ABOLITION OF FIXED DONATION ON SACRAMENTS

How much is baptism? How much are we going to pay for church marriage rites? If you are going to stay at the parish office, you would be hearing these questions asked by parishioners. If you would conduct survey on why people are living together without sacramental blessing, one of the reasons is money. Many people think that sacraments have an equivalent amount of price. It is as if sacraments are for sale. This is a reality we cannot hide. As a result, many poor families have thought that they could not afford it.

Church and Fixed Donation

The church has been dependent on the fixed donation for the sacraments. It is true that such way has been a security for the church. It has supported the church financially. From it, the church sustains the stipends of the priests, parish or diocesean ministries and the sustenance of the convent. However, I propose to you today the idea of the eradication of fixed donation.

Instead of putting a fixed amount on the sacraments, the church should accept anything that the parishioners could voluntarily give. If a person could not give anything, then so be it. He or she can still receive the sacrament. Sacraments have no corresponding monetary values. All people should receive them as Jesus instructed His disciples.

Work of Jesus

Fixed donation is just a coating of the reality that we have neglected for centuries. The truth remains that donation is never a force thing to do. If the Church really wants to serve, then no amount should be asked before service. Sacraments are blessings from God. Jesus had given the Church the duty of administering it. He did not tell the Church to collect first before administering. When Jesus was performing miracles, did he ever ask for something in return? He did not. We cannot find anything in the Bible that speaks of collecting fees first before receiving God’s blessings.

Generosity over Poverty

Some of us may already be thinking that it will make the church finically amputated. With the abolition of fixed donation system, the church will not get poor. It is true that the Church has been dependent on it, but without it, the church would survive.

Today, I believe there are many people who are generous enough to the Church. Many have been pampering their priests. They give them electronic gadgets, trips, dogs and other material things. People are generous enough that the Church would survive. With proper guidance and instructions, the Church can sustain its financial responsibilities through the generosity of the parishioners. Giving to the Church must become a regular habit, with or without the sacraments.

JESUS’ DEATH NOT CHEAP AND FREE

The abolition of fixed donation is an adventure of a new Church and a deviation from the old system of Church sustenance. This should remove from the mindset of the parishioners and the faithful that the sacraments have a monetary equivalent; however neither must it be replaced by another mindset that the sacraments are cheap and require nothing on our part. The sacraments are not free. They have been paid by the precious passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. God has given it to us. People should receive it. The Church has responsibility to provide it.

Eradication of fixed donation is putting our needs into the hands of God. Whenever we work hard for the ministry of the Church, whenever we orient people on the need for generosity, whenever people know their responsibility on the Church, then we can always be assured that the financial needs of the Church will always have solution. With God, nothing is impossible. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippinans 4:13

ARCHBISHOP SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS: A FOLLOWER OF JESUS

“With great power comes great responsibility.” This is a wonder line in a Spiderman movie. Moreover, I would like to rephrase such line by saying, “Great power needs great humility.” This is applicable to a great man whom I would like to talk about briefly.

Though an Archbishop, people call him “Fr. Soc.” This is not a lack of respect to his authority, rather, it is what he prefers to be called. He would reason out that no matter what position he is entrusted with, he would always be a simple priest forever.

Fr. Soc is a spiritual person. His routine in praying is something astonishing. If you would send him a message at five in the morning, you would get a reply quickly. This is because he would wake up early and pray at four o’clock in the morning until five o’clock in a small chapel adjacent to his room for adoration. He would remind us, his beloved seminarians, that we need to have time for a holy hour a day for the Lord.

Before he goes out of the Archbishop’s house, he visits first the adoration chapel adjacent to the Cathedral to pray for some minutes. Not only that, if you are going to ride with him, be sure that you have a rosary with you, for he will surely invite you to pray with him the mysteries of the rosary for the day before having a casual conversation. Moreover, he is actually a devotee of Our lady of the Most Holy Rosary. He prays the twenty mysteries of the rosary every day. Despite his busy schedule as an Archbishop and as the CBCP President, he remains consistent with his prayer life.

Fr. Soc is a simple person. He does not care about luxurious things. What he needs is all that he has. It is a fact that many people give him gifts. His brothers and sisters provide him clothing. However, when he knows that he has enough of the basic things, he actually gives it to other people like his seminarians. I, myself, have received many.

He is not choosy of food to eat. Some may be wondering what he is eating. Some have judged him as someone elite due to his looks and bearing. However, he eats what we also eat. He is like anyone else. He also eats burger in a fast-food. He is a simple person.

With great responsibility, it is natural to have an assistant or secretary. However, this is not the case with Fr. Soc. He is a person in authority who does not need a secretary. When asked for a speech or message, one would be assured that Fr. Soc is the one making it. He is the one writing all the letters and documents that he needs. He would tell us that he does not need a secretary for he had been a secretary for a long time. He is a responsible person.

He is a loving Father to his sheep, to his seminarians and priests. Though busy, he sees to it that he has time for all of us. He knows his seminarians well that he can name all 120 seminarians by heart. He makes sure that he talks to them, be with them on Christmas and Easter and he visits them in the seminary. He even has a room in the seminary where he sleeps for a day during his visits. It is also the case with the priest and his sheep.

Fr. Soc, a spiritual man. Fr. Soc, a simple man. Fr. Soc, a responsible man. Fr. Soc, a loving father. Such descriptions may not be enough to describe the person of Fr. Soc. A seven-minute speech may not be enough to narrate all about him. If you would be walking with Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, you are like walking Jesus for Fr. Soc is a faithful follower of Jesus.