Jacky Alcoriza

Are you active in your parish? Yes, we are.

Describe your activities in your parish? We are currently serving as Parish Coordinator of the Ministry for Family and Life of San Isidro Labrador Parish in Batangas City, Philippines.
We are spearheading the overall activities and programs of the ministry such as the Pre-Cana, NFP and Pregnancy Support Programs – the latter two being newly adapted programs (though a topic about NFP is already integrated into Pre-Cana seminar). We have been part of the Parish Pre-Cana Program since March 2018 and have been giving talks to engaged couples regularly on a monthly basis. As Parish Coordinator, we are also part of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and thereby helping and supporting the council in planning, preparing and implementing parish activities.

What is your position on magisterium of the Catholic Church? We believe and we truly honor that the magisterium of the Catholic Church is the authority to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God and to teach the faith. That is why we always refer to and check with the official teachings/stand of the Catholic Church not only on faith matters but also on moral and social issues.

What is your position on contraception? We stand by the teaching of the Catholic Church that contraception or artificial birth control is against the beautiful and wonderful plan of God and His divine design for married couples to bear children and raise families in a natural, responsible and loving way.

What is your position on Natural Family Planning, NFP? As a couple who practices the Billings Ovulation Method, we can attest that through NFP, the marriage/conjugal act can be full (total), free, faithful and fruitful. In keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church, NFP allows married couples to live responsible parenthood in line with God’s design. NFP methods are the only methods morally acceptable to Catholic Social Teaching.

So many young people today are lacking in knowledge of the faith. What is the best action for communicating the faith to the couple? How do we open the door and welcome them into the Church? We believe that the best action for communicating the faith to the couple is by engaging them – develop a loving relationship with them (invite them to any family-oriented organizations of the Church), get them involved and let them experience the saving love and mercy of our Lord Jesus through the pastoral life of the Church (sacraments, prayer meetings, formations, etc.) as well as through the faith and witnessing (good, living examples) of other married couples journeying with them – pastoral accompaniment.

Over half of the engaged couples are already living together. What is your response to couples who are in this position? We always believe that cohabitation is a sin. We condemn the sin, but love the person just like what our Lord Jesus Christ has taught and showed us. We can only respond with love and challenge the engaged couples living together to live and act worthily of the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony (the “covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.” CCC 1601)

Most couples today have sexual relations before they are married. How would you approach the subject with them? What would be your method for opening their eyes to the truth on this matter? Again, we would approach this subject in the spirit of love and not of condemnation. We would pray and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the engaged couples about the truth, the importance, the beauty and the joy of the gift of “renewed chastity” and to give them courage to wait and practice abstinence until their wedding.

Many young people today are not informed about the realities/truths of abortion. Do you follow Church teachings on abortion? How would you approach this subject? How do you teach others what it means to be Pro-Life? Yes, we follow the Church teachings on abortion. We would approach this subject and teach others to be Pro-Life according to the Catholic social teaching that human life begins at conception and thus every human life must be treated with the respect due to a human person. Abortion is a grave sin against the fifth commandment of God: You shall not kill.

What strengths do you have...? The strengths that we have...are: – Our commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church and our adherence to our Lord’s great commission to make disciples of all nations. – Our passion to communicate the faith, especially proclaiming the Good News concerning God’s beautiful plan for married couples and the family. – Our faith in God that we strive to live out and practice.

Describe a few of your personal passions. Gerlie: Some of my personal passions include reading, photography, cooking, graphic designing and public speaking. Jacky: I’m passionate about technology, reading, writing and public speaking. We believe that our Lord has gifted us with faith seeking understanding so we are both passionate about studying and learning the “why’s” of our Catholic faith.

What do you think are the three most important points that need to be covered in a marriage prep program? 1. The Sacrament of Marriage (the Truth, Beauty, Dignity and Indissolubility) 2. Sex and Intimacy (Theology of the Body and NFP) 3. Living as a Catholic Family (Prayers and Family Culture: Parenting & Raising Kids, Importance of Presence & Communication)

Please describe your family life. Our family life is a source (of course, our God is the primary source) of joy, love and strength for us. We are grateful to the Lord for the gift of our family that is why we are treasuring our family life very dearly. Our relationship to the Lord and our relationship to one another are of paramount importance. When making life-changing/big and even small decisions, we are always taking into consideration the welfare of our family. As a family, we attend the Sunday Mass and all Holy Days of obligations without fail. We, as parents, embrace and practice attachment parenting so we are taking care of our one-year old daughter ourselves. We also take our daughter with us when we are joining the prayer gatherings of the Couples for Christ (CFC). Our typical day at home would be me (Jacky) working (yes, I’m a stay-at-home dad who works remotely) and my wife doing household chores, preparing and cooking healthy dishes and taking care of our daughter. We try our best to live happy, healthy and holy. We are extending God’s blessings to our family by serving the even greater family of God, the Church, and also by actively helping in the evangelization efforts of our local church and organization, the CFC. We still do visit both our parents every month to spend time with them.

What do you think is the best approach to presenting the truths about the Catholic Faith to others? The best approach to presenting the truths about the Catholic Faith to others is by living and practicing the faith, testifying to the truth in love and being a true Christian (another Christ) – being the face of Jesus to all the people that we meet.

Describe your relationship with your spouse. I (Gerlie) can say that we have a great, healthy, loving relationship. I always strive to give my husband the very best of myself by understanding his love language, attending to his needs, serving him and having a quality time together. We enjoy talking about just anything, making fun of ourselves and sharing stories and funny moments. As a health-conscious wife, I love to prepare healthy foods for him and our little family. Though our married life is not always a bliss, I am blessed to have a very loving husband who most of the time, if not always, is the first to apologize and to forgive when it comes to conflicts. I believe he has also helped me develop a deeper and closer relationship with God.

Describe your prayer life. I (Jacky) strive to attend the Holy Mass daily at 6AM while my wife, Gerlie and our daughter, could join me if it would be the 6PM weekday Mass. As a couple, we also commit to regular Confession monthly, daily reading of Scriptures, praying the rosary and personal prayers. As part of the community of CFC, we are also attending prayer meetings (praying together with other CFC members who are part of our small support group) twice a month.

What else would you like to tell us about yourself? Jacky: I’m also a contributing writer for Family Is a Gift online magazine. Currently, I’m working remotely (as independent contractor) for a US-based digital marketing agency but I’m already prepared to leave the company. We are serving voluntarily in the Ministry for Family & Life (of the Archdiocese and of our Parish Church) as well as in the CFC organization. We do these ministry works for free. Most of the time, we have schedules on weekends.

Gerlie: I used to be a college instructor at a local university for five years then became a writer for a TV program. After that, I worked for a foundation (the corporate social responsibility arm of a holdings company). A year into our marriage, we decided that it was best for me to stop working and focused on our goal of conceiving a child. Five months after I stopped working, we were able to conceive our first baby but sadly I had a miscarriage two months into my pregnancy. Then I got pregnant again after a year. Our second child is now one year old. Right now, I’m doing part-time work as a program consultant for the Archdiocese-owned radio stations.

What special experiences do you have to share that strengthened your faith and marriage? Their (other married couples who are CFC members especially those who belong to the small support group that takes care of us pastorally) loving relationship and friendship with us, the witness of their faith, their prayers, the loving relationship and friendship of the clergy and the religious, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist all form part of our special experiences of God’s love that has help strengthened our faith and marriage. So, we would love to encourage and invite engaged couples to join any family-oriented Catholic organization the soonest time possible after they tied the knot so that they, too, could experience the same.

What makes your marriage special and what examples can you share with engaged couples to strengthen their faith/sacrament of marriage? Jacky: What makes our marriage special is that God has made it beautiful in His time – it is founded on prayer (and discernment) from the very beginning, even before I started courting my then girlfriend, who is now my wife. We are a “match made in heaven” you may say and ours is a “marriage made in heaven.” This has been possible, not because we are perfect or holy (we are not and we are still very far from being such!), but thanks to God’s faithfulness and love. Our marriage continues to be special, up to this day, because we keep saying “Yes!” to our Lord Jesus and to His wonderful and beautiful plan for us and our family.

What do you wish engaged couples knew about marriage beforehand? Even before they got engaged, while still in the courtship stage, we wish they knew about this: That the vocation to married life (the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony) is a path to holiness/sanctification. Married couples – husbands and wives – are called to be holy, called to be saints. Sanctity is not only for the clergy and the religious – bishops, priests, nuns and consecrated persons. Husband and wife are accountable to the Lord to help each other get to heaven and so as their children and their entire family.

What is the Sacrament of Marriage and how do you live it daily? The Sacrament of Marriage is a divine union not only between husband and wife but also between them (who are no longer two but one flesh) and God. It is a lifetime covenant of love that is free, full (total), faithful and fruitful and cannot be dissolved for any reason other than death. This unconditional kind of love required of the married couples entails sacrifice, self-emptying and forgiveness. Thus, married life becomes a way of following Christ and a response to His saving love: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)” That is why marriage and family are gifts with eternal consequences. With the help of God’s great love, grace and mercy, we live the Sacrament of Marriage daily by choosing to be faithful to our marriage vows, fulfilling them and committing ourselves to love God and one another.