As of May 6, 2013

We are in mortal danger. The tsunami of evil has come upon our shores.

Global forces are systematically assaulting faith, family and life. These powerful forces include the US government under Obama, the European Union and the United Nations. They are committed to imposing reproductive health throughout the world, and this means not only contraception but also abortion, divorce, euthanasia and same-sex marriage.

Here in our nation, the RH law has been passed. Pro-RH legislators have already filed a divorce bill. Inevitably, as has been the experience of all nations throughout the world, the whole range of the culture of death will come one after the other. The intent is to destroy everything that we hold dear–life, family, faith, religious freedom.

But the fight has just started. Anti-family and Anti-Life forces have a particular focus on the Philippines and on the Roman Catholic Church. The Philippines has a destiny to be God’s light in Asia and to the world, and is still basically standing up for family and life. The Roman Catholic Church is the only strong institution standing against the RH assault. This fight is between life and death, between good and evil.

CBCP’s Position for the 2013 Elections on the Family and Life Issues

What was the CBCP’s response to this urgent situation?  The Bishops stated that they will support and encourage the participation of the laity in electing competent and morally upright candidates who are faithful to their correct and informed conscience.

The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, which is the lay arm of the CBCP on the Episcopal Commission on the Lay Apostolate, was approached by various groups seeking for guidance and endorsement on their initiatives to organize a synergistic campaign for legislators who will stand up for the authentic promotion, preservation and defense of the people of God. This was an offshoot of the passage of the RH law.

At that time, Laiko was told that around 7 groups, who called themselves almost a synonymous name, as “Catholic Vote”, have bonded distinctly from each other, but for the same cause and instituted moves to vote for legislators who will fight against the looming D.E.A.T.H. (Divorice, Euthanasia,Abortion, Totalitarian Population Control, Homosexual Union or Marriage) Bills and any further attacks on our Catholic faith or Mother Church.

The Role of the Laity in Politics

Why should we, the laity, be proactive in this electoral exercise?

1. As laity, we are called to share in the mission of Christ’s Church by living in the midst of the world and addressing all its problems and concerns with the divine message of salvation. (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Pope Paul VI, November 18, 1965, (3))
2. As laity, we are called to communion as the people of God, where there is a diversity of ministry but oneness of mission. John Paul II, Homily at the Solemn Eucharistic Concelebration for the Close of the Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 30, 1987)
3. Lay believers are in the front line of Church life; for them the Church is the animating principle of human society. Therefore, they in particular ought to have an ever-clearer consciousness not only of belonging to the Church, but of being the Church, that is to say, the community of the faithful on earth under the leadership of the Pope, the common Head, and of the bishops in communion with him. They are the Church. CCC 899
4. Lay Christians need to permeate social, political, and economic realities. The initiative of lay Christians is necessary especially when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life. This initiative is a normal element of the life of the Church. CCC 899
5. Catholics have a moral obligation to promote the common good through the exercise of their voting privileges (cf. CCC 2240). “Service of the common good require[s] citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community” (CCC 2239). This means citizens should participate in the political process exercised in the ballot boxes.
6. A Catholic’s vote must be circumspect. “A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law that contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals” (CPL 4). CPL Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Notes on Some Questions regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life

CFCFFL Position on the May 13, 2013 National Elections

Considering all these, and considering that a big part of the RH assault is passing anti-life laws, it is important to elect pro-lifers to government, especially to the Senate and Congress. We emphasize this point: NO to TEAM PATAY; YES to TEAM BUHAY. As such, the White Vote Movement is endorsing those in the Senate who voted against the RH bill.

The coming elections are not just about politics, but are about the very life of our nation and the future generations of Filipinos. RH will promote sexual licentiousness, increase unwanted pregnancies, break up marriages and families, break down morality, increase STDs and HIV/AIDS, devastate the health of women, disadvantage the poor, and erode our Christian faith. While many political issues are important, the most important issue is whether one is on the side of the culture of life or the culture of death. We must defend our families, our faith and our nation.

We call on all the CFCFFL brethren to consider the leaderships’ discernment for joining the White Vote Movement. What binds all of the different organizations in this movement is the charity of which politics is but an expression, the charity that promotes understanding and harmony through respectful and frank dialogue, the charity we bear towards the present and future generations.

Here is the White Vote Statement for reference.  Aligned to this, we must be vigilant and act against moves that will be destructive of family and life. We enjoin all to do it in the spirit of deep reflection, charity and respect for unity in diversity.  An endorsement is not an imposition on one’s conscience but a request for a heedful consideration.

May the Holy Spirit be our guide to see the imminent dangers of the D.E.A.T.H. Bills in the coming Congress.

VOTE FOR FAMILY… VOTE FOR LIFE!

God bless the Philippines.

“I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1).

We, too, can behold this gift through faith… faith in God that enables us to hope for what he has promised:

“God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain… Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:4,5).

Faith and hope move us from despair to action, from apathy to charity. This charity that begins at home, overflows into every aspect of our life and society: education and economy, health care and care for the earth… yes, even into politics.

We started with humility and proceed with prudence because Jesus wants us to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In the field of politics, we do feel like “sheep in the midst of wolves” (ibid). But not every politician is evil. Even in Israel’s darkest days, the Lord assured his prophet Elijah who felt alone and was almost at the point of despair: “I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:12).

Are there good politicians? Nobody is perfect, but there are good men and women in politics. There are those who quietly work for the common good without seeking reward or fame. There are those who do good even though they feel burdened by past mistakes. And there are those who undergo conversion, leave behind evil ways and seek to repair the damage they have done and contribute positively to society.

We rejoiced, therefore, when we found six good men and women who are running for the Philippine Senate. (We need men and women Legislators who will prevent the entry of the DEATH issues that will destroy the foundation of society: the family. This is an imminent danger now with the passage of the RH Bill.) None of them is perfect, of course. But in the 15th Congress, they were pro-life warriors who stood by the Filipino people and for the Filipino people when they voted against the RH Bill. Where many fell away, they stood firm. In recognition of their bravery and fidelity to the Philippine Constitution, we heartily endorse the following as Senators of the Republic:

Ejercito, Joseph Victor G. (JV)

Honasan, Gregorio II B. (Gringo)

Magsaysay, Ma. Milagros H. (Mitos)

Pimentel, Aquilino III (Koko)

Trillanes, Antonio IV F. (Sonny)

Villar, Cynthia A.

We note, too, that among the other candidates there are men and women who show great potential as pro-family, pro-life, pro-poor Senators. Some are young but they are competent. Some have checkered pasts but they have proven to be passionate for life, the poor and the Filipino family. As always, we humbly defer to every one’s better judgment. We list some of them here and present them to the Filipino people:

Binay, Ma. Lourdes Nancy

Gordon, Richard J. (Dick)

Llasos, Marwil

Zubiri, Juan Miguel (Migs)

There may be many others. That’s why we invite everyone to continue discerning with us. In fact, many movements have been prayerfully applying the Gospel in their own way, just as we are: for example, Catholic Conscience Vote and Solidarity Vote. Catholic Vote Philippines is focusing on voter education. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) have been stalwart poll watchers. We salute all of them as partners in service and brethren in faith… faith in God, love for our country, hope for a new destiny for our nation.

We invoke the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, who alone can intercede for us unceasingly.

Continue reading here.

While Carrie Bradshaw writes about “Sex in the City”, I’m writing about “Chastity in the City”, and it’s different. With her popularity, i don’t know how mine is going to come off on people but here’s the two cents I have to give away.

When I received an unexpected invitation to the Live Pure Summit last weekend, I did not know what to expect. Being in community, I braised myself for hearing what had once to often been repeated to me; things I knew but never really took to heart. While the summit gave a relaxed feel for everyone without diluting the gravity of issues presented or the beauty of the virtue of chastity, in my heart and in my mind, I knew it wasn’t just a matter of knowledge. It was about the gut-level, heart piercing conviction one made , in my case as a woman, and a woman of God at that.

Once again I found myself digging out skeletons in my closet, may they be insecurities you shun out years ago in the hopes that they would go away, or my deep dark secrets that I buried deep lest somebody find out and break my “perfect” image or so I thought.

But maybe the beauty of unearthing haunting pasts and “deep, dark secrets” is so that you get another opportunity to be broken, and to start anew; to start afresh. When you come before the Lord in screaming silence, and you see His face and how He still looks at you the same way He did years ago, you experience a flash back of the beginning of your love story; when you were first loved and you get that you needed to remember that to realize that your life after that moment, was never the same.

I don’t even want to go back to the countless times I forgot to see myself how God saw me. The many times I let myself think I was ugly, the many times I let others get me down, the many times I let my guard down, or short-changed myself; the many times I forgot who God was in my life. And though my past will never go away, I’ve come to embrace the fact that God has claimed my present and most certainly my future.

While media throws distortions at me of what love and beauty is, and have cheapened  them, I know what I am worth and I want other women to what they’re worth as well. To all those women, whatever background or past you come from, you are beautiful. It may sound cliche and you’ve heard many men use this line on you and break your heart but embrace and believe it for yourself; you are beautiful. And if that’s not enough, you are loved, more than you can imagine.

What I’ve also come to realize is while the world may present their messed up standards of love; and how a woman can make a move on a guy or give herself before it’s time, I’ve learned that some things are worth waiting for. For one, nothing beats being pursued by a man who believes that you are precious, so much so that when he gets your yes he cannot stand to run out of ways to take care of you; the gem that the Father has entrusted into his hands. Secondly, it is a different call from you as individual when God gives you someone to take care of. I’ve come to realize that what I used to share/testify as a single person and as one in a relationship is different; equally special but different. How I say yes to God everyday in terms of purity and chastity is different from how it was years ago. I’ve embraced my responsibility that as a woman I am equally responsible for the purity of the one I am with. Like my spiritual director said, a man in a relationship is only as disciplined as his woman is. So if I want my man to be holy, I have to be holy first.

This all boils down to my main learning last weekend. I can love spiritually. While the world teaches me that in order to be worth something, or to keep my guy I should give myself physically, I’ve come to learn that loving spiritually brings more fullness to the design of love. God loved me from His very inception of me till now, and I don’t need to have Him hit me with a bulldozer to feel it. His love is only as real as I let it be in my life. The times I decided to have my way were the times I decided that He wasn’t enough. Going back to God in prayer and in exposing myself to Him in the Blessed Sacrament, with all my heart breaks, was another chance for Him to claim his place as King of my heart, and my prayer is the same, “May I always find myself so deeply in love with you, that everything remains second.” With that it becomes easier to love others the way love was designed to be.

I think Carrie Bradshaw or Tamara from “Awkward” or Blair Waldorf from “Gossip Girl” should know that having sex isn’t equivalent to love. Sex would always prove to be inefficient with love because sex, in the context of marriage, is an expression of love. Every person should first pursue God and find ways of expressing their love to him before they seek it elsewhere, otherwise at the end of the day you find yourself all run out. When God is your well, you’ll never go dry; added to that, you become a source of life and love, a well for others to drink from.

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference or FABC has an ongoing conference in Kuala Lumpur. The 2nd Bishops Institute for the Lay Apostolate or BILA 2 on Family started on April 20, and will go on until April 25. It’s theme is “Families in Asia: Serving and Being Served”.

Our very own Gerry Padilla is a member of the official delegation from the Philippines. Gerry, with her husband Frank, are members of the Pontifical Council for the Family. She is with our CFC FFL Spiritual Director Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo.

Here are links to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Get to know them and find out what their stands are on different issues. Also, let them know about our support of them.

#9 Lito David (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#10 JC de los Reyes (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#11 JV Ejercito Estrada (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#17 Gringo Honasan (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#20 Marwil Llasos (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#23 Mitos Magsaysay (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#27 Koko Pimentel (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#30 Sonny Trillanes (on Facebook and on Twitter)

#32 Cynthia Villar (on Facebook and on Twitter)

Here are some commercials we found on YouTube. Watch and get to know the candidates even more.

Read more about our White Vote + 3 here.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Further to my letter of April 10, where I explained the reason why we as CFC-FFL will be involved in the coming May 13 elections, especially as it pertains to the candidates for the Senate, the LAIKO (lay groups officially recognized by the CBCP) last night launched the White Vote Movement (http://www.whitevote.org/).

We endorsed the following for the Senate: JV Ejercito, Gringo Honasan, Mitos Magsaysay, Koko Pimentel, Sonny Trillanes and Cynthia Villar. Notice that 3 are from Team PNoy and 3 are from UNA. We are not siding with particular political parties. We are simply on the side of faith, family and life.

(left to right: Ejercito, Trillanes, Honasan, bro Mike Velarde, Villar, Pimentel, Magsaysay, me)

In addition, we are endorsing the 3 senatorial candidates of the Ang Kapatiran Party: Lito David, JC de los Reyes and Marwil Llasos. Collectively, these 9 candidates are known as TEAM BUHAY.

As we desire to elect pro-lifers to the Senate, we also desire to keep anti-lifers away from the Senate. As such, we ask that Filipinos NOT vote for the following who voted in favor of the RH Bill: Sonny Angara, Teddy Casino, Alan Peter Cayetano, Jackie Enrile, Chiz Escudero, Risa Hontiveros and Loren Legarda. These candidates also cut across party lines. Collectively, these 7 are known as TEAM PATAY.

As there are 12 seats in the Senate, we have endorsed 9 and there are still 3 slots that you can fill up. There are other pro-lifers running for the Senate and we ask you to seriously consider them as well.

Please do the following:

(1)  Spread the TEAM BUHAY – TEAM PATAY line-ups and actively campaign for TEAM BUHAY.

(2)  Speak to your parish priests and parish lay leaders and help organize a parish-based system of making the TEAM BUHAY candidates known to all parishioners, down to the grassroots. With the approval of your parish priest, we also recommend the posting of TEAM BUHAY – TEAM PATAY lists in the church and parish facilities.

(3)  In looking at the other elective positions (Congressman, governor, mayor, etc), make your first criterion one’s stand on the culture of life.

We live in critical times, as the tsunami of evil starts to overwhelm our land. But evil can only thrive if good people do nothing. Our legislators make the laws that govern us. But we elect those legislators. We are a Catholic nation, but secular forces are assaulting our faith and traditional way of life. If we love God, family and life, we must stand in defense of what is good and true.

Join the White Vote Movement now, and elect TEAM BUHAY to the Senate.

May our Lord and Lady bless and protect our beloved Philippines.

God bless you all.

Your brother and co-worker,

Frank Padilla

Servant General

Get your t-shirts at the CTK Assembly tonight