THE BIG QUAKE (Under the Fig Tree Part 59)

“the stones will cry out”

(Luke 19:40)

     The Philippines just got hit with devastating floods, and now have been hit by several devastating earthquakes. People are scared of the big one, that might go right through the West Valley Fault in the center of Manila (Marikina Valley Fault System). Parishes are praying fervently for the country to be spared. But is this enough? God often speaks to His people through natural events. We are to read the signs of the times. And nature often speaks very loudly.

    Let us step backward for a while. The Philippines is supposed to be God’s light in Asia, being the only Christian nation in the vast expanse of Asia-Pacific, until Timor Leste came along. Asia-Pacific is the home for the great world religions, including the biggest ones—Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam. The Philippines is called the Pearl of the Orient. It has the third-largest Catholic population in the world (after Brazil and Mexico), at 86 million.    Clearly God intended the Philippines to play a significant role in carrying out Christ’s commission to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of nations. Has it done so? No.

     In fact, Catholics and other Christians in the Philippines are generally nominal, secular, or cafeteria Catholics, uneducated in the basics of the faith, and far from living out the fullness of God’s call.

     In further fact, many large religious groups allowed by God to be raised, even with their at times doubtful spirituality, are into decline.

• El Shaddai, which counts in the millions, no longer has its charismatic leader Mike Velarde, who has grown old and ill.

• Jesus is Lord Fellowship, which also claims millions of followers, are being tainted by scandal of its top leaders, specifically Senator Joel Villanueva, who is accused of corruption and extramarital sex.

• The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, with millions of adherents, is current inactive, with its leader Apollo Quiboloy in jail (is he?) for sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

     Even with shoddy spirituality, these groups and others did help introduce many grassroots Filipinos to Christ and to the Bible. What happens to them now?

     But God did establish the one true Church, and that is the Catholic Church. However the Philippines attains to its calling in Asia will generally be dependent on what the Catholic Church leaders do.

    What can be seen as the legacy of the Catholic Church in the Philippines so far?

• Most Catholics are nominal, do not know the Bible, do not attend Church regularly.

• Many of those officials currently embroiled in the corruption scandal are products of Catholic education and schools.

• Most if not all Catholic universities, for both men and women, are havens for LGBT activism, and are even encouraged by school authorities when they have Pride Parades.

    Now since the Catholic Church is universal, we also look to the Vatican, to where Filipino bishops also look for guidance and direction. What do we see there?

• Modernist teachings and heresies come from prominent hierarchs.

• While abortion is condemned, it is treated on the same level of sin as treatment of illegal migrants, and both are looked on as not being pro-life.

• Liberals/progressives/modernists inhabit the hierarchy, some of them perverts.

• LGBT is not only tolerated but even promoted.

• There is collaboration with the world elite that seeks to dominate the world.

• There is protestantizing of the Church, in the spirit of ecumenism and synodality.

• There is no clear proclamation of Christ as the only way to the Father, in the spirit of interreligious dialogue and universalism.

• There is great involvement in secular and especially liberal issues, such as climate change, green energy, indigenous spirituality, work with the poor and marginalized, but all without reference to the righteousness of God.

     But what is the most important work or calling of the Church? It is the proclamation of the gospel of salvation in Jesus. Is the Church doing this? Hierarchs say yes, citing especially calls to evangelization. But what to them is the evangel, the good news? Is it a green planet, is it everyone just being nice to everyone else, is it helping the least of our brethren? It can be all of those, but it must always be centered on the person of Christ, and the holiness he calls everyone to. If not, the work, while making progress here and there, will ultimately fail. As we now see in the sorry spiritual condition of Filipinos.

     It has been over 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. But the intended fruit is not there. In fact, now the nation is threatened with dire calamity, that is, the Big Quake. If this happens, there will be many deaths, destruction of property and infrastructure, stoppage of essential services, hunger, civil strife. And the nation may not be able to recover from that.

     God allowed the big flood upon the whole world to wipe out sinful humanity; we have had big floods, but small relative to that big one. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the great sin of its people, especially their sexual perversions. But God did spare Nineveh. Because they turned away from their sinful ways and back to Him.

      What is the way out for the Philippines? Yes, certainly deep intense prayer. But more basically, repentance and turning back in faith to Jesus. How can it happen, as it is not happening now?

     Again, parishes are active, with all kinds of ministries, with some churches full on Sundays, but they are just reaching a small part of the lost sheep. What needs to happen is for parishes to focus on evangelization, that is, proclaiming Christ, without neglecting all the other good works they do.

    How can this happen? God has already given the Church the tool, which is the Live Christ Share Christ (LCSC) mission. LCSC was founded in 2011, and the Philippine Church proclaimed Live Christ Share Christ as its underlying theme leading up to the 500 th year of Christianity in the nation last 2021. Unfortunately there was no firm embrace by the whole Church, and there has been weak follow-through to this date.

     What is LCSC the way forward?

• It is about lay empowerment. Jesus had said that the basic problem was the lack of laborers for the harvest. Well, LCSC brings in all parish workers and many others as well.

• It is focused on Christ. People, especially nominal Catholics, are led to meet and know Christ, live Christ, and then later themselves share Christ. It becomes a powerful growing circle of influence.

• People get into the Bible. Filipino Catholics are notoriously ignorant of the scriptures. But ignorance of scriptures is ignorance of Christ. The Bible is an essential component of LCSC.

• There is ongoing formation, which is sorely needed by lay Catholics but is not generally available in parishes.

• There is continuing focus on living lives of righteousness and building the Kingdom of God on earth, including the crucial areas of youth purity, work among the least of our brethren, and the defense of family and life.

    God has already shown the Philippines the way. The Church hierarchy has already recognized that way (though not fully). How can the way forward with LCSC be truly lived out in the lives of Filipino Catholics?

   There is no time to lose. The times are critical. There is intense corruption and evil. God’s judgment might be at hand.

     Nature has already tries to catch our attention. The floods have come. The earthquakes have come. And the Big One?

  If the nation does not repent and turn back to God, then the stones themselves will quiver and shake and cause much tragic devastation.

     Are we listening? If not, the stones themselves will shout out.

SALVE REGINA.