First General Assembly for CTK Lectors & Commentators
The Christ the King lectors and commentator group were invited to attend the first General Assembly last Saturday, February 25, the first of four scheduled for the calendar year. As a requirement, all of CTK’s 150 lectors commentators are expected to attend at least one assembly.
Mel Novales, head coordinator for the Lectorate Sub Ministry within the Worship Ministry, first introduced Trix Deleña, assistant coordinator, who went through the Lent and Easter schedule of activities as articulated to-date by the Worship Ministry head couple Peter and Leila Banico.
Trix was followed Ellen Manansala, Lectorate Ministry treasurer, who accounted for the funds balance to-date from the P500 requested from each lector late last year. Then it was Mel Novales’ turn as he went through the list of comments and observations made by parishioners regarding CTK commentators and lectors. He also gave each of the lectors and commentators a copy of the booklet entitled ‘Reading for the Lord’, by Msgr. Antero Sarmiento.
Fr. Bong Tupino announced that there would be a nationwide Bible Quiz soon and he wanted a systematic way to identify the most able parishioner that CTK could field. To assist in selection, he gave a 30-point multiple choice quiz on the Gospel according to Matthew – part 5. He confessed that a few of the questions were really difficult since some of the points are also covered in Mark, Luke or John but the text and Fr. Bong had been aware that chapel goers occasionally ask the lectors or commentators what the icons in the Divine Mercy Chapel stand for. So he wanted to make sure the lecoms were ready to answer. The representation at the front of the altar table is called ‘Pelican in her Piety’. In ancient Europe, it was believed that the pelican would cut its breast open with its beak and feed its young with its own blood if there was not enough food. It represents Jesus’ selfsacri fice and charity. The icon had been adopted by early Christians as early as the 2nd century and started using it in religious texts and images.
The four Evangelists’ iconography at the Ambo stand for Mark (upper left), Matthew (upper right), Luke (lower left), and John (lower right). Matthew, the author of the first Gospel account, is symbolized as a winged man or angel.
Jesus’ Incarnation, and so Christ’s human nature. Mark the Evangelist, the author of the second gospel account, is symbolized by a winged lion – a figure of courage and monarchy. The lion also represents Jesus’ resurrection (because lions were believed to sleep with open eyes, a comparison with Christ in the tomb), and Christ as king. Luke the Evangelist, the author of the third gospel account (and the Acts of the Apostles), is symbolized by a winged ox or bull – a figure of sacrifice, service and strength. Luke’s account begins with the duties of Zacharias in the temple; it represents Jesus’ sacrifice in His Passion and Crucifixion. The ox signifies that Christians should be prepared to sacrifice themselves in following Christ. John the Evangelist, the author of the fourth gospel account, is symbolized by an eagle – a figure of the sky, and believed by Christian scholars to be able to look straight into the sun. John starts with an eternal overview of Jesus the Logos and goes on to describe many things with a “higher” christology than the other three (synoptic) gospels; it represents Jesus’ Ascension, and Christ’s divine nature. This symbolizes that Christians should look on eternity without flinching as they journey towards their goal of union with God.
Lastly, Fr. Bong reminded the lecoms that the Mary icon on the left side of the Miraculous Crucifix of Limpias (background story of the crucifix was covered in the previous issue of the Herald) was specifically Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The original Byzantine icon has been in Rome since 1499. In 1865, Pope Pius IX appointed the Redemptorist Priests to be custodians and missionaries of the icon and the First General Assembly for CTK Lectors & Commentators WORSHIP MINISTRY L to R: Lectorate Ministry’s Mel Novales, Trix Deleña, and Ellen Manansala Lectors-commentators doing their best correctly answer the quiz on the gospel of Matthew image has become very popular. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, this artistic iconography is known as the Theotokos of the Passion. The Joseph iconography to the right of the crucifix is St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. It was Pope Pius IX, who had a special devotion to St. Joseph, who gave him the title in 18f0 because of his dignity, holiness, and glory as spouse of the Blessed Virgin and foster father of Jesus Christ. Nineteen years later, in 1889, Pope Leo XIII issued an encyclical explaining why St. Joseph is the Patron of the Universal Church.
Fr. Bong also gave out the two papers that he had first given out at the Parish Pastoral Council meeting. The first was Fr. James H. Kroeger on ‘the parish as a community of missionary disciples’ and the second was by Amado L. Picardal on BECs as agents of communion , participation and mission’. He asked the lectors and commentators to go through them and ask themselves how they can contribute to the propagation of the parish as communion of communities and to the advancement of BECs in the CTK communities. Fr. Bong explained that the lecoms is the largest ‘BEC community’ in the parish with its 150 members.
