Ina

A replica image of Ina visiting the different diocesan seminaries in Tagaytay City.

Resuene vibrante el himno de amor
Que entona tu pueblo con grata y emoción
Patrona del Bicol, Gran Madre de Dios
Se siempre la Reina de Nuestra Región

Viva la Virgen Maria!

It was an unexpected visit; a blessing indeed. During the Mass said in Bicol language I couldn't help but recall the time we had Bicolano Mass in the parish a UPLB. I'm not Bicolano but have so many friends who are whom I remembered as I kissed Ina's mantilla.

Double Celebration

An image of the Child Mary in time for her birthday!

16" image of the Virgencita personally designed and made from Paete, Laguna.

La Virgencita Nina Maria.

I placed her in the sacristy in preparation for the Sunday blessing. People who walked inside noticed how the image was lovely and beautiful but most of them asked, "How is this?" Most thought it was a Sto. Nino but looked like a young girl. I told them, "This is the child Mary, la Nina Maria."

A year ago my godfather sent me a pendant of the Bambina from Italy. I kept it without knowing when to use it. Upon the arrival of this image, I remembered about the pendant and now it accents her.

It was also a very nice gift that I was allowed to go home and with my batchmates, serve in my home parish on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, our birthdays.

Parish Marian Recollection: Blessed With A Burden

The following reflection was delivered in the Parish Church of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, UPLB, on May 21, 2014 in coordination with the recollection talk of Rev. Fr. Luis Tolentino on John Paul II's Redemptoris Mater. The Parish Marian Recollection.

Servers carrying banners of Mary's titles stand before the image of Our Lady of Smiles
as people sing the Salve Regina after the Marian Procession on May 31, 2014
at the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, UP Los Banos.

BLESSED WITH A BURDEN

When Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council in 1962, there was a debate whether the council should have a separate document on Mary. There were discussion until two groups were to present their position papers: the group that is approve of having a document and the other which is opposed. The cardinals chose Cardinal Rufino Santos of the Philippines to defend the side of those having a separate document. A Filipino. Because there is no one who loves the Blessed Mother more than Filipinos, kaya nga tayo nabansagang Pueblo amante de Maria- Bayang Sumisinta kay Maria.

One time I was watching a movie and then here comes the father saying to her daughter, “YOU ARE BLESSED WITH A BURDEN.” That time I was so struck by what was said that I wasn’t able to focus on the rest of the movie anymore but started pondering what the line meant- YOU ARE BLESSED WITH A BURDEN.

Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke for my burden is easy and light.”

When we speak of burdens, hindi ito bastang mga pasanin natin na mahirap, pasakit, etc. These can be any loads in our lives: our work, our job, our commitments, our family, ang mga asawa ninyo, anak, etc. Those are your DAILY BURDENS. When Jesus said ‘Come follow me’ He didn’t say “Oh this life will be easy.” There is still a burden however it is only easier and lighter. How? Because you know that in all things that you will be doing, He is with you!

Being a student is a blessing. Studying is a burden. Being a mother is a blessing. Weaning a child and waking up in the middle of the night is a burden. But following the Lord isn’t always easy. Sabi nga, “Following the Lord is not easy, but worth it.” Man’s cooperation is needed to sustain this relationship. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

It’s like this dear brothers and sisters, Pagnilayan natin ito sa mata ng ating debosyon sa Mahal na Birheng Maria. Take for example the wearing of the brown scapular. It has promises and one of those is salvation from hell. But it doesn't mean if you just wear it you're good. No. It entails a responsibility of doing good, and praying the rosary daily! The scapular is a blessing, yet it gives you a burden to do something. See? My dear brothers and sisters that is precisely a Blessing to you which is a burden. The fact that you are wearing a scapular means you are enrolled to the school of the Blessed Virgin Mary that expects you to pray the rosary daily.

 

The First Parish Marian Exhibit opened in STCJP for the whole month of May.
The image of the Immaculada Concepcion under the title Nuestra Senora de las Agua Santa
of Los Banos welcomes visitors. At the back stands the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Mary was blessed with the burden of being the Mother of the Redeemer. She was blessed among women. Her role shines in the history of salvation. Ung mismong pag-OO niya sa Diyos ay pag-OO sa isang mabigat na gawain at tungkulin. Hindi ito ung bastang pagiging ina, ngunit pagiging Ina ng Diyos, Ina ni Hesus at sa paanan ng krus makikita natin palalawakin pa ito sa pagiging Ina ng Sanlibutan, Ina ng mga Mananampalataya.

Maaring makita natin ang Mahal na Birhen na pinararangalan, inaalayan ng bulaklak, sinusuotan ng magagandang damit, pinuputungan ng korona. Mary is raised in the pedestals of our altars because of her role in the life of Jesus. Ngunit itong pag-tataas sa kanyang dignidad ay hindi dapat maging hadlang para sabihin natin na hindi natin mapapantayan o hindi natin maaabot ang kanyang kinahantungan. Sabi nga ni Sta. Teresita, “SHE IS MORE MOTHER THAN QUEEN.” Binibigyang papuri ngunit sa kabila ng lahat ng ito, ginagampanan niya ang pagiging reyna sa pagiging ina.

 

The Reyna de las Flores on the pedestal prepared to be processed.
She extends her arms as if saying, "Am I not your mother?"

In all the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the most touching for me is the apparition to Blessed Juan Diego. Mary declared, “AM I NOT HERE WHO AM YOUR MOTHER?” It is very touching that she comes to our aid when we are afraid, who brings forth healing when we are broken, who cheers us in our sorrow. She knew all these things because she went through them all. She can feel for all of us.

How can we be like the Blessed Mother? It is by becoming human. Human to one another; human to those in need of humanity. She saw the need at the wedding at Cana so she pleaded to her Son. She knew how it feels to lose someone dear to her yet all she did was ponder them in her heart. She saw the suffering world yet she stood firmly by the weight of the cross. She saw the new day of hope and rejoice in the resurrection. AM I NOT HERE WHO AM YOUR MOTHER? The Motherhood of Mary is God’s blessing to her yet it is her spiritual burden. She did well. Can you?

There are four great Marian hymns which traditionally are sung every change in liturgical season. These songs express the life of Mary in the life of Jesus.

During the Advent and Christmas seasons we have the Alma Redemptoris Mater.

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quæ pervia cæli

Porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

Surgere qui curat, populo: tu quæ genuisti,

Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

She sets her role as the Mother of the Redeemer, the Gate from which heaven is opened. Through her yes to the Divine Will during the greeting of Gabriel, it brought forth the dawning of the forgiveness of sins.

In the Lenten observance, Mary’s grief and sorrow also manifests.

Stabat mater dolorosa

juxta Crucem lacrimosa,

dum pendebat Filius.

Cuius animam gementem,

contristatam et dolentem

pertransivit gladius.

The piercings of the nails in the hands and feet of our Lord are like swords that lash through the Virgin’s heart. She too feels sad when we, her earthly children, continue to crucify her Son with our sins.

By the Easter Season she rejoices exultantly with a ringing

Regina cæli, lætare, alleluia:

Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,

Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

And in the course of our meditation on our pilgrim life on earth, there we sing to her the Salve Regina.

An image of Our Lady of Piat (popularly in the Northern Philippines) lent for the exhibit.

WE ARE BLESSED WITH A BURDEN. This challenges us today to be a community with the Blessed Virgin as our Mother. We are BLESSED TO HAVE A MOTHER, and it is our burden to listen to her and DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU. Ang pagdedebosyon natin sa Mahal na Birhen ay hindi lamang sa panlabas na mga ritwal, ito din ay naghihikawat sa atin at nagsusumamo na gayahin at pakinggan siya.

As you hold your flowers to offer to Mama Mary, think of it as your burdens which God gives you as a blessing.

“Ah Lord, this is my job in the office, a flower, a blessing you send me from heaven. Although I get tired and stressed here, I offer them to your mother, to my mother who will caress me in wearisome moments.”

“Ah Lord, these are my subjects. Ito din po ang aking mga professors, they are your blessings to me as they impart knowledge kahit minsan they do become burdens to my academic life. I offer them to your mother, to my mother who is the Seat of Wisdom.”

“Ah Lord, this is my family- my husband, my wife, my parents, my children, mga kapatid ko. They are my life-time burdens, yet they are blessings. I offer them to your mother, to my mother who is the Queen of the Family.”

“Ah Lord, this is my friend, my bestfriend, my closest friend. This is also the one who have hurt me most. They are burdens as much as they are blessings. I offer the to your mother, to my mother who is our company in this life’s journey.”

“Ah Lord, these are my thanksgivings, the graces I have received. By this flower I am to bring before you, may it be a sign of praise. Thank you for the good health, my financial provisions, my talents and skills, everything that you have given me are blessings. Yet I know that these blessings entail a great burden- the responsibility to use them for your greater glory and the building of your kingdom. I offer them to your mother, to my mother, who sang her heart out: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”

Journey with Mary of the Rosary

October 31 marks the end of the month of the holy rosary. To culminate it, let me share these wonderful sacramentals that have been journeying with me in my spiritual life. Much of them were given of which I am very much appreciative of (f.y.i. If someone would give me a rosary either as a birthday, thank you, christmas, etc. gift, I am very much delighted. It is a sign of Mary's call to pray harder and I remember the giver in my prayers).

This one was a surprise gift to me by Niño Rickson Acero, my co-seminarian and one close to my heart. He made it especially and in time for my birthday. It bore in it the 4 major basilicas of Rome as it's major beads with the salve bead that of Jesus the Eternal and High Priest. I had this held by the Blessed Virgin in the shrine at the seminary on her birthday. I keep this near me whenever I am in bed at night. I keeps evil forces away.

Grateful for helping her on her thesis (on the Trinity), Sr.Ma.Joy of the Leaven of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had this personally made for me. She said thank you coupled with her prayers. It is a wooden benedictine rosary. I remember all the religious and pious men and women when I pray with this rosary.

When he entered the Benedictine Monastery, Kuya Debaron Tivi learned how to make a rosary. This is a benedictine rosary from cat's eye beads. This is another of my favorites especially when I pray for vocations and the priesthood. My special intentions go to the maker of this rosary as well as Fr. Jerry Gaela, then rector, who gave the piece of Jerusalem Cross that I attached on its salve bead.

This rosary was made by members of the SSpSA. It was a graduation gift from my godmother, Lina Ilag, in 2010. I remember the intentions of the Society who made this as well as my godmothers in prayer through this.

This is my very first rosary given to me by my godfather, Leopold Ilag. He gave it to me after his trip from the Holy Land. A piece of stone from the Jordan River accompanies it but I seemed to have lost it way way back (I dropped it among the gravel near Lola Nana's house and I couldn't find it anymore, sorry). This is my favorite as I still keep it in my pocket. Maybe this has been with me for almost 20 years already and one of my most sentimental mementos.

When I had my first retreat in the seminary, I forgot to bring my rosary (which was unusual). I left it in my other pants. This came from the Capuchin Retreat Ceneter in Lipa and I was able to use this as a rosary just 3 times. All the rest, I use it to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every Fridays.

This is a Christmas present from Fr.Nino then our Formation Director.

Get something from your room which has special meaning for you and give it to your batchmate- that was the instruction. This "summarized" rosary is especially themed with Our Lady of Guadalupe. The cross bears a magnifying glass where you can see the image of Our Lady. This was given by Jefferson Carmona, now our Liturgy chairman. Using this I remember his intentions, that of the batch, and for the defense of the culture of life.

This wooden rosary was a souvenir in the opening of our small religious store in the seminary. It was our formation batch that initiated in opening one to sustain a fund-raiser for the Institute.

This wooden rosary came from Rome. It is simple indeed and has an oak casing (the image of the Immaculate Heart and Sacred Heart interchange). This I keep in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady MMediatrix of All Grace, in my room atop my bookshelf. I had this when I was mid-college already.

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary with... who are they?

The Blessed Virgin Mary handling the rosary to Saint Dominic
and Saint Catherine of Siena.

Beginning the month of October, I had an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary carrying the Child Jesus on her lap while handling the rosary to two saintly figures in kneeling posture enthroned in the chapel. The intention was catechetical, that is, in order for people to get curious (if they do not know) who are the two characters depicted and so have a glimpse of Church history.

Almost a week past and no one reacts. I thought maybe they already know. I tried to ask several people if they know who the two saints are and surprisingly, out of 10, only 2 know! Sadly disappointed for their lack of initiative to know who these figures are, let me share.

So, who are the two saintly figures?

The first is Saint Dominic de Guzman who established the mendicant Order of Preachers. It was said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him the rosary as a powerful prayer to attack the Albigensian heresy. True enough, the Dominicans won over such enemies of the Church.

The second is Saint Catherine of Siena. She was not a contemporary of Saint Dominic but came later. She is not a nun but a lay woman who entered the Dominican Tertiary. She was heavily instrumental for the return of the papacy in Rome which ended the great schism. Through her prayers and the rosary, unity was restored in the Church.

When Human Love Reaches Perfection: St. Therese, Model of the New Millenium

WHEN HUMAN LOVE REACHES PERFECTION:

Saint Thérèse, Model of the New Millenium

written by Sem. Carl Angelo Pua for the 3rd Visit of the Pilgrim Relics of St. Therese in the Philippines, Diocese of San Pablo

Therese may have lost her mother during childhood
but still found comfort in the arms of the Blessed
Virgin who led her to Her Son.

            Love is repaid by love alone. It is in love that the youngest Doctor of the Church found her vocation in prayer and holiness. Saint Thérèse, at the age of 15, received a papal dispensation to enter the Carmelite Monastery of Lisieux. The ardent love of this nun for Jesus was so pure that her desire to win souls through prayer moved her to the confines of the discalced order. Her departure to the eternal world left many saddened yet inspired millions. She has been a patron of many pontiffs, religious, and lay people. It is interesting that in the canonization process, Benedict XV exempted the cause from the fifty years delay imposed by law and in 1921 promulgated the decree on the heroic quality of the virtues of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Pius XI, succeeding the Holy See, made her the ‘star of his pontificate.’ It was said that the relics and picture of the Little Flower never left his working office. By May 17, 1925, in the presence of 33 Cardinals and 250 bishops, Thérèse was proclaimed saint. More than 50,000 people attended the ceremony inside the St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome; not mentioning the overwhelming 500,000 more standing outside. Two years later she was declared one of the patrons of foreign missions together with Saint Francis Xavier. The theology of Saint Thérèse, though not explicitly mentioned, was instrumental in the work of the Second Vatican Council: “the return to the word of God, the priority given to the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) in everyday life, the Church seen as the Body of Christ, the universal mission, the call of each baptized person to sanctify, fraternal attention paid to those who have different beliefs or who do not believe.”

            There is nothing new with the words of this young saint. Many theologians would say she devised nothing ingenious. However, her way of serving God through little acts of love inspired and touched many hearts to conversion. This love is the very message of Christ as He commanded to love God and neighbor (cf. Mk. 12:30,31) and the calling of every Christian of which is the end of human existence. But what really sets the love of this Little Flower is how she conceives it in simplicity. Love should not need to be grand for God to notice one – the mere heartfelt prayer is already an expression of deep love. She never forgot to pray. She never ran out of something to pray for. Like what she wrote to her sister Celine, “Let us not stop praying; confidence produces miracles… let us not forget souls, but forget ourselves for them.” This love which Saint Thérèse teaches is the very act that the world needs today; a love that is pure and holy, eternal and perfected in God.

The young Therese, burning with the fire
of love, showed how it meant to be a true
follower of Christ even at an early age.

            Why the need for a millennium saint? During the pontificate of the late Pope John Paul II, he ushered the whole Church in entering the new millennium most significantly with the celebration of the Great Jubilee Year 2000. This called forth for a renewed relationship with one another – mending divisions, healing strife, and breaking the chains and yokes of oppression, hatred, and iniquities. Saint Thérèse’s simple message of love is seen as the solution for all these. This attracted the pontiff’s vision of telling the world about God who is love Himself. Through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, love reached its climax with a kenosis (a self-emptying). The Little Flower’s devotion to the Child Jesus and the Holy Face expresses both the joy of nativity and the sorrow of Calvary. She teaches that our service and love for the Lord is not limited to moments of success and comfort but in hardships as well. Saint Thérèse knew and felt God’s presence in the most real and authentic manner and her response is that same love. She reciprocated love which emanated from her Master with the same by spending her life doing good on earth: I do not want to rest as long as there are souls to save. But when the angel says: ‘Time is no more’, then I will take my rest. It is a selfless giving of one’s self for the good of others.

            This forms the challenge of devotion to our Millennium Saint: to be transformed by the Divine love, and animated for the service of others. True devotion to a saint entails living-out and imitation of his or her life. Saint Thérèse is our model of simplicity, a way which seems easy yet tough. Saint Thérèse is our model of love, one that emanates from the hearts of the Creator and the created. Saint Thérèse is our millennium saint escorting us to holiness and prepares ourselves to open the door to Christ.

CBCP NEWS: Leave the 'selfie' mindset, go back to God

A headline in the CBCP's website reads
Leave the 'selfie' mindset, go back to God
Here's a repost of the news:
___________________________________

MANILA, Sept. 23, 2013—An excess of ‘selfie’ photos may not just be a symptom of selfishness, but may show a need to go back to God, a prelate said. 

“We are selfish, this is what we need to do away with. [It's all about] I, me, myself [like] those who keep on taking selfie photos,” Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani, Jr. said in a homily to some 2,000 people gathered to see the international pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal last Wednesday. 

This kind of mindset is reflected in the social media phenomenon of the ‘selfie’ photo, a self-taken picture made possible by front-facing cameras, according to Bishop Bacani. 

All taking, no giving 

“I joked some people, telling them, ‘You’re all about picture-taking, but never about picture-giving.’ This is the world today, it’s all about taking,” he said. 

In an intended pun, Bacani said this selfishness is evident even in the halls of political power, saying, “If by any chance, you don’t take pictures yourself, you take from the pork barrel instead.” 

According to Bacani, this shows an unnatural self-centeredness in the “smallest to the most powerful” in society — with 90 million selfie photos posted on Instagram alone, this does not seem hard to believe. 

Talking about a topic that seemed to strike a chord with many of the faithful, he said, this phenomenon also reveals a culture that needs God more than ever before. 

“What God wants to say is, ‘Leave your selfishness.’ This is what you need to leave and live in God instead because in God is true peace,” Bacani said during a 9 a.m. mass at the San Fernande De Dilao Parish, Paco in honor of the visit of the Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal image. 

Penance, a return to God 

He explained that this return to God or repentance is part of the message Our Lady gave to three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. 

“The original meaning of penance is to return to God,” Bacani said, dispelling widely-held notions that penance is about extreme physical mortifications like self-inflicted pain. 

Together with prayer, penance forms a formula of sorts for lasting peace, he explained. 

The image of Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal is on pilgrimage in the Philippines until December 18, 2013 and is currently in the Diocese of Pasig.

Nuestra Senora dela Merced

Today we celebrated the feast of Our Lady under the title of Nuestra Senora dela Merced (Lady of Mercy). She is also called Our Lady of Ransom. This devotion began in Spain of which She became the principal patroness of Barcelona and in some parts of Italy. It is believed that the Blessed Virgin Mary in white scapular appeared to St. Peter Nolasco and with St. Raymond Penafort., founded the Order of Mercedarians who cared primarily for the oppressed, the chained, and those in prison.

The celebration reminds us of how powerful the prayers of the Blessed Mother are. She care for her sons and daughters whom Jesus entrusted to her, "Woman, behold your son..." What else could Jesus give while hanging on the cross but her own mother, the very last person He had during that time. Yes, Jesus Christ did give His all to us, even to the point of giving up His own mother.

PRAYER

Mary, our Mother of Mercy,

the fullness of God’s own mercy dwells in you.

With the eyes of a mother, look upon your sons.

Intercede for everyone who suffers in body or soul

and for all who are enslaved in mind or spirit.

We give ourselves to you totally-ind, heart and senses.

Keep them and help us always to be a sign of God’s love.

Reveal to us what it means to be yours,

and teach us to live in that same generosity

with which you responded to the grace of Jesus our Redeemer. Amen.

To Your Patronage, O Holy Mother

Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary
erected in honor of her nativity at the
St. Peter's College Seminary chapel.

Holy Mother of God;

despise not our petitions in our needs,

but from all dangers deliver us always,

Virgin Glorious and Blessed!

In the Latin liturgical calendar of the Church, three significant births are celebrated with a solemn festivity: 1) the birth of John the Baptist, 2) the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and 3) that of Our Lord Jesus Christ known much as Christmas. These nativities are symbols of Christian journey - one who prepared the way of the coming Word, one who in her fiat (the obedient "Yes" to God's will) humbly carried the Word, an the One who is Incarnate, the Word Himself.

September 8 marks the annual commemoration of the Blessed Virgin's birth. Each year this day is a special one for me as I celebrate my birthday with her as well. This is one of my devotions to Mary that I celebrate it in a prayerful and recollective atmosphere. I see our day as a blessing and an affirmation that Mary's guidance has been with me all throughout my years guiding me and leading the way.

Although her birthday falls on a Sunday this year, it is imperative that the Sunday liturgy takes precedence over the celebration of her nativity. Nevertheless, we had an altar fixed in her honor. On the night of Septemeber 7, we had a harana for her. Seminarians sang their own compositions of Marian songs to give praise to her as the glory of God and model of faith, hope, and love.

This afternoon, a good friend of mine, Sem. Nino Acero from Siniloan, Laguna, handed me a rosary which he personally made (and on the same day!). He told me it was a present for my birthday. Just a trivia, almost every year I receive a white rosary on my birthday and I still have my very first rosary with me in my pocket that I use daily. It was given to me by my godfather when I was in preschool. Going back, upon receiving the my new rosary, I hastily went down to the chapel and placed it on Our Lady's hands together with a stargazer lily that I offer during these time of the year. The flower reminds me of the Blessed Virgin who is the lily of purity, the ornament and glory of Christinity, the flower of heaven which looks upward (the stargazer lily is called the "new cross" because it always looks up to heaven).

The image of the Virgin Mary holding the rosary given to me
by Sem. Nino Acero.

Why do I have such a love and devotion to Mary? For one, I feel close to her ever since I knew we shared the same birth day. Second, because she is for me a model of discipleship.

Knowing Jesus is one thing, but following Him is another. Mary shows me the way to both knowing and following her Son. She does not only lead me to Him but tells me to "do whatever He tells you." Mary inspires me in service. Even though I find myself astray and lost because of my wrong doings, I still find my way back home in the Church because of her. It is from her example that I drove one of my philosophies in life that true greatness comes from a humbles submission to learn from the Master's feet. Mary listened to Jesus and kept and pondered His words in her heart. Mary chose to give up her personal freedom in order to be the Mother of our Lord and from where she found her true liberation. Mary is our guide towards her loving Son. Mary is not only the Mother of Jesus but also Our Mother.

Happy birthday dear Mother!

Happy Birthday Mama Mary!

Greeting Mama Mary a happy birthday!