St. Dominic Savio

So many holy persons seem to die young. Among them was Dominic Savio, the patron of choirboys.

Born into a peasant family at Riva, Italy, young Dominic joined St. John Bosco as a student at the Oratory in Turin at the age of 12. He impressed John with his desire to be a priest and to help him in his work with neglected boys. A peacemaker and an organizer, young Dominic founded a group he called the Company of the Immaculate Conception which, besides being devotional, aided John Bosco with the boys and with manual work. All the members save one, Dominic, would in 1859 join John in the beginnings of his Salesian congregation. By that time, Dominic had been called home to heaven.

As a youth, Dominic spent hours rapt in prayer. His raptures he called "my distractions." Even in play, he said that at times "It seems heaven is opening just above me. I am afraid I may say or do something that will make the other boys laugh." Dominic would say, "I can't do big things. But I want all I do, even the smallest thing, to be for the greater glory of God."

Dominic's health, always frail, led to lung problems and he was sent home to recuperate. As was the custom of the day, he was bled in the thought that this would help, but it only worsened his condition. He died on March 9, 1857, after receiving the Last Sacraments. St. John Bosco himself wrote the account of his life.

Some thought that Dominic was too young to be considered a saint. St. Pius X declared that just the opposite was true, and went ahead with his cause. Dominic was canonized in 1954.

Like many a youngster, Dominic was painfully aware that he was different from his peers. He tried to keep his piety from his friends lest he have to endure their laughter. Even after his death, his youth marked him as a misfit among the saints and some argued that he was too young to be canonized. Pius X wisely disagreed. For no one is too young—or too old or too anything else—to achieve the holiness to which we are all called.

Patron Saint of:

Choirboys
Juvenile delinquents

Pope Benedict's Lenten Message 2011

“You were buried with him in baptism,in which you were also raised with him.” (cf. Col 2: 12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in order that it may be lived with due diligence. As she awaits the definitive encounter with her Spouse in the eternal Easter, the Church community, assiduous in prayer and charitable works, intensifies her journey in purifying the spirit, so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord (cf. Preface I of Lent).

1. This very life was already bestowed upon us on the day of our Baptism, when we “become sharers in Christ’s death and Resurrection”, and there began for us “the joyful and exulting adventure of his disciples” (Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 10 January, 2010). In his Letters, St. Paul repeatedly insists on the singular communion with the Son of God that this washing brings about. The fact that, in most cases, Baptism is received in infancy highlights how it is a gift of God: no one earns eternal life through their own efforts. The mercy of God, which cancels sin and, at the same time, allows us to experience in our lives “the mind of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2: 5), is given to men and women freely. The Apostle to the Gentiles, in the Letter to the Philippians, expresses the meaning of the transformation that takes place through participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, pointing to its goal: that “I may come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being molded to the pattern of his death, striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3: 10-11). Hence, Baptism is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ, which informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by Grace, it permits the baptized to reach the adult stature of Christ.

A particular connection binds Baptism to Lent as the favorable time to experience this saving Grace. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council exhorted all of the Church’s Pastors to make greater use “of the baptismal features proper to the Lenten liturgy” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, n. 109). In fact, the Church has always associated the Easter Vigil with the celebration of Baptism: this Sacrament realizes the great mystery in which man dies to sin, is made a sharer in the new life of the Risen Christ and receives the same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead (cf. Rm 8: 11). This free gift must always be rekindled in each one of us, and Lent offers us a path like that of the catechumenate, which, for the Christians of the early Church, just as for catechumens today, is an irreplaceable school of faith and Christian life. Truly, they live their Baptism as an act that shapes their entire existence.

2. In order to undertake more seriously our journey towards Easter and prepare ourselves to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord – the most joyous and solemn feast of the entire liturgical year – what could be more appropriate than allowing ourselves to be guided by the Word of God? For this reason, the Church, in the Gospel texts of the Sundays of Lent, leads us to a particularly intense encounter with the Lord, calling us to retrace the steps of Christian initiation: for catechumens, in preparation for receiving the Sacrament of rebirth; for the baptized, in light of the new and decisive steps to be taken in the sequela Christi and a fuller giving of oneself to him.

The First Sunday of the Lenten journey reveals our condition as human beings here on earth. The victorious battle against temptation, the starting point of Jesus’ mission, is an invitation to become aware of our own fragility in order to accept the Grace that frees from sin and infuses new strength in Christ – the way, the truth and the life (cf. Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum, n. 25). It is a powerful reminder that Christian faith implies, following the example of Jesus and in union with him, a battle “against the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world” (Eph 6: 12), in which the devil is at work and never tires – even today – of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil.

The Gospel of the Transfiguration of the Lord puts before our eyes the glory of Christ, which anticipates the resurrection and announces the divinization of man. The Christian community becomes aware that Jesus leads it, like the Apostles Peter, James and John “up a high mountain by themselves” (Mt 17: 1), to receive once again in Christ, as sons and daughters in the Son, the gift of the Grace of God: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him” (Mt 17: 5). It is the invitation to take a distance from the noisiness of everyday life in order to immerse oneself in God’s presence. He desires to hand down to us, each day, a Word that penetrates the depths of our spirit, where we discern good from evil (cf. Heb 4:12), reinforcing our will to follow the Lord.

The question that Jesus puts to the Samaritan woman: “Give me a drink” (Jn 4: 7), is presented to us in the liturgy of the third Sunday; it expresses the passion of God for every man and woman, and wishes to awaken in our hearts the desire for the gift of “a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life” (Jn 4: 14): this is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who transforms Christians into “true worshipers,” capable of praying to the Father “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4: 23). Only this water can extinguish our thirst for goodness, truth and beauty! Only this water, given to us by the Son, can irrigate the deserts of our restless and unsatisfied soul, until it “finds rest in God”, as per the famous words of St. Augustine.

The Sunday of the man born blind presents Christ as the light of the world. The Gospel confronts each one of us with the question: “Do you believe in the Son of man?” “Lord, I believe!” (Jn 9: 35. 38), the man born blind joyfully exclaims, giving voice to all believers. The miracle of this healing is a sign that Christ wants not only to give us sight, but also open our interior vision, so that our faith may become ever deeper and we may recognize him as our only Savior. He illuminates all that is dark in life and leads men and women to live as “children of the light”.

On the fifth Sunday, when the resurrection of Lazarus is proclaimed, we are faced with the ultimate mystery of our existence: “I am the resurrection and the life… Do you believe this?” (Jn 11: 25-26). For the Christian community, it is the moment to place with sincerity – together with Martha – all of our hopes in Jesus of Nazareth: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world” (Jn 11: 27). Communion with Christ in this life prepares us to overcome the barrier of death, so that we may live eternally with him. Faith in the resurrection of the dead and hope in eternal life open our eyes to the ultimate meaning of our existence: God created men and women for resurrection and life, and this truth gives an authentic and definitive meaning to human history, to the personal and social lives of men and women, to culture, politics and the economy. Without the light of faith, the entire universe finishes shut within a tomb devoid of any future, any hope.

The Lenten journey finds its fulfillment in the Paschal Triduum, especially in the Great Vigil of the Holy Night: renewing our baptismal promises, we reaffirm that Christ is the Lord of our life, that life which God bestowed upon us when we were reborn of “water and Holy Spirit”, and we profess again our firm commitment to respond to the action of the Grace in order to be his disciples.

3. By immersing ourselves into the death and resurrection of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are moved to free our hearts every day from the burden of material things, from a self-centered relationship with the “world” that impoverishes us and prevents us from being available and open to God and our neighbor. In Christ, God revealed himself as Love (cf. 1Jn 4: 7-10). The Cross of Christ, the “word of the Cross”, manifests God’s saving power (cf. 1Cor 1: 18), that is given to raise men and women anew and bring them salvation: it is love in its most extreme form(cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, n. 12). Through the traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which are an expression of our commitment to conversion, Lent teaches us how to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way. Fasting, which can have various motivations, takes on a profoundly religious significance for the Christian: by rendering our table poorer, we learn to overcome selfishness in order to live in the logic of gift and love; by bearing some form of deprivation – and not just what is in excess – we learn to look away from our “ego”, to discover Someone close to us and to recognize God in the face of so many brothers and sisters. For Christians, fasting, far from being depressing, opens us ever more to God and to the needs of others, thus allowing love of God to become also love of our neighbor (cf. Mk 12: 31).

In our journey, we are often faced with the temptation of accumulating and love of money that undermine God’s primacy in our lives. The greed of possession leads to violence, exploitation and death; for this, the Church, especially during the Lenten period, reminds us to practice almsgiving – which is the capacity to share. The idolatry of goods, on the other hand, not only causes us to drift away from others, but divests man, making him unhappy, deceiving him, deluding him without fulfilling its promises, since it puts materialistic goods in the place of God, the only source of life. How can we understand God’s paternal goodness, if our heart is full of egoism and our own projects, deceiving us that our future is guaranteed? The temptation is to think, just like the rich man in the parable: “My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come…”. We are all aware of the Lord’s judgment: “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul…” (Lk 12: 19-20). The practice of almsgiving is a reminder of God’s primacy and turns our attention towards others, so that we may rediscover how good our Father is, and receive his mercy.

During the entire Lenten period, the Church offers us God’s Word with particular abundance. By meditating and internalizing the Word in order to live it every day, we learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism. Prayer also allows us to gain a new concept of time: without the perspective of eternity and transcendence, in fact, time simply directs our steps towards a horizon without a future. Instead, when we pray, we find time for God, to understand that his “words will not pass away” (cf. Mk 13: 31), to enter into that intimate communion with Him “that no one shall take from you” (Jn 16: 22), opening us to the hope that does not disappoint, eternal life.

In synthesis, the Lenten journey, in which we are invited to contemplate the Mystery of the Cross, is meant to reproduce within us “the pattern of his death” (Ph 3: 10), so as to effect a deep conversion in our lives; that we may be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus; that we may firmly orient our existence according to the will of God; that we may be freed of our egoism, overcoming the instinct to dominate others and opening us to the love of Christ. The Lenten period is a favorable time to recognize our weakness and to accept, through a sincere inventory of our life, the renewing Grace of the Sacrament of Penance, and walk resolutely towards Christ.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, through the personal encounter with our Redeemer and through fasting, almsgiving and prayer, the journey of conversion towards Easter leads us to rediscover our Baptism. This Lent, let us renew our acceptance of the Grace that God bestowed upon us at that moment, so that it may illuminate and guide all of our actions. What the Sacrament signifies and realizes, we are called to experience every day by following Christ in an ever more generous and authentic manner. In this our itinerary, let us entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary, who generated the Word of God in faith and in the flesh, so that we may immerse ourselves – just as she did – in the death and resurrection of her Son Jesus, and possess eternal life.

From the Vatican, 4 November, 2010

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Published by Archdiocese of Vancouver, Canada

http://bcc.rcav.org/opinion-and-editorial/542-lenten-message

Ash Wednesday Trivia

I noticed even as a young child that some of the largest crowds in the year will show up to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, even if it is not a holy day of obligation. Many Filipinos could not afford to let go of Ash Wednesday without a trip to the church to be marked with an ashen cross on their foreheads. Even people who seldom come to Church for the rest of the year make a concerted effort to come for ashes (which is good!).

And how would you know if the person seated next to you in the jeepney is not a Catholic? He or she makes a point of telling you that you have something on your forehead, assuming you would want to wash it off. Hehe. But many Catholics wear that smudge faithfully all day. Happy Ash Wednesday!!!

1. The origin of the custom of using ashes in religious ritual can be found in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah, for example, calls for repentance this way: “O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes” (Jer 6:26). The prophet Isaiah, on the other hand, critiques the use of sackcloth and ashes as inadequate to please God (Is 58:5). (Perhaps) the best known example of repentance in the Old Testament is that of the King of Nineveh: “He rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes” (Jon 3:6).

2.In the New Testament, Jesus refers to the use of sackcloth and ashes as signs of repentance: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes” (Mt 11:21, Lk 10:13).

3.Thomas Talley, an expert on the history of the liturgical year, says that the first clearly datable liturgy for Ash Wednesday that provides for sprinkling ashes is in the Romano-Germanic pontifical of 960. Before that time, ashes had been used as a sign of admission to the Order of Penitents.

4.As early as the sixth century, the Spanish Mozarabic rite calls for signing the forehead with ashes when admitting a gravely ill person to the Order of Penitents.

5. At the beginning of the 11th century, Abbot Aelfric notes that it was customary for all the faithful to take part in a ceremony on the Wednesday before Lent that included the imposition of ashes. Near the end of that century, Pope Urban II called for the general use of ashes on that day. Only later did this day come to be called Ash Wednesday.

6. At first, clerics and men had ashes sprinkled on their heads, while women had the sign of the cross made with ashes on their foreheads. Eventually, of course, the ritual used with women came to be used for men as well.

7. In the 12th century the rule developed that the ashes were to be created by burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. Many parishes today invite parishioners to bring such palms to church before Lent begins and have a ritual burning of the palms after Mass.

8. Originally, the marking of ashes is related with baptism. Those who had committed serious sins confessed their sins to the bishop or his representative and were assigned a penance that was to be carried out over a period of time. Penance this time was called “second baptism.” With the gradual disappearance of the Order of Penitents, the use of ashes became detached from its original context. The focus on personal penance and the Sacrament of Penance continued in Lent, but the connection to Baptism was no longer obvious to most people. This is reflected in the formula that came to be associated with the distribution of ashes: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.”

9. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called for the renewal of Lent, recovering its ancient baptismal character. Since Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, it naturally is also the beginning to recover a baptismal focus. One hint of this is the second formula that is offered for the imposition of ashes: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.” Though it doesn’t explicitly mention Baptism, it recalls our baptismal promises to reject sin and profess our faith. It is a clear call to conversion, to that movement away from sin and toward Christ that we have to embrace over and over again through our lives.

10. There is a certain irony in the gospel reading for today, which tells us to wash our faces so that we do not appear to be doing penance on the day that we go around with “dirt” on our foreheads. This is just another way Jesus is telling us not to perform religious acts for public recognition. We don’t wear the ashes to proclaim our holiness but to acknowledge that we are a community of sinners in need of repentance and renewal.

When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are.

We remember that we are creatures of the earth (“Remember that you are dust”).

We remember that we are mortal beings (“and to dust you will return”).

We remember that we are baptized.

We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion (“Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel”).

We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).

Source: The Little Priest Website

Canadian Bishops to Youth: Be Chaste

OTTAWA, Ontario, Mar. 3, 2011--The Canadian bishops are challenging young people to live their sexuality joyfully by living it truthfully, as God intended, by the exercise of chastity.

The Episcopal Commission for Doctrine of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops published a pastoral letter to young people on chastity.

The prelates acknowledged that "with so many voices and opinions about sex, it is often confusing to know how we are to use this precious gift."

They explained: "From the dawn of creation God gave us more than one language to speak. Besides the gift of speech, he gave us our body.

"This body expresses itself through gestures that are themselves a language. Just as our words reveal who we are, so also does our body language."

"The Lord intends that we speak this 'sexual language' truthfully because it is the way to live our sexuality joyfully," the bishops affirmed.

"This truthful living out of the sexual language of our bodies is what the Church calls 'chastity,'" they added.

Truly loving

"Chastity expresses respect for persons and their capacity for self-giving," the letter affirmed. "It assures us that we are being loved for ourselves and that we are loving others for themselves and not only for the pleasure they can give us."

It continued, "In a culture that wants things immediately, chastity also teaches us to wait."

"To live chastely means not to give in to pressure which can come from friends who think that engaging in sexual activity defines masculinity or femininity," the bishops stated.

They observed, "Today's prejudice against chastity is especially disturbing because of the view of sexuality it implies: that we 'hook-up' with each other for pleasure."
"Not only is this an offense against the dignity of the person being used but it also holds the user in bondage to practices that cause physical, emotional and psychological harm," the prelates said.

"Moreover, despite its prevalence, the enslaving and addictive effects of pornography, especially on the Internet, cannot be minimized or made light of," they warned.

"Chastity requires constant discipline," the prelates stated. "It means the right ordering of our hearts: Put God first, and everything else will follow."

Sexual maturity

They acknowledged that "the efforts to control one's sexual drives can be difficult, even painful."

"Yet control over them gradually leads men and women to sexual maturity and brings inner peace," the bishops affirmed.

They continued: "To live chastely today means to go against the grain!

"We are called to follow Jesus, to be counter-cultural."
"If we want to find serenity and joy, then we must live in accord with God's will," the prelates urged. "He has created us in his image, and if we live according to his commandments we will be happy."

"Chastity is a challenge -- but it is not impossible," they stated.

Real friends

The letter noted: "We can surround ourselves with friends who also want to live in a chaste manner: people who will support us on our journey.

"We can dress modestly, recognizing that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, and that our bodies are sacred.

"We can choose our entertainment wisely, seeking what uplifts the human spirit and expresses truth, beauty and goodness."

"Most importantly," the bishops stated, "we can live our union with Christ by receiving the sacraments regularly, particularly the sacrament of reconciliation."

They noted that "the practice of confessing not only sins of impurity but also of discussing our temptations with a spiritual guide can help purify our minds and hearts."

"This can teach us the humility we need to accept our weaknesses," the prelates stated, "while at the same time providing us the Lord's strength to grow in chastity."

They affirmed that "the more we accept chastity and make it our way of life, the more people around us will sense that the Holy Spirit dwells within us." (Zenit)

Two New Bishops for Vietnam

DALAT, March 3, 2011--Two diocese in Vietnam have new bishops, appointed on 1 March by the Pope, who moved to Dalat (photo: Cathedral) Mgr. Vincent Vu Huy Chuong, formerly bishop of Hung Hoa, where the current auxiliary Jean-Marie Vu Tat , was promoted.

The new bishop of Dalat, Vincent Vu Huy Chuong, was born September 14, 1944 in the northern diocese of Hung Hoa. In 1954, during the surrender of power to communists in the north of the country, his family joined the many Catholics who fled south to Saigon. There, in 1956 he entered the minor seminary of St. Francis Xavier of Bui Chu, from where he entered the Pontifical Seminary in Dalat.

Ordained a priest in Saigon December 18, 1971, in the following years he deepened his studies in Rome, Italy, Taiwan and Manila. Subsequently, he was a teacher and spiritual director at the minor seminary in Thanh Quy and pastor before being called to the Regional Major Seminary in Can Tho, where he was chair of the department of theology until 2003, when he was appointed bishop of Hung Hoa, a diocese that had had no bishop for 11 years.

The diocese of Dalat in the south of the country, founded in 1960, has an area of over 10 thousand square kilometers and, according to diocesan register, at the end of 2007 there were 313,086 Catholics among a population of 1,190,057 inhabitants, including 91,250 people from ethnic minorities.

Jean-Marie Vu Tat, now becomes bishop of Hung Hoa. The diocese former auxiliary, Vu Tat was born March 10, 1944 in the village of Ben Thon, in the province of Son Tay. He entered the diocesan minor seminary, but was forced to leave when it was closed by the regime. He continued his studies in philosophy and theology at the residence of the bishop, working to support himself. He succeeded in completing his formation at the major seminary of Hanoi, and was ordained priest on 1st April 1987, when he finally got permission from the government.

From 1987 to 1992 he was in charge of the vocational centre for the diocese, then, until 1998 was an assistant diocesan administrator. Meanwhile, in 1997, he obtained a license in canon law in Rome, at the Urbanianum University. From 1998-2003 he was assistant to the Bishop, director of the pastoral mission in the province of Lao Cai and then a professor of canon law and vice-rector at the major seminary of Hanoi: On 29 March 2010 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Hung Hoa.

The Diocese of Hung Hoa was created in 1960 over a huge area of almost 55 thousand square kilometres in the north, bordering China and Laos. It counts 198 thousand Catholics, 3.12% of the over six million inhabitants. Among them are ethnic minorities, especially Hmong. In 2003, 4635 baptisms were celebrated, although it has only 24 priests for its 80 parishes.

The appointments fall into a time when the Vietnamese Church is confronted with "conflicts of human resources and lack of communion with some leaders of local churches. They do not know how to deal with the cruelty, injustice, violence and ignore the fate of the poor and unfortunate. Moreover they are failing the Church of God These are issues that are leading to confusion and desertion of clergy and faithful.

"Hung Hoa - some believers tell AsiaNews - is a small society of anxieties. This is why the faithful need to have moral support from the good example of the shepherds. The poor, the elderly, the sick, children and even ordinary people have nothing in life. In particular they need the closeness, friendship and kindness of the bishop, things that they have not had for at least three years." (AsiaNews)

Vatican to Launch Online News Portal

VATICAN, March 2, 2011 (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican's communications department is streamlining its presence on the Internet with a news portal that gathers its media coverage in one place.

Pontifical Council for Social Communications president Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli announced updated plans for the new site during his department's annual meeting this week. He has referred to the project several times in the last six months during Vatican press conferences.

The multimedia portal, he said, will offer news from the Vatican's newspaper, Vatican Radio and the missionary news agency Fides on a single site. According to a report in the March 2 edition of the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano paper, the portal will be launched by Easter (April 24) in English and Italian. A handful of other languages will follow.

L'Osservatore Romano reported that the portal is not the only new venture being pursued by the council. In 2010 they updated their own www.pccs.va website to provide greater visibility to news items from the Vatican and the Universal Church.

In an effort to reach a wider audience, the council recently brought an Arabic-speaking priest onto its staff. Archbishop Celli called the acquisition of an Arabic speaker particularly important as the Vatican seeks to understand what is happening in the Middle East and North Africa and how it affects the Church.

The announcements by Archbishop Celli were made during the council's annual full assembly, which is taking place between Feb. 28 and March 3. This year's sessions are focused on the study of new “languages” being used in communications and how the Church can utilize those in evangelization efforts.

Among other projects being developed are a continental news agency for Africa, a forum for debate on the theology of communications, and a three-year formation course for media personnel for the Church in Cuba.

Fr. Franco Lever, Dean of the Pontifical Salesian University's social communications program, told participants that new forms of media must be used to transmit the Christian message of living as God's family in the footsteps of Jesus.

To do so, he said, “no medium available today must be left out.”

Bishop Capalla: Penance and Conversion for This Lent

DAVAO City, March 8, 2011—Davao Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla called on Catholic faithful to actively participate in the Church's observance of the Lenten season which officially begins on March 9, Ash Wednesday, calling for penance and conversion.

On Ash Wednesday, priests and lay ministers mark the faithfuls’ foreheads with burned ashes from palms blessed during last year’s Palm Sunday.

In his homily on Sunday, the prelate noted the lack of understanding for most Catholics of the meaning behind the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday.

He lamented the fact that many Catholics simply allow ashes to be placed in their foreheads without knowing the value of sacrifice and repentance associated with the act.

Capalla said the Old Testament describes the putting of ashes on one’s head while clothed with white sack signifies one’s repentance from sin. But now, the Church has down away with the wearing of the white cloth, he explained.

He further called on everyone to repent and avail of the sacrament of reconciliation and lead better lives.

The prelate said the Lenten Season reminds everyone of Jesus Christ’s undying love and sacrifice to save one and all from eternal damnation.

“He teaches and challenges us to be better Christians and be with Him in His Kingdom,” he said. (Karen Balangue Peralta)

Laguna Bishop to Ordain 3 Priests

SAN PABLO City, March 6, 2011—The bishop of San Pablo Diocese is scheduled to ordain three new priests for Laguna next week.

Bishop Leo M. Drona is set to raise to the order of Priesthood on March 7 at 9:00 a.m. two deacons: Rev. Jan Jan Alota and Rev. John Lino Calampiano at San Vicente Ferrer Parish Church in Binan City.

Another deacon Rev. Henry Dancalan Rabe would be ordained priest on March 14 in his hometown parish of St. James the Apostle Parish Church in Paete town.The three candidates for the priesthood are graduates from the SVD Theological Seminary in Tagaytay City last school year.

Upon ordination, the three news priests would raise the number of the San Pablo Clergy and religious to about 200.

Priest Hits Slow Evacuation of OFWs in Libya

MANILA, March 3, 2011— Despite efforts by the government to bring home the overseas Filipino workers in Libya, a Franciscan priest said its action is ‘too slow.’

Based on the reports relayed to them by their priests in Libya, Manila-based Fr. Pete Montellana said the situation there is getting worse causing fright among OFWs.

It also appeared, he said, that the Philippine Embassy there can’t provide the necessary assistance to the OFWs trapped in the troubled country.

“Based on the information we received from our Franciscans (based in Libya) it appeared that the assistance rendered by the government was slow. It was really slow,” said Montellana.

The missionary made the statement Thursday over church-run Radyo Veritas although the government claimed it is doing significant progress in its repatriation program.

“That’s not true. They should make if faster. We, in the Franciscan community, are urging them to speed up the giving of assistance to the OFWs,” he said.

He expressed concern that the situation could get worse if the Gadaffi administration would arm its civilian population.

Montellana also said that the Filipinos had to fend on their own on how they could rescue themselves.

One of the priests in the area also reported that the OFWs are experiencing food shortage.

Montellana said: “Those (Filipinos) who are staying in the desert were forced to leave the area because of scarcity in food.”

“In fact, they said that the OFWs in Tripoli limited their food consumption and eating only one meal a day,” he said.

The priest admitted that bringing the Filipinos out of Libya has been difficult, especially those who are staying in the desert because they were the ones who were left behind by their employers.

The Order of Friar Minors (OFM) had been providing assistance to Filipinos in Libya for the last 17 years.

Montellana said that the bulk of the Filipino population in Libya is living in Tripoli.

“If I am not mistaken there are about 9,000 OFWs in Tripoli. There are also thousands of Filipinos in Benghazi,” he said.

Source: http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/14853

Filipinos Seek Refuge at Tripoli Catholic Church

MANILA, Feb. 25, 2011—An unspecified number of Filipinos sought refuge inside a Catholic Church in Libya as protest actions against the government escalate in the country.

Fr. Hermilo Vilason, a Franciscan Missionary and chaplain to Filipino migrants in Libya reported that since Feb. 21, they’ve been awakened by gunfire, “at times sporadic and at times continuous.”

They have also heard of helicopters hovering overhead but could not see them as they preferred to stay inside the church.

“Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli told us to stay inside the church rather than be put in danger outside,” Vilason said. According to him, only few vehicles have been plying the streets of Tripoli since Feb. 21.

The priest said they have nowhere to go because only two in the group speak Arabic.

But he is optimistic that they will remain safe inside the church.

“Besides, nobody since 1971 dared to hurl stones or create any trouble within the church compound,” Vilason explained.

He said the bishop believes their fate is in God’s hands and would only ask for prayers for their continued safety.

Relatives of OFWs working in Libya and other middle-eastern countries have criticized the Philippine government for the alleged neglect of their loved ones.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, however, has already sent some of its staff to work for the safe exit of Filipinos in their areas.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli was established in 1630 and was renamed Apostolic Vicariate of Libya in 1894.

The country has 4.5 million Libyan citizens with 1.6% or roughly 70,000 as Roman Catholics, mostly migrant workers from various Asia countries. To date, there are 26,000 overseas Filipino workers in Libya. (Melo M. Acuna)

Source: http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/14780