Minutes of Hope

       While some people would prefer to look at the Catholic Church as rich and powerful, many still believes that it is a Church with a heart for the poor, a Church with preferential option for the poor, true from generations to generations.         The role of the Church in serving God by serving the poor remains its central arena, the threshold of the Catholic Church’s faith. Yes, the richness and wealth of the Church are often questioned and it had faced numerous negative impressions and understanding from different and various individuals, institutions and some Church denominations, but still the Church does what it was meant to do from the very beginning – to proclaim the Gospel to the poor in service and love.         In the past, the Church, for instance, was not “perfect” when it comes to taking care of the poor. There were times that the Church became the oppressor instead of being the defender of the ...

     The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) has been in the Philippines for more than 80 years. They have pioneered the Church missions living among the Christians and Muslims in Mindanao especially in the areas of Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sulu and Tawi-tawi, “proclaiming the gospel to the poor and the most abandoned.”       The work and mission of the oblates are not entirely the usual and ordinary work and ministry of priests and religious. Aside from running a parish, these oblates are in the mountains living with the Indigenous peoples in Timanan, Maguindanao and Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat. Some of them are in the islands of Tawi-Tawi with the minorities like badjao and sama or with the Tausugs in Jolo, Sulu. They are professors, retreat masters, engineers, doctors, activists, agriculturists, assigned in the Philippines and abroad. They are not the typical priests we know of. They are missionaries. They are oblates.  ...

For months now, the world has suffered from the pangs of COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has never weakened so far as it gets more infections in difference parts of the world. Many people have lost their lives. Many are still in the hospitals and secured facilities for their recovery and other medical procedures. It seems the whole world has bent down to its knees as it continues to battle with the pandemic.   March of this year, the Philippine government imposed an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon which effectively directed to a total lockdown, restricting the movement of the people except for necessary work and health concerns. Additional restrictions also mandated the temporary closure of non-essential shops and businesses and restricting gatherings including Church celebrations.   The Church has never run out of time with regard to celebrations. During the Marcos Martial Law, the Church stood still. It has surpassed its cruelty and the inhuman condition...