HERALD Newsletter of Christ the King Parish Greenmeadows Avenue, Quezon City (Diocese of Cubao, Philippines)

THE

FrontPage.....................1 BECAnimatorRolesforPPCCoordinators1 LentenSeasonBegins:AshWednesday1 CTKParishionersJoinsCBCP’sWalkforLife

Message.........................2 FromOurParishPriest

ParishasCommunionofCommuni4es3 BECAnimatorRolesforPPCCoordinators4 ParishPastoralCouncilBriefingonBECs4 Fr.KroegeronParishasCommunityof MissionaryDisciples5 Fr.PicardalonBECsasAgentsofCommunion, ParNcipaNonandMission6 OrientaNonforBECTeamsofOLHPVicariate

ParishPastoralCouncil.............7 CTKHosts1stAssemblyofPastoralCouncils24Treasurer’sReportonUsesofFundsfor2016

Lectors&Commentators...........8 GeneralAssemblyofLectors&Commentators9 LastRoundofLectorsCommissioning ParishLiturgicalNews.............12 WayoftheCrossFridaysatCTKMainChurch13 BibleEnthronementSunday13 FirstMondayMassattheCrypt14 WorldDayoftheSickandFr.LarryTan14 BlessingofThroatsonFeastofSt.Blaise15 FeastofthePresentaNonoftheLord15 MemorialofOurLadyofLourdes LegionofMary...................16 HowDoYouPray2000HailMary's16 SpotlightonMary’sLegionnaires

ParishEvents....................17 Fr.BongTupinoCelebratesBirthdayWithCTK Parishioners17 Fr.HerbieSantos’1stOrdinaNonAnniversary18 BishopRaul’s79thBirthday27 LopezesTakeOnMinistryfortheElderly19 BuklodngPanginooninSt.IgnaNus20 WeMeetSr.LeopoldaLedesmaofFaNma

Fa4ma100thAnniversary.......... 21 AMillionRosesfortheWorldReachesFaNma22 FaNmaShrinePreparesFull-YearCalendar23 Sr.Lucia’sRoadtoSainthood23 PopeToGoonPilgrimagetoFaNmainMay24 TheFaNmaPrayers24 IndulgencesDuringtheCentennial

StewardshipCommiDee...........25 Commibee’s2016FinancialReport25 Fr.FrancisLucasonParishasHavenforthe WoundedHeart26 MirasolsTakeOverStewardshipCommibee27 MeettheOtherMembersoftheCommibee MusicMinistry................... 28 MeetOurChoirs:ChorusPaulinus28 MeetOurChoirs:NovoConcertanteManila

What’s Inside

In back-to-back dinnermeetings,Fr.BongTupinoannounced to the villagec o o r d i n a t o r s l a s tThursday February 23and to the mandatedo r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d

renewalmovement heads last FridayFebruary24 (photobelow) that couplesBert and Marie Anne Santos, PPC LayCoordinator, and couples Henry andJoyce Tañedo, PPC Assistant LayCoordinator, would henceforth take onthe roles of ‘animators’ for the twogroups,respectively.

W i t h f o c u s o n B a s i c E c c l e s i a lCommunities,orBECs,hechallengedtheanimators and their constituents whoattended the meetings to identifyactivitiesandmeasuresthatwouldmovetheir neighborhoods (for the village

March 1, Ash Wednesday, opened the2017 Lenten Season, a season offasting, prayer and alms-giving. AshWednesdayisoneofthemostpopularand important holy days in theliturgicalcalendarandittakesplace46daysbeforeEasterSunday(40daysnotcounting the Sundays). It comes fromtheancientJewishtraditionofpenance

New BEC Animator Roles for PPC Lay Coordinators

Thousands of Catholics, including over50 parishioners from Christ the KingParish Greenmeadows, joined a three-hour pre-dawn march with churchleaders around the Quirino GrandstandparadegroundsinRizalPark,ManilalastFebruary18 inoneof the largest showsof opposition to President RodrigoDuterte's deadly crackdown againstillegal drugs and attempts to revive thedeath penalty. 20 of the 50-strong CTKcontingentgatheredasearlyas3amand]illedupatourbusfromJKLTours.CTK

CTK Parishioners Join CBCP’s Walk for Life

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Ash Wednesday Falls on March 1; 2017 Lenten Season Begins

Fr.BongTupinointroducestheTañedos,assistantLayCoordinatorcouple,asAnimatortotheheadsoftheCTKmandatedorganizationsandrenewalmovements,February24

January-march 2017

Message From Our Parish Priest

"Repentancehasarichbiblicalhistory.Attimesitmeansthatyouregretsomething;youaresorryforwhatyouhavedone;youfeelremorse and you do penance. David regrets that he has beddedBathshebaandmurderedherhusband.Theprodigalsonconfessesthathehas livedriotously,wallowed insex.PeterweepsbecausehehasdeniedhisLord.Alloftheserepentedofsomething.

But thewordcarriesa stillmorebasic idea; “repent”hasamorepositive thrust. That idea emerges from the Old Testamentprophets. They knew the liturgies of repentance. The peoplefasted; theyworesackclothandashes; theyshriekedandsobbedpublicly; they cut themselves; they confessed their faults aloud;theyrecitedthesinsthatscarredIsrael’shistory.

But the prophets were unhappy with this. These were externalsymbolsofrepentance;littleornothingwashappeninginside.Thelove of repentant Israel, we read in Hosea. “is like the dew thatgoesearlyaway”(Hosea6:4).Realrepentanceisachangeofmindand heart; repentance means new attitudes, fresh patterns ofbehavior. “Rend your hearts,” says the Lord. “and not yourgarments” (Joel 2:13). To repent is to turn, to be converted. Thesinnerturns fromsintoGod, the lukewarmheatsup.Notmerelyby sharing in community ritual; a man or woman is totallychanged,hasanewattitudetowardsYahweh,abandonshardenedhabits.WhatGodwants isnot sacriWicebut steadfast love,not somuchburntofferingsasknowingGodinlove(cf.Hosea6:6).

Such profound repentance is powerfully symbolized in Hosea(chap. 2). Israel is like a faithless wife who has gone after allmanner of lovers. But she changes. Shenot only rejects her pastlife;shereturnstoherhusband,Yahweh.HerlifefromhereoninistobeshapedofWidelityandlove.

For Jesus, too, repentance is a total turning. He describes it asbecominglikeachild(Mt18:3).Yourepudiateyourpastandbeginanewlife.

ThisbringsustotheChristianstress.Itstems,ofcourse,fromthebiblical background; it involves turning to the Lord but withseveralurgentemphases.Forus,repentancemeansrefusingtoliveinyesterday.Yesterdayisdeathandsinandfate;todayis lifeandloveandfreedom.

Yesterday is death. Yesterday is the plaint of the Psalmist: “OLord . . . indeath there isnoremembranceof thee; inSheol [theplaceofthedead]whocangivetheepraise?”(Ps6:4-5).Yesterdayis JobbeggingGod:“Letmealone,thatImayWinda littlecomfortbefore I go whence I shall not return, to the land of gloom anddeepdarkness”(Job10:20-21).

Ifyesterdayisdeath,todayislife.FortodayisChristrisenfromthe

rock, “hisshroudaweddinggarment,his feetbetweenearthandair in dance.” Do you believe that? That Christ is alive, moregloriously alive than when he walked the rugged roads ofPalestine, that “he dances still”?Do you believe that,with Christrisen,deathnolongerhaspoweroveryou,willholdyoucaptivenomorethanaswiftmoment,thatyoutoowilldancearounddeath,willrisetoalifebeyondyourwildestdreams?DoyoubelievethatyouarealreadyrisenwithChrist,becausehislifecoursesthroughyoulikeanotherbloodstream?

Only ifyoudocanLentbe life foryou.Forwhat is it torepent inLent? I turnmoreandmorecompletelytoa livingChrist. Iadopt“the attitude which Christ Jesus had” (Phil 2:5), the Christ whogave up the glory of his yesterday and chose a cross. I refuse toimprison myself in the past, all the more deadly for being socomforting. I giveupnot somebaubleor trinket,notbody fatorthe Pub, but that damnable concentration on myself where thedays and nights rotate around me, around my delights and myworries,mydreamsandmyfrustrations,mylovelifeorlackofit,myheartburnormyhemorrhoids.

Mark'sGospelisinstructivehere:notsimply“Repent”but“RepentandbelieveintheGoodNews”(Mk1:15).Believeinlife-Christ’slife andyour life, lifehereandhereafter, lifenowand for ever. Ifyouwanttorepent,live!Comealive!

Yesterdayissin.YesterdayisSt.Paul’sanguishedcry:“Iamcarnal,soldundersin. Idonotunderstandmyownactions.ForIdonotdo what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. . . .I know thatnothinggooddwellswithinme. . . . I canwillwhat is right,but Icannotdoit”(Rom7:14-18).YesterdayisthefrighteningWigureofSinyouhavejustseendancingbeforeDeath:“Imanurethedreamsoftheyoungandwaitforaharvestofbetrayal.”

If yesterday is sin, today is love. For lovealone is the solution tosin. Not soap-opera love, not the deadly lust of “Dallas”; but thelove that keeps all God’s commandments, the love that is notcrushedbyacross,thelovethatdiesfortheother,thelovethatisstrongerthandeath.SuchwastheloveofChrist,thecruciWiedlovethat took away the Sin of theWorld. Such, increasingly,must beourlove,ifweareevertobreakoutofaselfthatstiWles,smothers,suffocates,ifwearenottotackwithoutendonsomeunreal“LoveBoat.”Ifyouwanttorepent,love!Lovesomeoneelse!

Yesterday is fate.Yesterday isyourhoroscope, thepositionof thestarswhenyouwereborn.Yesterday is theStoictellingyouyourconsolationliesinbeingsweptalongwiththeuniverse.Yesterdayistheologianschirpingmerrilythatsomeofyouarepredestinedtobe damned and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.YesterdayisthehopelessWigureofFateyouhavejustseendrainingmen and women “empty of struggle, their faces whitening intoresignation.”

Ifyesterdayisfate,todayisfreedom.Notonlyourpowertomakechoices, the fundamental freedom to construct our humanexistence.Moreimportantly,JesusChristisshapingyouandmetothe freedom thatwas supremely his. Not license to dowhateverwe want. Rather, freedom from a fourfold slavery: the sin thatdiminishesourhumannessandkeepsusfromrealizingourselves;the thousand and one laws that strangle religion; the self thatglues our eyes and hearts to this earth’s values; the “night” ofdeath intowhich (withDylanThomas)wedo “notgentle.” Ifyouwant to repent, go free! Open yourself to God in free obedience,openyourselftoothersinuncompelledlove!"

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REPENT! WhenwereceivedtheasheslastAshWednesdaytomarkthebeginningoftheLentenSeason,thepriest and the ministers said, "Repent andbelieve in the Gospel." As we start our lentenjourney, I invite you to reflect on this summonsbytheChurch.TofacilitateyourreflecFonIwishto share with you an excerpt from a homilywriHen in the eighFes by one of my favoritepreachers,Walter J. Burghardt, SJ. Fr Burghardtwasagreattheologian,writerandawell-knownpreacher. He died in 2008 at the age of 94. HewasaJesuitfor77years.

coordinators) and their prayer cells andwork teams (for the movements andorganizations) closer to the idealpro]ileoftheBasicEcclesialCommunity.

Fr. Bong explained that he really cannot]ind the time to regularly meet, guide,and advice the village coordinators andthe orgs and movements as they plantheir activities and projects in this Yearof the Parish. Hence, he is ‘deputizing’the Santoses and the Tañedos to act as‘animators’.SolastFebruary23,Fr.Bongonce again introduced Bert and MarieAnne Santos in their new role to thevillage coordinators and the next night,February 24, he introduced Henry andJoyce Tañedo in their new role to themandated organizations and renewalmovements.

Represented at the February 23 get-together were: Arcadia by Fe Flores;Acropol is by Anne del Rosar io ;Corinthian Hills by Paul and Dinah Uy;CorinthianGardenbyFePeryandLindaGuanzon;Enclaveby JoeySto.Domingo;Greenmeadows1byEileendeLeonandDulceBarreto;St.IgnatiusbyBabyBanalandLulaydelaCruz;andWhitePlainsbyMelNovalesandDianaGozum.

RepresentedattheFebruary24meetingwere: Adoracion Nocturna Filipina byRudy Tecson; Apostleship of Prayerrepresented by treasurer ArmineTagaysay; Buklod ng Panginoon by newhead Mancita Pabillo and EvelynSumbillo; Catholic Women’s League byKimCua;ChristianFamilyMovementbyrepresentatives of head couple Leo andMayNitorreda,namely:JulieMoralesandcouple Michelle and Edwin Bernardo;Knights of Columbus by Boy Angeles;Legion of Mary by Mila del Fonso andRubyBorja;andLife in theSpiritPrayerGroup (LSSPG) byMargie San Juan. Notrepresented were Couples for Christ(headed by Eddie and Cecille Salonga),Diwanihan Kristiyano (headed by Monand Loung Cuartero, although since DKwas part of the Pagibig sa Diyos prayercommunity which had the Tañedos asheadelders, ineffect, theTañedosstoodinforDK)andLadiesofCharity(headedbyFePery).

In the February 24 organization heads’meeting, for example, Fr. Bong askedseveralquestionstore]lectupon.

‣ What do I see as the mission of ourorganiza3on?

‣ Howwell do I knowmyorganiza3on? Forexample, whenwas it founded, at parish,

‣ na#onal, and interna#onal level; whofounded;whywasitfounded;howmanymembers at the parish, na#onal andinterna#onal level; what ac#vi#es arebeingundertakenatparish,na#onalandinterna#onallevel.

‣ How can we concre#ze in ourorganiza#onthecalloftheChurchtobeaCommunionofCommuni#es?

‣ How can we foster in our organiza#onthe necessary invo lvement andpar#cipa#onintheparish?

‣ What is my dream for our organiza#onvis-à-vis its rela#onship with our ParishCommunity aswell aswith theDioceseofCubao?

As a result of these kick-offmeetings,the village coordinators and them a n d a t e d o r g s a n d r e n ewa lmovements should expect see muchmore of Fr. Bong’s representatives attheirregularmonthlymeetingsaswellas being called to ‘large group’meetings.

Above,Fr.BongconvenesthevillagecoordinatorstoannounceBertandMarieAnneSantosashisanimatordesignate,February23.Below,beforetheheadsofmandatedorganizationsandrenewalmovements,heannouncesHenryandJoyceTañedoasanimatorfortheorgsandmovements,February24.

New BEC Animator Roles for PPC Lay Coordinator and Assistant Lay Coordinator parish as communion of communities

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We seek to answer the basic ques2ons: How can our parishesembody and concre2ze Pope Francis’ call for the missionaryrenewal of the en2re Church? How does the parish become anagentofmissionaryevangeliza2on?

First,evangeliza2onrequiresac omp reh en s i v e v i s i o n .Chr i s2an p resence andwitness to life, i.e., living inharmony, l iving l ives ofintegrity, fulfilling communitydu2es,etc.,byordinaryparishmembersisaprimal,concreteand prac2ca l means ofeffec2ve evangeliza2on; inthis way, the Good News istaken to the highways andbyways of da i ly humanac2vi ty. L iv ing as goodneighbors naturally means ac omm i tmen t t o s o c i a ldevelopment and humanlibera2on, e.g., serving the

mostunfortunate,witnessingtojus2ce,peacebuilding,promo2ngeduca2on and good health, advoca2ng good governance,addressingsocialproblems.Asidefromlivingthefaith,thereiss2llthetradi2onalroleofexplicitGospelproclama2onandcatechesis.This includes preaching, catechesis on Chris2an life, teaching thecontent of the faith – in a nutshell, “telling the Jesus story”. Theissueisfindingoutthevariousgroupsthatarenotbeingreachedbythe current parish evangeliza2onprograms. Finally, evangeliza2onincludes a liturgical life of faith, prayer and contempla2on. Holymen and women who are on fire with love of Christ is a non-nego2ablecondi2onforevangelizers.

There is now a new view of evangeliza2on. Previously whenevangeliza2on was linked to explicit Gospel proclama2on andsacramental life, laity found it difficult todefinehow theyfit intothe mission. Today, Catholic evangeliza2on engages the en2rechurch and all states of life, whether lay, religious, ordained,married,single.

Fr. Bong Briefs Parish Pastoral Council on Basic Ecclesial Communities parish as communion of communities

AttheregularmonthlyParishPastoralCouncil meeting last February 11, Fr.BongTupino took center stage to talkabout Basic Ecclesial Communities, ashis contribution to providing theneeded basic BEC orientation andtraining to CTK’s PPC. He talkedthroughtwoimportantarticles:onebyJames H. Kroeger of the MaryknollMissionaries who also teaches at theLoyola School of Theology, on “TheParish as Community of MissionaryDisciples” and the other by Amado L.Picardal, a Redemptorist with theCongregationoftheHolyRedeemer,on

“BECs as Agents of Communion,ParticipationandMission’.

At the end of the discussion on thetwo papers, Fr. Bong Tupino gavethe PPC members an assignment –to think through what BEC-relatedinitiativesmight be relevant for theCTK v i l l ages , the mandatedorganizations, and the variousministries. He asked them toconsider street masses and biblestudies, for example, which hadbeen brought up to him by otherparishioners.

Fr. Kroeger then presents a long list of concrete ini2a2ves that aparish could select from and implement to foster its growth as a‘missionary parish’. He encourages the local parish community toadd ac2vi2es and ini2a2ves that will transform them into a‘missionaryparish’andan‘evangelizingcommunity’.

• Developandsustaincon2nuingprogramsof“faithforma2on”.

• Trainthelayleaders,catechistsanddedicatedyouthonhowtoevangelize effec2vely and invest in evangeliza2on resourcesandmaterials.

• Promoteacultureof“voca2ons”where,throughhomiliesandministry forma2on, parishioners are encouraged to viewthemselvesasmissionarydisciplescalledbyGodtoeitherholymarriage,thepriesthood,orreligiouslife.

• Fosterareverentsacramentalparishlife,withemphasisontheEucharistandEucharis2cAdora2on.

• Encourage regular charitable and social outreach ac2vi2es sothat parishioners, in the role of missionary disciples, can getengagedandservetheneedy.

• Consider forming “discipleship circles” where members loveoneanotherasbrothersandsistersinChrist,whetherthesebebible study groups, charisma2c prayer gatherings, outreachsocialac2onteams,etc.

• EncouragethegrowthoftheBECmovementintheparish

• Getasmanylaityinvolved,inasmanykindsofleadershiprolesand services, e.g., lay leaders, catechists, youth evangelizers,etc.

• Survey the most pressing needs of the various groups thatmakeup theparish–anddon’t limit thesurvey toChris2ans.Then based on the findings ini2ate ‘reach-out’ teams to helpaddresstheiden2fiedpressingsocialneeds.

• Searchforprac2calwaystofosterneighborlyrela2onshipswithfollowers of non-Catholic faith communi2es in the parish andperhapsundertakepartnershipsforoutreachprojects.

Ac2vely seek tomake theparisha ‘joyful,welcomingand friendlycommunity.Joyfulevangelizersgettheirmessageheard.

Summary of James Kroeger’s “The Parish: A Community of Missionary Disciples”

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TheCBCPpastoralexhorta0on“On theEra of New Evangeliza0on’ describedthe focus this year: “our focus will bethe building of a parish that is truly afaith community immersed in the livesof its people.” Key to this end is theforming and-or revitalizing of BasicEcclesialCommuni0esineveryparishasagentsofcommunion,par0cipa0onandmission,withtheac0vepar0cipa0onofo t h e r f a i t h c ommun i 0 e s , l a yorgan iza0ons , movements , andassocia0ons,orLOMAs.

Fr. Picardal defines BECs thus: as localcommuni0es of Catholic Chris0ans inthe neighborhoods and villages withinthe geographic parish. The membersare close to one another, know eachotherbyname,andrelatetoeachotheras friends, brothers and sisters in theLord – kapuso, kapamilya, kaibigan,kapitbahay. They gather regularly tosharetheWordofGodandliveitintheirdaily life, to pray and celebrate theirfaith.Theyareunitedtotheirpastorsbutareministeredtoregularlybylayleaders.They share their resources, share theirmaterialandspiritualconcerns,andfindwaystohelpandserveoneanotherandthose who are poor and address theirproblems. They have a strong sense ofbelongingnessandresponsibility foroneanother.

BECs do not have a standard shape orform. They come in various shapes andsizes – chapel-centered; family groupswithina chapel-centeredcommunity;orfamily groupswithout chapel.Whatevertheir form, BECs are characterized by agenuine expression of communion. Themembersareunitedbysharedfaithandgenuine humanity, celebrated in thebreaking of bread, concretely expressedin the sharing ofmaterial goods.Whichis why humble celebra0ons and tablefellowshipsatBECswithsimplecommonmeals are more meaningful than fiestacelebra0ons–becausetheytrulyexpressthe lifeofcommunion,unity, friendship,sharing and par0cipa0on among themembers.

ThevisionoftheChurchascommunion,par0cipa0onandmission, theChurchaspriestly,prophe0candkinglypeople,asa

priestly,prophe0candkinglypeople,asaChurch of the poor, a Church that isrenewed, finds expression in BasicEcclesialCommuni0es.

St.JohnPaulIIdescribedBECsaspartofthe overall effort to decentralize theparishcommunity.Theytakerootinlessprivilegedandruralareasandbecomeacatalyst of Chris0an life, of care for thepoorandneglected,andofcommitmentto the transforma0on of society.Withint h em , t h e i n d i v i dua l Ch r i s0anexperiences community and thereforesensesthatheorsheisplayinganac0verole and is therefore encouraged toshareinthecommontask.

The ideal BECs first carry out theirmission within the parish, star0ng intheirownneighborhood,inthebarangayor v i l lage, before go ing to theperipheries in the parish and reach outto those who are bap0zed but notevangelized, those who are nominal orseasonal Catholics, those who arealienatedfromtheChurch.

Many BECs have not yet realized thevision of a renewed Church; hence thetask of the clergy and lay faithful torevitalize the BECs so that they trulybecome ‘agents o f communion,par0cipa0on and mission’, or, as PopeFrancis referred to them, ‘communi0esofmissionarydisciples’.

Summary of Amado Picardal’s “BECs: Agents of Communion, Participation and Mission”

The circles of people whose hands areintertwined symbolize the communionwithintheBECs.Thesecommunitiesarelinked together by the outline of thecross which signi]ies the parish ascommunion of communities. It alsoincludes other faith communities andorganizations thatare in theparish that–althoughtrans-parochialinnature-arecalled to actively take part in the life ofthe parish and BECs. The outline of thecross also symbolizes the vertical andhorizontal dimension of communion –communion with the Triune God andwitheachother.ThebreadandchaliceatthecentersymbolizetheEucharistwhichis the sacrament and celebration of thiscommunion. The bible which is also atthe center symbolizes the Word of Godthat is shared and proclaimed which isthe source of faith and basis ofcommunion and which nourishes andbuild up communion. The sunrayssymbolize the light of Christ that shinesin the lifeof themembersofparishandthesecommunities.

The theme: “Forming BECs that areagents of communion, participation andmission” is a call to action for all themembersoftheparish,theBECsandthetrans-parochial faith communities andorganizations to work together to buildup the BECs where communion isexperiencedandthatactivelyparticipatei n t h e p r o p h e t i c m i s s i o n o fevangelization, in sancti]ication andliturgicalcelebration,and inthemissionof social transformationandmaking thekingdom of God – a kingdom of justice,peace,harmonyandfreedom–areality.

Explaining the Year of the Parish Logo

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parish as communion of communities

The Our Lady of Perpetual HelpVicariate, which includes Christ theKing Parish, held the BEC BasicOrientation Seminar for the variousparish BEC leaders in the vicariate attheOurLadyofPerpetualHelpParishlast January 28. The CTK delegation

consisted of four youth leaders fromthe Libis community and Wive BECleaders fromLibis that includedChingBotero, Libis BEC Coordinator, JoPiyaw,LibisassistantBECcoordinator,andTinyPerfecto,BECcoordinatorforSt Ignatius Village. Hosting thedelegations was Msgr. Jun Bogaoan,BEC priestminister of OLPH vicariateandcurrentparishpriestofOLPH.

Aside from imparting BEC concepts,the other objective of the vicariate-level training was to search for high-potential leaderswho could be futureorientation speakers to handle thebasic orientation talks to the variouspamayanans, kawans, etc. within theOLPH vicariate or even to othervicariatesiftheneedarose.

The BEC Basic Orientation Seminarhad been originally designed for Wivedays but was modiWied to Wit into justone day, consisting of: 1, the whys ofBEC, i.e.,howBECcametobea thrustof the Philippine Church; 2, BECspirituality; 3, BEC leadership; 4, theABCs of BEC, with emphasis on thefour hallmarks of BEC; and 5,

organizingBECs.

As host of the seminar, Our Lady ofPerpetual Help parish provided thevenue and in troduced regu lar‘energizers’, under the direction of Sr.Ophelia, the parish’s BEC coordinator,

to l iven up the t ra in ing . CTKcoordinator TinyPerfectoenjoyedtheo r i g i n a l s o n gcomposition, ‘MagBEC Tayo’ with itscatchy tune andlyrics, composed bya n O L H P B E Cmember. In fact ,Tiny liked the songso much that whenshewasaskedtodotheclosingprayeratthe end of the day,she requested thateveryone sing the‘Mag BEC Tayo’. “Ihope that the songcan catchon at CTK– or alternatively,that CTK comes upwith its own catchyBECsongandsharesi t w i t h o t h e rparishes,”saidTiny.

The BEC reps werealso informed that

the CBCP will be rolling out moretrainingmodules in linewith the BECtheme. In addition, some of thecoordinators, including Tiny Perfecto,hadbeeninvolvedinthepreparationof10-minuteBEC awarenessmodules asmembers of the ‘BEC sa SampungMinuto’, or BSM team. Soon, the fullsuite of 10-minute modules will bemade available to the parishes andtheywillbefreetopickandchoose.

Tiny Perfectowas philosophical whenasked if accelerating the BECs in theCTK context was doable. “Journeyingwith the BEC communities towards aparish that is a true communion ofc ommun i t i e s c anno t b e doneovernight. There are still skills thatneed to be learned, especially on howto effectively ‘connect’ with others inthe community. We also have theadded cha l l enge o f the ga tedcommunities,” Tiny mused. Shecontinued, “The task of the currentleadersistopreparetheWield,sowtheseeds, and let God do the rest. Wheneverything falls into place, theimpossiblecanbecomepossible.”

ChingBotero,JoPiyaw,andTinyPerfectowiththeotherCTKdelegatestothevicariate’sBasicBECOrientation.Below,Msgr.JunBogaoanopenstheseminarattheirParishhall.

CTK BEC Team Attends Basic BEC Orientation Seminar at OLHP Vicariate by Tiny Perfecto, St. Ignatius BEC Coordinator

basic ecclesial communities

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The Christ the King Parish Social Hallwas the venue last February 6 for theOurMotherofPerpetualHelpVicariate’s(CTK is one of the parishes in thevicariate, along with Our Lady ofPerpetual Help–Cubao, Our Lady ofMiraculousMedal,Trans]igurationofourLord,Nativity ofOurLord, St. JohnPaulI I – E a s twood , a n d S a n Ro q u e –Bagumbayan) ]irst general assembly forPPCs.

Welcoming the Parish Pastoral Councilmembersof thesevendifferentparisheswas CTK’s own Fr. Bong Tupino, whospoke on behalf of the designated in-charge Fr. Arnel Recinto. Fr. Bong wasquite pleased that all the parisheswererepresented,with at least one table perparish. To be expected, Christ the King-Greenmeadows had the l a rges tdelegation, completely ]illing up threetables.

A f t e r t h e d i n n e r , w h i c h w a scomplimented on by nearly all thevisitors,Fr.Bongintroducedthelecturerfortheevening,Fr.OmerPrieto,fromtheDiocese of Cubao and a member of itsPastoralTeam.Atthesametime,heistheparish priest of St. Anthony of PaduaParish. He also specializes in givingMarian talks, conducting cenacles andretreatsforbothclergyandlay,andhasaweekly radio program, “Yes Father” atDWAD and a monthly slot at Radio

Veritas“AlayKayInangMaria”.

At the outset, Fr. Omer revealed thetopicsforthefourq u a r t e r l yassemblies. Thisquar te r ’ s t a l kwould be on thep a r i s h . T h esecond would beabout the servantl e a d e r s o fC o m m u n i o n ;t h i r d o n t h eS t r u c t u r e s o fParticipation; andfour th on thevicariate–howtoa c h i e v e t h emission of parishcommunion.

Fr. Omer proceeded to de]ine the“parish”. He said “the parish is acommuni ty o f Chr i s t ’ s fa i th fu l ,establishedinthediocesebytheBishop,whose pastoral care is entrusted to theparish priest as its pastor. It is in theparishthattheChurchisexperiencedona regular basis. He made the criticalpoint that theparish is “territorial”, thatis, embracing all the faithful within itsgeographiccon]ines.

To illustrate more clearly, Fr. Omerpresented the organization chart withthe parish priest atop the three-layerstructure of pastoral ministries-groupsand the parish communities. The parishpriest’s mission is abundantly clear –p a s t o r a l c a r e a s t h e b i s h o p ’ srepresentative, ministering to thecommunity. As such, he needs to knowthe faithful entrusted to his care. Butthereisaproblem:mostparisheshavealargenumberofparishioners,numberinginthethousandsoffamilies.

It is the parish communities, or the“pamayanans” which legitimizes the“territorial” de]inition of ‘parish’. Andthirdlyarethepastoralministrieswhichconstitute the pipeline through whichpastoral programs ]low to the parishcommunities. These ministries nourishecclesial life, ful]illing the works ofChrist.

Fr. Omer clari]ied to the vicariategathering that Church renewal as amandatewas not optional, and that the‘renewed’ Church’ must be re]lected inthe parish. If not yet, the parish mustbecome truly a faith communityimmersedinthelivesofitspeople.

Hetossedaroundanumberofpointsforthe PPC members of the differentparishestoponderon:

‣ At the parish level: How can theparishPPCshelptheirparishpriestswiththeirimmenseresponsibilities?What renewal programs should theparishadopt?

‣ At the community level: Is there an e e d t o r e v i ew t h e p a r i s hboundaries? For example, did itmake sense that one side of thestreetbelongstooneparishandtheother side belonged to another? Isthereaneedtocreatequasi-parishesoutofbigparishes?Andhowdowereachouttotheperipheries?

‣ At the ministry level: Are theministries truly nourishing theparish community? And are theorganizations aligned with theministries collaborating in themission?Howcantheparishesinthevicariate share strategies and thushelponeanother?

CTK Hosts OLHP Vicariate’s First Quarter Assembly for PPCs

6

parish pastoral council

The Christ the King lectors andcommentator group were invited toattend the ]irst General Assembly lastSaturday, February 25, the ]irst of fourscheduled for the calendar year. As arequirement, all of CTK’s 150 lectors-commentators are expected to attend atleastoneassembly.

Mel Novales, head coordinator for theMinistry of Lectors & Commentatorswithin the Worship Ministry, ]irstintroduced Trix Deleña, assistantcoordinator,whowent through theLentand Easter schedule of activities asarticulated to-date by the WorshipMinistry head couple Peter and LeilaBanico.

Trix was followed Ellen Manansala,Ministry treasurer, who accounted forthefundsbalanceto-datefromtheP500requestedfromeachlectorlatelastyear.ThenitwasMelNovales’turnashewentthrough the list of comments andobservations made by parishionersregarding CTK commentators andlectors. He also gave each of the lectorsandcommentatorsacopyofthebookletentitled ‘Reading for the Lord’, byMsgr.AnteroSarmiento.

Fr. Bong Tupino announced that therewould be a nationwide Bible Quiz soonand he wanted a systematic way toidentify the most able parishioner thatCTKcould]ield.Toassistinselection,hegave a 30-pointmultiple choice quiz onthe Gospel according toMatthew – part5. He confessed that a few of thequestionswerereallydif]icultsincesomeof the points are also covered in Mark,Luke or John but the tex t andphraseologydiffer.

Fr. Bong had been aware that chapelgoers occasionally ask the lectors orcommentators what the icons in theDivine Mercy Chapel stand for. So hewanted to make sure the ‘lecoms' wereready to answer. The representation atthe front of the altar table is called‘PelicaninherPiety’.InancientEurope,it

was believed that the pelicanwould cutitsbreastopenwithitsbeakandfeeditsyoung with its own blood if there wasnotenoughfood.ItrepresentsJesus’self-sacri]ice and charity. The icon had beenadopted by early Christians as early asthe 2nd century and started using it inreligioustextsandimages.

The fourEvangelists’ iconographyat theAmbo stand for Mark (upper left),Matthew(upperright),Luke(lowerleft),and John (lower right). Matthew, theauthor of the ]irst Gospel account, issymbolized as a winged man or angel.Matthew's gospel starts with Joseph'sgenealogy from Abraham; it represents

Jesus'Incarnation,andsoChrist'shumannature. Mark the Evangelist, the authorof the second gospel account, issymbolizedbyawingedlion–a]igureofcourage and monarchy. The lion alsorepresents Jesus' resurrection (becauselions were believed to sleep with openeyes, a comparison with Christ in thetomb), and Christ as king. Luke theEvangelist,theauthorofthethirdgospelaccount(andtheActsoftheApostles),issymbolized by a winged ox or bull – a]igure of sacri]ice, service and strength.Luke'saccountbeginswith thedutiesofZacharias in the temple; it representsJesus' sacri]ice in His Passion andCruci]ixion. The ox signi]ies thatChristians should be prepared tosacri]ice themselves in following Christ.John the Evangelist, the author of thefourth gospel account, is symbolized byan eagle – a ]igure of the sky, andbelievedbyChristianscholarstobeableto look straight into the sun. Johnstartswith an eternal overview of Jesus theLogos and goes on to describe manythings with a "higher" christology thanthe other three (synoptic) gospels; itrepresentsJesus'Ascension,andChrist'sdivine nature. This symbolizes thatChristians should look on eternitywithout ]linching as they journeytowardstheirgoalofunionwithGod.

Lastly,Fr.Bongremindedthelecomsthatthe Mary icon on the left side of theM i racu lous Cruc i ] i x o f L imp ias(background story of the cruci]ix wascovered in the previous issue of theHerald) was speci]ically Our Lady ofPerpetual Help. The original Byzantineicon has been in Rome since 1499. In1865, Pope Pius IX appointed theRedemptorist Priests to be custodiansand missionaries of the icon and theimage has become very popular. In the

First General Assembly for CTK Lectors & Commentators WORSHIP MINISTRY

LtoR:Lectors-Commentators’MinistryleadersMelNovales,TrixDeleña,andEllenManansala

Lectors-commentatorsdoingtheirbesttocorrectlyanswerthequizonthegospelofMatthew

8

Last Round of Commissioning for CTK Lectors and Commentators

WORSHIP MINISTRY

January 29 saw the second and Winalgroupoflectorsandcommentatorsgetcommissioned at the 6:30 pm SundaymassbyFr.BongTupino.AshedidlastDecember 4 when the Wirst group ofover a hundred lectors-commentatorswere being commissioned, Fr. Bongtold the congregation that the lecomshadgonethroughtherenewalseminar,attended various formation talks, andwere voluntar i ly recommitt ingthemselves to be proclaimers ofGod’sWord.And as he did lastDecember4,heaskedthecongregationtogivethema big hand. The second group oflectors-commentators, numberingaround40,hadmissedtheDecember4

commissioning and thiswas their lastchance to get commissioned for 2017,orelse theywouldhavehad to sitout2017.Fr. Bong then asked the lectors andcommentatorstogotothefrontfortheformal commissioning and blessing.CTK’s parish priest gave the standardprayerofblessing,exclaiming:

Everlas)ngGod,when he read in thesynagogue at Nazareth, your Sonproclaimedthegoodnewsofsalva)onfor which he would give up his life.B l e s s t h e s e L e c t o r s a n dCommentators, as they proclaim yourwords of life, strengthen their faiththat they may read with convic)onand boldness, and put into prac)cewhat they read. We ask this throughChristourLord.Amen.

Just before the end of themass, therewasanappealfromtheMissionariesofthe Poor, who were selling tickets to‘Messiah’, the Jamaican reggaemusicalofthe‘greatestTruthevertold’.

Eastern Orthodox Church, this artisticiconography is known as the Theotokosof the Passion. The Joseph iconographyto the right of the cruci]ix is St. Joseph,Patron of the Universal Church. It wasPopePiusIX,whohadaspecialdevotionto St. Joseph, who gave him the title in1870becauseofhisdignity,holiness,andgloryasspouseoftheBlessedVirginandfoster father of Jesus Christ. Nineteenyearslater,in1889,PopeLeoXIIIissuedanencyclicalexplainingwhySt.JosephisthePatronoftheUniversalChurch.

Fr. Bong also gave out the two papersthat he had ]irst given out at the ParishPastoral Council meeting. The ]irst wasbyFr.JamesH.Kroegeron‘theparishasacommunityofmissionarydisciples’andthesecondwasbyAmadoL.Picardalon‘BECs as agents o f communion ,participation andmission’. He asked thelectorsandcommentatorstogothroughthem and ask themselves how they cancontribute to the propagation of theparish as communion of communitiesand to the advancement of BECs in theCTK communities. Fr. Bong explainedtha t t he m in i s t ry o f l e c to r s &commentators is the largest ‘BECcommunity’ in the parish with its 150members.

Fr. Bong explaining the symbology of theiconsattheDivineMercyChapel

First General Assembly . . . cont.

9

pa r i s h c ook Ade t t e p repa redsandwiches and water for the bustravellers.

Police estimated that about 10,000peoplejoinedthe‘WalkforLife’marchand prayer rally Saturday starting atdawn at the Rizal Park, carryingplacardsthatread"Chooselife","Notodeath penalty", “No to the culture ofdea th”, “Thou sha l t no t k i l l ”.Organizers gave a much largerestimateofthecrowd,citing20,000toashighas50,000,comingfromatleast21CatholicdiocesesinLuzonandfromotherChristianchurches.

It was the latest sign of the RomanCatholic Church's increasing activismagainst a government crackdown thathas left thousands of drug suspectsdead and efforts by pro-Dutertelegislators to re-impose capitalpunishmentasearlyasMarch.InearlyFebruary, in itsmost strongly wordedattack on the crackdown on drugpushers and users, a CBCP pastoralletter read out at services across thecountrysaidkillingpeoplewasnottheanswertotrafWickingofillegaldrugs.

TheWalkforLife,whichwasorganizedbytheSangguniangLaikongPilipinas,the lay arm of the CBCP’s EpiscopalCommission on the Laity, was put inmotion after the Catholic Churchexpressed alarm over the killings ofmore than 7,000 people so far sinceDuterteassumedofWice June30of lastyear. More than 2,500 had died inshootouts during raids and stingoperations,accordingtothepolice.

Catholic Bishops' Conference of thePhilippines (CBCP) president andL ingayen -Dagupan Archb i shopSocrates Villegas urged the FilipinosCatholicstoneverliveinterror,eveninthe face of violence and loomingattempts to reinstate the capitalpunishment. "The sun will soon rise.Therewillbehope.Neverbeafraidofdarkness. Never live in fear," saidVillegas. “This is standing up for thegodly tradition that is truly FilipinobecausearealFilipinoispro-God,pro-

life,” Archbishop Villegas said beforethe crowd. “This is mentioned in ourConstitution. This means that if theFilipinopeoplewouldbreakawayfromGod and if the Filipino would not

respect life,thenheorshewould be lessof a Filipinobecause it isinherent inusasFilipinos tobe pro-Godand pro-life.”WhenaskedifhewashopingP r e s i d e n tD u t e r t ewould listento the prayerr a l l y ’ smessage, theC a t h o l i cb i s h o p s ’leader said:“ W h a t Ibelieve is thatGodwilllistent o o u rp r aye r s . I fGod listens toour requests,what is theretofear?”

The archbishop said Walk for Life isnotaprotestbut“acommitmenttothesacrednessof lifegivenbyGod.Killingwould not resolve the country'sproblems and would only result inrampant aggression. All sins againstGodbeginwithblasphemy,ortryingtodestroythehonorofGod,"ArchbishopVillegas said. "We cannot teach thatkilling is wrong by killing those whokill. It also increases the number ofkillers," he added. “The public shouldhave the courage to Wight againstviolence. Let us face those whothreaten us and show our innerstrength. They cannot scare usbecause our faith in God is stronger,"hesaid.“Insteadofrestoringthedeathpenalty, cleanse the ranks of thepolice, reform the judiciary ands t r i c t ly en fo rce ru l e s i n our

penitentiaries,” Villegas said. He alsocalledthe“WalkforLife”prayerrallya“WalkforGod.”

Manila Archbishop Luis AntonioCardinal Tagle, who also joined therally, called for strengthening andpromoting the culture of non-violentmovements. Echoing Pope Francis’message for this year’s World Day ofPeace, Cardinal Tagle called for arenewed culture of “active non-violence” in addressing the country’schallenges.Hesaidthatnon-violenceisnot passive as Jesus was a tirelessworker of love in action. “But webelieve that we cannot stop violencealso by violence,” said Tagle. “If theresponse to violence is also violence,we double the violence.” He called on

CTK Parishioners Join CBCP’s Walk for Life at Luneta

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continued from page 1

the Filipino people to help save thelivesofthosewhoarefacingimminentdanger."Whilewearehere,wehavetosavethe livesofthosewhoareatrisk.Wecansavetheir liveswhenweshowconcern and love," Tagle said. And anevengreatercauseforconcern,hesaid,is the indifference of many to theseviolence. “It ’s sad to see, andsometimes tearful, that it’s becomingjust a normal thing,” he said. TheCardinal said the “Walk for Life” rallywas intended to “save lives, suchasofpregnantwomenandtheunbornchild,those who are hungry, and the youthonthestreet,whomustbe freed fromthe inWluence of illegal drugs, abuse,prostitution, pornography, gamblingandothervices.”

Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, head of theDiocese of Cubao to which CTKbelongs, was also in attendance,togetherwithWiveotherdioceseheads.

With the Walk for Life, the Catholicfaithful expressed its strong stand forthe value and dignity of human life.Themarchwasapowerfuladvocacyoncare, protection and defense of allhuman life fromconception tonaturaldeath, as well as due process for lawoffenders, humane treatment ofcriminals and adequate rehabilitationforthoseinvolvedindrugs.

The CBCP EpiscopalCommission on the LaityChairman and ManilaA u x i l i a r y B i s h o pBroderick Pabillo saidthat the event was anexpressionofthepublic’sopposition against theproblems in the societythatthreatensthedignityand sanct i ty o f l i feincluding the impositiono f d e a t h p e n a l t y ,abortion, the proposedlaws on divorce andsame-sex unions, andplanned distribution ofcondoms in school. Themessage,he said, is “thatthe people are standingup for life and they areagainst thesemethods of

death,suchasdeathpenaltyandextra-judicial killings. So I hope that thegovernment will listen to the people,”Pabilloadded.

Forherpart,theSangguniangLaikongPilipinas National President ZenaidaCapistrano said that “Walk for Life” isnotaprotestrather,itisanexpressionofthegratitudeforthegiftoflifethatisgivenbyGod.

The event began at 4:30amwithMrs.Capistranowelcomingtheparticipants.Theslowwalkthenstartedat5:00am.The short program after the walkc ommen c ed w i t h a D oxo l o g yperformed by the members of DonBosco Youth Center in Tondo, Manila,followed by musical presentationsfromGleeNette Gaddi andOoberfuse.B i s h o p P a b i l l o g a v e a s h o r tinspirational talk followed by thePanalangin ng Bayan, and Praise andWorship,whichwasledbytheCouplesforChristGlobal.

The Walk for Life formally ended ataround 9 :00am, with the CTKparishionerson thecharteredbus, ledby Benjie and Wins Mirasol, arrivingbackatCTKby11am.Othermembersof the Parish Pastoral Council noticedin theLunetacrowd includedMustardSeed Ministry head Amelia Alba,

Acropolis Village Coordinator IreneRobles , Greenmeadows Vi l lageCoordinatorEileendeLeon,KnightsofC o l umbus h e ad Boy Ange l e s ,

Catechetical Ministry co-head SherylCoronel, BEC head Tiny Perfecto,Vocation co-head Louie Laudico, andYouth Ministry Coordinator AltheaGeronilla. TheMirasols also took noteof PPC assistant Jeffrey Dacleson’scontribution, who looked out foreveryone in the CTK group, andthanked parishioner Nandy Pachecofor treating the bus group to anAristocrat’sbreakfast.

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Ash Wednesday at Christ the King Parish GreenmeadowsGospel."Ashes also symbolize grief, inthiscase,griefthatwehavesinnedandcaused division from God. Writingsfrom the Second-century Church referto the wearing of ashes as a sign ofpenance. The ashes are made fromblessedpalmbranches,takenfromthepreviousyear'spalmSundayMass.

The Lenten season is one of penance,reQlection, and fasting which preparesus for Christ's Resurrection on EasterSunday, through which we attainredemption. OfQicially, Lent runs fromAsh Wednesday to Holy ThursdaybeforetheLastSupperoftheLord.

It was ‘full house’ at the CTK mainchurchinallthemasses,especiallythe12 noon and 7:30 pm masses, withparking areas all Qilled up, includingstreet side. Fr. SergeManibaofQiciatedthe 12 noon mass and was assistedwithashgivingbyafullcomplementofExtraordinary Ministers of the HolyEucharist.

CTK Parish Pastoral Council Kicks Off Way of the Cross Fridays

and fasting. The practice includes thewearing of ashes on the head,symbolizing the dust fromwhich Godmade us and reminds us that lifepassesawayonEarth.AsthepriestorEucharistic Minister applies the ashesto a person's forehead, he speaks thewords: “Repent, and believe in the

v i l l a ge s - March 7 Tuesday a tGreenmeadows 1, March 9 Thursday atAcropolis, March 16 Thursday at WhitePlains, March 21 Tuesday at CorinthianHills,March23Thursdayat St. Ignatius,March28TuesdayatCorinthianGardens,March 30 Thursday at Arcadia, April 4Tuesday for Enclave, Ivory Court andGreenmeadows 3, and April 6 ThursdayatLibis.

TheMarch3WayoftheCrosswasledbyFr.SergeManiba,withPPCofPicersdoingthe Scripture and Meditation readingsforeachofthe14stations.

ForsixstraightFridaysofLentandHolyFriday,ChristtheKinghasscheduledtheWay of the Cross at the main church,right after the 6:00 pmmasses, startingtheFirstFridayofLent,whichis March3, through March 10, March 17, March24,March31,April7,uptoGoodFridayon April 14. These Friday Way of theCross had been assigned to variousmandated organizations, renewalmovements,andministries.

Tuesdays and Thursdays Way of theCross had also been scheduled for the

SomeofthePPCmemberswhodidtheWayoftheCrossreadingslastMarch3,clockwisefromtopleft: Anna Lagman, Leila Banico, Fely Ong, Loung Cuartero, Kim Cua, Bert Santos, Marie AnneSantos,ElisedelRosario,MaandelRosario,andAlmaYeh.OthersincludedAltheaGeronilla,DulceBarretto,LindaGuanzonandBingdelRosario.

Top view during March 3 Way of the Cross;below,PPCreadersprepareforthereadings.

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continued from page 1Lenten Season Begins:

January 29th was Bible EnthronementSunday at Christ the King and itssatellitechapels inthevariousvillagesof Corinthian Garden, White Plains,Corinthian Hills, Saint Ignatius andAcropolis . January 29 was theculmination of the National BibleWeek,whichbegan January23,2017. A speciMic family wasidentiMied beforehand to leadthe enthronement and theaccompanying prayer. At theJanuary 29th 6 pm massofMiciated by Fr. Bong Tupino,the enthroners were MalouVincoyandfamily.

B ible Enthronement is acelebrationoftheWordofGod.It’s a rite which started in theearly part of the Church butwas lost through the years.During the Second VaticanCouncil,themeetingofBishopsfromallover theworldheld inRome from 1962 to 1965, theBible was solemnly enthronedeverymorningattheopeningoftheir sessions. Through thisliturgicalceremonythebishopsreminded themselves that theycould only effectively PREACHthe Good News if they MirstLISTENED to God's Word. Since then,in many Church gatherings likeCongresses, Conventions Workshops,meetings, retreats and recollections,the Mirst activity would always be theEnthronementoftheBible.

WeenthronetheBibletoremindusofthe importanceof theBible inour lifeas Christians, especially in our life asproclaimersof theWord.TheWordofGod – Jesus, the Divine Word whobecame a person like us - is ourdistinctive mark as workers of aCatholic Church, who speaks to usthroughhisprintedwordintheBible.

Inall theJanuary28(anticipated)andJanuary 29 masses, the ofMiciatingpriest introduced the ceremony bypraying:

Lord, we are gathered here todayto enthrone this bible for our useasafamily.Youareblessedandthesource of every blessing. Be withusnowandwheneverweuse thissymbolofourfaith,thebible.

The familymembers came forward infrontof thebiblestand,madethesignof the cross on the bible they werecarrying, then the most senior familymemberopenedthebibleandplacediton the stand. Another member of thefamilyledthefollowingprayer:

Lord God, we have heard yourwords. They give us joy and bringlight and truth intoour lives. Yourpresence gives us peace in ourtroubled and divided world. Letyour Word create in our hearts adeepdesire for you.Bewithus inour hearts and homes, in ourcommunity and country. Give usyour Holy Spirit to help us tounderstand your Word. Weenthrone now this Holy Bible inour midst. Make your Word thecenter of our lives. Make yourWord inspireall thatwethinkandsayanddo.MayyourWordbindustogether in unity with each otherandwithyou,todayandforever.

Thentheentirecongregationisenjoinedtorecitethe]inalprayer:

WepromisetorespecttheWordofGod in our midst. We shall readandreflectonitasafamilyofGod.May we draw from it inspiraEonfor our decisions, strength for ourwork, and comfort in suffering.Jesus,helpustobefaithful toourpromise, youwho live foreverandever.

Christ the King Parish Greenmeadowsregularly conducts a First MondayMassfortheDeadattheCTKCryptat4pm.LastFebruary6,aCirstMonday,Fr.RickyMontanezofCiciatedthemass.Inattendance were several parishionerswhose loved ones were interred or‘inurned’intheCTKcolumbaryvaults.

Thepractice of offering the holyMassfor the repose of the soul of thedeceased originates in the earlychurch. The catechism teaches, “Fromthebeginning the churchhashonoredthe memory of the dead and offeredprayers in suffrage for them,aboveallthe eucharistic sacriCice, so that, thuspuriCied, they may attain the beatiCicvisionofGod”.

InlightofthesavingworkofOurLordJesus Christ, we believe that when aperson dies, he faces his particularjudgmentandmustrenderanaccountof his life. If that person has diedfundamentallybelieving inGodand ina state of grace, but with venial sinsandthehurtcausedbysin,thenGodinHis divine love and mercy will Cirstpurify the soul. After this puriCicationhasbeencompleted,thesoulwillhavethe holiness and purity needed toshare in the beatiCic vision in heaven.The faithful here on earth can helpthose souls undergoing puriCication.The Vatican Council II afCirmed: “Justas we pray for each other and shareeach other’s burdens now, the faithfulon earth can offer prayers andsacriCices to help the departed soulsundergoingpuriCication,andnobetterprayercouldbeofferedthanthatoftheholysacriCiceoftheMass.”

ChristtheKingParishinviteseveryonewith loved ones inurned in the CTKcrypt to attend the First MondayMasses and pray for their departedlovedones.

Bible Enthronement Sunday First Monday Mass at the Crypt

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In celebration of the World Day of theSick last February 11, the 7:30 pmanticipated mass was presided by Fr.LarryTan.After themass, he conductedthe Healing Service. Parishioners hadbeen encouraged since the week beforeto bring their sick elderly relatives andfriends for healing of body, mind andspirit. And indeed, a large than usualpercentage of the audience consisted oftheelderly.

By 8:15 pm, at the end of themass, noonewasmoving,aclearsignthatnearlyeveryone had come for the healingserv i ce . The par i sh ioners wereinstructed to line up in two rows in thecenter aisle, then those in front wereescorted to form a line on the stepsleadingtothealtar.Fr.Larrywentupanddowntheline,prayingovereachdevoteethen moving on to the next. When he

reachedtheleftorrightside,hemadehisway back even as the people whoreceivedthehealinglefttheirplace.

Several parishioners fell backward, intothe ready supportive hands of theEucharistic Ministers of the HolyEucharist volunteers. Technically, theyhadbeen ‘Slain in the Spirit’ or ‘RestingintheSpirit’. ‘I felloverbackwards,’saidone such parishioner. ‘My knees justdecided they didn’twant to holdme upand I lay onmyback for aminute, fullyawake but feeling peaceful andrefreshed.’ Other commentsoverheard: ‘The healing servicewas very touching.’; ‘I felt reallyempowered by the Holy Spiritafter I was prayed with.’; ‘Ireceived a tremendous peace ofmind.’

The hea l ing serv ice , he ldannually every February 11 incelebration of the World Day ofthe Sick, was sponsored by theLSS (Life in the Spirit Seminar)Prayer Group and Healing

Ministry, headed by Bobby and MargieSanJuan.MiladelFonsowasinchargeofpriestandreaderarrangements.

PopeJohnPaulIIinitiatedtheWorldDayof theSick in1992 to encouragepeopletoprayforthosewhosufferfromillnessand for their caregivers. The Popehimself had been diagnosed withParkinson’sayearbefore,in1991,anditis considered that his own illness wasimpetusforhisdesignationoftheday.

WorldDayoftheSickwasPirstobservedon February 11, 1993. February 11 isalso the Catholic Feast of Our Lady ofLourdes, which a name is given to theVirginMary in honor of the apparitionsthat were seen in and around Lourdes,France, by young Bernadette Soubirous.And did you know that Pope BenedictXVIdeclaredhisdecision to resign from

his post as the Pope on thisday in 2013? He cited hisfailing health as the reasonbehindhisdecision.

From the Vat ican , PopeFrancis announced, ‘On thisTwenty-PifthWorldDayof theSick, I once more offer myp r aye r f u l s u p p o r t a n dencouragement to physicians,nurses, volunteers and allthose consecrated men andwomen committed to serving

the sick and those in need. I alsoembrace the ecc les ia l and c iv i linstitutionsworkingtothisend,andthefamilies who take loving care of theirsick. I pray that all may be ever joyoussigns of the presence of God’s love andimitate the luminous testimony of somanyfriendsofGod,includingSaintJohnof God and Saint Camillus de’ Lellis, thepatrons of hospitals and healthcareworkers, and Saint Mother Teresa ofCalcutta,missionaryofGod’slove.’

Fr. Larry Tan Conducts Healing Service During World Day of the Sick

SaintBlasewasthebishopofSebaste inArmeniaduring the fourthcentury.Veryli;leisknownabouthislife.Accordingtovarious accounts, he was a physicianbefore becoming a bishop, a ‘physicianofsouls’.Hiscult spreadthroughout theenBre Church in the Middle Agesbecause he was reputed to havemiraculously cured a li;le boy whonearlydiedbecauseofafishbone inhisthroat. When Blaise was put in jail inSebastea,themotherofthechildwhomBlasé had saved came to him andbrought two fine wax candles in ana;empt to dispel the gloom of hisdarkenedcell.Which iswhySaintBlaiseis oJen depicted holding two crossedcandlesinhishand.Andfromtheeighthcenturyonward,hehasbeeninvokedonbehalf of the sick, especially thoseafflictedwithillnessesofthethroat.

On the day of his feast on the 3rd ofFebruary, the blessing of St. Blaise isgiven: two candles, blessed the daybefore on the feast of the PresentaBonof the Lord ("candlemas"), areheld in acrossed posiBon by a priest or the layministerand thepeopleare touchedonthe throatwith them,one at aBme.Atthe same Bme the following blessing isgiven: "Through the intercession of St.Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, may Goddeliver you from every disease of thethroat and from every other illness."Then the priest makes the sign of thecross over the faithful. This annualblessingofthroatsisatradiBonalsignofthe struggle against illness in the life oftheChrisBan.

Fr.BongofficiatedtheFebruary3,Friday6 pmmass and at the end of themassled the blessing of throats. Given thelargenumberof parishionerswishing tobe blessed, he was assisted in blessingduBes by EucharisBc Ministers BoyAngelesandChitoGomez.

Blessing of Throats on the Feast of Saint Blaise

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T h e C h r i s t t h e K i n g P a r i s hGreenmeadows celebrated the Feast ofthe Presentation of the Lord lastFebruary 2, a Thursday. At 5:50 ambeforethe6ammass,at6:50ambeforethe7ammass,andat5:50pmbeforethewell-attended6pmmass,alljustoutsidet h e D i v i n e M e r c y C h a p e l , t h econgregationgatheredforthetraditionalBlessingofCandles.

In obedience to the Old Law, the LordJesus, the ]irst-born, was presented inthe Temple by his Blessed Mother andhisfosterfatheronthefortiethdayafterhisbirth. JosephandMarybrought theChild Jesus into the templealongwithahumble sacri]ice of young pigeons as asign of thanksgiving. Jesus’ presentationsigni]ied God’s entrance to His temple.God-made-man entered His temple,presenting Himself to those who werereallysearchingforHim,whichincluded

SimeonandAnna.GodpromisedSimeonthat hewouldnot die until he had seentheMessiah.WhenSimeonsawJesus,hetookthebabyinhisarmsandblessedtheLord and said: "Lord, now let Yourservant go in peace according to Yourpromise, because my eyes have seenYour salvationwhichyouhavepreparedbefore the face of all peoples, a light tobring revelation to theGentiles, and theglory to yourpeople Israel."Also, in theTemple was Anna the Prophetess. Annawas about eighty-four years old, hadbeenawidowformanyyears,andspenther time in the Temple worshiping,fasting, and praying. When she saw theChrist Child she praised God and spokeof him to all who were awaiting theMessiah.

The Presentation of the Lord is alsoknown as Candlemas day, since theblessing and procession of candles isincluded as part of the liturgy. Christ isthe light of the nations, the ‘light of theworld’,aswellas,inthewordsofSimeon,‘thelighttoenlightentheGentiles’,hencetheblessingofcandlesonthisday.The

faithful take them home and light themwhentheyneedChrist’interventionsuchasintimesofillnessorbadweather.

Fr. Ricky Montañez was the 6 pmmassof]iciatorandhealsoblessedthecandles.Hegreetedthecongregationasfollows:

Forty days have passed since wecelebrated the joyful feast of theNaEvity of the Lord. Today is theblesseddaywhenJesuswaspresentedin the Temple by Mary and Joseph.Outwardly, he was fulfilling the Law,but in reality hewas coming tomeethisbelievingpeople.PromptedbytheHolySpirit,SimeonandAnnacametothe temple. Enlightened by the samespirit, they recognized the Lord andconfessed Himwith exultaEon. So letusalso,gatheredtogetherbytheHolySpirit,proceedtothehouseofGodtoencounter Christ. There we shall findHimandrecognizeHiminthebreakingof the bread, unEl he comes again,revealedinglory.

Afterwards, Fr. Ricky blessed everyone’scandlesandsaidthefollowingprayer:

OhGod, source and origin of all lightwho on this day showed to the justmanSimeontheLightforrevelaEontothe GenEles, we humble ask that, inanswer to your people’s prayers, youmay be pleased to sancEfywith yourblessing (+)these candles, which weare eager to carry in praise of yourname, so that, treading the path ofvirtue,wemay reach that lightwhichneverfails.

Fr.Rickythensprinkledthecandleswithholywater, got a lighted candle, and ledthe procession towards the chapel,announcing,“Letusgoforthinpeace”.

Blessing of Candles at the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Memorial of Our

Lady of Lourdes Last February 11, the Catholic worldcelebrated theMemorial of Our Ladyof Lourdes. We call ‘Message ofLourdes’ the gestures andwords thatwereexchangedbetweenVirginMaryand BernadeCe Soubirous, at theGroCoofMassabielle,duringtheFmeof the eighteen appariFons. Thismessagecanbeheardas:God is loveandhelovesusasweare.

In her 16th appar iFon, whenBernadeCe askedher name, the Ladyanswered, ““I am the ImmaculateConcepFon”. BernadeCe did notimmediately understand what thosewordsmeant.

Since the Apparitions, Lourdes had todeal with about 7000 cases ofunexplained cures. 69 cases have beenrecognizedasmiraculousbytheChurchat this time. As Lourdes earned thereputationas thecityof themiraculouscures, each year, some 80,000 sick ordisabledpersonsfromallovertheworldcometoLourdestotouchtherockoftheGrotto.Intheveryearlyyears,thelocalsweresomovedbythesickpatientsfroma l l o v e r t h e wo r l d t h a t t h e yspontaneously decided to help. Thisgroup,who have become known as theHospitaliers,havegrowninsizeovertheyears and can be seen helping in thehostels, at the train station, then at theairport, on theesplanadeof theRosary,attheGrotto,andatthebaths.

Lourdes, France: City ofMiraculousCures

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For February and March, the FirstSaturday2000HailMaryswereheld onFebruary 4 and March 4, led andcoordinated by the Legion of Mary. Thedevotion started, as isusual, at7:30amandendedat the expected4:00pmandwas held at St. John A and B Hall, itsregularvenue.Thenext sessions for the]irst half of the year will be on April 1,May6,andJune3.Praying 2000 Hail Marys is a very

powerful intercessory prayer. Thegathering prays this private devotion toOur Lady, asking her for any kind offavors,andtrustthatGodwillgrantthemt h r o u g h o u r L a d y ’ s p ow e r f u lintercession. Combined with your faithandsincerityofheart,thesearegracesorintentions which our Mother Mary willintercedeforyou.

The full-day devotion starts with theprayertotheHolySpirit.Thisisfollowed

bythe15MysteriesoftheMost Holy Rosary. Thereare 20 general petitions,with each petition beingread before 100 HailMarys. Every person inthegroupgetstoleadtheprayer of a round of 100H a i l M a r y s . T h eexpectation is to ]inishthe2,000HailMarysin7to9hours.

The Legion of Mary is alay apostolic association

of Catholics who, underthe leadership of MaryImmaculate,Mediatrix ofAll Graces, serve theC h u r c h a n d t h e i rneighborsonavoluntarybas i s i n abou t 170countries.

In March 1989, the ]irstLoM praesidium was established inChrist the King Parish Greenmeadowswith the name ‘Mary Queen of Peace’.Just a year later, that praesidium gavebirth to a second, the ImmaculateHeartof Mary’. The Mary Queen of Peacepraesidium is currently headed by MiladelFonsowhiletheImmaculateHeartofMary praesidium is headed by RubyBorja.

A key objective is the spread of MarianDevotion,particularly thatof the rosary.So it’s natural that the Legion of Maryleads the First Saturday Devotion with2000HailMarysaswellasspearheadtheactivitiesofOctoberRosaryMonth.

How Do You Pray 2000 Hail Marys

The ]irstmeeting of the Legion ofMarytook place in Dublin, Ireland, inSeptember1921.Drawingitsinspirationfrom the True Devotion to Mary, astaught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort,andwhich had a profound in]luence ontheFounderoftheLegion,theServantofGod, Frank Duff, the Legion is at thedisposal of the Bishops and Priests foruseinthemissionoftheChurch.

Evangelization, especially the seeking ofconversions to theChurch, isa priorityfor the Legion, hence home visitations.SeeingandservingChristinthesickandmarginalised is anothervitalpartof thelegionary apostolate, thus projects likefeedingprograms.

BackinNovember2015,Fr.BongTupino

took the Legionnaires on an outreachactivity to the Servants of Charity, ahome for the rejected and abandonedboys with disabilities. The Legionnairesdistributedgiftbagsandlunchpacks.

More regularly, thelegionnaires go onprisonvisits toCampKaringal every 2ndand 4th Tuesdays ofthe month. Prisoni n m a t e s a l w a y swelcome being ableto chat and discusst h e i r p e r s o n a lproblems with theLOMvolunteers.

Most recently, last December 29, theLibisBECheadedbyChingBoteroandJoPiyaw teamed up with the HealingMinistry,which counts severalmembersfromamongtheLegionnaires,tobringFr.MomoyBorromeotovisitandprayoverbedridden elderly Libis residents.

Spotlight on Mary’s Legionnaires at CTK

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Parishioners and friends of Fr Bongfrom Christ the King and from hisprevious parishes joined Fr Bong ashe celebrated his 51st birthday lastJanuary 26, 2017. His special daycommenced with the EucharisticCelebration at 7am at the DivineMercyChapel,histhanksgivingmass,which was also the Memorial ofSaintsTimothyandTitus,Bishops.

His brother-priests, Bishop RaulMartirez,MsgrTonyMortillero,MsgrRig de Guzman, Fr SergeManiba, FrRickyMontanez,Fr.AllanSamonte&FrRonaldPlomillo,concelebratedthemasswithFrBong.

Hesharedduringhishomilywhyhewas named Jose III. Being the Tirstson, his father, Jose Jr, told him thathis grandfather, Jose Sr, wished himto be a soldier too. Though he

never imagine himself a soldier, hisgrandfather’s wish eventually cametrue - he became a soldier of theLord.

Fr. Bong Tupino Celebrates 51st Birthday with Parishioners byLeilaBanico Fr.Herbert‘Herbie’Santos,parochialvicarof

Sta.RitadeCasciaParish,celebratedhis<irstpresbyteral ordination anniversary at Sta.Rita de Cascia Parish in Philam Homes lastWednesday, February 22 at 6 pm. AssistinghimintheEucharisticcelebrationwerenoneother than Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, Msgr.Dan Sta. Maria, Msgr. Tony Montillero(representingFr.BongTupinoandtherestoftheCTKclergy),Fr.VicdeJesus,theSanJoseSeminaryRectorwhenFr.Herbieenteredtheseminary in 2009, Fr. Gelo Parlan, formerParochia l V icar o f Chr is t the KingGreenmeadows Parish, and several otherclergyfromandoutsidethedioceseofCubao.It will be recalled that Fr. Herbie, a CTK

parishioner, was ordained last February 22,2016 the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter theApostle, at the Immaculate ConceptionCathedralofCubao,whichwasalsoattendedby Archbishop Soc Villegas. Eleven monthsearlier, in March of 2015, Herbie wasordinated to theSacredOrderofDeaconsatChristtheKingChurch.ReverendHerbiewasthe <irst-ever diocesan deacon (and a fewdaysagothe<irst-everpriest)fromtheparishofChristtheKing-Greenmeadows.

The attending congregation was touchedw h e n F r. H e r b i e m e n t i o n e d a n dacknowledged the understanding, supportand love from his parents Bert and MarieAnne Santos, the current head LayCoordinator couple for the CTK ParishPastoral Council, who also led the offertoryprocession. Other members of the Santosfamilywerealsoinattendance.

In the reception that followed, Bishop NessOngtiocoquipped that the titleof thewrite-up on Fr. Herbie should be ‘He left CTK aparishioner,hecamebackapriest’.TheCTKParishPastoralCouncilwasablyrepresented,aside from Bert and Marie Anne Santos, byAssistantLayCoordinator coupleHenryandJoyce Tañedo, Secretary couple David andFelyOng,TreasurercoupleBingandElisedelRosario, andVocationMinistry couple LouieandNelLaudico.

F r . H e r b i e S a n t o s C e l e b r a t e s F i r s t Ordination Anniversary

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Bishop Raul Q. Martirez, formerBishop-Emeritus of San Jose deAntique andnow retired guest bishopa t C h r i s t t h e K i n g P a r i s hGreenmeadows, celebrated his 79thbirthdaylastFebruary9.

InajoyousEucharisticmassat7amatthe Divine Mercy Chapel, Bishop Raulcelebrated his thanksgiving mass,assistedbyFr.BongTupino,Msgr.TonyMortillero, and Fr. Serge Maniba. Themasswasfollowedbyabreakfastsalu-salo. He had so many well-wishers,

rightoutofthechapeldoorallthewayto the entrance of the FormationCenter that it took Bishop Raul morethan 15 minutes to get to theFormation Center entrance. Then ittookhimanother25minutes tomakehis was to the door of Matthew andMark rooms were all the tables wereoccupied,withtablessetupeveninthehallway. Inside, the parishioners stillcouldn’t get enough of the super-amiablebishopashewasbeingtuggedthis way and that by different groupswishing to have their picture takenwith him. He even had two femaleserenaders. He also had to blow thecandles from two different birthdaycakes.Itwasclearlyatestimonytohispopularity that Bishop Raul was onlyabletositdownandeatat9am.

popularity that Bishop Raul was onlyabletositdownandeatsomegotoat9am.

In2002, at theageof65,BishopRaultook ofWicial retirement and spent ayear with his parents before joining

CTK as its resident retired bishop –and he’s been associated with ChristtheKingParishGreenmeadowsforthe

last 15 years. Despite his 79 years ofage, Bishop Raul continues to assistwith CTK affairs, celebrating one ort w o m a s s e s e v e r y w e e k e n d ,celebrating the occasional daily

masses, ofWiciating at some weddings,baptisms, confession sessions, etc. Upto 2015, Bishop Raul also regularlyacted as Pilgrimage Chaplain for theannual European and Holy LandpilgrimagesledbyCTK.Hisunmatchedknowledge and deep background intobiblical history and pilgrimagegeography had made him muchsought-afteraspilgrimagechaplain.

One thing’s for sure – Bishop Raul’smanyparishioner friendscan’twait tocelebrate his 80th birthday 325 daysfromnow.

Bishop Raul Celebrates 79th Birthday

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Buklod ng Panginoon, one of therenewalmovements inChrist theKingParish but localized to Barangay St.I gnat ius , ce lebra ted the 2016Christmasseasonwithseveralprojects.One was the Share a Toy, Share a Joyprogram, to beneWit the kids at Libis.Buklodleadersputupalargedropboxfor the toy donations at their parishcenter.TheLibiskidswerelaterpickedup and treated to a Jollibee children’s

partyatSt.Ignatius.

OnDecember24th,St.Ignatius,throughcoordinationeffortsofBuklodworkingwiththevillagecoordinators,mounteda successful dawnMisa de Gallo,withFr. Ronald Plomillo as presider. Thiswas followed by a 6 am salu-salobreakfast at the barangay center openterrace.

St.Ignatiusbarangayleaderswerealsovery proud that a week before, lastDecember 16, their barangay receivedtwo awards from the Quezon Citygovernment and the Department ofInterior andLocalGovernment (DILG)at the Barangay Seal o f GoodHousekeepingawardingceremony.Theevent was held at the UP Bahay ngAlumni.BarangaySt. Ignatiusreceivedthe awards for ‘Good FinancialHousekeeping’ and for ‘Best Practicesand Innovations’. Tiny Perfecto waspart of theBSI team that received theawards.

Buklod ng Panginoon Celebrates the Christmas Season at Barangay St. Ignatius

PhotosandinformationprovidedbyAgnesdelaCruz

village news

19

Sister Leopolda, nee Barbara MayLedesma, curator of the FatimaMuseum and a member of the OblateSisters of the Virgin Mary of Fatima,wasonabrief visit to thePhilippines.Fr. Bong Tupino of Christ the KingParish Greenmeadows invited Sr.Leopolda tospeak toaselectgroupofparishioners last February 13 beforeshe Mlewback toFatima,Portugal.The

invitationwasmosttimelyconsideringthat the entire Catholic world iscelebrating the Fatima Centennial thisyear.

Shebeganheroneandahalfhourtalkby stating that in the midst of theworld’sdarknessanddespair,thelightof Fatima is the solid ground whereCatholics can Mind the fundamentaltruths of faith and which remains asymbol of hope for the future. Sr.Leopolda emphasized that one of themost precious spiritual heritage ofFatima, and the soul of the Fatimamessage, was ‘devotion to theImmaculateHeartofMary’.

sheargued,tonotresignourselvesandbeindifferenttotheevilandsufferingsaroundus.It’sacalltoprayer,acalltosacriMice, anda call topenance for thesinsoftheworld.

Sr.LeopoldadifferentiatedFatimafromLourdesand theother apparitions– amuch longer dialogue, almost acentury)with humanity; the inclusionof historical and political view as shetalkedaboutwarandpeaceaswellasCommunist Russia; and a strongconcern for the future that’s notcentraltotheotherapparitions.

Sheexplainedthatthe1917apparitionwasinthecontextofWorldWarI.Thewar started in mid 1914 and by May2017haddrawn in32 countries,withthe United States ofMicially declaringwaronGermanyonemonthbeforetheapparitionsstarted.Andthewarwouldlast a full year and half after the Mirstsetofapparitions.It’sinthishistoricalcontext that Lucia paraphrases theVirgin Mary to say, ‘Let us thrust ourgazeintheworldandwhatdowesee?War, hatred, ambitions, plunder, theft,v e n g e a n c e , f r a u d , h om i c i d e ,immoral i ty. Men who considerthemselves wise and powerfulcontinue to plan other wars, death,misery, disgrace, bloodshed. They aredrowning the very people they areobligedtohelpandsave.’

And which is why, Sister Leopoldaemphasized,thatitwasimportantthatOur Lady appeared to the threeshepherd children. Through theuniversal agony of war, She was thelight, beauty and joy whowould bearwitness to the faith. The Virgin Marywastobethewitnesstohopeinatimeofdespair,awitness to trust ina timeof mistrust and suspicion, and awitness to joy in a time of great

difMiculty in life. And the mostimportant admonitions of the VirginMary of Fatima to the three childrenand the hundreds of thousands whoheardtheirwords?

1. Pray, pray very much. The mostholyHeartsofJesusandMaryhavedesigns of mercy on you. OfferprayersandsacriMicesconstantlytotheMostHigh.

2. Make of everything you can asacriMice and offer it to God as anact of reparation for the sins bywhich He is offended. And insupplication for the conversion ofsinners. You will thus draw downpeaceuponyourcountry.

3. Above all, accept and bear withsubmissionthesufferingwhichtheLordwillsendyou.

Of the three, Lucia lived the longestandwitnessedthemostapparitions.In1925,forexample,onDecember10,inPontevedra, Spain, Lucia saw the Mirstapparition of Our Ladywith the ChildJesus,laterpromptingtheinstitutionofdevotionoftheFirstFiveSaturdays.Onthe 13th of June 1929, in Tuy, Spain,Mary came to Lucia to ask for theconsecrat ion o f Russ ia to theImmaculate Heart of Mary. ‘The HolyFather will consecrate Russia to me,andshewillbeconverted,andaperiodofpeacewill be granted to theworld.’Andthisvisionwasmanifestedduringthe perestroika of Mikhail GorbachevandthesymbolicfalloftheBerlinWallin 1989. Lucia also expressed one ofthe most profound Trinitar iandoxologies: ‘O Holy Trinity whom IadoreandloveandtoWhomIwillsingeternalpraise!Inme,Youarelight,Youare Grace, You are love! I immersemyselfinYouandIdwellintheloveofYourpresence’.Andit’sthesameLuciawho looked back on the apparitionsalmost a century later and reMlectedthat ‘theaimoftheapparitionswastomake us grow in faith, hope andcharity’.

Sr. Leopolda also reMlected on theassassination attempt on Pope JohnPaul II’s life back in 1May 13, 1981.JohnPaulIIcreditedhissurvivaltotheLady of Fatima, the date of theassassination attempt coinciding withthe anniversary of the Mirst Fatimaapparition. ‘On that tragic 13th day of

We Meet Sr. Leopolda Ledesma of Fatima

20

100th anniversary of fatima

May1981,onehandpulledthetriggerand one maternal hand deMlected thebullet.’OnMay13,1982,exactlyayearafter the attempt, Pope John Paul IItraveled to Fatima where he met Sr.LuciafortheMirsttime.

Attheendofhertalk,Sr.Leopoldaledthe audience in singing the Ave deFatima:

ThethirteenthofMayintheCovadaIriaAppeared, oh, so brilliant, the VirginMariaAve,Ave,AveMaria(x2)To three lible shepherds Our LadyappearedThe light ofHer grace to her Son’s soulendearedAve,Ave,AveMaria(x2)TheVirginMariaencircledwithLightOur own dearest Mother and Heaven’sdelightAve,Ave,AveMaria(x2)

Shewas askedduring theopen forumwhere the adopted name Leopoldacamefrom.Shenarratedthatonavisitto Padua, the Oblate Sisters cameacross St. Leopold Mandic, or St.Leopold of Castelnuovo, a CroatianCapuchin friar who suffered fromdisabilitiesthatplaguedhisspeechandstunted his growth. Despite this, hebecame extremely popular as aconfessor and spentmost of his adultlife in Padua, Italy. He dreamtunceasingly about reuniting theCatholicandtheOrthodoxchurchesofEastern Europe. He became known asan Apostle of Confession and anApostle of Unity. Her fellow sistersteased her about taking on his name.When the time came for her tonominate a name for herself, shethoughtbackontheencounterwithSt.Leopold, shrugged, and said toherself‘why not’. After all, he was evenshorter than she was, standing atonly4’5”.

Father Lemuel Camacho, a Fil-Am andformer nursing supervisor and now anewly-ordained priest in the Diocese ofEssex County, New Jersey, USA recountedhowhecametothepriesthood.Duringhis2008 pilgrimage to FaGma, RN Lemuel,whohadbeenmulling a late transiGon tothe priesthood, had his hands folded inprayer,lookingforasign-anysmallsignal-from the Blessed Mother about hispossible call to a priestly vocaGon. Downon bended knee in the Chapel of theAppariGons at the Our Lady of FaGmaShrine in Portugal, he asked Mary in aninformal way, “What do you want me todo,Mother?”ThennurseCamachoroseupand started walking out of the Chapel ofthe AppariGons when, at the door, areligious sister, whom he had never met,unknowingly answeredhis quesGonaboutvocaGon by asking him a quesGon - “AreyouthepriestI’vebeenwaiGngfor?”“No,Iamnot,”nurseCamachotoldthereligioussister.Whenhevisited,hewasjustdressedin jeans and a nice shirt but themuseumcurator thoughthewasapriest. Lateron,before he leX FaGma, he asked thereligious sister whom hemet at the doorwhy she asked me that quesGon. Shereplied, ‘Maybeyougotyouranswer’.Thenun was Sister Leopolda Ledesma. Therein the prayerful majesty of FaGma,Registered Nurse Camacho took thatseemingly random incident as theBlessedMother’s sign that he should pursue thepriesthood. Shortly aXer his return fromthe pilgrimage, the former nursingsupervisorappliedtothePatersonDioceseandinAugust2009,FatherCamachobeganhis priestly studies at ImmaculateConcepGon Seminary at Seton HallUniversity,SouthOrange.

A Chance Encounter with Sr. Leopolda

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On the 15th of December 2012, during the recitation of the Rosary at the Chapel of the Apparitions, at Fatima, Portugal, for the so-called “Reparation Hour”, Fr. James Phalan CSC, d i r ec to r o f Fami ly Rosa ry International, offered “to the Holy Trinity, through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, prayers for Peace of more than one million people in the Philippines and around the world”. He made an offering, on behalf of the Filipino people: a book of names of more than 200,000 devotees who formally adhered to the 200-day rosary campaign which ran from October 7, 2011 to May 31, 2012.

The campaign was called “A Million Roses for the World”: praying the Rosary for peace in the world, one country at a time, praying for its people. Fr. James, who has been director of the association for almost six years now, felt such a great privilege to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass at the same Chapel in the morning and in the afternoon, hand over to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, through one of the chaplains of the Shrine, Fr. Manuel Silva, the names of those who, with great fervour and trust, have offered the much-loved prayer of the Rosary to Our Blessed Mother. At the end of the Rosary, he proffered words of praise and thanksgiving (in Portuguese) for the good outcome of the campaign which brought to the hearts of many a great desire to start or continue the Rosary devotion, which Our Blessed Mother, here, in Fatima, had recommended to the shepherd children in 1917. A small group of Filipinos headed by the consul-general of the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon, Ms. Josena Estrada, participated during the Rosary recitation and presented the offering to Our Lady. With much gratitude for the marvelous graces and blessings which our Blessed Mother continues to obtain for Her children, we pray that the devotion of the Rosary be practiced more devoutly and faithfully not just here in Portugal but throughout the whole world.

‘A Million Roses for the World’ delivered at Fatima bySr.MariaLeopoldaLedesma,OblateoftheVirginMaryofFatima

100th anniversary of fatima

The Shrine of Fatima has a full-yearschedule to ce lebrate the 2017centennialoftheapparitionsofOurLadyof Fatima. Communication elementsinclude the design of ofAicial symbol orl o go , a c ommemora t ive meda l ,countdown timer, posters, a centennialvideo,plusvariousmerchandising.

100 in ternat iona l ly we l l -knownpersonalities will be invited to recordshort testimonies about Fatima whichwillbeairedonradioandmadeavailableonline. Related is an ‘online mural’ oftestimonies, where any and all pilgrimsof Fatima can make a short videodeclaration thatwillbesharedonsocialnetworks.

TherewillbeanofAicialcentennialhymn,whichwillbetheoutcomeofamusicandlyricscontest.AnofAicialitinerarywillbeprepared for would-be pilgrims, toi n c l ude a l t e rna t ive p a t h s , a ndrecommended meditations and prayersat each important point in the itinerary.Pilgrimswhoarrive in time for theFirstSaturday will be presented with aprogramtoexperiencethedevotion.

Aside from the celebration of theApparitions of the Lady of Fatima, onschedule also are celebrations of theApparitions of the Angel, as wellcelebrationoftheDayoftheShepherds.Since late 2015, conferences had beenscheduled,withtheoverarchingthemeof‘Icamethattheymayhavelife’.For2017,two conferences remain – March 12featuring ‘The Maternal Intercession ofthe Blessed Virgin Mary’; and April 9featuring ‘The Marian devotion asevangelizingdynamism’.Possibly the centennial project thatwillgather the most attention will be theInternationalCongressof theCentennialof Fatima 2017. The InternationalCongresstakesplacefromJune21to24.In that Congress, several dimensions ofFa t ima w i l l b e s t u d i e d , i n a ninterdisciplinary perspective: Theology,Sociology, Psychology, Culture, History,Art , e tc . Re lated to th is i s theMariological Marian InternationalCongress, targeted at academicians ofMarian schools around the world,scheduledfromSeptember6to11.ThenfromSeptember26to29istheEuropean

Marian Network, a symposium for therectors of European Marian shrines.Othertrainingscheduledthroughoutthisyearincludes:acourseontheMessageofFatima explaining the fundamentalelements of the apparitions of Cova daIria, structuring the thematic contents,and outlining theologically the several

a s p e c t s o f t h e s eapparitions;Training forTrainers on the FatimaStory and Message ,which offers a historicalitinerary of the eventand of the century ofFatima, a description ofthe protagonists of theevent,adeepeningofthemain theological axes ofthe message, and themost relevant lines of acul tural analysis of

Fatima.

Several videos and Ailms are also in thepipeline – the documentary ‘Fatima intheWorld’; a Ailm on the apparitions oftheAngel; adocumentaryon the linkofthepopestoFatima;andadocumentaryonthelivesoftheShepherdsofFatima.

The Message of Fatima will also bemanifested in a new ‘catechism wall; aFatima prayer-a-day; and severalplanned apps for iPhones and Androiddevices. Publications will include: aneditionof theMemoirsofSisterLucia;abookonthesongsofFatima;anapicturebook.Aculturalmagazine‘FatimaXXI’isalso in the works. A second book forchildrenisalsobeingdrawnup,tofollowthe Airstchildren’sbook, ‘TheMissionofFrancisco’.

There are several temporary exhibitionsplannedfor2017,suchasthefullVaticanmanuscripts of Sister Lucia on the 3rdpart of the Secret; the Christ of theTrenches,fromtheMonasteryofBatalha;andFatimaandthePopes.

Theorganof theBasilicaofOurLadyofthe Rosary of Fatima has been recentlyreconstructedandwillfeatureinaseriesoforganconcerts.Theopeningconcertisset forMarch 20, through a program ofdifferent styles, covering nearly 300yearsofmusic,emphasizingontheworldpremiere of Hu yeshûphekâ rô'shcomposed by JoãoPedroOliveira, basedontheAirstprophecyofMaryinthebookof Genesis, and commissioned by theShrineofFatimafortheoccasion,aswellas the Ainal improvisation that will beperformedbasedonthethemeAveMariade Fátima. On May 8, there will be aconcert by organist Antonio Esteireiro,who will explore the German musicduring the nineteenth and twentiethcenturies, including some of the greatorgan’s classics of this period, and Ave-Maria of Max Reger and Karg-Elert. OnJune5, therewillbeaconcertexploring

100yearsofcontemporarymusic,bytheorganist Antonio Mota, including in thep r o g r am t h e S u i t e M a r i a l e o fMaleingreau.FilipeVeríssimowillbetheorganist who will present 100 years ofsacredmusic, on July 10. In addition totwoworks ofMarian themes, therewillbe a monumental Symphony of thePassion of Marcel Dupré, emblematicwork of the early twentieth century.Giampaolo Di Rosa, on August 14, willperformaconcertwhichprogramwillbeexclusively based on improvisations onhymns related to Fatima, composed andsung for the last100years. JoãoSantos,the ofAicial organist of the Shrine ofFatima,willendthecyclebyperforminga concert on October 9, presenting 100yearsofFrenchmusicofCésarFranckaMessiaen,andincludingseveralexcerptsfrom 15 Versets sur les Vêpres ducommundesfêtesdelaSainteVierge.

Asidefromorganandorchestraconcerts,‘sacredmusic’concertsarealsoontap.Aconcertforchoir,pianoandaccordiononfragmentsofMemoirsofSisterLuciawillbe presented on April 3, 2016. On June23, the Lisboa Cantat and OrquestraSinfónica Juvenil choir, under thedirection of Christopher Bochmann,presents ‘Singing Fatima’, a concertinterpreting works of Fr. Joaquim dosSantos, inspired or dedicated to Fatima.TheConcertendswiththeinterpretationof theAvedeFatimaconductedbyYugoMatsumura. There will also be severalchildren’s and youth choirswhowill beperformingthroughout2017.

Musical fragments, or talks withmeditative music, have also beenshceduled.TraditionsofBaroqueSacredMusic:TâniaRalha,NéliaGonçalves andJúlioDias,isonofferonMarch12,2017;and Mary in our time: Coro Anonymus,April9,2017.The2017Easterconcertofthe Shrine of Fatima features theEscolania of Montserrat, one of theoldestboys’ choirs inEurope. Under thedirection of Castelló Llorenc, the choir’sprestige is internationally recognized; itis invited to perform all around theworld. Its abundant discography provesto the artistic quality of the choir.Through mus ic , these boys aremessengers of peace and beauty; withthe universal language of music andcrossingallkindsofborders, theyspeakdirectlytotheheartsofthosewholistentothem.Date:April23,2017.

AclosingconcerthasalsobeenplannedforOctober13, the last dayof the1917apparit ions, featuring the worldpremiere of the works of composersJamesMacmillanandEuricoCarrapatosocommissioned by the Shrine of Fatimaexclusively for the celebration of theCentennial of the Apparitions, to beperformed by the Gulbenkian OrchestraandChoir.

Fatima Shrine Prepares Full-Year Calendar for Centennial

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100th anniversary of fatima

Franciswillcome“inpilgrimagetotheShrineofOur Lady of Fa:ma from the 12th to the13thofMay.”PopeFranciswillbe inFa:mafromthe12thtothe13thofMay2017“inpilgrimagetotheShrine of Our Lady of Fa:ma”. Theinforma:on was officially communicated tothe Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary ofFa:ma by the Va:can, which announcedthrough the Press Room that “on theoccasionofthecentennialoftheAppari:onsof the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cova da Iria,and acknowledging the invita:on of thePresidentof theRepublicofPortugal andofthe Portuguese bishops, His Holiness PopeFranciswillgoonpilgrimagetotheShrineofOurLadyofFa:mafromthe12thtothe13thofMay2017”.For the bishop of Leiria-Fa:ma, it is amoment of “great joy” because, during thecentennial,throughthepresenceoftheHolyFather“weareunitedtothewholeuniversalchurch”.“WheneverthePopepilgrimsastheuniversal pastor, it is thewhole church thatpilgrims with him”, and therefore, “on thisoccasion I want to express the joy andgladness that the official announcement ofthis pilgrimage of the Holy Father brings tothe Portuguese people and to the wholeChurchinPortugal”.

“The Pope wants tomake himself a pilgrimamong the pilgrims of Fa:ma and this is acause of great joy”, says bishop AntónioMartoinamessagegiventothePressRoomof the Shrine of Fa:ma. The prelateunderlines also the “responsibility” of theShrine for “it’s not about receiving theHolyFather only as a pilgrim and pastor butreceiving the message that he will bebringing.“Therefore”,heconcludes,“onehastoprofitfromthispilgrimagefortherenewaloffaith”.The rector of the Shrine of Fa:ma alsounderlined “the great joy” with theconfirma:on of these two dates of Francis’visittoCovadaIria.“It’sagreatjoybecausewe know that these days will be of apilgrimagemarkedbythisfes:vitythatisthecentennial,andontheotherhand,becauseitmarks the presence of a Pope amongst usandaverylovedPopesuchasPopeFrancis”,statestherectorinadeclara:ontothePressRoom of the Shrine. Fr. Carlos Cabecinhasremindsthatthissa:sfac:onisaccompaniedby a sense of “responsibility for us toconveniently prepare ourselves throughprayer”. “What is requested from us is theavailability to listen to the teachings of theHoly Father” pointed out the Rectorunderlining that “Francis always has aprophe:cword”.

Onthe7thofSeptember,lastyear,duringthemee:ngof thePortuguesebishopswith thePopeontheadliminavisit,Francisshoweda“deep desire” to visit Fa:ma, by sta:ng:“tengoganasde iraFá:ma (Iwant togo toFa:ma)”.Andhehadalready said it aswell,in private, to the bishop of the diocese ofLeiria-Fa:ma,inApril2015,that“ifGodgives[me]lifeandhealth”hewouldbeinCovadaIria to celebrate the centennial of theappari:ons of Fa:ma. Francis will be thefourth chief of the Catholic Church to visitFa:ma aaer Paul VI (1967), John Paul II(1982, 1991 and 2000) and Benedict XVI(2010).

The interna:onal trips of the Popes aresomethingnewthatstartedfromthesecondhalf of the twen:eth century, with thepon:ficate of Paul VI (1897-1978), whoduring the last session of the Va:can IICouncilannouncedtheinten:onofofferingaGolden Rose to Our Lady of the Rosary ofFa:ma. Since then, Portugal entered in theapostolicvisitsrouterightonthefiahtripofthis Italianpon:ff,onthe13thofMay1967,on the 50th anniversary of the Marianappari:ons, recognized by the CatholicChurch,inCovadaIria.

Fa:matransformsitselfinthemainengineofthe five pon:fical trips, aaer Pius XII hadalready consecrated the world to theImmaculate Heart of Mary, on the 31st ofOctober 1942, in the middle of the SecondWorld War. Paul VI wanted to personallycome to Fa:ma on the 13th of May 1967,having decided that the plane that broughthim from Rome would land in Monte Real,and that he would be hosted in the thendioceseofLeiria(Leiria-Fa:matoday).

JohnPaulII,whomonthe13thofMay1981had been hit by a bullet in Saint Peter’sSquare, on an ajemptonhis life – came toCovadaIriaayearaaer,thankingpubliclytheintercession of Our Lady of Fa:ma in hisrecovery.InMay1982,ontheanniversaryofthat first ajempt on his life, Karol Wojtyla(1920-2005) arrived at Fa:ma to “thank theDivine Providence in this place which themother of God chose in such a par:cularway”.ThepolishPopecamebackinPortugalnine years later: on the 10th of May 1991,John Paul II celebrated Mass in the ResteloStadium and travelled aaerwards to AzoresandMadeira,beforecoming intheShrineofFa:ma,onthe12thand13thofMay.Duringfour days, Saint John Paul II delivered 12interven:onsands:llsentalejer,fromCovada Iria, to the catholic bishops of Europe,who were preparing a special assembly ofthe synod of the bishops, dedicated to theOldCon:nent.Onthe12thand13thofMay2000,alreadywithafragilehealth,JohnPaulII came back to Portugal to preside to thebea:fica:onofthelijleshepherdsFranciscoandJacintaMarto.Inthesameoccasion,theannouncementofthepublica:onofthethirdpart of the so-called “Secret of Fa:ma”wasmade.

Benedict XVI visited Portugal from the 11thto the14thofMay2010, tomark the tenthanniversary of the bea:fica:on of Franciscoand JacintaMarto,passing in Lisbon, Fa:maand Porto. In 2017 will be the turn ofFrancisco. As it was with Paul VI, he willconcentrate his visit exclusively in Cova daIria, where on the 13th of May the thenpatriarch-cardinal of Lisbon, bishop JosePolicarpo, consecrated thepon:ficateof theArgen:nianpopetotheVirginMary.

Pope To Go on Pilgrimage to Fatima on the Centennial

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100th anniversary of fatima

The international pilgrimage image ofthe Our Lady of Fatima arrived at theCebu Metropolitan Cathedral as part ofits worldwide tour to mark the 100years of the Marian apparitions inFatima,Portugal,February9,2017.Thestatue will travel to parishes,schools, and other venues along thetour in Cebu before being brought toTaiwanonFeb.15.

Note:Thediocesanp h a s e o f t h eprocess for thecanoniza1on ofS i ster Luc ia deJesus (1907-2005),one of the threeseers of Fa1ma,endedrecentlyandt h e c o l l e c t e dmaterial had beenh anded to t h eCongrega1on forthe Causes of the

Saints, in Rome. The ini1al part of the cause forcanoniza1on of Sister Lucia began in 2008, threeyearsaJerherdeath,aJerthenowemeritusPopeBenedictXVIgrantedadispensa1onregardingthefive-yearwai1ngperiods1pulatedbyCanonLaw.

The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…of the life of peoples and nations that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

–SisterMariaLucíaofFatima

Fatima Image in Cebu

The Shrine of Fa-ma justinaugurated the “-mer ofthe centennial”, whichcounts down to May 13,2017, 100 years aBer thefirstappari-on inCovadaIria. The Timer of theCentennial, located in thenorth top side of thePrayer Area of the ShrineofFa-ma,showsthedays,h ou r s , m i nu te s a ndseconds remaining un-lthe centennial of thefirstappari-on of Our Lady totheshepherds.

The prayers taught tothe children at Fa4maare simple in structureandprofoundindepth.To a world poor andneedy in faith andcharity, these prayersstressancienttruthsofou r Ho l y Catho l i cChurch... especiallyconcerning the HolyEucharist and Mary,t h e I m m a c u l a t eMotherofGod.

PardonPrayerMyGod,Ibelieve,Iadore,Itrust,andIlovethee!Ibegpardonforthosewhodo not believe, do not adore, do nottrust,anddonotlovethee.TheAngel’sPrayerWiththeBlessedSacramentsuspendedintheair, the angel at Fatima prostrated himself,andrecitedtheprayer: OmostHolyTrinity—Father,Son,andHolySpirit—Iadoretheeprofoundly.Ioffer thee the most Precious Body,Blood, Soul, and Divinity of JesusChrist—present inall the tabernaclesof the world—in reparation for theoutrages, sacrileges, and indifferenceby which He is offended. By theinEinitemerits of the SacredHeart ofJesus and the Immaculate Heart ofMary, I beg the conversion of poorsinners.

EucharisticPrayerThisprayerstressesthatmostbeautifultruth—thattheall-powerful,all-lovingGodisuponthealtarateveryCatholicMass.

Most Holy Trinity, I adore You! MyGod, my God, I love You in the MostBlessedSacrament.

SacriEicePrayerOur Lady taught the children a prayer to besaid when they would have something toofferuptoGod...suchassomesuffering,oranact contrary to what they wanted to do butwhichwasnecessaryinordertopleaseGod.O my Jesus, it is for love of You, inreparationfortheoffensescommittedagainsttheImmaculateHeartofMary,and for the conversion of poorsinners.DecadePrayerOur Lady asked that the followingprayer beinsertedaftereachdecadeoftheRosary:OmyJesus,forgiveusoursins;saveusfrom the Hires of hell; lead all soulsintoHeaven,especiallythosewhoareinmostneedofthymercy.

Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence opportunity for the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions throughout the centennial year, from the 27th of November 2016 till the 26th of November 2017. There are three ways to obtain the indulgence, detailed in a statement from the Fatima Shrine in Portugal.

1. Make a pilgrimage to the Shrine in Fatima, Portugal. To the faithful who make a pilgrimage to the Fatima Shrine in Portugal and participate in a celebration of prayer dedicated to the Virgin. In addition, the faithful must pray the Our Father, recite the Creed and invoke the Mother of God.

2. Pray before any statue of Our Lady of Fatima. To the faithful who visit with devotion a statue of Our Lady of Fatima solemnly exposed for public veneration in any church, oratory or proper place during the days of the anniversary of the apparitions, the 13th of each month from May to October 2017, and there devoutly participate in some celebration or prayer in honor of the Virgin Mary. In addition, the faithful must pray the Our Father, recite the Creed and invoke Our Lady of Fatima.

3. The elderly and infirm. To the faithful who, because of age, illness or other serious cause, are unable to get around, may pray in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and must spiritually unite themselves to the jubi lee celebrations on the days of the apparitions, the 13th of each month, between May and October 2017. They must also “offer to merciful God with confidence, through Mary, their prayers and sufferings or the sacrifices they make in their own lives.”

To obtain the plenary indulgence, the faithful must also fulfill the ordinary conditions: go to Confession and Communion, be interiorly detached from sin, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

The Fatima PrayersIndulgence Opportunit ies D u r i n g t h e C e n t e n n i a l Anniversary

100th anniversary of fatima

Counting Down to May 13

24

TheParishPastoralCouncilspentatotalof PhP 5,751,622.14 on its variousprograms for 2016. Almost 70% of thisamount was allocated to Social andDevelopment Service programs whichinclude scholarships, feeding programs,outreach to the elderly and prisoners,medical missions and l ivel ihoodprograms, and kasambahay recollectionactivities. The PPC organizationsresponsible for execution are the:Catholic Women's League, Ladies ofCharity,ApostleshipofPrayer,BuklodngPanginoonandKnightsofColumbus.

TheWorshipMinistrywhichincludestheEMHCs,Lectors,GreetersandCollectors,Altar Servers and Choirs accounted for8%ofexpensesfortheongoingtrainingandpreparationofthevariousserversinthe holy mass. This is followed by theFormation Ministry, which embarks onprogramssuchastalks,recollectionsandbible studies. These and other Ministryexpensesareshownbelow:

SocialServices&DevelopmentMinistry

‣ CatholicWomen'sLeague790,872.52‣ LadiesofCharity2,305,726.80‣ ApostleshipofPrayer158,115.00‣ BuklodngPanginoon161,090.80‣ KnightsofColumbus547,200.00

TotalSSDMinistry3,963,005.12

FormaFon 430,845.81BEC 59,548.00Worship 449,122.50YouthMinistry 260,236.25CatecheFcalMinistry 8,410.00PublicAffairs 16,383.00VocaFon 49,730.00Family&Life 101,828.20ParishPastoralCouncil 209,759.68Media 33,344.98FloresdeMayo 169,408.60

OtherMinistries1,788,617.02 GrandTotal 5,751,622.14

For 2017, budgeted expenses was 15%higher than 2016 expenses. It will benoted that two new ministries, the onefor the Elderly and Mustard Seed hadbeen added. It is hoped that theenthusiasmoftheministriesastheyplanfor their2017activities canbematchedby the funds raised by the StewardshipCommitteethis2017.

PPC Treasurer’s Report on the Uses of Funds for 2016

parish pastoral council

The CTK Stewardship Committeesponsored its Mirst Spirituality ofStewardship talk series for2017,withReverendFatherFrancisB.Lucas.LastFebruary 4. The talk was entitled“Parish: haven of the wounded Heart.Fr. Francis is currently the PresidentandCEOoftheCatholicMediaNetworkand also executive secretary of theCatholic Bishops’ Conference of thePhilippines-Episcopal Commission onSocial Communications and MassMedia. He was introduced by OLPHVicariate Stewardship Lead (andformer CTK Stewardship Committee

head)BenFamador.

Fr. Francis, a seasoned animatedspeaker,beganbydeMiningspirituality.“It’s the sense of connecting tosomething bigger than ourselves, thes e n s e o f b e i n g a l i v e a n dinterconnected. And often it involvesthe continuous struggle to Mindmeaning in our life”, said the speaker.ToCatholicsinparticular,spiritualityistotallygivingoneselftotheCreator.

M a n y p a r i s h i o n e r s t h i n k o fstewardship as all about time, talentand treasure. But Fr. Francis clariMiedthat underneath them are the fourwidely-accepted core stewardshipvalues.

First, identity, that is,man ismadebyandforGod,inHisimageandlikeness.Fr. Francis said that the implication isprofound-IfIamnotmyown,thenallthe things that I “own,” and all that Ihavearenotmineeither.TheyarelenttomebyGod;theyaregiventomeby

God. We are His stewards, who willtake care of everything that He hasgivenus.

Second,trust.Trustallowsusto letgoofwhatisseeminglyinourcontrolandto letGoddowhathe isalreadydoingforus.Thus thesaying “Letgoand letGod”. The end result is peaceofmind,brought about by acceptance. At thesame time, we must be trustworthyalso.

Third, gratitude. This is all aboutappreciating the gifts we have beengiven and thanking God for all the

b l e s s i n g s . W i t hgratitude, we say “Iam not trying toseek what I don’th a v e . R a t h e r, Iappreciate what Ialready have.” Withgreed and envy onthe other hand, wewould say “I wantmore,more,more.”

And fourth, love. AsGod loves us, welove God. It is them o s t b a s i crequirement of aChristian.Fr.Francisalso explained thatCharityand lovearethesamething;they

are interchangeable. We use them allthe time in theological context. But ifyou’regoingtomoveit intoaspiritualcontext,thatmeansifyouaregoingtolove, you are going to have to give ofyourself.

Itwasunfortunate thatFr.Francis ranout of t ime to ta lk about thegenerationaldifferences,spiritualityasit related to the family, and theparishrole as a ‘hospital’ for the spirituallywounded. Perhaps the StewardshipCommittee would consider bringinghim back for the continuation of histalk?

Fr. Lucas on ‘Our Parish: Haven of the Wounded Heart’

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stewardship committee

The Stewardship Committee recentlyreleased the 2016 9inancial highlightscovering the stewardship offerings andtheshareturnedovertoChristtheKing’sParish Pastoral Council for its variouspastoralprojects.

Total Stewardship offerings received in2016 amounted to P9,490,607.00,compared to P10,820,321 in 2015. Ofthis, P5,400,000was turned over to theParish Pastoral Council in regulartranchesasitsshare.ThePPCusedtheirshare for the various parish pastoralprograms(seeseparateHeraldarticleontheseexpenses).

P3,600,000 was turned over to theDiocese of Cubao as its share. This isused to support the catecheticalinstructions in public elementary andhigh schools, continuous formation forseminariansandpriests,andhelpingthepoorerparishesintheDiocese.

InadditiontothesetwolargeallotmentstotalingP9M,thereweredonationswithspeci9ied uses, such as the P62,000intendedforSanJoseSeminarians.UptoMarch2016,theStewardshipCommitteestill received offerings to cover 'MissionandGifts',the2015program.

P267,222wasspenton theCommittee’sregular promotional expenses. TheStewardshipCommitteestartedtheyearwith a cash balance of P1,579,536and ended 2016with a cash balance ofP1,432,772.

2015 2016Beginning balance, Jan 11,779,471.87 1,579,536.91 Offerings Received 10,820,321.00 9,490,607.00 Interest Earned & Receipts 19,168.54 56,350.84

Total Cash 12,618,961.41 11,126,494.75 Disbursements:

Share CTK Pastoral 5,400,000.00 5,400,000.00 Share Cubao Diocese 3,600,000.00 3,600,000.00 Received for Mission & Gifts 1,650,000.00 364,500.00 Received for Seminarians 11,500.00 62,000.00 Received for Other Purposes 23,000.00 Promotional Expenses 354,924.50 267,222.15

Total Disbursed 11,039,424.50 9,693,722.15

Ending Balance, Dec 31 1,579,536.91 1,432,772.60

Stewardship Committee’s 2016 Financial Report

CoupleBenjieandWinsMirasolformallytook over the reins of the CTKStewardshipCommitteeastheypresidedo v e r t h e Fe b r u a r y 4 m o n t h l yStewardshipCommitteemeeting,heldattheconventconferenceroom.At the meeting, Benjie and Winsreviewedwiththegroupthemajor2017plans and programs of Stewardshipdiscussed in the PPC planning meetingl a s t y e a r a n d t h e s t a t u s o fimplementationoftheseprograms.Uponreview of results of past programs,priorities were set for continuation ofthose programs which have yieldedpositive results and possibly introducefurther enhancements to them for

those programs which have yieldedpositive results and possibly introducefurther enhancements to them forincreasedeffectiveness.

These include the quarterly SpiritualityofStewardshiptalksforparishioners,theStewardship promoters meetings,Sundaymass promotion of Stewardshipthrough First Fruits Sunday, andstewardship petition in the Prayers ofthe Faithful. In addition to theseprograms,newinitiativeswerediscussedandwillbereviewedinthenextmonthlymeetings. The aim is to increaseawareness of the evangel izationcomponentsofthestewardshipprogramevenbeyondCTK’sregularmasspatrons

andofferors.B e n j i e h a s l o n g b e e nassociated, since Msgr. Mora’stime, as the head of CTK’sMusicMinistry,schedulingthevarious choirs, musicians andsingers for the ten weekendmasses and the 17 dailymasses (three masses dailyMondaytoSaturday)ontopofnovenas and other specialce lebrat ions . He is a lsocurrently project director forPabahayngDiocese,ahousing

Q: First, what is the vision forStewardshipintheparish?A:Thevision isthateveryCTKparishionerdiscernshowbestheorshecangivebackto the Lord for the blessings received,whether inparishwork,givingofhis=me,talentand treasure,orbeyond thechurchboundaries and prac=cing stewardship inthe home, family, workplace and in allareasofthesteward'sinfluence.

Q: And how do you assess the‘Stewardship As a Way of Life’programinCTK?A: The Stewardship program in Christ theKinghasgrownsteadilyduringthepast10years of its existence and has beenrecognized in the diocese for its decentgrowth and ac=ve contribu=ons to thediocesanplansandprograms.Atthispoint,we have to conclude that our work ofStewardship awareness and commitmentremains a work-in-progress as we havelearnedthateachparishisquiteuniqueinitsresponsetoitscall.

Q: What’s needed to get to the nextlevel?A:Weneedtoexpandtheprogramofferorbase to more parishioners sharing their=me,talentandtreasure,intheparishandbeyond.Also,wearegrateful tothemany

Leadership Transition: Meet Benjie and Wins Mirasol

Interviewing the Mirasols re Stewardship in the CTK Parish

stewardship committee

26

andcommunitydevelopmentproject forthe Cubao diocese parish workers. Thecouple has also been part of theStewardship Committee since itsfoundingin2005.Theyhavealsohelpedthe Family and Life Ministry in theconduct of the pre-cana MarriageVocation Programs (MVP) and theKasalanngBayan.

Benjie and Wins have been activemembers of Couples for Christ (CFC)since 1998 serving the CTK Chapter invarious capacities. Benjie currentlyserves as one of the founding directorsfor CFC’s “Build My Church” programwhichassistsvariousparishesconstructand rehabilitate chapels throughout thecountry.

Benjie continues toteach at the AteneoS c h o o l o fManagement whileW i n s h a d j u s trecent ly ret i redafter 35 years inIBMPhilippinesandnowdoesvolunteerwork as a directorf o r t h e P a s i g -Pateros chapter ofthe Philippine RedCross.

Aside from CFC, GKC T K , P a b a h a y n gD i o c e s e , M u s i cMinistry, MVP, etc.,Benjie and Wins alsodo ‘apostolic’ workwithgrandkidKiara

parishioners who have respondedposi.vely to the treasure por.on ofstewardship but it con.nues to remain achallenge for us in the commi8ee to gettheseregulardonorstocommittheirotherstewardship por.ons - their .me, theirtalent - towards the needs of the parishandthecommunity.Forthosewhodowishto give beyond treasure, we will matchtheirinterestsandtalentstotheneedsandopportuni.es iden.fied by the CTKministriesandorganiza.ons.Q:HowistheStewardshipCommitteecurrently staffed? Are you open toacceptinginterestedparishionersintotheCommittee?A:Currentstaffingof theCTKStewardshipCommiMee remains small but appropriateforimplementa=onofitscurrentplansandprograms. At the moment, we are in themidst of discussing new ini=a=ves apartfromthecon=nua=onofoldprogramsthathavebecomefixtures inourannualplans.For these new ini=a=ves if we decide topursue, new talents will be required andthereforenecessarilynewmemberswillberecruited. On a long-term basis, therecruitmentofnewmembersintothecoregroup is a vital component in insuringstewardship program con=nuity andgrowth in CTK. The commiMee is open toall those interested to contribute on a

regular basis their =me and talent topromote Stewardship, as a commiMeem e m b e r o r a s a S t e w a r d s h i ppromoter.Pleasecontactusifyouhavethecalling.

Q:Howdoyouintendtocomeupwithnew Stewardship initiatives for 2017andbeyond? A:We con=nually pray for guidance fromthe Ho l y Sp i r i t i n p l ann ing andimplemen=ngstewardshipprogramswhilegeSnginspira=onalsofromtheworkdoneby many other parishes both here andabroad.Wealsoplantotapothersoutsidethe parish and diocese. For the Marchmonthly mee=ng, for example, theCommiMee has invited the execu=vedirectoroftheSocio-PastoralIns=tute,Mr.Jose Clemente, to help the teamdiscern new approaches to promo=ngstewardshipinthecommunity.

Q:And lastly,whatdrivesyou to takeonthisnewresponsibility?A: We’re simply mindful that God hasblessed us as a couple with some talentsandresourcestouseinHisserviceanditisbut right that we stretch ourselves to beworthy tobegiven thesegiYs.Ashaveallthe people currently ac=ve in the parish’svariousministriesandorganiza=ons.

Angel Viloria was recruited into thecommitteebyNick andMilaPena,who8irstledtheStewardshipCommittee.

Angel is theauthorof thebook ‘Live toGive’,alittlehandybookletthatisgivento promote stewardship in the parish,and ‘Mom's a Stewardess - Stories ofStewardship’, published by ClaretianPublications. Her book won the BestBook in Family Life award at the 2009CardinalSinCatholicBookAwards.

Angel hasmore than 25 years ofworkexperienceintheacademeandincreditrating. She is currently connectedwithPhilRatings as VP and Head, CreditRating.

Candy Florcruz, Committee Secretary,is an accountant by profession. She iscurrently retired after more than 25yearsinthebankingsector.

Alex Quizon, Treasurer, has beenwiththe Stewardship program since itslaunch in 2005. Alex comes from thebankingsectorandsinceretirement,heand hiswife Carol, have been active invariousorganizationsintheparish.

Jing & Girlie Alampay have served indifferent capacities also in the parishand the couple are currently in chargeof Public Relations in the PPC. Jing iscurrently Chairman of DigiscriptPhilippines, Inc.whoseservices includeHigh De8inition Laser Scanning, DigitalHeritage Preservation, PointcloudProcessing Solutions, Creative DigitalMedia,As-BuiltSolutions&Consulting.

Jing and Girlie and their children havebeenactivesupportersoftheCTKPRExandPRExYouthprogram.

Lino Cortes (not in the picture),Auditor, is the newestmember of theCommittee, taking over from FortuneCruz, who had recently "retired" fromhis role in the stewardship program.Lino and his wife are active parishworkers in their villageSundaymassesaslayministerandlector-commentator.

M e e t t h e O t h e r M e m b e r s o f t h e S t e w a r d s h i p Committee

CTKparishpriest FatherBongTupinohad always argued that CTK parishdoesadecentjobofministeringtothepre-school children through theMustard Seed Ministry, to the youththrough the YouthMinistry and PREXYouth, to the families and marriedcouples through the Family & LifeMinistry, but there continues to be avoidasfarasministeringtotheelderlyisconcerned.Theparishcurrentlyhasa few activities that involve seniorc i t i z e n s , e . g . , EMHC ’ s g i v i n gcommunion at the homes of thebedridden in the villages; Ladies ofCharity providing medicines to acoupleofdozensuper senior ladies inthe Libis community; ditto with theoccasional healing visits initiated bythe Healing Ministry. But the sense isthatthereisstillnoconcertedefforttoaddress the spiritual, formational,educational, emotional, physical andcommunal needs of the elderly inChrist theKingParishGreenmeadows,whether they live in thegatedvillagesorintheLibissitios.

Soinlate2016,Fr.BongappointedDoyand Estrelle Lopez, who had juststepped down as long-running headcouplefortheFamilyandLifeMinistry,to take on the challenge of formallysettinguptoministertotheelderly inthecommunity.TheLopezeshadtakentime off during the Wirst quarter 2017to take a long-needed vacation andhaverecentlycomebacktosharetheirWirstthoughts.

First things Wirst, the Lopez couple

Doy & Estrelle Lopez Answer the Call for Ministry to Care for the Elderly

sunrise ministry

First things Wirst, the Lopez coupleproposed a new name, the SunriseMinistry, the rationale being thatsenior years are often referred to assunset or twilight years, a negativeterm.Hence,they’veWlippedthisonitshead and have decided to call theirministry‘Sunrise’.

After discussions with the Ladies ofCharity regarding possible physicalexercise programs, interviewingresidentBishopRaulMartirez,himselfasuperseniorat79yearsold,checkingwith potential counselors regardinglectures on the topic of ‘after midlife’,and making preliminary contact withan art café, Doy and Estrelle havebegun to think of the broad brushstrokes for the ministry, which wouldinclude,butnotbelimitedto:physicalactivities such as daily ‘dancercise’,potentially in coordination with theLadies of Charity; creative endeavorssuch as painting sessions and ikebanaWlower arranging; formation seminarsrelated to the spirituality of aftermidlifeyears;andfellowshipactivities,such as volunteer work to help theyouth, youth helping the elderly withtechnologyandapps,andregularhomevisitstothosewhocan’torwon’tleavetheirhomes.

But the Lopezes admit that it’s earlybeginnings, for example, they haven’tyet talked to the Youth Ministry ontheir youth-related directions. Butwhat they’ve clearly put in stone is aplanning workshop set for March 11and 12 that should result in veryspeciMic plans and projects for 2017.They’ve also tapped other seniors towork with them in the new ministry.SpeciMically, they’ve tapped Jorge andBabyBanalasassociateheadcoupleincharge of external affairs;Manolo andLinda Dayrit also as associate headcouple.Theyalsobroughtonboardascoregroupmembers severalMarriageVocation Program stalwarts, such asDan andVinchu Lapid, Louie andNellLaudico, Benjie and Wins Mirasol,Spanky andDolly Perez,Nap and FlorCabello,andCharitoBarredo.

Let’swishthenewministrysuccessastheyplanouttheirdirectionsfor2017.

stewardship committee

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Chorus Paulinus was established inFebruary 10, 1992 at the St. Paul Parish,TimogAvenue,QuezonCity,fromwhereitsoriginalnamewasderived. ChoPa,asit isfondlycalled,iswellknownforitsacapella-style, a blending of voices that creates animpeccable sound reflecEve of its highchoralstandards. Thegroupwasfoundedby Fr. Arnold Zamora, a singer, composer,arranger, conductor and a residentmemberofthePhilippineMadrigalSingers.He also founded the Singing Priests ofTagbilaran. Today, Fr. Arnold remains the

connected with the Archdiocese of SanFrancisco,USA.

For more than 24 years, the choir hasevolved into a performing music groupwith a passion for excellence in singing.ChoPa’s most notable accomplishmentsinclude:

‣ Album releases – Blessed be God, ACapellain1999;JoyofChristmasin1999,released in theUSA,andChorusPaulinusin San Luis Obispo, 2001, released in theUSA,

‣Choral compe00onawards –BestMixedC h o i r a t t h eConcurso Coral deAteneo in 1999 ;Grand Prize Winnerat the UP Los BanosChoral CompeIIonin 1999, and 1stRunner-up at the 1stW e d d i n g E x p oPhi l ippines ChoirCompeIIonin2003,

‣L o c a l a n di n t e r n a 0 o n a lconcerts and singinge n g a g e m e n t s :ChoPa @ 9, USAT o u r ; C h o r u sPaulinus…Ten Years

A"er, inNovember 2002 at thePhilamlifeTheater, Manila; Christmas Carolling atRockwell,PowerPlant;Sperare inOctober2015attheParishoftheHeartsofJesus&Mary, West Triangle; and St. Therese’sStoryoftheSoulinNovember2015attheClark County Library Performing ArtsCenter,LasVegas,Nevada,USA.

Since its incepEon, ChoPa regards itself,firstandforemost,asachurchchoiranditsmission is simply to spread the word ofGod through music. Currently headed bythe highly experienced and vocally gi`edmusical director, Fred de Santos, ChoparegularlyservesattheParishoftheHeartsof Jesus and Mary, West Triangle, Christthe K ing Par i sh , Greenmeadows ,Corinthian Gardens Clubhouse, QuezonCity, and also at the Chapel of theE u ch a r i sE c L o rd , SM Megama l l ,Mandaluyong,MetroManila.

Novo Concertante Manila is a chamberchoir fromQuezonCity,Philippines. Itwasoriginally formed as a recital choir, and itconEnues to reinvent itself as it developsinto one of the Phil ippines’ mostoutstanding choirs. The choir has beenhonoredwiththe“AningDangal”awardbythe NaEonal Commission for Culture andtheArts in2009,2010,2013and2015, inrecogniEon of Novo’s achievements ininternaEonalchoralcompeEEons.

The choir’s repertoire covers music fromtheRenaissanceperiodtothe21stcentury,showcasing the variouspossibiliEesof thehumanvoice.Asidefromtheclassicchoral

composiEonsofEuropeanmasterssuchasPalestrina,Gesualdo,Monteverdi, Brahms,Mendelssohn, andmanyothers, theNovoConcertante Manila sings interesEng folk,popular and contemporary songs fromaround the world, highlighEng musicwriien by Fil ipino composers andarrangers, such as Francisco Feliciano,Lucio San Pedro, Ramon Santos, RubenFederizon and Eudenice Palaruan. Thechoir has premiered many works of its

resident composersand arrangers: RalphH o ffm a n n , J a y - e lV i t e ñ o , J o s h u aCadelina, and Tinnahde la Rosa, amongothers.

T h e c h o i r h a sp e r f o r m e d i nn u m e r o u sInternaEonal and localchoral fesEvals suchast h e X I I F e s E v a lI n t e r n a z i o n a l eSeghizzinregione in

Udine, Italy (2014), 50th Organ and ChoralFesEvalinKamienPomorski,Poland(2014),the 7th Organ FesEval in Szczecin, Poland(2014), and the 6th InternaEonal Edmund

Szymanski Choral FesEval in MurowanaGoślina, Poland (2014), Strings ofUnity inYilan, Taiwan (2014), Glorificamus Te inManila, Philippines (2014), the ChineseChoral Music FesEval in Kuala Lumpur(2010), the 1st Manila Choral FesEval(2007), the 2nd InternaEonal Silent FilmFesEval(2008),theJubilateChoralFesEvalinSingapore(2004),theMundawit,“Madz

et al” and “A Merry Novo Christmas”ChoralFesEvals. Itwasrankedno.4intheTop1000mixedchoirsoftheworldbytheMusicaMundiandInterkultur,Germanyin2015.TheNovoConcertanteManila singsat theChristtheKingChurchinGreenMeadows,QuezonCity.

Meet the CTK Choirs: Chorus Paulinus

Meet the CTK Choirs: Novo Concertante Manila

Editor's note: In previous issues, we featured theHangad Music Ministry, the AP-LOC Choir, and CoroAmadeo.Inthisissue,wefeaturetwomoreoutstandingCTKchoirs.

MUSIC MINISTRY

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