Holy Father's Intentions For the Month of August 2011

Monday, September 28, 2009

Parish Church and Convent Flooded at the Height of Typhoon Ondoy

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SLRP Sep 29 - Last Saturday started out just like any normal dreary day with a slight drizzle as the Lay Ministers gathered in church at around 8AM for the final rehearsal of their dance number for the Parish Night scheduled that same evening. While on the parish multipurpose hall, the volunteer members of Social Services Ministry were busy preparing for HAPAG-ASA feeding program for malnourished children of the parish.

At about midmorning, there was a sudden change in the weather and heavy torrential rains started pounding the roof of the church drowning the music we were playing for our practice. After about an hour of continuous pouring, we noticed that the water on the main road fronting the church started to rise. In less than 30 minutes the water was already knee-deep. HAPAG-ASA cancelled their activity as it was already risky for the children to come.

An hour later, floodwaters rose to about three feet above street level and was already at the doorsteps of the church. By 11AM, the water started entering the church. With the rain continuing to pour incessantly, the waters rose fast and in less than an hour the altar floor, which was about 3 ft above the nave, was already covered by water. And by noon, the water level in the creek reached the level of the sacristy and the oratory and were under 6 inches of water. We had to move all equipment, things and people to the choir loft to escape the rising waters.

The rains poured continuously for the next three hours and the church, the convent and the multipurpose halls were submerged in waist-deep water. In some places water was chest-deep. Everything was scattered all over by the flood. Even cars were being tossed by the waters.

The pouring rain continued without letup until about 3PM in the afternoon. For us who were stuck in church for about 9 hours, it was an awakening of life's fragililty. As the waters strated to subside by 5PM, we also started cleaning the debris left by the flood. As darkness crept we called it a day and we left for home totally exhausted and humbled by the exprience. It was the first such experience for most of us there.

The following day was the fiesta. It was supposedly the biggest occasion for the parish. All activities for the fiesta were cancelled and cleaning of the church began in earnest by 7am. Through the bayanihan spirit, droves of parishioners came and helped in the cleanup. The damage done in the aftermath of the previous day's calamity was clearly evident as the sun shown that morning. But this only strengthened the determination of the parishioners to clean up the place and prepare the church for this event will not deter the will and hearts of SLRP to celebrate mass, especially on this fiesta day.

With God's grace, a special thanksgiving mass was celebrated at 11AM by the workers with Fr. Luke officiating. It was the most solemn, personal and intimate mass I have ever attended in the 22-year history of the parish. After the mass, it was time for a simple salo-salo in a special celebration of the parish's fiesta day. After a hearty meal, it was back to work for us. By mid-afternoon, Fr. Luke was already able to say mass at Cruz Compound, one of the areas in the parish heavily affected by the calamity. By late afternoon the regular masses at 5PM and 6:30PM were celebrated as scheduled.

Although the major task of cleaning up is almost done, the vivid and, at times, scary memories will be there as long as those of us who went through the experience live.


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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

FUSION 2009 - Parish Youth Concert

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On Friday, September 25, at 8PM in the evening, the youth of San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish will showcase their thespian talents as they serenade the parishioners with their own brand of music. Interpreting music of different genre, they will sing both pop and gospel, as well as English and Tagalog songs. They promise to make this two-hour show one hell...(pardon, I mean heaven) of an experience. If you would like to see them, come and join us at the parish church this coming Friday for an evening of praise and singing. Tickets are still available at the gate.
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SLRP Fiesta Theme 2009

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God loves a cheerful giver
"Sanlibo mang buhay mayroon ako, iaalay ko lahat sa Kanya"
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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Mass Media Undergoes Formation

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Last August 21 was a different day for us, the members of the Ministry of Mass Media, both for the old and new ones. It was a new day for the ministry and an exciting beginning for its members. It was the first spiritual formation and bonding activity for the newest ministry of the parish which was formed only last December 2007. Our destination was the Geronimo Farm Estates in Limay, Bataan for our two-day formation.

Meeting up at the SLRP multi purpose hall at eight in the morning, the day began with us praying the rosary and thanking God for being given this opportunity. After the prayer, it was time for us to pack up and, using three vehicles, we left for Bataan a little past 9 o'clock.

After three hours of travel, we arrived at the farm and were struck with awe as we saw a vast land filled with trees and plants, farm animals like turkeys and sheep, and a life-size giraffe made of cement. During our lunch, Nanay, the grandmother of Ate Kate who is a member of MMM, shared her stories about the farm. After lunch, there was a two-hour free time for unpacking and check-in. That completed, we headed to the fresh water pool for some refreshing swim and started getting to know each other.

Soon after we began the formal seminar. Ate Karen and Ate Josie led the group with two ice-breaker games where the members got to bond with each other and had fun outdoing each other to win. After settling down, it was time to listen to kuya Al’s talk on Evangelization and the Ministry. Then it was Ate Mavic's turn to talk about Communication where she had us do a group activity where we were asked to identify and discuss some communication problems we have experienced in our work in church. She instructed us to present our group's output and the learning points on how to deal with them. Then it was almost seven in the evening and time for dinner.

After dinner, the next activity was a film showing of a movie entitled Last Flight Out. It was follwed by our bonfire bonding time where we roasted marshmallows and hotdogs while others went for a night swim and still others just told stories, took pictures or played games late into the night.

On the second day, the members were energized as ate Karen and ate Josie started our day with exciting games that promoted team-building, communication and unity among the members. After breakfast, we all packed up and after a short talk by Nanay and kuya Al, we all headed back to Manila.

It was a wonderful two-day learning for us but it had to end. We went home with lots of stories to share and new friends and new learnings acquired. We enjoyed the formation and as our faith grew more, we pray that our love and call to serve God will grow deeper.

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

SLRP Starts Fiesta Activities

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Dateline San Lorenzo 09-20-2009 - Last night the parish of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Tandang Sora, kicked off its weeklong fiesta activities with the solemn procession of the image of the patron around the parish. Parishioners and devotees of San Lorenzo joined in on the prayerful veneration in anticipation of his feast day on September 28.
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Tiangge sa Sanlo 2009

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(Due to the disruption caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, the next two days of Tiangge sa Sanlo 2009 has been rescheduled for Nov 29 and Dec 6 with Dec 13 reserved in case of inclement weather).
Last Sunday, September 20, saw the start of the festive celebration of the weeklong activities in connection with the feast of our patron saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz. The Tiangge sa Sanlo 2009 kicked off its three Sunday offerings which included a variety of products at very affordable prices. There were food products, such as kakanin, puto, daing na bangus, marinated milk fish, bananas, peanuts, bread, pickle relish to cookies and pastries. There were also cooked native delicacies, such as lugaw, embutido, atsara, marinated bangus, rellenong bangus and the best tasting pork and chicken barbecues this side of the Novaliches diocese. And there were also the dry goods such as children's clothes, native Ilocano blankets, wood carvings, soap products, candles and perfumes. Not to be outdone were those selling vitamins and medicines, beauty accessories, bags, decorative frames, computer graphics services and religious items.

If you want something affordable, come join us on the next two Sundays (September 27 and October 4) for more fun and exciting flea market shopping experience.


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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Fiesta Schedule 2009

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This year's fiesta activities, commemorating the 22nd year of San Lorenzo Ruiz' canonization, has for its theme:

"God loves a cheerful giver.
"Sanlibo mang buhay mayroon ako, lahat ng ito'y iaalay ko sa Kanya."

To start off the month-long fiesta activities, the parish had its Parish Cleaning Day last September 5, 2009 with the various ministries and organizations sharing their time, talent and treasure in sprucing up the church and its environs in preparation for the fiesta on September 27, 2009. Various liturgical activities (like the Novena Masses, solemn procession, fiesta mass, mass for the culmination of National Laity Week) and other activities like the Caracol, Tiangge sa Sanlo, Movie Showing, Youth Concert and the Parish Night are lined-up.

Come and celebrate with us on this festive month of our patron saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz.

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