A Samar-itans call to Mission by Hannah G. Roa Part 1

August 9, 2015 2015 Year of the Poor - Mercy and Compassion Forbes Park, Makati 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time www.ssaparish.com The following write up describes Hannah s experience working on the Housing project in San Antonio, Basey, Samar. Hannah is a member of the SYA or Single Young Adults ministry and the LeCom ministry. The project is a beneficiary of FrancisFest 2015. Ed. A Samar-itans call to Mission by Hannah G. Roa Part 1 Living in the 4 walls of a concrete jungle and trying to survive in this fast paced life gets a toll on you after a while... You d dream of your next beach destination to just unwind and relax or your next out of the country trip for a solo adventure. I so definitely wanted to get out of the city so bad and just not think of surviving in it even for just a little while. I wanted to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Killing time I checked my Facebook app and saw a post on our SYA Facebook page about helping in building homes of those that have lost theirs and loved ones in the storm called Yolanda, in Samar. As I was reading the post I wanted to jump to the chance to do so. I was hesitant because I didn t know if I could be able to travel a 20- hour bus ride all the way to the site with strangers I didn t know and cross seas from one island to the next on ferries. Yes the trip would be free of charge if I did join on the bus but the long hours sitting would be quite a challenge. I ve already experienced a 10-hour bus ride from New York, NY to Pittsburgh, PA and I know the feeling of your derrière being numb as well as your legs from sitting down the whole time. I also wanted to be sure with whom I would be traveling with. So I didn t grab the chance when I wanted to, just yet. As part of the current team in SYA, a team member of mine announced in our Viber chat group about helping on Samar s rebuild, about the post on our FB page. This time we didn t have to travel with the bus and we could actually travel via plane and have shorter workdays. So I grabbed the chance then and was thrilled that there was an opportunity to go for shorter days than a 10-day build and not travel on the bus. I was excited to be able to give my time and be physically able to help in building the homes of those who have lost theirs in the storm. I wanted so much to do this cause I know I won t be able to give any financial aid. This was my way of serving for the church of SSAP, for SYA and for myself to give to those less unfortunate. When the day came that 6 other SYAers and I were to travel to Tacloban we were all nervous because we don t know what to expect; our sleeping arrangements, the mosquitos, the Santuario de San Antonio Parish Center Office Tel. nos. 8438830-31 turn to page 4

Parish Bulletin For about three Sundays now, the liturgical readings from the gospel of St. John are about the theme of the Bread of Life. Jesus points to Himself as the Bread of life. This is one of the great passages of the New Testament, and one of the most difficult text to understand, just as the Jews have difficulty in understanding Jesus saying of the Bread of Life because it is so allusive and use of symbolism is not familiar to us. But this is why the liturgy has carefully matched these excerpts with stories from Hebrew scriptures that shed light on the sayings of Jesus, and later its special relation to the Eucharist will be quite obvious. For most Christians this narrative of John brings us to the gradual understanding of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the center of their religious observance. It is a special moment in the week, perhaps in the day, perhaps less often, but nevertheless in the Eucharist they find their faith and hope engendered. It is not just a time set aside but it is an action that sets them apart in the whole of their lives. To take pat in the Eucharistic celebration is always an act of allegiance, of self-identification and commitment, however slight. For many decades now, many liturgical reforms and changes have taken place, and has made possible a simpler yet classic, accessible ritual for the faithful to participate. The Vatican II Constitution on the Liturgy has guided the believing community to make the Eucharistic celebration the peak or summit of their daily Christian experience of Jesus, to 2 SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION By Fr. Efren Jimenez, OFM 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) RANDOM THOUGHTS Voices from yesterday and today By: Peachy Maramba ST. DOMINIC GUZMAN: FOUNDER OF THE DOMINICAN ORDER (ORDER OF PREACHERS) 1170-1221 August 8 St. Dominic was born Domingo de Guzman on 1170 at Calaruega, Castile, Spain the youngest son of wealthy which everything was directed and from which everything flowed. Some of the changes in liturgical matters have often been distressing or disruptive, yet if the liturgical changes were theologically and pastorally well based, the faithful will no doubt integrate their faith towards a meaningful celebration. Some question may be pertinent has the Christian gospel anything to say in response to the social questions of our day? (That is, the questions that arise out of urgent and widespread human suffering today, like the world problem of hunger.) The Bread of Life is full of implications beyond immediate physical nourishment. But the message that man does not live by bread alone really only acquires a human experiential meaning when seen as the complement to the message that man does not live without bread. There is an obvious, though not literal sense in which we claim to be bread of another, and beyond the strictly physical sense, one person in fact is the sustenance of another whenever one rescues another from despair, hopelessness and after something to which to live. Our encounter with Jesus, the Bread of Life, is our encounter with hope, light, and salvation. nobleman Don Felix and Blessed Juana of Aza. His name Domingo in Spanish means I belong to God. After his ordination he became canon at the Cathedral of Osma in Castile, then prior superior of the chapter of the order. He was then 31 years old. In 1203 because of widespread Albigensian heresy (a revival of the ancient Gnostic heresy), Dominic knew what God wanted of him: using his special charism preaching, following the evangelical pattern of the original apostles. By around 1214 Dominic together with six followers began founding his dream of a preaching order. His aim was to multiply in the church preachers who would be an example and means to spread the faith and heal the wounds the Church had received from false doctrine. In October 1216 he received papal sanction for his Ordo Praedicatorum or Order of Friar Preachers since generally known as Dominicans or Black Friars because of their black vestments. It was while Dominic remained in Rome till after Easter that he met and formed his friendship with St. Francis of Assisi, the great founder of the other Mendicant Orders - the Franciscan Order. Dominic who was born 12 years earlier than St. Francis saw in a vision the sinful world being threatened by divine anger but saved by the intercession of our Lady who pointed out to her Son two figures. While Dominic recognized himself as turn to page 3 Editorial Team & General Information Marilou Consing Editor in Chief Jeannie Bitanga Assistant Editor/Website Administrator Jojo Avila Montenegro Art & Design Colorplus Production Group Corp. Production Submit articles, pictures, announcements, notices to: ssappb@yahoo.com Deadline for submission is every Tuesday of the week. The Parish Bulletin reserves the right to edit articles for clarity and space. Santuario de San Antonio Pastoral Team Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy, OFM Parish Priest Fr. Baltazar Obico, OFM Guardian Fr. Efren Jimenez, OFM Fr. Jesus Galindo, OFM Makati Medical Center Chaplain Fr. Serge Santos, OFM. Santuario de San Antonio Parish Center Office Tel. nos. 8438830-31 Email: ssap_info@yahoo.com Website: www.ssaparish.com Website email: webi@ssaparish.com Foundation website: www.santuariodesanantonio.org Parish Pastoral Council Jayme Blanco President Edmund Lim Vice President Cristina Teehankee Secretary To submit articles/pictures to the Parish Bulletin/Website Please submit photos with your articles, if at all possible. Submit them by email (not in paper form) with photos in.jpg format and a minimum photo file size of at least 80 KB (800 x 530 pixels). Articles submitted should be a minimum of 150 words and not more than 300 words. Email to: ssappb@yahoo.com

The ABC s of Catholic Doctrine by Lianne Tiu An endless thanksgiving If at night, we toss and turn in bed and cannot sleep, we recall Jose Mari Chan s Christmas song: If you re worried and you can t sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep; and you ll fall asleep counting your blessings. The song makes us aware of the endless gifts God has given us, thus our endless thanksgiving to Him. We owe everything to God. We thank Him for big and small things; for what we like and what we do not like; in good times and in bad times. When things go wrong, what do we have to be grateful for? Why do we have to thank God for the bad things in life: death of a loved one, financial loss, lingering sickness, a difficult spouse, or a problematic child? These seemingly bad things are actually permitted by God to produce a greater good. For example: The unexpected death of a young man caused sadness to his parents; yet God actually took him at the best time when he had just gone to a retreat and confession. Or a great financial loss caused so Random Thoughts...from page 2 one of them, the other was a stranger to him. It was only the next day while praying in church that he saw a ragged beggar come in. Immediately recognizing him to be the other figure he embraced him and said, You are my companion and must walk with me. For if we hold together no earthly power can withstand us. Thus did the Dominicans with their contemporaries the Franciscans start a much discomfort and tension; yet it brought the family unity, opportunity for atonement, and growth in many virtues such as industriousness, patience and detachment. Moreover, we should think that the bad things could have been worse (something which we cannot accept). Thank God, I was only robbed but not killed. Thank God, I have poor eyesight; at least I can still see. Thank God, my husband has a bad temper; at least he does not beat me up or my children. A grateful person is humble, while an ungrateful person is not. A humble person realizes that he is nothing and that all things come from God. A proud person, on the other hand, finds it hard to acknowledge the favors done to him because he thinks he deserves them. That is why the first element of gratitude is to recognize the favor received. There is a story about a man who lived in a cave, where he removed a thorn from the foot of a lion. Because of this, the lion was grateful and would even share his food with the man while he was in the cave. Years later this man, having been charged with a crime, was condemned to be eaten by wild animals in the amphitheater. At the time of the execution, a lion which was recently captured was released to eat the prisoner. Instead of eating him, the animal recognized his former benefactor. He was happy and leaped on him like a dog to his master. The judges, on hearing this story, released both man and lion. The lion then followed his master through the streets of Rome (without hurting anyone) until his death. new era in religious life the age of the so-called mendicants or beggars. They proclaimed the gospel on the road rather than living within an enclosed monastery. Francis was the troubador, poet, mystic of nature who received marks of the stigmata because he identified himself so closely with Christ. Poverty was his acknowledged cherished bride and his mission was to be a witness to the spirit of the Beatitudes. turn to page 4 August 9, 2015 There are also true stories of horses shedding tears or even starving themselves to death at the death of their masters, and also stories of faithful dogs and cats. If animals, with no other guide than natural instinct, can show their love and gratitude for their masters, how can man, possessing intelligence, lack gratitude towards his benefactor? The second element of gratitude is to express our appreciation and thanks. We can say many short prayers of thanksgiving. They may be taken from the Bible or composed by ourselves: Salamat sa Diyos or simply, Thanks, Jesus. We say thank you as often as we can remember, the moment we wake up, before closing our eyes at night. We thank our Lord not only in words but also in deeds. Thus the third element of gratitude is to repay the favor according to one s means. But we, who have nothing, can give nothing to God who has everything. What our Lord wants is that we give Him our love. We repay Him by avoiding sin (even venial sin) as it greatly offends him. We also repay Him by winning others to Christ, by being faithful to our vocation and duties in life. Holy Mass is a supreme manifestation of gratitude; thus, we prepare and live it as best as we can. Thanking God actually adds nothing to Him; instead it does more good to us. By thanking Him, we are actually increasing our love for Him. Let us develop this attitude of thanksgiving to God at all times. (Reference: The Sinner s Guide by Venerable Louis of Granada) 3

Parish Bulletin Random Thoughts...from page 3 Dominic, on the other hand, identified himself more with the missionary apostles at the service of the church. That his friars might be more effective preachers like himself he urged them to study theology and doctrine and become experts in its exposition. Thus the Dominicans produced such great theologians as Thomas Aquinas and Catherine of Siena. Dominic, himself, was the first ever appointed Papal Theologian, a position that has since been held only by a Dominican Priest. Unlike Francis who aspired to personify the gospel Dominic merely aspired to be its effective propagator. Thus his legacy was not in the example of personal holiness but in the apostolic movement he instituted and inspired. The Franciscans and Dominicans have always remained close celebrating the famous meeting of the two founders twice a year. On their respective feast days the brethren of the two orders sing Mass in each others churches and afterwards sit at the same table. Dominic died in Bologna, Italy on August 6, 1221 and was canonized in 1234 by his friend Pope Gregory IX. The Dominicans had become successful in conversion work through prayer especially the holy Rosary since Dominic was a great lover of Mary, charity, humility, and willing poverty. They became the leading orders of missionaries and teachers establishing the University of Sto. Tomas here in the Philippines, even earlier than Harvard in the United States. Dominic is represented holding a book his Rule. He is accompanied by a dog with a torch clamped in his jaws. Legend has it that before he was born his mother had a dream of a dog bearing a similar torch, which was symbolic of truth and light or of the fire of his zeal for souls. It is more probable that the symbolic dog arises from a pun - domini canis (sounds like Dominican) which is Latin for the master s (the Lord s) dog. Sources of Reference: Butler s Lives of the Saints Vol. III pp. 258 264; The Book of Saints p. 207; All Saints pp. 339 341; and others. While Francis and Dominic were significantly different in vision and style they were alike in their zeal and great love for God. Rad more on St. Dominic at our website www.ssaparish.com 4 A Samar...from page 1 bugs, every city slicker s nightmare. Though we were excited as well. This was our first trip to go help build homes and didn t know a thing about building, but we were all pumped and thrilled to be part of this adventure and service for the people of Samar. I thought of this trip to be my charity work cause I am not as active with the other ministries of the church than I should be. I just can t find myself wanting to be active in them unlike being a part of this opportunity. This was to me a calling to serve, to be able to do the work of the Lord and be part of God s army in rebuilding lives. This I was capable of doing. As soon as we arrived at the airport of Tacloban, native dancers were there to greet us passengers. What a sight to see with all their smiling faces and energetic dancing. It didn t feel like a place that has gone thru devastation. We made our way to one of our SYAers home near the airport, who which was part of the organization committee. We were all welcomed with open arms by her family and of course with a hearty breakfast to start the day. Then we headed off to the pier to catch a 15 min. boat ride to San Antonio, Basey, Samar. As soon as we docked there was Fr. Reu to welcome us to the Barangay and show us where we would be spending our nights at, in the Parish Center of San Antonio. We settled in nicely and we even got surprised that we would actually be having the air-conditioned office as our sleeping quarters. What a blessing we all thought, cause this whole time we were prepping ourselves that we would be sleeping in quarters where only an electric fan would be given to us or even none, just the breeze of the province and mosquito nets as refuge from mosquitos. We didn t expect to be sleeping in an air-conditioned area. So when we heard A/C we were all so happy knowing that after a tiring day at the work site we would be coming home to this. Sleeping on the floor we didn t mind anymore. Bags were all positioned neatly, we prepared and got into gear and set out to head to the site. It was a nice leisure walk from the parish, less than turn to page 5

August 9, 2015 A Samar...from page 4 a kilometer. Lunch was served and we started to help out in steel work together with the other Franciscan brothers. Work wasn t that bad because we had great company, good conversations, and delicious food to nourish us. All we did was laugh a lot, bonded with the Franciscan brothers also with the mothers and lolas who gave their time preparing our food every single day; from breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner they were there to keep us healthy we were well fed. For 3 days we did manual labor: steel work, digging, transporting hollow blocks from the manufacturing station up towards the houses and tree planting. But we never forgot to say morning masses before we started our days. Our days would start at 6:30am for mass and would end at 6pm to clean up then dinner at 7pm onwards. Come the 3rd day our bodies were tired since we weren t used to this kind of physical work. But the tiredness was worth every pain especially knowing that you are doing this for the families that lost a lot and even everything. Just seeing the smiles on their faces and hearing their ever non-stop Thank you s was just so heart warming. Mobile reception there was sparse that I forgot about the city. Not having signal helped because I was so involved in the building and didn t mind any more if I got a message or not. Conversations were also being shared rather than everyone being busy checking out the news on their mobiles. I felt connected. On the 4th day, Sunday, there was a medical mission planned and it was our last day before we, SYAers headed back to Tacloban and the friars and brothers back on the road to Manila. It was sad because all the mothers and lolas that had prepared our food were teary eyed to see us leave. It was also sad to know that we were going back to civilization and to the concrete jungle we call Manila. We all felt a little bit of separation anxiety (sepanx) leaving cause it meant that we wouldn t be waking up early in the morning to go to the site to hear mass and work and laugh around and help out. Even if it was a short time of service work it was such meaningful service that we were doing and it meant so much to each and every one of us that it was sad to leave. (Conclusion next week) 5

Parish Bulletin 9-Aug-15 Robert Andrew Sim & Rowena Briz Kyamko 21-Aug-15 Giovanni Bondan Bejarasco & Katrina Angela N. Lopez 22-Aug-15 Zandro Lacson Dacumos & Shylah Karen Ann Gaviola Salvador 29-Aug-15 Manuel Javier Coromina & Patricia Angelique E. Del Rosario, Villa San Miguel Chapel, Shaw Blvd, cor Jaime Cardinal Sin St, Mandaluyong 1-Sep-15 Mario V. Mercado Jr & Michelle Marie Z. Meneses 4-Sep-15 Lew Carlo C. Lopez & Maria Paz Geraldine J. Campos 5-Sep-15 Reagan Charloon C. Tapia & Jennie G. Joven 6-Sep-15 Frederick L. Valero & Mcihelle Lauren D.G. Sison Meldy Cojuangco Connie Gomez Marilou Arteficio Ma. Pilar Oledan Iggy Clavecilla Cecille Reynoso Maxima Amah Sy Aurora Gonzalez Tommy Dy Buncio Naning Bagabaldo Remedios Maceda Berris Cedric Castro Pilar del Gallego Nena Jalandoni Victoriano Chung Erlinda Miranda-Oledan Zwei Lopez Gadi Shallouh Bancil 6 WEDDING BANNS 8-Sep-15 Arnold Rañez Acesor & Karen Joy Nadera Hervera 13-Sep-15 Bryan Jan Ang & Micheleen Pua Subia 18-Sep-15 Jerome Sinjian Estrada II & Criselle Santos Mendoza 19-Sep-15 Karis Liam Johann Napa & Maria Isabel Francesca Jalbuena, Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica, Beaterio cor. Cabildo St. Intramuros, Manila 20-Sep-15 Wayne Patrick Hsu & Sandra T. Go 21-Sep-15 Soi Kitaguchi & Catherine Andal 25-Sep-15 Cyrus Angelo Alon Castillo & April Nerona Cubillan 27-Sep-15 Mikhail Lew Perez Ver & Giselle Marie Santos Tioleco 7-Oct-15 Ashok Kumar Parmanand & Ma. Cristina Enriquez Please Pray for the Sick Swinnerton Tony Boy Floirendo Jr. Francisco Tankiang Cynthia Arms Felicisimo Alcantara Rosario de Leon Tobias Gloria Syjuco Raffy Chan Edric Co Peter Soo Chito San Jose Ron Jacobs Nancy Imperial Johnny Lopez Lisa Alvendia Letty Ligon Norma J. Carlos Sony Lopez Gonzalez 10-Oct-15 Francis Jorge Allorina Yamaguchi & Margaux Muriel Estrella 11-Oct-15 Franz Christian Uy Pe & Hazel Go Garcia 12-Oct-15 Marlon Ong Olivan & Angela Cecilia G. Nibungco, Lady of All Nations, Bali, Indonesia 15-Nov-15 David Ignacio C. Estacio & Bryna Joan M. Guevarra 17-Oct-15 Jackson Peralta & Candice Grace Ching Nocom 21-Nov-15 Gabriel Ramirez & Diana Maria Natalia Domingo Pineda 23-Nov-15 Matthew Aaron Vail & Jade Ann Serafin 23-Nov-15 Juan Antonio M. Maningat & Ana Patricia K. Cortes 28-Nov-15 Andrew P. Agunod Jr & Margarita Christina M. Ruiz Shaina Budhrani Gia Gonzalez Daniel Lao Orlando Bernardo Rolando Sotaso Cecilio Hidalgo Victorina Leus Iya Ocampo Bernadette Gozali Guillermo Profeta Dra. Ofelia Adapon Soledad T. Consing If you want a name added or deleted, contact Bernadette at the Parish office tel. nos. 8438830-32. CALENDAR OF MINISTRIES FOR THE WEEK SUNDAY AUGUST 9 * 4:00PM - CORO Practice MONDAY AUGUST 10 * 8:00AM -Thrift Shop * 3:00PM - OFS Formation TUESDAY AUGUST 11 * 9:00AM - CWL Free Clinic * 9:00AM - JPIC Hospital Ministry PGH Visitation * 2:00PM - Health Care Ministry Dancercise Open to All Parishioners * 4:00PM - Marian Cenacle Group Prayer Meeting exercise WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12 13-Aug-15 Ronald Velayo Nenette Jalandoni Quintin CuUnjieng Auring Villanueva Bobet Vera 14-Aug-15 Tammy Monsod Jerry Reyes BIRTHDAYS 15-Aug-15 William Go Luigi P. Meer Lim Chun Cham Letty Roxas-Chua Katrina Ann Cuevas Ramon Velhagen 16-Aug-15 Jimmy Cueto Rosanne de Lange Tamy Dimayuga Annette Martinez THURSDAY AUGUST 13 * 9:00AM - Health Care Ministry Visitation at Rizal Medical Center, Pasig City * 7:00PM - SYA Prayer meeting FRIDAY AUGUST 14 *11:00AM - Adoration Chapel Monthly mass * 2:00PM - Health Care Ministry Dancercise Open to All Parishioners * 7:00PM - Household Help Charismatic Prayer meeting * 7:00PM - SYA Payday Prayer * 9:00PM - Tig-Awit Choir Practice SATURDAY AUGUST 15 * 4:00PM - VOSA Choir Practice * 4:00PM - LUKE 18 Prayer meeting Garret Dragon Poppete Angeles Oliver Conda Cerry Wakat For corrections and additions to this list, contact Susan at the parish office.

August 9, 2015 LEASE / SALE FORBES DASMA URDA SAN LO BEL AIR MAGA CONNIE PERIQUET GATMAITAN CYNTHIA GATMAITAN MENCHACA TELS.: 8130875 8672227 CELL (0917)8109379 3/F SEDCCO BLDG., RADA ST., LEGASPI VILL., MAKATI CITY 7

Health Care Ministry/ Hospital Committee By Chuchi Quevedo It is our privilege to bring the love of God and the love of San Antonio parishioners to the indigent patients in the Rizal Medical Center (RMC) located near C5, along Shaw Blvd Extension. Since 2004, the Health Care Ministry members have become a channel through which patients and their watchers are able to feel the love of God in a very concrete way: through our weekly visits, we are able to extend Pastoral Care Service -- listening to the concerns of the patients and relatives. We also extend medical assistance in cases where the patients cannot afford to buy medicines or antibiotics, nor go through much needed diagnostic tests for lack of funds. We sometimes provide non-medical assistance, providing food for the watcher when necessary and transportation money for home conduction of discharged patients who are invalid and with no watcher. Many of our parishioners who have the resources are willing to help, but do not have the time to go to the hospital. By donating to the San Antonio Parish, their love is freely delivered to the indigent patients. The patients are pre-screened by the social workers of RMC, to ensure that the patient is qualified. A short background of the family and patient is provided in writing, and a picture is also taken by us. We scrutinize the prescriptions and make sure that the medicines are procured by us from a nearby pharmacy, and then delivered to the patient, to be administered by the nurse on the same day. We walk an extra mile to ensure that your donation goes to the proper person and that not a centavo is wasted. In 2014, we disbursed P400K to 127 patients, with only 4 mortality, and 124 discharged, with improvement. Here are some pictures of patients and the volunteers of HCM.