Santuario de San Antonio Parish

To God we give thanks

By

Letty Jacinto-Lopez

            As a child, my parents held my hand, literally and figuratively, towards the righteous path. I wouldn’t know any other way, right? Everything fit into a pattern that hardly raised any quiver of doubt.

       When I grew up, what I believed and stood for was challenged. Different customs and beliefs offered seemingly logical alternatives that were better than my faith. Many tests came in dribs and drabs.

       In school, for example, we were taught never to yield to the lure of the flesh. That’s easy to say when burgeoning hormones were jumping in droves arousing our curiosity and drive. “Take the lead in keeping the boy you love chaste.”

         How?        I held on to my rosary and kept Mary like my chaperon. And, voila! The friendship stayed wholesome, a matter of sound reasoning overruling feelings.

       At work, more tests arose. Should I plot, scheme and conspire for fame and fortune? A gentle voice remarked, “And conquer the world at the expense of your soul?” I opted to work diligently, guarding the truth with courage.

       The tests further escalated when I settled down. Why? I had this mammoth task of nurturing young minds who will either draw inspiration from me or horrors! Brand me as the hardest/baddest lesson they’ve ever encountered in their lives.

Who do I run to?

I run on my knees.

To our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, while whispering to Mary, my guardian angel and the blessed phalanx of saints, “Pray for me, pray with me.”

       My faith has untiringly fed me with graces and blessings so that this life, as I know it, will someday culminate in one devoid of dark shadows, pain and tears. Over pitfalls and costly mistakes, our God sees beyond my weak and falling self.

Such is His love.

Thank God, I am not alone. Neither should anyone be.

“You may have defects, be anxious and sometimes live irritated, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can prevent it from going into decadence. There are many that need you, admire you and love you.

I would like to remind you that being happy is not having a sky without storms, or roads without accidents, or work without fatigue, or relationships without disappointments.

Being happy is finding strength in forgiveness, hope in one’s battles, security at the stage of fear, love in disagreements.

Being happy is not only to treasure the smile, but that you also reflect on the sadness.

It is not just commemorating the event, but also learning lessons in failures.

It is not just having joy with the applause, but also having joy in anonymity.

Being happy is to recognize that it is worthwhile to live, despite all the challenges, misunderstandings and times of crises.

Being happy is not inevitable fate, but a victory for those who can travel towards it with your own being.

Being happy is to stop being a victim of problems but become an actor in history itself.

It is not only to cross the deserts outside of ourselves, but still more, to be able to find an oasis in the recesses of our soul.

It is to thank God every morning for the miracle of life.

Being happy is not being afraid of one’s feelings. It is to know how to talk about ourselves. It is to bear with courage when hearing a “no”.

It is to have the security to receive criticism, even if it is unfair.

It is to kiss the children, pamper the parents, have poetic moments with friends, even if they have hurt us.

Being happy means allowing the free, happy and simple child inside each of us to live; having the maturity to say, “I was wrong”; having the audacity to say, “forgive me”.

It is to have sensitivity in expressing, “I need you”; to have the ability of saying, “I love you.”

So that your life becomes a garden full of opportunities for being happy…

In your spring-time, may you become a lover of joy. In your winter, may you become a friend of wisdom.

And when you go wrong along the way, you start all over again. Thus you will be more passionate about life.

And you will find that happiness is not about having a perfect life but about using tears to water tolerance, losses to refine patience, failures to carve serenity, pain to lapidate pleasure, obstacles to open the windows of intelligence.

Never give up. Never give up on the people you love. Never give up from being happy because life is an incredible show.

And you are a special human being!”

A Holistic Preparation Before Saying I Do

By Maria Monica D. Hipolito

A couple’s ultimate preparation for a Catholic marriage involves getting the right spiritual and emotional guidance and support from family, friends, and more importantly, from the couple’s parish through its Pre-Cana Program. This program enables couples to get to know more about one’s self and their partners, about marriage and the importance of communication, and about planning and raising a family.

Although our wedding celebration is set to happen sometime in 2017, we had the privilege to be part of Santuario de San Antonio Parish’s Pre-Cana Program as early as March 2016; and while attending a Pre-Cana Program is mandated by the Catholic Church, we nevertheless deemed it important and necessary to attend one as soon as possible in order to profoundly and holistically prepare us for our marriage (which is a lifetime commitment), and more important than preparing and getting the right suppliers for a one-day celebration.

Fortunately, SSAP’s Pre-Cana Program is administered by real-life couples, who have devoted their time to share with us their experiences as married couples and as parents. It was during this program that we were able to discern and understand what marriage entails, its complications and how to resolve marital problems, as well as the different techniques in planning a family and raising children.

As in every relationship (in whatever form it takes – family, romantic, friendship, business etc.), we all know that communication plays a great role, not just in resolving conflicts and problems, but also in making our relationships work and grow. However, sometimes it is what we know that we tend to forget and practice; and this Program allows us to realize just that—that proper and continuous communication between couples (and among parents and children) is key to building a healthy relationship.

So for couples who are engaged to be married, while we make an effort to prepare the physical aspects of the big day, let us not forget to also make a conscious and serious effort to prepare spiritually and emotionally for marriage, a lifetime commitment not just with our spouse but with God as well.

Magandang araw po! Ako po si Fe Manahan na lubos na nagpapasalamat sa pamunuan ng Hospital Ministry ng Santuario de San Antonio Parish sa napakalaking tulong na naibigay nila sa aking asawa na si Alexander Manahan noong siya ay nagdadialysis pa. Ang aking asawa ay nagkaroon ng sakit na Chronic Kidney Disease na umabot na sa end stage. Nang dahil po sa tulong ng inyong ministry sa mga gamot at pang – dialysis ay nadugtungan ang buhay ng aking asawa. Ngunit marahil ay hanggang doon na lang ang kanyang buhay at s’ya ay kinuha na ng Maykapal.
Nasabi ko sa aking sarili na sa lahat ng kabutihang nagawa sa aking pamilya ng ministry na ito, ako ay babalik sa PGH upang kusang-loob na magvolunteer sa mga taong tumulong sa amin. Mula noon hanggang ngayon ako ay tumutulong bilang volunteer sa pamunuan ng Hospital Ministry bilang pasasalamat ko ng buong puso. Tuwing martes kasama ng mga heads o committees ng Hospital Ministry tumutulong ako sa pamimigay ng mga gamot, pagkain at iba pa. Lagi akong umaatend ng mga activities sa PGH.
Muli ang taus puso kong pasasalamat sa Hospital Ministry ng Santuario de San Antonio Parish.

Lubos na nagpapasalamat,
Fe Manahan

31 March 2016

Dearest Amelita,

What would I give for words if only words would come.I followed the passion, the death and the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ through the expressive singing of the choir. Each song is a prayer, each song tells a story. My heart inflamed with love and my cheeks were wet with tears. Long, long shall the radiance and melodies of our Easter Triduum linger in my heart.

Thank you Amelita. Thanks to the choir. Their songs enhanced the Easter celebration and they increased our fervor. It is a trained choir with the most exquisite repertoire under the baton of Amelita D. Guevarra.

Affectionately Yours,

Eda

Communities all over the world gathered in darkness. In that darkness, a fire was lit and that flame was shared around until candle lights filled the church. Our parish priest, Fr. Reu, for his part, lighted a new Easter candle. Acting in the persona of Christ, he carried the newly lit paschal candle and brought the light of Christ. It is Jesus Christ alone who dispels the darkness of our lives. He is the source of love, light and goodness in our lives. A song of exultation was then sung proclaiming that Christ is the light. There in the light of Christ we read the story of salvation how God rescued us from the power of sin and death. The God who created us, who led a chosen people out of slavery raised Jesus from death. Alleluia! He is Risen!We rejoice! The church bells rung as mighty drums rolled to proclaim the glory of the Resurrection.

The Easter vigil celebration in Santuario de San Antonio was truly awesome. It conveyed a message of joy, love, hope and gratitude in the context of God’s mercy and compassion. The music lovingly selected by our choirmaster, Amelita Guevara, added more depth and solemnity to the celebration. Father Reu, not to be outdone, had his share of shining moments. His initiative to bring in new members to our church, the body of Christ, through the liturgy of the word and the liturgy of baptism elicited gratitude from parishioners.

My congratulations to the parish pastoral council and all the ministries and other volunteers involved in staging such a celebration. The festivities would not have been possible in a manner worthy of the greatest feast of our faith were it not for hard work, dedication and support. The experience of the Resurrection left in us a feeling of gratitude for God’s unconditional love, caring, mercy and compassion.

We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song. Let us now sing Alleluia in this life so that we can sing it one day with gratitude and love in the life to come.

As Catholics, we are all humbly called to serve. But never have I imagined that serving in prison will ever be in my list.

Before the first day of our service, we were given precautionary instructions which made me feel more scared than secured—instructions that reminded me that they are criminals, thieves and sinners. In my mind, they are individuals behind bars who have gotten too greedy or too selfish to think of what is right. My preconception is that these are individuals who have thought only of themselves, robbing their sons and daughters of a father, robbing husbands and wives of a life partner.I entered thedetainment grounds thinking that these individuals need to be converted. One incident changed all my preconceptions and converted me.

I attended mass at Makati City Jail for the first time in 2013. The volunteers, me included, went to the chapel ahead of time to prepare for the mass. Line by line, in an orderly manner, the inmates started to arrive. As the room started to fill, I could feel the mix of emotions in the chapel masked by the smiles on the inmates faces. The mass started out solemn, just like any other until we sang the Lord’s prayer. When it got to the part where they asked for forgiveness, tears rolled down their eyes as they raised each other’s hands.

Louder, stronger and full of love, they sang:
“At patawarin mo kami sa aming mga sala,
Para nang pagpapatawad namin sa nagkakasala sa amin
At huwag mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso,
At iadya mo kami sa lahat ng masama.
Amen.”

I am surrounded by inmates who are vulnerable, afraid, and who are seekingGod. At that point, I heard God’s call to serve. To share my time, talent and treasure to those who not only need food, but more importantly need God in their lives. I am grateful to be God’s instrument of his love in prison. Every smile, every “thank you, po”, and every conversation has been meaningful and had touched my life in ways no other experience can give.

As a form of gratitude for the invaluable experiences, I had spent most of my birthdays (which fall on December 24) with inmates. For there is no greater gift I can receive than the graces of untainted love, sharing and compassion.

In today’s world of instant gratification, do we accept the difficulties of life as something we should be grateful for?

The first words we learn to say aside from “mama” and “papa,” are “please” and “thank you.”Feelings of gratitude are triggered off by the receipt of something good. We are grateful for the food we eat, the things we accumulate ,the children we have, and the success we achieve.

But is gratitude limited to the good things we receive in this world? When you lose someone you love, or work under oppressive conditions, or suffer from an illness, can you be grateful?

1Thessalonians5:18 says “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” To give thanks for pain or tragedy is something we cannot do without the power of the Holy Spirit. The natural response to difficult situations is angeror bitterness. But with faith, even ifit be as small as a mustard seed, we will be able to endure all with the light of hope.

So when you feel that things are not working out in your life, pray and if you are praying, pray even more and be grateful for all experiencesin life – even the most difficult ones.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136:1-26)