A gift from Sierra Madre

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” -Epicurus, BC 341-270

It was after the opening Misa de Gallo, when I saw that little girl, who was walking alone across the rough road of one of the summits of Sierra Madre. She was wearing a small stained white blouse, a navy blue skirt, and a threadbare pair of slippers. Although she was only seven then, she already taught me one of the most inspiring lessons that I will treasure forever.

Beatified UST martyrs honored in Mass

Last October 28, the biggest beatification ceremony in the Church’s history was celebrated at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

That day, 498 martyrs from the religious persecution during the Spanish Civil War (1933-1937) were beatified in a ceremony presided by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. Among the new martyrs were eight Dominicans who had worked or studied in the Philippines; six of them had worked in the University of Santo Tomas.