A proposed supplementary materials for the re-evangelization of St. John Neumann migrant center’s cyber community

• Main Author: Lacsa, Jose Eric M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Cyberspace—Religious aspects; Saint John Neumann Migrants Center's (Baclaran, Philippines); Religious Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdd_tred/5; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdd_tred/article/1005/viewcontent/2023_Lacsa_A_Proposed_Supplementary_Materials_for_the_Re_evangelization_Full_text.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study analyzed how the Saint John Neumann Migrants Center's (SJNMC) FB page functions as a cyber-church or a virtual extension of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine in Baclaran. It examined how the cyber-church responds to the religious needs of its members. In this study, the proponent conceptualized these supplementary materials for the re-evangelization of St. John Neumann Migrant Center's Cyber Community and proposed it as a resource for the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH) in Baclaran. As this study hopes to provide materials for valuable catechetical instruction for the Saint John Neumann Migrants Center FB page members or followers, the proponent used the topics generated from the interviews. The supplementary materials were customized with the following topics considered: (1) Faith and Mental Health, (2) How to deepen faith in God, (3) Faith and Resilience, and (4) Faith and Social Justice. The directives stipulated in the New Directory for Catechesis (2020) guided the researcher in formulating the supplementary materials. The five elements specified in the New Directory for Catechesis (2020), namely, (1) Trinitarian and Christological; (2) Salvific; (3) Grace and Beauty-oriented; (4) Ecclesial; and geared towards (5) Unity and Integrity of the Faith were pivotal to the contents of each lesson. Likewise, the essential principles proposed by Heidi Campbell (2013) when it comes to becoming a cyber-church or a networked religion, namely, (1) a Networked community, (2) Storied identities, (3) Shifting authority, (4) Convergent practice, and a (5) Multisite reality help provide insights into the use of technology and digital space in becoming a 21st century Church. The researcher employed qualitative and descriptive-analytic research with a comprehensive, mechanistic, exploratory approach to assessing the extent of the catechetical ministry of the St. John Neumann Migrants Center's FB page. To generate first-hand information as a basis for the proposed online supplementary materials for re-evangelization, the proponent conducted online interviews among its active members who voluntarily accepted to be respondents to this inquiry. Besides appreciation or appraisal of the SJNMC's FB page, the administrator of the said social media account was also interviewed to have a more comprehensive understanding of this ministry engaged in by the parish. In response to the General Directory for Catechesis' call to inculturate the Gospel, lessons based on the expressed needs of the respondents and members of the SJNMC FB page, the proponent employed the indigenous concept "aral" or lesson (de Mesa, J., and Cacho, R. 2012). Instead of using the traditional term module, the proponent suggested the title "Mga Aral Pang Katesismo para sa SJNMC's FB Page." Aral refers to "what we try to learn from our experiences in life." Any lesson learned from such experiences (mga aral na napulot sa karanasan) is intimately linked with our Filipino thought. "Sana kapulutan ng aral is a common exhortation Filipinos append to narrations of experiences" (de Mesa and Cacho, 2012, p. 26). The proposed supplementary materials emphasized God's saving events in the life of every Christian, which has been offered to humanity through the Paschal mystery of Christ, the foundation of all the sacraments. Relating to this crucial task, the materials were presented in light of these saving events in history, which exemplify the Christian message of hope, meaningful life, the dependable truth of God's love, and the recognition of the dignity of each person. Integrating all these aspects highlighted God's manifold graces as essential in the life of every Christian disciple. The proponent of this study came up with two lessons per preferred topic. Thus, eight lessons or supplementary materials for the re-evangelization of the members of the cyber community were crafted and uploaded to the center's FB page, namely Ang pagpapadama ng kagandahang loob ng Diyos (Experiencing God's benevolent love), Ang ginhawang kaloob ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ni Hesus (God's offer of salvation through Jesus), Ang Malasakit ng Diyos sa mga Nagdurusa (God's compassion for those who suffer), Ang Pagsasaloob at Pangangatawan ng ating Pananampalataya (Embodying authentic faith in God), Mga Paraan Upang Sumigla ang Pananampalataya (Revitalizing and enlivening one's faith in God), Ang Maganda sa Samahan (Beauty-oriented Fellowship), Ako, ang aking Dangal at mga Karapatan (Dignity, honor, and rights of the Human Person), and Ang ating Misyon: Pakikiisa at Pakikipagkapwa (Responding to our Social Mission).