OUR PARISH PRIEST

Us -- Ecclesiology Class These are the words of Fr. Ramil Marcos in our Ecclesiology class: 1.Do not study for class, study for life. 2.When in times of crisis in your vocation: "Do not leave yet, do first your best." 3.It is not wrong to seek answers. 4.It is important to study Ecclesiology because how we look of ourselves is how we also look on to others. We cannot judge the work of God into others’ religion or any other Christian sect. 5.When you become a priest , refrain from playing politics. Do not even be a ‘police’ of your brother priests. Politics is destructive. When you have politics in the Church, you are playing with the divine power of God. The respect must be there. Know your theology so that you would know how to act. 6.When you become a priest, your life will be a life of reflection. 7.To reach the people, we need to speak their ordinary language… it starts with listening. === Ecclesiology Class ba ika mo? ...

Priest dares St. Peter: I demand a miracle Philippine Daily Inquirer 6 Mar 2011 By BibsyM. Carballo IT WAS his first visit to Rome that April of 1998, and Fr. Ramil R. Marcos was inordinately excited as Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, to whom he was assistant secretary, had promised him a visit with Pope John Paul II. His mother was even more excited, asking him to bring home a picture with the Pope. Father Ramil is a much-loved and articulate priest. His homilies are posted in the social media by parishioners who are touched by his words. He was ordained by Cardinal Sin on July 31, 1996. He is now parish priest of Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Santolan in the Diocese of Pasig. We sought him out upon being told by a friend that he had a very interesting encounter with the late Pontiff, who is due for beatification in Rome on May 1. Father Ramil told us how he had been praying to be able to meet the Pope after he and fellow seminarians at the San Carlos Seminary saw h...

INTO THE LIGHT AGAIN!   image from the internet How does it feel to live through the world’s longest lockdown? We started in the middle of Lent and now we emerge out of it at the end of Easter! No school, no work, no church, no business for two and a half months… how did you survive? That you endured, thank the Lord for that! Today, it’s Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles (Acts 2:1-11). And guess what? Before that, the apostles too, were in lockdown! After Jesus died, the apostles were so afraid of the authorities that they hid from view. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, they still couldn’t face up to the world, still afraid. But they remembered the promise of Jesus: he will send the Gift, the Holy Spirit, but they needed to wait and pray. Let’s imagine them praying: Come, Holy Spirit… Come, Holy Spirit… over and over again. ...

SA LIWANAG MULI! image from the internet Ano pakiramdam na makawala sa pinakamahabang lockdown sa buong mundo? Sinimulan nang kalagitnaan ng Kuwaresma at wawakasan ngayong Pentekostes na! Walang eskuwela, walang trabaho, walang simba-simba, walang negosyo nang dalawa’t kalahating buwan… paano ka nakatiis? Salamat sa Diyos at narito pa rin tayo! Ngayon nga ay Kapistahan ng Pagbaba ng Espiritu Santo sa Mahal na Birhen at sa mga Apostoles (Gawa 2: 1-11). At hindi ba, bago yun, maging ang mga apostoles ay nasa lockdown! Matapos mamatay si Hesus sa krus, nawala at nagtago ang mga ito. Kahit nabuhay na muli ang Panginoon, wala pa rin silang mukhang ihaharap sa mundo, takot pa rin, sindak pa rin. Subalit naalala nila ang pangako ng Panginoong Hesus: ipadadala ang Regalo, ang Espiritu Santo, pero kailangan muna silang maghintay at magdasal. Isipin natin na nagdarasal nga sila maya’t maya: Halina...

BABANGON TAYO… LILIPAD PA NGA! photo from the internet Sa gitna ng lockdown, isang kaibigan ang nagtanong sa akin: Father, sa tingin mo ba makakabangon pa tayo pagkatapos nito? Hindi lang ang tanong niya ang narinig ko; pati ang lungkot at takot. Sa dami ba naman ng kamatayan, pagkalugi, pagkawala ng trabaho, gutom, at kawalang katiyakan sa hinaharap – lahat na yata, dumating sa atin! Ang daming nabaliw dahil dito a! Agad akong sumagot, isang matunog na “Oo naman!” Kaya natin ito! Natural, gusto kong kalamayin ang damdamin ng kaibigan ko. Sa totoo lang, hindi ko naman alam kung paano tayo makakabawi… o kailan. Sa kaibuturan ng puso, ang alam ko lang, mangyayari iyon! Isang dating estudyante ko ang nagkuwento na sa kasaysayan daw mula noong 1700, tuwing 100 taon ay may epidemya. At tuwing matatapos ito, kasunod ang pagyabong ng buhay at ang paglago ng kaunlaran para sa lahat. Ngayong Pista ng Pag-akyat...

RISING UP… WE WILL FLY! photo from the internet In the middle of the corona virus lockdown a friend asked me: Father, do you think we can still rise after all this destruction? I heard not only her question but the sadness and the fear behind it. Deaths, business closures, unemployment, hunger, insecurity – name it, we’ve had it and some people lost their bearings over these things! Immediately I gave my answer: a resounding “Yes!”. We can do it! Of course, I just wanted to console my friend. The truth however, is that I do not know how we will recover… or when we will recover. Deep in my heart, I just know we will. My former student shared with me a trend some historians see in past epidemics. They said that since the 1700s an epidemic occurred almost every 100 years. And after each epidemic, there followed life blossoming and prosperity shooting up. Today, Feast of the Ascension, we know the reason why w...

BAGONG ESPIRITU  PARA SA BAGONG NORMAL Nabubuhay ang mundo ngayon sa pangamba. Ang daming nawala sa atin. Sa ating bansa, bago pa man ang corona virus, naranasan na natin ang pagsabog ng bulkan. Ngayong tapos na ang lockdown o quarantine, takot pa rin tayo sa ating kinabukasan. Paano kung magbalik ang virus? Paano ang kalusugan? Ang katayuang pinansyal? Ang mga takot at agam-agam? Ang sagot daw diyan ay ang mamuhay sa “bagong normal” – new normal. Kailangang matuto na mamuhay at magtrabaho na may agwat sa isa’t-sa. Kailangan pumila bago makapamili sa palengke o grocery. Kailangang mag-biyahe na hindi puno at siksikan. Patuloy ang pagsisimba sa tv o sa internet. Laging nakatakip ang ilong at bibig. Ang bagong normal ay isang bagong buhay na puno ng mga pagbabawal o paghihigpit. Sa pagdiriwang natin ng ika-6 na Linggo ng Pagkabuhay, inihahanda tayo sa pagtanggap sa kaloob ng Ama at ng Anak....

A NEW NORMAL REQUIRES A NEW SPIRIT Now the world lives in fear. We have suffered losses. In our country, before the corona virus, there was the volcanic eruption. As we now emerge from the lockdown or quarantines here and around the world, we fear for our future. What if there’s a second wave of viral attack? What about our health? Our financial security? Our anxieties and fears? The proposal given to us is to live the “new normal.” Live and work within safe distance of each other. Wait for your turn before entering the market or grocery store. Travel in half-capacity vehicles. Attend Mass on tv or in the internet. Cover you nose and mouth when in public. The new normal means a new way of life full of restrictions. As we celebrate the 6 th Sunday of Easter we are prepared to receive the gift of the Father and of the Son. In the first reading (Acts 8), after the Samaritans were bapti...

Tumitibok-tibok na ang puso sa paghihintay sa katapusan ng quarantine. Ang hirap maburo sa loob ng bahay. Mabuti kung laging masarap ang ulam. O kung may natitira pang pambili nito! Natuto tayong magpalipas ng ilang linggo sa loob lang ng bahay. Tumaas ang konsumo ng kuryente dahil sa walang tigil na electric fan at tv. Tumaas ang gastos sa load dahil sa tiktok at iba pang gawain sa social media. Tumaas din daw ang bilang ng mga away ng mag-asawa dahil nagkakasaawaan na sa mukha ng isa’t-isa.. Matatapos din lahat iyan, bago pa tuluyang tumaba ang ilan sa atin at ang ilan naman ay magka-abs dahil sa tipid sa pagkain. Depende sa sitwasyon ng bawat isa. Kung matapos na nga ang quarantine, ano ang dapat nating gawin? Ilang mungkahi batay sa karanasan ng mga tao ngayon: 1.          Magsimba, magpamisa, magpasalamat Kahirap din palang ma-miss ang parokya, ang bisita, ang paboritong simbahan. Ka-mis...