Reflections on Holy Thursday

Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is a night replete with solemnity and charged with mystery. On this wonderous night our Lord, aware of His Imminent death but desiring to remain with us, instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, a memorial of unending love for us which embodies His mandate: that we love one another as He has loved us. What gift can be greater than this sacrament which gave us the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior as our sustenance in our journey through life. When our little crosses in life weigh down on our frail shoulders, we turn to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament for solace and consolation. Replenished by His divine presence in the Holy Eucharist, we struggle on through our life journey.

That same holy night, He also instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders which multiplies Christ in the person of His consecrated priests, His holy men who have been privileged to answer His call. The sublime dignity of the mass is entrusted to them. They are the caretakers of our spiritual uplift. As recipients of all these wonderful gifts bequeathed to us by our Lord on this wondrous night, it behooves us to make ourselves worthy of all these privileges and vocations.

Holy Thursday, the most holy night, the night we are made heirs to such heavenly treasures of love left to us by our Divine Lord before He embraced His death on the cross.

What greater love; what more priceless treasures. To you my Lord and God I give you the rest of my life as an offering of my everyday love and thanksgiving for the holiest of nights, the Eve before Calvary.

Carmen L. Nibungco
Parishioner

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Feast Of St Joseph

Last March 19, the parish celebrated the feast of St. Joseph with masses in the morning and the evening to give importance to his role as the foster father of Jesus who, while quietly working behind Mary and Jesus, was mostly probably responsible for teaching Jesus his skills as an artisan, a carpenter and builder.

It was also on this occasion that Kuya Henry Bayhon, a husband and father, was installed during the mass as the latest addition to the the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. It was done in simple, quiet yet solemn ceremony, a fitting tribute to St Joseph the worker.

Right after the mass, a short procession followed with the image of St. Joseph taken around Tierra Verde 1.

The parish Lenten Recollection followed immediately after the procession and agape. In this recollection, Fr. Luke focused on spiritual transformation in the light of the Lord's passion, death and resurrection (PDR). Father likened the PDR to the Exodus in the Old Testament, the journey of the Jews from Egypt to the promised land and its parallel in the New Testament, Christ's PDR. In the same manner, it is the same for all Christians where we have to go through the desert of our existence (our passion), find ourselves in the humble recesses of our hearts (death) and hopefully start to renew our faith in God (resurrection).

At the start, everyone was asked to reflect on one's innermost negative feelings that hindered him from moving on and becoming renewed. Each was to choose one among these most negative feelings that one wished to rid himself of and write it on a piece of paper. When all had done this, they individually burned the paper as a symbolic offering to God.

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PPCRV Starts Volunteer Orientation

Last Saturday, the SLRP PPCRV conducted its first orientation meeting for volunteers for the coming May 2010 elections. Headed by Kuya Boy Temporal, the PPCRV Secretariat together with Fr. Luke Dobles, our parish priest, introduced the nuances of this new computerized elections to those volunteers who showed up. A short film showing on the history of Philippine election was presented as an opener before the orientation proper began.

Led by Kuya Peter Tamayo, the orientation began in earnest at around 2:30PM with the opening prayer which was immediately followed by the opening talk by Fr. Luke on the catechism of voting. For his part, Fr. Luke espoused the qualities of being honest, integrable and moral in the performance of the sacred right of qualified citizens, the right of suffrage or the right to choose his/her leaders. This was then followed by the orientation proper, which Kuya Boy Temporal handled. Here he discussed the legal framework for the elections, the process of voting under the computerized setup, the roles and responsibilities of voters and pollwatchers alike.

After the talk proper by Kuya Boy, it was time for the Question and Answer portion where the volunteers asked questions of the speakers. The questions revolved mainly on the specific roles and duties of volunteer workers on this special day. After the roles were clarified and expounded on, it was time for the volunteers to choose their preferences in assignments. Here they could choose whether they would like to be a poll watcher, work in the Voters' Assistance Desk, mobile support staff, logistics support and transport service providers.

For its first orientation, there was a modest 30 or so volunteers who showed up. It was not foreseen that many of the volunteers were from the Youth who either was in school studying or, for some, being asked to watch and observe the conduct of the elections.

The next orientation is tentatively set for sometime after the Holy Week. All in all it was a relatively good showing on the first of a series of learning experiences for the volunteers. We are calling on all parishioners, 18 and above, to get in touch with the parish office (Phone 932-6451), being involved and be counted.

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Sister Betty Conducts Healing Session in Parish

Sister Betty Bautista, a resident of Canada but with ties to our parish, was gracious enough to conduct a healing session for SLRP parishioners last Saturday, March 6.

After the dawn procession and mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she began her healing session with prayer and songs to Mama Mary and the Holy Spirit. Parishioners had to fall in line as Sister Betty conducted her healing with a personal touch. Each one went to the front, and much like a confession or consultation, she asks how you are, what your problems or concerns are, as if it were just an ordinary conversation. And then she interrupts the conversation from time to time and tells you messages from Mama Mary. It is a different kind of healing experience as Sister Betty conducts her session in a very friendly, intimate, personal and low profile manner.

There were many who attended her session that day. And I believe they got their healing....

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