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St. Expeditus: Patron Saint of Speedy Causes

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St. Expeditus:  Patron Saint of Speedy Causes The venerated image of St. Expeditus in  the Lipa Cathedral In the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian in Lipa City is a venerated image of a young Roman Centurion saint named Expeditus. Every month of April, a nine day novena in his honor is held in the cathedral that culminates in the celebration of his feast day on the 19th of the month. Who is this saint whose intercession was also invoked in the Oratio Imperata  to avert a catastrophic eruption of Taal Volcano prepared by the Archdiocese of Lipa when the volcano exhibited extra-ordinary activity early  in January, 2020?  St. Expeditus could have found affinity with the Lipenos since the martyr shares a lot of commonality with St. Sebastian, the city’s patron. St. Expeditus, like St. Sebastian was also a young Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and was also martyred as a consequence, during the period of Diocletian persecution.  Hence, a devo...
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Lipa City: A Historical Sketch

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Lipa: A Historical Sketch I wrote this short history of the city  for a primer prepared by the City Government of Lipa City years ago. It also appeared in the website of Wow Batangas. Portions of this article were also extracted from the book I wrote "Take and Receive: The Life and Legacy of Madre Laura Mendoza"... Photographs appearing in this article are not the author's, credit is given to their respective owners.  Early Beginnings The wonderful, almost epical saga of a people in search of a permanent settlement where they could live secure and peaceful lives began in the panoramic lake shores that surround the stunningly beautiful yet dangerous Taal Volcano. Aerial view of the Cathedral and the poblacion Tradition has it that the early settlements of Tagbakin in the southeastern region of Bombon Lake were inhabited by the war-like descendants of the two Bornean Datus Dumangsil and Balkasusa. From these pre-colonial settlements evolved the ancestry of Lipa. It is said ...
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Sr. Maria Concepcion Kalaw: First Filipina Maryknoll Sister

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Sr. Maria Concepcion Kalaw: First Filipina Maryknoll Sister As we celebrate the 500 years of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines this year, it is fitting to remember the beginnings of missionary spirit among Filipinos by highlighting and acknowledging the first Filipino members of missionary congregations who came here mostly from Europe and America as missionary evangelizers serving the Filipino faithful especially in far flung areas and then later on inspiring and recruiting members from the locale to continue their missionary endeavors in different mission stations in the country and elsewhere in the world.    First Maryknoll Sister Sr. Maria Concepcion Kalaw nee Dolores Katigbak Kalaw, the first Filipino Maryknoll sister was born in Lipa City on March 9, 1904 to a prominent family of intellectuals and aristocrats. His father, Cipriano Kalaw was one of the staff advisors of General Miguel Malvar and was vice president and treasurer of the Hongkong Junta- the Fil...
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Filipino Saints 3: Venerable Francisca del Espiritu Santo Fuentes

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Venerable Francisca del Espiritu Santo de Fuentes:  Tagapagtatag ng Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena Si Francisca de Fuentes, anak nina Simon de Fuentes at Ana del Castillo y Tamayo ay isinilang sa Maynila noong taong 1647.  Siya ay isang insulares  sapagkat siya'y may purong dugong Espanyol subali't sa Pilipinas ipinanganak at nagkaisip. Nang nasa wastong gulang na, siya ay ipinagkasundo ng kanyang mga magulang sa isang maginoo at sila’y nagpakasal.  Ngunit halos isang taon lamang ang kanilang naging pagsasama sapagkat maagang binawian ng buhay ang kanyang kabiyak.  Nabiyuda sa edad na 20 taon at walang  anak, ginugol ni Francisca ang kanyang panahon sa pananalangin at sa  pagtulong sa mga mahihirap at mga may sakit. Sa isang pangitain, nagpakita sa kanya si San Francisco at Santo Domingo at nakita niya ang kanyang sarili na nagpatirapa sa harap ni Sto. Domingo.  Dahil dito, pinili niyang maging isang Dominiko at tinanggap siya bilang ...
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Filipino Saints 6: Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo Iuco: Pilipinang Uliran

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Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo Iuco (1663 - 1748) :  Tagapagtatag ng Religious of the Virgin Mary Si Madre Ignacia del Espiritu Santo ay maituturing na isang ulirang Pilipina dahil sa kanyang pag-aalay ng sarili para sa Diyos at sa kapwa at sa kanyang kontribusyon sa pagbibigay puwang sa mga Pilipinang nagnanais sumunod sa Panginoon bilang mga relihiyosa sa pamamagitan ng pagsisimula ng Beaterio de la Compania de Jesus , ang pinagmulan ng kauna-unahang kongregasyon ng mga Pilipinang madre na sa kasalukuyan ay kilala bilang Religious of the Virgin Mary.  Bagama't napakalaki ng naging ambag ng mga noo'y beata at ngayo'y mga madreng RVM sa pagpapalaganap ng paghahari ng Diyos lalo na sa mga misyon sa malalayong bayan sa Mindanao at iba pang bahagi ng bansa, at ng lumaon ng daigdig, ang  Cause for Beatification  ng kanilang tagapagtag na si Madre Ignacia del Espritu Santo ay nanatiling nakabinbin sa pagdaan ng napakaraming dekada. Nakalulungkot sapagkat may ka...
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