YEAR OF CITIZENSHIP
“Duyan ka ng Magiting”
December 21, 2011 / 730AM - 12:00NN
Centro Pastoral
I. REFLECTION
Theme: “Duyan ka ng Magiting”
Grace to Ask: I will ask for the grace not be deaf to His call, but prompt and diligent to accomplish God’s most holy will.
OPENING PRAYER:
Here I am, Lord, standing before you just as I am at this moment.
I sit in your presence, Lord, in peace and tranquility.
I am in your presence and allow myself to be directed by you.
I open myself to you who are near. You are the font of life,
the force of life which permeates my very being.
You are my breath which maintains me in existence.
Let peace dwell within me.
Give me the grace to let myself be cleansed by you,
to be a shell filled only with you, my God.
Let all my thoughts and feelings, my will and liberty,
be totally directed to your honor and service.
Amen.
Scripture Passage for Reflection:
1. Matthew 5: 3 – 10 The Beatitudes
2. Jeremiah 1: 7 – 8 The Call of Jeremiah
3. Psalm 51: 1 – 19 The Call to Repentance
1. JEREMIAH’S CALL AND COMMISSION
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’
Jeremiah 1: 7-8
Reflection Guide:
Jeremiah was called by God to announce the coming of God’s judgment upon the people of Judah. Jeremiah had never done this before and he was not an eloquent speaker. Fear and insecurities entered in his heart. But God assured Jeremiah of His presence and support. God called him to speak in His authority. God doesn’t require us to equip ourselves before he calls us; but he equips with his grace us whom he has called. When God calls, he provides.
In the film Agawan Base, see how the main characters transcended their own fear and limitation in order to do right thing for the country.
In the context of our lingering problem of peace, poverty and injustice in our country, what is the calling of God to me? to our community? What are our fears?
As we celebrate the Year of Citizenship, how do we respond to the signs of times?
Ateneans are called to be men and women for others/country, are we faithful to this call?
Allow the film to give us some insights and encouragement. Enter into the shoes of the main characters and feel their own struggles, transcendence, and victories.
2. THE BEATITUDES
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:3-10
Reflection Guide:
Listening to God and following His will is not easy. There is always fear, feeling of unworthiness and uncertainty in following the will of God.
Enter into silence. Allow the Beatitudes to console you in your silence. Reflect. What word or phrase that struck you most? Why?
II. Film Viewing: AGAWAN BASE
A FILM BY CESAR BUENDIA
A. SYNOPSIS:
This film is about the faith of a child in God and how this faith can overthrow earthly powers and entities, which seems too large to budge. Mano’s story will prove that truth until even the unbeliever in Richelle, can be transformed. This movie also gave Kovu his acting debut!
Agawan Base is a victorious adventure-comedy-drama where the lead character is someone who we always fail to see in the stories of the films we commonly watch. God is the lead character of this film as He is in real life. Agawan Base is a love story not between two lovers, but between God and all of us - His children.
-------
March 1, 2016 – it is election season in Manila. The candidates for Philippine President are battling it out to be the leader of a country that has become even poorer in the past six years. Corruption and poverty continue to oppress the Filipino people and the candidates are dishing out the same old promises and lies. But the children - the innocent victims of a corrupt society - go on playing the dangerous games of life.
Mano is 12. His mother Lita taught him well to have faith in God. She used to be a devoted public school teacher, but poverty has forced her to accept a job as a domestic helper in Jeddah. Rudy, Mano’s father has a low paying job which comes and goes. His younger sister Angge has just begun schooling and his grandmother has diabetes. Mano has stopped school and has become like most of his friends in the slums - a petty thief.
Richelle, a graduate student, has been using Mano and his friends as the subject of a documentary film about poor children in conflict with the law. But Richelle fails to find meaning in her own documentary... even in the lives of the children... nor in her personal life. Richelle is an unbeliever in contrast to Mano who has a faith in God, which could and would eventually “move mountains”.
Mano has one constant prayer - to see his mother walking into their small shanty once again. But she is an OFW and the OFW’s lives are always in peril. Alas, one day, after a long hard day of playing in the open field with his friends, Mano comes home to see a casket surrounded by lighted lamps and his grandmother sobbing profusely. Lita has arrived home lifeless; her body still fresh with proof of foul play and rape.
Since it is election time and all issues are fair game, the strongest Presidential candidate Senator Conde takes special interest in Lita’s case. After a much publicized visit to her wake, Conde decides to use Lita’s death to further boost his image. He hires the poor children to act in a TV commercial and secure his image as a philanthropic politician who loves the OFWs. And Mano, the orphaned child, is chosen as the lead “star” in the commercial.
During the studio shoot of this TV ad, Mano’s friend Yuri steals the cellular phone of Conde’s assistant. Unknown to the children, this phone would later be the key to changing their own lives and later, the life of this nation.
Soon, for a reason unknown to them, the children find themselves running for their lives. The men of Conde are out to get them. With the help of Richelle, they discover that the cellular phone they had stolen contains information on Senator Conde’s involvement in the illegal drugs trade.
It is at this point when Mano’s faith in God is put to the test.
Source: http://www.teamkovu.com/support/agawan-base-indie-movie
B. HOW TO DO AN IGNATIAN GAZING (CONTEMPLATION)
(How to watch "Agawan Base" in the Ignatian Way)
One form of prayer in the Spiritual Exercises is Contemplation. Using our five senses, we enter into the scripture scenes, and be one of the participants.
1. Enter into the film’s scene.
2. Try to see, contemplating each person in the scene. Just look without trying to explain or understand.
3. Try to listen, paying attention to the spoken or implied words. What might they mean? What if they were directed to you?
4. Observe what the people in the scene do. They have names, histories, sufferings, personal quests, joys. How do they react? Note the gestures, feelings, and attitudes, above all, of Jesus himself.
5. Place yourself actively in the scene. Allow yourself to be involved in what is happening.
Questions for Reflection:
1. What scene/s touched you the most?
2. What feeling, sentiment, emotion, or effect predominated? Why?
3. Did you feel some calling, a desire, or an inspiration?
4. Did you experience some difficulty or resistance?
And we end our reflection by reading the Psalm 51 prayerfully.
III. RESPONSE
Prayer for Repentance
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my
secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within
me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
-Psalm 51: 1 – 19
TO PREVIEW THE FILM "AGAWAN BASE" visit this site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ9WXiEb7m0&noredirect=1
RECOLLECTION FLOW
AM
7:00 Registration
8: 00 Holy Eucharist (Main Presider: Fr.Tony Moreno,SJ)
Muslim Prayer Service
9:00 Short Break
9:15 Opening Prayer / Short Orientation
9:30 Introduction of the Resource Person
9:40 Talk by Director Cesar Buendia
10:00 Film Gazing : "Agawan Base"
11:30 Synthesis / Silence / Closing Prayer
12:00 End
Note:
Transportation will be provided from Main Campus to Centro Pastoral
from 7:00AM - 7:45AM, and also from 12:00PM back to Main Campus.
SEE YOU THERE!!!
