SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF MINISTRY

Symbol: Hierarchical church
Worldview: the ordained as dispenser of blessings
Ethos: Great respect for the ordained. The priest is held in high esteem among the Filipinos.

The Church is not a democratic body of people. The government in the Church is not of the people, by the people and for the people. Some would say that the Church is not democratic because it is beyond democracy. The whole body of the Church is called the mystical body of Christ and the people is usually referred to as the people of God.
The symbol of hierarchy accordingly projects my own experience of the church as a layperson then and as a cleric now. The Filipino Church inasmuch as it has been colonized by medieval Spain still retains the traces and shadows of the medieval Spanish Church Filipinized to our context.
Allow me to state the ethos of the symbol that I chose. The great respect to the ordained vividly expressed in giving the priest extra special treatment. In a way it redounds to the advantage of the priest. in another way of looking at it, the ethos might also signify the peoples idea of transcendence. Their belief, our faith in the one greater than all of us who is God convinces them to treat the priest as a representative of God. They shoe reverence to the priest in the name of Jesus, God whose presence hopefully the people feel in the presence of the priest who acts in the person of Christ the head.




How do I feel about them?
I feel eerie considering the honor shown to a priest bearing in mind that I too would be shown the same kind of respect after presbyteral ordination. Even now as an ordained deacon I see already premonitions that would lead to these moments.
Another way of consideration is the question of my own self esteem. Why am I not comfortable with treatments of this sort? Well, the question would simple answer the lack of a healthy self esteem on my part or is it only a question of adjustment to the culture? Or have I any issue on authority and power. Anyhow, I still have to figure it out as to what is weightier among the three.

Experiences as a deacon and a reflection drawn from them.
My own experience vis-à-vis blessing sacramentals and utilities would tell me of the peoples faith in God emanated by the presence of the church minister side by side with their cultural upbringing. Last March 1,2009 I happened to bless a motorcycle. My companion Seminarian Noli Francisco pointed out to something that I already noticed. The thing is the blood splattered on the engine of the motorcycle. That is their local custom: to sprinkle animal blood on things to ensure protection and favor from other beings or to ward off evils caused by other invisible forces. Oh, I could have given them a short catechism to the owner but I did not!
The hierarchical structure of the church and the high regard of the laity to the clerics is beneficial to the Church as the people of God in a way that power is rightly used by those who wield it. If the priests be faithful to their tria munera and the evangelical vows then the hierarchical structure can be well utilized for the building of God’s project. To be emphasized however is the prophetic office of the priest that is to teach and feed the people with the Word of God. With my withdrawing attitude, God help me!