Augustinians wish all a meaningful “Kaplag”

CEBU, Philippines -  Fervent preparations are being undertaken for the celebration of the three significant events in the life of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA), and to a certain extent also of the local church in Cebu, this coming year 2015: the 450th year of the finding (kaplag) of the historical and miraculous image of Santo Niño, the 450th anniversary of the presence of the Augustinians in the country, and the 50th year of the elevation of the Santo Niño church as a Basilica Minore.  For the Augustinians and for their benefactors and friends, as well as for the devotees of Santo Niño, these seasons of Advent and of Christmas are periods of patient waiting and hopeful expectation for these grand events.

Unknown to many, aside from these three events, the Filipino Augustinians are also celebrating the conclusion of the 30th anniversary of the foundation of their juridical religious grouping – the Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu – Philippines.  Officially established on December 25, 1983 by a decree of the OSA Prior General and inaugurated in the Basilica of Santo Niño on January 15, 1984, this Province assumed most of the religious and pastoral commitments of the Augustinians in the country, including the stewarding of the famous Basilica del Santo Niño where the widely venerated image of the Holy Child is safeguarded.  Numbering 110 solemnly or perpetually professed friars, with similarly more than a hundred simple professed, novices and pre-novices, this group of Augustinians run 18 communities in the country, whose main apostolates are in the fields of education, parish-based pastoral and social works, and mission in remote areas of the country and abroad.

The core concept that animates all these four celebrations is expressed by the word “kaplag.”  While originally “kaplag” refers mainly to the finding of the image of Santo Niño, this Cebuano word has definitely other meanings, like “God finding or discovering us,” or “God searching to find us.”  This is in line with our belief that the Lord wants always to be close to His loved ones, to look after their welfare, both spiritually and physically. In this perspective then, it is Santo Niño who first found or discovered us, our country and our people in 1521.  It is Santo Niño who discovered Cebu, the Philippines; it is Santo Niño who searched for and called King Humabon, Queen Humamay or Juana, and their followers to be baptized and become members of the Church.

Moreover, kaplag is not only a one-time event, the finding of the image; it also  denotes the discovering further who this Holy Child is, and extendedly the knowing further of the Church that presents the Santo Niño image as representing the Son of God. Here then comes another meaning of kaplag – the effort of the believer to discover further the identity of the Child-God, to discover further His teachings, to discover further the Church he founded through the help and instrumentality of missionaries.  In other words, kaplag denotes “evangelization:” the coordinated and integrated efforts of both the evangelizers and the evangelized to know and live the teachings of Christ, to become his disciples, and to become members of his Church. Kaplag then in this sense is dynamic: the continuous knowing of who the Santo Niño is.  And this knowing is not only of the mind but also of the heart; this knowing is something experiential – how the Santo Niño touched our lives, healed our wounds, answered our needs, consoled our depressed selves.

A Hope-Filled Christmas and a Peace-Filled New Year to All! (FREEMAN)