Chapel of the Divine Healer Celebrates Rosary Month

The Chapel of the Divine Healer of Southern Philippines Medical Center joins the entire Catholic Church in the observance of the Rosary Month.  The Chaplaincy Office, led by Fr. Domingo Barawid, MI, the new chaplain, initiated different activities for the celebration.  One is the six-day visitation of the sick prior to the Feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Fr. Meng, together with the different religious organizations such as the Mother Ignacia Movement, Divine Mercy in My Soul Community, Miraculous Medal Community, Banal na Pag-aaral,  Daughters of Mary Immaculate, among others, took turns in visiting the sick in the different wards of the hospital and prayed the rosary with the patients and watchers.  The visitation was done in the morning before the noontime Holy Mass.

A gallery of the Blessed Mother was also set up outside the chapel to highlight the importance of the occasion and to encourage Marian devotion.  Different statuettes of Mama Mary, bearing different titles, were displayed in the gallery which lasted for the whole month of October.

Hands Clasped in Prayer

Gathered at the St. Camillus Hospital lobby in front of the image of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, the hospital personnel and staff launched the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary at 11:00 AM last October 1, 2010.  Different groups from within the hospital took turns in sponsoring the daily activity during the month of the Rosary.

Through the initiative and invitation of the Hospital Chaplain, Fr. Tex Buntol, MI, and the approval and support of the Hospital Director, Fr. James Roa, MI, the SCH personnel clasped their hands in prayer, deepening their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This was indeed a concrete act of solidarity with the whole Church and with the Ministers of the Infirm in particular, “who venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary with singular devotion, devoutly celebrate Her feasts, and honor Her by praying the Rosary.” (Const., Art. 68)

Parish Ministry

The first few months in Annunciata Parish, Boso-Boso were spent visiting parishioners for consultation. Visiting was not that easy.

While celebrating the Eucharist in UK (Upper Kilingan Chapel), heavy rain poured down causing us a hard time to go home. On our way home, our vehicle got stuck in the mud. One of those young men who helped us spoke soothing words, "We are pleased that you visit us despite our bumpy and muddy road."

Last September 2, 2010, my raincoat and hiking boots were already prepared for a three-hour hike to Sitio Paglitao where Indigenous Dumagat People reside. The rivers we need to cross became so swollen after heavy rains that night in their area. With the advice of the people, we just visited a nearby Dumagat village. To my raincoat and boots, better luck next time.

Visit is full of surprises! Even God surprises us when His dwelling in people's history reaches its fullness in the incarnation of Jesus, a simple man of Nazareth. "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (John 1:14). May His salvific blessings intended for all reach rural and neglected areas.

These simple visits threw on me some fresh light on Jesus' old formula: "Come and see." (John 1:39) Indeed, it is a cleansing, nourishing, and refreshing encounter with Jesus and His people.

Novices on Fishing Expedition

 
Posters? Check!
Brochures? Check!
Pamphlets? Check!
Budget? Check!

It’s all about preparation for the fishing expedition (vocation promotion) of the novices. As in the gospel, we were sent two-by-two to some “major major” provinces in Northern Luzon – Ilocos Norte and Sur, Abra, Pangasinan and La Union. But please “excuse us” for we brought with us money bags and sandals for a week of fishing in various schools in places where we needed to submit to the earthly rules (money for food and other basic needs); of course just enough money to survive from day to day. Luckily, there were good and generous people who willingly extended help for the mission: the Sisters of Divine Zeal in Laoag City, with their superior Sr. Noime Fuderan, FDZ; the sisters of St. Paul of Chartes in Vigan with their superior Sr. Loren, SPC; and Fr. Bernie of the Diocese of Urdaneta.

SCCS celebrates 25 years with a week-long activities

St. Camillus College Seminary celebrated its 25th Foundation Anniversary with a week-long activities from September 20-25, 2010. The theme for this year was “Celebrating  25 years of Knowing, Loving & Serving.”

Day 1: Medical Mission

St. Camillus de Lellis once said, “I wish I have a hundred arms to do more for the sick.” 

Indeed, the hundred arms that Camillus wished were somehow realized through the collaboration and active participation of the college-seminary community during the medical mission on September 20, 2010.  The first day of the celebration of SCCS 25th anniversary was full of enthusiasm, vigor and inspiration for the seminarians in actualizing their love for the sick that the hundred arms of St. Camillus reached out to people of Barangay Apitong in Marikina City.

Through flood waters darkly…

A Hindu Community in Kot Addu

On Saturday, October 16, 2010, after almost three months of floods, Fr. Aris and I and a Caritas staff member drove to a Hindu community in Kot Addu in the southern Punjab province, almost at the exact centre of Pakistan. 

On our way, we dropped by several refugee camps in the city of Muzaffargarh, in the diocese of Multan. I saw so many people especially women and children sitting in tents made of cloth or improvised from parachute fabric. It was a very hot day, with dust blowing everywhere. The people ran towards us when we stopped our car to take some pictures. They have lost their homes.  I talked with one woman, a widow with five children, eldest of whom was around ten. Despair was all I could see in her eyes. I peeped inside the tent. I saw nothing - no food, no provisions, no clothes, no utensils. NOTHING but a plain sheet of sack cloth on which the tent occupants were sitting.  My heart broke. I asked a girl if she was studying. She said yes. She was one of the thousands of flood victims.

Finally we arrived at Kot Addu.  The community we visited was composed of 35-40 families. They were given the warning the night the floods came.  At around midnight they abandoned their houses.  Upon our arrival, all the men gathered around us.  I asked them if they had received anything from the government or Muslim communities or groups. Their representative uttered a big NO.  They are Hindu. The Muslims and other groups denied them help. They were not given tokens to get food rations, whereas their Muslim neighbors received assistance.

Amidst Wonders

With the development brought about by the continuous advancement in technology so many things are made easy.  Foods could be instantly served on our table.  Drinks could be easily provided any time we need it.  Information about anything could  be easily accessed just with the tip of your finger through the computer.  People can easily get in touch with their loved ones even how far they are.  Means of communication developed in a very unprecedented way.  Things that seemed to be impossible before became possible.  And we know that still many things could be discovered in the near future. 

We have not to forget that  God is behind all things that we are enjoying nowadays.

For all of this, we have to be thankful to human ingenuity.  But we have not to forget that  God is behind all these wonderful and useful things that we are enjoying nowadays.  It is because of God’s abounding goodness that He gifted humanity with such intelligence to be more creative in responding to human needs without deviating to what is right and morally good.

As we enjoy this development in different spheres of life, we do pray that we will not lose the sense of God’s presence.  The subtle way of worldly values could easily snatch from what is truly lasting values that are deeply rooted in God, for they are attractive and less sacrificing.  Rather we have to use them towards the realization of the Kingdom of God even here on earth.

In this time that technology is of great help and importance in our life, we have not also to  lose the sense of wonder on how God makes Himself closer to all of us in many ways.  But most especially in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist where Jesus said, “This is my Body… This is my Blood…”  Let us take the attitude of wonder and adoration which characterized Mary’s faith as our inspiration as we continue witnessing to the very love of Jesus in this world.

What do you do with a drained MP3 player, cellphone, laptop or just about any gadget?  You charge it.

But when a person is drained, what do you do? Here’s my story.

In the humdrum of today’s modern living, it is easy to get lost and just let the flow sweep you over. Working from home as an online writer is one of the most convenient types of employment. You get to work your own schedule just as long as you submit on time. Nonetheless, it is very easy to get caught up with the deadlines and forget the essentials.

I miss going out just to meet people and ask them how they are. I miss more serving everyday at mass when the workload permitted me to. These were simple joys, I should say.

As such, my best friend Pam and I planned to go around the city of Baguio on October 2, a Saturday, just to enjoy the scenery and be with each other. But since the novices invited me to play basketball with them, we gladly obliged to pay them a visit.

We had a whole day detour to the novitiate instead of going around the city. It was nice to play basketball in the Recoletos Seminary with the novices and join them for prayer and lunch after.  And as with any other group of seminarians or Camillians, you just need to do one thing to make them happy—treat them to ice cream. (Ehem!)

We also joined the novices and Fr. Ruben for the anticipated Mass at Pines City Doctors’ Hospital.

My best friend and I chatted on Facebook about the whole experience.  It was fun until I got the news—one she didn’t want to confide earlier for fear of spoiling all the joy the whole day affair brought us.

An uncanny feeling suddenly settled within me. Her doctor said that pains in her abdomen were early signs of leukemia or an unknown disease. She had asked other medical practitioners for second and third opinions and they all confirmed that she had bleeding in her digestive tract. I was caught with the “what ifs,” “why now” and “why ever.” It was as natural a reaction as that of people I have encountered in my apostolate—to question God.

It was relatively easy interacting with patients whom I just met in the hospital as compared to dealing with the situation of someone very close to my heart.

I had nothing to say to her but the assurance that I am and will be there for her.

But just when I thought I was helpless, a text reminded me: “…the most powerful weapon is at the end of your hands—PRAY.”

A very powerful reminder indeed.

This is the challenge for us all: to stay as connected as possible to the Power Source while going about doing His mission.

The Camillian spirit lives on.

Inspired.

Recharged.