First Quarter DaDiTaMa Conference Highlights Lenten Season

March 11, 2019, some members and representatives from the four dioceses comprising DaDiTaMa gathered at Mergrande Ocean Resort for a three-day quarterly meeting. Around 65 lay leaders, priests and bishops came to represent their respective dioceses and pastoral ministries they are serving. The venue was fitting for the Lenten retreat which was the highlight of the said gathering. The event was inspired by its theme: Youth and the New Evangelization.

The diocese of Digos is the facilitator of this year’s conferences starting on this one. Bishop Guillermo Afable started the day’s activity with a Chaplet at 3 PM followed by a spiritually enriching talk about “Pastoral Conversion”. He mentioned about the pressing issues that the Church encounters today and made it even clear that these trials and challenges are not new to the Church. Over the years, our faith had been tested and will continue to undergo persecutions. Therefore, the Church needs everyone to remain steadfast. The focal point was when Bishop Afable made a remarkable statement about “repentance”. He said that there is no pastoral conversion without repentance. He led the faithful gathered in the room to reflect on their roles in the Catholic Church and what particular pastoral conversion does God is asking from each one of them.

A celebration of the Holy Eucharist followed after the talk which was presided by Bishop George Rimando of Davao. Three other bishops present joined him at the altar, namely: Bishop Abel Apigo of Mati, Bishop Medil Aseo of Tagum and Bishop Guillermo Afable of Digos.

A welcome dinner hosted by the archdiocese of Davao was served in the same hall after the mass. That was followed by another talk given by Bishop Afable. This time he talked about the Year of the Youth being a part of the nine year novena towards the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippine churches. Bishop Afable explained how the church responds to the aspirations of the youth and how well these responses shape the third millennium. Citing Acts 2:37, the bishop exclaimed that it is not a matter of inventing a new program; it already exists many years back and the challenge is how to catechize the youth of today. He presented a more credible statement that “even employing catechesis alone will not work, we need evangelization”. A kind of experience that transforms lives, and it is a personal encounter with Christ.

The second day opened with reciting the rosary and saying prayers followed by some stretching activities through interpreting the theme song of the Year of the Youth shown on wide screen. This time, Bishop Jimmy Afable took the floor in giving the third insightful messages to the participants. He tackled the “New Evangelization”. He started by saying that in this new era of evangelization, the challenges are great! They are challenges from “with IN and with OUT”. He emphasized that spiritual battles are part of the mission as evangelizers. Even Christ himself was tested. He called for everyone to take the mission close to heart, by making Christ himself to be known, loved and imitated. Having a personal relationship with Him will bring us closer to the Father and by doing so, we fulfill the mission of the church. He proceeded to lecture on the Characteristics of the New Evangelization.

Lunch was served in the same hall and the meeting proper was held in the afternoon. It was presided by Rev Fr. John Macalisang DCD. The talking points were delivered as follows: 1.) National Youth Convention in Cebu 2.) National BEC Assembly with Davao hosting 3.) DaDiTaMa Convention on the New Evangelization, and more future activities. The participants enjoyed a beautiful light moments over dinner at the dome where everyone enjoyed catching up on each other. The event was successful and thanks be to God. (Blaze Cantaros | SUGID)