St. Expeditus: Patron Saint of Speedy Causes

-
Image
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 devotion to him has developed amo
Post a Comment

Homilies and Reflections: June 4, 2020. Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time (Filipino)

-

Hunyo 4, 2020, Huwebes sa Ika-9 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon

Pagninilay sa Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon ayon kay San Markos 12: 28-34

Sa mabuting balita sa araw na ito, sinuma ni Hesus ang mga kautusan sa dalawang pinakamahalaga: "Ibigin mo ang Panginoon mong Diyos nang buong puso, nang buong kaluluwa, nang buong pag-iisip, at nang buong lakas.at Ibigin mo ang iyong kapwa gaya ng iyong sarili."

Dalawa lamang. Ngunit bago ang dalawang ito, may nauna muna siyang sinabi: "Pakinggan mo, Israel!" . Nangangahulugan ng kahalagahan ng pakikinig. Sapagkat tanging sa pakikinig, kung tayo'y magiging handang manahimik at itikom ang ating bibig, lamang natin matututunan kung paano magmahal sa Diyos at sa kapwa.

Madalas, may problema tayo sa pakikinig, una, kung minsan sarili lamang natin ang nais nating pakinggan, ang tanging mahalaga ay ang nararamdaman natin at ang gusto nating sabihin, wala tayong pakialam sa sasabihin at nararamdaman ng iba. Kung minsan naman nagiging mapili tayo sa ating pakikinig. Pinapakinggan lang natin yung gusto nating marinig. Gusto natin ay pinupuri tayo palagi, palaging pabor sa atin ang ating naririnig. Pag hindi na maganda, ayaw na nating pakinggan, kahit ito ay para sa ating sariling kabutihan. Kung minsan naman, tayo ay nagbibingi-bingihan. Ayaw kasi nating mahihirapan. Gusto lamang natin ay yung madali, yung masarap, yung easy going. Ayaw natin na umalis sa ating "comfort zones", ayaw natin mag-reach out sa ibang tao, sa mga bagay na mahirap gawin. Kung minsan naman, nakikinig tayo upang siguruhin na may ibabalik tayong sagot sa ating kausap. 

Magandang tingnan at itanong sa ating sarili, marunong ba tayong makinig? Harinawa, maibukas natin sa Diyos ang mga taynga ng ating puso nang sa ganoon, malaman natin at masunod ang kanyang kalooban at doon makapagsisimula tayong magmahal sa Diyos at sa ating kapwa. Amen.

Marunong ka bang makinig?



photo: ctto

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lipa City: The Little Rome of the Philippines

-
Image
Lipa Cathedral interior I was born and grew up in a city where it is not uncommon to see nuns garbed in habits of various shades of blue, grey, brown and white and seminarians and religious brothers garbed in their cassocks, clerical shirts or religious habit, in any given day, attending church services in the different churches, shrines and monasteries in the city and its outskirts. On Sundays, all churches are full to capacity of people coming from all walks of life fulfilling their Sunday obligation. On a typical Wednesday, the Redemptorist shrine of Divino Amor welcomes throngs of devotees of Our Lady of Perpetual Help coming from different places. Every 12th of the month, there is a penitential procession from the Cathedral going to Carmel and there are also liturgical activities in Carmel every first Saturday of the month dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Welcome to the city of my birth, Lipa City, the "Little Rome of the Philippines." With its elevation of 1,025 feet ab
Read more

Laureana "Ka Luring" Franco: The Holy Catechist of Manila

-
Image
Laureana "Ka Luring" Franco: The Holy Catechist of Manila Ka Luring Franco (1936 - 2011) God indeed reveals Himself to the humble in the lowliest of disguises. And Ka Luring was sensitive to that fact - she found God and recognized Him revealing Himself in the faces of the the little children she so loved catechizing and the poor she so selflessly helped and served; that she herself became a reflection of that God she found among God's poor, which she so perfectly radiated with stunning simplicity and overflowing joy. Laureana Franco gave up her job in a government office in order to pursue her true calling and first love, the teaching of catechism to children. From then on, Ka Luring spent the rest of her years pursuing in what for her, was her real vocation and mission in life – that of being a catechist.  She has earned the title, "The Legendary Catechist of the Archdiocese of Manila” because of her commitment to the ministry of catechizing children. She knew so
Read more

Lipa City: A Historical Sketch

-
Image
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
Read more