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.

PPCRV-Varsitarian barangay election round-up : Dayaan nananatiling laganap

Sa ikalawang pagkakataon, hindi nakapagpadala ng volunteers ang Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) ng simbahan ng Santissimo Rosario sa nakaraang halalang pambarangay noong ika-29 ng Oktubre.

Matatandaan na hindi rin nakapagpadala ang sangay ng PPCRV sa UST noong nakaraang Mayo sa pambansang halalan dahil sa kakulangan ng tauhan at pinansyal na supports.

Ayon kay Ricardo Galang, PPCRV Coordinator ng ikaapat na distrito ng Maynila, malaki ang nasasakripisyo kung kulang sa tauhan ang PPCRV katulad na lamang ng nangyari sa nakaraang botohan.

UST is part and parcel of La Naval saga: The Queen and her Thomasian subjects

No other Marian image in the Philippines compares with the historical and spiritual richness of La Naval de Manila, whose divine interventions have been well-acknowledged from time immemorial.

Our Lady of La Naval continues to influence lives of Marian devotees as it did in the almost desperate but triumphant battles of Filipino-Spanish forces against the Dutch armada in the 1600s. After four centuries of devastating wars, natural calamities, and rampant sacrilegious Church robberies, La Naval has gained and received immense devotion from Filipinos, being the country’s patroness.

The Shroud of Turin comes to the Philippines: Christ's alleged burial clothes on exhibit

A replica of the Shroud of Turin

Is this the face of Christ?

This question has intrigued the millions of poeple who have seen the Shroud of Turin, the venerated “burial clothes of Jesus Christ” believed to have captured Christ’s image after the Crucifixion.

According to Maricar Estrabo, project officer of “The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: The Philippine Exhibition” and a member of the Crusaders of the Holy Face, the Shroud of Turin, despite doubts about its authenticity, is one of the most precious treasures of Christianity.

 

1907 crowning reenacted in solemn splendor

The canonical coronation is a special privilege bestowed only on a very special Marian image.

This is what Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco pointed out in his homily before the solemn re-enactment of the canonical coronation of La Naval de Manila, which was canonically crowned on orders of Pius X in 1907 in the first ever canonical coronation of any Marian image in the Philippines and Asia.

Thomasian martyrs beatified

Six Thomasian martyrs were declared “Blessed” in the biggest beatification in history presided by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, at St. Peter’s Square in Rome last October 28.

The 498 beatified martyrs, who died in the hands of an anticlerical movement in Spain in the early 1930s, were composed of two bishops, 24 diocesan priests, 462 religious, one deacon, one sub-deacon (a position which does not exist today), one seminarian, and seven lay people.

When Thomasians spruce up the Queen

The thunder of La Naval is expected to ring loudest next month when the Philippine Church and the Dominican Order mark the centennial of the coronation of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario, La Naval de Manila.

Now enshrined at the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, Nuestra Señora del Rosario de La Naval was the first Marian image in the Philippines to be canonically crowned in 1907. It is said that Pope Pius X had immediately acceded to the Dominicans’ request for the canonical coronation by writing his permission long-hand in 1906.

100th year of La Naval's canonical coronation marked

Highlighting the 100th anniversary of the canonical coronation of La Naval de Manila, the Dominican Province of the Philippines will reenact the Marian image’s solemn canonical coronation on Oct. 4 at the Sto. Domingo Parish in Quezon City, the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary.

The reenactment will be made during a High Mass to be celebrated by Msgr. Wojciech Zaluski, charge de affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature (the new Nuncio, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, has yet to assume his post and present his diplomatic papers to Malacanang and the Philippine bishops), and 15 bishops coming from all over the country.

Puno ng mga Dominiko bumisita sa UST

Nasa bansa ang tinaguriang “Dominican pope,” si P. Carlos Azpiroz Costa, O.P., para sa isang visitation upang kausapin ang kanyang mga kapatid tungkol sa kalagayan ng Ordeng Dominiko sa Pilipinas.

Dumating si Azpiroz sa bansa noong Agosto 26 at mananatili hanggang Setyembre 24. Maglilibot ang Argentinong Dominiko sa iba’t-ibang dako ng Pilipinas, bahagi ng kanyang tungkulin bilang pinuno ng Orden sa buong mundo.

Sto. Domingo sa mga ukit at larawan

Upang gunitain ang pista ni Santo Domingo de Guzman, ang tagapagtatag ng kongregrasyong Order of Preachers, inilunsad ng kumbento ng Santo Domingo ang Santo Domingo Exhibit kung saan makikikita ang mga antigong paglalarawan sa mga bagay at tauhan na nauugnay sa ama ng mga Dominikano.

Ayon kay P. Bienvenido Trinilla, O.P., prior ng kumbento ng Santo Domingo kung saan idinaos ang exhibit mula ika-22 ng Hulyo hanggang ika-15 ng Agosto, layunin nitong ipakilala si Santo Domingo sa mga tao sa parokya at mga karatig lugar.

The Dominicans in the Philippines: The hounds of Truth

Illuminating mankind’s path toward salvation, the “hounds of God” continue to bear the torch of truth on their mouths since their father, St. Dominic de Guzman, founded the Order of Preachers in 1216.

According to Fr. Roy Rodriguez O.P., provincial promoter of vocations of the Dominicans in the Philippines, ignorance is the origin of sin, and teaching the truth is the only way to liberate mankind from error.

Joey Velasco and his ‘Journey of Faith’: Images drawing strength from Christ

Despite his acclaimed artworks, businessman-artist Joey Velasco still doesn’t like to be labeled a painter. He prefers to be called a “heartist."

“I make it a point that I experienced first what I feel strongly about before I paint something,” Velasco told the Varsitarian.

Handicapped to move forward

“I had to find the courage to see me through the day, and so I knelt in silence and began to softly pray.” -Catherine Janssen Irwin

WHILE most freshmen find themselves excited to enter college, I prove to be in a different crowd. Just when most of them seem to begin expanding their horizons, I then found myself still trapped in my shell, thinking that changing myself for a university setup is pernicious.

UST Parish nixes PPCRV poll watch

Despite being a key church in the Archdiocese of Manila, the UST’s Santissimo Rosario Parish failed to send volunteers for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) poll watch during the May 14 elections.

Only the Santissimo Rosario Parish failed to send volunteers among churches in district 4 of Manila, PPCRV secretary general Bro. Clifford Sorita told the Varsitarian.

Pinoy kid's miraculous healing hastens Assumption founder's canonization

One year and three-month-old Risa Bontoc was diagnosed with septo-optic-dysplasia with left schizenphaly, a congenital malformation syndrome in the brain which could have made her blind, crippled, and mute. The third adopted child of Carmen and Rosendo Bontoc, Risa would have rhythmic rotative movement of the eyes that doctors said resulted from the syndrome.

Physicians from the United States where Risa was diagnosed for treatment said that cure was highly improbable and that it would take a miracle to cure the child. Indeed, it took two years of the Bontoc couple’s intercessory prayers to Blessed Marie Eugenie for Risa to turn well. Her case is now a cause for Blessed Marie Eugenie’s sainthood.

Theology Week 2007: Catholic schools to stress moral values vs. corruption

Do Catholic schools produce corrupt politicians?

Despite a good number of national and local leaders educated in Catholic schools, the country still topped the list of most corrupt countries in Asia according to the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) survey last month.

Whether Catholic schools are part of the blame and what these institutions should do were the talking points of the speakers of the Theology Week 2007, a five-day lecture series last April 16 to 20 at the UST Martyrs’ Hall.