FILIPINO TRADITIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Communion by Hand was Ordered by Manila Archdiocese to Prevent Spread of H1N1 Virus

Here is a very interesting news item from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines:

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales ordered his priests to take precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the virus. Fr Genardo Diwa, head of the Liturgical ministry of the Manila archdiocese, said the advisory was sent to all parish priests on Friday. “In view of detected presence of the A(H1N1) virus in our country, Cardinal Rosales has ordered that for the meantime Communion be received by the faithful only by hand,” Diwa said. The priest also said that other forms of close contacts like holding of hands will be discouraged inside churches.

The full text of this quoted material can be read from CBCP News .

I am a bit hesitant to comment on this. But I do not know how this will affect the communities celebrating the Extra Ordinary Form. I still don't know how the virus could be spread by communion on the tongue. Unless perhaps the priest would touch the tongue. And I don't think that a well experienced priest would ever touch the tongue of any communicant. For the meantime let us pray that this dreaded virus will not spread and that a calamity can be averted. Perhaps the Archdiocese should compose a prayer for deliverance or perhaps sponsor some forms of liturgical and para liturgical activities that would express atonement and penance.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Christ is the Mediator of God's Gift - Mystery of Pentecost

“Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist we experience in faith the mystery that is accomplished on the altar, that is, we participate in the supreme act of love that Christ realized with his death and resurrection. The one center of the liturgy and of Christian life -- the paschal mystery -- then assumes specific "forms," with different meanings and particular gifts of grace, in the different solemnities and feasts. Among all the solemnities, Pentecost is distinguished by its importance, because in it that which Jesus himself proclaimed as being the purpose of his whole earthly mission is accomplished.”

“….. The Holy Spirit, the true fire, was brought to earth by Christ. He did not steal it from the gods -- as Prometheus did according to the Greek myth -- but he became the mediator of the "gift of God," obtaining it for us with the greatest act of love in history: his death on the cross.”

Excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI's Homily on Pentecost. Source and Full Text in English can be read from ZENIT.ORG

The Holy Father to Meet Obama in July?

There are news reports coming that Obama will meet the Holy Father in July this year during the former's attendance to G8 summit in Rome. for more READ

Sunday, May 31, 2009

"I accepted it even if it was beyond my strength." - Pope Benedict XVI

It was interesting that when Pope Benedict was asked by a child during an audience whether he imagined of becoming pope. Pope Benedict replied that "I accepted it, even though it seemed to me to be something that went beyond my strength." This is a very significant statement especially when the church is now preparing to observe the year of priests. On this Pentecost Sunday let us be reminded that with the Holy Ghost descending on the Church, the powers of the Kingdom was confirmed. Thus with confidence, the fisherman from Galilee has now become the wise ruler of the Church on earth. Guiding and teaching the nations of the ways of the Gospel.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

HAPPY PENTECOST

“For our gospel hath not been unto you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much fulness, as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes” I Thessalonians 1:5

Friday, May 29, 2009

ST. BENEDICT: A MODEL OF PEACE

The Reconstructed Abbey of Montecassino, Source: Wikipedia

Pope Benedict XVI, excerpt from an address delivered after vespers at Montecassino.

"Yes, Benedict was a shining example of holiness and pointed the monks to Christ as their only great ideal; he was a master of civility, who proposed a balanced and adequate vision of the demands of God and of the final ends of man; he also always kept well in mind the needs and the reasons of the heart, in order to teach and inspire a genuine and constant brotherhood, so that in the complexity of social relationships the unity of spirit capable of always building and maintaining peace was never lost sight of. It is not by chance that the word Pax [peace] is the word that welcomes pilgrims and visitors at the gates of the abbey, rebuilt after the terrible disaster of the Second World War, which stands as a silent reminder to reject all forms of violence in order to build peace: in families, within communities, between peoples and all of humanity. St. Benedict invites every person that climbs this mount to seek peace and follow it: "inquire pacem et sequere eam" [seek peace and follow it.] (Ps. 33,14-15) (Rule, Prologue, 17)."

Monday, May 25, 2009

Donsol Town Fiesta: May 18 St. Joseph the Workman

I was on a field research project with my students in Donsol Sorsogon. As many of you will know Donsol is famous for its whale sharks known locally as Butandings. The Butanding is the largest fish in the world. Despite of their size they are the most gentle. For those of you who are interested to interact and swim with these giant creatures visit the Donsol Tourism Office. This is not an advertisement but simply a tip for animal lovers. But for one thing we were lucky to come to Donsol at a time that they were celebrating their town fiesta in honor of St. Joseph the Workman. This gave us opportunity to use our free time to interact with the locals and join in the evening procession on the eve of the feast day. The different images of the patron saints of the different villages of Donsol converge on the Church patio to participate in the procession. St. Joseph happens to be one of my favorite saints. I will share with you some of the pictures. We bought candles and we lighted this candle as we went along with the procession. Praying the rosary and from time to time join in singing the anthem to St. Joseph. While going on with the procession, I meditated on the meaning of Christian life. Like a procession, the life of a Christian is a pilgrimage. we have to pass through the narrow alley of sufferings and pains in order to arrive at our destination. As I looked at the image of St. Joseph and the images of the saints, I was reminded of a wonderful truth of our faith, -the communion of the saints. That we wether on earth, purgatory or heaven, we are one community sharing common salvation and common faith. For here we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who once pass through the agony of this earth and now are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Here are some video clips:

The Start of the Procession

The Image of St. Joseph the Workman

The blogger is

A 13 years old boy............. in 1983, but now I am a golden boy, gaining weight and wiser, but younger at heart. I consider myself as a “novus ordo baby” because I was born in the late 60s after the 2nd Vatican Council introduced the novus ordo missae and grew up confronted by the confusions as a result. Like my generation I never saw what the church was like prior to Vatican II, but I am a living witness to the gradual disappearance of religious traditions we hold dear. Young as I was then I could not understand what was going on. But I suffered the sense of loss as I saw how the modernizing influence in the church disfigured the liturgy and clouded the way we believe and practice our faith. But then being a child, powerless, not knowing what it was, and why it happened, I simply drifted into the sea of confusion, too young to understand. With a glimmer of faith in my heart, planted by baptism and confirmation, strengthened by the sound teachings of my parents and grandparents, I sailed into the sea of life, day after day, seeing the changes happen, feeling the sense of abandonment, yet God was merciful to me. In 2005 I discovered the Traditional Latin Mass or commonly known in the post-conciliar period as the Tridentine Mass. I began to love the rite of mass that has nourished my ancestors, the saints and the martyrs. I am eternally grateful to His Holiness Pope John Paul II for recognizing the rightful aspirations of Catholics attached to the ancient forms of the Roman Rite through his apostolic letter ECCLESIA DEI DI AFFLICTA. I am also eternally grateful to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for liberating the Traditional Latin Mass through his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum. I fully agree with the program of his pontificate regarding the Hermeneutics of Continuity and disdain the hermeneutics of rupture. Today I consider myself a Traditional Roman Catholic attached to the liturgical discipline of 1962 as outlined in the Motu Proprio SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM of his Holiness. I believe that there is only one Roman Rite, the Ordinary and the Extraordinary and that the Mass in whatever form should be celebrated with dignity. My voyage is on. Join me in this quest.

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