Author: kahm

I haven’t been part of the Parish for a long time. I joined Single Young Adults (SYA) in March 2009 and Faith in Action upon its inception in 2016. I have teamed in SYA, joined the Hospital and Prison Ministries in their outreaches, and other activities that have peaked my interest.

I work five jobs. One of which doesn’t even pay me. That’s aside from being a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a sister in law, a ninang, a cousin, a friend, etc. I also volunteer in two organizations, SSAP being one of them and I am President of the other.

I work for the family businesses and I have a business with my friends from community. At one point in time the load of handling all these business wore me down heavily. My only other sibling has his own medical profession and I had to accept the fact that there was no one else but me. That’s when I had a change of perspective.

I looked at aspects of the business that aligned with my personal beliefs and went from there. I look at the business in these ways: first, I am helping the economy; second, I am helping people get out of poverty by providing jobs; third, I am helping the environment. One thing my parents give importance to is to treat our employees like family. Embracing this ethic has given me a new sense of stewardship beyond the business lines and because of this, we have maintained low employee turnover.

Being a daughter/employee has its pros and cons. I have a little more flexibility but I work at odd times. I am constantly aware that my parents are getting older, and that one day the employees’ livelihoods will depend on me. Knowing that has kept me grounded. Flexibility gives me time to work on giving back and to have a work-life balance. It gives me the ability to drop things when I am needed. It also gives me time to rest.

I pray for strength, wisdom and knowledge to keep my beliefs alive and that our businesses may prosper so that we may serve Him more. “You earn your living by working, you earn your life by giving.” – George L. Graziadio

As published in the March 19 issue of the Parish Bulletin.

As we celebrate the beginning of Lent, I want to express my deepest
gratitude to all the ministries and organizations who participated in our
Buling-Buling 2017. Once more, members of our ministries and mandated
organization rallied and took our yearly revelry to the next level. As the
pictures in today’s bulletin will attest, our members gave their best.

Another thank you to our Execom and Pastoral Team for organising our
annual event.

Truly, we are a Eucharistic Community of different families serving Our
Lord in Solidarity, Sharing our Time, Talent and Treasure.

May we all have a meaningful Lenten celebration. Please join us in all of our
Liturgucal activities leading to the Paschal Triduum this April.

As published in the March 12 issue of the Parish Bulletin.

(As seen on page 3 of the June 12 issue of the Parish Bulletin)

In our daily lives, we unconsciously isolate ourselves from the realities around us. We tend to simply be focus on pursuing our own personal interests, whether in terms of advancing in our own careers, materially enriching ourselves or establishing our place in society.

But as we are able to attain these achievements, we eventually come to realize that these are all temporal. Our inner beings are then drawn to search for a deeper sense of our existence. What next?

We are then programmed to open ourselves to experience the realities around us and these are not necessarily the most pleasant of kinds. Personally, the challenge really is to find a way to use our God given gifts for His greater glory. At the end of our lives as we face our Creator, the question we all will be asked is, “How well did you love Me (God) and your neighbors?”

In our quest to be deserving recipients of our eternal boarding passes to Heaven, we can surely follow the teaching of St. Anthony on what it really means to love God and our neighbors. We are not here to judge anyone nor be selective as to who we help, yet we are called to open our hearts especially to those in need.

Each day, more than 3,000 patients are being treated at PGH and a good number of them happens to be innocent children with some of the most serious of medical cases from the marginalized sector of our society. We, at the Hospital Ministry, on a weekly basis, get a glimpse on how these innocent children experience the most painful physical pain imaginable with no certainty of recovery as their families have little to none to provide for their ever-compounding medical expenses. Statistically, the odds seem like a losing proposition and very discouraging. However, how can we turn our backs on these innocent children when their zeal to live is ever so strong as they endure all these at such a tender age?

During one of our regular Tuesday visits, I came across a very sick child who was so weak and frail that my greatest fear was that he will not be around anymore on my next visit. Nevertheless, I was moved to spend some time with him and share some words of encouragement. While I fear for what might be in store for him, he surprised me with his most beautiful gesture when he said, “mahirap talaga ang aking kalagayan ngunit dasal ko kay Papa God na pagaling niya ako, alagaan niya ang mahal ko sa buhay at biyayain niya lahat ng tumutulong sa aking pagaling”. Glad to report, that this is one of the patients which we are providing medical assistance to and while his battle is far from over, he is happily recovering and safely home with his family.

While our resources are ever so limited given all these sick children in need, your genuine acts of generosity and love which you share with the SSAP Outreach Hospital Ministry are certainly most welcome and encouraged. Apart from your financial contributions, we are also open to receiving any kind of donation (i.e., clothes, toys, books, medicines/medical equipment, etc.). For check donations, kindly make your checks payable to SSAP Foundation for PGH Outreach Hospital Ministry. All donations may be forwarded to the SSAP Parish Office, c/o Ms. Nimfa Dumaga.