FILIPINO TRADITIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC

Friday, April 10, 2009

Parish of St. John the Baptist, Tabaco City - Good Friday Liturgy

Here are some photos of the Good Friday Liturgy at St. John the Baptist Parish in Tabaco City, Albay, Philippines. The pictures may not be of good quality because I used my camera phone to capture these moments. But nonetheless I am pleased to share them with you and would like to share with you all the blessings and spiritual graces I received by participating in this liturgy.

The Life size statues of the Crucified Christ and the two thieves on his left and right.

Streams of Worshipers

After the Reflections on the Seven Last Words, the Body of Christ was taken from the Cross to prepare for the Good Friday Liturgy.

The Crucified Christ taken from the Cross.

I want to share with you this video clip, a part of the Good Friday Liturgy here in my home parish of Tabaco City. This image of the Crucified Christ together with the two thieves is actually an antique images. Seldom do churches display the image of the two thieves. But here in our parish, the diorama is complete. This is actually a very large and populous parish. The priests started offering confessions since 8:00 a.m. but it was already 12:00 nn and the Good friday liturgy was about to start, and there were still ling lines of penitents. So our Parish Priest was compelled to extend and offer a General Absolution to allow the multitude of penitents the chance to receive communion. But he reminded the penitents that if they get a chance to go on actual confession that they should do so and mention that they have receive the general absolution. Our parish has a huge population and it is very difficult to minister to this large number of faithful with very few priests around.

Video Clip: Christ taken from the Cross

Thursday, April 9, 2009

St. John the Baptist Parish-Tabaco City: Maundy Thursday Procession and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

After the Mass the Parish Priest together with the vicar and other prelates proceeded with a solemn procession of the Body of Christ to be exposed for adoration. The procession passed by near where I was seated. I wanted to catch the moment on video so I took the clip using my Nokia Phone. The camera has only 2 mega pixels hence the quality of the video is not that good but it captured the moment. When the Blessed Sacrament came near my side I put off my camera phone to show reverence to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords who is passing by, truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist. Like Thomas, I exclaimed, "My Lord and My God!".

Mass of the Last Supper: Maundy Thursday in the Parish of St. John the Baptist

Maundy Thursday at the Parish of St. John the Baptist, Tabaco City, Albay

I would like to share with you some photos I took just a few hours ago when I attended the Mass of the Last Supper. I came a little bit earlier in order to secure a seat. Most of the seats in front were reserved for the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and lectors and altar servers. This is also the time that they will renew their vows and promises. Our parish is a large parish. The City Mayor and the Vice Mayor were also present during the celebration. I feel so blessed this afternoon and the start of the Easter Triduum has evoked in my heart deep gratitude for the Lord and I participated in the liturgy, I could vividly see in my mind and feel the mysteries of the Passion of Christ. As I looked up to the Lord, I remember my family, my loved ones and my departed relatives.

I came to Church at around 4;30 p.m. thirty minutes early for the Mass. It afforded me the chance to find a good seat and location. It also allowed me to be recollected so I can best prepare spiritually for the Mass. There were also some doing their via crucis. The images on the altar were covered for the lenten season.

The entrance procession. The Mass started at exactly 5:00 p.m.

The Introductory rites and penitential rites.

The Liturgy of the Word.

There were 66 extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion who stood to profess their vows of committment. The Pastor led the group in renewing their vows.

The Consecration.

The Mass was performed using the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In the Philippines the Novus Ordo rite is performed reverently and in a more conservative fashion (at least in the Diocese where I belong as I may not be aware of other dioceses).

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Holy Cross Fathers Object to Notre Dame's Plan to Invite Obama to its Commencement Exercise in May of this Year

"Ten priests from the order that founded the University of Notre Dame say the school risks its "true soul" and could distance itself from the Roman Catholic Church by inviting President Barack Obama to campus next month." Read more : Associated Press as Read from Yahoo News.

The Role of Catholic Universities

Ever since I have discovered the Divine Mercy devotion and been observing this annually, I was thinking of what other intentions I should have for this novena that will start tomorrow,on Good Friday. Aside from my personal intentions I was thinking of what else to bring to the Lord. Reading some of the great news and blogs over the net, my attention was directed to the University of Notre Dame's invitation for President Barack Obama to speak at its commencement exercises. How sad that Catholic Universities instead of upholding the teaching of the church, causes scandal and confusion by giving platform to persons who support positions that are fundamentally opposed to the Doctrine of the Church. It is true that this event has weaken the vigorous campaign of the Church against abortion. It undermines the efforts of the Church to combat and confront this great evil of modern times - ABORTION and the evils committed against the unborn child. Let us pray for this and include this in our intentions.

Visita Iglesia 2009

I am not sure if Visita Iglesia is a uniquely Filipino practice during lent. This practice of visiting seven churches on Maundy Thursday, adoring the Blessed Sacrament and reciting at least two stations of the Cross for each Church in order to complete the fourteen, is very popular among Filipino Catholics. This is an indulgenced devotion. This practice was introduced by the Spanish Missionaries and has persisted even unto this day. This was in imitation of the early practice of the Romans of visiting the seven stational churches in Rome namely,The Saint John Lateran, St. Peter, Saint Mary Major, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, Holy Cross in Jerusalem and St. Sebastian Outside the Walls. In this piece I would like to share with you some churches here in Bicol that I have visited in the past. These churches may not be as beautiful as those in Rome but no matter how these churches are living testament to the faith of the Bicolano people here in this part of the Philippine Islands.

1. The Church of the Mary Mediatrix of all Graces, in San Felipe, Naga City, Camarines Sur Province. This is the convent church of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (FFI). A group of Marian and Devout Friars inspired by the Charism of St. Maximillian Kolbe. A New Congregation of religious.

2. The parish Church of San Juan Bautista. This stone church was built by the secular clergy in the 19th century. Listed as one of the National Cultural Treasure of the National Council for Culture and the Arts. Located in Tabaco City, Albay Province. This church serve a large parish with 8 Masses held every Sunday to accomodate the needs of its thousands of faithful.

3. San Miguel Church in Visita, San Miguel island, Tabaco City. A ten minutes boat ride from the port of Tabaco City.

4. Our Lady of the Gate parish Church in Daraga, Albay. Also considered a national Cultural Treasure. Located on top of a Hill, its beauty and grandeur beckons the faithful. On top one commands a view of Daraga and the neighboring City of Legazpi.

5. Church of Our Lady of Penafrancia. This church use to be the home of the most venerated icon of the Virgin in Bicol, unitl the icon was transferred to the Basilica Minore.

6. Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Penafrancia, Naga City, Philippines.

7. The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Caceres dedicated to St. John the Evangelist as the major patron saint and to St. Francis as the secondary patron. Located in Naga City, Camarines Sur Province, Philippines.

Maundy Thursday: Christ as the High Priest of the Eternal Sacrifice

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Just as the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood prefigured the Eternal Priesthood of Christ, our hearts must be filled with awe, reverence and gratitude for giving us the eternal priesthood of Christ through the ordained ministry who despenses to us the grace and benefits of Christ's sacrifice.

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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