Memorial of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

One of the most popular and enduring devotions in the Church is the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin.  It has wrought wonderful miracles for those who recited it with faith and devotion.  St. Dominic overcame heresy by promoting this devotion.  

As a child we were taught to recite the Rosary.  We memorized the mysteries and were able to recite it by heart.  As a college student it has helped me pass exams with high colors.  In facing life's crises it has helped me.  

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary pray for us.

To Coffee Lovers

Right now I am in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.  We visited the Capitol and while waiting for the Vice-Governor to meet us, we were served good tasting coffee.  The said this is a specialty here.  Hmmm delicious.  There is really nothing in this world that pleases me than a good cup of coffee.  Thank God for this blessing.

Religiosity in Bali

A temple scene in Bali

I notice that people in most part of Bali are religious.  You see all those little shrines around dedicated to their gods.

RoR in the Balinese Church

 The Interior of St. Francis Xavier Church in Kuta Bali, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Its been a while that I have not updated my blog.  Busy days have overtaken me.  This afternoon after our workshop I decided to attend mass at St. Francis in Bali.  I noticed that the Church in Bali has adapted the Benedictine arrangement of the altar as proposed by Pope Benedict XVI.  The priest is properly vested, there was the alb, stole and chusable.  There are six candles and a crucifix in the middle of the altar.  I also notice that the lector and readers are males and not females.  How I wish that the Philippine Church will get away from the influence of the minimalist way of celebrating mass as is common in the Philippines.  By the way the music in this Mass was truly sacred.  Not pop music or combaya but very reverent and has an air of sacrality. These are just my impressions.  When I return to the Philippines I will have good memories of the church here in Indonesia.

Trust in the Lord

“Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee; all things are passing; God never changeth.” - St. Teresa of Avila

TO SERVE AND NOT TO BE SERVED

This Good Friday is a memorable for everyone because the Church Universal is partaking of the sufferings of Christ.  Just as the mob shouted for Christ's crucifixion, the secular and ungodly world under pretense of morality is crucifying our Church.  Falsely accusing our Pope and other leaders of wrong doing.  With the purpose of silencing the Church.  Let us pray and let us be steadfast in our witnessing of our faith.  This world will never love our Lord.  But lets be thankful that we have sure sign of salvation afforded to us by the redemptive work of Christ today signified by the Triduum. A verse in the Bible caught my attention and to me this has been a significant point for meditation: 

Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many. Matthew: 20:28

The Setting sun reminds us that everything must come to a repose.  But what makes the sun set beautiful is that it gives us hope that tomorrow there will be another morning.

The Lenten Season

The Heart of the merciful Lord is like a door it opens and beckons the sinner to come.

Tomorrow is ash Wednesday and signals the beginning for Lent.  A time to fast and a time to reflect on oneself in relation to God and in relation to our neighbor.  What are we going to do to make this Lenten Season meaningful?  There are several options aside from what is required of us by church law.

• Visit seven churches
• Via Crucis
• Works of Charity
• Volunteer Work
• Abstain from Texting
• Abstain from the Internet

What else?.....

Gubat Sorsogon, More Pictures for the Nostalgic Gubatnon

I use to go to this far flung municipality every Wednesday to teach at our external Campus.  I have to endure more than 80 kilometers of road travel.  Here as I was walking from the campus I decided to pass by the Church of St. Anthony and took pictures of the back portion of the Church as seen from Campus.  To some of you who grew up in Gubat but now are based abroad...enjoy...and refresh your memories of this quiet but lovely town.

Candelaria [ Candlemass]

Yesterday February 2, I had the opportunity to hear mass at the Cathedral Church of our diocese.  I attended a meeting at the Social Action Center and happened to drop by at the church at noon time for the candlemass.  Today is also the death anniversary of my grandmother Maria Arcos Bufete, who died on Candlemass day.  She was a devotee of the Virgin Mary and God granted her the grace to die in the state of grace.  She died conscious and prior to her death she received consciously the last rites.  The night before she died, and despite of failing memory she struggled to recite the Pater Noster.  To me that was a sign of a happy predestination.  May she rest in peace.  I know that she is there praying for us.  And we too in return, as a family, offer our prayers and spiritual works of mercy for her repose.  I think that the Catholic family should be that way.

The statue of an Angel bearing the container of holy water

 at the entrance of the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Great

The faithful standing for the blessing of the candles.  Unfortunately I did not bring one with me.  But it was a joy to see the faithful, with devotion and delight held up their ligthed candles for the blessing.

The Cathedral, half full, but in a short while will be filled with the faithful for the noon day Mass.  Despite of their Busy work Filipinos in this cathedral parish celebrates candlemass.  The Cathedral is located in the heart of the Capital of the province of Albay beside the city hall and the provincial capitol.  So most of the faithful attending mass are government employees.  The City government even has a choir that sings in this cathedral every Sunday.

ERECTION OF A PERSONAL TRIDENTINE PARISH IN THE DIOCESE OF CUBAO

Here is a message from D.P. Maturan:

The Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, his excellency Bishop Honesto F.Ongtioco, D.D., has permitted the erection of a personal parish for those who are attached to the Extra Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite. The church building will be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and will under the auspices of Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo and the Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph to consolidate efforts aong various groups advocating the return of the form of Mass popularly known as the Tridentine Mass. The parish will also be available for other Sacraments to be administered according to the liturgical books of 1962 or prior to 1970. It will also be a venue of training for priests who would like to learn the ancient usage of the Roman Rite and others who would like to learn the rubrics of serving at the traditional rites, including schola and choir training. The Diocese is now looking for a venue for the said personal parish and funds are solicited in order
to commence such as august aposolate. Funds may be channeled through Fr. Michell Joe B. Zerrudo, Parish of Our Lord of Divine Mercy, Diocese of Cubao, Maamo cor. Madasalins Sts., Sikatuna, Quezon City, Philippines or may call his parish at 029213337. We therefore appeal to traditonal Catholic communities to help us in such endeavor.

Dennis Raymond P. Maturan
Founding Chairman
Ecclesia Dei Society of St. Joseph

Caramoan Revisited

For a lighter moment let me share with you some pictures I have of the Church in Caramoan, Camarines Sur. Although I have posted some pieces before about Caramoan, but let me do this again.  Perhaps some of you who are planning to travel can consider Caramoan to your itinerary.  Caramoan is known for its islands and beaches, but seldom do every one take notice that despite the remoteness of Caramoan it has one of the most beautiful brick church in the entire Bicol Peninsula and a wide courtyard.  I would suggest that Bicol historians to explore the history of this municipality.

The Photo below shows the facade of the Church dedicated to St. Michael, the Archangel. The two niches below shows the image of Sts. Peter and Paul, patron saints of Rome and the apostles credited for having founded the Church in Rome.

My students, Richardson and Jose.

The Church has a spacious grounds and courtyard littered with Narra Trees and with statues and shrines.  The Parish priest usually helps in cleaning the lawn.  The altar boys also volunteer their services to help clean this spacious yard.

The Risen Christ.  The church would have been beautiful if it had the old retablos.  The parish priest is planning to restore the retablos.  Because according to him that the reredos are more appropriate for the architecture of the church.

The statue and shrine of St. Joseph.  I found this statue inspiring.  It evokes awe and admiration for the greatest of all fathers.

Let us Pray for Haiti

Port-au-Prince Cathedral in Haiti

Haiti suffered from a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale.  It was reported that the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince was one of those who were killed.  Let us pray for the suffering people so that they may find consolation and hope.

Mt. Mayon : Timid Fury of a Volcano

A couple of days ago around 22,000 people were evacuated for safety because of the simmering fury of Mt. Mayon. Mayon is known for her beauty but it has had a history of violent eruption. Burying entire villages, destroying crops and livestock. Using my cellphone camera I took these pictures of Mt. Mayon.

Majestic Mt. Mayon as seen from the roof top of Jennifers Kababayan Hotel

Clouds always love to form around the conic shape of the volcano during high humidity days

A seeming unrest. Mt. Mayon as seen from the 2nd Floor of Hotel Villa Angelina

Joel Baylon, D.D. as the New Bishop of Legazpi

The Vatican announced at 6:00 PM Thursday (Manila Time) the appointment of Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon as new bishop of the Diocese of Legazpi in Albay province.

Leave the Church Doors Open

"Cardinal Schönborn urged, "Do everything possible, and the impossible, to allow the faithful and persons seeking God -- whom God awaits -- to have access to Jesus in the Eucharist: Don't close the doors of your churches, please!" He observed that there are many people who no longer go to Mass, but will still step inside a church if it is open. They may come to light a candle, he noted, or a grandmother might visit with her grandchildren to show small signs of devotion. For these, the prelate exhorted, "Let us leave our churches open!" (a Zenith.org report, October 1, 2009)

This is a very interesting comment from the Cardinal Archbishop of Austria. I remember during my childhood way back in the 70s churches were most of the time open. There would be a group of people or individuals praying here and there. Those flickering votive candles remind me that this is the house of God and that our little prayers are like flickering candles that stands before the throne of God. In our finiteness we transcend the infiniteness of God. We feel the love of God and the warmth of His presence. The quiet atmosphere in the church foster solitude and commune with God. A solace and refuge from the storms of life. How sad that even as some churches remain close, many of our priests are hardly visible in the Church. I do not why our priests cannot spend sometime inside the church. Just praying or meeting people as they come. Lets pray for our priests so that they may have the devotion and dedication of St. John Baptist Mary Vianney, the simple cure of Ars.

The National Palace Museum

I am still here in Taipei, and we did visit yesterday one of the most impressive museum in Asia that I have been into. The vast collection and how well maintained are these is indeed impressive. This is a window to the ancient culture of China and the Asia.

An Impressive Monument

I have never updated this blog for sometime due to the many cares that I have. But right now I am on travel and I am in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. I would like to share with you some of the pictures that impressed me most. I took this pictures while rain was pouring over the square - the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. This monument complex is dedicated to perpetuate the memory of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek who ruled Taiwan 27 years after he moved the ROC on Taiwan during the revolution. Though unsuccessful in his effort to regain the mainland from the hands of his "communist" rivals, he and his party was successful in bringing prosperity to the people of Taiwan and making the Su Yat Sen's three principles of the people as his guiding light.

The upper portion of the monument containing the more than life bronze statue of
Chiang Kai Shek.

On Sundays the corridors of the National Theater becomes the venue of dancers and those studying martial arts and various dances.

The welcome arc

The National Theater

What kept me busy these days.....

What kept me busy these days....? I was not able to update this blog as I should because of many things to do and the travels. Last week I was in the big city of Manila, Makati in particular. I took these snap shots while doing business.

The picture below is a portion of the city on a hot and humid day. The climate was oppresively hot. Since I took public transport, I have to bear the long walks under the heat of the sun.

I also took time to visit the Sanctuario de San Antonio, a church within the affluent Forbes Park. Ironically the church was dedicated to a Saint Characterized by his poverty and love for God - St. Anthony of Padua (or Lisbon?).

The Mater Dolorosa.

The weeping and grieving Madonna.



St. Francis on a mural seen preaching to the birds.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon

Wednesday was declared by the Philippine Government as public holiday to honor and pay respect to the heroine of "People Power" revolution that ousted the dictatorship. Here we express our love and admiration for Tita Cory as she is fondly called by her followers and by the Filipinos. She is first of all a woman devoted to her faith. Even while she held public office, she never wavered in times of peril and publicly declared her loyalty to the Church. She will be most remembered as a woman of great significance. Her humility and simplicity is exemplar. May she rest in peace. Amen.

The Arcilla Hall of the University where I teach is draped with yellow to signify our solidarity with Cory's cause and express our gratitude.

Corazon Cojuangco Aquino 1933-2009

Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, died this morning at 3;18 a.m. May she rest in Peace.

(Photo Source: Wikipedia)

Madam, Cory thank you so much for what you have done for the country, for your generosity, love and devotion to God, Church and Country!