My Ecclesial World

December 11, 2005    The Third Sunday of Advent (B) - Rose

First Reading: Is 61:1-2a, 10-11
Responsorial Psalm: Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54
                "My soul rejoices in my God."
Second Reading: 1 Thes 5:16-24
Gospel: Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert"

Today we light the rose-colored candle of the advent wreath, symbolic that we are standing at the threshold of our advent preparations and as we welcome Christ in our hearts.

We focus our attention on John the Baptist as witness to Christ’s coming.

(to be continued…)

December 8, 2005  The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (B) - Blue 

The Liturgy for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception uses the story of the Fall in Genesis 3:9-15, 20 as the first reading, suggesting the Mary/Eve comparison. The second reading from Ephesians 1:3-6, 11, 12, speaks of those who are chosen in Christ, emphasizing the "mysterious purpose of God, "Who foresaw the redemption worked in His Son. Those chosen are to be "holy and spotless." The Gospel is the Annunciation account (Luke 1:26-28) relating Mary’s Immaculate Conception to her maternity.

THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROMULGATION OF THE DOGMA OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
(Dec. 8, 1854 to Dec. 8, 2004)
"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
(Dec. 8, 1965 to Dec. 8, 2005)
On December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Council formally concluded, with an outdoor Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Paul VI addressed the whole world, in greeting and invitation. “Is it not perhaps in directing our gaze on this woman who is our humble sister and at the same time our heavenly mother and queen, the spotless and sacred mirror of infinite beauty, that we can terminate the spiritual ascent of the Council…? Is it not here that our post-conciliar work can begin? Does not the beauty of Mary immaculate become for us an inspiring model? A comforting hope?”

"Father, You prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy mother of Your Son."

Today, we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This dogma of the Catholic Church presents to us lessons about the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the Mother of God, and as the Mother of the Church:

Mary is beautiful. God presents himself to humanity through beautiful things. True enough, God revealed himself to us through Mary, the most beautiful virgin Mother. Look at her beautiful eyes and see how she loves each and every one of us. Look at her beautiful smile and see how deep her tender touch of love inebriates in our hearts.

Mary is blessed. In his loving plan of salvation, God prepared the Virgin Mary, from her moment of conception, to be the Immaculate Mother of his only-begotten Son. Mary, thus opened the doors for the coming of the Messianic Age. Hence, Mary is blessed by the Lord so much that she affirmed it in her words, "I am the maidservant of the Lord."

Mary is humble. God chooses among those who are lowly and unblemished. Mary is the perfect example of humility in this material world. She invites us to be humble also in our ways.

On this great feast of Our Lady, we invited therefore to be arks of God’s covenants and be blessed like Mary, our Immaculate Mother.

SANTUARIO DE SAN JOSE PARISH
Buffalo cor. Duke Sts., Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City
Tel Nos. 725-2044, 721-3842
Fax No. 724-4139

SCHEDULE FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

November 29 - December 7   NOVENA MASSES (every 6:15 pm mass daily)
December 8, Thursday          FEAST DAY
                                          5:00 am  -  Dawn Procession
                                          6:15 am  -  Mass (Church)
                                          7:15 am  -  Mass (Church)
                                         12:15 nn  -  Mass (Holy Family Chapel)
                                          6:15 pm  - Mass (Church)
                                          7:15 pm  - Mass (Church)

Please join us in celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

NB. The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, has offered a PLENARY INDULGENCE to anyone who participates in the liturgy of Dec. 8. The indulgence may be gained through participation in the Holy Mass, sacramental confession, praying for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions and reciting one Credo and Our Father.

N.B. The SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION will be back for the season of Advent. May these reflections inspire you and help you in preparing for the coming of Christ into our hearts this Christmas Season.

November 27, 2005     The First Sunday of Advent (B) - Violet

First Reading: Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
Responsorial Psalm:
  "Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved."
Second Reading: 1 Cor 1:3-9
Gospel: Mk 13:33-37

"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. What I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

Today, we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent - the first day of the new liturgical year of the Church. Advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning "coming." We ardently wait and whole-heartedly prepare for the coming of the Lord into our lives.

Brides-to-be and grooms-to-be prepare for their wedding a year or several months ahead from their weeding day so that their perfect day would come out as they dream or wish to be. When people open their new establishments, they make sure that important people will be present and invited during the blessing ceremony. When a newly-wed husband hears the news that his wife has conceived, he ardently prepares for his "first-time" being a father; he makes all necessary preparations for his baby and their new life as a growing family. These preparations we pass through in our lives. These are the real yet simple meanings of ADVENT. These advents we encounter in our day-to-day lives as human persons.

Christ’s advent in our lives is pretty much the same but the difference lies in his being - a very important person - the very meaning of our lives on earth. So how do we prepare for his coming? The answer to this we hear in today’s Gospel: WATCH!!!
1.    Watch our WORDS. We often offend others in our daily discourse. Christ tells us to watch our words that we utter for we might hurt someone. Instead, he invites us to use these words to tell other people of his coming.
2.    Watch our ACTIONS. Like words, our actions may offend people.  Christ tells us to act as a Christian should act. Live our Christian doctrine through our act of loving service to others.
3.    Watch our THOUGHTS. Our thoughts are the roots of our actions and words. Therefore, we must cleanse our mind from the corruption of sin and evil and instead we must think of the blessings God has given us all throughout our lives and thanks him for these for he never abandons us.
4.    Watch our CHARACTER. Our character makes our thoughts, actions and words. What we are inside makes us what we are outside. The Lord invites us for a change of heart - to convert to him and return back to his love.
5.    Watch our HEART. Christ will choose to be borne into our hearts. What a good way to prepare for his coming by living our Christian lives, forgiving others, giving and upholding others’ dignities and personalities, and speaking of the truth. Our hearts will play host to Christ’s immeasurable love for us all.
Watch! Be alert! For Christ will come anytime into our hearts. The day and the hour is unknown but it is certain: CHRIST WILL COME! Therefore, let us prepare and be watchful with our words, actions, thoughts, character and heart!

June 12, 2005   11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) - Green

First Reading: Exodus 19:2-6a
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100
    "We are his people, the sheep of his flock."
Second Reading: Romans 5:6-11
Gospel: Matthew 9:36 - 10:8

"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."
Let me share with you an anecdote by one of my favorite authors, Andrew Ma. Almonte:

        A pagan magician accidentally came upon a Bible. He read about the miracles of Jesus and was inspired by these stories that he decided to imitate Christ and asked to be baptized.
        On the way to the Church, he saw a funeral procession. Imitating Christ, he stopped the procession and went to the coffin of a young boy. The magician uttered his magic words over the dead body. Suddenly, the dead was restored to life. After this, the magician continued on his journey.
        When he was in the village, he saw a gathering of the poor. All they had for food were five loaves of bread. The magician went to them and multiplied their bread by his magic. He felt so happy for he had imitated Christ again.
        Finally, he reached the river where, on the opposite side, was the Church. He used his magic and walked on the water. He felt deep satisfaction for he imitated Christ once more.
        "I have imitated Christ," he said to himself. "Now, I can be a Christian."
        The pagan magician reached the Church and presented himself to the priest. "Father," he said, "I want to be a Christian."
        "Do you know what it means to be a Christian?" the priest asked him.
        "Indeed, your reverence," he replied boldly. "In fact, I have imitated Christ’s miracles. I brought a dead man back to life, multiplied bread, and walked on water."
        "Tell me, son, can you love your enemies, serve your neighbor, carry your cross, and deny yourself?" asked the priest gently.
        "That’s absurd!" the pagan protested. "Only fools will do that!"
        "But, son," the priest answered, "that is what it means to be Christian."
        Hearing this, the pagan magician walked away. He could not be a Christian.

It is easy to imitate the miracles of Christ. But people think if they imitate these deeds, they would be called Christians themselves. Yes, it is easy to be imitators of Christ, but very hard, especially in these challenging times, to be imitators of his love. As the saying goes, "Madaling tawagin ang isang tao Kristiyano, ngunit mahirap magpaka-Kristiyano." As the priest said, being a Christian means to love your enemies, serve your neighbor, carry your own cross and to deny yourself. It does not take to be a Christian just merely to follow the miracles of Christ, but it takes a lot to follow the love that the miracles of Christ show.

In today’s gospel, Jesus calls people whom he calls apostles to his vineyard. There are many listeners to his preachings but there are a few who lead them. Christ begins to name apostles to help him in his ministry. In contrast to our anecdote, Jesus teaches his disciples first how to be Christians. He tells them that they are to "cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons," without receiving anything and without asking for something in return. This is to be done out of love for the brethren.

Being a disciple is hard. You have to love your enemies and forgive them for what they have done to you. You have to serve your neighbors, doing something for their benefit without something in return. You have to carry your own cross, carry your burdens but rest assured, Jesus will make them light. You have to deny yourself, and follow and accompany Christ on his way to Calvary. These are just some of the many conditions to discipleship. And the twelve, primarily, accepted these.

You, are you ready to be a disciple of Christ?

Factual Information for 3E STUDENTS…

Adviser: Mrs. Lally de la Cruz

Official Teachers:

Mrs. Annie Sorbito - Math
Mrs. Marie Reyes - Chemistry
Miss Evan Panganiban - Social Science
Mrs. Mary Arr Malirong - Filipino
Mr. Donald Castro - Christian Living
Mrs. Ching Estarija - Art
Mr. Randi Nicdao - Home Management
Mr. Roy Samson - P.E.
Mr. Carlo Legaspi - Computer
Mr. Jun Suarez - Guidance Counselor

3E (Tentative/Unofficial) School Year 2005-2006

01    AGUSTIN, Patrick Joseph
02    BAQUIRAN, Joshua Hans
03    BENAVIDEZ, Karl Stephan
04    BIER, Josh Alec
05    COSTALES, Bryan Joseph
06    CRUZ, Elgin
07    DE LA PAZ, Angelo Joseph
08    DEBUQUE, Emmanuel
09    DIAZ, Raphael
10    DIN, Romualdo Rae
11    DULAY, Dean Gerard Claro
12    EIJANSANTOS, Michael
13    EMLANO, Raymond Rick
14    FLORES, Rene Jr.
15    FLORES, Vincent Albert
16    GALMAN, Gian Dominique
17    GARCIA, Francis Joseph
18    JACINTO, Leo Paolo
19    JIMENEZ, Timothy
20    JOSON, Angelo Eleno
21    JUICO, Jose Aurelio
22    LOGRONIO, Aristeo
23    LOPEZ, Kyle Joseph
24    MACASERO, Charles Kenneth
25    MANTARING, Miguel Angelo
26    MONDIA, Mark WIlly
27    NG, Johanns William
28    ORDONA, Paolo Antonio
29    PERALTA, Justine Franco
30    PEREZ, Gerard
31    QUIPONES, Marvin Kyle
32    RABANAL, Patrick
33    ROJAS, Kenneth Edward
34    ROQUE, Vladimir Lennin
35    ROSARIO, Jesse Emmanuel
36    SANTOS, Patrick Allen
37    SEGOVIA, E.J.
38    SUGUITAN, Carlo Emmanuel
39    SUYOSA, Philemon Romualdo III
40    TAGUBA, Christopher Henry
41    TOLENTINO, Carlos II
42    TONGOL, Erik
43    URBINA, Christian
44    VELASQUEZ, Allan Paolo
45    VER, Philip Charles

Schedule for Wednesday, June 15 (just bring the things needed for the following subjects):

07:40 - 08:40               Homeroom Period
08:40 - 09:20               Christian Living
09:20 - 10:40               Mathematics
10:40 - 11:10               Recess
11:10 - 12:30               Physical Education
12:30 - 01:00               Lunch
01:00 - 02:20               English
02:20 - 03:40               SSRP (cont. of HR discussion/choosing clubs)

NO WEARING OF RUBBER SHOES, PLEASE!

SCHOOL COUNTDOWN: 6 days to go…

Today, we had an informal meeting sa school…its around 1:00 to 3:00 pm today sa High School Library…anyways, at around 1:00, I met Ms. Che sa Reading Center and had her sign the letter for Bro. Felipe…then we talked a little about some other stuff na kelangan pang gawin…pinabigay narin niya sakin kay Ms. Beth yung isang request form to be signed by Bro. Felipe. Then, umikot-ikot na for the data-gathering…list of agenda today:

1.   Interview Ms. Drussie Zamora for PAASCU visit
2.   Interview Mr. Eric Cruz of BGO for Constructions & Renovations
3.   Follow-up Ms. Alma on list of moderators

Other parts of the agenda that were not executed: (i) meet, interview and greet Ms. Lally, and (ii) interview Ms. Ginny for CUE.

But some other things transpired:

1.   met Ms. Dolly
2.   interviewed Mr. Jasson on attacking parishioners
3.   met Ms. Evan
4.   was able to watch TPA meet and Mr. Nicdao get bored
5.   heard Ms. Marce and Mr. Jun sing INSIDE THE LIBRARY
6.   was able to hear Ms. Beth Jimenez hummmmm inside the AC’s Office

After school, I was able to get haircut. Mr. Renz, my stylist at Ystilo, didn’t want to cut my hair kasi kaka-relax lng daw at sayang…sabi ko trim nlng para lang mabawasan yung length ng hair ko…ayun, my hair is ready for school…he said na uso daw yun: yungs sides medyo maiksi, yung back is layered, yung top mahaba, d niya ginalaw…tawag daw dun ay english cut…ewan ko ba…anyways…he said nga pala that my hair needs treatment kasi rough daw hair ko, eh mas maganda daw kung soft na soft…he recommended a conditioner treatment…mahal P500+…pero fine, if its for the better, y not try?…

That’s for today…bukas, I’ll be back for school again to finish all lazette work…ayokong isagasa yun sa school work…i want to focus on my studies this time…hanggang wednesday nlng kc open school after that close again for fumigation and constructions…

This school year, LSGH will join the Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Manila in their project of PONDO ng PINOY. I enjoin everyone to join in this drive. A 25-centavo coin that you put in will go a long distance.

"Anumang magaling, kahit maliit, basta’t malimit, papuntang langit."
                                             - Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales

Today, as usual, we started the school year right with the first Lazette meeting for the first issue to be released sometime during the first quarter. We had the meeting at the high school library at around 12:00 noon until 1:30pm.

Attendees were:

Raymond Ang and L.J. Polintan (Senior Staffers)
Carlo Suguitan, Elgin Cruz and E.J. Segovia (Junior Staffers)
Miss Kate Acuna (Official Understudy)
Mrs. Che Joaquin-Villanueva (Official Overstudy…Club Moderator)

The articles assigned to me were:

1.    Enrollment Statistics c/o Registrar’s Office -ok  6.3.05
2.    Institutional Theme c/o CSD - ok  6.3.05
3.    Constructions and Renovations
4.    Tribute for Mrs. Frances San Miguel
5.    Mass of the Holy Spirit and CSD Activities - ok  6.3.05
6.    Honor’s Assembly Details c/o Registrar or HS LRC-AVC
      - prepare letter for Ms. Agnes, Registrar
      - submit letter for signature on Monday
7.    Message of Bro. Felipe
      - prepare letter for Bro. Felipe
      - submit letter for signature on Monday also
      - set deadline of message by Wednesday morning

Submission of all articles will be on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 by 12:00nn.
Submission of factual/school-based articles on MONDAY, JUNE 20.

Another to do: Design the official logo of the Lazette (new); deadline will be on July 15.

Institutional Theme for SY 2005-2006:
    "An Empowered Lasallian Family Committed to Excellence in the Service of God, Country and the Global Community"

A tentative list of activities for June/July:

June 15 - Opening of Classes
        20 - Mass of the Holy Spirit/Launching of Pondo ng Pinoy
        22 - SSRP
        29 - Activity Period: Recruitment  of new members (I)
July 06  - Activity Period: Recruitment of new members (II)
      20   - Activity Period no. 1: Symposium on inspiring students to make a difference

To do list for the week before classes start:

June 6 - Lazette meeting (1-3pm, HS library)
June 8 - cover for Institutional Assembly
          - be there before 8:30am for the mass
          - submit everything (articles)

I also learned that the follwoing teachers will be our teachers for the school year:

Miss Lali dela Cruz - Homeroom and English
Mr. Randi Nicdao - Home Management
Mrs. Marie Reyes - Chemistry
Mr. Donald Castro - Christian Living
Mrs. Annie Sorbito - Geometry
Mrs. Mary-Arr Malirong - Filipino
*Mrs. Evan Panganiban - World History
Mrs. Ching Estarija - Art
*Mr. Nino Palacol - P.E.
*Mr. Carlo Legazpi - Computer

* - not yet sure

SCHOOL Countdown: 12 more days to go…