OUR PARISH PRIEST

THE 2ND NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE CLERGY JAN 25-29, 2010 Manila, Philippines 5,546 priests: the largest ever priestly gathering in these islands! and familiar faces like my students... out on dinner with some of them on the first night seminarians of Bulacan in liturgical roles more students and brothers in the diocese of Pasig as well as religious priests (OSJ) Ms. Maricor de Villa the guys from Bulacan! Frs. Arnold, OSJ and Mark (Alaminos)

HOLY FAMILY PARISH CATECHISTS' RETREAT NORZAGARAY, BULACAN FIRST THING IS TO EAT! THEN, PRAY A LITTLE BIT! THEN, MORE PHOTO OPS! CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS TO YOU, DEAR CATECHISTS!

THE MISSION OF PRIESTS 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time I’m sure you want to get your hands on firsthand news of this past week’s Second National Congress of the Clergy in Manila. Here’s some great news! On the opening day, January 25, organizers expected 4,500 priests to attend. But because we are Filipinos, we know how to give surprises at the last minute so, 5,000 priests came to register. On the second day, there was an even bigger surprise when the record showed 5,350 priests present. It was truly the largest ever gathering of Filipino priests in history… until maybe, the next congress. And since there are only about 7,000 priests in the country, the emcee announced that those unable to attend were the sick, retired and dying priests! A priest even died on his way to the congress. Eternal rest… It must have been a source of mixed emotions for the organizers – joy at the overwhelming response and horror at the logistics involved in providing supplies, food and acco...

THE BIBLE IS OUR GUIDE 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: National Bible Sunday In a gathering of friends, I just mentioned the names Kris Aquino and James Yap and everybody joined in the conversation on the juiciest story of the couple’s latest Lovers’ Quarrel (LQ). During a breakfast with priests, someone mentioned the name Jason Ivler and people animatedly gave their commentaries on the life of this young suspected murderer. While in the company of seminarians, one of them loudly inquired: where in the Bible can you find: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink?” A stunned silence followed, as nobody knew the answer. Why is it that we are so familiar with the development of current events or the lives of celebrities and yet so ignorant when it comes to the Word of God? The answer seems obvious. We become familiar with things to which we are exposed. Today’s generation is habitually glued to the television, hooked on newspapers and maga...

On this feast of Santo Niño (the Holy Child Jesus) and of all children, enjoy these images of Jesus encountering the young... God bless and Happy Fiesta to all!

WHAT KIND OF CHILD ARE YOU? Some people never seem to grow old. Sure, they add years to their chronological age, but they seem not to age so fast. We envy them because they have no wrinkles, their skin is smooth as ever and their hairline does not recede. Most of us want to hear it said about us: what is your secret? You’re still as young as ever. This feast of the Santo Nino (Holy Infant Jesus) is the feast of the young but it is not the feast of those who only look-young. Some people never act old enough for their age. They have gone past childhood and are now ready for life, even already married. But they are still focused on play, on light banter, teasing and jokes. They never get serious with anything. For serious matters, they leave it up to their moms and dads and spouses to decide. Behavior-wise, they enjoy being young. This feast of the Santo Nino is the feast of the young, but surely not the feast of those who only act-young. Some peo...

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SEMINARY PHILO DEPT, ANNUAL RETREAT IN BATAAN JANUARY 4-7, 2010

MEET JESUS-CARITAS - MALOLOS DIOCESE OUR FRATERNITY MEETING FOR JANUARY 2010

“all of us have friends, but not all have priests as friends. when my 2nd son entered the seminary to become a priest, i started to have a number of priests in my circle of special people in my life. they're friends who give me spiritual guidance, spiritual wisdom, spiritual encouragement ( with a good sense of humor pa), which i believe is God-sent to help me guide my son to pursue his priestly dream....and really, i've been learning so much from them!!!!....thank you to all my priest friends!” BAMBI ROXAS, TAGUIG CITY A priest? - A God given gift... Why? He guided me on how to be a good Christian and a good servant of God and of my fellow youth... He taught that life without God is not worth living..." BERNARD JOHN, parish youth leader, Pasig

HAS ANY PRIEST INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE? IN WHAT WAY? One particular priest made a great impact in how we viewed suffering and persecution following the death of my father in 1998. Through his homilies and counseling, his mere presence and time with our family, we were able to draw strength and easily forget our painful loss. My father was a misunderstood "servant" in our parish all because he stood for his principles and more importantly, he was very honest about letting people know that what they were doing was against the law not only of man, but of God. For these, he was persecuted -- he lost a lot of friendships including those who he thought were his real friends. With the new friendship we developed with our new priest friend, my father's passing was not that difficult to bear. It also allowed all of us to heal and "let go" faster than expected. PAZ ATIENZA, MANDALUYONG CITY -------- A friend you can lean on and the one you can trust. ...