Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate

Mornings with the Word

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

With the May They Be One (MTBO) Bible Campaign on itsthird year of making the Word of God in Scripture more accessible to people, welook at one goal that was set for this project: to help build unity throughcommunity. At the Last Supper which we remembered last Holy Thursday, Christprayed for that unity so that all may believe.

In places with a well-established basic ecclesial communitymovement, the MTBO Bibles have found their way to the hands of small groups,allowing more members to encounter the Bible in daily life and to enrich theexperience of Bible sharing. The “new way of being Church,” which began inLatin America and spread throughout many Catholic countries, is firmly set asthe basis of Philippine church life. In every generation, this new way of beingchurch is being renewed in very interesting ways.

One of these is BFAST, or Bible For Faith and Action SharingTeam, a recently launched initiative from the Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles, Pampanga.Under the leadership of Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” S.  David, Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando,Pampanga, and two senior lay leaders, Lucy Surla and Benny Ortega, the programhelps to bring the Bible to the front and center of parish life by emphasizinga small group context for sharing and living the Word. Launched in March 2011after several months of initial organization and formation, the programencourages interested parishioners to form teams of between 5 to 7 people whoget together for “a simple breakfast of coffee and pandesal” and for thesharing of God's Word. Pope Benedict XVI endorsed such activities in hisexhortation Verbum Domini, which was given after the Synod of Bishopssession on Scripture in the Church.

Participants register with the parish and then take part ina workshop on bible sharing. They learn about bible sharing as a way ofbuilding community with each other and with God. Using a process of reading,reflection, re-reading, and relating the Gospel of the next Sunday toparticular life experiences, members learn to connect the Good News to theirlives. The meetings conclude with prayer after another time of silence.

How does the MTBO Bible distribution project come into playhere? In order to enrich the experience of sharing God's Word, participants areurged to purchase MTBO Bibles from the parish at the subsidized cost of PHP 50.To help offset the cost of these Bibles, Lucy Surla, the head of the parish'sformation team, says that “we have started setting up collection boxes in ourchapels to raise money for MTBO.” Surprisingly, a good number of requests werefor Bibles in the Cebuano language.

The workshop is part of the formation process required ofcommunities taking part in the MTBO campaign. In addition to this, mandatedorganizations are made aware of MTBO and the initial formation process isconducted through them. Moreover, the parish holds a regular Formation Hourevery Wednesday evening where parishioners can walk in and learn more aboutScripture. Bishop David himself leads the Formation Hour on the last Wednesdayof the month.

It is too early to say how far BFAST has made an impact, butthe MTBO project itself has generated an enthusiastic response within theparish. “More people became involved [in the parish],” says Surla, “and theyare happy that they can now read the Bible. Having a Bible is something forthem.” She relates the time she found some of the boys working at Nepo Mart, alocal market, reading MTBO Bibles in their free time.

The BFAST program is just one of the ways Bible advocacy hasbecome a pastoral priority at Holy Rosary Parish. Earlier in the year, theNational Bible Week celebrations in the parish featured a full program ofactivities to raise awareness and knowledge of God's Word.

Among the activities staged within the parish was a BibleEnthronement ceremony during the main mass of the day on 23 January, and aBible collection and promotion campaign urging people to give their excessBibles to public schools and selected families in the barangay. A special dailyFormation Hour took place during the week, and the youth were involved throughcontests in story telling, poster making, and Bible verse finding. A Bibleexhibit featured different versions of Scripture in different languages andfacts and trivia about the Bible and its translations.

The culminating activity was a Bible Rally held on 5February, where a motorcade went through the streets of Angeles to promoteawareness of the Bible and the availability of MTBO Bibles at a reduced cost.Along the way, Bishop David exhorted people to purchase MTBO Bibles and becomemore engaged with God's Word. The message touched many people, and in one poorneighborhood, people were overheard saying that they were willing to forgobuying rice for a day to buy a Bible instead.

But the story is not over. Bishop David, who is alsoChairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate, mentioned inremarks given last Holy Monday to MTBO benefactors and friends that a newprogram is in store. “Our B-FAST is just a 1st gear,” the bishopsaid, “We hope to shift to a 2nd gear for a faster run after severalmonths, and we hope to call it B-RICH (Biblefor Renewal in Christ)!” Apart from that, theparish plans youth and kids' camps with a biblical focus over the summer.

This story is one of many we at the Philippine Bible Societyhave heard from recipients across the country, where more people have becomemore engaged with God's Word. Over the last few months, we have shared some ofthese in our MTBO box, and we hope that more people will learn about how thisproject is slowly but surely changing lives and communities across the country.We also hope that people will continue to support MTBO by prayer and goodstewardship.

The May They Be One Campaign empowers people to make thetreasure of Scripture their own, and it empowers the Church by building upcommunities of faith where Christians strengthen one another. Thesecommunities, we believe, will be there for people who have doubts and fears,just as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had. And we pray that they willsee in the People of God the face of Christ who walks in their midst.

“[The disciples] said to each other, 'Wasn't it like a fireburning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures tous?'” - Luke 24:32

Ren Aguila, researcher and writer/Philippine BibleSociety