The Challenge of Integral Evangelization

Poverty in the Philippines is a major obstacle to the success of future generations of Filipinos. Because of this, living here in our country becomes so difficult for many. In fact, when most of us hear about poverty, we almost always associate it with the words crime and corruption. These two are, apparently, as rampant as the millions of people living in Metro Manila. Just out in the streets, you can already see and experience the appalling abuse of power. Even out at the grass-root levels, a similar face of injustice continues to exist. Then we ask, when will all of these stop? When will all of these come to an end?

Well, the recent official economic report may look impressive in its goal-by-goal trends and inequality analysis. But we are still left wondering why this improvement in numbers doesn’t seem to add up and translate into an advancement of our current national situation. Despite all the ambitious development goals laid out in the past years, the Philippines, however, still has failed to lift most Filipinos out of the detrimental claws of poverty. We may be winning little by little in numbers, yes; but unfortunately, we are still losing the war on poverty.

This war, as we may have noticed, has given rise to a lot of insurgencies in the country. And if I were to gauge it, there are perhaps two primary root causes of it: poverty and injustice. As they put it, poverty hurts the body; injustice harms the mind. Either way, the end results are hopelessness, anger, and lack of self-dignity among those who are oppressed, marginalized, ignored, hated and despised. These things do not happen to the poor just because it is their fate, but because of collective misdoings of other human beings.

Seeing a lot of our fellow Filipinos in this awful condition brought me back to my senses. I realized while most of us are enjoying the abundance of this life, there are millions out there who are deprived of this right to flourish. While most of us are spending our whole lives in the comfort zone, there are millions who are denied of this license to experience comfort. And while most of us can freely look on to the future with all confidence and hope, there are still millions who have nothing but uncertainty and darkness to look at. It pains me a lot to witness all of these undeserved misery. This pain has brought me back to my senses: I was able to fully recognize this one important need – the need to respond to this saddening truth, to this pressing reality. Once in philosophy class, I remembered my professor telling us that to be human is to flourish in a way man should. And I find myself agreeing to that – that as human beings, we are all entitled to be as ‘human’ as possible, and to grasp this thing called ‘humanity’ the best way we could. This, I would like to emphasize, is inclusive of all; it does not limit to those who are well off, to those who are influential, and to those who have the power. Those who are devoid of any man’s fundamental needs are still humans after all! God values every single human being; more so, He wants and intends the full realization of the potentialities of each and every one of us. To live a genuine human life is a part of what God designed us for, and so, seeing others getting dehumanized just like that must not be acceptable for us. Indeed, the cry of our fellow Filipinos must stir some urgency among us, and must intensify this need to respond to their call.

Also, as we have learned in class, following Christ does require something from our end. We, being a community of Christ’s believers, have a social commitment to stick to; we have a social mission to adhere to. This commitment calls us to respond to the cries of those who are most needy, and those who are calling out for justice. For me, it is not enough to feel sorry for them. It is not enough to just include them in our prayers. And it is likewise not enough to think of their situation only during times of reflection, when we want to gauge how fortunate and blessed in life we have been. We must act out this responsibility, we must respond to these people wholeheartedly, as we strive to fulfill this Christian obligation. However, this commitment should not just focus only on the acts of generosity and charity towards those who are in need. For me, it also invites us to be guardians of each other – checking if we are all on the right track, if we are truly being faithful to our mission and commitment. Why? Because development, as I see it, must not be an inward movement alone; it must also be an outward motion, inspiring and bringing personal development and conversion of others as well. After all, wouldn’t it be more effective if we all work together in the fulfillment of this duty?

Besides, the urgency of this call to respond is, as a matter of fact, highlighted in God’s command to each of us. He commanded us to love our neighbor just as we love ourselves, right? In other words, we – as His church – are called to be a credible sign in fostering God’s kingdom and to be instruments of His work here in the world. The need to attend to our less fortunate brothers and sisters, as you can see, definitely requires our attention. But how do we effectively actualize this need? How are we supposed to respond? It is to be Christ-like! That is, to show visible conduct of godly men and women making up a community. This is no easy task at all for we need to continuously work it out through our journey. We have to be a person of faith to begin with for us to fully grasp the essence and the significance of this great commission. Building the foundations of faith is, I think, an essential part in succeeding in this mission to respond to the call of duty. Integral Evangelization can actually be seen as a step to help us all in building the foundations of not just our own faith, but of other’s faith as well. What exactly is Integral Evangelization? It is similar to mere evangelization in proclaiming the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, yes; however, it does not just end at the moment of one’s conversion as it embraces the whole person, allowing him to radiate in his life this wonderful experience of transformation. This actually impels one to an active involvement in the process of human development and liberation.

Despite this integral evangelization coming into the surface, there are still some Filipinos who remain to be very traditional in their spiritual lives. They do complete their rosaries and their novenas, they do finish the long walks during Alay Lakad, and et cetera. But they fail to live the faith in their everyday lives! Sad to say, they only bother themselves with personal salvation and development, but when it comes to concerns that deal with liberating others from forms of oppression, they – more often than not – are just apathetic. There are some, on the one hand, who are very secularist in their acts. They address social stratification, yes, but they take out God and faith in all of their efforts. They may be of a great help in liberating others in terms of economic oppression, but they still cannot help these people be liberated from the bondages of sin, from their weaknesses and from their frailties.

I would really have to say I am fortunate enough to have been born in a Christian family. Ever since we were kids, we were already being taught of the wonders of walking with Jesus in our daily lives. I remember myself attending Sunday school for kids back then where my siblings and I learn the joys of praying, reading the Bible and worshipping the Lord through catchy songs of praise. I grew up holding onto these values, and until I personally decided to entrust my life to our savior Jesus Christ, I know the grounds of my faith has deepened. Our church, among many others, has a very strong discipleship program where we are continuously taught and trained to be leaders of leaders with a goal, that is, to share our experiences of God’s love and faithfulness to all. In fact, as early as now, we are highly encouraged to take part in the ministries of our church . I, for example, take part in the Youth ministry where we organize monthly evangelistic events to reach out majority of the youth in Rizal province, and try to consolidate them in holistic small groups to ensure continuity of their growth with the Lord.

Because of the environment I have been familiarized with, I can personally attest to the difference Integral Evangelization can make in our society at large. If you were to ask me, I think the best way to make God real and present here among us is also through us – human beings truly committed to continue the work of Christ. Nothing can be as remarkable than seeing more and more people trying to build a community of dialogue, striving to live a godly life so as to become living testimonies of God’s love for mankind.

Once we recognize that this faith is equally as demanding, we are then forced to seek and act towards the liberation of not just the self, but of those who are most in need. We can then feel the desire to embrace a transformation – a genuine one that will surely concretize the much-needed link between faith and social involvement. The principle of the Preferential Option for the Poor culminates the core of both integral evangelization and liberation theology. This preferential option accentuates the urgency to help the poor find its way towards liberation, but at the same time underlines the fact that this effort must be inclusive of all. Meaning, all of us should be integrated towards the accomplishment of this call to justice. After all, this mission is not just the mission of the priests, the archbishop, the pope, nor the pastors; this task belongs to us all, members of God’s Church! We must be active in bringing about the kingdom of God now.

Yes, it may consume some (if not most) of our time and effort, but hey, it’s better to invest in heaven as soon as now. Just like Archbishop Oscar Romero, let us keep ourselves awake from the sleep of inhumanity. Let us keep ourselves open to the world so we may be able to go out of our way to help others find the light again. Archbishop Romero realized for himself that now is the perfect time to remove the self from the center, and instead immerse in the periphery because only through this we can actually be living channels of blessings.

Life is short so don’t waste it! Let’s all strive to finish the race God has set before us. This life is a race to draw as much people back into union with God, a race to bring humanity back to everyone. It has been a very long race; it has been a very long journey. And some may even think that ending poverty and injustice remains to be just a far-fetched dream. But let us hold on to this: it still is possible; if only people try to live in the spirit of taking care of each other, then we can put an end to this poverty.

This is a challenge to each and every one of us. If we really want to see nobody getting left behind, we must be prepared to share our lives out with our whole mind, and of course, with our whole heart.