In a message during the concluding Eucharistic Celebration at the 11th Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE) held at the University of Santo Tomas on July 20, Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula called on the delegates to carry on with the mission.
“Friends, as we go forth from this conference, I encourage you: Padayon! [Press on],” he told the participants.
Advincula urged the conference attendees to continue sharing love in “an extravagant, or even exaggerated way.” He also invited them to “bear Christ’s hope to all.”
“Even when life is filled with challenges, let us accompany each other, listen and share stories, and create safe spaces to encounter the Risen Lord,” he said.
The concluding Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines.
In his homily, Archbishop Brown reflected on God’s act of choosing.
“God’s choosing didn’t stop at the end of the New Testament,” he said. “It continues at every moment of Salvation History, and we are living that history now, at this present moment. God is choosing. God is calling each and every one of you. You are chosen.”
Brown also reminded participants to live a life rooted in prayer and reflection.
“Many things are pressing, but only one thing is necessary. As Jesus says in the Gospel today (the episode involving Martha and Mary), it is to sit at the feet of the Lord to listen to Him, to adore Him, to live the life of prayer, to prioritize our interior life.”
He likewise encouraged the faithful to continue the mission.
“You are not just attendees; you are mission partners in the work of evangelization,” he said.
The first-ever PCNE convention took place in October 2013, seven months after the election of Pope Francis to the papacy.
According to Brown, PCNE was initiated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, then Archbishop of Manila, as a response “to the call for the new evangelization and to rekindle the vision placed by the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, which happened 22 years earlier.”
The recently concluded three-day gathering drew more than 4,000 participants.
Announcing that the next PCNE would convene in July 2026, Cardinal Advincula said, “Until then, let us keep the fire of faith burning. Let us continue in our synodal journey. Magpatuloy tayo [Let us press on]. Magpadayon tayo [Let us carry on].”
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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