessed Mother.
29

in the diVine oFFiCe.
30
Eloquent expressions of devotion to the
Blessed Virgin are not also lacking in the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine
Offce. They are in the form of hymns that exemplify fnest works of
poetry and artistry, of antiphons that express profound admiration of
and affection for her, or of prayers of intercession especially at Lauds and
Vespers which, although addressed to the Father or to Christ, express
trusting recourse to the Mother of the Savior. To these could be
added compositions by authors of various epochs, truly part of the literary
treasure of the Church, offered as hagiographical readings on her feasts.
Finally, we can not forget to mention the Churchs use of Our Ladys
Canticle or the Magnifcat in the daily celebration of Vespers to express
her thanksgiving for the gift of salvation, a custom that is praised by Saint
Bede the Venerable in his homily that we read on the Feast of Our Ladys
Visitation: Therefore it is an excellent and fruitful custom of holy Church
that we should sing Marys hymn at the time of evening prayer.
24
Marialis Cultus, n. 14.
25
Rite of Baptism for Children, n. 48; Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, n. 221.
26
Cf. Rituale Romanum, Tit. Vll, cap. III, De benedictione mulieris post partum.
27
Cf. Ordo professionis religiosae, Pars Prior, 57 and 67; Ordo consecrationis
virginum, 16; Cf. Ordo professionis religiosae, Pars Prior, 62 and 142; Pars Altera, 67 and 158; Ordo
consecrationis virginum, 18 and 20.
28
Cf. Ordo unctionis infrmorum eorumque pastoralis curae, 143, 146, 147, 150. Roman
Missal, Masses for the Dead, For dead brothers and sisters, relations and benefactors, Collect.
29
Cf. Ordo exsequiarum, 226.
30
Marialis Cultus, n. 13.
18 | PAMISULU
in the liturgiCal year.
31
It is perhaps in its chapter on the
Liturgical Year that the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
articulates most eloquently the focus and intent of the singular honor
that the universal Church reserves to the Blessed Virgin: In celebrating
the annual cycle of the Lords mysteries, the Church honors with
special love Mary, the Mother of God, who is joined by an inseparable
bond to the saving work of her Son. In her, the Church holds up and
admires the most excellent effect of redemption and joyfully
contemplates, as in a fawless image, that which the Church itself
desires and hopes wholly to be (SC 103). I will surely exceed the time
allotted for my presentation if I attempt to be even just fairly exhaustive
in illustrating how closely is the Mother commemorated together with
her Son in the annual cycle of his mysteries. I will therefore be contented
with a couple of illustrations. In Advent, for example, the Church fnds
in Mary a Companion and Model for the appropriate way to wait for
the long-promised Messiah, as ample liturgical reference is made to her
especially in the second part of Advent, that is, December 17-24. The
Sunday immediately preceding Christmas calls to mind the ancient
prophecies concerning the Virgin Mother and the Messiah and Gospel
passages that speak of the imminent birth of Christ and of his Precursor.

At Christmas, as the Birth of the Savior is commemorated with
joy-flled solemnity, the Church both adores the Savior and venerates
His glorious Mother. Then, also, as the Church celebrates Gods gift of
salvation for all peoples on the feast of Epiphany, the Church
contemplates both the universal Savior and the Blessed Virgin, the true
Seat of Wisdom and true Mother of the King, who presents to the Wise
Men, for their adoration, the Redeemer of all peoples (cf. Mt. 2:11).

mary, model oF the ChurCh in liturgiCal Worship. Another
singular signifcance of the Blessed Virgin in the Churchs Liturgy is that
she embodies the necessary and proper interior disposition with which
the Church and, indeed, every individual Christian should have in order
to fruitfully celebrate and live out the mysteries of redemption: attentive,
contemplative and active presence, generous concern for the rest of the
world and humanity, and openness to the eschatological fulfllment of all
that humanity hopes for.
To the Christian faithful at worship, Mary stands as model in
listening to the Word and taking it to heart; in praising and thanking
God who has done great favors to oneself and to the rest of humankind; in
bringing Christ and his gifts of joy and salvation to all that one meets, in
31
Marialis Cultus, n. 2-11.
19 | PAMISULU
praying and interceding for the needs of all, in nourishing the life of grace
which one receives through the sacraments, in offering oneself in union
with Christs offering of himself to the Father, in imploring the coming of
the Lord, and in waiting for it with vigilance.
32
mary, model oF liturgiCal spirituality. Liturgical spirituality
is that in which ones disposition and experience at liturgical worship
with its elements of texts, rites and feastsis the point of reference and
primary determining factor which orders and shapes all the elements of
ones Christian life and pursuit of perfection.
33
For this, Mary is not only
an example for the whole Church in the exercise of divine worship but is
also, clearly, a teacher of the spiritual life for individual Christians.
34
Her
spiritual attitude at worship comprising those dispositions mentioned in
the preceding paragraph was translated into her fat to the will of the
Father in all the other moments of her lifefrom the annunciation by the
Angel until the foot of the Cross. Thus, since early on in the life of the
Church, the Christian faithful have always looked to Mary and imitated
her in making their lives an act of worship to God and making their
worship a commitment of their lives. Hers was that worship that consists
in making ones life an offering to God. For this, it was to the example of
the Blessed Virgin that the saintly bishop St. Ambrose referred his fock
in encouraging them to glorify God by a life that embodied an acceptable
worship to God: May the heart of Mary be in each Christian to
proclaim the greatness of the Lord; may her spirit be in everyone to exult
in God.
35

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN POPULAR RELIGIOSITY
Popular religiosity, noted Pope Paul VI in his Encyclical
Evangelii nuntiandi, shows a hunger for God that only the simple and the
poor can possess; it makes people capable of being generous and of making
sacrifces to the point of heroism, when it is a question of manifesting
ones faith; it brings with it a deep sense of the profound attributes of
God: paternity, providence, loving and constant presence; it generates
interior attitudes rarely observed in other places to the same degree:
patience, sense of the cross in daily life, detachment, openness to others,
and devotion.
36

32
Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship, Orientations and Proposals for the Celebration of
the Marian Year 1987-1988 (3 April 1987).
33
Cf. C. Vagaggini, Theological Dimensions of the Liturgy, Collegeville 1976, 661.
34
Marialis Cultus, n. 21.
35
St. Ambrose, Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, 11, 26: CSEL 32, IV, p. 55; S. Ch.
45, pp. 83-84. Cf. Marialis Cultus, n. 21.
36
Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi on Evangelization in the Modern
World, n. 48. (Henceforth: EN).
20 | PAMISULU
It is indeed with such simplicity and poverty of spirit that the
faithful acquire an insight that makes it easy for them to perceive the
intimate link between the Savior and his Mother in whom he entrusted
his Church as he hung upon the Cross. Popular Marian piety that is
manifest among masses of Asian people has no diffculty seeing the
exceptional immaculate holiness of the Virgin Mother. The poor, the
simple, and the suffering can easily identify with her as one who, like them,
was poor, went through untold suffering on account of the role she played
in the redemptive mission of her Son, but who was patient, lowly, and
undauntedly hopeful in the face of all situations. They come to her without
hesitation and confdently implore her help and protection as one who is
at the same time the glorious queen in heaven and one who is very close
to them, personally knowing their concerns. They identify with her in her
sufferings at the crucifxion and death of her Son, and rejoice with her at
his resurrection.
Such identifcation and special closeness translate into a
devotion so fervent that they celebrate her feasts with joyful enthusiasm,
participate willingly in processions, visit and pray in her shrines, devoutly
sing in her honor, and offer her votive offerings. They will not tolerate
anyone who would do her any offense nor take those who do not honor
her into their confdence. The various forms of Marian devotion provide
the ambit in which the Christian faithful feel free to let out their ardent
affection and trustful recourse to the Blessed Mother. Popular devotion
to the Blessed Virgin Mary is no doubt an outstanding and universal
ecclesial phenomenon with a great variety of expressions and very
profound motivation, which is no less than faith in and love for Christ, her
Son. The Church, no wonder, encourages such a personal and community
devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary expressed in approved and
recommended pious exercises.
37

However, in acknowledging the many positive values of popular
religiosity, Pope Paul VI also adds a note of caution against its exposure
to infltrations of many perversions of religiosity, like superstition and
syncretism, and against piety that does not embody an authentic
adherence in faith.
38
On account of this, the Magisterium has laid down
the fundamental principle by which to guide the faithful in the practice
of various forms of Marian devotion: they should be derived from the
one worship which is rightly called Christian, because it takes its origin
37
Cf. Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium on the Church (LG), n. 67; Decree
Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 18; Decree Optatam totius, n. 8; Decree Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 4.
38
Cf. EN 48.
21 | PAMISULU
and effectiveness from Christ, fnds full expression in Christ, and leads
through Christ in the Holy Spirit to the Father.
39

Moreover, in the practice of various forms of Marian devotion,
the faithful are enjoined to have constant recourse to Sacred Scripture,
as understood in Sacred Tradition; not overlook the demands of the
ecumenical movement in the Churchs profession of faith; consider the
anthropological aspects of cultic expressions so as to refect a true
concept of man and a valid response to his needs; highlight the
eschatological tension which is essential to the Gospel message; make
clear missionary responsibility and the duty of bearing witness, which
are incumbent on the Lords disciples.
40
The Liturgy is the best school
in which these values that should characterize Marian devotion are
learned.
LITURGY AND MARIAN DEVOTION IN THE CHURCHS
MISSION OF EVANGELIZATION
After a brief survey of the elements and characteristics of the two
expressions liturgical and popular of love and veneration of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, we can only agree that an accurate reading of the Vatican II
Liturgy Constitutions articulation of the relationship between the two
expressions of Marian Piety, that is, the Liturgy and popular devotion
is not one of contradiction, equality, or of substitution.
41
While the
Constitution is unfinching in affrming the primacy of the Sacred Liturgy
over forms of popular religiosity in expressing the singular affection and
honor that the Church reserves for the Blessed Mother, it is also with great
solicitude that she recommends such popular forms of Marian piety for
the Christian faithfuls observance, particularly those that are in accord
with the sacred Liturgy and in harmony with the liturgical seasons, for
which they have been given ecclesiastical approval.
This having been said, what I see should be the last part of
my agenda in this paper is to offer some points to consider in view of
making both liturgical and popular expressions of Marian piety more
effective and fruitful in the Churchs evangelizing mission in our
continent.
39
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 186, cf. Marialis Cultus, Introduction.
40
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 186, cf. Marialis Cultus, n. 8.
41
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 186; Marialis Cultus, n. 50.
22 | PAMISULU
A. the need to puriFy marian deVotion oF seCularistiC
and superstitious motiVes
The strong natural appeal of Marian devotion to the Christian
faithful is a potent opening for the evangelization of the Catholic
faithful in Asia. Its various forms that are found in great abundance in
both rural and urban communities could be venues to bring people to a
clearer knowledge of and commitment to Christ, provided that these are
not coming from and are kept free of motives that are less than noble. On
one hand, they must not be organized and maintained for utilitarian
agenda as what happens with the Flores de Mayo (or Maytime fower festival)
and the Santacruzan in many places in the Philippines. Turned into beauty
pageants and fashion parades, these are taken advantage of for
commercial and touristic purposes devoid of any spiritual meaning and of
a genuine manifestation of faith. On the other hand, the Catholic faithful
should be led to acquire a correct understanding of and attitude toward
things and places that are connected to Marian devotionnot to
ascribe magical and apotropaic powers to these but to see them as concrete
reminders of the closeness of the Blessed Virgin to her children and of the
reliability of running to her for help and protection.
B. the need to take adVantage oF Forms oF marian
deVotion to eduCate the FaithFul in the Faith
A number of popular forms of Marian piety provide effective
venues not only for the faithful to express their affection toward her and
their trustful recourse to her in times of need. They also possess great
potentials for providing context for the formation of the faithful in the
Christian faith, not to mention the community-building and family bond
ing opportunities that these provide. One way to capitalize on this
potential is to take great care in directing the minds of the faithful,
through homiletics, catechesis, and the use of liturgical art, to the
particular mystery in the life and mission of Christ to which a Marian
feast is connected.
In the Philippines, the Block Rosary devotion, the Barangay Sang
Birhen, and Marian Missions held in various dioceses provide ample
occasions for catechesis of the faithful for which some of the capable
ones among the laity may be trained to give some catechetical
instruction in collaboration with the pastors. And then, a possibility
which, on a personal note, I have a special interest in is that which is
provided by the observance of May as Marian Month. In the Philippines,
in particular, this is in the form of a month-long Flores de Mayowell-loved
23 | PAMISULU
as a Marian devotion which, unfortunately obscures the celebration of the
Fifty-day Easter because they coincide in great part, considering that the
Paschal seasons stretches from March or April to late May or early June.
The content of this Mayfower devotion could, however, be harmonized
with the content of the Fifty-day Easter. The Blessed Mothers
participation in the Paschal Mystery (cf. John 19, 25-27) and in the
Pentecost event (cf. Acts 1, 14), with which the Church had her
beginnings, could be emphasized. A witness to the resurrection of her
Son, the Blessed Mother journeys with the Church under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, since in the mind of the Church, the
Fifty-day Easter is a period during which those who have received
Christian initiation during the Easter Vigil are to be given mystagogical
catechesis,
42
even for those of us who have received baptism years ago
but who renewed our baptismal commitment on Easter Vigil, the
Fifty-day Easter could also be a mystagogical period during which
intensifcation in Christian life could be pursued by paying greater
attention to the well-planned lectionary and euchological program of
the Easter liturgy. The faithfuls daily visit to the Church to pray and
offer fowers to the Blessed Mother could provide the occasion for this
mystagogical teaching, if planned well.
43

While popular Marian piety has adopted May and October
as Marian Months, the four-week Advent is what the Roman Liturgy
provides as the month of the Blessed Virgin par excellence. It is an
example of a Marian time that has been incorporated harmoniously into
the Liturgical Year. The Philippine Church has a particular possibility
to take advantage of this because of the special permission granted it to
celebrate the Masses at dawn (known as Misa de Aguinaldo or Simbang Gabi)
from December 16-24 as solemn votive Masses in honor of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Considering how the importance and role of the Blessed
Mother in the redemptive mission of her Son especially in the Incarnation
is organically expressed in the lectionary and euchological program of this
season, the faithful should be assisted in coming to a full appreciation of
the numerous references to the Mother of our Saviour during this
particular period.
44


And how could we miss to mention the incorporation of the
Salubong (or Encuentro), a traditional dramatization of the meeting of
the risen Christ and his Mother, with the Mass at dawn on Easter
42
Congregation for Divine Worship, Circular Letter Paschales Solemnitatis on the
Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts (Rome: January , 1988), n. 102.
43
Cf. Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 190.
44
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, n. 190; Orientations, n. 65 e.
24 | PAMISULU
Sunday? The evangelical value contained in the beautiful incorporation
of this form of Marian devotion with the Liturgy is sustained and
enhanced by the Collect (Opening Prayer) adapted for this celebration:
Almighty and merciful God, on this most holy day of Easter our risen
Lord appeared to his disciples to confrm their faith in the resurrection.
We rejoice with Mary, mother and disciple, for the Son whom she
carried in her womb has truly risen from the dead, as he said. Grant that
through her prayers we may go forth to meet our risen Savior when he
opens the Scriptures to us and breaks bread in our midst. We ask this
C. marian piety and the dignity oF Women, in the
Family, and in soCiety
The role of the Blessed Mother in the mystery of the Incarnation
confers on womanhood an exalted dignity. God, in his plan to bring
back humankind unto himself, entrusted his Son to the free and active
ministry of a woman.
45
As the Christian faithful celebrate this dignity
both in Liturgy and in popular piety, they will see in Mary the traits which
true womanhood is all about: tremendous capacity for self-donating
love; fortitude even in the face of the greatest sorrows and misfortunes;
capacity for total fdelity; indefatigable commitment to work; a rare
insight that is capable of seeing signifcance in appearances, meaning in
events, thought and affection in action. As they hear the Gospel
proclaimed on her feasts and behold her life and activity in Bethlehem, or
in Nazareth, or in Jerusalem, as events in the life her Son are recalled, the
Christian faithful become witness to Marys fat in her humble
submission to Gods will in prayer and contemplation as well as in her
active presence in the life, mission and death of her Son. As they do,
women in particular will fnd in her the secret of living their femininity
with dignity and of achieving their true advancement, while others will
develop a high regard and a deep respect for the same.
Whether in the narrow confnes of the family home or in the
bigger social contexts of commerce, politics, health care, economics,
science and technology, Mary stands before women and the rest of
humanity as an example to imitate in how she fully and responsibly
accepted the will of God, having heard His word and acted on it in charity
and service. The holiness of the home she helped foster with her chaste
spouse St. Joseph by faithfully and diligently undertaking the ordinary
chores in the little house of Nazareth, the home which nurtured the
Savior as he grew in age, wisdom and grace, infuses a deeper meaning
45
John Paul II Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life
of the Pilgrim Church (25 March 1987), n. 46.
25 | PAMISULU
and greater signifcance even to the humble task of housekeeping. But
the breadth of her concerns expressed in her celebrated song of praise,
the Magnifcat, as well as in her active presence in the passion of her Son
and in the life of the early Church, inspires in women active involvement
and co-responsibility in politics, the social feld, scientifc research, and
intellectual activities, which are by no means incompatible with a
profound devotion to Mary.
d. mary and the ChurChs preFerential loVe
For the poor
An accurate portrayal of the fgure of Mary both in the Liturgy
and in popular devotion will clearly show her as an embodiment of Gods
and of the Churchs preferential love for the poor. If part of the raison
dtre of the Churchs liturgy is to proclaim the God who saves, it follows
that preferential love for the poor and the underprivileged should be part
of the same proclamation. Taking up the cause of the poor in concrete
ways will have to substantiate such proclamation. The Churchs stance of
preferential love for the poor is wonderfully inscribed in Marys Magnifcat.
She praises the God who in her lowliness favored her among all women
and generations. But she also exalts the God who has been taking up the
cause of the poor and the underprivileged through all ages dispersing
the proud of heart, throwing down rulers from their thrones, lifting up
the lowly, flling the hungry with good things, and sending away the rich
empty-handed (cf. Luke 1:51-53). It is a condemnation not of wealth and
of the wealthy but of the selfshness and apathy that it breeds in those
who possess wealth in abundance, not of authority and of its holders but
of abuses and injustice perpetrated by those who wield power by their
positions of authority.
Marian devotion should be mindful of the condition of many in
our continent who wallow in subhuman standards of living. Our love for
the blessed Mother must extend to her other children who come to her as
well as we do because they seek her help and consolation in their
suffering and want. Those who have less in life fnd in Marian devotion in
its various forms an expression of Gods special closeness which explains
the fact that its various forms, especially novenas invoking the help of the
Blessed Mother in her various titles, attract more adherents from among
the poor than from those who are affuent. Our devotion to the Blessed
Mother, then, should show itself in works of charity that truly uplift the
condition of the poor, in causes that uphold justice for those who have no
means to pursue it, in helping build a society where everyone, even those
who have least in life, can enjoy the full measure of their human life and
26 | PAMISULU
dignity. Marys heart of a mother goes out to everyone but especially to
the least among her children for they are the ones who need her most.
As Mary did in her visit to her cousin Elizabeth, we are called to run
in haste, be present where our brother or sister needs us, proclaim the
Good news of the God who frees from oppression and consoles in times of
affiction.
46

CONCLUSION
Those who gathered at the First Asian Mission Congress held in
Chiang Mai, Thailand in October 2006 articulated what should be the
confguration of evangelization in Asia in terms of a methodologythat
of story-telling and faith-sharinginasmuch as Asians love stories and
they learn their faith best through stories. To evangelize, to proclaim the
Good News of Gods reign which is the Churchs mission, is to tell the
story of Jesus, for He is Gods love story in the feshGods Incarnate
Story. Whether celebrated in the Liturgy or manifested in some form of
popular devotion, the story of the Son necessarily includes the Mother.
Whether in the Liturgy or in popular forms of Marian piety, the
commemoration and veneration of the Mother will always point to
the Son and his redemptive mystery. Two tasks are in place to ensure
that both in Liturgy and Marian Devotion, the commemoration and
veneration of Mary may constitute a clear, accurate, and eloquent telling
of the story of Jesus.
47

First, care should be taken that expressions of Marian devotion
be oriented to the liturgythat worship which the Church offers to the
Father through Christ in the Spiritwhich is the summit toward which
all the activities of the Church are directed and the fount from which all
her power fows.
48
Their devotion to the Mother of the Savior should
make the faithful desirous and eager to participate fully in the table of the
Word and of the Eucharist, and spur them on to witness by their lives to
the Gospel values expressed in the liturgical actions. Second, liturgical
worship should be brought closer to the people by opening it up to the
popular dimensions of Marian piety through which and within which
context the faithful usually feel more free and at ease to express their faith
as well as their religiosity. The Church, after all, desires that all the
faithful should have that full, conscious, and active participation in

46
Cf. 1971 Synod of Bishops, Justice in the World, Introduction.
47
Congregation for Divine Worship, Orientations and Proposals for the Celebration of the
Marian Year 1987- 1988 (Rome, April 3, 1987).
48
SC 10.
27 | PAMISULU
liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the
liturgy, and to which the Christian people, a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people (1 Pet 2:9; cf. 2:4-5) have a
right and obligation by reason of their baptism.
49
This twofold task entails a fruitful integration between liturgy
and popular religiosity. On one hand, it demands assiduous study and
careful discernment in order that, in the process, the integrity of the
Christian faith and the essential structure and elements of liturgical
worship may be respected and safeguarded. On the other hand, it
necessitates a profound knowledge of the cultural background of popular
religiosity, its contents, symbols, and language. Once the soundness and
usefulness of such integration is established, it could be carried out under
the guidance of the bishops and experts of popular religiosity in a certain
territory. There have been numerous examples of successful attempts at
such integration to which the history of the liturgy both in the East and in
theWest attest. Within the context of the Philippine Church, a
couple of examples were cited abovethe Misa de Aguinaldo or Simbang
Gabi celebrated as votive Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary all through
the nine days preceding Christmas and the Salubong or Encuentro between
the risen Christ and His Mother which forms part of the Introductory
Rites of the earliest Mass of Easter Sunday. These and some others have
perennially nurtured the faith and worship life of Filipino Catholics as
well as their love for the Blessed Mother.
There are instances, however, when forms and manifestations
of popular Marian piety may not have to be modifed and transformed
into liturgical expressions. We have pointed out above that the Church
highly recommends popular devotions provided that they conform to the
laws and norms of the Church, especially where they are ordered by the
Apostolic See.
50
Among others we can mention the praying of the Holy
Rosary, the recitation of the Angelus, of the Regina Coeli, and of the
litanies of the Blessed Virgin, and pilgrimages to specifc Marian shrines
and sanctuaries. There are many others, some of which are practiced by
particular local communities, which if diligently evangelized and made the
object of renewed catechesis can occupy a rightful place in Christian
worship and can peacefully co-exist with the Liturgy in accordance with
the principles laid down by the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
The process either of fruitful integration or of peaceful
co-existence between the liturgy and worshiping expressions of popular

49
SC 14.
50
SC 13.
28 | PAMISULU
religiosity, in order to become potent means of evangelizationof
telling the story of Jesus in Asiashould be accompanied by diligent study,
prayerful discernment, and committed and loving pastoral stance and action.
Mary was evangelizer par excellence because before she brought
the Good News to the world, she frst received It humbly in her heart,
cherished It, and kept It. She put herself at Gods disposal as His
handmaid. She was a faithful witness to the life and mission of the
Savior from his infancy to his death on the Cross to his Resurrection
and even to the outpouring of his Gift, the Holy Spirit, into the Church.
Today, she remains to be that faithful SERVANT and WITNESS of the Word
as her memory is venerated and her help and protection invoked both in
liturgical worship and in popular piety. The Church in Asia continues
to tell the story of Jesus with Mary as help, guide, and model. To her,
therefore, we pray:
O Holy Mary, Daughter of the Most High God, Virgin Mother
of the Saviour and Mother of us all, look tenderly upon the
Church of your Son, planted on Asian soil. Be her guide and
model as she continues your Sons mission of love and service in
Asia. Pray for us that through that mission all the peoples of
Asia may come to know your Son Jesus Christ, the only Saviour
of the world, and so taste the joy of life in all its fullness. Amen.
(Ecclesia in Asia, n. 51)
29 | PAMISULU
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
VENERATION OF SAINTS IN
POPULAR RELIGIOSITY
Fr. Oliver G. Yalung, SLL
INTRODUCTION
A discussion on the theology of the veneration of saints and
the liturgical cult of saints essentially implores some attention on its
expression in popular religiosity as well. Not only because we are
Filipinos but primarily because popular religiosity today, and perhaps
even as before, has been part and parcel of the spirituality of many
Catholic Christians.
No one among us here would deny that Filipino Catholicism is,
indeed, deeply rooted in popular religiosity. We are very much attached
to our religious devotions. In fact, it is diffcult to speak about Filipino
Catholicism without making mention of our religious devotions. Last
week, a parish priest asked me for suggestions on what topic in liturgy
he could share to his lay constituents. As it was what preoccupied my
mind then, I blurted out without vacillation, How about Liturgy and
Popular Devotions? His remark was, Why, is there a difference? He was
not even smiling.
For a start, let me premise my presentation by stating that the
practice of venerating saints is perhaps more richly expressed in terms of
popular devotions. We can point out without diffculty endless examples
which come in various forms of devotions like the novenas, the rosary, the
angelus, and pilgrimages.

Processions are another good illustration. There is no town
festa in our country which is celebrated without honoring patron saints
in processions. Who will not understand the maxim, Pagkahaba-haba
man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan pa rin ang hantong? Not a bad
illustration for popular devotions in general. Processions come in
various forms too, street or fuvial, with sacred images or even without
them. People fock to this communal activity that seems to satiate their
deepest yearning for the divine.
Saints are also customarily venerated on altars or shrines, a very
distinctive Filipino religious practice. There is always a space reserved for
the veneration of religious images of Christ, the Blessed Mother and the
30 | PAMISULU
saints like in homes, sari-sari stores, street corners, and even inside public
or private vehicles. The faithful love to pray before sacred images. They
cant seem to fully quench such desire when inside the Church that they
have to continue with this even in their homes. These altars are truly
esteemed. I remember my mother, who used to lead Enthronement
Services in our parish, saying: What is a home without an altar?
Even homes are perceived as mini-churches or chaplets, annexes of the
parish Church. They are ornamented with fresh or plastic fowers,
colorful Christmas lights, and precious trinkets. In barrios and remote
places, little grottoes are seen in the felds and along the roads. Located
especially along sharp curves of the road, these grottoes are meant for the
protection of travelers and motorists.
Other forms of venerating saints include the religious dramas and
some native cultural dances. We are familiar with the Panuluyan and the
Salubong, but the more popular among these dances are those performed
during processions with the image of the patron saint. Some of these
dances, done in front of images inside or outside the church, are done for
various reasons ranging from fertility to good harvest, visa approval to
winning the lottery.
As these cultic expressions originate from the people themselves,
they own and care for them. They embody their own understanding
and articulation of their faith. The Sacred Constitution on the Liturgy
recognizes this when it states that spiritual life is not limited solely to
participation in the liturgy.
1
The faithful will always fnd ways to satisfy
their longing for worship. We have seen the considerable leap done by the
reformed liturgy of Vatican II but it seems that liturgy is still somewhat
distant from the Filipino faithful. A priest in charge of various charismatic
renewal programs once sent me an SMS: Why cant we make the liturgy
more appealing to our people? I can understand where he is coming from.
For a people who prefer to use their hearts more than their minds when
they pray to God, the veneration given to saints will certainly gain
greater ground in popular religiosity. It is precisely because of this that the
practice of veneration of saints in popular religiosity deserves our close
attention.

I. TEST CASE: SAMPLE SANCTORAL DEVOTIONS
As aforementioned, there are innumerable and diverse
expressions of how people venerate saints. It is not possible to address
1
Sacrosanctum Concilium no. 12.
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here all these rich and widespread devotions. Therefore, allow me to
interest you with some test cases. I selected a few well-loved and very
vibrant devotions
2
still done in my province that I am most familiar with
and probably would have certain counterparts in your own areas.

A. LUBENAS
short desCription
This practice still survives in big towns in Pampanga like
Mabalacat, Magalang, Angeles, San Fernando, Mexico, Concepcion and
Capas (both in Tarlac). Strangely, the practice runs from the center to the
Northern part of the province all the way even beyond its boundaries.
LUBENAS is actually a corruption of the word NOVENA,
meaning nine. It is done for nine evenings before Christmas (December
16-24), the same period for SIMBANG GABI (dawn masses).
The LUBENAS is a kind of a street procession (LIMBUN)
where two rows of lanterns mounted on bamboo poles accompany the
shoulder-borne carriage (ANDAS) or the wheel carriage (CAROZZA)
bearing the patron saints image. The lanterns, 5-7 of them on each row
depending on how many the barrio can afford, are carried by boys or men,
and sometimes women. At the beginning of the procession is a lantern
in the shape of a cross. Right behind it is another lantern in the shape
of a fsh, with movable fns, mouth and tail. Behind the image is another
solitary lantern that is larger than the rest. Lanterns are made of paper
and bamboo frames and are illuminated from within usually by candle or
electric light.

While processing, people sing the Dios Te Salve, often
accompanied by a brass band or, if the barrio cannot afford it, a lone
guitarist. In some towns, there are intervals where the rosary is prayed,
or where people watch the reenactment of the life of whoever saint was
being honored in the procession.
For nine days, each barrio holds a lantern procession
simultaneously with other barrios. On Christmas Eve, just before the
Midnight Mass, these lantern processions converge at the Church
2
Much of the details found here are taken from the special issue of SINGSING, a
publication of the Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies at the Holy Angel
University, Angeles City. The article is entitled 8 Unique Kapampangan Folk Festivals, written by
Robby Tantingco. I considered only fve of which as they are most pertinent to the topic.
32 | PAMISULU
patio creating a grand spectacle of lights of various shapes and colors. This
event came to be called MAITINIS, from the Latin word Matins.
religious signiFiCanCe
This popular practice speaks of the penchant for our people to
do more for God. It is noteworthy to mention that they seek the aid of
their patron saints! It seems that the waking up at early dawn for the
SIMBANG GABI is no tough sacrifce for them. This must still be
augmented by another opportunity to prepare their souls for Christmas
by staying up late at night and walking great distances also for nine
consecutive days! Their beloved saints make sure that they are spiritually
prepared when the Savior comes!
deViation
It has been observed though that some organizers have distorted
the practice from a beautiful tradition into an inter-barrio competition,
with whooping cash prizes in contention. In the provinces capital, for
instance (the city of San Fernando), the practice literally grew into a giant
lantern festival, with lanterns as big as houses with ingeniously crafted
Technicolor of lights that uses as much as a thousand bulbs per lantern!
On the tips or at times at the very center of every lantern are inscribed the
names, or at times images, of their patron saints. While still bearing its
religious marks of veneration of saints, it is now slowly but surely
evolving into a mere secular spectacle.
B. CURALDAL
short desCription
This practice is famous in the towns of Sasmuan, Lubao,
Macabebe and Betis, mostly from the Western side of the province.
CURALDAL is held with great fervor in the week starting
January 6, the feast of the Epiphany. This is strange because this
devotion is dedicated to St. Lucy whose feast day is celebrated on
December 13. People say that St. Lucy is remembered and celebrated also
every feast of the Epiphany, as the star of Bethlehem which guided the
Wise Men, evokes the light (Lucy) which the popular saint manifests to
the faithful.

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The CURALDAL starts in the morning of January 6, after the
8 AM Mass. They begin a short-distance procession of the image of St.
Lucy from the parish church to the Sta. Lucia barrio chapel. It is more of a
street dancing than a solemn procession. The next day, January 7, a group
of women devotees, wearing buri hats and dresses with pink and white
foral designs, dance door-to-door for donations.
The climax is on the evening of January 10, when the Eucharist
is celebrated by the archbishop on a makeshift stage in a square behind
the Sta. Lucia barrio chapel. After Mass, two brass bands, one in front of
the makeshift stage and another in front of the chapel, signal the start
of the CURALDAL. The crowd is sometimes so thick that devotees only
manage to sway or jump instead of dance. Dancers cry VIVA SANTA
LUCIA! PUERA SAKIT (Away with ailments!). Petitions range from
pregnancy to winning the lot or passing the board exams. CURALDAL
may be likened to the Sayaw sa Obando, but it is wilder. Some dancers
have been observed to dance non-stop for several hours, bathed in sweat,
with faces paled and eyes rolling up as if in a trance. The dancing lasts
until after midnight. Meanwhile, devotees scramble their way up the
makeshift stage to pick fowers and leaves (believed to contain healing
power) from the bouquets and rub their handkerchiefs on the image of
St. Lucy.
In Betis, a group of 24 dancers and 2 instructors dance the
CURALDAL rather strangely, with sword fghts for nine consecutive
days until July 25 (feast of St. James). These dancers are expected to pass
on the duty of performing the CURALDAL to their children, in the same
way that they inherited it from their respective fathers. The devotion
proliferates.
religious signiFiCanCe
In 1698, Spanish chronicler Gaspar de San Agustin wrote that
an image of St. Lucy had been venerated in Sasmuan since long ago.
CURALDAL may have been a very ancient para-liturgical rite begun by the
Augustinians to promote the devotion to St. Lucy. Over the years, it may
have been moved from inside the church to the church patio and later,
farther into the streets. The timing of CURALDAL raises the possibility
that it may have been part of the natives harvest rituals in pre-Hispanic
times.
34 | PAMISULU
deViation
Many young people and teenagers, who are clueless about the
cultural and religious signifcance of the event, are gradually taking over.
They convert the chapel into a disco, dancing wildly and irreverently on
pews and on the altar table itself! The crowd can be uncontrollable during
the course of the CURALDAL. It seems that, in some places, the tradition
has not been properly handed on to the coming generations.
C. BATALLA
short desCription
Irreverent procession is the immediate description of some people
about this practice. It is still done in Macabebe, Masantol and San Simon,
the Southern part of the province. A more popular one is celebrated on
May 22 (feast of St. Rita) although it is a moveable feast depending on
how soon the annual foods come.
BATALLA which means battle, is quite obviously a ritual
based on the Moro-Moro, said to be popular during the colonial days. It
depicted the battle between the Crusaders and the pagans, or perhaps
between Christian conquistadores and the Muslims who were said to
be the inhabitants of Pampanga at the time of the Spanish conquest in
1571. Researchers suggest that like the CURALDAL, BATALLA may have
been a pre-Hispanic tribal dance that was merely Christianized when the
Augustinian missionaries came.
BATALLA, unlike the CURALDAL, is a religious drama and dance
at the same time. After the 4 p.m. Mass celebrated by a visiting Catholic
priest in the predominantly Methodist village, the procession begins at
the chapel and heads to a footbridge. Then it makes a U-turn just before
reaching the bridge, and that is the signal for the start of BATALLA. The
brass band starts playing and devotees begin to dance to their tune. The
dance is mostly hopping, which intensifes as the band plays faster, with
intervals of swaying when the music slows down. All devotees, from the
ciriales-bearing acolytes to barefooted children and old wives and
fshermen jump and dance as they negotiate their way through narrow
streets and around fshponds and riverbanks. This revelry will go on until
after sunset. Those who carry the ANDAS, bearing the tiny image of their
patron saint, rock it from side to side, at times really violently, as they
chant Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Right behind the ANDAS, devotees form two
lines by holding the shoulders of the person in front of them. There is a
35 | PAMISULU
certain unwritten rule about the arrangement of the devotees: the adults
are right behind the saint. The dancing on this level is said to be wildest.
The teenagers stand in the middle, and small children (some barely above
the ground and yet allowed to participate!), at the tail-end.
When the procession fnally returns to the chapel, the
participants beginning with the ANDAS bearers, start running around
and shouting like free spirits. Afterward, they position the image in front
of the church door and then perform a ritualized tug-o-war. At this
point, the BATALLA reaches its climax judging by the intensity and the
wildness of the dancing and shouting. This then concludes with the saint
being allowed inside the chapel. The band plays a few more tunes before
the excitement settles down.
religious signiFiCanCe
This devotion is full of historical and religious imageries. The
entry of the saints image through the chapel door symbolizes the
successful Christianization of Kapampangans. The subsiding of emotions
is highly evocative of the conciliation of the land. There is an interesting
detail that needs to be emphasized here according to researchers: that the
saint succeeds in entering the door only because the people have allowed
it. Historians say that the natives were never defeated in battle but that
in a familiar gesture of native hospitality, they welcomed the newcomers
and even embraced their faith.
Another interesting fact is that although residents in these
remote areas have mostly converted to the Methodist Church, many of
them continue to join the BATALLA. This goes to show that the people
never really let go of their most cherished devotions and popular
religiosity no matter what!
deViation
Revelry and dancing could not let go of wine and drinking. The
practice is threatened by intoxicated participants who become violent
and vulgar especially when the image of St. Rita enters through the
chapel door and the band starts playing popular tunes like the Lambada,
Nobody, Nobody But You and local favorites like Bikining Itim! It now
easily deteriorates into a mere tourist attraction or worse, an occasion for
political opportunism.
36 | PAMISULU
D. LIBAD
short desCription
This practice is very vibrant in Apalit, Sasmuan, Minalin and
Macabebe, Southern coastal towns of Pampanga. All located beside the
great Pampanga River.
LIBAD is a fuvial procession where devotees who are swimmers
manually pull the PAGODA (barge decorated and made to look like a big
house) across the river and devotees being rewarded with a spectacular
shower of food from the riverbanks, perhaps much more impressive than
the manna from heaven of ancient Israel. It is always held in honor of
their patron saints.
In Apalit, we fnd the biggest and most elaborate celebration of
the LIBAD. It is in honor of St. Peter, whom locals intimately refer to as
Apung Iru. It is annually done at the three-day long celebration of the
solemnity of St. Peter and Paul.
The frst LIBAD begins on June 28 and the last one occurs on June
30. These two big river processions are held to accompany the passage
of the venerated image of Apung Iru, said to be more than 300 years old,
brought to the Philippines from Spain in 1844 and entrusted to the
governor, a certain Macario Arnedo, back then. The frst LIBAD is held the
day before, when the image travels from a private chapel of the Arnedo
family to the Apalit church. The ivory-faced image of Apung Iru leaves its
chapel in Barrio Capalangan, and is borne in procession by the Knights
of St. Peter, who wear orange shirts. After the procession on land, the
image is brought to the banks of a stream leading to the Pampanga River
in Barrio Sulipan and put on a PITUYA (two or three boats tied together),
which takes it to the PAGODA. Meanwhile, hundreds of boats, many of
which adorned with images associated with St. Peter (cock, fsh, etc.) and
bearing brass bands and wildly cheering revelers accompany the barge as
it passes through a seven-kilometer stretch of the Pampanga River.
The second LIBAD which is more boisterous occurs the day
after the festa, when the image returns home. On June 30, the image of
Apung Iru is taken from the Apalit Church after a Mass at 8 AM, to the
same port in San Juan where another Mass is held. This signals the start
of the second LIBAD as the saint turned to Barrio Capalangan. It is in this
last LIBAD where thousands of devotees on both sides of the Pampanga
River keep pace with the PAGODA. There are groups who wave leaves
and fowers as they dance to the music from another brass band on land.
37 | PAMISULU
People climb up the roof of their houses so they can throw apples, canned
goods, boiled eggs, etc. on the people on the PAGODA or on the boats
accompanying the PAGODA. The Knights of St. Peter, swimming in the
rivers murky water, pull the barge with a thick abaca rope to make sure
it doesnt tilt and also to guide it towards the river banks where clusters
of devotees wave and splash in the water. Two sets of Knights perform
a push-and-pull ritual with the PAGODA so that the image stays longer
in the vicinity. Then in Barrio Sulipan, the image is taken from the barge
and borne on the shoulders of another set of the Knights of St. Peter for a
procession to bring it back to its chapel in Barrio Capalangan where
it will stay until the next festa. Thousands of devotees, many of them
dancing and rejoicing follow Apung Iru in his last leg of the procession.
Continuously, the faithful shout out loud: VIVA APUNG IRU!
religious signiFiCanCe
One easily dismisses such action of throwing food away as
charity to ease the hunger of devotees who have skipped meals just to
follow the image. Some old folks, however, maintain that the throwing
of food was meant for the saint. Local superstition mentions that St.
Peter comes disguised as a hungry old fsherman during his feast day.
Also, the wasted food is really offered to their great river whose cyclic
foods replenishes their farmlands and literally brings fsh all the way to
their doorsteps!
deViation
While this practice truly encourages sacrifce, generosity and
solidarity among the devotees, the gracious gesture is lacking in social
and environmental awareness. The shower of food, while truly
spectacular, would actually beneft more poor and hungry people if
gathered and shared. Also, the practice has little or no environmental
sensitivity at all as the food that doesnt land on the boats stays on the
water for several days. This results in polluting the great river,
endangering the fsh and the poor communities that would be the
unhappy benefciaries of this great bulk of trash through the same
life-giving river.
38 | PAMISULU
e. SABAT SANTACRUZAN
short desCription
It still thrives in Angeles City (Sapangbato), San Fernando
City and some villages in Concepcion (Tarlac). It is celebrated annually
towards the end of May. Of all the celebrations occurring in May, the
most spectacular in terms of costumes and community participation, is
probably the SABAT SANTACRUZAN.
Also known as GOYDO-GOYDO (after Goy do Borgonia,
successor of Constantine), SABAT is a version of the SANTACRUZAN
in which costumed performers interrupt or stop (SABAT) the procession
to challenge the sagalas and their consortes to a duel, either through verbal
joust or in a swordfght. It is a reenactment of the ambuscades that the
Moros launched on the Crusaders as they returned to Europe after fnding
the Holy Cross. The SANTACRUZAN itself, before it degenerated into a
pageant of beauty queens used to be a novena procession
commemorating the fnding (not the search, because Reina Elena is
already holding it!) of the Cross by Empress Helena and her son,
EmperorConstantine, in Jerusalem.
The basic storyline of the Sapangbato version, which is
handwritten on a thick book that resembles a PASION, begins with Reina
Elena embarking on a search for the Cross and ordering Goy do Borgonia,
next in line to her son Emperador Constantino, to repel an attack led by
Moro queen Florifs, sister of Prinsipe Arabiano and Prinsipe Turquiano.
Goy do Borgonia, however, falls in love with Florifs and is unable to carry
out Reina Elenas order, thus prompting the queen to turn to Emperador
Carlo Magno of the Franciang Corte for help. Carlo Magno sends eight of
his 12 brave princes (Doce Pares), namely, Prinsipe Roldan (the captain),
Oliveros, Reinaldos, Conderlos, Goyperos, Montesino, Galalon and
Ricarte. The Crusade encounters many battles en route to joining Reina
Elenas party. In one battle, Roldan slays the Moro prince Clynos and
wears his cape. Meanwhile, the Reina Elena and party fnally discover
the Cross relics on Monte Lebano (Mount Lebanon), and start their
victorious journey back to Europe, singing VIVA VICTORIA! They
encounter Roldan who is still on his way to the Holy Land and whom they
do not recognize because of his borrowed Moro cape and also because
they think hes been dead. Reina Elena asks each of Roldans princes who
also do not recognize himexcept Olivares, who confrms Roldans
identity. The problem thus settled, the procession resumes until they
are ambushed by Prinsipe Arabiano. Goy do Borgonia captures the
Arab prince but just then Moro queen Florifs comes to rescue Prinsipe

39 | PAMISULU
Arabiano, her brother. Being in love with Florifs, Goy do Borgonio
requests permission fom Reina Elena to free Prinsipe Arabiano.
Afterwards it is Florifs other brother, Prinsipe Turquiano, who attacks
the procession and is about to succeed in stealing the Cross when Reina
Elena makes an impassioned speech about the meaning of the relics to
Christendom. Moved, Prinsipe Turquiano and the Moros are converted.
religious signiFiCanCe
SANTACRUZAN originated in Europe, was exported to
Mexico, and then passed on to the Philippines in the earliest days of
colonization. Fr. Francisco Coronel, OSA translated in 1689 a papal bull
on the practice, Ing Bulla quing Sancta Cruzada pepanabanga ming Sto. Padre
ing Laguiu na Inocencio Decimo. The original SANTACRUZAN was like
Moro-Moro staged in street theaters (estrada) supposed to cultivate
the faith of the people. It lasted many hours as the procession made
numerous stopovers to give way to the poetic jousts. Thus it is the SABAT,
not the sagalas-studded SANTACRUZAN that more accurately resembles
the SANTACRUZANs of yesteryears.
deViation
In another source, it is claimed that there are certain sectors of the
society utilized to play particular roles in the SABAT, a practice which
promotes discrimination. The role of Moros are said to have been given
to the natives from the hills of Porac (Baluga or Aeta). This has caused
the unwelcoming and at times hostile treatment of this people by the
lowlanders. Instead of being a religious devotion, it became an occasion to
promote division and discrimination in society.
II. OBSERVATIONS: DANGERS AND RISKS
As we have seen, the aforesaid practices are all very dear to the
locals. These prayer-types were derived from them, and therefore, are
loved and cherished. For many, especially the poor, they are a source
of strength and hope in diffcult times of life. The veneration they have
of their patron saints seems to perfectly express their personal and
communal faith in God. Because of these positive traits, the local Church
has been very careful to pass judgment on them. However, they also
have their downbeat behavior. The Church will be remiss if she does not
speak against some deviations committed in the pursuit of such practices.
Let us name a few:
40 | PAMISULU
A. they Can MISLEAD people.
Some of these devotions continue to mislead the faithful. Instead
of leading them to the liturgy, the faithful seem to be driven away from it.
There is an impression created in the pursuit of these practices, namely,
the precedence of devotions over the sacraments. A lot of devotees, in fact,
regard the procession as the pinnacle of the celebration of the feast. The
impression in the minds of the faithful and especially outsiders is that
Catholicism is merely a religion of saints. And often really, we cannot
blame them. Not that this is entirely wrong! Who would not want to be
part of a religion of saints? But sanctoral devotions must always lead the
faithful to their very source or ultimate end.
Cases in point: the fve practices presented. The number of people
who participate in these practices is dramatically greater than those who
come for the Mass or other sacraments, for that matter. As a consequence,
liturgical celebrations are relegated to second place, if not totally
abandoned at all by many out of disaffection if not distaste for it. This
misguided sense of priority leads our faithful to so many directions when
they can be guided directly to the very center of our faith who is Christ. The
offcial liturgy must always be given priority over pious devotions
since the liturgy is the ordinary and preeminent means by which we
commemorate Gods plan of salvation fulflled in the sacred mysteries of
Christ.
B. they Can Be done For the Wrong motiVes
More often, forms of devotion to saints are done for the wrong
reasons. A lot of people may do them because they feel good about them.
This certainly is a very superfcial reason for becoming a devotee. Having
joined the CURALDAL or BATALLA certainly gives one a certain
feeling of accomplishment that, of course, spells satisfaction. When I
asked a middle-aged lady why she joins the CURALDAL, she ponderingly
replied, Its good exercise!

We venerate saints because we acknowledge an engaging sign
or a testimony of faith in them. We are continually charmed by their
examples that bring us courage and perseverance as we endeavor to live
our Christian lives. It is not simply about feeling good or being satisfed
but rather that we receive from them help and a wealth of motivation in
our concrete efforts to follow Christ in our own little ways.
41 | PAMISULU
C. they Can enshrine a QuestionaBle theology.
They can transmit a wrong understanding of God and of our
relationship with him. They can give a false sense of security due to the
promise affxed to doing them. The CURALDAL and the LIBAD are most
especially involved in this kind of risky business. A lot of solid, call them
hard-core, devotees believe that once they accomplish them, God must
grant their prayers. What a very crude understanding and regard for God.
This slapdash, proliferating theology must immediately be challenged. It
can only be pathetic if even pastors of soul ride on these high waves to
establish misplaced control or appalling authority over their fock!
d. they Can shelter superstitions.
Unbelievable, how superstitious beliefs have permeated through
and instituted fear in these innocent, unassuming devotees! Perfect
examples to illustrate this point: the devotees practice of wearing of
medals, scapulars and even colored shirts; or the extremely mystifed regard
of the images as life-giving grace, healing source and miraculous powers.
How thin is the line that separates devotion from sacrilege, or even
idolatry in these practices. Again, time must not be wasted in giving bold
and persistent instruction to the devotees.
e. they Can easily Be relegated to seCular
aCtiVities
In many places, the LUBENAS has degenerated from a grand
expression of faith to a mere spectacle or secular parade. It has been
observed how some organizers of the LUBENAS have misshapen the
tradition into an inter-barrio competition. In the city of San
Fernando, the practice literally grew into a heavily contested festival, with
whooping cash prizes. While still bearing their religious marks, many of
these practices of venerating saints are desolately diffusing into simple
secular activities. Many times, the organizers and participants of these
events are not even Church-going people!
F. they Can promote tWisted soCial Values
Instead of being religious devotions, they can sometimes
obliterate cherished social values. In the earlier years, The SABAT
SANTACRUZAN, instead of promoting devotion, became an

42 | PAMISULU
occasion to promote division, hostility and racial discrimination in
society. Taking in the local natives (ding Baluga or Aeta), owing to their
skin color and curly hair, to play the role of Moros may have instilled
in the minds of Kapampangans the indifference and recurring hostility
toward these people until the present time.
g. they Can Be used For FinanCial gain.
There are complains about these practices being used to elicit
money, donation and favors from people. The LUBENAS hardly pushes
through without sponsors for nine days! Donation boxes, collection
envelops, and pledges are only a few devices being used to this rather
unfortunate end.
III. PROPER PERSPECTIVE: RECIPROCAL ILLUMINATION
Given these realities, how should we look at the practice of the
veneration of saints in popular religiosity? Are they to be discontinued?
Should they be adapted or maybe modifed to avoid further distortions?
The Directory mentions about the reciprocal infuence of liturgy and
popular piety.
3
It gives hint to two encouraging attitudes we can have
about the popular practice of veneration of saints. One is that they
must learn from Liturgy. The Sacred Constitution on the Liturgy (13)
recommends that popular devotions should in some way be derived from
the liturgy, harmonize with the liturgical seasons, and lead the people to
the liturgy. In other words, liturgy must enlighten and guide expressions
of popular piety.
However, popular devotions can, in a diverse manner, also
infuence the liturgy. Popular veneration of saints with its powerful and
expressive affuence must be permitted to share its inventive vitality with
the liturgy. Not that liturgy is deprived of which, but such dynamism can
help the liturgy to better incarnate itself in our culture.
In short, while it remains our mission to continuously rectify and
align these devotional practices to the rich doctrinal content of liturgy,
the former can also enliven the latter by its wealth of popular
expressions. There must be a mutual and enriching exchange: a
reciprocal illumination, each shedding light on the other for a more
illuminated or enlightened act of worship to God.
3
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 226.
43 | PAMISULU
A. LEARNING FROM LITURGY
What can liturgy teach these popular expressions of venerating
saints?
1. glory oF god
The glorifcation of God in his saints is the objective of
celebrating the saints. It is primarily a celebration of a loving God who
attracts human beings and calls them to a particular mission. When we
venerate saints it is actually an act of praising the grace of God which has
triumphed in the saints life. As a preface proclaims, You are glorifed in
your saints, for their glory is the crowning of your gifts.
4

The praise of God must be seen and emphasized in the popular
expressions of people. While this seems to be presupposed, there is a need
to accentuate the place of God in the lives of the saints. The LUBENAS
has this reality expressed beautifully in its structure, especially at its
conclusion. The BATALLA, LIBAD and CURALDAL are found to be
wanting of this. The journey from place to place, from chapel to church
should be presented as the journey of the community living in this
world towards the community of God in heaven. Such processions
should be conducted under greater ecclesiastical supervision for better
guidance. The Directory has some worthwhile suggestions to carry out
this important consideration:
5

a. They can begin with a moment of prayer during wh i c h
the Word of God should be proclaimed.
b. Hymns and canticles can be sung and
instrumental music can also be used.
c. Lighted candles or lamps can be carried by the faithful
during the procession.
d. Pauses should be arranged along the way so as to provide
for alternative paces, bearing in mind that such also refects the journey of
life.
e. The procession should conclude with a doxology to God,
source of all sanctity, and with a blessing given by a bishop, priest or
deacon.
4
Preface I for the Common of Holy Men and Women.
5
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 247.
44 | PAMISULU
2. Christ in the saints
The Sacred Constitution affrms that the feasts of the saints may
not take precedence over commemorations of the mysteries of salvation.
6

The Second Vatican Council made a conscious effort of reducing the
number of commemorations of saints in the present Roman Calendar
because the multiplication of these in the past led to the impression that
they are detached from the fundamental mysteries of redemption.

This has useful pastoral implications. The feasts accorded to
the saints are ultimately feasts of Christ, who carried out the fulfllment
of Gods plan to humanity. Devotional practices must redirect their
veneration of saints ultimately to the reality of Christ in the lives of the
saints. No where among the cases presented seemed to have made this a
very important principle. Clearly, the popular expressions leave behind
the very essence of these celebrations who is Christ and seem to promote
what may appear as a religion of saints. The objective, therefore, of
these popular devotions goes beyond answered prayers or more intimate
relationship with the saint but rather a greater commitment to live the
Christian life following the example of Christ.
3. proFound signiFiCanCe
The Directory mentions that it is necessary to represent the
fgure of the saint in a correct manner.
7
The faithful are usually awed and
overcome by the legendary events associated with the saint, or of his
miraculous or magical powers. They should also include a valuation of his
import for Christian life, namely, his sanctity, witnessing, and how this
character contributed to the growth of the Church.
Noticeably, popular expressions feed on these so called
extraordinary accounts of their patron saints. These events could be
opportunities to lead the faithful towards the more profound signifcance
of saints in their lives. The veneration of saints must lead devotees on the
way to holiness of life and renewed participation in the community of the
church.

6
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 247.
7
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 231.
45 | PAMISULU
4. Christian Content
The feast must be imbued of its Christian content.
8
The
devotions presented have shown how they have deviated originally from
being religious expressions of faith into sheer social occasions or secular
spectacles. The LUBENAS and the BATALLA, for instance, have
unfortunately been bending toward social events of the community.
Therefore, pastors must continually lead the faithful to the right
disposition and sound celebration of the saints. Again, Christ and his
Paschal Mystery must occupy the content of the message of saints.
5. real Communion

So far, most if not all of the devotions presented have begun or
climaxed with the celebration of the Eucharist. The Augustinians seem
to be successful in instilling in the hearts of the early Kapampangans the
unparalleled importance of the Eucharist in every church activity. As the
Directory implies, what better way to commune with the saints except
the Eucharist?
9
The lives of the saints are the living exegesis of the Word
proclaimed. The memory and intercession of saints in the Eucharist are
what unite us with them.
However, in practice, the quantity of the faithful who attend the
Mass is nothing in comparison to those that participate, actively at that,
to any of these devotions. While the Eucharist is still part if not the
center of the celebration of saints, the faithful continue to be more strongly
attracted to their popular expressions.
6. Beyond the external

The Second Council of Nicaea explained that the honor given to
an image is given to the person it represents. The veneration of an image
is the veneration of the person it represents. The Directory affrms this in
regulating the veneration of relics: external signs of veneration must be
conducted with great dignity and be motivated by faith.
10
The
various forms of popular veneration of the saints, such as kissing,
decorations with lights and fowers, bearing them in processions should
be conducted with great dignity and be motivated by faith. Untoward
expressions of devotion that border on sacrilegious practices or
8
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 233.
9
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 234.
10
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy no. 237
46 | PAMISULU
idolatrous expressions therefore must be aggressively contradicted.
While the devotions presented are done for the love of their
patron saints, the loose, violent and irreverent processions like the
BATALLA, LIBAD or at a certain extent the CURALDAL may not easily
appear as dignifed ways of venerating the saints. While the deviations
may be cultural, they favorably contribute to the distortion in the
ordinary faithfuls understanding of his faith.
B. LEARNING FROM POPULAR RELIGIOSITY
It has been observed that devotional practices of venerating the
saints, more than liturgical celebrations, keep the faith of many simple
people alive and vibrant. The clamor of people towards a more vibrant,
more inspiring and hope-flled celebration remains an enormous pastoral
challenge for the Church.
The practice of venerating saints outside the liturgy is
overfowing with popular expressions that can give greater dynamism to
the liturgy. These expressions can infuence the plan and symbols of the
liturgical rite. But what characteristics can be integrated?
We are able to identify certain elements with the help of the
foregoing test cases that may be of infuence to the liturgy:
1. CeleBration
Perhaps the idea of the festa celebration best characterizes these
practices of popular veneration of saints. They are defnitely joyful, alive
and expressive. But sometimes this accommodating spontaneity and
intense creativity put these devotions in bad light, constantly
distancing from the doctrine of the Church. They are also traditional
and symbolic in orientation. People hold on to them and would risk even
theirconnection to the church in their honest effort to defend their
customary forms. They are defnitely very human and communitarian
being connected with human problems and sentiments that is why they
are generally suited for the simple townsfolk.
The liturgy at times fails to deliver in keeping the faith of
many simple people alive and vibrant. Perhaps the secret to a more
vibrant, more inspiring and hope-flled celebration is a certain amount of
spontaneity and creativity. Almost every prayer is a text that is prepared
47 | PAMISULU
for the ministers of the liturgy. If he is not too careful and spiritually
prepared, a priest may simply end up becoming reader instead of a
presider of the Eucharist!
In addition, if the liturgy desires to be embraced by all, it may be
good to start to be more sensitive to the simple people and consider the
preoccupations, problems and sentiments of the poor more extensively
than ever.
2. language
The language of the devotions presented is noticeably
overly-elaborate, conversational and intensely striking. I kept
wondering what the devotees of the BATALLA meant in their
chanting the: Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy!They certainly appeal to the sentiments
and emotions of people more than addressing the intellect. The
CURALDALs repetitious and almost hypnotic cry VIVA SANTA
LUCIA! PUERA SAKIT (Away with ailments!) and the LIBADs
VIVA APUNG IRU! certainly draw the spirit from the crowd.
Notice the very humane and discursive quality in the words of devotees.
How can liturgy learn from these important lessons from popular
devotions? We have always understood liturgical language to be sober,
direct, and linear. Prayers were made to address the intellect more than
the heart. As such, they become very simple and straight to the point that
the faithful seem to be left hanging wanting for more. The devotees seem
to relate better with fattery and conditional phrases. It may really be
benefcial for the liturgy to be open to such style of popular expressions.
3. ritual
Popular religiosity easily commands active participation. It takes
so little to make people submit themselves to the devotional activity. Its
secret could be the tools for participation it employs. Implements like
communal recitation, repetitiveness, and litanic petitions are highly
effective. The devotions presented thrive in this area of adoration.
There are less of these in the liturgy. At times, there is a certain
feeling of not having prayed after the celebration that the faithful draw
their rosaries or little pamphlets from their pockets and start talking to
God again. It is remarkable how these devotions attend to this necessity
quite remarkably.
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4. representations
Veneration of saints is unthinkable without sacred images. It
is always done in front of the image of the saint being invoked. All the
devotions presented (LUBENAS, CURALDAL, BATALLA, LIBAD and
the SABAT SANTACRUZAN) are done with the images of their patron
saints, and not just one but at times several. Do we even need to mention
the holy week processions in the town of Baliuag, Bulacan, with perhaps
more than a hundred carriages of life-size images with sometimes as many
as thirteen images in one carriage!
The liturgy could learn from this trait of popular devotions. It
seems to have little sympathy for sacred images. Should the number of
images be limited? Is the prominence of sacred images destructive to the
faith? And why should there be only one image of any one saint in the same
church? It is perhaps good to recall that GIRM 278s decree that there
is to be only one image of any one saint is conditioned by the phrase:
in such a way that they do not distract the peoples attention from
the celebration.
11
Something tells me that for sacred images, Filipino
devotees live by the truism the many the better. In addition, several
images may serve for a good source of catechesis and devotion to the
faithful. For instance, the Blessed Virgin under different titles when
displayed in the church on a Marian celebration or carried together in
a procession could be an opportune time for the faithful especially the
young to be properly instructed on the meaning and grace that each image
brings to the people.
5. drama
Popular religious dramas, like the SABAT SANTACRUZAN,
imitate the events they commemorate. In this devotion in point this
element of imitation is particularly heightened. As we have seen, there is
a total reenactment of the strong emotions at play in the commemorative
event.

Can the liturgy also be infused with more religious drama in
its celebrations? Why not? There are moments when some parts of the
liturgy are celebrated narratively; for instance, the readings in the

11
The General Instruction on the Roman Missal, no. 278 has these exact words: In
keeping with the churchs very ancient tradition, it is lawful to set up in places of worship images of
Christ, Mary, and the saints for veneration by the faithful. But there is need both to limit their number
and to situate them in such a way that they do not distract the peoples attention from the celebration.
There is to be only one image of any one saint.
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Liturgy of the Word, euchological texts and even the way liturgical music
is carried out. Often the dynamism is lost in the celebration, particularly
when done with children and young people. The challenge perhaps is how
to make these portions of the liturgy dramatic without necessarily
becoming a drama in itself. The catechetical aspect becomes more
powerful with the use of this device.
6. danCe
The various movements, like the hopping and swaying, are not
devoid of any further meaning. For the devotees, dancing the steps of the
CURALDAL or BATALLA actually means petition and contrition, while
being expressions of joy and thanksgiving. Processions are done as public
proclamation of faith, and the images carried in procession are a reminder
for the faithful of another our heavenly home toward which we journey in
faith. Can these be embellished with more meaningful movements that do
not necessarily turn the Mass into a cultural presentation?
In the Eucharist, procession happens at the entrance, offertory,
and communion. To a certain extent, would it be possible for these
processions be patterned after, or at least be evocative of the CURALDAL,
LUBENAS or LIBAD?
CONCLUSION

What should our attitude be on sanctoral devotions vis-a-vis the
liturgy? It can only be that of GRACIOUSNESS. While we admit that
a lot of these ubiquitous practices must be aligned properly with the
liturgy, the liturgy must also learn from them. These devotional practices
have kept the faith of many poor and simple people alive and vibrant all
these years. The greater pastoral challenge for us all today is how to make
more vibrant, inspiring and hope-flled celebrations for the Church. These
devotional practices certainly serve as the key to unlock this enduring
conundrum. Perhaps it is not too much to assume that the practice of
venerating saints in popular religiosity is GODS PROVIDENTIAL
GRACE to help us incarnate better the liturgy in our very culture. In the
process of it all, we are better aided to respond rather more fully to the
Second Vatican Councils noble and universal call to holiness.
12
12
Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 21
Nov 1964 n. 39, in The Documents of Vatican II. The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, ed.
A. Flannery, New York 21984, 397.
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THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN HANS URS VON
BALTHASARS TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY
Fr. Jesus Layug, Jr., SThL
I. INTRODUCTION
The twentieth century theology is characterized by a dramatic
revival of Trinitarian thought in Christian Theology. Hans Urs von
Balthasar stands as a major fgure in employing new theological approach
in seeking to crystallize the Doctrine of Trinity in the light of Christs
death and resurrection. From the perspective of this approach and in
direct consideration of the Paschal Mystery that this paper aims to
understand von Balthasars Trinitarian theology.
II. TRINITARIAN PROCESSIONS
The Primacy of love is what lies at the heart of von Balthasars
theology.
1
He seeks to understand the inner life of the divine Trinity
strictly in terms of love. It is in this context of being as love that von
Balthasar desires to understand the Trinitarian procession. Gods logic is
the logic of love incarnate in Christ human life and death on the cross. On
the basis of Christology, Jesus identity is rooted in an eternal community.
The Father, being the source of love, wants to give everything away. He
risks his being in a self-donation to the Son. The Son in turn is a radical
response to the Fathers love. The Son is not only a perfect image of the
Father but also the perfect surrender of love. Their mutual love in turn
overfows in the love of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can thus be
defned as the fruitfulness of the divine love. This fruitfulness is as infnite
as divine life itself.
2

But before one fnds analogies of divine logic on human existence,
it will be helpful to turn to von Balthasars methodology from above and
look at divine Trinity where the logic of love has its origin.
3

While appreciating many permanently valid traditional
insights, it is important to know that von Balthasar is not constrained
1
Peter Henrichi, The Philosophy of Hans Urs von Balthasar in David L. Schindler, ed.,
Hans Urs von Balthasar: His Life and Work (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991) 153.
2
John ODonnell, Hans Urs von Balthasar: The Form of His Theology, Communio 16
(1989) 466.
3
ODonnel, Truth as Love 200.
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
51 | PAMISULU
by the traditional approach because his work pervades sophisticated
critique of Augustinian Thomistic Trinitarian theology.
4
Faith for him in
the frst place is not an intellectual act but an act of perception. It is an
existential surrender of the whole person. He does not consider Gods
being and Trinitarian processions in terms of metaphysically-conceived
absolute being. A distinct shift in emphasis from being to love is evident
in his Trinitarian ontology.
5


For von Balthasar, it is preferable to understand divine procession
as a procession of love which grounds the possibility of the incarnation
and paschal mystery in the economy. This he explained when he writes
that God can so give away his divinity that God as Son does not merely
receives it as something borrowed but possesses it as being essentially
equal, expresses such an unimaginable separation of God from himself,
that every other separation, even if it is the darkest and most bitter can
only occur within it.
6

Trinity is a divine drama of mutual offer and response. It consists
of the eternal self-emptying of the three persons which makes possible
the self-emptying of the divine persons in the history of salvation. This
means that every possible drama between God and the world is already
contained in and allowed for in the inner Trinitarian event. The whole
salvation event is understood within the eternal divine intersubjectivity
which already contains within it all the modalities of love, of compassion,
and even of separation, including the risk inherent in creation.
7

Von Balthasar perceives that the immanent Trinitarian personal
distinction are suffciently real and infnite to embrace the kind of
opposition between Father and Son that is involved in their common
salvifc plan without fear of losing unity. Thus even the Sons experience
of opposition in the God-forsakenness of death and descent remains a
function of his loving relationship to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
8
This
means that the Sons self-giving to the Father in his death on a cross is
already contained within this eternal procession. The Trinitarian
processions are thus understood to involve an interpersonal dynamic
interaction within the godhead and the different modalities of which are
then expressed in the economy particularly in the paschal mystery.
9
4
Ibid.
5
Anne Hunt, The Trinity and the Paschal Mystery: A Development in Recent Catholic
Theology (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press 1997) 82.
6
H.U. von Balthasar, Theodramatik III. Die Handlung (Einsiedeln: Johannes Verlag, 1980)
302.
7
H.U. von Balthasar, Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter, translated by Aidan
Nichols (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1990) 28.
8
Mysterium Paschale viii-ix
9
Hunt, 61.
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III. the trinity and the pasChal mystery
Von Balthasars theological vision is deeply informed by the
drama of Jesus paschal mystery and in many of his works, particularly
in Mysterium Paschale, we fnd the theology of the paschal mystery and its
interconnection with the Mystery of Trinity.
a. death on the Cross
The death of Jesus on the cross according to von Balthasar
is marked by the paradox of action and passion.
10
On the cross God
hands over his Son to bear our sin. The Son, sent by the Father into the
God-forsakenness of the cross, out of love freely takes on himself the
sin of the world. Babbini would call this as vicarious substitution for
sinners without cooperation in sin.
11
But this act of handing over has its
origins in the Trinitarian decision of the Father to send the Son to save the
human race from sin.
12
St. Paul expresses this conviction most radically
when he says God did not spare his only-begotten Son but handed him
over for our sakes (Rom 8:32).
Von Balthasar sees the cross as the supreme moment of God-
lessness. For him the cross, and in the whole paschal mystery, is an event
of triune surrender and of mutual self-giving and self-yielding love. The
experience of abandonment on the cross by the Father is in Balthasars
theology a modality of the inner-trinitarian event.
13
Here the Father
does not intervene to save the Son from suffering and death. The Son
dies and is buried and descends to hell and cut off from God. But this
separation to the point of Fathers abandonment is the highest worldly
revelation of that event of difference between the Father and the Son in
the Spirit. In this sense, the abandonment on the cross is understood as
the economic form that reveals what God is in Gods eternal triune self.
14


10
H.U. von Balthasar, Death is Swallowed up by Life, Communio 14 (1987) 50.
11
Ellero Babbini, Jesus Christ, Form and Norm of Man according to Hans Urs von
Balthasar, Communio 16 (1989) 451.
12
J. ODonell, Hans Urs von Balthasar: Outstanding Christian Thinkers (London:
Geoffrey Chapman; Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1992) 82.
13
Hunt, The Trinity and Paschal Mystery 63. The term event here expresses a
liveliness in the triune God not as imperfection but as the perfection of the divine love that is
unchanging and eternal.
14
See von Balthasars Death is Swallowed Up by Life 49-54.
53 | PAMISULU
B. the desCent into hell
The descent into hell on Holy Saturday symbolizes Jesus
identifcation with humanity in death and in the powerlessness of the
sinners. For him the descent is in no sense a glorious entry but rather a
sinking down into the abyss of death. In contrast with Jesus active
self-surrender on Good Friday, Holy Saturday is marked by utter and
extreme passivity. Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday there is the
incommensurability of the hiatus which can be associated with the
Israelite conception of the realm of the dead which they call Sheol. It is a
land of lifeless passivity
15
where dead are cut off from the source of life.
16

Von Balthasar recognizes that the descent is more than
solidarity in physical death. It represents Jesus solidarity with those who
have defnitely isolated themselves from the love of God. He is in
solidarity with humanity in its sinfulness without implying any
cooperation by Jesus in sin itself because he himself is not bound by sin.
Von Balthasar explains this logic when he says that:
If the Father must be considered as the Creator of
human freedom- with all its foreseeable consequences then
judgment belongs primordially to him, and thereby Hell also;
and when he sends the Son into the world to save it instead
of judging it, and, to equip him for this function, gives all
judgment to the Son (John 5,22), then he must also introduce
the Son made man into Hell ( as the ultimate entailment of
human liberty). But the Son cannot really be introduced as a
dead man, on Holy Saturday.
17

It is because the Son comes not only for the elect but for sinners,
not only for the living but for the dead. It is not to judge but to save
us that he descends into hell. For this reason, indeed for our sake the
Father, Creator of human freedom, introduces the incarnate Son into hell.
However the descent, the solidarity with the dead, and the remitting of
all judgment to him can only take place on the Holy Saturday when the
Son himself is dead, obedient in corpse-like passivity. In the absolute
weakness of love God comes to the sinner in hell and enters into utter
loneliness and desolation and in this way Jesus disturbs the absolute
loneliness striven for by the sinner. By no means is the human freedom to
make a choice be denied because hell remains as the ultimate entailment
of human liberty.
18

15
Mysterium Paschale 176.
16
ODonnels Hans Urs von Balthasar 85.
17
Mysterium Paschale 175.
18
See ODonnels, The Form of His Theology 465.
54 | PAMISULU
The divine persons are thus revealed in the Paschal mystery
precisely in their engagement with the reality of human freedom. God
as redeemer, respects the genuine freedom bestowed in creation on the
human person and that is capable of resisting and rejecting Gods love.
Human freedom and all its possibilities are not in anyway undermined.
Only in the absolute weakness of love does God descend into hell to
accompany the sinners. God enters into this solidarity with those who
reject all solidarity. But neither is Gods freedom thwarted by created
human freedom. This means that neither the freedom to sin nor the
deadly consequence of sin is denied. The human person may reject God.
The human person may choose hell. But divine love is not obstructed by
human folly. On the contrary, God accompanies the sinners experience
of hellish isolation. Henceforth hell belongs to Christ. While it is a place
of desolation, it is a Christological place. It too exists in the space that
is the Trinity.
19

The trinitarian character of the descent is crucial to von
Balthasars theology. The decent is only possible because God is triune.
The Father sends the Son into hell. The Son, while remaining God
descends into God forsakenness, assumes the condition of sinful
humanity and embraces all that opposed to God and in this sense as one
who is even lonely. Jesus accompanies the sinner in the sinners choice to
damn himself and to reject God. Throughout it all he remains God. The
Spirit accompanies him and is the bond between the father and the Son,
uniting them in their separation.
The abandonment of the Son by the Father is possible only
because at this point of extreme separation they are united in love by
the Holy Spirit.
20
Because God is triune, with both difference and unity
guaranteed by the Holy Spirit, the inner-trinitarian difference between
Father and Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit can accommodate all
created differences including the death and descent. The descent into hell
is the fnal consequence of the unanimous Trinitarian will to salvation
and therefore of the Sons redemptive mission.
21

C. resurreCtion
Although the events of the cross and the descent into the hell
prepares for it, it is only with the resurrection that the Trinitarian
19
Mysterium Paschale 175.
20
H.U. von Balthasar, Elucidations, translated by John Riches (London: Burns & Oates,
1968) 51.
21
Mysterium Paschale 174-175.
55 | PAMISULU
character of the paschal events is fully perceived. The resurrection reveals
that even in the moment of extreme separation between the Father and
the Son, by virtue of the same divine liberty of love in the Trinitys eternal
plan of salvation, the two were united. This inseparable unity is expressed
in the very body of the Risen Lord.
22
The self-surrender and obedience of the Son remain as key themes
in his interpretation of the resurrection. Jesus is also obedient in the
resurrection because he allows the Father to raise him from the dead
to the visibility proper to the paschal mystery. When the Father shows
to the world his risen and glorifed Son, he himself is also disclosed
through the person of Christ. In the freedom with which the Son shows
himself in the post resurrection appearances, the Fathers freedom is also
manifested. Thus von Balthasar explains:
When accordingly, the Father grants to the Son, now raised
into eternal life, the absolute freedom too show himself to
the disciples in his identity with the dead Jesus of Nazareth,
bearing the marks of his wounds, he gives him no new,
different or alien freedom but the freedom which is most deeply
the Sons very own. It is precisely in this freedom that the Son
reveals, ultimately, the freedom of the Father.
23

Furthermore, von Balthasar also explains that the resurrection is
also the revelation of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that bridged
over the separation of the Father and the Son in the cross and descent
into hell. The resurrection of Jesus is accomplished in the powerful
transfguring action of the Spirit of God.
24

From this presentation, we can now say that the dramatic
events of the paschal mystery atleast from von Balthasars theology is
revelatory of Trinitarian relationality and dramatic character of divine life.
For him the paschal mystery serves as analogy for his understanding of the
Trinity.

IV. ECONOMIC TRINITY AND IMMANENT TRINITY
Balthasar recognizes that it is only on the basis of the
economic trinity that one can have a knowledge of the immanent trinity.
He personally maintains a clear distinction between the two.
25

22
Mysterium Paschale 203.
23
Mysterium Paschale 209.
24
Mysterium Paschale 102.
25
Theo-Drama III, 190-191.
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However he does not infer that the economic trinity constitutes the
immanent Trinity as there is a modern tendency to identify the two too
closely. For him, immanent Trinity remains as the transcendental
theological reality, not swallowed up in the economic Trinity when he
says: Instead, we have to think of the immanent Trinity as that eternal
and absolute love. This is the only thing that will explain Gods free self-
giving to the world as love, without God needing the cosmic process and
the cross to become (and mediate) Godself.
26

V. CONCLUSION
Balthasars Trinitarian theology is certainly inspired and
grounded on the Paschal Mystery. For him faith is frst an act of
perception and so his Trinitarian theology proceeds from a consideration
of Jesus Christ in his Paschal Mystery to the inner-trinitarian procession.
The events of the three days of Sacrum Triduum of which the midpoint
is the descent into hell are of vital importance in his philosophical and
theological attempt to explain the Trinity. Thus he moves from the
paschal mystery to the mystery of the Trinity, from the economic to the
immanent. The Paschal mystery is recognized as the supreme revelation
of the divine Trinitarian life, actualizing Trinitarian relationality in the
economy.
26
Theodramatik III, 300.
57 | PAMISULU
BECOMING-RELIGION: A. N. WHITEHEAD AND
THE PROCESS METAPHYSICS OF RELIGION
Fr. Kenneth C. Masong, PhD
Those societies which cannot combine
reverence to their symbols withfreedom
of revision, must ultimatelydecayeither
from anarchy, or from the slowatrophy
of a life stifed by useless shadows.
1

A. N. Whitehead, Symbolism (1927)
1. the re-/turn to religion
Alfred North Whitehead (1861 - 1947) begins his treatment
of religion in his seminal book, Religion in the Making, with a peculiar
statement that largely defnes the contours of our perception of religion.
He says, [i]t is the peculiarity of religion that humanity is always shifting
its attitude towards it.
2
It was believed that the legacy of the
Enlightenment, coupled with the rise of science and technology, would
result in the breakdown of religion. As Bainbridge and Stark point out:
The most illustrious fgures in sociology, anthropology and psychology
have unanimously expressed confdence that their childrenor surely
their grandchildrenwould live to see the dawn of a new era in which, to
paraphrase Freud, the infantile illusions of religion would be outgrown.
3

But one can observe that in the horizon of contemporary period, religion is
still a thriving domain of human existence. It is true that religions appeal
to authority seems to have waned; it is true that much of its supernatural
claims are either peculiarly questioned or largely ignored by most people,
both believers and non-believers; it is true that if one measures the health
of religion, say Christianity, by Church attendance and the reception of
the sacraments, then religion is defnitely standing before the doorway
of its demise.
4
Yet, it remains to be said that religion, though a silent
presence at the periphery of contemporary pedestrian life, is still there
1
Alfred North Whitehead, Symbolism: Its Meaning and Effect (New York: Capricorn
Books, 1955), 88.
2
Alfred North Whitehead, Religion in the Making (New York: Fordham University Press,
1926), 13.
3
William S. Bainbridge and Rodney Stark, The Future of Religion: Secularization,
Revival, and Cult Formation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), 1.
4
For an interesting recent study of the decline of organized religion in the West, see Bob
Altemeyer, The Decline of Organized Religion in Western Civilization, The International Journal
for the Psychology of Religion 14, no. 2 (2004): 77-89.
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
58 | PAMISULU
with a presence to be reckoned with. In religions perpetual agony, avers
de Vries, lies its philosophical and theoretical relevance. As it dies an ever
more secure and serial death, it is increasingly certain to come back to life,
in its present guise or in another.
5
If this is the case, religion has not gone;
we have simply shifted our attitudes toward it.
In Western philosophy, it is very striking to notice a
strong re-/turn to religion. The use of this term re-/turn largely
characterizes our shifting attitudes toward religion. Firstly, in some
domain, there are a marked number of instances of returning to the
faith, instances of people retrieving their religious roots. After centuries
defned by departures, we enter into a period of return, although as
Derrida cautions, it is not a simple return.
6
It is a going back to our own
tradition (although now with a different set of critical bifocals) because
we know that such an element of the past defnes likewise our identity,
and for us to face our future, we need to look back, analyze and
hopefully learn to appreciate our own rootedness in a certain tradition.
For some people, this tradition involves the domain that religion appeals
to (Gianni Vattimo, Anthony Kenny, Alistair McGrath, Jacques Derrida,
etc). Secondly, for some it is not exactly a return as a turn to religion.
The period between the 17th to the 20th century is markedly infuenced
by the revolt of some atheistic humanistic thinkers that abhor the very
notion of an appeal to transcendence. For some of them, religion is not
only false, it is evil, and thus the generations that follow them are given
birth in a freedom of life that may even be possibly devoid of the
slightest presence of religious infuence. There is no return to religion
because they have never been there, nor been rooted in there in the frst
place. For them, it is a deliberate attempt to consider religion as it is in itself
(Alain Badiou, Slavoj iek, etc.). Whether we see it as a return or a turn
to religion, the important thing is that religion has once again become a
matter of consideration for his generation, reentering into the public
sphere.
There are a number of factors that may explain this re-/turn
to religion. For Gianni Vattimo, two factors defne the horizon from
5
Hent de Vries, Philosophy and the Turn to Religion (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1999), 3.
6
The said return of the religious, which is to say the spread of a complex and
overdetermined phenomenon, is not a simple return, for its globality and its fgures () remain
original and unprecedented. And it is not a simple return of the religious, for it comports, as one of its
two tendencies, a radical destruction of the religious (). Jacques Derrida, Faith and Knowledge: the
Two Sources of Religion at the Limits of Reason Alone, in Religion, ed. Jacques Derrida and Gianni
Vattimo (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998), 42.
59 | PAMISULU
where religion reemerges.
7
Firstly, the fn-de-sicle state of anxiety that
humanity now experiences. Never before has the human civilization faced
with a threat of global proportion, nuclear war, genetic manipulation,
ecological disaster and its impending global threat like global warming,
and the loss of meaning in Western culture. All these contribute to a
far-reaching state of anxiety that leaves humanity with a sense of
hopelessness, a feeling of uncertainty over impending events that rock the
boat of complacency. In this century, we encounter a humanity unanchored
and being tossed by Herculean waves of improbability. Secondly,
modernitys sanction on religion has caved in, that is, we are now confronted
with [t]he breakdown of the philosophical prohibition of religion.
8
The
philosophical underpinnings that seek to delegitimize religion have
become its own undoing. The legacy of the Enlightenment is the close
scrutiny of everything under the watchful gaze of reason. Everything has to
pass through the thorny passage of the rational, otherwise it is displaced as
mere superstition that should hardly concern a decent Enlightened fellow.
But if there is one strong impulse brought about by postmodernism, it is the
undoing of a form of rationalism, a species of rationality that has no open
space for a domain beyond the rational. Religion then in this respect won by
default; reason could not sustain itself, could not keep up to its game,
bowed low at the silent triumph of religion. However, this re-/turn
to religion is far from a comeback of religion in its traditional garments.
What we see is a religion and a humanity transformed by global upheavals
and revolutions from the 17th to the 20th century.
Perhaps today the prevalent interest on the concept of religion
derives from questions that plaque not so much the domains of
philosophy or theology but that of economics, jurisprudence, and
socio-politics.
9
Religion is making headlines not so much because of its
endeavor to invite people under its fold, but because of how global politics
is being shaped by certain forms of religious fundamentalism, intolerance
and dogmatism. Religion makes the headline, but only because it has been
casting shadows. This religious scenario effects only the worsening of
irritation of anti-religionists like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and
Michel Onfray.
10
Nonetheless, it also invites deeper refection on what

7
See Randy J.C. Odchigue, The Radical Kenoticism of Gianni Vattimo and Interreligious
Dialogue, Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 16, no. 2 (2006): 174-75.
8
Gianni Vattimo, The Trace of the Trace, in Belief, ed. Gianni Vattimo and Jacques
Derrida (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998), 81.
9
On this regard, see the excellent reader on religion that just came out of the press: Hent de
Vries, ed., Religion: Beyond a Concept (New York: Fordham University press, 2008).
10
See, for example, their following publications: Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
(Boston: Houghton Miffin Company, 2006). Daniel C. Dennett, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a
Natural Phenomenon (London: Penguin Books, 2006). Michel Onfray, Atheist Manifesto: The Case
against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, trans. Jeremy Leggatt (New York: Arcade Publishing,
2008).
60 | PAMISULU
exactly is the role of religion, especially in the social domain of politics,
economics and international law. Religion makes a comeback in
philosophical discourses, not so much because philosophy itself
primarily has become interested in religion but because the current
religious scenario has made it incumbent upon philosophy to rethink, to
re-ponder, the concept of religion.
What is philosophically exigent is a rethinking of the concept of
religion and how it is to be thought, conceived, and made relevant, no
longer in the medieval sense of a hegemonic absolute, but as a humble yet
relevant factor in what Whitehead would refer to as the creative passage
towards civilization. That is, how does religion contribute exactly to the
civilization of contemporary experience? One avenue to throw light into
this question is to inquire into the metaphysical models that inform
religious identity.
2. religion and its metaphysiCs
There is a strain in the relation between religion and philosophy,
especially with the latters realization that its vocation exceeds beyond
the measly ancilla theologiae. Indeed, the very concept of philosophy of
religion is almost conceptually incoherent. Is philosophy doing justice
to religion when, as Marion notes, [t]he feld of religion could be simply
defned as whatever philosophy excludes or, in the best case, subjugates?
11

Is the relation too overwrought that the most tenable alternative becomes
the categorization into different exclusive language games? Despite the
dominant fragmentation brought about by postmodernism, the emerging
interest in the philosophy of event, from phenomenology to Badious
ontology of the multiple, promises a new mode of thinking that offers fresh
insights on religious importance.
12
One of the philosophers who
conceptualized on the event is Alfred North Whitehead who contends
11
Jean-Luc Marion, The Saturated Phenomenon, in Phenomenology and the
Theological Turn (New York: Fordham University Press, 2000), 176. Cf. also James K. A. Smith,
Liberating Religion from Theology: Marion and Heidegger on the Possibility of a Phenomenology of
Religion, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 46 (1999): 17-33.
12
In contemporary French thought there is a growing interest in the philosophy of
lvnement mostly centered in French phenomenology as a result of an abiding refection on
Husserls thoughts on temporality and Heideggers Ereignis. The signifcant thinkers on this feld
would include, among others: Jean-Luc Marion, Being Given: Toward a Phenomenology of
Givenness, trans. Jeffrey L. Kosky (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2002).
Franoise Dastur, Pour une phnomnologie de lvnement: lattente et la surprise, tudes
Phnomnologiques 25 (1997): 59-75. Claude Romano, Lvnement et le monde (Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1998). Badious philosophy of the event is a sui generis, emerging from his
philosophical refection on the metaphysical import of transfnite set theory. See Alain Badiou, Being
and Event, trans. Oliver Feltham (London: Continuum, 2007).
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that the genuine encounter between philosophy and religion only
promises conceptual purifcation and experiential enrichment.
13

Whitehead argues that religion needs a metaphysical backing.
14

This is more than a mere philosophical platitude. The history of how
Christian faith has come to understand itself is a history of how belief
appropriates metaphysical concepts and principles in the articulation of
its central propositions. Religion will not survive with the fdeist ghetto
mentality of a Tertullian. This is at the heart of Augustines and Anselms
fdes quaerens intellectum. This is not simply because of a need for a critique
of its fundamental concepts and beliefs, but because it needs
metaphysical structures, conceptual scaffoldings in order to coherently
and intelligently make sense of its own belief. The problem here lies on
the sort of metaphysics that inform religious beliefs and practices, the
philosophical presuppositions that motivate and infuence its own
coming to terms with self-understanding. Although Christianity has been
well judicious in its selection of conceptual scaffolding in order to erect
its theological edifce, the fow of transformation has never been a totally
one-way street. The effect is a mold of religion that occasions some
accusations of it being unavoidably intolerant and fundamentally
dogmatic, saying that it is at the heart of religious life to be so. Is this
really the case? Is it inscribed in religions own grammatical faith logic
that it likewise speaks the language of fundamentalism?
Nowadays, due mostly to the infuence of the writings of Ren
Girard, the intimate link between religion and violence has become a
philosophical subject.
15
Nonetheless, the knotty issue of religious
fundamentalism is deeper than the current concern over religion and
violence that informs much of the contemporary debate on religion.
Violence does have a deep historical resonance in a genealogy of religion,
but violence is mostly a religious practical consequence.
Fundamentalism, or more properly, dogmatism is at the root of
religions recourse to violence. Religion embraces forms of violence, either
to itself or to others because of an apodictic faith, a set of incorrigible
13
Whitehead says, Philosophy frees itself from the taint of ineffectiveness by its close
relations with religion and with science, natural and sociological. Religion should connect the
rational generality of philosophy with the emotions and purposes springing out of existence in a
particular society, in a particular epoch, and conditioned by particular antecedents.
Philosophy fnds religion, and modifes it; and conversely religion is among the data of experience which
philosophy must weave into its own scheme. Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality: An Essay in
Cosmology, ed. David Ray Griffn and Donald Sherburne, Corrected ed. (New York: The Free Press,
1978), 16.
14
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 83
15
Cf. Ren Girard, Violence and the Sacred, trans. Patrick Gregory (London: Continuum,
1977).
62 | PAMISULU
beliefs, that legitimizes violence itself. Violence is justifable only in a
complex set of religious propositions that do not accommodate the
possibility of its own fragility, that fail to recognize its own
provisionality.
One may generally argue that, ontologically speaking, there are
two metaphysics that inform the conceptual articulation of religion, a
metaphysics of substance and a metaphysics of event.
16
According to
Whitehead, these two metaphysics are the deliverances of an integral
experience. We all experience that some things change while others do
not, some things move while others do not: Being and becoming,
substance and process. Most process philosophers argue that the history
of Western philosophy has given undue importance to substance over
process, being over becoming, especially among those philosophical
systems where movement, change, and transformation are nothing but
attributes, effects, derivatives. To a certain degree, the success of
substance metaphysics is owed to the mode of thinking that cultivates
such mentality, that is, during the early times, perfection is synonymous
to that which does not change, that which does not move. It even has
a geometric symbol, that of the sphere whose points are equidistant to
each other and whose cyclical movement not only suggests the
abandonment of beginning and end, but also gives the illusion of stability.
Greek thought was conducive to substance-thinking. The fundamental
import of a metaphysics of substance is that reality is explicable only in
the logic of a basic unchanging substratum to which all observations are
predicable as its attributes.
When this metaphysics entered the domain of religion, there was
an almost perfect ft, especially with the rise of religious monotheism. As
the concept of movement, change, becoming suggests imperfection, the
idea of Being, immutability, impassibility inversely suggests perfection.
The metaphysical search for the unchanging ground of changing reality
became a religious search for an ultimate ground which was found in the
arms of an impassible, omniscient, omnipotent God. When substance
metaphysics found its ultimate category in the concept of Being, religion
found its religious ultimate in God that put on the attributes of Being
itself. God became the Ultimate Being, and from then on the history of
Western metaphysics and religion had followed the track of what
Heidegger would later call as onto-theology, the forgetting of the
16
Cf. Whitehead, Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, 209. Whitehead utilizes
the phrase metaphysics of fux especially since in Process and Reality the concept of event has
signifcantly changed from his earlier theorizing. Nonetheless, in this paper, fux, event, process and
becoming are concepts used interchangeably.
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ontological difference between Being as it is in itself and God.
17
The
problem of onto-theology is not only metaphysical; it is also religious. If
the metaphysical ultimate coincides with the religious absolute, what
results is an apodictic faith, a set of unshakeable religious beliefs that
fails to accommodate the possibility of revision, of provisionality, of
contextuality. This becomes a fertile ground nurturing seeds of
intolerance over differences, dogmatic reifcation of non-fnal beliefs, and
the absolutization of a particular at the cost of the most.
What is needed is to appeal for the possibility of thinking religion
away from a metaphysics of substance towards a metaphysics of process.
One may argue that religion can speak and refect on itself philosophi-
cally not only with the conceptual scaffolding of a substance metaphysics
where religion becomes objectifed, but likewise with the shifting waves
of a metaphysics of fux where religion remains in the making.
18
There
is freshness to be had with the deterritorialization of religion from the
category of object to its reterritorialization in the fux of event.
19
The
appeal is to dislodge religion from the certainty of standing on
demarcated substantial land and to invite it to journey into the vast fuid
sea. To follow the path of faith is not to remain in the security of standing
on the port, but to embark on a risky journey of going off-shore, sailing
into the expanse of the unknown and uncertain.
The displacement of religion from the feld of substance
metaphysics was not simply a result of Heideggers diagnosis of Western
philosophys metaphysical malaise. Much of it was also informed by
the advancement of science. Even during the time of Newton, one can
already discern that the basic presupposition of reality is not stability but
movement. It was no longer stability explaining movement, but
movement explaining stability. Nature is in a fux, such that things that
are stable are said to be only at rest, being permeated with kinetic
energy (kinesis). The credence of Aquinas frst way, that of the unmoved
17
Cf. Heideggers essay The Onto-theo-logical Constitution of Metaphysics in Martin
Heidegger, Identity and Difference, trans. Joan Stambaugh (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
2002), 42-74.
18
As Whitehead reiterates, [t]he continuity of nature is to be found in events, the atomic
properties of nature reside in objects. Alfred North Whitehead, An Inquiry Concerning the Principles
of Natural Knowledge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1919), 66.
19
In the contemporary landscape of religious inclinations, there is a growing bifurcation
of concepts that proceeds along the channels of object and event. On the one hand, there is the
channel of growing critique against institutional religion (and sometimes of religion in its entirety);
and on the other hand, there is the channel of growing interest in lived spiritualities (ranging from
traditional spiritualities to the New Age forms). Although this bifurcation is patently a
generalization of the religious scenario, there are already noticeable and concrete upshots to this
religious disjunction. These upshots are suggested by such catch-phrases as believing without
belonging, being spiritual but not religious, spirituality vs. religiosity, etc.
64 | PAMISULU
mover, rests only in a mode of thinking wherein one asks, who or what
is it that moves something else?. Nowadays, one inquires, Who or
what hinders one thing from moving? Previously, change or process is
derivative or attributable to being or substance, nowadays, being and
substance are derivative of process and becoming. The classical principle
operari sequitur esse is reversed into esse sequitur operari.
20

3. three models oF the god-World relation
If such be the characterization of process metaphysics, one then
may ask oneself, how does process metaphysics affect the fdes quaerens
intellectum of religion? What is the religious contour of the sacred if the
soul that animates it is a metaphysics of fux?
When one considers Whiteheads 1926 book, what one
immediately takes cognizance of is its striking title: Religion in the
Making. That religion changes is not foreign to religion itself. Indeed,
Christianity has known well the saying ecclesia semper reformanda, the
Church is always reforming, changing, transforming itself. However,
knowing that in Whitehead one fnds a fully developed metaphysics
of process or of becoming, a philosophical system that puts becoming,
rather than being, as the ultimate metaphysical category, one
immediately wonders on the effect of this mode of thought in the
rethinking or contemporary refection on the concept of religion.
Whitehead argues that [r]eligion is the reaction of human
nature to its search for God.
21
Broadly conceived, religion is about the
relation between God and the World.
22
Much of the conceptualization of
religion is based on how the relation between these two poles (heaven/ earth,
God/creatures) had been conceived, both religiously and metaphysically.
But what are the conceptual models available explicative of the relation
between the two? One may locate an avenue for this in Whiteheads
remark concerning progress and the relation that exists between what
20
Cf. Nicholas Rescher, Process Philosophy: A Survery of Basic Ideas (Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), 7.
21
Alfred North Whitehead, Science and the Modern World (New York: The Free Press,
1925), 191.
22
Indeed, the suggestiveness of religion in the last section of Whiteheads Process and
Reality is already revealed in the title itself.
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he calls the Republic on Earth and the Kingdom of Heaven.
23
He says:
[p]rogress consists in modifying the laws of nature so that the Republic
on Earth may conform to that Society to be discerned ideally by the
divination of Wisdom.
24
In these words, Whitehead alludes to the
adventure of ideas, the discerned humanitarian ideals, which shape the
outlines of various civilizations beyond immediate determinations. Ideas
emerge from the sensitivity towards the complex but determinate order
of possibilities that pass through the divination of Wisdom. Against
naturalist process philosophers who incise the divine from Whiteheadian
metaphysics,
25
God fgures signifcantly precisely because God proffers
the initial aim by which concrescence accrues, accounts for the introduc-
tion of novelty in the created order, and promises objective immortality
in the perishing of actual occasions. Despite certain inconsistencies in
Whiteheads creative and speculative input, the ontological principle
requires that eternal objects have to be somewhere.
26
In the vision that
God offers, humanity discerns its proper ideals. Nonetheless, the issue is
not straightforwardly uncomplicated. It is not just a case of God
offering ideals, suggestions, possibilities, and then humanity decides to
realize them, admitting their ingression in the conformed determina-
tion of the actual state of things. In the relation between God and the
World, the metaphysically crucial word is conform, that is, how the
World needs to conform to the divine Wisdom, and whether this is just a
one-way street. Religiously, the brief statement of Whitehead is almost
a re-echo of a famous prayer among Christian denominations, that is, the
Pater Noster, wherein we say among other things: tito q ooiitio oou
ytvqqo o tiqo oou o tv oupovo |oi ti yq [your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven] (Matthew 6,10). That the
coming of Gods kingdom (ooiitio) is realized only insofar as his
will (tiqo) is done or accomplished on earth provides the crucial
framework for a fertile dialogue between metaphysical modelsand
religious beliefs. What is the nature of this tiqo to which we are
to conform? Is it a plan mapping the ideal order where digression promises
23
The phrase kingdom of heaven itself does not appear as such in Adventures of Ideas.
It features signifcantly though in Religion in the Making especially pages 72, 87-88, 154-155. It is
interesting to note that Whitehead does not refer to the common Christian expression of the Kingdom
of God. Indeed, in the whole of Religion in the Making, such expression is absent and references
alluding to such are identifed more as a subliminal glorifcation of power that he critically dismisses
as barbaric.
24
Alfred North Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas (New York: The Free Press, 1933), 42.
25
This is signifcantly present in the revisionist writings of Sherburne. See Donald
Sherburne, Whitehead without God, in Process Philosophy and Christian Thought, ed. Delvin
Brown, Ralph E. Jr. James, and Gene Reeves (New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1971).
This article set into motion the so-called Whitehead without God Debate. See John Jr. B. Cobb, The
Whitehead without God Debate: The Critique, Process Studies 1, no. 2 (1971). Also, Donald W.
Sherburne, The Whitehead without God Debate: The Rejoinder, Process Studies 1 (1971).
26
Whitehead, Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, 46.
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only a muddled chaos? Is it a law to which the world ought to comply and
where non-compliance promises only a chastisement? Or, is it a wish, an
expression of purpose that invites us to become Gods co-workers
(tou ouvtpyoi) in the building up of the Republic on Earth (cf. I
Corinthians 3,9).
The frst model explicative of the relation between God and the
World may be called Repetition. This model draws heavily from the
Platonic and neo-Platonic infuences within Christianity.
27
When the
world was created by God, he already had an idea, a plan defning his
tiqo. In Gods mind, there is already a blueprint, and this blueprint
guides him in his creation and relation with the created order. To pray the
words your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
suggests on this model that humanitys exercise of freewill is constituted
by the repetition of this same celestial blueprint into the created order.
Approximating Whiteheads Eastern Asiatic concept of God, tiqo
refers to an impersonal order to which the world conforms.
28
Evil is
characterized by the departure from this celestial blueprint in the
passage of history. The coming of the kingdom of God is characterized
by the repetition of what God has in mind into the realm of the created
order because this world [is] a lost cause.
29
However, this very concept
of repetition effects its own undoing. This is defned by the tyrannical
absoluteness characteristic of theocracies where Gods will reigns
supreme and to which human wills only contribution in the passage
of nature is to repeat this same will in terrestrial domain. Being Gods
co-worker is about copying the blueprint in the heavens into this world.
Humanity is a servile amanuensis writing the dictates of Gods will into
the Book of Nature.
30
Gods plan for the world is something complete
and unchanging. Defnitiveness is patent for the celestial blueprint is
ultimate and fnal. Holiness is a passive submission to Gods will.
God is an absolute tyrant who wants to colonize not only heaven but
also earth. In the origin of civilized religion, avers Whitehead, gods
27
This model is prevalent among theologians of the Middle Ages wherein there is the
abandonment of this world to the Evil Prince thereof, and concentrated thought upon another world
and a better life. Whitehead argues that Plato did consider this solution but gave it a twist not
adopted by later theologians. Plato conceives the perfect Republic in Heaven as an immediate present
possession in the consciousness of the wise in the temporal world. The model of Repetition taken
here is a fipside of mediaeval Christianitys temptation to abandon the immediate experience of this
world as a lost cause. Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, 32.

28
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 68.
29
Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, 32.
30
This stance makes a parody of Hugh of St. Victors statement that the World is like a
book written by the hand of God. Universus mundus iste sensibilis quasi quidam liber est scriptus
digito Dei Quoted in Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 2007), 93.
67 | PAMISULU
are like dictators.
31
This model expresses the extreme form of religious
absolutism.
The second model is Representation and proceeds from a fxated
interest in absolute transcendence. To pray the words your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven suggests in this
model that Gods tiqo is effectively present in the domain of
heaven where he reigns, but suggests further that whatever is present in
Gods eternity can be re-presented likewise in created temporality. The
economy of salvation is not about making a heaven of earth (Repetition),
but of actualizing the mode of order of the heavens as something relevant
and also effective in the domain of the world. However great an improve-
ment this model already is compared to the frst, it still falls victim to
the pitfall of absolute religious transcendence. If God is absolutely
transcendent from the world, representation is exigent. Indeed, much of the
political history of Christianity, as Marcel Gauchet illustrates, is
refective of this model because the secular and religious leaders become
the absolute Gods exclusive representatives to this world.
32
If the frst
model is a theocracy, the second model is religious oligarchy, the rule of
the few representatives of the divine. If in the frst model God is fashioned
as an imperial ruler in the image of Caesar, the second model sees the
religious and civil leaders as emissaries of a divine sovereign.
The third model is Participation. Here, God and the World are
immanent to each other, that is to say, considering the world we can
fnd all the factors required by the total metaphysical situation; but we
cannot discover anything not included in this totality of actual fact, and
yet explanatory to it.
33
Unlike the second model where absolute
transcendence necessitates representation, this model affrms God who is
immanent, or at least, not wholly transcendent. To pray the words your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven means that
Gods tiqo becomes a relevant factor in the becoming of the world,
not to the extent that the exercise of human will becomes repetitive or
representational but collaboratory or participative. tiqo is not
simply will, fnal and decided. It also expresses wish, purpose,
31
Alfred North Whitehead, Modes of Thought (New York: Macmillan Publishing Inc.,
1938), 49.
32
As Gauchet remarks, With the States appearance, the religious Other actually
returns to the human sphere. Marcel Gauchet, The Disenchantment of the World: A Political
History of Religion, trans. Oscar Burge (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 35. Cf also
Andr Cloots, Marcel Gauchet and the Disenchantment of the World: The Relevance of Religion for the
Transformation of Western Culture, Bijdragen 67, no. 3 (2006): 253-87.
33
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 71.
68 | PAMISULU
suggestion or proposal for a future event.
34
Gods will does not
necessarily imply blind obedience, but an invitation for collaborative
work, for participation. The vision that God offers is dependent on the
elements comprising the actual world of each concrescence and it changes
in view of the transformation that accrues in the immediate environment.
Though Gods will is defnite for the moment, it is never fnal. It invites
humanitys contribution as genuine co-workers. This is one of the
fundamental insights that Alain Badiou gathers from Saint Paul. Before
the Christ-event, we are all established in equality as Gods co-workers
in the Worlds becoming: co-ouvriers de Dieu.
35
In this respect, religion is
a democracy of wills, both divine and human. This may be referred to
as the ethnopoietic character of religion.
36
The evental encounter between
God and humanity extends over, passes onto wider spatio-temporal
extensionality or results into the emergence of a particular nexus of actual
occasions. That is, the event of religion constitutes (oito meaning to
make) a people, a group, a nation (tvo). We need to rehabilitate the
human element in religions identity. The process of becoming-religion
is not simply a mandate of the divine fat but is given birth in the
enduring democratic consent of those who enter into its constitution
through faith.
37
The so-called Clash of Civilization
38
is not the
34
Although the Greek word tiqo is proper to the New Testament, its verbal form
tio is a shortened form of ttio meaning to will, to wish that See Liddell and Scott, An
Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889), s.v.
35
The most powerful expression of this equality [of the sons], necessary correlate of
universality, can be found in I Corinthians 3, 9. We are all tou ouvtpyoi, Gods coworkers
[co-ouvriers de Dieu]. This is a magnifcent maxim. Where the fgure of the master breaks
down come those of the worker and of equality, conjoined. All equality is that of belonging
together to a work. Indubitably, those participating in a truth procedure are coworkers in its becoming.
This is what the metaphor of the son designates: a son is he whom an event relieves of the law and
everything related to it for the beneft of a shared egalitarian endeavor. Alain Badiou, Saint Paul: The
Foundation of Universalism, trans. Ray Brassier (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), 60,
emphases added and text modifed.
36
This neologism is the third variant in Whiteheadian studies. Firstly, Isabelle Stengers
coined the word ethopoiesis and used it in reference to the concomitant transformation of the
knower in the production of knowledge. See Isabelle Stengers, Thinking with Deleuze and
Whitehead: A Double Test, in Deleuze, Whitehead and the Transformation of Metaphysics, ed.
Andr Cloots and Keith Robinson (Brussels: Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgie voor
Wetenschappen en Kunsten, 2005), 8. Secondly, Roland Faber used the word theopoetics as
characterizing process theology. See Roland Faber, Gott als Poet der Welt: Anliegen und Perspektiven
der Prozesstheologie, 2nd ed. (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2004). Also the talk
he gave: Roland Faber, Process Theology as Theopoetics, (Kresge Chaple, Claremont, CA:
Unpublished paper, 2006). Theopoetics as such is an emerging discipline of study (in theology) where
theological refection is worked out along the symbolic and interpretative principles of poetry.
37
The event of the religious (e.g. Badious Christ-event) is creative of a community, and as
Alistair McGrath argues, this is one of the positive aspects of religion that needs rethinking. The role
of religion in creating and sustaining communal identity has been known for some considerable time,
and has become increasingly import since about 1965. Alistair MacGrath, The Twilight of Atheism:
The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (London: Random House, 2004), 264-65.
38
See Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order
(New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1996). Cf. also his earlier article on the subject, Samuel P.
Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations?, Foreign Affairs 72, no. 3 (1993): 22-49.
69 | PAMISULU
schizophrenic doubling of a God or a celestial variance among Gods. It is
chiefy the zealous collision of human wills in their enthopoietic
constitution arising from their singular encounter with the divine. What
religion is is not just due to what God wills but also because of what
we, humanity, want of it. The role and fate of religion in contemporary
times rest to an equal degree on how and what we want it to be. There
is no infantile escape into the will of God when religion is becoming
intolerant and fundamentalist. Being co-workers demands the synergy of
wills in the advancement of history towards Gods vision of Harmony
of Harmonies.
39
There is no defnite celestial blueprint because every
possibility for the future is always determined on the decisions made
in the present in view of the past. The world is a mutually adjusted
disposition of things, issuing in value for its own sake.
40
There is no need
for representation because God and humanity are immediate co-workers
in the unfolding event of civilization. In the fne words of Whitehead:
Gods rle is not the combat of productive
force with productive force, of destructive
force with destructive force; it lies in the
patient operation of the overpowering ra-
tionality of his conceptual harmonization.
He does not create the world, he saves it: or,
more accurately, he is the poet of the world,
with tender patience leading it by his vision
of truth, beauty and goodness.
41

What God offers is a vision to which God invites us to journey
onwards in the progress towards civilization. For Whitehead, God is
not the destination of religious sojourn, but a companion to the pilgrimage
itself.
42
In the becoming-religion, God is not its teleological object as if
to suggest the goal of religion is a divine homecoming in a transcendent
locus where God expectantly stands at the door with arms wide open.
Whiteheadian ethnopoiesis postulates that God is a co-worker in
becoming-religion and constituting believers as a nation peculiarly his
own (cf. Deuteronomy 26,18).
In Whitehead, religion engenders hope because religion is the
prime agent in the dynamic quest for the ideals of civilization. It is not
coincidence that, despite some events that cast a shadow on the
achievements of religion in a particular civilization, religion is
signifcantly present in most great civilizations of ancient times, in Egypt,
Persia, Rome, Greece, Jerusalem, etc. Whitehead argues that the great
39
Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, 296.
40
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 143-44.
41
Whitehead, Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, 346.

42
Cf. Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 17, also 154-55.
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social ideal for religion is that it should be the common basis for the unity
of civilization. In that way it justifes its insight beyond the transient clash
of brute forces.
43
Religion is a potent transforming agency that nurtures
the fermentation of the ideals of civilizationtruth, beauty, adventure, art
and peace,
44
ideals that constitute the reasonable hope for things to come
despite the transient clash of brute forces of the immediate present.
Indeed, the constant challenge for any religion that sinks back into
sociability, that sinks back into tribalism, authoritarianism, xenophobia,
is to reorient itself to that fundamental experience of the religious spirit
where distinctions and specifcity fall asunder under the mantle of
universality to which solitariness is fundamentally oriented.
45
Solitariness
is that raising of oneself beyond the transient, contingent and mundane.
46

Through solitariness, there is an endeavour to fnd something permanent
and intelligible by which to interpret the confusion of immediate detail.
47

This apprehension of the permanent and the intelligible coerces us to
transcend our complacency in prepackaged hand-me-down beliefs and
practices. The apprehension of the permanent and the intelligible impels
us to that reorganization of belief in order to make religion the potent
agent in the ordering of life, a life that gains the approval of ethical
scrutiny.
48

4. FallaCy oF dogmatism
However, religion can only engender hope for the advancement of
civilization only if it does not fall into the pit of the fallacy of dogmatism.
For Whitehead,
Religions commit suicide when they
fnd their inspirations in their dogmas. The
inspiration of religion lies in the history of
religion. By this I mean that it is to be found
43
Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, 172.
44
Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, Part IV.
45
As Whitehead famously remarked, [r]eligion is what the individual does with his own
solitariness. Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 16, also 47, 60.
46
As Lundeen argues, Whiteheads solitariness refers to those immediate aspects of
experience which are beyond exhaustive penetration and control. It is the manner in which every
individual transcends his environment without being separated from it. It is not solitariness in the
sense of being alone, but rather in the sense of appropriating the data of experience in ones own
way. Lyman T. Lundeen, Risk and Rhetoric in Religion: Whiteheads Theory of Language and the
Discourse of Faith (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972), 227.
47
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 47.
48
This refers to what Whitehead unfortunately calls Rational Religion: Rational
religion is religion whose beliefs and rituals have been reorganized with the aim of making it the
central element in a coherent ordering of lifean ordering which shall be coherent both in respect to the
elucidation of thought, and in respect to the direction of conduct towards a unifed purpose
commanding ethical approval. Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 31.
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in the primary expressions of the intuitions
of the fnest types of religious lives.
49

Dogmatism is the reifcation of religious intuitions, the
petrifaction that lies at the root of the prevailing decadence of religious
infuence. It stifes the spirit whereby religion contributes hope for a
better world. This is central to Whiteheads critique of religion. If religion
is to fnd its brighter future, it should face its crisis in the only way in
which such problems can be studied, namely, in the school of experience.
50
This entails both the anamnesis of the singular religious origin, e.g. the
Christ-event, and likewise our own proper religious experience that led
us into the footsteps of devout conviction. Grounding faith in experience,
one recognizes that the Christian tradition is more than a mere deposit
of faith. It is an unfolding of event. It is in this paradigm of event, of
happening, of actual occasions that Whitehead offers to religion in
general, and Christianity in particular, a conceptuality where religion
itself not only engenders a high hope of adventure but becomes an
adventure itself. Religion is grounded on genuine human experience;
51
it
is not an illusion or a desperate attempt to conceive of hope in a hopeless
world. The religious spirit is always in process of being explained away,
distorted, buried. Yet, since the travel of mankind towards civilization, it
is always there.
52

Religion engenders hope because religion itself is a noble
discontent.
53
It tries to reach beyond what it is, beyond that which no
humanity can ever reach. Religion not only engenders hope in itself,
it offers to each of its citizen that grain of hope germane in all human
experience. It offers this hope because religion itself is a vision. It is the
vision of something which stands beyond,
behind, and within, the passing fux of
immediate things; something which is real,
and yet waiting to be realised; something
which is a remote possibility, and yet the
greatest of present facts; something that
gives meaning to all that passes, and yet
eludes apprehension; something whose
possession is the fnal good, and yet is
beyond all reach; something which is the
49
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 144.
50
Whitehead, Religion in the Making, 147.
51
Santiago Sia, Religion, Reason, and God : Essays in the Philosophies of Charles
Hartshorne and A.N. Whitehead, vol. 10, Contributions to Philosophical Theology (Frankfurt am
Main: Peter Lang, 2004), 135.
52
Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, 172.

53
Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, 11.
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ultimate ideal, and the hopeless quest.
54
If religion then engenders hope, is there a hope also for religion in
our times? Whiteheads answer is in the affrmative. There need only be
a strengthened refexivity in solitariness and a cautioned appreciation of
religious intuitions that do not reify into dogmatism because these bring to
bear the dynamism inherent in religion. Religion needs to go beyond
itself in the adventure of the religious spirit: a religion beyond religion.
It needs to articulate its belief and identity according to the religious
eventum tantum in order to rehabilitate its essence as pure happening
between transcendence and immanence, between the celestial and the
mundane, between the actual and the possible. Religion needs to fnd its
identity not as an accomplished-promise but as an already-but-not-yet;
that it is in essence a becoming-religion.
54
Whitehead, Science and the Modern World, 191-92.
73 | PAMISULU
Dulles, Avery, SJ.
Evangelization for the Third Millenium.
Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2009.
144 pp. ISBN 978-0809146222.
Evangelization for the Third Millennium was the last work of a
dedicated servant of the Lord. Writing over 750 articles for various
periodicals and journals, authoring over twenty books on various
theological subjects, active member of various committees of the
Catholic Church in America and lecturing in various theological
institutions, Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, wrote his last in the Jesuit
infrmary at Murray-Weigel Hall on the campus of Fordham University.
In the Preface of the book, his assistant, Anne Marie Kirmse, OP,
PhD, described how this labor of love was his testament of his faith and
dedication to the Word of God. When he was confned to the Jesuit
infrmary in February 2007, he begun this project so close to his heart,
he labored over the details of the manuscript and was always involved
along the way. He edited the text, read it and wrote his changes, when
his health failed and rob him of his speech or his capacity to write or type;
he crumpled the pages he wanted changed.
1

Avery Cardinal Dulles died peacefully on December 12, 2008. This
book was published posthumously in 2009.
The cardinal always believed that the pontifcate of Paul VI was
defned by his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, this work
he maintained was the unifying theme of the objectives of the Second
Vatican Council, the radical interpretation that would defne the
relevance of the Church in the Third Millennium; Evangelization. And for
this very reason, Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ wanted to leave us this book so
aptly and generously conceived.

The title itself would give us a glimpse to the treatment and
approach the cardinal utilized in presenting the purpose and intent of
this work. EN no. 2 to make the Church of the twentieth century ever
ftted for proclaiming the gospel to the people of the twentieth century.
2

The cardinal re-appropriated this to mean, the Church ftted to proclaim
the gospel for the third millennium.
1
Dulles,A. SJ., Evangelization for the Third Millennium, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ 2209
p. v
2
Dulles,A. SJ., Evangelization for the Third Millennium, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ 2209
p. 3-4
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
74 | PAMISULU
The cardinal divided the book into ten chapters. The frst three
chapters discuss evangelization in the life of the Church. Chapter one
starts with a short biblical defnition of evangelization and proceeds in
broad strokes on how it was understood in the life of the Church in her
long history, it is a mark, the identifying character of the Church, how
it was neglected in recent centuries and the vision of Pope Paul VI to
revive it. After which, the what, why, who and how of Evangelization are
discussed to serve as summaries of what the preceding chapters would
be. In Chapter II, it discusses the 1974 synod and the Paul VIs post -
synodal apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, its context, favorable
reactions, critical comments and implementation in the United States of
America. Chapter Three dwell on how Pope John Paul II picked up the
challenge left by Paul VI which effectively launched the direction of the
Church and the Program of New evangelization in the Third Millennium,
Evangelii Nuntiandi being its backbone.
The next three chapters would discuss the challenges and
possible avenues of convergence and dialogue concerning New Evange-
lization in the Third Millennium. Chapter four dealt with the object of
evangelization, the gospel, by going back to the history of reformation,
particularly the contentions in the understanding of the gospel between
the Lutherans and the Catholics. The chapter closes by citing points of
convergence by clarifying some misunderstandings, terminologies and
various movements that poster ecumenism and dialogue in the years
following Vatican II. What is more important in this chapter is the
rediscovery of what both sides can offer to enrich each others faith. The
very heart of chapter fve discusses the issue of ecumenism and mission
and how to dialogue with Christians from other denomination and with
the other great religions of the world. This chapter also suggest that by
clarifying the term evangelization we can enter into authentic dialogue
with other faith without sacrifcing the very mission of the Church and
vivifying her very own life of faith and witnessing before others with the
riches of her worship and liturgy, sacraments and acts of charity. Chapter
six discusses the evangelization of Cultures. Cardinal Dulles proposes
that transmitting Christian culture is an integral part of evangeliza-
tion through the conduit of higher education without limiting academic
freedom. Through this means the Church enters in a dialogue with
modernity and secularism, and situates challenges the Church is
presented with.
The next four chapters are the discussions on how to execute the
program of New Evangelization. Chapter seven suggests that in order
for evangelization to be effective in a complex global culture, which is
characteristic of the third millennium, we need to have a paradigmatic
75 | PAMISULU
approach in theology which is both evangelical and catholic. This means
a theology that shows the connection between the Word of God and
the truth that leads to salvation; the theology of faith is inseparable to
the theology of witness.
3
Chapter eight presents the different models of
Evangelization, these consist of personal witness, verbal testimony,
Christian worship, community, inculturation and works of charity. In
chapter nine, the cardinal, proposes various models of catechesis which
are doctrinal, kerygmatic, liturgical, experiential, praxis, all which are
girded towards integral Christian formation. The last chapter deals
with the models of Apologetics, these are classical apologetics, biblical
evidentialism, religious experience, the acts of faith or longing of the heart,
theological aesthetics, presuppositionalist, arguments from the patterns
of history.
New Evangelization,
4
in Avery Cardinal Dulles mind is the
renewal expressed in the believers life, the Church and society in general
brought about by the gospel, whose content and summit is Christ and is
continually inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thus it permeates every aspect
of our life, through the transformation brought about by the Holy
Spirit, the gospel brings salvation to all who believe. How did the cardinal
arrive at this realization? Through careful historical analysis, he
presented how the Church is essentially missionary, by the very reason
that she is commissioned to proclaim by the Lord to preach the gospel to
all people. Thus, evangelization is a mark of being church, she is
expansive in her very nature, however, the understanding of evangeliza-
tion was mediated by various contexts in her history. Thus, it occurred
that her self-understanding became ecclesiocentric and apologetic. But
it came to be that the church felt the need to open her doors and to
dialogue with the modern world, the infuence of Vatican II through the
initiative of Pope John XXIII, the providential apostolic exhortation
Evangelii Nuntiandi of Paul VI and the continuance brought by Pope John
Paul II launched and showed the relevance and need of a program for New
Evangelization.
New Evangelization discusses the centrality of Christ and the
hierarchy of truths, promoting unity by bearing a common hope among
Christian churches or ecumenism, authentic dialogue and proclamation,
religious freedom, commitment to common good and social teachings of
the Church, and evangelization of cultures, employment of new methods

3
Dulles,A. SJ., Evangelization for the Third Millenium, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ 2209 p.
79.
4 New evangelization was a term Avery Cardinal Dulles barrowed from Pope John Paul II.
The term was frst coined in the Popes speech at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on May 9, 1983. It was on the
occasion of the ffth centenary of the frst evangelization of the Americas.
76 | PAMISULU
and expressions or New media, involvement of all Christians and the
primacy of the Holy Spirit. Evangelization is thus understood in a
broader sense, a process continuing throughout the life of faith, wherein
it happens, as pointed out in the encyclical of Pope John Paul II on
missionary activity, in three spheres, frst, mission ad gentes or
evangelization to those who do not know Christ, second, reevangeliza-
tion to those who lost a living sense of faith, and lastly, pastoral care to
faithful Christians so as to animate them to think, feel, speak and act in full
accordance with the mind of the Lord.
Lastly, this program of new evangelization, according to
Cardinal Dulles, is needed right now. Today, we are faced with two
realities, the external factors which are antithetical to Christian culture
and old Christian categories and theologies which impede
evangelization. However, we are also presented with an opportunity;
people today experience spiritual longing and hunger. This program can
address these realities through the models of Evangelization, Catechesis,
and apologetics, models which were re-interpreted through historical
analysis, refections on Church doctrines as presented by the works of
the Vatican II, Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and through the guidance of the
Magisterium. It is the re-thinking of evangelization in radical categories
by going back to the richness of the revealed Word and our earliest
traditions, facing the challenges of societies and cultures in our
present millennium and acknowledging the centrality of Christ in our
lives and the primacy of the Holy Spirit in animating our faith, witnessing,
sacrament and worship.
Israel Enero Camara
77 | PAMISULU
Johnson, Elizabeth A.
Truly Our Sister:
A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints.
London: Continuum, 2006.
400 pp. ISBN 978-0826418272.
Elizabeth A. Johnson, one of the many critical voices in
feminist theology and biblical scholarship today, explores a liberating and
feminist reading on the person of Mary with her book Truly Our
Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints (2003) Johnson, a
recipient of the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellent in
the study of Religion, a Distinguished Professor of Theology at Fordham
University, and a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of
America, sets up her enterprise of connecting Christian tradition with
the contemporary religious experience of women in their struggle for the
fullness of human dignity through her books: She Who Is: The
Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse (1992), Friends of God and
Prophets: A Feminist Theological Reading of the Communion of Saints (1998), and
her aforesaid book.
On Truly Our Sister, Johnson aims to give a post-Vatican II feminist
reconstruction of the theology of Mary that is grounded in
scripture, liturgy and Catholic tradition, one that is, in her own words,
theologically sound, ecumenically fruitful, spiritually empowering,
ethically challenging, and socially liberating. To achieve an image of Mary
bearing the aforementioned elements, she tries to understand the image
of Mary, not as a religious symbol divorced from her history, but as a
particular person with her own life to compose.
Johnson begins her project by bringing to light the current changing
landscape of contemporary Mariology wherein she gives a survey of the
immerging voices of disgruntled women from different walks of life
expressing their scorn on the idealized and exaggerated maternal image
of Mary. Instead of being an encouragement for women everywhere, her
image became a symbol that disparages and hinders women in
exploring their uniqueness and achieving a fuller expression of their
humanity. Johnson tries to expose the hand of a dominant traditional
religious patriarchal culture who painted a romanticized image of
Mary in the context of defning gender roles and controlling women. In
effect, the portrait of Miriam of Nazareth became an ideal woman who is
submissive to men, desexualized and fxated in motherhood. Quite
frankly, this the quest to restoring the true image of Mary as a
Vol. 1 Number 1 2011 Issue
78 | PAMISULU
historical and graced woman would not only be a liberating experience
for Miriam of Nazareth but also to all women everywhere as well.
Johnson then removes Miriam of Nazareth from her pedestal and goes
behind the scriptural text to get a glimpse of the true Mary by
studying the socio-cultural, economic, political, and religious world of the
1st century Palestine. Here, Miriam of Nazareth is assumed to have lived
as a Jewish woman in a politically oppressed peasant society, the mother
of Jesus, and our sister in faith whose story and struggle encourages our
own faith.
The heart of the book entitled the Dangerous Memory of
Mary explores the world of the scriptural text by revisiting 13 verses in
the New Testament wherein Miriam of Nazareth is cited. From these,
Johnson makes a mosaic from the shards of history of Mary. Ultimately,
she is placed with the company of the saints, a woman who walked with
the Spirit of God and an ally of God in bringing about redemption.
Johnson fnally tackles a world ahead of the scriptural text by
proposing a theology of Mary who is a graced individual, an actual fully
human woman who struggled with her own lifes journey, and a friend
and prophet of God who has faithfully walked through, with and in the
spirit of God, now together with the company of all Gods friends and
the prophets who have likewise have done the same. This proposal has
not only have precedents in the 1st Millennium of the early Christian
church tradition and liturgy, not to mention bearing the spirit of Vatican
II that compromisingly viewed Mary as model of true discipleship in the
Church, but also satisfes the authors quest for a theologically sound,
ecumenically fruitful, spiritually empowering, ethically challenging, and
socially liberating interpretation of Miriam of Nazareth for the oppressed
people, most especially for disparaged women today.
Truly Our Sister ranks as an excellent material for rethinking our
beliefs on Mary. It presents a fresh new understanding of Mary as a friend
and prophet of God that challenges and reforms our conventional idea
and pietistic veneration of Mary. The book is scholarly done with creative
passion and insight. After reading the book, we are left empowered and
thankful to God for giving us this gracious woman who is truly one of us
to learn from. Indeed, she is truly our sister.
Jowel Jomarsus P. Gatus
79 | PAMISULU


Seminarian Israel Enero C. Camara belongs to the Diocese of Iba.
He is currently a fourth year student of the Graduate School of Theology
of the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, Pampanga. He obtained his
bachelors degree in Philosophy from the University of Santo Thomas.

Seminarian Jowel Jomarsus P. Gatus obtained his bachelors
degree in Philosophy from the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary,
Pampanga. He belongs to the Archdiocese of San Fernando and currently
he is a fourth year theology student at the Graduate School of Theology of
the same seminary.
Josefna M. Manabat holds a doctorate degree in Religious
Education from De La Salle University; a doctorate degree in Sacred
Liturgy from the Pontifcal Institute of Liturgy, Rome; a Master of Arts
degree in Theology from the Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City.
Currently, she is the Dean of Studies at the San Beda Graduate School
of Liturgy. She is teaching at the Graduate School of Theology of the
Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, Pampanga; also at Don Bosco Center
of Studies, Paraaque; and at the Mother of Life Center, Quezon City. At
present, she is a consultor of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy of the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
Rev. Fr. Jesus B. Layug, Jr. belongs to the Archdiocese of San
Fernando, Pampanga. He holds a licentiate in Sacred Theology with
specialization in Biblical Theology from the Pontifcal Gregorian
University, Rome. He obtained his bachelors degree in Philosophy at
the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, Pampanga. He is teaching at the
Graduate School of Theology of the same seminary, and the Director of
Formation of the seminarys Philosophy Department. Currently, he is the
director of the Archdiocesan Commission for the Biblical Apostolate.
The ConTribuTors
80 | PAMISULU
Rev. Fr. Oliver G. Yalung belongs to the Archdiocese of San
Fernando, Pampanga. He holds a licentiate in Sacred Liturgy from the
Pontifco Ateneo di SantAnselmo and the Pontifco Instituto Liturgico,
Rome. He obtained his bachelors degree in Philosophy from Mother
of Good Counsel Seminary. He is a professor at the Graduate School of
Theology of the same seminary, and a guest professor of the
University of the Assumption Graduate School. Currently, he is the
Director of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission, and a chairperson
on Committee on Church Construction and Restoration of the said
Archdiocese. He is the secretary of the Asian Liturgy Forum in Southeast
Asia.
Rev. Fr. Kenneth C. Masong belongs to the Diocese of Iba.
He holds a doctorate degree in Philosophy from the Higher Institute of
Philosophy, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium; a Masters Degree
in Systematic Theology from San Carlos Graduate School of Theology,
Makati City, Philippines. He obtained his bachelors degree in
Philosophy from San Carlos Seminary, Makati City. He is the Dean of
Studies of the Theology and Philosophy Departments of the Mother of
Good Counsel Seminary, and he is teaching at the Ateneo de Manila
University, Quezon City; St.Vincent School of Theology,Quezon
City; Immaculate Conception Seminary, Bulacan; University of the
Assumption, Pampanga, and at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary.
Currently, he is a member of the Center for Process Studies, American
Catholic Philosophical Association and Philosophical Association of the
Philippines.
81 | PAMISULU
ManusCripT subMission::

Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, excluding
references and notes, and should follow the MLA formatting
style. Text should be around 6,000 8,000 words and saved as
MS Word file. Since the manuscript will be blind-reviewed, no
identification of the author should appear in the text. A
separate MS Word file should accompany the manuscript
containing the title of the article, the authors name, abstract
and 5 6 key words of the article. Both these files should be sent
to the editor as attachments to registrar.mgcs@gmail.com.
84 | PAMISULU

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