National Ecumenical Forum for Filipino Concerns in the Inland Empire
Supporting Justice, Peace, Human Rights, and Integrity of Creation
NEFFCON-IE
Who We Are
NEFFCON-IE is a nonprofit organization under IRS Code 501 (c) (3). As an
organization, it works through a committee system to address issues and
challenges of the PDOE (poor, deprived, oppressed, and exploited). Structurally, the
the organization will strive to have membership in committees composed mainly of
members of the PDOE
All Videos
153rd GOMBURZA Commemoration
153rd GOMBURZA Commemoration
PAISIE Breaking Barriers & Building Communities Through Health & wellness Fall 2024
45th Sacerdotal Anniversary Fr Ben Alforque, MSC
PAIS IE Summer Immersion 2024 Placemaking & Belonging
45th Sacerdotal Anniversary of Fr. Benjamin E. Alforque, MSC
October 26, 2024
NEFFCON-IE
Biblical Commentaries
by Fr. Benjamin E. Alforque, MSC
Feast of the Sto Nino de Cebu
Pit Senyor! Viva, Sr. Sto. Nino!
JAN. 19, 2025
Gospel: Luke 2:41-52
Is 9:1-6, the prophet poetically continues to proclaim the hope of liberation in the midst of the people’s experience of poverty and deprivation, exploitation and injustice in the hands of their local and national leaders and colonial powers. Isaiah affirms that soon a child-liberator will come who will put an end to the sufferings of the people and restore to their lands those who were deported by Assyria to foreign lands. He will be the light that will restore the virtues of the past: trust in the Lord, return to God and God’s ways! The return of the people and their restoration as God’s nation again cannot be separated from the ways of justice and equality, the very bases of their nationhood. And this Child-Liberator is their Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.
This divine promise that energizes the people to a new way of life is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is the Child-Liberator, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace! The Gospel today, Luke 2:41-52, demonstrates the liberation that Jesus brings: the advancing Kingdom of God - the history of salvation – is now constructed and written by the poor, the little ones, the alienated, the marginalized, the women like Mary and Elizabeth. Not by power, not from the perspective of the victors of war, conquest and oppression. Not by elitist cultural producers. Now this salvation history is taken over by an unknown 12-year-old boy from the periphery who stays in the temple of Jerusalem, the center of power of religious authorities. Thus, the contrast and the contradiction – the struggle of opposites - continue: the authority of the temple in the center of power versus a young unknown boy defending not the law of the temple but the will of the Father who owns the temple. The cause of the Father is far greater than the limits set by the law! Joseph is quiet. Mary takes the center stage with her son. She does not understand but contemplates this event in her heart. And Jesus submits himself to Mary and Joseph as one family, an alternative family guided not by the law but by the designs of the Father.
Their home is in fact within the house of the Father. Jesus has liberated the Temple. Her mother is writing this event quietly in her heart. The child is not the elite’s impotent plaything, who produces blessings by their flattery. This Sto. Nino stands his ground against the false interpreters of the law, against the demagogues that deceive the poor, against the rich who create the poor by impoverishment, deprivation, usury and open violence.
Let us welcome the Child-Liberator and His Kingdom like a child, joyful, simple and persistently innocent like a stream, yet firm, tender and brave in defending the cause of God’s kingdom and his people’s struggle for liberation. Let us be ready to receive joyfully the blessings of a new life in baptism: (Eph 1:3-6.15-18) chosen and consecrated in love, adopted children of God and destined to live the eternity of life and praise with God. Unfettered by the law, let us open our hearts to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and be partakers in the great dialogue of love in the community of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us be women and men, imbued with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and insist on the works of liberation in the Year of the Lord’s favor. Let us pray that by immersing into this Trinitarian Love we will be able to live out the reality of Christian life by believing in Jesus and loving our neighbor! We need to pray to be able to do this. We need to implore the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to illuminate our hearts as children of God and inheritors of the heritage of the Child-Liberator and Savior!
The Sto. Niño is with us! He lives in our hearts! Let us believe and follow our Child-Liberator and Savior!
Pit Senyor! Viva, Sr. Sto. Niño!
Fr. Benjamin E. Alforque, MSC
Naida Castro
Executive Director and PAIS-IE Administrator
NEFFCON-IE
Message From the Executive Director and PAIS-IE Administrator
Welcome to NEFFCON-IE!!
Thank you for visiting our webpage. Since 2016, we have strived to live up to our mission of being a voice to our marginalized and oppressed Filipinos in the Philippines, as well as, those Filipino-Americans living in the United States. Through the events, campaigns, statements, and various other activities we have initiated, and partnered with other community and advocacy organizations, serving the Filipino community, we hope we have also made a positive contribution to the global movement for social justice.
We hope that our webpage can provide you with information on the kinds of endeavors we have done in the past, as well as, the plans we intend to pursue in the future.
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