Bishop Opens 2025 Jubilee as Diocese Celebrates 35th Foundation Day

Libmanan, Camarines Sur.  December 30, 2024.  Despite the traffic caused by road slips along Andaya Highway due to incessant rains, parish priests and parishioners from the northern parishes of the diocese joined their counterparts in the central and southern districts to celebrate the local Church’s 35th Foundation Anniversary on December 30, 2024, in this municipality–the seat of the diocese.  It was also an occasion to formally open the Jubilee Year (2025) in the diocese.  Said opening should have been held the day before, December 29, 2024, so it could coincide with the official opening of the Jubilee Year at the Lateran Basilica and in all Cathedrals and co-Cathedrals worldwide, but December 29—being a Sunday—would prevent the parish priests from coming to the Cathedral to join the bishop for the occasion.  Thus, it was decided that the opening be held on the 30th.  The change of date did attract as many participants, with even the lay people gladly joining their parish priests flock to the Cathedral.

The celebration started with the Rite of Opening of the Jubilee Year with the 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜 held at Plaza Sancho, where both priests and the lay faithful gathered. The focus of the rite was the reading of the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Year, where Pope Francis announced the holding of the year-long celebration. Thereafter, the jubilee cross was carried in procession as it was brought to the Cathedral.

During the opening mass, Bp. J. Rojas reflected on the gospel and took notice of the Prophetess Anna, who despite her pitiable situation, i.e., that of being an old widow.  As such, she knew what sorrow was but this never made her bitter.  On the contrary, it made her even closer to God as she constantly prayed and worshipped in the temple.  Because of her faith, her hope deepened.  In inaugurating this year’s jubilee, Pope Francis desires that this jubilee celebration become an opportunity for everyone to nurture hope for a better future.  Given the chaos and uncertainty of the present time, man can become vulnerable to hopelessness and despair. 

Still, in connection with the jubilee celebrations, the Bishop took the opportunity to announce to the congregation the six churches in the diocese that have been designated as pilgrim churches. He encouraged the faithful to visit a church distant from one’s parish church for such a visit to be truly a pilgrimage.

In his keynote address, the bishop explained to the participants the general and specific objectives of the second year of implementing the five-year diocesan pastoral program designed around the theme “Feed my sheep” (John 21, 17).

The bishop said the program’s second-year general objective is to make TAGAMA the overall strategy for making stewardship a way of life and revitalizing the faith of the families in their SKK-oriented initiatives through synodal shepherding processes integrated with Biblical and Eucharistic spirituality. Originally, as a Bicol word, “tagama” means “to deliberately set aside something” for a noble purpose.  When it was conceived as a stewardship theme, it meant TA- (tanganing), GA (an gabos), MA (mag-ako) — “so that everyone receives” implicitly, from what everyone shares. Specifically, the pastoral program’s second year of implementation has a threefold objective, that is:

a) to let each dimension of the program provide the opportunity to foster gratitude among the families in the SKK by offering their time, talent, and treasure, as a provision (TAGAMA) to enhance collaboration among the clergy and laity in the mission of the Church;

b) to broaden the range of TAGAMA, which originally meant Tanganing Gabos Mag-ako kan pagkaherak kan Dios, to mean magpamibi sa pagsarig asin paglaom sa Dios, maglaen tanganing mayong masayang, magsaray tanganing dai mawaran, maghiras tanganing gabos makinabang, magmangno para sa marhay na kapalibotan asin pamamahala, to include not only treasure but also time and talents for the ministry;

and finally c) to foster TAGAMA STEWARDSHIP as a way of discipleship in guiding the spiritual activities towards the SKK’s tripartite perspective of liturgy (communion/worship), development (participation/evangelization), and liberation (mission/care).

After the bishop, the priests in charge of the past year’s and the forthcoming year’s activities took turns to report on accomplishments and at the same time introduce what lies ahead, that is, what to expect in 2025.

To be continued…

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