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: July 9, 2020. Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time - Filipino

-

Hulyo 9, 2020. Huwebes sa ika-14 na Linggo ng Karaniwang Panahon

Pagninilay sa Mabuting Balita ayon kay San Mateo 10: 7-15

Madalas, pag tayo ay may pupuntahan, halimbawa’y sasama tayo sa isang pilgrimage, napakarami nating dinadala – pagkain, tubig, extra t-shirt, kendi, shades, tuwalya, gamut sa hilo. Kung minsan pag babae pa ang maglalakbay, ang daming dalang bag – may malaki kung saan niya ishu-shoot ang mga bibilhin niya sa kanyang pag-iikot-ikot halimbawa, may pamaypay, payong at may mas maliit pang bag na ang laman naman ay mga abubot – pulbos, make-up, lipstick, at iba pa. Takot na takot tayong mauhaw, magutom, maarawan, mainitan o maging mukhang haggard. Palagi tayong may probisyon sa mga kakailanganin natin. 

Ngayong araw na ito, pinaalalahanan ni Hesus ang mga alagad na sa kanilang pangangaral sa paparating na paghahari ng Diyos, wala dapat sila gaanong dala-dala. Bagkus ang tanging dala nila ay ang kapayapaang hatid ng mabuting balita sa kanilang pagbisita sa mga bahay bahay. 

Sa pagpunta nila sa mga nayon, kapayapaan ng Diyos ang kanilang dadalhin. Ibabahagi nila ang pagdating ng paghahari ng Diyos sa tahanan at sa buhay ng kanilang mga bibisitahin.

Dahil wala silang mga dala-dalang kung ano-ano, wala silang aalalahanin. Wala ang mabigat na bag, ang tubig na pamatid uhaw, ang damit na bihisan. Wala silang ibang aasahan kung hindi ang kagandahang loob ng Diyos na siyang magpupuno sa ano mang kulang, sa ano mang wala. 

Walang masama sa pagkakaroon ng mga probisyon, ng madaming dala-dala. Ngunit wag nawa maging hadlang ang seguridad na ibinibigay ng mga bagay na ito upang matunton at maunawaan natin ang tunay na mas mahalaga – ang pagsunod sa kalooban ng Diyos. Lagi nawa tayong magtiwala sa kagandahang loob ng Diyos at dito laging umasa. Ibibigay niya ang ating kakailanganin sa tama at takdang oras. 

Hopefully, in our following of Jesus, we may learn to focus only on the essentials, on what is most important - and that is our trust that God will provide. Wala tayong dapat ipag-alaala. 

Sa huli, sa ating paglalakbay pabalik sa Diyos, wala tayong dadalhin. Ang dala-dala lamang natin ay ang ating mga kuwento kung papaano tayo naging instrumentio ng pagpapalaganap ng paghahari ng Diyos. 

Kapatid, marami ka bang dala-dala? Baka gusto mong bawasan at ibigay sa iba na mas nangangailangan? Amen.

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

Popular Religiosity and Festivals: And They Danced with Joy before the Lord: The Subli Festival of Bauan, Batangas

-
Image
More than a dance form, Subli is a religous ritual that venerates the Holy Cross Dance has always been an essential component of worship of people of various religious and cultural traditions. Man of times past up to the present, uses a variety of movements of his body – hands, hips, arms, legs and head in rhythmic successions and  combinations as a form of prayer, to express worship and reverence to God. In the historic town of Bauan, Batangas exists a traditional religious dance form called the “subli” which people perform to venerate the santo patron – the Mahal na Poong Santa Cruz . The ceremonial worship dance is usually presented during the town’s fiesta which is traditionally held every May 3.  It has also been tradionally practiced that every May 1 and 2 each year, the towns of Alitagtag and Bauan celebrate the Anubing Sublian Festival to pay homage and reverence to the Mahal na Poong Sta. Cruz .  The festival highlights the dancing of the Subli.  Short History of the Pari
Read more