OUR PARISH PRIEST

      PADRE MARIANO GOMES  (Gomez, ayon sa kanyang orihinal na apelyido)       Isinilang si Padre Gomez sa Santa Cruz, Maynila noong Agosto 2, 1799. Itinuturing siyang isang tornatrás o torna atrás o iyong may magkahalong dugo na Indio, Intsik at Kastila; karaniwang ang ama ay Kastila at ang ina ay mestisang Intsik. Ang kanyang mga magulang ay sina Alejandro Francisco Gomez at Martina Custodio.   Pumasok siya sa mga paaralang Letran at UST. Naghanda naman siya sa pagpapari sa Seminaryo ng Maynila na ngayon ay San Carlos.   Taong 1824 nang maging parish priest si Fr Gomes ng Bacoor, Cavite. Nakakitaan siya ng kasipagan sa pag-aalaga sa espirituwal na kabutihan ng mga tao, gayundin sa pagtuturo sa kanila ng kabuhayan at ng agrikultura. May maganda siyang pakikitungo sa mga kapwa pari. Kabilang siya sa mga nasyonalistang pari na nakikipagbuno para sa pantay na karapatan at pagkilala sa mga paring secular (o iyong hindi miyembro ng mg...

WEAK ENOUGH? St Ignatius of Loyola, July 31, 2014 I love St Ignatius of Loyola, not because I'm a fan of the Jesuits nor because I was ordained on his feast day. I love St. Ignatius because of his spirituality, and specially because of the Ignatian retreat. I facilitated several Ignatian retreats: after the first one, I came home with chickenpox. After the second one, I came home with flu. After the third one, I came home with internal allergies that took a long time to treat. When I was invited again, I had second thoughts about agreeing. In spite of the trauma at the end of each retreat, I continue to love and admire Ignatius because of his spiritual legacy. Foremost in this is the hallmark of this spirituality, his central vision – “to find God in all things”. As priests, where do we find God?  The seminary conditioned us to find God in strength – in the great and noble achievements of the human spirit. So God is there in discipline, in purity, in zeal, in simplicity, a...

MASS FOR THANKSGIVING AND HEALING  OF A SICK PRIEST What a beautiful Mass we came here to celebrate.   There are two occasions that brought us here to this Eucharist. First, it is the Mass to remember the birthday of Fr. G, our classmate and ordination batchmate.   Every life is an immense gift, but moreso when it is the unique life of a priest.   We know that the life of a priest is a life given to service, to others, to his neighbors. Though unworthy, the life of a single priest touches hundreds, even thousands of lives each day, especially if he lives within a parish community. I know that Fr. G is surrounded today by his family and close friends. I am here as a classmate and friend.   But many are here not because we are related to Father’s past but because we are recipients of his present goodness.   You are here as because he is your parish priest, maybe even your favorite parish priest, your beloved parish priest, your b...

ANG PARI: KASANGKAPAN NG KALIGAYAHAN NG DIYOS HOMILY OF FR. RAMIL FOR FR. ANGEL SANCHEZ’ THANKSGIVING MASS dec 12, 2010, gatchalian, paranaque city, 10am Iba’t ibang antas ng kaligayahan May mga taong mababaw ang kaligayahan. Basta may pagkain, masaya na. basta may inumin, kuntento na. Tulad ng mga bata sa simpleng mga pamilya, bigyan mo lang ng bente pag namamasko, tiyak bida ka na. Tulad ng mga nabunot natin sa kris kringle, ibili mo lang ng pinakasimple at pinakamurang regalo, magpapasalamat na. Ganyan ang mga taong mababaw ang kaligayahan. Pero may mga tao din na mahirap paligayahin: sila yung mga mahal ang ngiti. Sila yung class ang taste. Nakakatakot regaluhan o bigyan ng anuman dahil hindi lang presyo ang titingnan kundi titingnan din kung may quality ang iyong ibinigay. Iba’t iba ang antas ng kaligayahan ng mga tao. Merong madaling paligayahin. Merong mahirap pasayahin. Gaudete Sunday at Bagong Pari Napakagandang okasyon po ngay...

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)

What Friendship with Priests means to me and my family... and from our favorite dentist, wendi... Most of the Priests i have known more than a decade ago have a great sense of humor and we enjoy talking about food. i think that is our common denominator....food. With only two other siblings, our family is relatively small. When we were orphaned last June 16, 2009, our grief on the loss of our mother was a reality we cannot escape. And yet, our family never felt alone at that point in time because of the overflowing support and presence of the Clergy. And for this, I will be forever indebted to those Priests who came to console us, and to those who were not able to come but assured us of their prayers for our mother. Thank you Reverend Fathers, our family could not have made it through if it were not for your support and presence! You can count on our support and prayers ;-) Wendi tan…

Do You Appreciate Your Priest? Spanish Bishop Composes Test PALENCIA, Spain, SEPT. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Year for Priests isn't just an internal celebration among the clergy, but rather an opportunity for all the faithful to assess their appreciation for the priesthood, says Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Palencia. "Do we appreciate the priesthood and love our priests?" the bishop asked in a posting on the Web site of his dioceses. To answer this question, the bishop composed -- "with a bit of humor" -- the following test titled "Priestly Appreciation." The test is complete with instructions to evaluate your answers and your level of appreciation for the priesthood. * * * 1. Have you prayed recently for your parish priest, your bishop or the Pope? a. I don't even know their names. b. At Mass there is usually prayer for them, and I add myself in that petition. c. I do so every day in my personal praye...

INSPIRING PRIEST IN CHINA (sharing of my student Seminarian Martin from China) After two years of hard work, finally most of the underground church faithful came to join the Holy Mass that Fr. Zhu Junchang celebrated. It has been a church scandal since then, the local church was divided upon misunderstanding of some; with the intervention of the government and the so-called “patriotic church” or patriotic association rather, the affair became more serious; to the point, that they avoid to pray together, hate each other, and mostly refused to participate each other’s mass, and rumor even says the Mass is invalid. Fr. Zhu was transferred to such a parish, and it was there that he started his ministry years ago. Fr. Zhu was such a kind of conservative, a man of prayer, and mostly he is a man of full of enthusiasm when it comes to ministry. He would go all the details when it comes to application for marriage, so much so the marriage that would be a happy one; he even ask help f...

REMEMBERING PRIESTS Sharing to the Community of Galilee Center, Tagaytay City  On this feast day of St. John Mary Vianney, we recall the familiar stories of his holy life as a Christian and as a priest.   Who can forget the long hours he spent in the confessional… or the constant fasts and sacrifices he did for the sake of his parishioners. St. John loved the Blessed Virgin Mary so much, an affection that started in his childhood.   It was said that the Blessed Virgin appeared to him many times in his church and in his rectory.    But he was not a sacristy priest, a cultic figure only.   He was truly pastoral, establishing and maintaining charitable institutions for the poor and the abandoned. But a little known fact is that St. John spent his childhood under the shadow of the French Revolution.   Almost all revolutions in history – French, Spanish, Mexican – were anti-church and anti-clerical movements.   The Philippine Revolution was an exception, for people never rebelled ag...

LETTER ON YEAR FOR PRIESTS "The Priesthood Is the Love of the Heart of Jesus"  Here is a Vatican translation of the letter Benedict XVI sent to the priests of the world on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which has been called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.  On Friday, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, Benedict XVI will inaugurate this Jubilee Year for Priests during Vespers in the Vatican Basilica. * * *  Dear Brother Priests,   On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 - a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy - I have decided to inaugurate a "Year for Priests" in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the "dies natalis" of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior...