OSA Intermediate Chapter 2010

Sto. Niño de Cebu — Southwoods was the venue of the closing mass of the Augustinian Order’s Intermediate Chapter 2010. The Prior General, Most Reverend Robert Prevost, OSA presided over the Mass which was attended by quite a number of priests, formandi, nuns and the laity. After the Mass, a fraternal agape was held at the nearby Colegio de San Agustin Gym.  Photos of the event are now available at the Gallery.  You may access them here.

Priests and Evangelization in the Digital Age

The Pope’s message for the 44th World Day of Communications (May 2010) is available.  The link to the document and a video can be found at the Mystical Geek.  The Pope writes:

All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of his saving grace in the sacraments. Gathered and called by the Word, the Church is the sign and instrument of the communion that God creates with all people, and every priest is called to build up this communion, in Christ and with Christ. Such is the lofty dignity and beauty of the mission of the priest, which responds in a special way to the challenge raised by the Apostle Paul: “The Scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame … everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:11,13-15).

Responding adequately to this challenge amid today’s cultural shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily involves using new communications technologies. The world of digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul’s exclamation: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16) The increased availability of the new technologies demands greater responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the Word, but it also requires them to become become more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts. Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word.

The call to use the new technologies that have come out recently — especially the internet and mobile networking — is not new. Pope John Paul II said years ago that those who proclaim the word ex officio cannot but make use of these emerging technologies. We continually hope and pray that AgustinongPinoy continues to be faithful to its avowed mission: to let the face of Christ shine through the digital lights of the web.