One way to better appreciate the Sunday Mass is to have a genuine appreciation not just of the Gospel but also of the two other readings. However, for one reason or another, many have not taken the time to give a serious look at the readings of the Mass.

To solve this problem among Filipino Catholics, Fr. Salvatore Putzo, SDB, and retired academician Dr. Cecilia Valmonte put up a radio program called Bisperas airing on Radio Veritas in November 2003.

Bisperas, which means eve, prepares people for the Sunday Mass by discussing the two readings as well as the Gospel, says Putzo, who is the program’s resource person.

“We wish to instruct the people on the reading of the day. Let people know the things relevant to the Mass. We want to believe we are doing our share to help people anticipating the readings of the Mass. We want the people to have greater appreciation not only of the homily,” the Don Bosco priest explains.

Valmonte, a former dean at the College of Liberal Arts of Centro Escolar University, says Bisperas harnesses the power of radio to promote the Word of God. The program has also incorporated modern programming styles to get the attention of the listeners.

“We are using the radio, instead of a straight monologue in interpreting the readings. Bisperas makes it interactive as much as possible. The program makes it a point to involve the listeners,” says Valmonte.

To motivate the audience to participate in the live show, Valmonte, who is both the show’s host as well as scriptwriter, fields questions to the listeners.

The novel manner in spreading the Word doesn’t stop there as technology, in general, plays an important part of the show. Aside from texting, the program also uses e-mail to get feedback and eventually to reach more listeners.

“The listeners in fact can send their comments through text messages. That’s why we came up with an interactive format. We ask for their reaction on a certain reading. We also give chance to offer their prayer intentions which we allot a certain portion of the program,” explains Valmonte.

Putzo, fondly called Father Sal, says Bisperas tries to point out to the audience the connection between the three readings and hopefully convince the churchgoers that the Gospel is not the only main focus of the Mass.

“We try to identify the theme that will possibly express the common message of the three readings,” he explains. “The first reading introduces the theme, while the second reading gives a background of the Gospel. We try to show that during the interaction. We try to connect the ideas of the two readings to the Gospel.”

He adds: “It is important to explain to the people the similarities and connections of the readings with the Mass. This program has a lot of revelations.”

Putzo says they have even attracted many priests to listen to the program since “they get a lot of ideas for their homilies.”

Furthermore, Putzo feels Bisperas shows priests that they, too, can introduce innovations in teaching the Word. In fact, his fellow priests agree that the show could help promote the Gospel to the MTV generation through its modern style of interaction.

“We see this kind of support as an inspiration because our audience keeps on growing,” says Putzo.

As expected, given the program’s aims, it relies on volunteers and donations to keep it on the air. Volunteers are counted on for their commitment as they are required to be there every week for the program’s live airing.

Putzo and the staff have also to be good in managing scarce resources. Guests are given modest tokens. He admits broadcasting the show is a challenge because of the time and financial resources required.

“We don’t have sponsors. We rely solely from good-hearted benefactors. We have to prepare P5,600, which is the cost per airing of Bisperas. This means we have to plan ahead and raise the money at once,” says Putzo.

Despite the awesome challenge, Putzo, who is also the spiritual director of Word Ministry and Word and Life Publications, and his group remain optimistic.

“We get donations from many people shelling out as low as P100. And we also receive unexpected assistance from other people,” adds Valmonte.

Putzo says they are currently exploring other means to reach out to more people. Among them is the construction of an independent web site so people can have an easier time accessing the online version of Bisperas.

In that manner, Putzo and his staff will have an easier time interacting with the people, especially the youth.

The Coach … as businessman

Joel Banal’s life has always revolved around basketball, from playing collegiate ball for Mapua and amateur basketball in the MICAA and the national team to his pro stint in the PBA, and finally moving on to coaching, where he also made his mark both at the professional and collegiate level.

Winning: Customer loyalty isn’t dead, just different

Q: At my old company, we did everything to retain customers: built dedicated facilities, designed innovative packaging, offered aggressive pricing and delivered quality second-to-none. Still, a few major accounts dumped us. Is costumer loyalty dead? Carl Warren, Ridgefield, Connecticut

A: Not dead, but different.

Spread the Word

One way to better appreciate the Sunday Mass is to have a genuine appreciation not just of the Gospel but also of the two other readings. However, for one reason or another, many have not taken the time to give a serious look at the readings of the Mass.

Profit vs public health: When infant formula tastes sour

Gina’s newborn girl has just contracted pneumonia. A few years ago, the young mother from Quezon City lost twins to premature birth. And her new baby does not look good either, being obviously malnourished and small for her age.

‘President’ Sorensen’s New Vision

My fellow Democrats: With high resolve and deep gratitude, I accept your nomination.

It has been a long campaign—too long, too expensive, with too much media attention on matters irrelevant to our nation’s nature.

Race Relations

FOR several weeks now, the Philippine Racing Club Inc. (PRCI), one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious racing clubs in the country, has been at the center of a raging corporate boardroom battle, pitting its minority shareholders against the company’s Malaysian-controlled board of directors.

Where more research and development dollars should go

Although U.S. companies are spending more on research and development overall than they have in recent years, they’re putting that money mainly into new project development and neglecting other areas that are important to long-term innovation efforts.

Productivity is killing American enterprise

I fear for the future of American business—not because of US trade imbalances or budget deficits but because of the productivity of its corporations. America’s highly touted productivity may be destroying its legendary enterprise and many of its powerful enterprises.

Crafting food

Benilda Moises starts her day taste-testing a violet liquid to determine the right mix of citric acid and the sweetener aspartarme.

Winning: Giving up on a broken operations

Q:  If you’re part of a diversified company, when do you give up hope on fixing a broken business? Ron Adner, Fontainebleau, France. 

A:  Big companies hold onto failing businesses for all kinds of reasons: sentimental value, false hope and culture, to name just three.

Murdoch Wins

In locking up Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion late Tuesday, Rupert Murdoch ensured that his vast influence would be felt in the business world for years to come—as it is now by hundreds of millions of global TV viewers, moviegoers and Internet users.

‘WSJ’ reaction: ‘Sickening’

It’s normally not good news when a company is the subject of repeated stories on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

Money, or duty to society?

The Bancroft family, which has controlled the prestigious Wall Street Journal for more than a century, is the latest newspaper dynasty to be dismantled by the pressures of the Internet age.

Global tire brand sets example of market knowledge, community integration

IT boils down to having a good name—Goodyear Philippines Inc. has close to a hundred years’ experience in support of this statement.

Vex Populi

Hand in hand with the dwindling supply of power and water is the proliferation of people, the population “explosion” (2.36-percent increase for this year) that the National Statistics Office (NSO) has warned us about—a case of plenitude in the midst of penury. A far cry from the zero growth rate (2 percent) of 1991, obviously the result of the martial law politely termed “family-planning program.”

Going beyond business

TO gain trust of people, practice what you preach.

This is what Manila Water Co. Inc. president Antonino T. Aquino has been doing in the past 10 years, since taking the helm of leadership of the Ayala-owned water firm servicing the east zone of urban Metro Manila.

Manila Water and communities: Some recent projects

COVERAGE of its water sampling and testing operations has been expanded to include several towns in Rizal province within its service grid.

Regarding Mark Jimenez

The view from Mark Jimenez’s penthouse is one of a kind: neat rows of the white crosses in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Bonifacio Global City. Inside, crystal vases with fresh flowers are everywhere. There is an old Austrian piano that nobody knows how to play in the living room. There are photos of his family.

Five books that will amplify your ability to lead through influence

Leaders shape the future; they set strategic goals and guide their organizations toward attaining them. But they are powerless without others’ cooperation. Here are five books that will hone your ability to lead through influence.

The Cost of Myopic Management

Under pressure to hit immediate performance targets, many managers inflate earnings, often by cutting expenditures. In a recent survey of 401 top financial executives, 80 percent said they would decrease spending on “discretionary” activities like marketing and research and development to meet short-term goals.

Tattoo you

Last year Justin Miloro had to wear long sleeves to conceal the Buddha curling around his left forearm and the yellow-orange sun rays on his right. Pants covered the depiction of Earth on one leg and wings on the other.

From WOM to www

FOR years, small businesses have relied on the magic of WOM (word of mouth) to attract customers. Yet, with young Filipinos lately turning into entrepreneurs, too many small companies are creating too much buzz that customers now find it hard to tell apart the best from the bluff.

Winning: AVOIDING THE REVERSE-HOSTAGE SYNDROME

Q: Why do so many companies not address cross-cultural differences in a merger until it’s too late? Karen Fenner, Camden, New Jersey

A: Because you can’t number-crunch culture. And financial analysis is almost always where merger evaluations begin, along with some level of strategic analysis.

The monarchical tradition

Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of personally delivering the president’s report to Congress that was inaugurated by George Washington, the first president, on January 8, 1790, in New York, the capital of the new nation until 1801. But since the US Constitution required a president to report to Congress, Jefferson wrote his message and had it read by a clerk.

The future of San Miguel

‘We’ve done preliminary studies, going so far as to hire an independent adviser to shortlist for us attractive industries in which we might choose to participate, industries like mining, power, infrastructure, water, other utilities and property.’

Seeing the World

We can state, quite categorically, that we are living in very demanding times. Our planet is under stress. Our country confronts serious challenges. Our communities are in search of real solutions to age-old problems.