AWAKE! ARISE! FULFILL!

CFC LEADERS CONFERENCE 2019

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for
light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. For everything that
becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and
Christ will give you light.” Eph 5:8-9, 14 (NABRE)

Talk Elements and Core Messages

Talk 1: AWAKE! ARISE! (Inspirational and Pastoral)
Speaker: Rouquel Ponte
Toll order
Message Emphasis: Last year the Holy Spirit moved us to rekindle the gift/s of the
community and challenged us to fulfill our ministry whether personally or communally. The
sense of the Holy Spirit continued to inspire us to carry on the message with different
emphasis highlighting Paul’s reminders to the Ephesians which discusses concrete behavior,
taking rekindling to the next level. He contrasts the holiness of the Christian way of life to
the darkness of the surrounding society. To imitate Jesus love’ and sacrifice entails rejecting
the impure and idolatrous conduct of the world. A holy way of life manifests God is light in
the world. Living this way makes our life an act of worship that culminates in Spirit-filled
praise and thanksgiving to God.

To restate, we bring Rekindling and Fulfilling to the next level this year putting into action
Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians in living as children of light, principally in the Christian
culture of CFC and our Family.

I. Introduction:

a. “What does it mean to be Christian? It means to look to the light, to continue to

practice the profession of faith in the light, even when the world is wrapped in night
and darkness. “And this is our Christian hope. The light of Jesus, the salvation that
brings us Jesus with his light that saves us from the darkness.” (Pope Francis)

b. Pope Francis began this address by explaining how there was a time when churches
faced toward the east, so that when a person entered the doors in the west, he or
she walked eastward toward the altar. Though this has fallen out of custom but it’s
still an important symbol.

c. “We men of modern times, much less accustomed to grasping the great signs of the
cosmos, we almost never notice such a thing,” he said, noting that the west is the

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 direction of the sunset, “where the light dies.” In the east, on the other hand, is
where we see the first light of the dawn, casting away the darkness. The Pope
explained that in the ancient Church, during the rite of Baptism, the catechumens
would make the first part of their profession of faith facing the west. When
questioned, “do you renounce Satan, his favors, and all his works?” facing the west,
they would respond “I renounce!” They would then turn to face the east, the
direction of the Orient, for the question: “do you believe in God the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit?” this time responding, “I believe!”

d. In our own Baptisms today there is the beautiful sign of the lit baptismal candle,
showing the importance of light. The Pope said: “the life of the Church is
contamination of light.” “I would like to ask you: how many of you remember the
date of your Baptism?” he asked. “Think, and if you do not remember it, today you
have homework: go to your mom, your dad, your aunt, your uncle, your
grandmother, grandpa and ask them, ‘What is my Baptism date?’”

e. He then instructed them not to forget it, adding that today’s commitment is to learn
and remember your date of baptism, “which is the date of rebirth, is the date of
light, it is the date in which,” he emphasized, “we have been contaminated by the
light of Christ.”

f. AWAKE! ARISE: 1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were “no people” but
now you are God’s people; you “had not received mercy” but now you have
received mercy.”

II. Ephesians 5:14, Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and
Christ will give you light.” This letter of Paul to the Ephesians is a masterpiece and
one of the greatest treasure that compels us to wake up from our slumber. Now is
the time to be awake, to arise from our sleep, and to combat evil with goodness,
righteousness and truth through the light of Christ.

a. All aspects of human life and relationships are illumined by the light of Christ (Eph.
4:25-6:20)

b. Our experience of transformation accomplished through Christ makes us a new

being, we become God’s people. Therefore, Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead
and Christ will give us light. An invitation to every person baptized who is morally
asleep and dead in sin. A shaken invitation to repent and receive the light and life of
Christ again.

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 c. Bring to our consciousness:
1. Story of creation in Gen. 2:7 where the breath of God brought life
to man.
2. Ezekiel – prophesy to dry bones that they come alive – grow
sinews; have flesh, etc.
3. Post-Resurrection story in John 20 – where Jesus breathed on
them the Holy Spirit.

 Can we have a 2-minute video on any of the above 3 stories.

III. How have we rekindled? : The Purpose of our Communal Gift—CFC

We come across with questions such as: What is CFCs’ role in today’s generation?

Are we gaining more Timothy’s or are we losing them? For the past years, the
community has built new wineskins to direct us to new paths, yet our new wineskins
have left us with questions such as are we welcoming the Timothy’s or are we repelling
them? Are our methods still effective?

And are we still at the forefront in the battle against evil?

The Lord challenges us to rekindle, use our gifts as CFC to be light to the world by truly
living as children of light.

a. The Gift the Lord continues to reveal: CFC as Christ’s light

b. The Legacy we have to pursue: Building a Culture of Love aimed at renewing the
family and molding a generation of Family Evangelizers.

1. Invite couple-sharer

IV. Live as children of Light: (Main content of talk) — For you were once darkness, but
now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind
of goodness and righteousness and truth…for everything that becomes visible is
light.

a. Translating this years’ rekindling to a consistent daily living and culture. This time
from the letter to the Ephesians, to support us in our follow-through. Paul’s
instruction about Christian conduct still holds true. The same attitudes of humility,
gentleness, patience and forbearance are the key to preserving the Spirit’s gift of
unity in families, parishes and religious communities.

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b. We must choose to put off the lifestyle of the old fallen human nature and to put
on the way of life of the new humanity, that is, to live in union with Christ. Couples
for Christ must be acutely aware of our true identity in Christ and give a shining
witness in a world that seems to grow darker by the day.

c. Goodness - Charity at the core. We need to keep reminding ourselves that there is a
hierarchy of virtues that bids us to seek what is essential”. “In other words, amid the
thicket of precepts and prescriptions, Jesus clears a way to seeing two faces, that
of the Father and that of our brother”.

The Great criterion which we will be judged on. Francis recalls Jesus’ words about
feeding the hungry and welcoming foreigners, presenting them as “a rule of
behavior by which we will be judged. “ If I encounter a person sleeping outdoors on
a cold night, I can view him or her as an annoyance, an idler, an obstacle in my path
a troubling sight, a problem for politicians to sort out… Or I can respond with faith
and charity, and see in this person a human being with a dignity identical to my own,
a creature infinitely loved by the Father, an image of God, a brother or sister
redeemed by Jesus Christ. That is what it is to be a Christian!

d. Righteousness - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they will be filled”

“Jesus offers a justice other than that of the world, so often marred by petty
interests and manipulated in various ways. Experience shows how easy it is to
become mired in corruption, ensnared in the daily politics of quid pro quo, where
everything becomes business”. “This has nothing to do with the hunger and thirst
for justice that Jesus praises”. “Unless we wish to sink into an obscure mediocrity –
the Pope warns: let us not long for an easy life, for “whoever would save his life will
lose it”. “ In living the Gospel, we cannot expect that everything will be easy “. But
Francis also explains that “The saints are not odd and aloof, unbearable because of
their vanity, negativity and bitterness. The Apostles of Christ were not like that”. The
apostles enjoyed favor “with all the people”. As ”Persecutions are not a reality of the
past, for today too we experience them, whether by the shedding of blood, as is the
case with so many contemporary martyrs, or by more subtle means, by slander and
lies”.

e. Truth - “What is the truth?” That was Pilate’s question as he judged Jesus. Pope
Francis had the answer. The Holy Fathers comments came in his catechesis at his
Wednesday General Audience on November 14, 2018. He continued his catechesis
on the Ten Commandments and focused on the eighth commandment: “Do not bear
false witness against your neighbor.”

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 Pilate questioned Jesus, and the Lord answered: “For this reason, I was born, and for
this reason I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”
(John18:37). Through the witness of his passion and death, Jesus gave witness to
the truth.

“The truth finds its full realization in the person of Jesus himself (Cf. John 14:6), in
His way of living and dying, the fruit of His relationship with the Father,” the Holy
Father explained. “This existence as children of God, He, risen, gives it also to us by
sending the Holy Spirit who is Spirit of truth, who attests to our heart that God is our
Father (Cf. Romans 8:16).

The Holy Father explained that being truthful is much more than simply being
precise, exact or sincere. It is about communications, for the Catechism says the
Eighth Commandment “forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with
others” (n. 2464).

“To live in inauthentic communication is grave because it impedes relationships and,

therefore, impedes love,” the Pope continued. “Where there is a lie there is no love,
love can’t be exercised. And when we speak of communication between persons we
mean not only words but also gestures, attitudes, even silences, and absences. A
person speaks with all that he is and does. We are all in communication always. We
all live communicating and we are continually poised between the truth and lies.”

The truth is so much more than presenting facts, in the Holy Father’s view. Actually,
selecting certain facts in an effort to defame another person is what a gossip does –
and Francis has little good to say about gossips.

“Beware! A gossiper is a terrorist because with his tongue he hurls the bomb and
leaves calmly and that hurled bomb destroys others’ reputation,” the Pope warned.
“Don’t forget: to gossip is to kill.”

Pope Francis challenges us to live the truth in all aspects of life: Let us ask ourselves:
what truths attest the works of us Christians, our words or our choices? Each one
can ask himself: am I a witness of truth, or am I more or less a liar disguised as truth?

“Not to bear false witness means to live as a child of God, who never, never denies
himself, never tells lies; live as children of God, letting emerge in every act the great
truth: that God is Father and we can trust in Him.”

V. The Call of Jesus

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 a. The first call of Jesus is to be with Him.
i. When the two disciples of John wanted to know where Jesus
was staying, he issued the invitation, “Come, and you will see.”
(John 1:39)
ii. To be with Him is to be in a close relationship of intimacy with
Him.
iii. It means that the Person comes first before the enterprise. Is
Christ a person to us even before the task, the program, the
organization? Are we “Couples for Christ” or are we simply a
member of the Couples for Christ?
iv. To be with Him allows us to continue responding to God’s call
beyond ill health, physical limitations, changes in roles or
position, etc. What’s most important is we continue to be with
Him for our first and primary calling to be fulfilled.

b. The second call is to imitate and follow Him.

i. And after giving the mission to the twelve apostles, Jesus laid
down the conditions of discipleship, “If anyone wishes to come
after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and
follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
ii. It means choosing the things he chooses and serving the
Father and others in the same way that He did.
iii. It means we are ready to let go of all self-entitlements.
iv. It means we are willing to follow Him all the way to the cross.

VI. AWAKE! ARISE: 1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were “no people” but
now you are God’s people; you “had not received mercy” but now you have
received mercy.”

a. The letter of Paul to the Ephesians is a masterpiece and one of the greatest treasure
that compels us to wake up from our slumber. Now is the time to be awake, to arise
from our sleep, and to combat evil with righteousness and goodness through the
light of Christ.

b. Therefore, Couples for Christ Awake! Arise and Fulfill!

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c. Two things are important:

1. The first is that there are no magical answers, and the second is that life in the
Church as a whole, is being called to carry out a true “pastoral conversion”, not
only of language, but also of lifestyle, if we want to connect with young people
who will inherit our community and the world.

2. Let no one rob us of the joy of following Jesus Christ and the courage to propose
it to others as a way, truth and life (Jn 14: 6). Let us conquer our fears!

3. It is time for your sons and daughters to prophesy; for young people to see
visions and the elderly to dream dreams.
“God says: I will pour out my Spirit on all peoples,
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy. (Joel 2:28-29. Acts 2:17-18)
(The Lord said, Listen to my words: When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I
will reveal to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. (Numbers 12:6)

4. The world awaits us. It’s time to move! AWAKE! ARISE!