Wednesday, February 5, 2014

THIS IS POWERFUL

AnonymousFebruary 5, 2014 at 6:38 PM

New Neo priest at Agana Cathedral talk suicide two in one family. Not the subject for Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Always talk of suicide in the Neo. Stop. We suffer enough for this in Guam. Why the newest priest talk so depressing? Now the Catechist will talk of more depressing things. No more 9:30 for me. I miss the Cathedral music though. Adios 

32 comments:

  1. So what catechesis should come out of the Feast of the Presentation?
    As Tim titled this entry, "THIS IS POWERFUL". Indeed it is, the FEAST that is.
    How can one not think about suicide? Or atleast what leads people to resort to suicide. I suggest to Anonymous of Feb 5 @ 6:38pm to go back to this past Sundays readings and look/reflect more carefully. You will then find Father Michael Jucutans reason for talking about suicide.
    This is what happens when we wait for Sunday to become Christians and actually care. This is what happens when we wait to hear the Readings only during Mass. It wouldnt hurt to sit down sometime during the week and prepare yourself for the Liturgy. Invoke the Holy Spirit to enrich your reflection. Talk to your priest beforehand if there was something you did not understand. By doing this, come Sunday, you will enter the Mass with a better sense of the Liturgy.
    All in all, I believe the topic of suicide(sin) was very much appropriate for the Feast.
    Peace!

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    1. Thanks for your "catechesis". I note you write 'suicide(sin)'. Here is a catechesis for you misinformed Neo. Therefore, objectively, suicide is a mortal sin. (Moreover, to help someone commit suicide is also a mortal sin.) Here though we must remember that for a sin to be mortal and cost someone salvation, the objective action (in this case the taking of one's own life) must be grave or serious matter; the person must have an informed intellect (know that this is wrong); and the person must give full consent of the will (intend to commit this action). In the case of suicide, a person may not have given full consent of the will. Fear, force, ignorance, habit, passion, and psychological problems can impede the exercise of the will so that a person may not be fully responsible or even responsible at all for an action. Here again the Catechism states, "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide" (#2282). This qualification does not make suicide a right action in any circumstance; however, it does make us realize that the person may not be totally culpable for the action because of various circumstances or personal conditions. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, not the Kiko Church.

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    2. Suicide is not a topic for the immature and ill-prepared to address, particularly in a large public setting. The mere mention of it has been proven to incite the idea in the already disturbed. Hearing it addressed outside the context of supportive dialogue is PARTICULARLY DAMAGING to those who have lost a loved one this way, particularly parents who have lost a child. The emotional damage is incalculable. Also, you call suicide sin without qualifying it. Objectively it is. But only God knows the heart. And in the case of suicide, especially, only God knows whether suicide is a sin. This is why it is no longer forbidden to give a suicide victim a funeral Mass and Christian burial. For all the Neo preaching about Vatican II, it is surprising that your beliefs are more medieval about sin than even the medieval church.

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    3. I simply put, :"suicide(sin)". You agree but then you find every reason to assume that I dont know what I am speaking of. You then force yourself to connect a simple post, "suicide(sin)" to the teachings of Kiko Arguello.
      I dare you to show up this week at any "non-neo" parish this week and question the High School Catechism Class about suicide, ask them, What is Suicide?
      A diocesan priest once told me that, sin is sin. Ive also learned the classifications of Mortal and Venial from a Capuchin Priest. Ive come to learn that God loves me despite this sin from a Neo Priest.
      I dont understand why you choose to go this route with every post that you feel does not conform to your view. I was just simply stating that I agreed that there was a point in talking about suicide. Not the mere act of it, but maybe the cause.
      The Gospel of Luke this past Sunday spoke of an Anna towards the end. This Anna was advanced in age but even with that, God gave every reason to persevere. To pray unceasingly in the temple, despite being a widow for most of her life. You see this is the model that we may follow, that despite our challenges in life, despite losing our loved ones through death, despite the feelings of loneliness, there is a God that loves us. There is a God that gives us Light and Love, he gives us Jesus. Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to be consecrated, to fulfill the law of God. We see this as the Presentation. We can now see this as Jesus coming to us, coming to meet us as we are.
      This was my reflection on that Gospel.

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    4. I worry when discussions of suicide make no mention whatsoever of mental illness. Treating depression and severe anxiety as merely a spiritual malady without addressing possible medical issues is common with fundamentalists.

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    5. It is all about mental illness. Years of struggle with people not understanding. Multiple medications. Losing family, friends, jobs. Hopelessness. It is not a RATIONAL step. There are lots of illnesses which will not be healed in this lifetime. His Mercy is His understanding. God alone knows how the last moments were. If we don't suffer mental illness we just cannot know. Thank YOU Chuck

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  2. I also attended this Mass. I felt so sorry for this vice-rector Michael. Seriosly, it is not fair to him. He was ready to have anxiety attack while preaching. He is obviously not prepared to preach. This is a concern many of us have about the education of the neo seminary. This was not a language problem; he speaks English. It was so very painful and embarrassing for him. We will pray for him. He is not ready. Please, Archbishop help him.

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    1. Sorry, Archbishop cannot help him. He only reads a homily someone else writes. His letters are also lifted from other sources. He never lifts his eyes from prepared text. Probably he just can't look us in the eye anymore.

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  3. Bet I can give a better sermon:

    In Genesis, God said let there be light and there was light. The light turned into darkness with the first sin of man. God's people were in exile for many years. They roamed in darkness. One day God,looked down on his people and sent his Son down to be the New Light of the World.

    Do you ever wonder why there are so many lights up during the Christmas season...the birth of Christ the beginning of our New light! but it doesn't end there. Candles are blessed on this feast day! to remind us of this. The candle is a symbol,to remind us of the Light of Christ. The light will always defy the darkness. So my dear people of God, let the light of Christ become your hope and salvation for it will bring you consolation in the end.

    Anyone who has gone through scrutiny knows that you are put in a dark room with only a lit candle, yet this priest could not make the association.

    I learned to read the bible. I learned to find scripture in the bible that will help me through the day. This I learned though my up bringing as a Catholic and the good religious sisters that taught me.

    To Father Pius who so belittled me this much I can say to you EAT YOUR WORDS, My sermon may not be perfect, but I know what path I must follow with the Light of the world being my guide.

    Signed: I WILL NEVER FORGET

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  4. Even when preparing to become a new parent, you can read all the books you want, but its only til you have that first child that you learn all the necessities. As is with the seminary, its not until theyre out in the parishes that all the years of preparation come full circle. I dont think the Seminary is the problem, I dont think Fr. has a problem, I believe he just needs time to get over the new priest jitters, it'll come.

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    1. This is why most seminaries in the world require a formal education before or in addition to the seminary. Most aspiring priests are required to have a college degree, which would at least expose them to the wider sociological aspects of the real world. However, Redemptoris Mater priests are not required. They are rushed through a certificate program, educated by a round-robin of visiting professors in a patch-work approach to education. Add that to the Kiko-theology and liturgy of the seminary and we get we have been getting: nice guys, but ill-formed, immature, and un-relatable priests who are immediately thrust into positions as pastors. That's absolutely insane and it is showing. It's like taking a college graduate and making him immediately the CEO of a company. But the Archbishop can't wait for to stomp every parish on this island into the ground with a neo-pastor, and so he is. And in doing so, not only is he showing his disregard for his people, he is severely endangering the souls of these priests.

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    2. A sermon is a speech. A speech needs to be prepared. So here are some hints:
      -read the readings and gospel ahead of time.
      -reflect on the reading
      -write down the thoughts of your reflections
      -see if makes sense and connects with both the readings and the gospel.
      -practice your homily aloud in front of a mirror
      -jot down bullet points on an index card to be your guide
      -if you think you're going to forget, please write what you need to say in its entirety.
      -remember to always have a punch line.
      -tell a joke at the beginning of your sermon that you can relate to the Gospel..

      A sermon that is simple, short and to the point is better than one the is dragged on and on without any meaning or purpose.

      From someone not in the WAY

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  5. The education of the seminary here on Guam is seriously left wanting.
    The standard of preaching is very poor. The newly ordained priests cannot preach. It's all very disturbing.

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  6. This fr pius is just someone I do not care to even see. A danger to Guam.

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    1. Father Pius will be back. Living at Archbishop's San Ramon residence as opposed to his Manilao house. Giving Archbishop direction from breakfast to late night snack. Holding complete sway over us all. Like it or not. Seen so many tremble while saying "father Pius is coming". Btw first provisional rector of the rms.

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    2. Bring on the face to face forum. The man is back!

      May no time, need to have a strategy plan. Hey Pius are you escorting the archbishop when he leaves on the 17th. Eleven days after returning our good Shepherd is flying again.

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    3. 9:39 cathedral parishioners, count the Sundays he is not officiating at the Holy Mass, for this is how many time he travels. I believe he says the weekday morning mass also. People at this mass should do a check in check out log

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  7. Thank you mr. Rohr for sharing the correct position to take when a person has ended their own life. It is a very emotional topic and needs to be approached with great pastoral care as your comments show. Always remember the scripture, God alone knows the secret things of the heart. Like you mr Rohr, i would never judge. The vice rector simply has not Got the human, spiritual, theological or pastoral gifts required today. It is not his fault, more the lack of formation in the Guam seminary.

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  8. I can name 2 or 3 priests on Guam, all not Neo of course, who COULD have preached on suicide in a Christ-like way. I wasn't there to hear Father Jucatan's homily on this topic, but I have heard more than enough homilies from Neo priests to wonder if it wasn't the topic that distubed some people but instead the tone, the negativity, the one-sided presentation and things like this. It seems to me the Neo priests, for all their talk about JOY, are always trashing. Trashing us, trashing the non-Neo priests, the non-Neo Mass. It's a psychological trick. Make the people feel like trash. Then they'll come to us and we can fill our trash bags. These Neo priests talk about joy. But when i meet them in person, i rarely see joy in their faces and the feeling they give me.

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  9. 10:09 AM NO way I could have said it better. Thank you for this reply.

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    1. If you want to see for yourself, go to www.aganacathedral.org and you can watch the mass with Fr Michael stumbling through it. Sad part, I don't think he knew how uncomfortable we felt for him. He does need to practice, so maybe a friend can point him to the site so he can critique himself.
      It will probably be a rude awakening for him.

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  10. Here is a transcription of the homily given by Fr. Michael Jucutan at the 9:30 Mass on Sunday, 2 February 2014, that is the subject of this post. I “cleaned up” the transcription by omitting the repeated words and/or phrases. I tried my best to keep the remainder of the content intact, adding punctuation marks where they made the most sense to me.

    Although I emphasized the two sentences that mentioned the suicides, I do not believe that they were the main topic of this homily. To be honest, there were many items mentioned in it, among them:
    • Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple
    • Jesus as Light of the World
    • Consecrated Life


    "Today the church recalls something important which is the prophecy of Malachi. And he says that the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. So Jesus Christ who was an infant enters the temple with His mother and father. And He was a Child like all the other children that came to be purified because the Law of Moses said that every firstborn had to be consecrated to the Lord. And this is, you know, what the Holy Family did. And bringing not two turtle doves but two pigeons and for this offering of their Son and Simeon sees that this is the Messiah. This is the One Who is to come. It was the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new.

    "And the churches…the church celebrates this reality because it not only is nostalgic. It isn't nostalgic where it thinks of the past or thinks and, you know, longs for, I don't know, the golden age. No. But it's to make today new so that we may have new life. The paschal mystery, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is one definitive act but it is throughout all centuries. The death of Christ reaches us today. And it reaches us through the Mass, through this liturgy. So that we may experience His eternal life…His eternal life in our life.

    "So, and today also the church blesses candles because Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. And He says he who follows Me does not live in the dark but will have the light of life. Because there are many today who do not see a meaning to their life. THAT WE SEE IN THE NEWSPAPER THE SECOND SON OF A FAMILY COMMITS SUICIDE. NOT ONLY ONE SON BUT A SECOND ONE. You know, this is…we are called to announce the Gospel. Announce a Gospel of life. That life is in Jesus Christ. It is not in things but in Jesus Christ, that only God can fill the heart that He has created as St. Augustine said, 'My heart is restless until it rests in Thee.'

    (To be continued)

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  11. (Continuation of homily transcription)

    "And if you see in the Umatuna that we celebrate also the consecrated life, the religious. Those who give themselves totally in chastity, obedience and poverty in an age where we have gone stale spiritually. That we do not see our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit where we have, you know, profaned our bodies. And we need a sign today of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to live life you know that we do not have to always fall into sin. That there are those in their life that show forth that life isn't just in pleasures or things but it is in Christ. And they have life.

    "I don't know if you go to the Carmelite monastery and you see that their eyes are brilliant. That you see that within them that they are happy even within, you know, a grill. Even within a enclosed area. And they are happy…happy living and praying with Christ for the world.

    "‘Cause many of our youth you see already that they have lost the happiness in their life already. That they have lost their innocence.
    "And we have one of the saints of the Church which is St. Teresa of Avila who said two fundamental things which is all things of this world passes away. It all pass away. And the other is that God alone is forever. He is alone…He alone is forever. And she says this in her…she was scribbling in this little paper and she put it in her breviary the prayer book of the church and she writes this: 'Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.' She said this after she had this deep conversion where she saw the Christ being scourged at the pillar. And you know she…you know she had this contrition and as in purifying or, you know, changing her life she decided to have nuns not of 300 or, you know, so many nuns in one convent but have true friends…true friends of Jesus Christ who really love Christ. Not, you know, reading a novel here and then, I don't know, watching TV and things like that. But no…really having this authentic love of Jesus Christ.

    "Jesus Christ…He comes and Simeon prophesies that He will be the fall and rise of many. Those who cling to Him see life. See not only life but an abundant life. And those who do not they see that they are empty. They are empty. And Mary shares in this…in this redemption. She shares…she who carried her son Jesus Christ in the womb also shares in her life also the salvation of souls. That she was under the cross. She in her sorrow shared with us also the Lord's salvation.

    "That there are those we today need to also be temples of those announcing God to this world today. That we have a duty as Christians to announce the love of Jesus Christ. To announce to people who do not know…that atheism is also a cause because of us…we who neglect to announce the Gospel. So let us enter this Mass knowing that Jesus Christ comes. He comes in the flesh through the species of bread and wine but He gives us this eternal life that we may have this life and have it to the full. Amen."

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  12. If the priests and people of Guam just sit and take orders from this very sick old fr pius, then the people of Guam become the stupid ones. Why would anyone listen to this foolish man. Today I did hear that father ryan did in fact stand up to Fr. Pius telling him the Saipan appointment is delayed because of people like him. On that note Ryan does gain afew points.

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  13. Thanks for transcription, Mary Lou. Just to say Tim said some people are strongly affected by the mention of suicide. This could have started whole discussion. BUT, note in this transcription all the NEO POINTS: people don't have meaning in their lives therefore SUICIDE....excluding Mr. White's explanation of Mental illness. Neo point: people have gone stale spiritually. Neo Point: Life is not in pleasures and things. Neo Point: youth have lost happiness in life already, lost innocence. Neo Point: atheism is because of us. All part of neo drill! And, sorry for Father, not well delivered.

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    1. Anonymous (February 7, 2014 at 10:27 AM): You're welcome. I realized, after watching the delivery of the homily online, that whoever posted the comment must have focused on those two sentences because he/she may have had a very personal experience with suicide. It's not uncommon to focus on only a small part of the entire homily when it has a personal impact. I know because it happened to me one day while I was in a challenging time of my life. The priest said something that made me realize that eventually I’d see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.” When I thanked the priest for the message, he honestly did not recall saying it, even when I repeated the phrase he used verbatim! He told me “The Spirit must have been working in both of us — for me to say it so that you could hear it.”

      I wanted to provide the transcription to assure those who believed or were concerned that the entire homily had centered on suicide that it hadn’t. Like you, I did notice the NCW themes you mentioned (stale spirituality, loss of innocence, etc.). It sounded as though Fr. Jucutan was trying to cram as much of what he learned at RMS into this one homily, instead of taking one (NCW) topic at a time.

      I pray that with some coaching and mentoring Fr. Jucutan will develop — and deliver — better homilies. For those who excuse him by saying that it’s because he’s a new priest, I beg to differ. The homilies of Fathers Paul Gofigan and Andre Eduvala (ordained in 2004) and Father Richard Kidd (ordained in 2013) impressed me — and others — from the very beginning. None of them struggled, as did Fr. Jucutan. I attended one of his Masses and had a hard time following his homily then as well; clearly the one I transcribed was indicative of the current quality of his homilies.

      What I did not note in my transcription is that in the video, Fr. Jucutan reached the pulpit at 1:02 as seen from the long shot. At 1:09, the close-up showed him rearranging the lectionary and papers as well as adjusting the microphones. He did not begin to speak until 1:27, 25 seconds after ascending the stairs. There were also a couple of extended pauses — one lasting 15 seconds! — during the homily.

      In the past I might have been persuaded to overlook the poor homiletic skills of newly ordained NCW priests because for many of them English is not their primary language. However, at this point I’m more inclined to think that it is the lack of training at RMS.

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    2. I believe Fr. Jucutan hails from Hawaii, so English is his second language; his first - "pidgin!"
      All kidding aside, he is a rather like able person, soft spoken and gentle. But it comes across as being nervous and maybe self-conscience. I pray in time he gains more confidence and sheds his nervousness. He seems like a good person.
      I wonder how much NCW pressure he is under and if he is truly ready to be a priest.
      Wasn't he supposed to be a pastor somewhere else right after his ordination? If he is getting bounced around from parish to parish, that should be a clue to the Neos.

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  14. Mary Lou. Well said. Agree with you. Any newly ordained priest we want to help and encourage no matter who they belong to. Today we expect a certain standard from any newly ordained priest. I am sure he will evolve in time. In this particular case it is not so much the person, but I suspect the grave lack of spiritual and intellectual formation at the Guam seminary. It is now confirmed that the seminary is below academic standard, and majority of students would not be ordained in a seminary on the mainland. It is also becoming public knowledge in the international church that archbishop Apuron will accept any student into his seminary who enters the NCW and he will ordain them. Rejects from other seminaries are also acceptable in the Guam seminary providing they promise to join the NCW archbishop Apuron will ordain them and imcardinate into Guam. Then they are free to leave and go where they like.

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  15. We have one certified substandard student who became Chancellor. So opportunity abounds here in Guam, USA.

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  16. You mean to say that a seminarian who fails in st. Patrick's seminary in San Francisco , could apply to NCW on Guam and is ordained by archbishop Apuron if he joins NCW.

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  17. Pius would not take Menlo Park guys.

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  18. Of course these men will all be incardinated in Agana. But can't they be excardinated after five years?? See how we are being duped to pay all of these fares? Other dioceses are beginning to question too. US RMS

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