LRMS IN THE PARISHES: PURSUING THE VOCATION OF "BRIDGING DIALOGUE"

1) Liturgy as the Locus of "bridging dialogue"- One of the most important venues for the appreciation of culture and dialogue is the liturgy. The liturgy is the measure of how much dialogue has the local church achieved with its local culture. "One of the central purposes of mission is to bring people together in hearing the Gospel, in fraternal communion, in prayer and in the Eucharist." (RM 26) The celebration of the liturgy depends largely on how much dialogue with culture has the local church lived with its mission. In so far as traditions and cultural practices are concerned, the LRMS has achieved the goal of gathering the Filipino-Chinese communities in the liturgy. Many parts of the liturgy today are integrated with Chinese elements to foster a wider communion like the Mass in the Chinese language, the veneration of ancestors, and important feasts like the Chinese New Year and the Mooncake Festival. The LRMS continuously preserves these points of integration between the liturgy and the Filipino-Chinese culture.

2) Building the Filipino-Chinese Community- One of the biggest challenges which the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society faces today is to form the Filipino-Chinese community in every parish and chapel. A concrete sign of continuous dialogue between the local church and its local culture is the establishment of a sustained local community. It is a community that is gathered, committed and formed ad intra and a community that is able to serve others ad extra. "To live in "fraternal communion" (koinonia) means to be "of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32), establishing fellowship from every point of view: human, spiritual and material. Indeed, a true Christian community is also committed to distributing earthly goods, so that no is in want, and all can receive such goods "as they need" (cf Acts 2:45; 4:35) (RM 26) The challenges of forming a Filipino-Chinese community reflect the vision of the Filipino-Chinese Apostolate, the legacy of the Bishops of the Archdiocese of Manila, and the mission spirituality of the Society which is "bridging dialogue" with people and cultures.

3) Venue for a maturing faith- The venue for integral growth in the Christian faith is the parish. Through the encounter between the local church and its local cultures finds a new inroad of a new expression of the Christian faith. This new event in the Christian community develops a new identity and a new way of celebrating the liturgy though still according to its rules and rubrics. The Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society constantly adapts to the new ways of thought in every epoch and generation. The signs of the times prompt a profound reflection in order to set a new direction of the Filipino-Chinese community. The LRMS is an instrument a maturing faith in the community. "The evangelizing activity of the Christian community, first in its own locatlity, and then elsewhere as part of the Church's universal mission, is the clearest sign of a mature faith." (RM 49)

4) Signs of Missionary Imperative- The parish is the place where the local church feels the life and situation of its local culture. In every human experience, the local church has always to be present and its presence has to be dialogical and amicable. The local church has to be a sign of unity in the midst cultural diversity. To achieve this, the local church has to be immersed in the very life and pulse of its local cultures. As the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society pursues its mission, it has shown its presence and its relevance to the Filipino-Chinese communities. Since the first assigned ordained priest worked among the Filipino-Chinese communities, the LRMS continues until today its mission of attending to their pastoral needs. Though it is imperative for a missionary society to dedicate itself for missio ad gentes but the LRMS has a preferential option for mission among the Filipino-Chinese. The LRMS believes that the parish is the venue for an encounter which shapes its missionary spirituality- "bridging dialogue."