by Kuya Louie Climaco (Fra Louie)
The Brotherhood Christian Life Program (BCLP) 24 of BCBP Mactan Chapter was the last BCLP before the chapter was split into two. One held its original chapter name, the other was first called Mactan Midtown Chapter and then renamed to Lapu-Lapu Chapter. The latter was formally installed on March 25, Feast of the Annunciation, in 2017.
With attendance and tithes already low before the split, Kuya Orly Manuel, Mactan Chapter Head shared his worries after the Holy Mass of the first Friday of April 2017 over the effect of the split. Some members got visibly worried. However, God the Holy Spirit never ceases to comfort and console those faithful to Him. And He never ceases to amaze them. Pray tell.
In the evening of the third Friday of April, the praise and worship leader began the session with a greeting of “Happy Anniversary!” Since he was referring to the 37th National Anniversary of BCBP, which was on the following day, the members understood that the session was held already on the eve of the anniversary.
Later in the session, the leader invited everyone to share whatever message or vision from the Holy Spirit. The first sharer shared parts of the Gospel of that day. The parts were about the most memorable breakfast of all time for BCBP: the breakfast of the risen Lord Jesus and His Apostles from a catch of fish so great that the nets were in danger of tearing apart. He began reading from the invitation to haul in the bursting catch to the invitation known to every BCBP by heart:
Come and have breakfast.
John 21:12
As usual, other sharers followed him:
- The second spoke of two ships sailing in the same direction on calm waters in good weather.
- The third spoke of the Lord swearing that He will not fail those who trust in Him.
- The fourth quoted from the Bible how the risen Lord assured His apostles that He is not a ghost by showing His hands and feet and letting them touch such His Body.
- The last spoke of Our Lord extending His hands over the deep blue sea.
Now, consider carefully the following interpretations of the messages and visions:
- The Gospel of the day of the eve of the anniversary of BCBP mentioned the event that inspired the event that began the BCBP, which is the BCBP Breakfast. No mere coincidence.
- The two ships were Mactan Chapter and Lapu-Lapu Chapter! They sailed in the same direction because the two ships have only one captain, Our Lord!
- The vision of the Lord swearing He would not fail those who trust in Him was intended to ease fears and anxieties over the split.
- The quote from the Bible was a reminder of the Lord’s faithfulness to His promises by recalling that He did rise from the dead because He was showing His hands, feet, and the rest of His body to His Apostles, even for them to touch. After all, the greatest promise of the Lord is to raise up on the last day those who are faithful to Him till the end.
- For the vision of the Lord extending His hands over the deep blue sea, I will return to it shortly.
As the One True Captain of the ships Mactan Chapter and Lapu-Lapu Chapter, the invitation of Our Lord to touch His body from the quote was to assure the members that He would be with them sailing the ships. In fact, He offered Himself to them so that they would be able to sail the ships by letting Him sail them in them. For only the Lord is able to sail ships till they reach the shore.
But why would the Lord captain the ships? Because the last sharer said He extended His arms towards the deep blue sea, which was calm. This was meant to remind the members of His unforgettable miracles of
- rebuking the winds and the sea until a great calm swept over the waters before the terrified eyes of His disciples, and
- walking on water until He got into the boat with His disciples and, again, rebuked the winds and the sea.
The last miracle is very much connected to His invitation to touch His Body. When He walked on water, they thought He was a ghost. The Lord so noted this mistake that the next time it happened, He invited them to touch His Body and to give Him something to eat when He appeared to them after His resurrection.
But why the deep blue sea? Clearly, the Lord wanted the members to put out into the deep. After all, the deeper into sea one goes, the bigger the catch. Indeed, the Lord wants every fish caught because He died and rose from the dead to conquer death for everyone, Jews and Gentiles. And when one catches fish, He invites him or her to come to shore, haul in the catch, and “come and have breakfast” with Him.
It seems quite clear that the Lord wants BCBP to grow until it has to split again. He wants more breakfasts. To do that, He needs more ships to catch fish and bring them to shore. May God add more years to the BCBP, more ships, more catch, more breakfasts, not just in one place but in many places, as many as the years to come until either BCBP would “run out of names to call” the newest chapter (to quote a former chapter head) or until Kingdom come, whichever comes first!