Category: Fr. Reu Galoy

A LUNCHEON IN SHADES OF PURPLE by SSAP JPIC Scho. Prog. Comm. / Jean Chavez

Post author By Santuario de San Antonio Parish
Post date February 7, 2015

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In its Annual Fellowship and pot-luck luncheon held last January 7 the SSAP-JPIC Scholarship Committee members honored its Spiritual Advisers Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy, OFM, Parish Priest of Santuario de San Antonio who celebrated his birthday last January 26 and Sr. Marisa Lichauco, retired Grade School principal of Miriam College.

Sr. Marisa shared Joyce Rupp’s “A Christmas Blessing” by reading the first line, with each member taking her turn in reading aloud the “blessings,” an apt reminder to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, sometimes overshadowed by commercialism of the season and the rush to making our lists, shopping, gift-giving, food preparations, the party-hopping and family reunions amidst stress from the worsening Metro Manila traffic situation.

“A CHRISTMAS BLESSING”

~ May there be harmony in all your relationships. May sharp words, envious thoughts, and hostile feelings be dissolved.
~ May you give and receive love generously. May this love echo in your heart like the joy of church bells on a clear December day.
~ May each person who comes into your life be greeted as another Christ. May the honor given the Babe of Bethlehem be that which you extend to every guest who enters your presence.
~ May the hope of this sacred season settle in your soul. May it be a foundation of courage for you when times of distress occupy your inner land.
~ May the wonder and awe that fills the eyes of children be awakened within you. May it lead you to renewed awareness and appreciation of whatever you too easily take for granted.
~ May the bonds of love for one another be strengthened as you gather with your family and friends around the table of festivity and nourishment.
~ May you daily open the gift of your life and be grateful for the hidden treasures it contains.
~ May the coming year be one of good health for you. May you have energy and vitality. May you care well for your body, mind and spirit.
~ May you keep your eye on the Star within you and trust this Luminescent Presence to guide and direct you each day.
~ May you go often to the Bethlehem of your heart and visit the one who offers you peace. May you bring this peace into our world.

– Joyce Rupp

Fr. Reu thanked everyone for the opportunity to gather together as one family, one community, and one parish. He talked of a wholistic approach of enriching ourselves in the context of the Ministry we are involved in through a celebration of friendship and community in helping others. Through our get-together, we celebrated not only our spiritual nourishment and social needs but also the care for our physical well-being as we shared in the table of God’s bounty.

The JPIC Scholarship Committee members present were Menchu Bautista, Millette Ocampo, Letty Laurel, Doris See, Girl Velasquez, Bambina Buenaventura, Dely Fernandez and Jean Chavez. Also present were Jackie Macasias, Nimfa Dumago and Alice Loto of the SSAP, our fellow workers in the Lord’s vineyard.

Fr. Reu and Sr. Marisa blew their birthday candles from two round cakes iced in green and lavender fondant. As in previous years, Mariza’s love for all shades of purple was elegantly played up in the decor: a Christmas tree decked in purple trimmings, a beautiful lavender mantle with matching lavender napkins neatly folded in coiled purple beads, a rustic centerpiece of twigs on which were intertwined lavender shades of vandas, other floral varieties in an interplay of purple hues interspersed with green berries to signify prosperity for the New Year. The all too familiar menu was superb — a specialty of each member. A recipe handed down from Mariza’s grandmother to her mother, Mrs. Rosie O. Valencia, the Lady of the House’s Pancit Luglog took center stage, topped with a radish condiment painstakingly diced and marinated in a vinegar–soy mixture, providing a tangy essence and crunchy texture. As we sipped our dalandan granita, Mariza’s efficient staff headed by Maritess kept an eagle eye on everyone’s needs. One couldn’t help but admire the sleek acrylic purple pitcher. “That pitcher was Maritess’ Christmas present to the family,” a beaming Mariza announced.

We were all in familiar surroundings, feeling so much at home, helping ourselves to heart-warming comfort food, with the bonds of friendship renewed “around the table of festivity and nourishment.”

Tags JPIC

Called to Become a Child-Friendly Community, A SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION for Feast of Señior Sto. Niño By Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy

Post author By Santuario de San Antonio Parish
Post date January 17, 2015

The pastoral visit of Pope Francis to our country is indeed a blessing – a once in a blue moon opportunity especially for those who cannot afford to go and visit the Vatican City in Rome. I wonder who are those who will have the chance to get closer to the Pope and those who will be relegated to the sidelines. My only prayer is that after his visit there will be no story of people being given the special privilege due to Connection, Hype, Influence, Lobbying and Donation because to some extent this is blatant disregard to what Pope Francis wants as well as a betrayal to the theme of his visit, compassion and mercy.

The gesture of Pope Francis to be closer to people especially the poor is driven by his ability to see Christ among the least, last and lost. It is not an opportunity for Pope Francis to mingle with the ordinary people. It is rather a privilege for Pope Francis to celebrate with his flock as a shepherd, Christian faith-life together with the faithful amidst the struggles to living life lovingly and finding faith fraternally. Such an encounter is ministry in reserve – the condition of the faithful becomes the source of inspiration to the pope in exercising his office as servant-shepherd-steward.

Pope Francis is humbly and seriously taking his office as both an encounter and communion with God. Most often than not, positions of authority and function alienates the person holding it in name of protection and security and sometimes ending up as prisoner of it. That is why Jesus wanted people including children to have access to him and would like to teach his disciples to learn a lesson and all of us – our role is to help the people become closer to Christ than to us, including the Pope himself.

The powerful words of Jesus, “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk. 10:15). Again, Jesus is making use of contrasting images to lead people to understand his point. The image of the kingdom connotes power and prestige. The child on the other hand, represents the inferior and insignificant. Jesus did so to convey his message that the basis to enter God’s kingdom is to be childlike which to me is a call and a challenge to be Compassionate, Humble, Inclusive, Loving and Dependent on God’s grace.

The child Jesus brought light into the world through his birth. May we also try to give birth to a CHILD-friendly environment in our parish and nurture it through sharing the light that Jesus brings in our homes and workplaces.

About Fr. Reu and his other reflections.

Fr. Reu Galoy Reflections

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION, CHRIST THE KING By Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy, OFM

Post author By Santuario de San Antonio Parish
Post date November 22, 2014

Today marks the closing of the church’s liturgical year with the celebration of the feast of Christ the King. Jesus came as our Good Shepherd and entrusted us to one another. When he comes again at the end-time, we shall come face to face with him and see our worth through his eyes and from our own. We anticipate him asking us: Have you cared for one another? What have you done for the poor and weak among you? Put in another way, only one criterion will matter when the time comes – love and compassion for others.

As followers of Christ, our lives can best be examined on the basis of what we have done to alleviate six conditions of poverty and suffering: hunger, thirst, exile, nakedness, illness, imprisonment. Jesus tells us that our faith in God is manifested in our action in behalf of compassion and in the passion and perseverance with which we pursue the work to combat these inhumane conditions.

The kingship of Christ is not one of dominion, power and control. His kingdom is not about building empires, about prestige and popularity. Rather, it is the kingdom of love, service, justice, reconciliation and peace. It is about the transformation of our hearts into his vision – that all may have life and have it to the full or abundantly.

Jesus uses the image of the final judgment not to scare us as to what will happen at the end of the world but to teach us on the one essentials of life, on what really counts or matters. This gives us an opportunity to evaluate what concerns us in developing a healthy and joyful life. This gives us a chance to look at our service as an act of deep faith.

And so on in this feast of Christ the King we ask ourselves: What holds dominion over us? What drives us in this life? How are we growing in Christ’s vision? Are we becoming Eucharist to one another? How are we working for the transformation of our world and of our community into a kingdom of love, peace, reconciliation and service?

Perhaps, truthful answers to these questions will reveal to us that we have other gods that capture our allegiance and attention. The image of the last judgment is not only serving those in dire need. Rather it is a about serving God, for the neighbor in need is no other than Christ himself.

About Fr. Reu and his other reflections.

Fr. Reu Galoy Reflections

Giving What Is Due Is Transforming Conflict Into Connection, A Sunday Gospel Reflection for the 29th Sunday In Ordinary Time By Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy

Post author By Santuario de San Antonio Parish
Post date October 17, 2014

Today’s gospel is so rich – there are several issues that can lead us to deeper reflection. For instance, when does our responsibility to society and to God begin and end? Do we really have to put our social and religious obligation in opposition with each other? The Catholic Church Catechism points out that there are three circumstances where citizens are obliged in conscience to refuse obedience to civil authorities. These are in situations when the laws are “contrary to the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons and to the teachings of the gospel.” The principle is clear. However, its application may not be so simple when there is apparent clash of rights.

The realities of life and relational dynamics are not simple black and white categorization. There are aspects that require better comprehension due to inherent complexities. The question put before Jesus whether it is permissible for Jews to pay tribute to Caesar sheds light into the mind and strategy of the Pharisees. They were trying to bring Jesus into a political trap that would set him at odds with the Roman authorities who were the rulers of Israel at that time or else, when this fails, it would discredit him before his own people. To avoid giving rise to suspicion of their intention, they decided not to get themselves involved personally. They sent some of their disciples to Jesus instead. It is quite likely that the leaders of the Pharisees stayed in the background because they wanted the followers of Herod, the Roman appointed tetrarch of Galilee, to take part also in the plot against Jesus even though these Herodians, who openly advocated cooperation with the Romans, were their most bitter enemies. It appears to be a truth-seeking inquiry with malicious intent, to say the least. The religious leaders wanted to hide behind their manipulative action at the expense of Jesus. But we know that any ill intent will never produce good fruit.

For our reflection on this Sunday’s gospel, I wish to humbly invite you to look into the aspect where we try and maybe attempt unconsciously to separate our actions as belonging either to the private or to the public sphere. Such is the case with the social responsibility like paying tax which we might consider as belonging to the public realm, while our relationship with God is considered a private matter and has no significance or no connection to our public life. This dichotomy is an act of denying that everything is a gift from God and belongs to God, including Caesar. This is so because to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s means also fidelity to God since God wills that we be concerned for our society. This in turn is a partial fulfilment of our basic duty, that is, to give to God what is his. Relegating God into the private space of our life and social relationships indicates that social obligation is of greater importance than God – it is tantamount to committing idolatry (a worship of money and power).

To give what is due is to recognize one’s role in promoting the common good. In like manner, it shows the centrality of God in one’s own existence as the Alpha and Omega of everything we do in this life. God establishes connection rather than create conflict. In God there are is no category of private and public for God is all in all.

Tags 29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME