Module No.
8
BECs as People of God Participating in Christ’s Mission as Priestly, Prophetic
and Kingly People
Course The Church Course Code: Theo 3
Title:
Instructors: Salvador N. Castillo Term & AY: 1st Sem, AY 2020 -
09364403631 2021
Fr. Leif Mark U. Butacan
09067709179
Joseph Timoteo S. Asuncion
09653323503
I. Overview
The BECs are indeed a way of being Church. They concretely express the PCP II
vision of the Church as community of disciples: that is the Church as communion,
participating in the mission of Christ as a priesty-prophetic-kingly people, as the Church of
the poor. What is said of the Church in general can also be said about the BECs. They are
the realization of the Church at the local level – that is, the Church at the grassroots.
II. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILOs)
Upon completion of this module, the students should be able to:
A. comprehend and understand that the image of the Church is the people of God.
B. identify the three-fold mission of the Church.
C. grasped that the three-fold mission of the Church is also a part of our mission.
III. Learning Resources and References
Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR, SThD, Journeying Towards a New Way of Being Church: Basic
Ecclesial Communities in the Philippines, Claretian Communications Foundation,
Inc.,Quezon City, 2016.
IV. Lecture Content / Summary of Lesson
BECs as People of God Participating in Christ’s Mission as Priestly, Prophetic
and Kingly People
Vatican II, especially in the dogmatic constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium)
links the threefold mission with the image of the Church as a people of God. Accordingly,
the Church as people of God is by its very nature a priestly, prophetic and kingly people
(LG 10-13). The Church as a whole participates in Christ’s prophetic, priestly and kingly
mission. The ministry of the hierarchy (the bishops, priests and deacons) are seen as
priestly, prophetic and kingly (LG 24-29). Lay people actively participate in the priestly,
prophetic and kingly mission of Christ by virtue of their baptism and membership in the
Church (LG 34, 35, 36). In the Vatican II document on the missionary activity of the
Church, Ad Gentes 15, the communities of the faithful that are to be built up in the
mission field are to carry out the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ. Thus, the
ecclesiological trilogy is the underlying schema for describing the nature and mission of
the Church, the ministry of the hierarchy and the role of the laity.
The three-fold nature and mission of the people of God has been appropriated for
the BECs in the Philippines. This is the ecclesiological perspective that many dioceses,
institutions and programs promoting BECs have in common.
It was the Mindanao- Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC) that first used this
framework. In 1971, the theme of the first MSPC was “The Church in Mindanao and Sulu:
The Teaching, Worshipping and Serving Community.” The three-fold nature of the Church
in Mindanao-Sulu corresponds to the three-fold nature and mission of the Church as
prophetic (teaching), priestly (worshipping) and kingly (serving) community. When MSPC
began promoting the formation of the Gagmayng Kristohanong Katilingban (GKK), these
communities were characterized as witnessing, worshipping and serving communities
(masaksihon, maampoon, maalagarong katilingban).
The PCP II has appropriated the vision of the Church as a priestly, prophetic and
kingly people and see its realization in the BECs.
Prophetic Communities
The BECs actively participate in Christ’s prophetic mission. They are prophetic
communities. They hear, proclaim and witness to the Word of God. They are evangelized
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and evangelizing communities, learning and teaching communities, witnessing
communities. The tasks of evangelization and catechesis are part of this prophetic
mission. It also involves denunciation and annunciation.
(1) denouncing sin and evil in society (e.g. the idolatry of power and wealth,
injustice, oppression, the culture of death),
(2) announcing the message about the coming of God’s kingdom – a message of
salvation, of justice, peace and liberation.
There are programs and activities that concretely express this prophetic character
of the BECs:
evangelization seminars, bible-reflection sessions, conscientization or
social awareness programs, education for justice, catechetical program
(for children, youth, adults), etc. The most regular activity is the bible-
reflection session where the members of the BECs gather in their homes
or in their chapel to reflect on the word of God and their concrete
situation. In the light of faith they discern their concrete response and
course of action.
Priestly Communities
The BECs actively participate in Christ’s priestly mission. Thus, they are a priestly
people. They are worshipping and celebrating communities. This priesthood is expressed
in their full and active participation in the liturgical-sacramental celebration, in prayer and
thanksgiving, in active charity, in the offering of spiritual sacrifices, and in self-sacrifice
which may include the readiness for martyrdom when necessary.
The activities that express the priestly nature of the BECs are: the weekly bible-service
held in the chapel (Kasaulogan sa Pulong, Katilingbanong Pag-ampo), prayer meetings in
the homes, the monthly or bi-monthly mass, the celebration of the other sacraments
(baptism, matrimony, penance), the fiesta celebration, popular devotions (novena, rosary),
the rituals for planting and harvesting, etc. The BECs can continue to worship and
celebrate even in the absence of the priest.
Serving Communities
The BECs actively participate in Christ’s kingly mission. Since this kingly mission is
expressed in service, the BECs are serving communities. They participate in making the
kingdom of God a reality in this world by promoting peace and justice, integral
development and liberation, and the integrity of creation.
There are activities and programs that express this kingly/servant nature of the
BECs:
(a) socio-economic projects that respond to the needs of the people –
livelihood projects, cooperatives, communal farming, organic farming,
community-based health program, appropriate technology, etc.
(b) ecology campaigns: anti-logging, anti-dam, anti-mining, reforestation
projects, etc.
(c) promotion and defense of human rights
(d) voter’s education and working for clean and honest election
(e) peace-building, establishment of peace zones, Muslim-Christian dialogue,
etc.
(f) protest action against objectionable government policies (VFA, charter
change, mining act, etc.).
The kind of activities that the BECs undertake depend on the concrete situation and
needs of the people. Through these activities, the BECs can become instruments for social
transformation.
The prophetic-priestly-kingly nature of the BECs should be regarded as a triad.
Using this triadic framework provides a holistic vision of BECs. The priestly, prophetic and
kingly dimensions are the three essential dimensions of the BECs. BECs are not just bible-
sharing groups. Neither are they only liturgical assemblies. Nor are they only socio-
economic or political organizations. The BECs are not one-dimensional communities. The
ongoing task of BECs is to develop and integrate these three dimensions and grow as
priestly-prophetic- servant communities.
BECs as Realization of the Church of the Poor
The BECs concretely express evangelical poverty, the option for the poor and the
participation of the poor in the life and mission of the Church.
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(1) The BECs as Communities of the Poor
Most of the BECs are found in the rural barangays and urban slums. Most of the
members are materially poor. They are like the biblical anawim for whom poverty is a way
of life – they are the ones who are hungry, who suffer, who mourn, who easily get sick,
who are often harrassed, who go to prison, who thirst for justice, who seek peace. They
are the ones with deep faith and trust in God’s loving providence. They wait in expectation
for God’s liberating grace. They are predisposed to the message of the Gospel, the
message of the kingdom. Thus, the Christian communities that emerge among the poor
can rightly be called the communities of the poor – the church of the poor. In these
communities the poor can experience communion among themselves. They experience
what it means to be a community of disciples, a community of friends.
This does not mean that membership in the BECs is exclusively for the poor. It just
happens that BECs thrive among the poor. Those who are not poor tend to join mandated
organizations and renewal movements like the charismatics, Couples for Christ, etc. There
need not be a competition or antagonism between the BECs and the mandated
organizations and renewal movements. Part of the challenge of the pastoral ministry is to
reorient the mandated organizations and movements so that they become supportive of
the efforts to build BECs and they make an option for the poor. They have to be
encouraged to enter into a dialogue of life with the poor in the BECs, to be in solidarity
with them, to share their resources with them, to be one with them in their struggle for
social transformation. In doing so they also become part of the Church of the Poor.
(2) The BECs Enable the Poor to Participate in the Life and Mission of the Church
In the BECs the poor are not just the object of the Church’s ministry or preferential
option. They become active subjects or participants in the Church’s prophetic, priestly and
pastoral mission.
In these communities the Gospel is proclaimed to the poor and the poor proclaim
the Gospel. The poor are not only evangelized, they also become evangelizers. This
happens every time they gather for their regular bible-service in their chapels, or hold
bible-reflections in their homes, in their farms or even in the barricades. The poor become
prophetic when they learn to break the “culture of silence” and begin to speak out against
the situation of injustice, oppression and the culture of death. They become prophetic
when they are able to announce the Good News of liberation.
In the BECs the poor can exercise as a community the priesthood of the faithful by
their active participation in the liturgy, through their popular religious practices and
devotions, in their fiesta celebrations, and in their acts of self-sacrifice and self-offering.
In the BECs the poor are not merely recipients of aid or charity from the clergy,
religious or from the more well off members of the Church. The poor actively participate in
the struggle for social transformation. They are able to organize socio-economic projects
that respond to their basic needs (like cooperatives, income generating projects,
community based health programs). They are able to defend their rights and work for
justice and liberation. They can be mobilized to work for peace and put an end to the spiral
of violence. They promote the integrity of creation by caring for the earth and defending
the environment. Thus, they are empowered to respond to the situation of poverty,
injustice, oppression, violence and the destruction of the environment.
V. Learning Activities: Summative Evaluation (10%)
Fill in the table: Using the SEE, JUDGE, ACT mode. (use ANOTHER sheet for your answers)
SEE (what are the
JUDGE (how do you ACT (what are the
Three-fold possible
see it as a possible actions you
Mission issues/problems in
problem?) must do? ”mission”)
your community?)
1.
2.
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3.
VI. Supplemental content
VII. Assessment
Reflect on the following: Summative Evaluation (10%) (In not less than 50 words.)
1. The BECs Enable the Poor to Participate in the Life and Mission of the Church
VIII. Assignment
Have an advance reading about the “Word of God and Basic Ecclesial
Communities.”
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