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Catholic Tokyo International Center (CTIC) December 2019 No. 166

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The Savior, born in a manger

December for many people, especially even among Christians is being equated to Christmas. It falls on the last month of the year and is always associated to holidays. Christians would find a way to move back to their place of origin to spend Christmas with their loved ones. Such popular holiday observance had greatly influenced the secular world tha t even for non-Chr is t ians , Christmas holiday has a great impact to their life. Strictly speaking however, Christmas begins only on the eve of December 25, the date traditionally the Church would consider as the nativity of the savior Jesus Christ. The confusion comes with the commercialization that was and is continuously injected into the celebration. As early as November for instance, upon the conclusion of the Halloween, shopping centers decorate their place with assorted symbols popular to people’s diverse views of the holidays, such as the figure of the Santa Claus, the Christmas balls, the Star of David or the famous Christmas pine trees. Their walls are plastered with Yuletide holiday ornaments linked to the holidays but may not have any significant link to Christmas. They are there to entice shoppers to buy more, from food to anything unnecessary. The true meaning of Christmas however has nothing to do with all those holiday ornaments that so easily catch the attention of most people. In fact, these beautiful so-called yuletide decorations are what hide the real significance of the season – the birth of the Savior. Catholics should be reflecting more on the reason of the coming of God, when Jesus was sent by God the Father to save mankind from damnation. The Savior’s nativity should constantly remind every Catholic to see how blessed one could be in comparison to others who are tormented of any form of misery. For instance if one is healthy, such state of wellbeing is a wonderful gift from the Lord even probably if one does not have much in his pocket to buy a special gift to a loved one. A poor yet united family is already a precious gift because many families have difficulty to gather as some members had been dispersed to other countries for certain reason or simply because one’s parents had separated and have now each other’s own new family. The real significance of the nativity of the Savior comes only with a profound understanding of one’s faith in the Lord. Those who are materially poor may still consider this Christmas as their happiest because their celebration has nothing to do about material gratification, but the joy that they feel within as they thought of those people who found themselves living in refugee camps, evacuation centers or makeshift dwellings as they still wait for safe relocation, or a country that would offer them hospitality one day. Christ was born in a manger, inside a cave, among the animals, for there was no room available to Mary and Joseph when they fled home from the threats ofKingHerod.Refugees are in the sameboat. Theyhad escaped theharsh lifecausedattimesbynaturalcalamitiesorworstbythedecisionsofthepoliticalleadersoftheircountries. CTIC wishes everyone a peaceful, healthy and joyous Christmas ahead.

(photo from internet)

KALAKBAY Kalakbay is a Filipino word which means “fellow traveller”. Kalakbay (カラクバイ)』はフィリピノ語で『共に歩む人』という意味です。

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Parish bazaar held at various parishes

Taking advantage of the cooler weather on the last quarter of the year, many parishes in Tokyo archdiocese had held their respective parish bazaar to raise funds for their particular project such as assisting indigent students to finish their education; helping finance the renovation of their church building or simply to contribute to the programs of Caritas-Japan. Annually, every parish in Japan tries its best to raise fund to address certain concern that requires a tangible response. The easiest way to do it is to raise fund by selling food; second hand items like kitchenware, clothes, shoes, tools or whatever people do not need in their homes. Bazaars are popular fund raising activity. It likewise helps parishioners to socialize and get to know each other more. At Narita Catholic Church last October 20 for instance, the foreign communities from the English and Spanish speaking countries had a great time exchanging cultural experiences by way of selling and buying food native to their country of origin while others had performed musical numbers to entertain their parishioners and guests. Also on that same day, the foreign community in Kiyose Parish held raffle draws besides selling native food at their own parish bazaar. Their bazaar began with the Mass at 10:00 AM and parishioners started selling food soon after concluding the Mass, just on time to eat lunch. The Filipinos were proud to have sold out thirty kilos of pork Bar-B-Q and five kilos of biko, a Filipino native rice cake. Proceeds from their food sales will benefit their adopted scholars in Mindanao, Philippines. The Nishi-Chiba foreign community held its bazaar last October 27. Besides the Japanese parishioners, the Vietnamese and the Filipinos had spearheaded the annual event. Proceeds generated from their food sale were sent to Caritas Japan to help the survivors of the disaster brought by typhoon number 19. On the same fourth Sunday of October, at Narashino Church, the foreign community composed of Brazilians, Filipinos, Koreans, Indians,

and the Vietnamese had exchanged pleasantries with the Japanese parishioners at their annual parish bazaar that started after celebrating their international Mass presided by their parish priest, Fr. Dinh and Fr. Masia from CTIC. Besides selling food native to their countries of origin, the international community had likewise taken turns in providing

musical entertainment to the parishioners. The children had likewise participated in their parish. There was so much fun for everyone. It ended with a circle dance participated by all parishioners. Proceeds of their fund raising will go to the Funabashi Learning Center and to purchase a new electronic organ.

Community News


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Simbang Gabi at three parishes in Tokyo Filipinos even outside their home country will not miss the most important religious preparation they have before the arrival of Christ’s nativity. Nowadays in most premier cities in the world where large Filipino community exists, Simbang Gabi is a regular parish activity in churches where they frequent. Either one is in New York, London, Milan, Paris, Sydney, Dubai, Beirut, Kuwait, Taipei or Hong Kong, the most celebrated Filipino Advent activity called Simbang Gabi attracts more attendees not just the Filipinos, but also even other nationalities. In Rome for instance this December, no less than the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrates the first day of Simbang Gabi at St. Peter’s Cathedral, considered the largest Catholic Church in the world. Tickets for the celebration are running out, as every Catholic would like to be part of this famous Filipino Advent religious tradition. In Japan at least three parishes will be offering Simbang Gabi to the Filipino community scattered in the vast area of Tokyo Archdiocese. As already observed in the past many years in Japan’s premier capital, the novena masses that begin every 16th of December will be observed once more at Akabane, Chibadera and Meguro parishes. Priests from the diocese and various religious congregations will take turns in celebrating the nine-day novena of masses that end

before the celebration of Christmas Eve. Considering that the masses are celebrated in the evening, instead at dawn, the masses will be instead celebrated beginning on Sunday, 15 December 2019 at 7pm in Akabane and Meguro. At Chibadera, the mass will be at 7:30pm. At St. Anselm’s Parish at Meguro, the archbishop of Tokyo, His Excellency Tarcisius Kikuchi Isao will be the presider on the first night. All are cordially invited.

On-going formation seminar for lectors of Meguro Parish

As part of the requirement to serve at the liturgical celebration as Ministers of the Word or more popularly known as lectors, for the international community of St. Anselm’s Catholic Church at Meguro, a group of lectors and commentators had organized last November 9 a seminar on how to prepare better in their humble service. With the assistance of Fr. Edwin D. Corros, CS the Filipino priest helping the international community at St. Anselm’s Parish a group of interested lay people were oriented on the proper use of the lectionary. At the seminar, he had taught the participants to be familiar with the use of the lectionary, which serves as the proper liturgical book when proclaiming the Word during liturgical celebration. As part of their training, the participants were given a practical test on finding the right page in the lectionary according to a given liturgical celebration. With the aid of the smart phones, many Catholics find it easy to access the daily liturgical readings, but in the actual use of the liturgical books, most ordinary Catholics are not commonly familiar. The training was initially challenging for the lectors, but with several practices, they had developed confidence in finding the proper reading based on a particular liturgical year or day. Such training was aimed not only at educate the lay people of their important tasks when preparing for the liturgy, but likewise to further empower them to bepotentialleadersoftheChurch.

Community News

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National Youth Gathering: A Journey Shared, No one Excluded

By: Gian Paulo Vidal

A warm welcome had greeted the attendees of diverse nationalities and ages who flocked to the venue brimming with their sincerest smiles. Such paved a way for us to open up and share our individuality with new-found friends. Heartfelt prayers and songs of worship involving everyone had likewise fueled our intention to bring out the spirit of sharing and oneness on that day we regarded as a journey. And what better way to strengthen such journey than by confining ourselves inside the hall! We were divided into teams and were asked to fulfill several missions outside within roughly an hour. When viewing the list to do, I realized how achievable those tasks were, but could be easily forgotten and neglected due to how busy the schedules we have everyday as students or workers. For starters, carrying out even a single mission alone could be taxing, but fulfilling them together as a team, with one objective, led to pulling off a fruitful and eye-opening task. Doing one good deed one at a time makes a big difference. Imagine how the world could be a better place to live when altogether, we would do good deeds each single time? Indeed, an eye-opening experience channeled through listening to remarkable talks, and talking to friends who were ready to listen, had propelled us all to be catalysts of change. We have embarked on a journey and no one was left behind.

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Community NewsSimbang Gabi at Three Parishes in Tokyo

Filipinos even outside their home country will not miss the most important religious preparation they have before the arrival of Christ’s nativity. Nowadays in most premier cities in the world where large Filipino community exists, Simbang Gabi is a regular parish activity in churches where they frequent. Either one is in New York, London, Milan, Paris, Sydney, Dubai, Beirut, Kuwait, Taipei or Hong Kong, the most celebrated Filipino Advent activity called Simbang Gabi attracts more attendees not just the Filipinos, but also even other nationalities. In Rome for instance this December, no less than the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrates the first day of Simbang Gabi at St. Peter’s Cathedral, considered the largest Catholic Church in the world. Tickets for the celebration are running out, as every Catholic would like to be part of this famous Filipino Advent religious tradition. In Japan at least three parishes will be offering Simbang Gabi to the Filipino community scattered in the vast area of Tokyo Archdiocese. As already observed in the past many years in Japan’s premier capital, the novena masses that begin every 16th of December will be observed once more at Akabane, Chibadera and Meguro parishes. Priests from the diocese and various religious congregations will take turns in celebrating the nine-day novena of masses that end before the celebration of Christmas Eve. Considering that the masses are celebrated in the evening, instead at dawn, the masses will be instead celebrated beginning on Sunday, 15 December 2019 at 7 PM in Akabane and Meguro. At Chibadera, the mass will be at 7:30 PM. At St. Anselm’s Parish at Meguro, the archbishop of Tokyo, His Excellency Tarcisius Kikuchi Isao, will be the presider on the first night. All are cordially invited.

On-going Formation Seminar for Lectors of Meguro Parish As part of the requirement to serve at the liturgical celebration as Ministers of the Word or

more popularly known as lectors, for the international community of St. Anselm’s Catholic Church at Meguro, a group of lectors and commentators had organized last November 9 a seminar on how to prepare better in their humble service. With the assistance of Fr. Edwin D. Corros, CS the Filipino priest helping the international community at St. Anselm’s Parish a group of interested lay people were oriented on the proper use of the lectionary. At the seminar, he had taught the participants to be familiar with the use of the lectionary, which serves as the proper liturgical book when proclaiming the Word during liturgical celebration. As part of their training, the participants were given a practical test on finding the right page in the lectionary according to a given liturgical celebration. With the aid of the smart phones, many Catholics find it easy to access the daily liturgical readings, but in the actual use of the liturgical books, most ordinary Catholics are not commonly familiar. The training was initially challenging for the lectors, but with several practices, they had developed confidence in finding the proper

reading based on a particular liturgical year or day. Such training was aimed not only at educate the lay people of their important tasks when preparing for the liturgy, but likewise to further empower them to bepotentialleadersoftheChurch.

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Community NewsSeminar on depression held at St. Anselm’s Parish Hall

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the world. It is described as a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest and can interfere with one’s daily functioning. In Japan, according to media reports, this reality was largely ignored and was only recognized in the late 1990’s. Considered as a mental health issue, the stigma and shame had always been the major reason why many people are not inclined to seek for help. Even family members, relatives and friends on the other hand would find likewise difficulty in addressing or responding to this concern. According to World Health Organization’s report, over ninety percent of those who attempted suicide were suffering from certain type of depression. Migrants who are basically living in isolation are highly susceptible to depression. It is from this perspective that the English Pastoral Team had thought of holding a seminar to primarily raise awareness among parishioners about this important issue.

At St. Anselm’s Hall last November 9, 2019, sixteen participants from five parishes came to join the seminar on depression. The seminar was divided into two parts. The first part was a presentation facilitated by Ms. Sarah Nagamatsu, RN, PHN, MS, PhD, a registered nurse from St. Luke’s Medical Center who spoke about her very own experience of depression. Married to a doctor, she claimed that beside herself, who was struggling with the illness, her family was equally inadequate to help her, particularly at the initial stage of her condition. Her very own life story had allowed participants to grasp the tangible reality that anyone could actually suffer from such health issue.

The second part was handled by Sr. Abby Avelino, MM, a religious nun of the Maryknoll Sisters who also works among the migrants at Yotsuya Church. In her presentation she spoke about being positive in handling stressful situations.The seminar had allowed participants to break into small groups to discuss and share their own experiences related to Sr. Abby’s presentation. The seminar concluded with the Mass presided by Fr. Edwin D. Corros, CS who also expounded his homily founded on the various biblical characters who themselves might have already experienced depression early in the biblical times, but was not yet identified as one.

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The Pope’s Visit to Japan 2019 By: Dr. Maria Carmelita “Mel” Kasuya

Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), the first pope ever selected from the Society of Jesus, wanted to become a missionary to Japan. When he was 21, he was critically ill and was forced to give up his aspiration to be dispatched as a missionary to Japan. After several decades, his long time dream came to fruition. On November 23, Pope Francis landed in Japan to promote world peace and respect for life. This is the first papal visit to this small Catholic community in nearly four decades. The theme chosen for his four-day visit was ‘Protect all Life.’ On Sunday, the 82-year-old pontiff traveled to bomb-hit cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and celebrated his first public mass in Japan at the Nagasaki baseball stadium. A strong advocate of banning nuclear weapons, Pope Francis called on nations to end nuclear "modernization" programs. “Peace is no more than an empty word unless it is founded on truth, built up in justice, animated and perfected by charity, and attained in freedom.” On Monday, Pope Francis met with victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, then followed by a meeting with the youth at the St Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo. The highlight of his visit was the afternoon mass that he presided at the jam-packed Tokyo Dome (capacity of 55,000). During the solemn gathering of Japanese and foreign nationals, he reiterated the call to protect all life. He also reminded everybody not be anxious about life, about tomorrow. He invited everyone to set priorities right by seeking God’s Kingdom first. On Tuesday, he wrapped his trip in a personal way by spending time with his confreres and by visiting the Jesuit-run Sophia University. He advised the students that protection of human life should be given a priority so people may find the true meaning of life and existence. The academic community was invited to a way of living marked by gratitude and compassion, generosity and simple listening. Coming from a predominantly Catholic country, the migrant Filipinos were inspired by the visit of Pope Francis to keep the faith and persevere in the daunting task of evangelization amidst the daily challenges of work, cultural diversity, language barrier and homesickness. The pope showed us the way to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus through his acts of kindness and compassion that also left a lasting impression in the hearts of the Japanese, especially the non-Catholics. This is how evangelization in Japan should be done – powerful messages in action.

Significant insights on the pope’s visit: Pope Francis’ visit here holds a special meaning to me because the Pope met with the 3/11 tsunami survivors, and as someone who has met and heard their inspiring stories of resilience and rebuilding, I am happy that the Pope met and blessed them. For me, it’s a beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Japan and the people to rediscover its history with Christianity and see,

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through the Pope, how the faith has helped people weather the storms in their lives. (May Masangkay, Journalist)

The privilege to see the Holy Father in person is a huge blessing to our family. Pope Francis has been a champion of promoting good family relations. His effort to personally come to Japan is a strong reminder for us to keep the communication lines open among family members. As he once said to parents, “By playing and communicating to your children, you are sharing with them your values, love and faith.” This is a timely reminder to us parents, especially in the current digital age, where most children are contained in their own cyberspace. (Redd Sumpaico, Father)

I think the pope’s visit here affected me to become bolder in expressing my faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Living in a country where Christians are a minority, we need to spread the Good News and share them the goodness of the Lord. The pope’s presence could help us inspire many unbelievers to know our merciful God. (Liza De Paz Dojo, Church Leader)

As a Filipino youth who has had a religious upbringing, I think that attending a mass presided by him is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To have the top of the Catholic hierarchy to come and spread the word of God personally to all of us makes me feel blessed. It affects me because it will help increase my faith in God, to be able to participate firsthand. (Megan Sumpaico, Youth)

Clearly, the Pope’s message speaks of what in life should be our priority. We should value life more than work. We should value teaching our child how to be a child of God first. For the husband to value work as important, but to consider time with and for the family is sacred. Despite our struggles and the demands on our time, praying and receiving the sacraments, and loving others are still the most important preoccupation of every person, of every family. The Pope is a gentle reminder of all these. His presence spells, hope. His messages give life. His life and his actions radiate the love of Christ. (Mae Grace Harashima, Mother of bicultural family)

Pope Francis’ apostolic visit in japan is a reaffirmation of my vocation as missionary in this country. He reminded me of the purpose and the reason why I chose to come here rather than pursue a career somewhere else. During the mass that he presided last Monday, the gospel which talked about God’s love was reminding me of the first calling I had at a very young age, and echoing the same message of Love in my mission. (Erlyn Regondon, Lay Missionary)

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Q & A Living in Japan

I was hit by a car when riding a bicycle, and spent a month in the hospital. I want to have the driver`s insurance company pay for this.

What should I do?

CTIC Keitai “Good News”

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(Continuation)

Will your injuries heal after one month in the hospital? Will it be necessary for you to commute to the hospital thereafter? How are the aftereffects of the injury? The injuries may completely heal, but if indications of their after effects are found, you should attach a medical certificate and add this to your demand. If you are still undergoing medical treatment and have not yet received any payment from the party at fault, you should file a provisional and partial payment claims.

The maximum amount of insurance for injuries to be paid by Automobile Third Party Liability Insurance is 1.2 million yen (though this does not include damages from the aftereffects of injuries). If the amount of damages exceeds 1.2 million yen, you must demand it from the party at fault, and not the insurance company. If the offender has voluntary insurance, that insurance company will provide the amount; but, if he is not a member and has no assets of his own, it will be extremely difficult to obtain compensation.

In case of a hit-and-run accident, or in an accident where the car is not insured with the Automobile Third Party Liability Insurance, you can make a claim with the national government guarantee scheme. You can make this claim at any non-life insurance company, or even the National Mutual Aid and Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations. You can present yourself to one of the above offices and explain the situation, after which you will be given the relevant forms and information.

“Living with the Japanese Law: A Guide to Foreign Nationals in Japan (Q&A 101)”

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