29/05/2026
REVOLUTIONARY LOVE
**Just as the Trinitarian doctrine once seemed blasphemous to the religious elite in Israel, BEC is meant to disrupt the distorted and dehumanizing ways of religion and society.**
Mga kapatid, happy Trinity Sunday! Today, we celebrate the most fundamental doctrine of our faith: One God in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Equal in Divinity, Undivided Unity. A dogma embraced by 2 billion Christians. But during the time of Jesus, this meant big trouble! Given the rigid monotheistic worldview of Judaism, the idea of Trinity was entirely blasphemous to the religious elite. But the Lord came to "MAKE ALL THINGS NEW." (Rev.21:5)
BEC (Basic Ecclesial Community) or SISA (Simbaan Sangakaarrubaan) is likewise supposed to be a RADICAL TRANSFORMATION, that challenges the religious status quo and our individualistic way of life today. It may seem to be "blasphemous" to the closed-minded.
But let's be clear about this.
👉 BEC cannot succeed without challenging the old order of society and Church life. ‼️
👉Jesus said, "No one puts new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wineskins burst..." (Mt 9:17)
God is not an isolated Being; God is a community of perfect sharing and infinitely overflowing love—equal in dignity, united in diversity. We are called TO MIRROR 🪞 THAT LOVE by living a radically NEW way of community life. LOVE THY NEIGHBOR!
BEC is our way of bringing the life of the Trinity into our daily lives as a Church, a neighborhood, and as a Society. Hirap ng isa, hirap ng lahat. Tagumpay ng isa, tagumpay ng lahat. Walang mataas o mababa. Walang lamangan, inggitan o kanya-kanya attitude. May taus-pusong malasakit at pagbibigayan. Ipagtatanggol at aalagaan ang bawat isa, lalo na ang mga walang laban.
📌The Painful Realities: Are We "Santong Kabayo" Christians?
⭐⭐⭐A BEC that dehumanizes is not an authentic BEC.
⭐⭐⭐A SISA that is hesitant to abandon but even promotes the unhealthy ways of being church is not true SISA at all.
Let’s have a look at some of our traditional, sometimes humorous, but painfully distorted or dehumanizing habits.
🔷"Banal na a*o, santong kabayo"
Skin-deep Catholicism. Lack of witnessing. Magaling tayo sa debosyon, prusisyon, estasyon, adorasyon, dekorasyon, organisasyon, donasyon. Subalit minsan judgmental tayo sa kapwa, mabagsik, maramot, walang awa, switik at plastik pa.✌️ Tandaan: Ang RELIHIYON AY RELASYON. Dito po kailangan ang spiritual CONVERSION natin. For God is a "subsistent Relationship."
🔷"Hero abroad, Villain at home": We go to parish and diocesan events, join mandated organizations, and call someone from across the parish "BROTHER" or "SISTER." But when we go home, we don’t even talk to our next-door neighbor, and we’ve been ignoring our very own sister for five years! Maka-Dios ba yun?
🔷Special Treatment for the Rich: When a wealthy benefactor arrives at the parish, we roll out the red carpet. And the emcee goes, “We acknowledge the arrival of Engr./Dr./Congressman So-and-So.” If our parish is truly Trinitarian, recognizing EQUALITY IN DIGNITY, the emcee should also acknowledge “the arrival of Farmer Juan, Yaya Emma, Waiter Eddie, and Driver Joel.” At eto pa: A wealthy "mother-mother's" birthday draws a crowd of eager well-wishers, yet a poor man’s birthday passes unnoticed—kahit sa GC man lang.😭 Di po ba pantay-pantay dapat sa BEC?
🔷The "KBL" Christian: We all know them. They are only present during *Kasal, Binyag, at Libing*. The rest of the year? Missing in action. Bukod sa KBL, meron ding K*K at MMK. "Katoliko kapag may kailangan" at "Matapos ang misa, kanya-kanya na." There is supposed to be only "one lost sheep." (Lk.15:4-7) But today, baliktad na: there are 99 missing. Hindi na gaanong effective yung mga lumang approach: mandated organizations, mga ilang tradisyon, at priest-centered or authoritarian leadership style. Ilan ba sa ating mga kaparokya ang tunay na evangelized and committed?
🔷The "Discount" Cult: We say we support our fellow church members, but whenever we buy from them, we often demand, "Sis, discount naman diyan!" (O "pautang naman!") Paano aasenso yung kapatid natin? Is that how Christian concern looks like? Ask not what others can do for you. Ask what you can do for them.
🔷The "Ponciano" Burden: After a barangay mass, everyone stays for the "mukbang." But only the host family shoulders everything. Paano na kung mahirap ang host? Uutang ng panghanda? Di ba mas mabuting, sa kapatiran, lahat ay may ambag na pagkain, kahit simple lang? "Ranod balon" style.
🔷The culture of Silence and Fear: We don't want to get involved... Until something bad happens to our loved ones. We blindly follow the majority. We allow ourselves to be manipulated by tactics like ayuda. Kawawa ang bayan.
📌The Call to Renewal: *Baro a Kananakem*
Trinity Sunday and BEC call us to a radical conversion—a REVOLUTION of mind and heart. In Ilokano, we call this "baro a kananakem"—a fresh, transformed way of thinking and relating. A NEW CIVILIZATION patterned after the ways of Christ.
BEC subdivides the massive parish into small, manageable clusters of 10 to 15 families. Why? So we can actually know each other and care for each other! This is where GENUINE CONCERN, GREATER PARTICIPATION, and REAL LISTENING happen. We don't just "GIVE SUPPORT." Instead we LIVE IN SOLIDARITY with our neighbors.
Think of the "WALIS TINGTING" (broomstick). If you take a single "tingting", it is weak and fragile—it breaks with the slightest bend. That is a Christian who thinks she can survive alone, and chooses to separate herself from the community. Too much privacy. Pero di ba, "UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL." "NO MAN IS AN ISLAND." "IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH." Kayang kaya kung samasama. When those "tingtings" are bound tightly together, they become unbreakable.
📌 The Three Aspects of a True BEC
How do we know if our BEC is mirroring the Holy Trinity? A true community helps and takes care of each other, growing together in FAITH AND CHARITY through three concrete aspects:
1. PRIESTLY. **Regular Gathering to Pray and Worship:** We don't just pray inside the big parish church; we pray in our backyards, our living rooms, our offices, and our streets.
2. PROPHETIC. **Studying and Proclaiming God’s Word and Church Teachings:** We open the Bible together. We let the Word of God guide our daily neighborhood life.
3. SERVANT. **Working and Serving the Brethren in Need:** This is where we become *tunay na kapatid*. "Rigat ti maysa, rigat ti amin." (The suffering of one is the suffering of all). If a neighbor is grieving, the community weeps with them.
📌Empowerment, Self-Reliance, and Volunteerism
BEC is intentionally the empowerment of the laity—all the baptized. It proves that you don't need a title, wealth, or a religious habit to serve God. EVERY SINGLE MEMBER HAS A ROLE, a talent, and a ministry to offer. WE LEARN BY DOING.
Mga kapatid, let us move away from the "waiting culture." DON'T WAIT for the "utos ng pari" (orders from the priest) or a memo from the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC). Don't wait for the parish catechist to teach in your barangay. TAKE THE INITIATIVE no matter how simple. If you see a neighbor starving, you don't need a decree from the Vatican to feed them! Cultivate the spirit of VOLUNTEERISM. Share your time, your talent, and your treasure freely.
However, let us remember: while we take initiative in our small communities, we must never become isolated independent republics. We must always remain **united IN HARMONY WITH THE ENTIRE PARISH and the diocese**, just as the Holy Spirit is always in harmony with the Father and the Son.
