Launching of Remase Journal – Renewal

EDITOR’S NOTE

Aggiornamento or “bringing up to date” is the overarching theme of the Catholic Church ever since the Second Vatican Council. This updating is not a move towards complete overhaul of what it means to be a Catholic. Instead, it is a clarion call to boldly face the daunting task of going beyond mere fidelity to the treasures of the patrimony of faith that our forefathers have bestowed upon us: it is a beckoning that stimulates the entire People of God to dive into the unknown and the unfamiliar in order to meet the demands of the signs of the times. In other words, it is a call for renewal.

The renewal of the Church entails beyond the yeoman’s task of cultivating the seed of Christ that it may grow more abundantly in all ages and among all peoples. But for this encompassing and bountiful harvest to be truly realized, the tilling of the sitz im leben that the Church finds herself in today, through outreach and other forms of pastoral involvement. And such points vividly toward the need for a grounded and in-depth involvement of the shepherds of the Holy Mother Church to be as what the Holy Father Francis asks of the clergy – to go outside of the comfortable walls of our institution and “be shepherds with the smell of sheep.

St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao (ReMaSe) faithful to its identity as an educational, ecclesial community aims then to respond to this call of renewal. As a community geared to the formation of the sons of the church to be shepherds of the local churches in Mindanao, it has then decided, through the deliberation of its formators, and the counsel and confirmation of its supportive bishops, to establish the publication of the journal named RENEWAL – a name which is also interestingly used by ReMaSe for its first publication in the late 60s and 70s. Thus, it will not only be a reminder of its namesake but also the realization of its goals.

And to realize this goal, the entire ReMaSe family of both clerics and seminarians alike have joined together in order to contribute their part through their submitted studies, such as, thesis papers, articles and theological reflections. Some of these issues contained major papers done by seminarians and text of talks of seminarians given to some for outside the seminary that further shed light on the current state of the Church in Mindanao.

Included in this first volume are the discussions on the relevance on stewardship to disaster risk reduction management and the impact of ReMaSe to the local churches in Mindanao. Topics which are solid springboard that will initiate this noble yet gargantuan task.

This bold and daunting move will not be realized without the loving devotion of the contributors to share to the Church-at-large all of the learning and reflections contained therein for the benefit of all. Hence, the initiation of this journal publication.

On behalf of the ReMaSe Administrative staff and personnel headed by our Rector, Reverend Father Reynaldo S. Retardo, I would like to convey my sincerest gratitude to the members of the Bishops’ Commission of ReMaSe with his Excellency, Romulo G. Valles, DD, Archbishop of Davao as the Chairman, to the members of the Editorial Board, to the technical team and of course to our first and pioneered contributors of this publication. To all of you who have become part of this meaningful milestone of the seminary. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

NOW, let us together welcome the first official and theological journal publication of the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao – the RENEWAL. (Fr. Edilberto R. Mahinay)