The Social Teachings of the Church is a way of disseminating wisdom about building a just society and living a meaningful

and

holy life amidst the challenges of modern society. The fests Dulaan and Bigkasan Agustino last August 29,2019 turned out to be a

mirror of some of the important teachings of the church,which emphasized a lot of the important themes of our Catholic social

traditions. Bigkasan and Bigkasan Agustino is a showcase of every Agustinian talents in performing Spoken word poetry and

showcase of theatrical talents through acting and plays. The theme for this year’s fest is “Salita, wika at gawa “ which appeals

exactly to the concept of the Social Teachings of the Church.

Life and Dignity of the Human Person is portrayed, in the play "Kahon" which emphasized that human life is sacred and the

right to life must be protected. The dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society and that in order to

overcome all the challenges we are facing in the modern society, we must enhance our lives and dignity as a person as well. The call

to family and community has been tackled by some of the poetries,highlighted the points on how our participation in the

community as Christian affects the growth of our community. Then the dulaan emphasized the rights and responsibilities of

Christians which talks about a healthy society being achieved, only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met.

Corresponding to these are our rights in our duties and responsibilities as Christians--to ourselves, to one another, to our families

and to our society. There are also scenes that depicts poor and vulnerable people. One of the Bigkasan entitled “Agustino sa salita,

wika at gawa “ pin-point a lot of things which served as an eye opener for us in term of the discrimination between rich and poor

people and the rights of every person no matter what their work is, their position in work, how much they’re being paid of or the

titles they have. It speaks about inequality but gives us remarkable message that “we must all see each other as equal." Another

thing emphasized which is related to the Social Teachings of the church is about theme the importance of Solidarity. Some of the

plays mirrored the importance of love and solidarity between groups of people amidst all differences. Solidarity is a pursuit of

justice and peace as being highlighted in the Dulaan, as an advocate the demand for PEACE in a world surrounded by violence and

conflicts.

Those were just some of the things I find related to the Social teachings of the Church that has been emphasized, depicted or

mirrored in the fests Dulaan and Bigkasan Agustino. These gives us a lot of realizations about realities of life and how we must face

them. I believe that the following activities served as an eye opener for all of us and fueled our dignity as human in complying our

duties and responsibilities. Understanding Social teachings of the Church is a long way process but little by little we can be be able

to understand its importance to us as Christians. Social Teachings of the Church is not just a mere imparting of wisdom regarding
Catholic social traditions, rather it gives us idea on what and how is the modern world now and guides us on how to face such

challenges and changes, with responsibility, faith, love, justice, peace and solidarity.