PCJ's annual Christmas
Gift-Giving Program, Mula Sa Puso, was held last
Dec. 30, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The
beneficiaries, around 500 families consisting of
parishioners from the developing communities and
also the kasambahay members of Martha's
Ministry, were all given gift bags
containing grocery items worth more than P500.
Our parish priest, Fr. Rodel Paulino,
personally handed the gift bags to each of the
recipients. This annual outreach program
of the parish is made possible thru the
generosity and continuous support of
parishioners, who always heed the call of our
parish to donate in cash or in kind for the Mula
Sa Puso. Maraming salamat po sa inyong
lahat.
PCJ Parish had a unique advent
recollection held last Dec. 7, 2011 inside the
church. Instead of just one speaker, we
were blessed to have three good looking,
eloquent and very engaging speakers - Bishop
Jesse Mercado, Fr. John Paul (Raprap) Del
Rosario and Fr. Willy Ramos. The format of
the recollection was very different from the
usual lecture type. It was instead an informal
and conversational discussion among the three
gentlemen, just like watching a live talk show
where the panelists discuss among themselves the
issues at hand, which in this case is all about
advent. The following points were stressed
in the course of the discussion:
Before, when we speak of advent, the focus is
all about one's preparation for Christmas.
In fact, when we look at the history of
salvation, it was God himself who prepared
mankind for the coming of the Messiah from the
time of Abraham to whom God made his first
covenant , to the time of Moses who freed the
Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, to
the time of David from whose lineage the
Messiah will come, to the time of Isaiah
who prophesied hope in the coming of the
Messiah and up to the birth of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
If
God took the initiative of preparing mankind
for the coming of the Messiah, how then do we
respond?
We
can look at Mary, our Blessed Mother, on how
we can become advent people. She is a
model of faith in her fiat - when she accepted
God's will that she become the mother of the
savior.
Mary is the first missionary when she visited
her cousin Elizabeth. Mary brought joy
to Elizabeth by bringing Christ who is in her
womb.
The
real spirit of Christmas is bringing joy to
other people by bringing Christ to them, just
like what Mary did.
Indeed, PCJ Parish was blessed to experience and
be moved by the advent message imparted during
the recollection. Thank you Bishop Jesse,
Fr. Raprap and Fr. Willy.
As part of the series of
fund-raising activities for the coming 30th
anniversary of PCJ in 2012, the parish held a
Christmas Bazaar with the theme "PCJ's Pearl of Great
Price" for four consecutive weekends starting
Nov. 26 and ending on Dec. 18. 2011. The parish
bazaar was held in the church plaza and was
spearheaded by the Knights of Columbus Council
8565 under the leadership of Grand Knight Dan Cosme. The bazaar featured a wide array of
gift and food items with some well known
concessionaires participating, such as National
Bookstore, San Miguel Mills, Yellow Cab and Via
Mare. An hourly raffle of prizes was held
which gave the lucky shoppers a chance to win
gifts and food items donated by the shop owners.
This year, PCJ parish had a
more solemn celebration of the feast of Christ
the King. Starting on November 19 after
the 6 p.m. anticipated mass, a prayer vigil and
holy hour were held inside the church. After the
vigil, the participants were given the
opportunity to sign on a big poster showing the
image of Christ the King, signifying their
intention of having Jesus as the King of their
lives. Then on the feast day on Nov. 20, a
procession of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by
a benediction were held inside the church after
the 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. masses, led by our
parish priest, Fr. Rodel Paulino.
Rev. Fr. Rodel Paulino, PCJ
Parish Priest celebrated his birthday on
Oct. 8 Saturday, at PCJ with a concelebrated
mass at 6:45 a.m. followed by a breakfast
salu-salo at the PCJ Sacred Heart Center.
Earlier, his former parishioners at St. Martin
De Porres serenaded him with a mañanita
in the wee hours of the morning.
In his homily, Fr. Rodel
mentioned that Oct. 8, 2011 not only marked his
38th birthday but also his 100th day as parish
priest of PCJ. He said that he now
considers PCJ as his new home, where he will be
creating new memories and milestones with his
parishioners. He also challenged the
members of parish ministries and organizations
to be at home, not only in their respective
groups, but more so with the entire PCJ parish
community. He stressed that being at home,
not only within your comfort zone, but also to
reach out to others, can be possible only
if one is rooted in the word of God.
We wish Fr. Rodel a Happy
Birthday and may God continue to guide his
journey as a priest. Mabuhay ka Fr. Rodel!
Martha's Ministry (Ministry
for Kasambahay) was formally established at PCJ
when the first assembly of its members was held
last October 2, 2011 (Sunday) from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at
the PCJ Sacred Heart Center. There were a
total of 52 attendees. The goal of the
ministry is to impart to our household help the
proper catechism about our faith, values
formation and skills training (like cooking,
flower arrangement, soap making, etc.) that will
upgrade the knowledge of the participants
and will be most beneficial to them. Allan and
Vangie Tarroza are the couple head of the new
ministry.
In his opening remarks to
welcome the attendees, Rev. Fr. Rodel Paulino,
PCJ Parish Priest, assured the kasambahay that
they are all part of the parish. He
mentioned the various programs that will be
initiated by the parish for the kasambahay.
which will include the establishment of an adult
high school in the parish. Fr. Rodel also
mentioned that a more apt name for this new
ministry is Martha's Ministry - based on the
bible passage of Martha and Mary, the sisters of
Lazarus, who were close friends of Jesus.
That afternoon, the
participants-kasambahay got to know and interact
with each other and some gamely shared their talents in singing
by entertaining the group. They were also
taught how to make the popular native merienda
fare, pitchi -pitchi, followed by a simple
merienda of pancit and pitchi-pitchi.
The assembly for participants
will be conducted on a semi-monthly basis,
wherein there will be catechism class, skills
training and fellowship.
In its second assembly
last Nov. 6, the members of the ministry further
increased to 60. The topic for that day,
as discussed by Bro. Allan Tarroza, focused on
the basic truths about the Catholic faith - that
we were all created by God out of His love and
are called to be children of God. But sin
separates us from God, so God sent His Son,
Jesus Christ to redeem us from sin and reconcile
us back to God. All of us are given the
invitation to accept Jesus Christ into our own
life as our personal Lord and Savior.
After the Catechism, the
participants were taught by Tita Mameng Yee the
basics of flower arrangement. From the
skillful and creative hands of Tita Mameng, the
inexpensive flowers bought from the market were
turned into beautiful and elaborate center piece
arrangements.
We wish to thank PCJ
parishioners who heeded the call to encourage
and allow their kasambahay to be part of
Martha's Ministry.
The PCJ through
the Commission on the Family intends to launch
programs that will provide free legal
assistance, counseling and the like to assist
migrant workers and their families. If you have
any relative who is already working abroad or
planning to leave to work overseas, kindly fill
up the Survey
Form. Your
answers to the questionnaire will enable us to
determine the specific needs you may have and
which we will try to provide.
PCJ Parish, led by the Marian
Circle, offered 2,000 Hail Marys for the
birthday of Mama Mary last Sept. 8, 2011.
Starting at around 7:45 a.m. and ending at 7:00
p.m., the members of the various parish mandated
organizations took turns in praying 100 Hail
Marys, offered candles and flowers to Our Lady
of Candelaria and dropped their prayer
intentions and petitions in the designated
petition box. At the end of the 2,000 Hail
Marys, the contents of the petition box were
burned as an offering to the Blessed Mother.
Having Our Lady of Candelaria as our patron and
guide for the past 29 years in our parish, this
is our modest way of showing our gratitude and devotion
to the Blessed Mother.
Prayers, candles and flowers were
offered before the image of Our Lady of
Candelaria
The prayer intentions and
petitions were burned after the 2,000 Hail Marys.
The PCJ Commission on Education
headed by Jojo
and Lenna Dunglao and Commission on Youth,
headed by April and Ailee Dionela,
launched the New Creation Seminar for single
young adults last August 27, Saturday, 2-5pm at
the PCJ Sacred Heart Center. The seminar which
is open for young adults with ages ranging
between 20-39 is a rare chance for our young
parishioners especially those who are actively
serving the parish, to get the ample
pastoral nourishment they seriously need in
their service. At present, there are 17
attendees to the seminar which will run for 8
consecutive Saturdays.
Last August 5, 2011, despite
his very busy schedule, Bishop Jesse Mercado
took the time to meet and dialogue with the PCJ
Parish Transition Team and Finance Council, at
around 8 p.m. The Parish Transition Team is
composed of Noemi Poblador, PCJ Executive
Assistant, Sherry Alingod, PCJ Parish
Administrator, Chit Cabrejas, PCJ Parish
Treasurer and member of the Finance Council,
Malou Mayo, Head of the Commission on Liturgy,
Cristy Dimarucut, Head of the Commission on
Human Promotions and Lorna Buenviaje, head of
the Commission on the Family and a member of the
Finance Council. The other two members of
the Parish Finance Council are Jose Luis Javier
and Luis Ymson, Jr.
The purpose of the meeting was
for the Bishop to get a first-hand feedback on
the impact of the recent reshuffle of parish
priests on the community, in the parish programs
and in the management of financial resources of
the parish. The Parish Transition Team
assured the Bishop that since Fr. Rodel is not
new in the parish, having served as Asst. Parish
Priest in 2005, the parishioners, staff and
organization heads and members readily welcomed
their new parish priest. Fr. Rodel has
assured everyone that the various formation and
social services programs that Fr. Rolly has
initiated will be continued during his term.
In fact, the changes that Fr. Rodel plans to
implement in the parish will complement
what has been started by Fr. Rolly.
We wish to express our
gratitude to Bishop Jesse Mercado for his
pastoral care for the entire Diocese. May
God continue to bless you in all your endeavors.
Last August 4, 2011, Thursday,
coinciding with the feast of St. John Mary
Vianney, the patron saint of all parish priests,
PCJ parishioners formally welcomed their new
parish priest, Fr. Rodel Paulino and his
parochial vicar, Fr. Steve Villanueva, thru a
thanksgiving mass held at 7 p.m. inside the
parish church. The
concelebrated mass with the community of PCJ
priests present (Fr. Rodel, Fr. Steve, Fr. John,
Fr. Willy and Rev. Raprap) had Bishop Jesse
Mercado as main celebrant.
In his homily, Bishop Jesse
said that the PCJ community is very blessed to
have several priests in their midst to help and
guide parishioners in their spiritual journey.
There exists a mutual reciprocal relationship
between the priests and their flock - the main
goal of all priests is to bring people closer to
God, but at the same time, the community become
instruments for the priests in making real the
presence of God in their priestly lives.
He enjoined everyone to pray unceasingly for all
their priests, so that they may continue
in their commitment to serve God thru the
salvation of souls.
After the mass, a salu-salo
ensued at the front entrance of the church.
Fr. Rodel took time to mingle with his new
parishioners during the salu-salo.
As part of the general
reshuffle of all priests in the Diocese of
Paranaque, Fr. Rodel Paulino formally took over
as new parish priest of PCJ last July 1, 2011.
The previous day, June 30, a mass installation
of all diocesan priests in their new parish
assignments was held at the Cathedral of St.
Andrew in Parañaque, with Bishop Jesse Mercado
officiating the Holy Mass. The various
parishes were represented by their respective
parish transition teams. After the
installation rites, the newly installed diocesan
priests went to the representatives of their
respective parishes who warmly welcomed their
new parish priests.
Our former parish priest, Fr.
Rolando Agustin has been assigned to St. Andrew
Cathedral in Tambo, Paranaque. On his last
day at PCJ last June 30, Fr. Rolly hosted a
lunch thanksgiving for the members of the Parish
Pastoral Council and parish organizations, after
which, a busload of his parishioners accompanied
him to his new Parish at St. Andrew.
Afterwards, PCJ's former Asst. Parish Priest,
Fr. Rio Evangelista, who is now assigned as
parish priest of Jesus the Divine Healer Parish
in Tahanan Village, was also accompanied by his
former parishioners to his new parish. Fr.
Jess Estrada will be assisting Fr. Rio as
Asst. Parish Priest.
Last June 28, Tuesday, PCJ
Parish held a welcome dinner for Fr. Rodel
Paulino after the 7:00 p.m. Novena mass for the
Feast of the Sacred Heart which he concelebrated
together with Fr. Rolly. Fr. Rodel was
accompanied by his former parishioners from St.
Martin De Porres Parish in United Hills, Parañaque, who came in full force to show
their love and support for their former parish
priest. Fr. Rodel is actually not new to
PCJ, having served as Asst. Parish Priest
in 2005 in the early years of Fr. Rolly's term in PCJ. So Fr. Rolly assured
his former parishioners that Fr. Rodel will
continue the formation projects he has began and will also have the same
preferential concern and compassion for the poor
and the sick in the parish.
On behalf of the whole PCJ
community, we welcome back our new Parish Priest Fr. Rodel Paulino and bid farewell and extend our
heartfelt gratitude to our former Parish Priest,
Fr. Rolly Agustin, our former Asst. Parish
Priest, Fr. Rio Evangelista and Fr. Jess
Estrada, a former resident guest priest of PCJ.
Mabuhay kayo Fr. Rodel, Fr. Rolly, Fr. Rio and
Fr. Jess!!!
Despite the heavy rains
brought by the recent typhoon, PCJ organization
members and parishioners came in full force last
June 25, 2011, Saturday at around 7 p.m., to bid
farewell to our beloved parish priest Fr. Rolly
Agustin and to his assistant parish priest Fr.
Rio Evangelista and resident guest priest Fr.
Jess Estrada. All of them will soon
be leaving our parish for their new assignments
effective July 1, 2011, as part of the general
reshuffle of priests in the Diocese of Parañaque.
Due to the inclement
weather, the venue for the thanksgiving dinner
was transferred to the covered court of the BF
Northwest clubhouse. (We wish to thank the
officers of BF Northwest Homeowners Association
for allowing us to use their facilities that
evening.) The evening's festivities began
with a sumptuous buffet dinner, complemented
with two roasted calves and four big lechon
donated by Celso and Cristy Dimarucut, the very
generous heads of the PCJ Commission on Human
Promotions and BEC. The family of Fr.
Rolly were also around to show their support for
him. Gov. Grace Padaca also generously
graced the occasion with her presence.
During dinner, a photo slideshow of pictures and
some video footages were shown reminiscing Fr.
Rolly's time at PCJ from Sept. 2005 to the
present.
The evening's program began
with a video tribute to Fr. Jess and Fr. Rio,
with some bits of information about them given
by Chock Camacho and Ed Cataquis while the
pictures of the two priests were shown on the
big screen. This was followed by a rousing
dance number by the BEC Formation Chat Cells,
and a song number (Kung Kailangan Mo Ako) by the
PCJ Parish Staff. Sherry Alingod, the PCJ
Parish Administrator, gave a brief farewell
message to Fr. Rolly, on behalf of the Parish
Staff. The highlight of the evening was
the Video Tribute to Fr. Rolly which featured
among others the various organization members
participating in a song tribute for Fr. Rolly,
and the messages of thanks and good wishes from
the heads of the various commissions, ministries
and organizations.
A surprise guest that evening
was Roderick Paulate, who as in turned out, was
a classmate of Fr. Rolly way back in Grade 4.
He gave an impromptu roasting of Fr. Rolly,
informing the crowd that way back in grade
school, Fr. confided to him his desire to become
a priest. But despite this, he said that
Fr. had a crush on a classmate at that time, who
became the class valedictorian.
This was followed by a message
of thanksgiving by Noemi Poblador, PCJ Parish
Executive Assistant, who on behalf of the PCJ
Parish Pastoral Council, extended the heartfelt
appreciation for the pastoral care extended by
Fr. Rolly to the entire PCJ community. Fr.
Rolly then gave his
farewell message
to his parishioners.
The emcees that evening,
Marissa Suarez and Albert Buenviaje did a fine
job in making sure that the evening's program
flowed smoothly. We also would like to
acknowledge the organizing committee headed by
Noemi Poblador in planning and executing the
whole event.
To address the many concerns
of mid-lifers, those approaching mid-life, and
even those way past their midlife, the PCJ
Commission on the Family held a whole-day
seminar/workshop entitled “Preparing For Your
Golden Years” last May 7, 2011
at the PCJ Sacred Heart Center. The program
tackled the many concerns and issues facing
mid-lifers from financial, psychological,
spiritual and health and wellness.
The topics for the morning session covered
Financial
Preparation for Retirement, Estate Planning and
Safekeeping of Important Documents.
Albert Buenviaje, Dean of the Ateneo Graduate
School of Business and the PCJ Coordinator for
the Commission on the Family shared some basics
on financial planning and gave some tips on
formulating an investment strategy for financial
independence. Estate Planning
was handled by Atty. Mike Gonzales, former
Corporate Counsel of Land Bank of the
Philippines, and a co-worker for the Commission
on the Family. Atty. Gonzales explained the
meaning and objectives of estate planning and
outlined the basic steps involved in estate
planning. He also took the opportunity to give
an overview of the various tools and devices
used in estate planning like the preparation of
will and testament, donations, irrevocable life
insurance, trusts, incorporation and
establishment of foundations. Relative to estate
planning, Romeo Lopez, another co-worker for the
Commission on the Family shared some valuable
points on safekeeping of important documents.
The afternoon sessions tackled
the Social, Psychological and Spiritual
Preparation and Health and Wellness for
Midlife. Carmelita
“Mel” Gatmaitan, a practicing psychologist and
another member of the Commission on the Family,
handled the first part which covered among
others the various views and misconceptions on
aging, and how to deal effectively with
depression, loneliness, stress and midlife
crisis. She also shared some brain boosters to
prevent memory loss and some practical points on
midlife spirituality. The second part - Health
and Wellness for Midlife was handled by Dra.
Mylene Camacho, a practicing OB Gynecologist and
also a member of the Commission on the Family.
She
discussed the various geriatric concerns during
mid-life and how to promote midlife health and
wellness.
The seminar-participants which
totalled 29 were all very
appreciative of the fact that our parish offered
this very informative and practical program for
mid-lifers. They have learned a lot from
the seminar. Fr. Rolly, who graced the
event with his presence thanked everyone for
attending and invited them to share what they
have learned to others. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
The Knights of Columbus Council 8565 in
coordination with the Commission on the Family
of PCJ Parish celebrates a “day of the unborn”
last March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation.
The celebration started with a “rosary for life”
a reflective and meditative rosary focusing on
the incarnation of Christ as the feast being
celebrated. The rosary will go on up to December
25, after the 6:45 am mass with the intention of
fighting the evils of abortion and non-passage
of the Reproductive Health Bill. This was
followed by a talk on “Why Should Filipinos
Reject the RH Bill” a very informative and factual
talk given by the Chair Couple of the Commission
on the Family, Albert and Lorna Buenviaje, on
the would be effect once the RH bill is passed
and implemented.
The mass at 7pm officiated by Fr. Rolando
Agustin, Parish Priest of PCJ, ended with a
“Light A Candle For Life Ceremony”.
The event was initiated by the local council of
the Knights of Columbus as their annual activity
being the promoter of pro-life for the last 30
years worldwide. Expect then for more of this
celebration next year, because if the
Christian community as a whole does not
consistently recognize and honor the conception
and prenatal life of Christ who is God, then it
should come as no surprise that the secular
world has so little regard for the newly
conceived life of an "unplanned" child, who is
neither divine nor anxiously awaited nor
announced by angelic herald, but is simply
unwanted, like so many others.
It is essential therefore for all of us to not
only remember but celebrate the fact that the
word was made flesh in Nazareth nine months
before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. -
Rene De Leon
The PCJ Parish launched the
“40 DAYS OF COMMUNITY” last 19 February 2011 as
the next campaign leading to the planting of
Purpose-Driven Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC)
in a Catholic parish, characterized as
Spirit-Baptized, Biblical, Charismatic,
Eucharistic, and Marian.
If the NEW CREATION SEMINARS are the first
campaign designed to evangelize the unchurched
to become believers in our Lord Jesus Christ,
the 40 DAYS OF COMMUNITY specially aims at
introducing the participants into the Family of
God, the Body of Christ, the Assembly of the
Faithful, the Temple of the Living God, the
Bride of Christ, the Christian Community, the
People of God, Holy Mother the Church.
The participants need to belong to a Community
of Christ’s Disciples. God’s Five Purposes of
Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and
Mission actually find clearer meaning and
greater relevance only in the context of the
Family of God.
The program which will run for
eight Saturday Sessions with an Introductory
Session on the first day, is spearheaded by Bro.
Jojo Dunglao and Sis Lena Dunglao, the head
couple of the PCJ Parish Commission on
Education. The topics covered during
the 8 Sessions are as follows:
Introduction - How To Get
The Most Out of the 40 Days of Community
Session 1 - Why We Need
Each Other
Session 2 - Reaching Out
Together
Session 3 - We're Chosen to
Fellowship Together: What Destroys
Relationship and What Builds Them
Members of the different
parish-mandated organizations, parishioners, the
youth, sisters from various religious
congregations and people from the developing communities
of the different parishes of the Vicariate of
San Antonio De Padua (VSAP), Diocese of
Parañaque, came in full force last
February 13, 2011 (Sunday) to attend the
Interfaith Rally Against the RH Bill -
Filipinos! Unite for Life from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
at the PICC grounds. Spearheaded by PCJ Parish
and Rev. Fr. Rolly Agustin, the VSAP delegation
filled five big tourist buses enroute to the
rally to show its support for the sanctity
of life and their call for the junking of the RH
Bill.
The youth of PCJ, headed by April Dionela of the PCJ Commission
on Youth, came prepared with
placards reading "4d Sake of our Youth, NO 2 RH
BILL" and "Yes to Life, No to RH Bill ".
That afternoon, Muslims,
Christians and Catholics who numbered around
5,000 were united in their call for the
scrapping of the RH Bill. Pro-Life
congressmen took to the stage to denounce the
malicious, illegal and anti-life provisions of
the RH Bill. The rally culminated with a
concelebrated mass of all the bishops and
priests present, with Bishop Bacani and Yñiquez
as main celebrants.
As the speakers stressed that
evening, we all need to pray hard and to be
vigilant since the proponents of the RH Bill
will stop at nothing to be able to pass the
bill, if not in this present Congress, then in
the years to come. -
Lorna Buenviaje
PCJ Parish celebrated its 29th
Anniversary and fiesta this year with the theme
"A Dynamic Parish Begins with a Renewed Laity".
The celebration started with 9-day novena
masses, sponsored by parish mandated
commissions, organizations and parish area
coordinators from January 28 to February 5, 2011
with our own resident and also invited
diocesan priests as mass presiders. The
theme during each novena mass revolved around
the link between a renewed laity and a dynamic
parish. The mass celebrants and the theme
for the particular novena mass are as follows:
Date
Mass
Celebrant
Theme
January 28, 2011
Rev. Fr.
Rio Evangelista
Renewed Laity in the Mind of
Vatican II Council
January 29, 2011
Rev. Fr.
Rolando Agustin
Laity in the Modern World in
a Renewed Church
January 30, 2011
Rev. Fr.
Rico Ayo
Renewed Laity in the Mind of
DPA in Paranaque
January 31, 2011
Rev. Fr. John Varghesse
Role of the Laity in Family
Sanctification
February 1, 2011
Rev. Fr. Jess Estrada
Service of the Laity in the
Parish Community
February 2, 2011
Rev. Fr. Jeff Manlapig
Mary, Model of All Laity
February 3, 2011
Rev. Fr. Rodel Paulino
Laity and the Formation of
the Youth
February 4, 2011
Rev. Fr. Rolando Agustin
Laity and Ecology
February 5, 2011
Rev. Fr. Gerry Mascarina
Laity Protecting the Unborn
On January 29, 2011, a
Kasalang Bayan was held, an annual project of
the Knights of Columbus, in collaboration with
the Legion of Mary and the Commission on the
Family. Seven couples from the developing
communities in our parish received the sacrament
of matrimony, majority of these couples have
been living together for several years and have
children.
On February 2, 2011, the
actual feast day of Our Lady of Candelaria, the
patroness of PCJ, candles were blessed during
all the masses in the parish and a rosary vigil
was made from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Then
in the evening, after the 7:00 p.m. mass, Bro.
Bo Sanchez gave a very inspiring and animated
talk to PCJ parishioners and invited guests, on
the parish fiesta theme: Renewed Laity,
Dynamic Parish.
Adding to the festive
atmosphere during the celebration was a fiesta
bazaar organized by the CWL from February 4-6,
2011. Concessionaires selling food,
clothing apparel and various items drew large
crowds of shoppers during the bazaar.
On the morning of February 5,
2011, Saturday, a Kumpilang Bayan was held at
9:00 a.m. followed by a Binyagang Bayan at 11:30
a.m. Then that evening, at around 8:00
p.m. the Fiesta Night was held at the parish
plaza, a musical extravaganza featuring both
invited guest performers and PCJ's own local
talents like the members of the PCJ Choir
(Denver Daradar, Blaise Castro and the Lopez
family) who rendered song numbers and the youth
from the developing community who showed their
dancing skills. Guest performers included
Neil Pedrosa, who entertained the crowd with his
song number combined with some comedy, a dance
number from children from Gualandi School of the
Deaf, a ballroom dance number from Ms. Fe
Zulueta and partner and a song number from
members of the St. Paul Conservatory of Music.
But the main feature for the night were the
Maskulados and Asia's Queen of Song, Ms. Pilita
Corrales who gamely sang a repertoire of her
famous songs and did a duet with Fr. Rolly and
Fr. Rio. She also entertained the crowd
with her song-dance number featuring some PCJ
staff led by Lucing. The Las Pinas High
School Band was also around complete with their
majorettes, adding to the festive
atmosphere. Overall it was a night of
laughter, fun and entertainment for everyone.
The following day, Sunday,
February 6, 2011, the concelebrated fiesta mass
was held at 10:30 a.m. with Bishop Jesse
Mercado as main celebrant. Before the end
of the mass, Fr. Rolly had a pleasant surprise
for the members of the parish executive
committee and the heads of the priority commissions in the
parish when he called each one to receive their
respective framed Apostolic Blessing from Pope
Benedict XVI. According to Fr. Rolly,
Bishop Jesse Mercado personally hand carried the
said framed certificates all the way from Rome.
A fiesta lunch followed at the PCJ Sacred Heart
Center, which was attended by Bishop Jesse
together with Fr. Rolly and other guest priests,
and members of the parish pastoral council.
To cap the fiesta celebration,
a procession was held late afternoon in the
major streets of the parish, led by Fr. Rolly
together with the members of mandated
organizations and some parishioners.
We thank God for the many
blessings He has bestowed on our parish for the
past years. We pray thru the intercession
of Our Lady of Candelaria for the continued
spiritual growth of PCJ parishioners, so that
thru our words and actions, we may bring more
people closer to God.
In support of the Pro-Life
advocacy of the Diocese of Parañaque, the PCJ
Commission on Youth sponsored a talk entitled
“Keep Love Real” (Living the Virtue of Chastity)
last January 29, 2011 at the PCJ Sacred Heart
Center from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. The talk was
attended by around 60 teens and young adults. It
was given by Mr. Ronilo Balbieran, an economist
by profession and one of the sought-after
speakers of the “I Keep Love Real” organization,
whose advocacy is chastity amongst the youth.
The talk encourages young people to be aware of
their inclinations and be responsible in their
choices and decisions. It exhorts them to keep
themselves pure for their future lifetime
partner, thus the title, “Keep Love Real.” An
open-forum followed the talk. -
April Dionela
Mr. Balbiera explains the value
of chastity in a relationship....
The first teachers of children
about sex should be their parents since nobody
can teach them better than their own Mom and
Dad. Sadly the reality is that parents do not
want to tackle this issue since we grew up in a
society where talking about “sex” is taboo.
Hence, media has now become the sex educator of
children where t.v., movies, and advertisements
show sexual nuances and distort the real meaning
of sex.
To prepare parents for the task of educating
their children about human sexuality, the PCJ
Parish Commission on the Family held a
seminar/workshop for parents on: “Talking to
Your Pre-Adolescent Children About Sex” with Dra.
Lucille Montes as speaker last January 22, 2011
(Saturday) from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at the
PCJ Sacred Heart Center. There were 30 parent
participants.
Dra. Montes emphasized that it is the parents’
duty and inalienable right to educate their
children on human sexuality. The need by parents
to enforce their right to educate their children
on the subject is more immediate considering the
present situation where pre-marital sex is
prevalent which may lead to unwanted pregnancy,
single parenting, abortion and forced marriage.
Dra. Montes gave the participants practical tips
on how to talk to your children about human
sexuality in such a way that both the
intellectual and character formation of the
child is addressed.
Overall, the seminar was able to achieve its
objective of making parents aware of the urgency
of exercising their right to properly educate
their children on human sexuality - what should
children know and when should they know it.
We wish to thank Dra. Lucille
Montes for taking the time from her very busy
schedule to deliver the talk in our parish.
For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son that whoever believes
in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal
life. - John 3:16
This beautiful passage from
the Gospel of St. John was the main theme of the
Advent Recollection given by Fr. Mario
Sobrejuanite to PCJ Parish last Dec. 6, 2010 at
8:00 p.m. The church was jampacked with
parishioners and guests, eager to listen to Fr.
Sobrejuanite, a much-sought after inspirational
speaker.
Fr. Sobrejuanite explained
that the real meaning of Christmas is not only
about the birth of the Child Jesus, but is also
about all of us becoming children of God, who
out of love, gave up the best that He had, His
only Son, to redeem us from our sins. In
response to God's tremendous love, the challenge
for each of us is how to live a life that
matters ..... a life that fulfills God's
mission. Throughout the evening Fr.
Sobrejuanite kept his audience all ears and
captivated by sharing some inspiring messages
interspersed with his humorous and at the same
time very touching anecdotes. PCJ Parish was
really blessed to have him conduct our Advent
Recollection this year.
PCJ Parish, thru the
Commission on the Family held a half-day
seminar/workshop for solo parents (spouse of
OFWs, single parents, widows and widowers)
entitled – “Solo Parenting (Maintaining Your
Sanity)” last Oct. 16, 2010 Saturday from 1-5:00
p.m. at the Sacred Heart Center. The seminar
gave the participants some tools on making it
work as a solo parent and also tackled the legal
rights of single parents, with Maureen Sandejas
and Atty. Mike Gonzales as speakers/resource
persons. There were a total of 32 participants
consisting of both PCJ parishioners and those
from other parishes in the vicariate.
Next in the agenda of the PCJ
Commission on the Family is the establishment of
the Solo Parents Ministry which will minister to
the needs of single parents in the parish. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
In pursuit of a more
meaningful, integrated, cohesive, and
progressive faith formation program, the
Presentation of the Child Jesus (PCJ) Parish
launched its New Creation Seminar series or NCS
last August 14, 2010 (Saturday).
The NCS, adopted from the
Family of God's Little Children (FGLC)
community, is the Basic Evangelization Course in
the over-all program called Life Development
Process leading to a "new way of being church"
or the formation of BECs that are attached to
the parish, with the parish priest as its Head
and Pastor.
The New Creation Seminars
consist of eight foundational topics given in
eight two-hour sessions. They are designed
to introduce the earnest seeker to a new meaning,
a new direction, a new purpose, and a new way of
life, aligned to the life of the Most Holy
Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, according
to the invitation of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Let
anyone who thirsts come to me and drink" (John
7:37).
The seminars are a simple and
easy way of proclaiming the Gospel message,
bringing about a life-changing transformation in
every participant, and instilling in him/her a
Great Commitment to the Great Commandment and
the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ in
order to become a Great Christian - a New
Creation in Christ.
The opening of the NCS last
Aug. 14 was attended by 150 participants that
jampacked the PCJ Sacred Heart Center. PCJ
parish priest Fr. Rolly Agustin welcomed the
participants and gave an introduction to the NCS.
The first topic, "My Father Loves Me Eternally"
was presented by Bro. Jojo Dunglao, whose
personal sharing tremendously touched many of
the participants.
The seminar opened and ended
with the singing of the theme song, "New
Creation", composed by Bro. April Dionela, head
of the PCJ Commission on Youth.
The NCS participants come from
different sectors of the PCJ parish community,
like the Apostleship of Prayer (AP), Catholic
Women's League (CWL), Extraordinary Ministers of
the Holy Eucharis (EMHC), Knights of Columbus (KofC),
Legion of Mary (LOM), Marian Circle (MC,
Ministry of Lectors and Commentators (MLC),
Ministry of Greeters and Collectors (MUGC),
Mother Butler Guild (MBG), as well as the youth,
20 years and above. -
Cathy Tillah
The Commission on the Family
of PCJ Parish held a Seminar Workshop on
Parenting your Teenage Children last June 26
(Saturday) from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the PCJ
Sacred Heart Center. The guest
speakers/facilitators were James and Malou Tan
and Buddy Panlasigue, Marriage and Family
Consultants and much sought after lecturers on
parenting. The seminar workshop tackled
topics on Understanding the Adolescent and
Myself and Strengthening Relationship between
Parents and Teens. A total of 22 parents
attended the seminar/workshop. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
To celebrate the culmination
of the Year of the Priests which coincides with
the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, PCJ
Parish held a thanksgiving celebration for its
shepherds headed by Bishop Jesse Mercado and Fr.
Rolly Agustin last June 11, 2010. The
evening started with a concelebrated mass at 7
p.m. with Bishop Jesse Mercado as main
celebrant. A thanksgiving dinner and a short
program followed at the Sacred Heart Parish
Center. During the brief program, bits of
trivia about the priests were given together
with a powerpoint presentation, detailing the
journey thru pictures, of the Bishop and each of
the PCJ priests, from their childhood to their
priestly ministry. To the delight of the
crowd, entertainment was provided thru song
numbers rendered by their Bishop and priests.
Fr. Rolly Agustin's rendition of "To All the
Girls I've Loved Before" was a very welcome
opener and elicited cheers and laughter from the
crowd. Fr. Rio sang acapella, while Bishop
Jesse Mercado sang a Cascades song - Was I
Dreaming, with the parishioners singing with
him. For their final number, all the
priests present sang Gaudeamus Igitur (Let Us
Rejoice!). In closing, a prayer and
blessing over the priests were made by all the
parishioners, with a final prayer by
Bishop Jesse.
We wish to thank the emcees
for the evening - Noemi Poblador and Albert
Buenviaje, whose repartee and banter kept the
priests and crowd in fits of laughter throughout
the night. We also would like to
acknowledge the generosity of Bro. Celso and
Sis. Cristy Dimarucut for donating a whole
roasted calf which was enjoyed by everyone.
We wish to thank also the parishioners who came
in full force that evening to show their love
and support for their priests. We thank
Bishop Jesse Mercado, Rev. Fr. Rolly Agustin,
Rev. Fr. Rio Evanglista, Rev. Fr. Rico Ayo, and
Rev. Fr. John Varghese for gracing the
celebration with their presence. And
finally, we thank God for giving us shepherds,
His priest sons, who have pastured and guided
their flock for the past years. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
Click here to view the photo
slideshow of the Culminating Activity for Year
of Priests:
Last May 31 to June 2, 2010,
the PCJ Parish staff together with Fr. Rolly Agustin and other volunteer parish workers
namely Parish Administrator Sherry Alingod, Pete
and Marlene Yuson and Dan Cosme, had their
annual outing in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The annual outing for the parish staff had been
initiated by Fr. Rolly to foster camaraderie and
team spirit among the parish employees.
In the regular monthly meeting
of KC 8565 held at Viewport Resort last May 29,
2010, Grand Knight Eduardo C. Cabrera together
with the rest of the officers was re-elected for
the Columbian Year 2010-2011 while Bro. Rene F.
de Leon was appointed as new Program Director
for the coming Columbian Year. Please refer to
the
Knight of Columbus webpage
for the complete list of officers
and directors for CY2010-2011.
Installation of Officers and Induction of
Service Program Directors is set on August 7,
2010.
The blessing of the PCJ Parish
PreSchool, a project of the Commission on Human
Promotions headed by Celso and Cristy Dimarucut,
was held last April 19 (Monday) at around 9:00
a.m. Fr. Rolly Agustin led the blessing,
assisted by Reverend Angel and Fr. John
Varghese.
Fr. Rolly recounted that
when he first became parish priest of PCJ, it
was his dream to put up a preschool in the
parish, similar to what he did in his previous
assignment at the Sacred Heart Chaplaincy in
Alabang. Thanks to the efforts and
generosity of Celso and Cristy, Fr. Rolly's
dream has materialized.
The pre-school aims to prepare
children for streamline schools and will also be
a tool for the evangelization of the parents.
At present, there are 34 children aged 2-1/2 to 3-1/2
years old who will be attending the pre-school.
There will be two classes, one in the morning
and another one in the afternoon. Classes
will start on May 3, to be conducted by teachers
who have undergone training and formation.
After the children have attended the preschool,
the parish will monitor their attendance in
streamline schools, to ensure that the parents
will continue to send these children to school.
The necessary assistance in terms of subsidies
for transportation, books and other related
expenses will be extended to those in need.
Indeed, the best way to
uplift the condition of our brethren in the
developing communities is thru education. With
this goal in mind, our parish, thru Fr. Rolly
and the Commission on Human Promotions headed by
Celso and Cristy Dimarucut, have undertaken this
noble project. Of course, assistance from
parishioners and other generous benefactors will
be most welcome, to ensure the continuous
operation of the pre-school.
His Excellency, Bishop Jesse
Mercado celebrated his 33rd sacerdotal
anniversary last March 19, coinciding with the
feast of St. Joseph. A concelebrated mass
led by the bishop with the priests of the
Diocese of Parañaque
was held in the Diocesan Center at 11:00 a.m.,
followed by lunch. Several lay leaders of
various parishes were also on hand to show their
support for the bishop.
In his homily, Bishop Jesse
said that he was really surprised about the
gathering since he thought they will just have a
meeting with some lay leaders. He jokingly
said that he had mixed emotions about the
celebration, considering that this year is his
33rd sacerdotal anniversary and that Jesus
Christ was crucified at the age of 33. On
a more serious note, he said that it is quite
fitting that his sacerdotal coincides with the
feast of St. Joseph, a model for all fathers,
who in all humility always listened and followed
God's will, and constantly nurtured and cared
for our Savior. As Bishop of Parañaque,
he considers himself the father of his flock.
But before he can be a good father, he should
first and foremost be a good son of God, who
like St. Joseph, is always predisposed to follow
God's will.
We again extend our warm
wishes and fervent prayers for Bishop Jesse and
all the priests in the diocese, that God will
continue to guide them in the discharge of their
pastoral duties. Happy 33rd Sacerdotal
Anniversary, Bishop Jesse!!
Here are the photo slideshow
of the celebration of the 33rd Sacerdotal
Anniversary of Bishop Jesse Mercado and a
Powerpoint about his life's journey.
Last March 5, 2010 (Friday),
Bishop Jesse Mercado, accompanied by Fr. Rico
Ayo, made his annual pastoral visit at PCJ.
They were welcomed by Fr. Rolly Agustin,
together with the heads of the parish
commissions. Each of the coordinators of
the priority commissions of the parish presented
to the Bishop the plans and programs being
undertaken in the parish in response to the DPA
recommendations. The presentation by
each commission was followed by a focus group
discussion with participants consisting of
parishioners who have attended the different
parish programs. They were asked to share
how the program had a positive effect on their
lives and what else can the parish do for them.
The Bishop was happy to note that the priority
commissions identified in the DPA are all in
place with several programs already being
implemented. He laid emphasis on the need
for BECs as a way of bringing the church to the
neighborhood communities. He noted that PCJ was able to build BECs in various ways, from
within the mandated organizations,
transparochial groups, prayer/cell groups, PREX
graduates, block rosaries in each subdivision
areas and thru training of BEC leaders in the
developing communities in the parish.
The Bishop also shed light to the important role
of BECs both in evangelization and in responding
to the needs of the different communities.
Through the sharing and reflection of the word
of God among BEC members, the word becomes
enfleshed in their lives, they become sensitive
to the needs of others, which inspires them to
action - to do what they can to help others.
Noemi Poblador also presented to the bishop the
profile of priests in the parish, in particular,
our parish priest, which were identified thru
consultations with the different heads of
commissions. Fr. Rolly presented a profile
of PCJ parish, and the high ratings garnered by
our parish in terms of maintenance of canonical
books and our financial records. He said
that there are two challenges that PCJ has to
address for the coming years. First is how
to rationalize the different formation programs
available in the parish to ensure the maturity
and growth in spirituality not only of
organization members but also the parishioners.
Another challenge will be how to attract other
parishioners, those who are uninvolved, to
attend the formation programs being offered by
the parish.
This recent pastoral visit was
very fruitful in terms of informing the Bishop
of where the parish is in its DPA
implementation. The Bishop had a
first hand view and encounter with the actual
beneficiaries of the programs of the parish.
Although the entire proceedings lasted for six
hours (from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m.), the Bishop was
all ears listening to the sharing of his flock.
Thank you Bishop Jesse for spending your
valuable time with us. -
Lorna C.
Buenviaje
Rev. Fr. Rolando Agustin, "Fr.
Rolly" to his PCJ family celebrated his 19th
Sacerdotal Anniversary last January 19, 2010
(Tuesday).
To show their gratitude and
support for their beloved parish priest, PCJ
parishioners and members of mandated parish
commissions, ministries and organizations
serenaded Fr. Rolly at an early dawn mañanita
complete with fireworks. During the 6:00 a.m.
mass celebrated by Fr. Rolly, he said that the
mass readings that day which told about the
anointing of David by Samuel as the new king of
Israel, despite the former's unworthiness, is
parallel to his situation, that God has anointed
him to the priestly vocation, despite his
unworthiness. Fr. Rolly thanked everyone
for their support and asked for continued
prayers for his priesthood. In celebration
of the year of the priests and to pay tribute to
our celebrant, there was a short slideshow
presentation featuring the life of our pastor
and shepherd, Fr. Rolly. A breakfast
salu-salo followed in the Sacred Heart Center.
The well wishers as well as Fr. Rolly were
entertained by the photo video prepared by Bro.
Rommel Tillah featuring pictures of Fr. Rolly in
his journey to the priesthood, from childhood to
the present.
We offer our prayers for the
19th Sacerdotal Anniversary of Fr. Rolly and
wish to take this opportunity to thank him for
his selfless service to his parishioners.
Truly, PCJ Parish is blessed to have Fr. Rolly
as our parish priest, a prayerful, deeply
spiritual, compassionate and hardworking priest.
Mabuhay ka, Fr. Rolly!! -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
PCJ's Christmas party held at
around 8:00 p.m. last Dec. 29, 2009 was a big
success, thanks to the attendance of members of
various organizations and commissions and of
course, the parishioners. Everyone was in
a holiday mood that evening eagerly anticipating
the variety show arranged by the organizers. The
members of the
different commissions and organizations prepared
special numbers to put up an extravaganza that
evening.
The show started with a modern
Egyptian dance performed by members of the
Light in the Spirit Charismatic Community who
really delighted the crowd with their beautiful
costumes and their funny antics. This was
followed by lots of dance numbers (both modern
and folk dances), pseudo-puppet show, and modern
songs performed by the youth. There were
lots of trivia questions, reverse-bingo game and
raffle. Major prizes consisted of home
appliances like t.v. set and microwave oven. The
works of art of the PCJ youth were also
exhibited and offered for sale that evening.
A welcome guest that evening
was Fr. Jeff Manlapig, former Asst. Parish
Priest of PCJ. Since taking over his new
assignment as Parish Priest of St. Joseph the
Worker in BF-Mariposa last
Nov. 2009, PCJ parishioners did not really have
the opportunity to thank Fr. Jeff for his
service to the parish for the past three years.
So, on behalf of PCJ parish, Fr. Rolly took
advantage of the occasion to express our
gratitude to Fr. Jeff. We all sang Happy
Birthday for Fr. Jeff who recently
celebrated his birthday last Dec. 27.
The evening's celebration
ended at around 11:00 p.m. with the exchange of
gifts. A unique way of exchanging gifts
was done that evening - we all stood in a circle
holding the gift that each one brought. The
emcee read a story - The Right Family Christmas
Story, and every time the word RIGHT is read,
everybody passes his gift to the right, and when
the word LEFT is read, gifts are passed to the
left. The gift that each person is holding at
the end of the story is the gift he/she keeps.
In view of the recent
calamities that befell our country, our
celebration this year was quite modest. We
shared a simple dinner of menudo, pancit
and rice, together with the pork barbeque
brought by each participant/guest.
Nevertheless, the fun, camaraderie and laughter
were resonant throughout the night. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
PCJ Parish held its annual Mula Sa Puso Christmas Sharing Program
at 9:00 a.m. of Dec. 29, 2009. Fr. Rolly
Agustin, assisted by Lety Elayda, head of PCJ
Dev. Com and Ed Cabrera, Grand Knight of K
of C, lead the
gift giving. Each
year, thru the generosity and continuous support
of its parishioners, the parish distributes food
bags to the developing communities in the
parish. Over the years, the parish was able to
consistently increase the number of
family-beneficiaries and the quality of food
items distributed in its annual Christmas
sharing program. This year, the parish was able
to distribute P500 worth of food bags to 700
families from the developing communities - Pechayan, Target 1 & 2, F. Cruz, BF Employees
Compound, Pump 8, Lagoon East and West and CAA.
On behalf of our parish
priest, Fr. Rolly Agustin, we wish to thank
everyone for their untiring and generous
support of PCJ's Mula Sa Puso Christmas Sharing
Program. - Lorna
C. Buenviaje
Pursuant to
the accreditation of the Parish Pastoral Council
for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), as the citizens’
arm of the Commission on Elections, the
Presentation of the Child Jesus (PCJ) Parish, BF
Homes, Paranaque City, through its local PPCRV,
has now shifted its campaign to the recruitment
of volunteers and the education of voters, after
the registration period ended.
On election day, the volunteers will be assigned
to safeguard the sanctity of the ballot, through
poll watching in voting precincts. They will
also be needed in educating people on the
responsibility that comes with the right to
vote, which is the main objective of the PPCRV.
Lectures will be held at PCJ Parish, BEC,
schools, transparochial and business
communities. Voters’ education will include
information on the Automated Election System,
which is a new way of voting, counting,
consolidating, canvassing, and transmitting
election results.
According to the People Management Association
of the Philippines, there are five (5) things to
look for in a president. He/She should be: A
Navigator--able to steer the country towards a
just and humane society, and intelligent enough
to be decisive when faced with complex issues. A
Mobilizer--able to build alliances to achieve
consensus. A Servant Leader--must put the public
interest first and work hard to achieve the
government’s goals. An Inspirational
Leader--able to inspire unity among the people
by being a moral leader. A Guardian of National
Wealth--able to allocate and use the country’s
resources properly.
It is confidently predicted that well informed,
conscience-guided, and vigilant voters will
eventually lead to Clean, Honest, Accurate,
Meaningful, Peaceful elections (CHAMP). -
Romeo F. Bordallo,
PPCRV Coordinator, PCJ
Rev. William Ramos was
ordained Deacon by His Excellency Most Rev.
Jesse E. Mercado, D.D. last December 20, 2009 at
the Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish, as
witnessed by all the parish priests in the
Diocese of Parañaque who attended the ordination
rites and concelebrated the mass. The relatives
and friends of Rev. William as well as PCJ
parishioners were also on hand to show their
support.
Rev. Carmelo Olano Estores was
ordained Deacon by His Excellency Most Rev.
Jesse E. Mercado, D.D. last December 5, 2009 at
the Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish, as
witnessed by all the parish priests in the
Diocese of Parañaque who attended the ordination
rites and concelebrated the mass. The
relatives and friends of Rev. Carmelo as well as
PCJ parishioners were also on hand to show their
support.
The Missionary Couples of Mary
for Christ (MCMJ) spearheaded an Advent Praise
and Worship last Dec. 2, 2009 held inside PCJ
church with George Gabriel as guest. It
was an evening of praise, worship, songs and
dancing to welcome the advent season in
preparation for Christmas. Mr. Gabriel
electrified the crowd in joining him - with
parishioners both young and old, singing,
dancing and raising their arms to give glory to
God.
This years’ Advent
recollection was held last November 30, 2009, 8
pm at the Parish. Rev. Fr. Gener Geronimo,
Director of Bahay Pari in the Archdiocese of
Manila was the invited Recollection Master. The
theme of the recollection was “The Year for
Priests, A YEAR OF RENEWAL FOR PRIESTS AND THE
LAITY”.
Fr. Gener explained to the
parishioners the reason for the celebration of
the Year for Priests, why was it held to
coincide with the Feast of the Sacred Heart and
the celebration of the Year of the Sacred Heart
& the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Highlights of the talk were as follows:
The year for priests
commenced on June 19, 2009 which is also “the
day of sanctification of Priests;”
This year is the 150th
anniversary of St. John Mary Vianney, patron
of all parish priests but eventually declared
by Pope Benedict XVI as “Patron Saint of All
Priests”;
We, the laity, are all
priests by virtue of our Baptism. We share in
the priesthood of Christ (common priesthood)
and possess permanent spiritual mark and
character.
WE need to love and support
our Priests as mentioned in some of the works
of St. John Marie Vianney which says; . . .”if
I am going to meet a priest and an angel, I
will greet the priest first before an Angel;
while the latter is a friend of God, the
priests stand the place of God.”
Priesthood is born from the
Eucharist. There are no priest without the
Eucharist and no Eucharist without a priest.
There are five (5) things
the lay people need to do for their priest;
- Pray for your priest and
encourage others to pray for them as well;
make sacrificial offering for priests;
- Participate and be active in
your church or parish;
-Watch your expectations on
the priests. Remember that they are also human
beings.
- Believe the best, and
- Show your appreciation.
Remember that the priests are made not for
themselves but for us lay people.
- PEAK (is the acronym for
Pray, Encourage, Affirm & Know) for priests.
Fr. Gener emphasized the need to pray for more
priests since every vocation to the priesthood
comes from the heart of God. -
Rene De Leon
To view a
slideshow of pictures taken during the Advent
Recollection please click here:
Advent
Recollection >>>
From Nov. 20-23, a number
of PCJ parishioners became host families
to some delegates to the Asian Youth Day who
spent their time in the Diocese of Parañaque in
celebration of Days in the Diocese, a
preparatory event for the Asian Youth Day in
Imus Cavite. Last Sunday morning, Nov. 22,
the delegates assigned to PCJ had their parish
immersion, where they interacted with the other
host families. Romy and Cathy Tillah
presented to the delegates the priority programs
of the parish and in particular, the programs of
the Commission on Youth. The delegates
also shared with the group the activities and
programs for the youth being implemented in
their respective parishes. Together with
their host families, they attended the 10:30
a.m. mass at PCJ presided by Fr. Rolly Agustin,
followed by lunch with Bishop Jesse Mercado at
the parish rectory.
Last Friday,
Nov. 27, we received text messages from the
delegates that they are back safely in their
respective provinces. They extend their
gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality
given to them by our parish, particularly their
host families and Fr. Rolly Agustin. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
She came. She shared. She
inspired. Maria Gracia Cielo Magno Padaca, a
petite woman but a giant in many other ways,
2008 Ramon Magsaysay awardee for Good Government
and Governor of Isabela, graced The Presentation
of The Child Jesus Parish with her charismatic
presence to share her story with BF residents
last November 18, 2009.
Her rise to fame can be summed up in a short
paragraph: she gained some popularity as Bombo
Grace, the hard-hitting radio announcer of
DZNC-Bombo Radyo from 1986 to 2000; she resigned
and worked at her profession as a CPA for one
year and then ran for Congress in 2001; she won
but was denied victory by Comelec in the
recount; with the support of her province mates,
she ran against the incumbent governor of
Isabela in 2004 and against overwhelming odds,
beat his long-entrenched dynasty to become
governor of Isabela; she was reelected in 2007.
But the bare-bones
narration of her success hides what is perhaps
the most remarkable and inspiring narrative in
Philippine politics today. She may walk
awkwardly because of polio, but she has walked
straight and upright in her quest to do what is
right and good. Listen to her lessons on good
governance
On Values Formation:
“My parents were both public school teachers;
that’s why there were a lot of books lying
around in the house. These books had lessons on
honesty, courtesy, fairness, and looking back
it’s really important that kids be formed in the
right values so it’s already planted in their
minds. It’s very important that our first
lessons and values as children should already be
the right values.”
On combatting the culture
of graft and corruption:
“Recently I attended one of our biddings for a
road project, which involved millions of pesos
and I said, Christmas is near and I reminded
them not to accept gifts. This kind of culture
is so ingrained so we always need to remind
people.”
On losing votes:
“The obsession over election is even more
paralyzing than polio. You will not be able to
move because you’re afraid of losing votes. But
I said, as long as I’m doing right, why won’t
the Lord bless me and why won’t people support
me? If I do what traditional politicians do just
because I don’t want to lose votes, how
different will I be from them?”
On the most important
lesson she has learned as governor:
“If there is one lesson that I want to share
with you from my years as governor, it’s the
enormous power that is in the hands of people in
government. One signature of mine can cause the
release of millions of pesos. One yes or no can
affect the lives of so many people. Kung
dadalhin mo sa tama, you could help so many
people. What would happen if this power goes to
the hands of the unworthy or those who have many
wives or those who have lavish lifestyles?”
On the role of the
individual voters:
“It’s good that we have a chance every three
years to change our leaders. So we need to take
advantage of this opportunity. We have this kind
of power every election so I hope we do not
waste it because if we do, we just give it to
those who unworthy. Sayang. We can’t give the
excuse that we don’t have money so we can’t
help—it’s much better to help by giving our time
and our selves.”
On the Youth:
“I believe the elections in our country present
two figures of people: the first whose
weaknesses are being exploited and whose votes
are bought by those who exploit them; but the
other big group of voters is the youth who can
counter the first group. It’s not right that our
votes will be held hostage by those who prey on
the vulnerabilities of the weak, the powerless,
and the uneducated. The youth should use their
numbers. You are not just the hope of the
Fatherland—you are the saviors of the
Fatherland.”
On good governors:
“You’d be surprised there are many good
governors who don’t draw national attention but
they’re doing very well in their own provinces.
What we are looking for are not effective
leaders but ethical leaders and there’s a big
difference. There are many ethical leaders out
there but we need to support them. It can be a
lonely job.”
On her example:
“When I wondered how I could run when I couldn’t
even walk properly, one monsignor said to me,
‘What people see in you, Grace, you yourself are
the message. Pag nakita ka namin, nakita ka na
ganito, pilay, mahina ang katawan, that’s
already the message.’ What this means is that is
that no one’s exempted from doing what’s right
and good for society.”
On how she’d like to be
remembered:
“People like her who seemed to be weak or
useless proved that they are not.”
-Cathy
Quiogue
To view a slideshow of pictures
taken during the talk of Gov. Grace Padaca,
click here: Talk
on Good Governance>>>>
Parishioners of PCJ were surprised and saddened
by the news that our beloved Asst. Parish Priest
for the past three years, Fr. Jeff Manlapig,
will be leaving us for his new assignment as
Parish Priest of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in
BF-Mariposa, effective Nov. 16, 2009. In
his farewell mass today, Fr. Jeff took the
opportunity to thank his PCJ family especially
Fr. Rolly Agustin who was his former teacher and
Prefect of Discipline at San Carlos Seminary in
Guadalupe, Makati.
Fr. Jeff recounted that he celebrated
his first mass at St. Joseph the Worker Parish
before he arrived in PCJ on Oct. 8, 2006.
In a way, in his new assignment, he is going
back full circle to where he first started. We
will all miss Fr. Jeff's youthful exuberance and
his reassuring presence and support for the many programs he has initiated for the youth
not only in our parish but also in our
vicariate. We thank you Fr. Jeff and wish
you all the best in your new parish. -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
As
part of their spiritual formation, the members of the PCJ Parish Council had a
2-day retreat at Bukas Loob Sa Diyos Covenant
House in Carmona, Cavite last October 28-29,
2009. The retreat was conducted by Rev.
Fr. Willy Samson, SJ, who flew all the way from
Ateneo De Zamboanga where he is currently based.
On the first day, the participants were guided
by Fr. Samson on how to pray using scriptures
thru meditation / lectio divina. They
prayed for the grace to be able to see the
movements of God in their lives, to understand
and faithfully follow the will of God. The
call for each participant is to be sensitive to
the movements of the Spirit - to listen, see,
feel, understand and heal. On the second
day, the participants were introduced to a
deeper kind of prayer - contemplation, where one
comes to silent and simply wait for God to
reveal Himself in the silence of our hearts.
The call for each participant on the final day
is to "Show us how to love", the call to care
for others. They prayed for the grace to
remember God's goodness and many blessings in
their lives, to be grateful for all these
blessings, to rekindle the fire of being a
parish worker, to evaluate their actions and to
recommit their lives to the call to love, to
care for others. Amidst all the many
concerns and the whirlwind of programs and
activities in the parish, this two-day retreat
gave the participants the much needed break to
pause for awhile, come to silent, listen, be
sensitive and reflect on the movements and
inspirations of God in their lives. In his homily during the
mass on the last day of the retreat, Fr. Rolly
Agustin challenged the parish council members to
bring home with them the personal experience of
God that they had during the 2-day retreat so
that the rekindled zeal and fire of serving God
thru the parish may continue to burn within them
and their members.
We
wish to take this opportunity to express our
gratitude to our beloved parish priest, Fr.
Rolly, for giving his parishioners all the
avenues possible for their spiritual growth.
From day one since he arrived in our parish, he
emphasized the need for spiritual formation,
which according to him should precede any parish
program or activity. Now, we understand
fully why. He wants all our actions, our
programs to be more love-centered and not
just results-oriented. Once we have grown
spiritually, then all our actions will be
motivated by love and we will have greater
sensitivity towards the needs of others.
Again, thank you Father, from your PCJ
family.
- Lorna C. Buenviaje
With the collaborated efforts of
the Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish (PCJP)
and the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish (ROLP),
“Anihán: a weekend seminar on prayer and
discernment” was held at the Immaculata Hall, ROLP,
BF Homes Phase 1 in Parañaque on 19 and 20 October
2009. Led by Tess Espino, assisted by Noemi
Poblador of the PCJP, 24 participants from both
parishes were given theological lectures by Fr.
Francis Gustilo, SDB and Fr. Rolly Agustin (PCJ
Parish Priest).
The participants learned the St. Ignatian method
of reflective gospel prayer, which helped them in
their everyday discernments and enriched their
spiritual and personal life. Inspired by the
teachings of Vatican II, Tess exhorted the group
that “discernment is imperative for life in the
world, as we strive to master its three
requirements: to know God’s will, to know one’s
self, and to open ourselves and commit to God’s
will.”
This was the sixth Anihán
seminar since PCJP started giving it last year.
The seminar was also conducted for the Vicariate
of San Antonio de Padua, participated in by the
nine parishes, in September 2009. Because there is
a great need to deepen one’s prayer life, to
identify one’s charisms, and to get more laborers
to work in God’s vineyard, there are plans to
offer more Anihán seminars next year both in the
parish and vicariate level.
Some Anihan 6 participants--Cad Katigbak,
Christine and Sunny Cruz, Josette Lasala, and Jo
Balais--share their thoughts on the seminar:
Cad: “Through
Anihan, after our prayerful self-evaluation and
assessment, I discovered that my charism is
wisdom. This led me to decide to pursue my post
graduate course in education even after my
retirement, to provide me with skills and training
for my chosen ministry on human promotion and
community development. More so, the Ignatian
prayer brought me back to opening the bible for
more guidance and enlightenment of God’s wonderful
plans for us, which has enhanced a deeper
understanding of my family and others.”
Chin and Sunny:
“I have always battled with my feeling of
unworthiness and I learned from Ms. Tess that this
is the enemy’s way of obstructing me from
furthering God’s work on earth. Realizing and
claiming my gifts and charisms did help create a
positive, grateful, and happy me, willing to make
use of my gifts of faith and evangelization for
the Kingdom of God. As for Sunny, he now reads the
daily scripture which is pertinent in the Ignation
prayer life. It leaves me in awe that our morning
conversation now includes the bible reading for
the day. He has finally developed the desire to
serve the parish through the prison ministry.”
Josette:
“After the Anihan seminar, my prayer time became
more meaningful. The Ignatian prayer reinforced my
centering prayer. This is the first time I
experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit with
feelings of love, peace, and joy. Now, I get
excited during my prayer time because I feel truly
loved by Jesus. And I find it easier to love Him
and obey His will. However, the devil is always at
the corner and I have to be alert. The enemy is
using my sister now to sow conflict that affects
our relationship. I realize that if I can overcome
the enemy through the spirit of empathy which I
have developed in my daily prayers, I will be able
to understand my sister’s circumstance and be more
humble, understanding, forgiving, and loving. God
is guiding me on how to overcome the enemy using
the spirit of LOVE which I experience in prayer.
Every day is a revelation of God’s LOVE! With a
good prayer life, I am learning to be a discerning
person. I am really happy for my transformation
after the seminar!”
Jo: “I learned
that my hunger for knowledge about God came from a
desire to teach and share His miracles and great
love for us with others. I recall that even during
the untimely death of my youngest daughter two
years ago, God was talking to me about the need to
submit to His will and plans. After my one on one
talk with Ms. Tess, I learned not to make
decisions during my moments of desolation. I found
myself forgiving my husband’s shortcomings, being
strengthened by the grace of the Holy Spirit
during my reflective moments with God in the
Adoration Chapel.”
On 16
October 2009, at 2:00 P.M., Fr. Christopher Tejido,
a newly ordained priest, celebrated a
Thanks-giving Mass in the PCJ Parish Church.
Topher, as he is fondly called by his friends,
hails from Bacolod City, and is the second of five
children born to Francisco Tejido, Sr. and Monica
Abogador. He holds a Bachelor Of Science degree in
accountancy and finance.
He had his
seminary formation in the San Jose Seminary,
Ateneo de Manila University and completed his
Ecclesiastical Degrees of Bachelor in Sacred
Theology and Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry
in the Loyola School of Theology.
Fr. Tejido was secretary to Msgr. Chito Bernardo,
the Secretary of the Commission on Clergy. He
worked as Officer/Sacristan in the St. James the
Great Parish in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa.
In the seminary, he performed his apostolate work
in the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Antipolo
City for four years, in the St. Martin de Porres
Parish in Bicutan, and in the Our Lady of Unity
Parish in Sucat. As part of his diaconal program
prior to his ordination, he was assigned for two
months each in the following parishes: the
Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish in
Parañaque, the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the
Abandoned in Muntinlupa, and the Christ the King
Parish in Pamplona, Las Piñas. -
Empie Bautista,
Commission on Liturgy, Worship and Popular
Religiosity
The PCJ Commission
on Youth launched the first Youth Christian Life
Journey (YCLJ) on 10 October 2009 in the PCJ
Sacred Heart Center. YCLJ is a Christian seminar
open to all singles aged 21 and above. Members of
the CFC Singles for Family and Life (SFL) are
currently serving in this first program in support
of the PCJ Commission on Youth.
The service team for the YCLJ prepared posters
which were put up in various locations in BF Homes
to invite participants to join. Announcements were
also made during Sunday Masses in PCJ and
registration tables were set up outside the church
entrance.
The YCLJ program is scheduled to run for six
consecutive Saturdays (except 31 October) from
2:00 to 5:00 P.M. The seminar was attended by
twenty-four participants with ages averaging from
21 to 28 years old. It is divided into three main
modules. The first module discusses the basic
truths of Christianity, followed by the authentic
Christian life, and last, how to live a
spirit-filled Christian life.
Fr. Rolly Agustin,
PCJ parish priest, was invited to be the guest
speaker for the first talk about God’s love. For
the succeeding sessions, members of the SFL
community, most of whom are involved in mission
work, will give the talks and share their personal
experiences as God’s witnesses. The seminar aims
to help our youth participants meet Christian
friends, learn more about their faith and begin a
renewed relationship with God. The culmination of
the seminar is not the end, but just the beginning
for the participants to express their renewed
faith through service in various activities in the
PCJ parish. With the YCLJ, the Youth Commission
hopes to bring more youth closer to God and be of
service to Him and their fellowmen.
The service team
for this maiden YCLJ program was headed by Denver
Daradar and Carlo Dimarucut. Core members of the
service team are: Mikka Santos, Cre Bravo, Leng
Bravo, Bern Bravo, Dale Señires, Eliana Señires,
Nico Señires, Jordan Ursua, Miggy Gamboa, Mari
Gamboa, Tage Alcantara, Anna Tiamzon, Mi-an Muñoz,
and Kristian Eguia. -
Cathy Tillah,
Commission on Youth
The Catechism
and Feeding of Street Children Program is one of
PCJ’s three centerpiece programs launched on 8
February 2009 in celebration of the parish
fiesta.
On 28 February
2009, there was a meeting of volunteers for the
three programs. Out of 117 who signed up, only
48 attended the meeting. On 14 March, a
follow-up meeting was held with those who
volunteered specifically for the catechism
program to discuss program, process, and
schedule.
The program’s
objective is to prevent begging street children
within the PCJ parish community from embracing a
life of mendicancy and to give them proper
values and spiritual formation through
catechism, with supplemental feeding. The
strategy agreed upon was to adopt and implement
the Apostolic for Family Consecration or AFC’s
“Katesismong Pampamilya” a three-year on-going
continuous formation and evangelization program.
In
March, the members attended a one-day seminar at
the AFC Center, where it was decided that the
youth (creative group) will facilitate the
catechism and the elderly (wise group) will plan
and develop the weekly syllabus with them, based
on the AFC book. A workshop was conducted by
Ovic and Cesar Etruistre to demonstrate the ways
and means of teaching catechism to children and
preparing a syllabus. The enrollment of children
was done with the Commission on Developing
Community through Letty Elayda.
On 18 April
2009, the catechism and feeding of
street-children program was started and held
every Saturday thereafter. To date, the program
has conducted 11 sessions with an average
attendance of 65-70 children from the Pechayan,
Lagoon, and Target areas. On 27 June 2009, the
program was integrated with the SK (Soup
Kitchen) catechism being handled by Tere Caro.
Total attendance was 106, which included some 50
SK children from the CAA area.
Despite the
increase in the number of children to be
catechized, the budget for food, which averages
about P2,000.00, remains because the food for
the SK group is handled by the SK group
sponsors. On 10 October 2009, the following were
further integrated: food for SK and catechism
class. This move reduced the budget of the
catechism to an average of P1,000.00 per
Saturday as the food expense was shared by the
SK donors and the catechism class. Food was
prepared by the SK mothers. Classes are now held
in the SK area.
The benefits
of integration are: a cohesive and synergistic
approach to catechism is being extended to as
many children as possible; parish resources are
used efficiently and effectively; a standard
form of catechism is given to the PCJ community
of children in coordination with a professional
catechist, Tere Caro; the work is done by a
dedicated and committed service team instead of
being a one-woman job. -
Chit Cabrejas
1 October
2009, Thursday …three days after Ondoy hit Metro
Manila and the nearby provinces…the Presentation
of the Child Jesus Parish launched a relief
operation intended for the victims living within
the community of BF Homes who were badly
affected by the worst typhoon.
Being part of the relief mission was a
heartwarming experience, especially for my
children (Kevin, Patrixa, Bernadette Locsin) and
their dear friends (Karl Soria, Mickey Lopez,
Marlon Brucal) and all the other volunteer
workers who willingly shared themselves in
reaching out to families who were victimized by
the wrath of typhoon Ondoy.
It
was surprising to note that most of the
volunteers came from the youth sector, ages
13-18 years. Self-motivation and the desire to
be of service to our fellowmen were foremost in
their minds and made them physically,
spiritually, and mentally present in that relief
mission. Their service, I believe, gives us hope
that this young generation will continue the
mission to help and build a Christian community
and to make use of the charisms that God has
given them.
As volunteers, we repacked relief items into
plastic bags and pails for distribution, which
we did in the morning, with the big help of our
always energetic Fr. Jeff. No traces of
disappointment or signs of tiredness could be
seen on the young faces of our volunteer
workers. Instead, big smiles and the enthusiasm
to help were seen and felt during that time.
The leaders of our commission, headed by Mr. and
Mrs. Celso Dimarucut, (who never get tired),
were in-charge of distributing stubs to our
brothers and sisters who were patiently and
eagerly waiting outside.
Our Parish Priest, Fr. Rolly Agustin, was also
present to support the relief operations.
Kudos to all
of us…to our supportive priests, to our young
volunteers, to the leaders of the commission,
and to all the donors. The spirit of oneness was
again felt in the PCJ Parish. -
Lissa Pasimio Locsin
It has been
said that difficulties or emergency situations
bring out the best in people. This has been
proven true by some members of our developing
communities—the Pechayan, F. Cruz, Lagoon, and
Target areas.
When Typhoon Ondoy struck, they all became flood
victims, losing everything they had except the
clothes on their backs. Fortunately, however, in
God’s mercy, their homes suffered only minor
damages.
These are the active Devcom Coordinators, who
maintain a close link between the Church and the
poorest of the poor in their areas. They are
frequent or daily Mass goers and members of
groups like the Legion of Mary, the Charismatic
Prayer Community, and the Basic Ecclesial
Community. They bring to fruition the Diocesan
Pastoral Assembly vision of making our poor not
only the evangelized but also the evangelizers
in their respective communities.
As leaders of the developing community, they
encourage devotion to Our Blessed Mother through
Block Rosary transfers. They lead prayers during
the Wednesday novenas to Our Mother of Perpetual
Help. They have weekly sessions for their
spiritual formation in the Legion of Mary
praesidium meetings. Bible sharing in their BEC
clusters and the monthly Devcom Spiritual Values
Renewal Program contribute further to their
spiritual growth.
In May, they have daily floral offerings to Our
Blessed Mother in their chapels. During Lent,
they make the Way of the Cross, and in October,
they gather the neighborhood to pray the rosary
daily. Above all, they are always ready to heed
any call to support parish activities.
One such call came from the Commission on
Service to Human Promotions to supervise the
distribution of relief goods after the typhoon.
The tremendous task of sorting, packing, and
distributing used clothing, noodles, rice,
canned goods, and toiletries fell on the
shoulders of these selfless men and women. In
spite of their personal burdens of attending to
their own families, they gave their all as
evangelizers, living out the Word of God by
helping their neighbors.
These Devcom leaders are victims themselves but
because of their zeal and selflessness in giving
themselves to others, they more than deserve the
name ‘heroes’! -
Letty Elayda
Nabigla ang ating mga
kalapit-bahay sa napakabilis na pagtaas ng tubig
sa kanilang mga pook—iyan ang pareparehong ulat
ng mga taga F. Cruz, Lagoon, at Pechayan.
“Napakabilis po, nakakatakot.” Nakita nilang
tinatangay ng malakas na agos ng tubig ang
kanilang mga gamit, ngunit wala silang magawa.
Sa Pechayan, walong bahay ang winasak at dinala
ng mabilis at malakas na agos. Wala ang mga
kalalakihan sa kanikanilang bahay dahil araw ng
trabaho iyon—Sabado ng tanghali nang ibinuhos ni
Ondoy ang itinuturing na isang linggong ulan sa
loob lamang ng anim na oras. “Wala ang mga asawa
namin. Maliliit pa ang aming mga anak. Lahat ng
aming damit at gamit sa bahay ay tinangay ng
rumaragasang tubig.” Ang isa sa kanila,
yapus-yapus ang tv sa pagnanasang hindi ito
lumubog at masira. Sabi naman ng isa—“yung tv ko,
isang hulog ko pa lamang—ayun lumulutang sa
tubig, pero hindi ko na pinansin. Ang una kong
iniligtas ay ang aking mga anak. Gamit lang yun.
Mas mahalaga ang buhay ng mga bata.” Ang isa
naman sa kanila ay parang natulala. Sa mabilis
na pagakyat ng tubig sa kanilang bahay, parang
din na niya naisip ang mga anak na nasa itaas.
Mabuti na lamang at may dumamay na kapitbahay.
E paano na? Noong humupa na ang baha, paano
ninyo nakuhang muli ang inyong mga gamit?
“Pinaghahanap po namin. Tulong tulong. Huy
tangke in Sol iyan; o di ba monobloc mo ito?”
Wala namang nanggantso o umangkin ng di kanya?
“Ay wala po.” Bayanihan ang nanaig sa mga
magkakapitbahay. Paano yung mga bahay na nasira
at tuluyan nang nawala? “Nagtatayo na po ulit.
May mga plywood at yero pong ipinamahagi sina
Mayor Bernabe at Barangay Chairman Jeremy
Marquez. Tulong tulong gumagawa ulit ng tirahan.”
Ano naman ang nagawa ng PCJ para sa inyo? “Ay
napakalaking tulong po. Binigyan kami ng bigas,
mga de lata, noodles, tubig pang-inom, damit,
sabon, toothpaste—maraming marami po.” Ayon kay
Letty Elayda ng Commission for Developing
Communities, nag anunsyo ang parokya sa mga misa
na may mga kapit-bahay tayo na nasalanta ng baha
at nangangailangnan ng tulong; at dumagsa naman
ang tulong ng mga taga parokya—mga damit, kumot,
tuwalya, mga pagkain at mga gamit pangkalinisan.
Ang iba naman ay nagbigay ng pera, na dinagdagan
ng parokya. “Bilin ni Fr. Rolly--Wag kayong
bumili ng puro sardinas. Bigyan natin ng maayos
na pagkain ang ating mga kapatid.” Kaya nga may
luncheon meat pa.
Ga bundok ang mga damit na
ibinahagi ng mga tumulong. Sako sakong bigas at
kahon kahong pagkain. Kinailangan ang tulong
para sa pagaayos at pag-eenpake ng mga ito.
Maraming mga taga pook na nabanggit ang pumunta
upang tumulong, kahit di pa lubusang ayos ang
kanikanilang mga bahay at pamilya. Pinamumunuan
sila ng mga Area Coordinators—sina Marisol at
Gina ng F. Cruz; Vida ng Lagoon; at Rosita at
Salvacion ng Pechayan. Ayon sa kanila at sa mga
kasama nilang sina Rose, Violeta, Jocelyn,
Myrna, Soledad, at Teresa, lubos silang natutuwa
at nagpapasalamat sa kanilang mga kasama sa
Parokya ng PCJ dahil sa kanilang ipinadamang
pakikiisa sa sinapit ng kanilang mg kapatid kay
Hesus.
Sinabi ng ilang sundalong
Amerikano na nagulat sila sa mga Pinoy na
nakukuha pang tumawa sa gitna ng krisis na
kanilang sinapit. Sabi ng ating mga kapatid, di
naman sila tumawa; bagkos, sila ay umiyak at
nalungkot, ngunit ni minsan di nila sinisi ang
Diyos o nagalit sa Kanya. Ang iba ay tumawag sa
Kanya at nagsabing, “Tama na po, Lord. Tama na
po.”
Sa ganitong binigkas nila,
madarama ang kanilang malapit na relasyon sa
Poong Maykapal at ang kanilang pananalig sa
Kanyang pagmamahal at pagkalinga. Ang ganitong
pananalig at pananampalataya, pag-asa, at
pagmamahal sa Kanya, sa kapwa, sa kanilang mga
pamilya at kapit-bahay ay kahangahanga, at
marahil, maaaring maging magandang halimbawa sa
ating lahat. Sa kabila ng kanilang kakulangan sa
mga bagay na materyal, mayaman sila sa
kabutihang loob at maligaya sila sa pagibig at
pagkakaisa na kanilang nadama sa gitna ng krisis
-Marionette O. Martinez
In line with the Supreme Knights “In Solidarity With Our Priests” Campaign and in celebration of the year for priests, the Knights of Columbus Council 8565 (Presentation of the Child Jesus) Luzon jurisdiction (r-46) hosted an “Appreciation Night” for all the priests currently serving at the Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish. This was held last September 28, 2009 coinciding with the celebration of the feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the Philippines' first canonized saint and the council’s patron saint.
Gk Eduardo E. Cabrera collaborated with all the parish mandated organizations in this celebration in response to the chaplain’s call to always move and act as a community.
The honorees were, His Excellency, the Most Rev. Jesse E. Mercado, Bishop of Paranaque, our beloved parish priest & council’s chaplain, Rev. Fr. Rolando R. Agustin, our parochial vicar, Rev. Fr. John Francis Frederick Manlapig, and the other four assisting priests, namely; Rev. Fr. Jesus B. Estrada, Rev. Fr. John Varghese, Rev. Fr. Rio Evangelista, and Rev. Fr. Enrico Ayo.
It was a short but meaningful program featuring two (2) video presentations; one of which was taken from the works of St. John Marie Vianney, patron saint of all priests, on why we should love our priest and the other video is the council’s tribute to the honorees. There was also a community praying over with laying of hands by the heads of each parochial commission to all the honorees. The prayer was led by the council’s director for church service program, Bro. Rene De Leon. The highlight of the affair was the council’s presentation of plaque of appreciation and gift to all the honorees. The presentors were the past grand knights of the council and assisted by heads of the different organization and commission of the parish. The good Bishop Jesse gave his response to the deeds made by the Knight of Columbus and other parish mandated organizations.
- Rene De Leon
Fr. Jeff Manlapig,
Assistant Parish Priest of PCJ, was serenaded by
his parishioners at an early dawn mañanita on
the occasion of his 3rd Sacerdotal anniversary
on Sept. 23. When he woke up at around
5:00 a.m. to prepare for his 6:00 a.m. mass, Fr.
Jeff found it odd to hear people talking and
laughing at such an early hour. He
wondered whether there was a Marian procession
which he was not informed about. To his
surprise, he found people with lighted candles,
waiting at the foot of the stairs of the "Bahay
Pari", singing "Close To You" by the Carpenters.
Fr. Jeff expressed his gratitude and said he was
really overwhelmed by the show of love and
support by his parishioners. A concelebrated
mass presided by Fr. Jeff and guest priests from
the vicariate was held at 6:00 a.m., followed by
a breakfast salu-salo at the PCJ Sacred Heart
Center. Again, we offer our prayers for
Fr. Jeff on his 3rd anniversary as a priest.
Mabuhay ka Fr. Jeff.
- Lorna C. Buenviaje
On the eve of the birthday of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, 7 September 2009, the “Asian Youth
Day” (AYD) Cross was received by the PCJ Parish
from Our Lady of Unity Parish in UPS-5. Fr.
Rolly Agustin, together with the youth groups of
the PCJ and Our Lady of Unity parishes, led a
procession to enthrone the AYD Cross inside the
PCJ church together with the image of Our Lady
of Buensuceso, the patroness of the Diocese of
Paranaque. In the evening, the PCJ youth held a
prayer vigil in honor of the AYD Cross and Our
Lady of Buensuceso, a fitting birthday gift to
Mama Mary.
The prayer vigil was capped with the recitation
of the Holy Rosary. After each decade of the
rosary, a mini-talk was given by Arvin Serra,
and a short reflection followed. Erwin
Santos led the opening and closing prayers.
Around 40 people joined the prayer vigil that
evening. The following day, 8 September 2009,
the AYD Cross was transferred to Manresa School
by the PCJ Youth, led by Fr. Jeff Manlapig.
The parish visitation by the AYD cross is part
of the preparations for the Asian Youth Day main
event, which will be held in November in the
diocese of Imus, Cavite. The Asian Youth Day
celebration, top-billed as YASIA FIESTA, will
gather around 2,000
youth from all over Asia. It is intended to
foster understanding and brotherhood among Asian
youth through a closer encounter with GOD which
will be expressed in various activities,
including praise and worship. The YASIA FIESTA
celebration will culminate in Imus, Cavite and
will be hosted by the Bishop of the diocese of
Cavite, Msgr. Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle. -
Cathy Tillah,
Commission on Youth
The Legion of Mary is an
association of Catholics who, with the sanction
of the Church and under the powerful leadership
of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of all Graces,
have formed themselves into a legion for service
in the warfare which is perpetually waged by the
Church against the world and its evil powers.
Patterned after an army, particularly that of
Rome, the Legion preserves the Latin names, as
well as the practices of the first group of
legionaries. (Legion of Mary Handbook)
In PCJ, the Legion of Mary
Praesidium—Refugium Peccatorium—is a happy
blending of the old and the new, of tradition
and innovation. The praesidium holds fast
to the vision, mission, and traditional
practices of the Legion of Mary, but it has also
been open to new trends. One of the more
“surprising” of these is the presence of male
members, since traditionally, the legion has
been regarded as a women’s organization. There
are only four male members as of now, but there
will probably be more to come.
All four male members of the
legion were attracted to the organization by its
focus on both prayer and apostolate and by its
quiet, self-effacing ways. The organization does
not trumpet its achievements, which does not
mean they are not proud of them, for they
certainly are. Their apostolates include
catechetical instruction, hospital and jail
visitation, mass weddings, visits to developing
communities. Working closely with Fr. Rolly
Agustin, parish priest, the Knights of Columbus,
and the Lay Ministers of the Holy Eucharist,
they also visit the sick and the aged, to bring
the Eucharist to them, comfort them in their
pain and loneliness, and help them make peace
with their Father in heaven and prepare for
their departure from this life.
The legionaries are one in their
appreciation of the simple and humble ways of
the organization. They say that they are
emulating the Blessed Mother, who worked quietly
in Nazareth and loved and served her Son as He
grew “and waxed strong, full of wisdom and the
grace of God.” They serve as the hands and feet
of the parish priest.
The Praesidium of Refugium
Peccatorium belongs to the Curia of Our Lady
of Candelaria, Comitium of Paranaque. Marlene
Juson, President, and Letty Elayda,
Vice-President, take pride in the rapid growth
of membership of the Legion of Mary. However,
like Ed Cabrera and the other members and
auxiliaries of the LOM, they are not too
concerned with numbers and statistics for they
have imbibed Fr. Rolly’s concern with formation
and spirituality, quality rather than quantity.
The parish is fortunate to have
the Legion of Mary doing God’s work among His
people, without fanfare, without “the sound and
fury signifying nothing” that some leaders of
the country and the world today seem to
specialize in. They will continue to be Mary’s
army, “comrades true, dare and do, ‘neath the
Queen’s white and blue” seeking the least of His
brethren—the children, the prisoners, the poor
and the sick, the aged and infirm--and bringing
God’s love to them.-
Marionette O. Martinez
The Presentation
of the Child Jesus (PCJ) Parish has introduced
an innovation in its faith enrichment
program--the use of DVD film showings.
Initiated by the
PCJ Commission on Catechetics and Religious
Education, an initial line-up of ten films has
been programmed for showing.
Five of these are
from the award-winning Footprints of God
documentary series produced by Ignatius Press
and Steve Ray, a converted Protestant evangelist
and author. These are: Jesus: The Word Became
Flesh; Mary: Mother of God; Peter: Keeper of the
Keys; Paul: Contending for the Faith; and The
Apostolic Fathers.
The Footprints
of God series was shot on location in
Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Greece,
and Rome. It has a unique approach, which
combines the best features of a travel
documentary, Bible study, apologetics, and
church history. The series has found acceptance
in U.S. parishes, schools, and small groups for
faith enrichment and study.
The other titles in the PCJ line-up are: Did
JESUS really rise from the dead?; Lost Gospels
or False Gospels; The Da Vinci Hoax; Jesus and
Mary: The greatest figures of salvation; and
Reflections on the Mass.
The survey of viewers, comments and feedback on
the five films which have been shown so
far elicited favorable responses—that they
gained new knowledge and fresh insights and a
better appreciation of our faith. -
Noel Talosig
To address the many concerns
of mid-lifers, those approaching mid-life, and
even those way past their midlife, the PCJ
Commission on the Family presented a 3-part
seminar series entitled “Preparing For Your
Golden Years” last July 25, August 1 and 8, 2009
at the PCJ Sacred Heart Center. The program
tackled the many concerns and issues facing
mid-lifers from financial, psychological,
spiritual and health and wellness.
The first of the series covered financial
preparation for retirement and estate planning.
Albert Buenviaje, Dean of the Ateneo Graduate
School of Business and the PCJ Coordinator for
the Commission on the Family shared some basics
on financial planning and gave some tips on
formulating an investment strategy for financial
independence. The second part – Estate Planning
was handled by Atty. Mike Gonzales, former
Corporate Counsel of Land Bank of the
Philippines, and a co-worker for the Commission
on the Family. Atty. Gonzales explained the
meaning and objectives of estate planning and
outlined the basic steps involved in estate
planning. He also took the opportunity to give
an overview of the various tools and devices
used in estate planning like the preparation of
will and testament, donations, irrevocable life
insurance, trusts, incorporation and
establishment of foundations. Relative to estate
planning, Romeo Lopez, another co-worker for the
Commission on the Family shared some valuable
points on safekeeping of important documents.
The second series held on August 1 dealt with
the social and psychological preparation for
midlife and midlife spirituality. Carmelita
“Mel” Gatmaitan, a practicing psychologist and
another member of the Commission on the Family,
handled the first part which covered among
others the various views and misconceptions on
aging, and how to deal effectively with
depression, loneliness, stress and midlife
crisis. She also shared some brain boosters to
prevent memory loss. The second part was handled
by Sister Lydia Paola Marave of MACE, a member
of the PCJ Pastoral Council and Assistant
Professor at DLSU. Sister Lydia spoke about the
response to midlife challenges thru a
Eucharistic and Marian spirituality. She
proposed an itinerary for midlife spirituality
like time for meditation, participation at Holy
Eucharist at least twice a week, daily
recitation of the rosary, weekly adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament, acts of mortification and
charity and a conscious effort to spread the
word of God.
The last of the series, held on August 8
discussed various geriatric concerns during
mid-life and how to promote midlife health and
wellness. As they came in, the participants’
weight, height and body mass index were measured
to provide a starting point in determining their
overall physical condition. Mon Marchan, a
health, wellness and fitness expert shared
valuable information on healthy eating and
exercise. Dr. Herman Delizo, owner of several
wellness centers in Metro Manila discussed
common ailments facing mid-lifers and current
concepts in the management of aging and frailty.
The 3-part seminar series was well attended by
PCJ parishioners who also shared with each other
during the open forum their views on the various
topics discussed. They were all very
appreciative of the fact that our parish offered
this very informative and practical program for
mid-lifers. After going thru the program, one
participant commented that he is now more
equipped to face his next life stage – “ Midlife
crisis?? Bring it on!!!!” -
Lorna C. Buenviaje
With the closing of the Pauline
Year, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI declared a
“Year for Priests” in the celebration of the 150th
year anniversary of the “dies natalis” of St. John
Mary Vianney, the Patron Saint of parish priests
all over the world. This was launched on the
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on 19
June 2009. As the Holy Father stated: “It is with
immense gratitude on the immense gift which
priests represent, not only for the Church for
also for humanity itself” (Pope Benedict XVI,
Letter Proclaiming ‘A Year for Priests on the
150th Anniversary of the Dies Natalis of the Cure
Ars”).
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) declared the same celebration, also
declaring the same period as “Year of the Two
Hearts for Peace Building and Lay Participation in
Social Change.” It has been declared a “Year of
Prayer by Priests with Priests.” The CBCP Media
Office has set up a website (www.cbcponline.net/yearforpriests)
to help mark the Year of Priests by providing
prayers and other resources in service of the
year’s theme. Considering the same letter, Pope
Benedict XVI emphasized that the year is likewise
a call to our lay faithful to pray for their
priests especially through the Eucharist.
The previous encyclicals of Pope John Paul II and
Pope Benedict XVI have centered on the Eucharist,
on Charity, and on the Priesthood. Both Pontiffs
underlined how the source of holiness is the
Eucharist, Jesus Himself. With the Eucharist is
the priesthood. Together with this proclamation,
an awakening is happening in almost all the
parishes in the Philippines, where different
initiatives are being conducted. The
congregations, institutes of consecrated life,
schools, basic ecclesial and charismatic groups
have centered their gatherings on the same theme.
In our Diocese of Paranaque, we are grateful that,
like Saint John Mary Vianney, our Pastor, Bishop
Jesse B. Mercado has always preached the way to
Christian holiness ... living it first, by
example. In the same manner, we cannot thank God
enough for the good priests who are serving our
parishes ... our Vicariates ... our Diocese. As we
pray more intently, we realize that there is still
much to be done. Christmas is fast approaching;
let us heed the call to deepening, as well as the
call to renewal in holiness of life through Mary,
our Mother. It is an invitation for transformation
in Christ through the Eucharist. -
Sr. Lydia Paola G. Marave,
MACE
“ Involvement is the wellspring of hope”. The theme of the PCJ Parish Fiesta is embodied in the three programs that the Parish will be launching during its fiesta celebration on Feb 8, 2009 – Livelihood Program,
Hapag-asa Feeding Program, and
Catechism and Feeding of Street Children in our Parish. These programs are intended to bring the message of hope to our fellowmen, especially to those who have less in life.
Livelihood Program
The livelihood program, will cover not only skills training, but also training on setting up a business, managing, financing and marketing of products or services.
The beneficiaries/participants to the livelihood program are our parishioners from the developing community who have already undergone spiritual formation via the BEC formation program (Basic Ecclessial Community).
Initial steps have already been undertaken to jump start the program. Last October 19 and Dec. 21, 2008 the BEC Dev. Com. leaders have undergone training on soap-making. Training on other livelihood projects will follow soon.
Once the livelihood programs are in place, the extra income that the participants will be able to generate from this program will help augment their meager resources.
Hapag-Asa Feeding Program
The Hapag-asa Feeding Program is an integrated nutrition program for the poor and malnourished children in our parish. According to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) study, 3 out of 10 children, ages 0 to 5 years, are suffering from chronic malnutrition and are underweight, under height and stunted in growth. For the Hapag-Asa Feeding Program, we shall be implementing this program in coordination with the Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation. It is a medically supervised nutrition program that aims to alleviate extreme hunger among poor Filipino children and to improve their overall health condition. It has two major components: supplemental feeding program for the children and education classes with topics on Spiritual/Values formation, Health and Nutrition and Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods for the parents.
Catechism and Feeding of Street Children in our Parish
To address the many complaints from church goers of the proliferation of street children in our parish, we will launch the program on catechism and feeding of these street children. Instead of letting these children roam around embracing the life of mendicancy, we will have catechists who will gather these children to give them the proper spiritual and values formation, and at the same time give them supplemental food. We will also look at the possibility of integrating these children, together with their parents in our Hapag-asa Feeding Program.
As the theme of our parish fiesta clearly states “ Involvement is the wellspring of hope”. If all parishioners can be involved, then together, we can show that truly, the Filipino can withstand all trials with hope in our hearts.
If you want to share your time, treasure or talents with our parish, please contact the parish office at tel. no. 8254151.
- Lorna C. Buenviaje
Fr. Rolly Agustin
celebrated his birthday on Jan. 13, 2009
with the children of Elsie Gaches Village in
Alabang, Muntinlupa. Some members of the
various PCJ organizations were on hand to give
their support to Fr. Rolly. The
afternoon's program began with games for the
children - trip to Jerusalem, statue dance
contest and the longest birthday greeting.
The children were treated to a special song and
dance number prepared by the members of various
PCJ organizations and ministries. This was
followed by merienda consisting of spaghetti,
cupcakes, ice cream and juice which the
children enjoyed eating . Each of them
also received a bag of toiletries. Indeed,
it was an afternoon full of joy, love and
caring which was felt by the children of Elsie
Gaches. Afterwards, Fr. Rolly was treated
to a pizza merienda by his PCJ family at Carlo's
Pizza in BF Homes Pque. Again, we wish Fr.
Rolly a Happy and Blessed Birthday.
- Lorna C. Buenviaje
To view a
slideshow of pictures of Fr. Rolly's birthday at
Elsie Gaches, click here:
Fr. Rolly's Birthday>>>
Fr.
Jeff Manlapig Celebrates His 2nd Sacerdotal
Anniversary
Sept. 23, 2008
- Fr. Jeff Manlapig, the beloved Asst. Parish Priest
of PCJ celebrated his 2nd Sacerdotal Anniversary
today. To celebrate this event, the parishioners had
a simple breakfast get-together after the 6:45 a.m.
mass (which was officiated by no less than Fr. Jeff
himself, together with Fr. Ian).
August 25, 2008
- The
proposed Reproductive Health and Population
Development Act of 2008
with Albay Rep.
Edcel Lagman as principal author,
has created a lot
of debate and heated arguments for those pro and
against it, with the Catholic Church voicing its
strong opposition against the passage of the bill.
A lot of misinformation has been going around both
in print and broadcast media as to why the Catholic
Church is strongly against it. To shed light on
the Church’s position and objections to the specific
provisions of the proposed Consolidated Reproductive
Health Bill, PCJ Parish invited Fr. Melvin Castro,
to talk on the subject matter. Fr. Melvin is the
Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission on
Family and Life, and has been designated the
spokesperson of the Catholic Church on the issue.
The talk was held last Aug. 20 (Wednesday), 8:00
p.m. after the evening mass, at the Presentation of
the Child Jesus Parish. There were about 130
attendees composed of members of church mandated
organizations and parishioners not only from PCJ
parish but from other parishes within the Vicariate
of San Antonio de Padua. Click here for details and
photo slideshow of the
Talk of Fr. Melvin Castro.
Feb. 10, 2008
- The Presentation of the Child Jesus Parish held
its Parish Assembly with the theme "PCJ Atin Ito"
last Feb. 9, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. inside
the PCJ Church. The objective of the assembly is to
present to the parishioners the six commissions who
are tasked to look into the priority areas of
concern and implement the pastoral recommendations
that resulted from the consultations and discussions
made during the Diocesan Pastoral Assembly (DPA)
held two years ago. These are the - Commission on
Youth, Commission on Family, Commission on
Catechesis and Religious Education, Commission on
Liturgy, Worship and Popular Religiosity, Commission
on Human Promotions and Commission on BEC and
Developing Communities. The morning began with an
Opening Prayer and Remarks by Fr. Jeff Manlapig, PCJ
Assistant Parish Priest, followed by an Ice Breaker
activity - a getting to know you song led by the PCJ
Light of the Holy Spirit Charismatic Community.
Fr. Rolly Agustin, PCJ Parish Priest, discussed the
challenges of a Post Vatican II Church - how the
concept of the church has evolved from the old
concept of the priest and the religious leading the
congregation in all aspects of spiritual life to the
new concept of the church as a communion of
communities. Fr. Rolly emphasized that the process
of journeying from the pre-Vatican II to the post
Vatican II Church for the past 42 years was never
easy. It requires conversion or paradigm shift. The
new way of being church is a Pilgrim Church, which
is focused on the unevangelized and marginalized,
whose mission is fulfilled in life’s daily
struggles, is reaching out to evangelize society,
culture and community. This Pilgrim, this community
in mission, relies on the help of the laity to
sanctify the secular arena through ministries that
address the wide array of human needs. It is
characterized by shared leadership and emphasizes
relationships. Fr. Rolly stressed that this is the
spirit within which the PCJ Parish Assembly is being
held, so that the parishioners (laity) can help in
formulation of the pastoral plans and programs of
the parish. He further laid down the parish
objectives to which all programs should be aligned,
namely: 1. To deepen the faith of the people and
provide means of formation for their spiritual
growth (Aggiornamento); 2. To bring together more
people who are not active in the parish, those
nominal and uninvolved Catholics and to foster unity
and cooperation amongst the different organizations
and ministries in the parish (Communio); and 3. To
reach out and bring Christ to the developing
communities (Missio).
Mr. Vic Santos, representing the Diocese of
Paranaque and former President of the PCJ Parish
Pastoral Council then explained the DPA process, how
it began and the rationale for the said activity. He
explained that a year after the Diocese of Paranaque
was formed in 2002, Bishop Jesse Mercado called for
a diocesan pastoral assembly. The objective of this
assembly is to set up the Diocesan Pastoral Agenda
and the priorities of the Diocese based on concrete
situations, hopes and dreams, together with the joys
and pains of the local church. In preparation for
the DPA, parish consultations were made on priority
sectors of society- Youth, Family, Dev. Community
and B E C. The results of the data gathered during
these parish consultations were consolidated at the
vicariate level and submitted for deliberation at
the diocese level. To look into the concerns raised
during the parish consultations, diocesan working
teams or commissions were established to prepare the
Lineamenta or working documents for the Diocesan
Pastoral Assembly (DPA). These working documents
summarized the key issues and concerns and outlined
the pastoral recommendations to address the said
issues. These Pastoral Recommendations as outlined
in the Lineamenta are now being brought down to the
parish level so that all parishioners can be
involved in the design of parish plans and programs
to implement the DPA pastoral recommendations. This
is the rationale for the PCJ Parish Assembly.
The heads of the six priority commissions
(Commissions on Youth, Family, Liturgy and Worship,
Religious Education and Catechetics, Human
Promotions and BEC) each presented the priority
areas of concern of their respective commissions and
the pastoral recommendations to address these
issues. They also discussed the on-going programs of
their commissions which already implement some of
these recommendations. After the presentations of
the different commission heads, the parishioners
were given the opportunity to sign up with the
different commissions so they can take part in the
planning activity. The morning's session was capped
with the celebration of the Holy Mass.
Click here to view a slideshow of pictures of the
Parish Pastoral Assembly.
Jan. 20, 2008
- Fr. Rolly Agustin celebrated his 17th Sacerdotal
Anniversary last January 19, 2007 with some wards of
the Elsie Gaches Village in Alabang. The young boys
from Elsie Gaches were so happy to spend the morning
with Fr. Rolly. They entertained him with their
songs and dance numbers. In turn, Fr. Rolly related
to them the Christmas story in an interactive way.
They all enjoyed the juice and packed lunch that was
served - spaghetti, hotdog, ensaymada and had ice
cream for dessert. Fr. Rolly also distributed bags
of toiletries to everyone. On hand to give their
support to Fr. Rolly were some members of various
parish organizations.
In
March, the members attended a one-day seminar at
the AFC Center, where it was decided that the
youth (creative group) will facilitate the
catechism and the elderly (wise group) will plan
and develop the weekly syllabus with them, based
on the AFC book. A workshop was conducted by
Ovic and Cesar Etruistre to demonstrate the ways
and means of teaching catechism to children and
preparing a syllabus. The enrollment of children
was done with the Commission on Developing
Community through Letty Elayda.
It
was surprising to note that most of the
volunteers came from the youth sector, ages
13-18 years. Self-motivation and the desire to
be of service to our fellowmen were foremost in
their minds and made them physically,
spiritually, and mentally present in that relief
mission. Their service, I believe, gives us hope
that this young generation will continue the
mission to help and build a Christian community
and to make use of the charisms that God has
given them. 
To address the many concerns
of mid-lifers, those approaching mid-life, and
even those way past their midlife, the PCJ
Commission on the Family presented a 3-part
seminar series entitled “Preparing For Your
Golden Years” last July 25, August 1 and 8, 2009
at the PCJ Sacred Heart Center. The program
tackled the many concerns and issues facing
mid-lifers from financial, psychological,
spiritual and health and wellness. 
