“I love you, Lord…”

To love is to share yourself. It means you’ll never have to say you’re sorry, or have done enough. It’s infinitum.

Love should not just be defined as an intense feeling of a deep affection, otherwise, it becomes stagnant. Rather, it should be seen as an enacted emotion. God did not just love the world and just stayed with the word. Rather, he did the act of giving his son for us as his greatest gift to complement that love. Your affection has to go down deeper even to the extent of giving your life for the recipient’s benefit. You don’t just pity a hungry person but share him food. You don’t just wish wellness to someone who’s sick but share some acts of a visit and gestures of comfort. You don’t just pray for a fallen friend but extending a hand to lift him up. Love is never kept but shared. God loves you unconditionally despite your past if you are just willing to make that act of absorbing your life with him as he asks.

Don’t just define love like a paradigm. It’s always a showtime.

HOLY DOOR INAUGURATED AT A JOSEPHINIAN PARISH IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF JARO

HOLY DOOR INAUGURATED AT A JOSEPHINIAN PARISH IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF JARO

Very Rev. Msgr. Jose Marie Delgado, PC, VG, lead the Rite of Opening of the Holy Door at the Patronage of Saint Joseph Parish, Pototan, Iloilo last April 12, 2021.

POTOTAN, ILOILO – It was a special grace to open one of the 500YOC Jubilee Doors at a parish dedicated to Saint Joseph as 2021 was also designated as the Year of Saint Joseph.

On the morning of April 12, 2021, the 5th Holy Door was opened at the Parish of the Patronage of Saint Joseph, Pototan, Iloilo. The rite of opening of the Holy Door was officiated by Very Rev. Msgr. Jose Marie Delgado, PC, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Jaro. Following the rite was the celebration of the Holy Mass which was concelebrated with the priests in the Vicariate of St. Matthias.

Aside from the privileges granted upon entering the Holy Doors designated for the celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines, the Holy Father Pope Francis also imparts the plenary indulgence on occasions and devotions dedicated to this noble saint and “Protector of the Universal Church.” Such may be attained when the faithful will recite any legitimately approved prayer or act of piety in honor of St. Joseph, for example, “To you, O blessed Joseph” especially on “19 March, on 1 May, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, on St. Joseph’s Sunday (according to the Byzantine tradition) on the 19th of each month and every Wednesday, a day dedicated to the memory of the saint according to the Latin tradition.”

Photo credits to the Social Communications Team of the Patronage of Saint Joseph Parish.

“LORD, I TURST IN YOU…”

Never be afraid to face the tomorrows of your life with an ardent trust that everything will gonna be alright.

Each day brings about new challenges that would create inhibitions of how to face the coming days of your life. This is where your faith comes in. Your trust in God will cease all doubts that cause fears and thereby strengthens your esteem steadfastly. Your trust in God teaches you to stay calm and to face the contrast of your weariness to become serene but composed. When you hold on to God, the thought itself provides the stamina to endure any stimulus to weakness and frailty. Your faith in God will become your stronghold to never back down. Your faith in God will let you leave the pains of the past and opens an optimism of a new beginning. Your faith in God becomes your breath to a new life. Just humbly ask him to blow in you the spirit of an inner flame that will forever warm your dying heart.

Never lose faith. Never lose God. He’s the only one you’ve got.

“Make me humble of heart, oh lord…”

Never indulge in debates just for ego-satisfaction. It’s a no-contest where winners get the boost while losers defy defeat.

With myriads of religions surrounding us, conflicts of teachings have led to an inevitable argument of who’s who speaks the truth. Oftentimes, it creates distance and animosity among subordinates and the essence of fellowship lost. The call of being God’s children is not all about intellectual stance but more in the kind of life lived in accord with his will. What God has hidden from the learned and the clever he has revealed to the merest. Believe in the faith you have stood with and propagate it from your heart through the way you live your life and not just through the eloquence of your lips. Salvation speaks not of attaining intellectual feats par excellence but of having the meekness in spreading the love of God. He sees not your expertise per se but the manifestation of such that benefits the multitude.

God would rather see the humility of your heart than your pride which keeps you apart.

HOLY DOOR OFFICIALY OPENED AT THE HOME OF THE “1ST STONE CHURCH IN PANAY”

The Holy Door of the Parish of Saint Augustine, Dumangas, Iloilo, one of the 1st visitas in Panay Island as erected by the Spanish Augustinian Missionaries in 1575

DUMANGAS, ILOILO – The Holy Door of the Parish of Saint Augustine, Dumangas, Iloilo was officially opened last Saturday morning, April 10, 2021, to mark the year-long Jubilee Year celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines. The rite of opening of the Holy Door was officiated by Very Rev. Fr. Juan Parreñas, Parish Priest and Vicar Forane, in behalf of the Archbishop of Jaro. Following the opening of the Porta Sancta, Holy Mass was offered by Rev. Fr. Jesus Glofel Manaay, who, at the same time, was celebrating his birthday on that day. It was concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Dindo Rei Tesoro, Parish Priest of Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, whose Holy Door was opened two days prior to the inauguration at the Dumangas Parish.

According to historical accounts, Dumangas, formerly known as Araud or Araut, was one of the 1st visitas in Panay Island as erected by the Spanish Augustinian Missionaries in 1575. It was also believed that 1st Mass was celebrated in this place as it is the home of the 1st stone church in the Island of Panay. The visita of Araut became the Iglesia Matriz (Mother Church) of many parishes north-side of the province of Iloilo.

Photos courtesy of the Soccom Team of St. Augustine Parish of Dumangas, Iloilo

“EMBRACE ME IN YOUR LOVE, OH LORD…”

What you hear from others is entirely different from what you know yourself. Respect your judgment.
Never be intimidated of what others say about you. They just repeat what they had in their minds. Any retaliation for the harm inflicted will only justify your feelings but never your act. The pain you’ve endured could never outmatch the joy of exhonarating and forgiving your offender. Focus not on what would others say that creates enmity, rather, center your attention to what your inner self dictates to pacify. God’s way of reconciliation is to redeem back the sinner to the fold but never of rejection. Allow God to take control of your mind and heart that you will never swerve from the path he wants you to trod. Never be imprisoned by the impulsiveness of your emotion but feel the freedom of being unscathed of any regret. Just keep doing good even if others cannot. Grant your critics the benefit of being loved, as they have forfeited them from above.
Our egos will make us diversified, but God’s love will bring us unified.

“Let God… let go…”

Bet you’ll feel better and nice if you follow the Lord against your will.

For quite some time, what you know better would not be the way God would see it as something even good. Experts as they were in the field of fishing, the disciples knew every technicality of their work, but contrary to their credo they followed Jesus and got the bigger haul of their labor. God knows better beyond your own expertise. He knows deep your thoughts but he goes further to give provision to your deeper essentials. What you will deem impossible, he finds a way. So, don’t be stuck in your desolation when things aren’t the way it is planned. It may not be according to your wants but God knows better to suffice your need far more than your excellence. Never argue with God, for he is deaf with your pride but sensitive to your humility. Allow him to navigate your rudder for he knows the shift to the life you deserve without falter.

Take a leap from your comfort zone and risk letting God manage your intellectual throne.

HOLY DOOR IN BTAC. VIEJO PARISH, OFFICIALLY OPENED

HOLY DOOR IN BTAC. VIEJO PARISH, OFFICIALLY OPENED


The Holy Door in the Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo was opened last April 8, 2021 as it was designated as one of the seven Jubilee Churches in the Archdiocese of Jaro. The opening of the Jubilee Door was done in connection to the fifth centenary of Christianity in the Philippines. Rev. Fr. Juan Parreñas, Vicar Forane of the Vicariate of Saint Jude Thaddeus, initiated the rite in behalf of Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo.

2
7
5
1
Previous
Next

The celebration was attended by faithful of Barotac Viejo and neighboring towns within the Vicariate. During the celebration, it was explained that, along with the opening of the Holy Doors in the different church in the Philippines, is the grant of the Plenary Indulgence by the Apostolic Penitentiary to all who pass through it. The Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish is the 3rd parish church in the Archdiocese of Jaro that had opened its holy doors, in behalf of the Archbishop, on the occasion of the Jubilee Year for the 500th Anniversary of the Arrival of Christianity in the Philippines. It is now ready to welcome the faithful to avail this special opportunity and grace from the Lord.

3
6
8

Photos by: Sts. Peter and Paul Media Ministry

“PEACE BE WITH YOU…”

Vengeance can only become sweeter for those who aim to rebuild but not to destroy, to gather but not to scatter.

Unlike in a movie plot, God has shown us how he avenged his being abandoned by sharing his presence among those who deserted him. Not a word of condemnation but of meekness to greet them with peace. Not of any rejection to inhibit them but of an invitation to even touch him. Not of any pride to make a recompense but of the lowliness to even ask for their food to spend. His was not of revenge that would inflict anger and resentment but of reciprocating their loss by bringing them back his presence. When the harm done is retaliated with love, guilt is more felt and reconciliation hastened, confidence built up, and dedication thrives where faithfulness is strengthened. Much love is given by those who are forgiven much. Peace can only exist, not in an absence of a war, but in the cleansing of one’s mind and heart.

Peace can only be with you when you’re sincere enough to respond with “And also with you.”

“WALK WITH ME OH, LORD

It might had been beyond our knowledge, but we had been walking with God and meeting him personally in our daily life.
When I once walked this very same road of Emmaus, I thought it felt great to have trod that same route. Only later did I realize that I had been trodding a lot of these roads back home and there were a lot of Jesuses I met and walked with, that I failed to recognize his presence – among the hungry, the undeprived, and the destitutes. They could have had my better attention and I wouldn’t have gone too far just to feel his presence. I was too slow to perceive that he was just within my reach. I talked and preached eloquently about him, but little did I comprehend that I could have had talked with him among them. Oftentimes, we missed the opportunity of recognizing the bare presence of God in the daily events of our lives. It might have been unknown to us but we have been walking with him, talking to him, and eating with him. In this sad time of pandemic, there are a lot of him that we can walk with, so let’s get hold of this encounter by limiting our talks and keeping our hands to work.
Serving Jesus, then, will be our walk of a new road to Emmaus in our lives again.