This May 13 marks the 100th yearanniversary,orcentennial,of the 8irstofseveral Apparitions of Our Lady ofFatima,inFatima,Portugal.InMay1917,in the midst of World War I, PopeBenedict XV, after repeated but forlornappeals for world peace, made a directappeal toMaryto intercede forpeace intheworld.TheresponsewasMary’s8irstappearance at Fatima just a week later,on May 13, to the three shepherdchildren - Lucia dos Santos, FranciscoMar to , and J a c in to Mar to . Theappearanceswould continue every 13thofthemonthuntilOctober13th.

CTK’s Flores deMayo season kicked offlast May 1 with daily Flores de Mayomasses . Lay organizat ions , PPCministries,andvillageshadbeentappedtosponsoroneofthe31dailyafternoonmasses. The May 1 mass also includedthe incensation of the image of theBlessedVirginMary.

Thesewereallheldat5:20pmattheChapel, except for May 1 itself andthe weekend masses which were atthe Main Church. Exceptions to the5:20 pm start time were Sundays(since there’s the 5 pm mass) andFirst Friday (May 5, with the HolyHour of Adoration at 5 pm)when itstarts at 4:20 pm. The eveningsstarted off with praying the Chapletto theDivineMercy, followedby theHoly Rosary, then 8lower offering oflong-stemmed roses, and, 8inally,massat6pm.

HERALD Newsletter of Christ the King Parish Greenmeadows Avenue, Quezon City (Diocese of Cubao, Philippines)

THE

april-June 2017

FrontPage...................1 CTKCelebratesFa.maCentennial1 RosariesandRosesforFloresdeMayo1 CTKBibleQuizTeamCopsFirstPlace

Message.....................2 FromOurParishPriest

Stewardship..................3 YearofthePoor:FishingBoatsTurnover4 Clemente:StewardshipasEngineofBECs

LadiesofCharity..............5 LivelihoodCourse1:HomeCareProvider5 LivelihoodCourse2:Housekeeping6 RiceDistribu.onatKrusnaLigas

WorshipMinistry..............7 BasicOrienta.onforNewAltarServers26 SecondLeComsGeneralAssembly

ParishPastoralCouncil..........8 PPCOffers‘CoffeeAXerChurch’

Forma:onMinistry............8 Startof19thAnnota.onParishRetreat

Lenten&EasterNews..........9 WayoftheCrossintheVillages10 KumpisalangBayan11 BpRaulMar.rezLeadsEMHCRecollec.on12 CTKOrganizesLagunaChurchesPilgrimage15 ‘KorderongDiyos’PlayStagedatCTK16 PalmSundayatChristtheKing19 CTKCelebrates24HoursFortheLord17 HolyWeek&EasterTriduumAc.vi.es20 LentenRecollec.onforDrivers&Househelp22 EasterPilgrimagetoEasternEurope

St.Igna:us&BuklodngPanginoon20 St.Igna.usRenovatesChapel23 PilgrimagetoPampangaChurchesforBnP

Cateche:calMinistry..........24 Month-longCatechismClassesforLibisKids

Fa:maCentennial.............25 PilgrimagetoFa.maShrine&Procession26 MarianTalkbyBpRaulonFa.maAppari.ons

FamilyandLifeMinistry........27 MarriageVoca.onProgramQuarterII201728 Mothers’DayBlessingsonMothersDay

YouthMinistry................21 EasterEggHuntforCTK’sTinyTots28 2017PREXYouthWeekendBatch23

What’s InsideRosaries and Roses for Flores de Mayo

CTK Bible Quiz Team Cops First Place in Vicariate Bible Quiz Contest

WecongratulateChrist theKingParish’sBible Quiz team, composed of TrixDelena,PeterBanico,andSherylCoronelfor garnering 8irst place in our Lady ofPerpetual Help Vicariate (which hasseven parishes) quiz contest held lastMay6.

The trio will be representing the OLHPVicariate, together with 2nd placerTrans8iguration Parish, at the CubaoDiocese level bible quiz competition, tobeheldonJuly22.

CTK Celebrates Fatima Centennial Pilgrimage to Fatima Shrine & Candlelight Procession

Offering of red and white roses to theVirginMaryfortheentiremonthofMay

Ditas Tuazon, left, and Ellen Manansala,right,doingrosaryandchapletdutiesMay6

continued on page 25

Message From Our Parish Priest

Last May 13, 2017 Pope FranciswasinFatima,Portugaltoleadthec e l e b r a t i o n o f t h e 1 0 0 t hAnniversary of the apparitions ofOur Blessed Mother Mary inFatimatothreeshepherdchildren,Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. HepresidedtheMassandtheRitesofCanonizationofBlessedsFranciscoandJacintaMarto,cousinsofLuciadosSantoswho isalsoon thewayto sainthood. Coming to Fatima,Pope Francis calls himself as apilgrimofpeaceandhopeandcallsall to pray for the world as theBlessedMotherhasaskedthethreechildren.InthiseditionofTheHeraldIsharewithyouPopeFrancis'homilyfortheFeast of Our Lady of Fatima and Canonization of BlessedFranciscoandBlessedJacinta:

“[There]appearedinheavenawomanclothedwiththesun”.So the seer of Patmos tells us in the Book of Revelation(12:1), adding that she was about to give birth to a son.Then,intheGospel,wehearJesussaytohisdisciple,“Hereisyourmother”(Jn19:27). WehaveaMother!“SobeautifulaLady”, as the seers of Fatima said to one another as theyreturnedhomeon thatblesseddayof13Marchahundredyears ago. That evening, Jacinta could not restrain herselfand told the secret to hermother: “Today I sawOur Lady”.TheyhadseentheMotherofHeaven.Manyotherssoughttoshare that vision, but… they did not see her. The VirginMotherdidnotcomeheresothatwecouldseeher.Wewillhavealleternity for that,provided,ofcourse, thatwego toheaven.

OurLadyforetold,andwarnedusabout,awayoflifethatisgodlessandindeedprofanesGodinhiscreatures.Suchalife– frequently proposed and imposed – risks leading to hell.MarycametoremindusthatGod’slightdwellswithinusandprotectsus,for,asweheardinthe_irstreading,“thechild[ofthe woman] was snatched away and taken to God” (Rev12:5). In Lucia’s account, the three chosen children foundthemselvessurroundedbyGod’slightasitradiatedfromOurLady. She enveloped them in themantle of Light thatGodhad given her. According to the belief and experience ofmanypilgrims,ifnotofall,FatimaismorethananythingthismantleofLight thatprotectsus,hereas inalmostnootherplaceonearth.Weneedbuttakerefugeundertheprotectionof the Virgin Mary and to ask her, as the Salve Reginateaches:“showuntous…Jesus”.

Dear pilgrims, we have a Mother. Clinging to her likechildren,weliveinthehopethatrestsonJesus.Asweheardinthesecondreading,“thosewhoreceivetheabundanceofthe grace and the free gift of righteousness exercisedominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom5:17). When Jesus ascended to heaven, he brought to theHeavenly Father our humanity, which he assumed in thewomb of the Virgin Mary and will never forsake. Like an

anchor,letus_ixourhopeonthathumanity,seatedinheavenat the righthandof theFather (cf.Eph2:6).May thishopeguideour lives! It isahopethatsustainsusalways, toourdyingbreath.

Con_irmedinthishope,wehavegatheredheretogivethanksfor the countless gracesbestowedover thesepast hundredyears. All of them passed beneath the mantle of light thatOur Lady has spread over the four corners of the earth,beginningwiththislandofPortugal,sorichinhope.Wecantake as our examples Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta,whomtheVirginMaryintroducedintotheimmenseoceanofGod’s lightandtaughttoadorehim.Thatwasthesourceoftheirstrengthinovercomingoppositionandsuffering.God’spresence became constant in their lives, as is evident fromtheirinsistentprayersforsinnersandtheirdesiretoremainevernear“thehiddenJesus”inthetabernacle.

InherMemoirs(III,6),SisterLuciaquotes Jacintawhohadjustbeengrantedavision:“Doyounotseeallthosestreets,all thosepathsand _ields full ofpeople cryingout for food,yet have nothing to eat? And the Holy Father in a church,prayingbeforetheImmaculateHeartofMary?Andallthosepeopleprayingwithhim?”Thankyou,brothersandsisters,for being here with me! I could not fail to come here tovenerate theVirginMaryand toentrust toherallher sonsanddaughters.Underhermantletheyarenotlost;fromherembracewillcomethehopeandthepeacethattheyrequire,andthatIimploreforallmybrothersandsistersinbaptismandinourhumanfamily,especiallythesickandthedisabled,prisonersandtheunemployed,thepoorandtheabandoned.Dearbrothersandsisters, letuspray toGodwith thehopethatotherswillhearus;andletusspeaktootherswiththecertaintythatGodwillhelpus.

Indeed,Godcreatedus tobea sourceofhope forothers, atrue and attainablehope, in accordancewith eachperson’sstateof life. In“asking”and“demanding”ofeachofus theful_illmentofthedutiesofourproperstate(LettersofSisterLucia,28February1943),Godeffectsageneralmobilizationagainsttheindifferencethatchillstheheartandworsensourmyopia. We do not want to be a stillborn hope! Life cansurviveonlybecauseofthegenerosityofotherlives.“Unlessagrainofwheatfallsintotheearthanddies,itremainsjustasingle grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:24).TheLord,whoalwaysgoesbeforeus,saidthisanddidthis.Whenever we experience the cross, he has alreadyexperienceditbeforeus. Wedonotmountthecrossto_indJesus. Instead it was he who, in his self-abasement,descendedeventothecross,inorderto_indus,todispelthedarknessofevilwithinus,andtobringusbacktothelight.

WithMary’sprotection,maywebeforourworldsentinelsofthe dawn, contemplating the true face of Jesus the Saviour,resplendent at Easter. Thus may we rediscover the youngand beautiful face of the Church, which shines forth whenshe is missionary, welcoming, free, faithful, poor in meansandrichinlove.

Fr.BongTupinoIII

2

JUBILEE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA

LastMarch2,2017,inasimpleturnoverprogram at the Parish Church of SanNicolasdeTolentinoinbarangayPawainPanay, Capiz, the Christ the King parishrepresentatives - Henry Tañedo andPeter Banico of EMHC, and Ben andLinda Famador of the StewardshipCommittee -with parishpriestFr. JocelFara-onaswitness, formallygaveaway14 8iberglass boats with outboardmotorsto14luckyPawa8isherfamilies.

In2015,tocelebratetheYearofthePoorand Christ the King Parish’s 10thAnniversary of being a StewardshipParish, Christ theKingParish embarkedo n a v e r y amb i t i o u s p r o g r am‘Stewardship:MissionandGift:Reaching

outintheYearofthePoor’.Theprogramincluded 10 outreach projects for thepoor based on the Catholic Teaching ontheSevenCorporalWorksofMercy.

Each outreach project was managed byanorganizationdesignatedbytheParishPastoral Council. The EucharisticMinistersofHolyCommunion,orEMHC,then headed by Henry Tañedo, wastasked to oversee the outreach projectfor the Fisherfolk, with barangay Pawa,represented by the San Nicolas de

TolentinoParishasthebene8iciary.

TheParishofSanNicolasdeTolentinoislocatedinBarangayPawa,Panay,Capiz,asmall coastal community of around 508isher families dependent on 8ishing forits primary livelihood. Helping the8isherfolks acquire their own 8ishingboats would dramatically increase thechances of a successful livelihoodprogramfortheirfamilies.CTKentrusted

Father Jocel to identify 20local 8isher families as the8irst bene8iciaries of 8ishingboats. As a further screen,those identi8iedwouldhavetobechurch-going.

Afurtherbackgroundcheckhoweverrevealedthatsomeindividuals hadundesirablebehaviors and habits, e.g.,drinking, gambling, etc. sothe list was whittled down

to15.Therewasonewithdrawalsoonly14boatswereturnedover.

PeterBanicosharedhisinsights.“Eachofus had a chance to address thebene8iciariesandtheirfamilies.EachtalkfocusedonthesubjectofGod’sgiftsandhow it should be used. We reminded

them not to use the boat for illegalactivities, speci8ically on dynamite8ishingorcyanide8ishing. Asthiswasagift from CTK parishioners, they werenotallowedtosellorpawnofftheboatsormotors.Weexpectedthateachoneofthemwould be an active parishioner ofSanNicolasdeTolentino. Andasawayof giving back, they were expected todonate to a fund that Fr. Joel wouldoverseewhichwouldbedipped into forem e r g e n c y f u e l , u n s c h e d u l e dmaintenance, boat replacement, oracquisitionofadditionalboatsfornewerfamilies. At that point, Father Jocelemphasized that the 8isher familiesshould approach the parish 8irstwhenever theywere in need, instead ofgoing to money lenders who chargedexorbitantrates.”

Father Jocel started the turnoverceremonywith a prayer and blessing ofthebancasand their5.6hpmotors. Allboatshadmarkingspaintedacrossthem“Stewardship: A Way of Life” on thefront-side of the boat and “Christ theKing Parish, Greenmeadows, QuezonCity” on the back-side. Each boat andmotorwerenumberedfrom1to15. Toensure fairness, bene8iciaries drew lotstodeterminewhichboatandmotortheyreceived(oneto15),withthedrawingoflots presided over by Ben & LindaFamador. Thephysical turnoverofeachboat andmotorwas handled in turn byHenryandPeter.

CTK Turns Over 14 Fishing Boats for Pawa, Capiz Fisherfolk via San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish

Fr.Jocelblessestheboatsbeforeturnover

Above, Linda Famador administering thedrawing of lots. Below, Peter Banico andHenryTanedodotheceremonialturnover.

Above, new motors unboxed. Below, fishingboatsarereadyforlaunch.

STEWARDSHIP

3

‘Using Stewardship as BuildingBlocks for BEC’was the topic of theStewardshipTalkbyJoeyClementeofthe Socio-Pastoral Institute lastMarch 11 at the Parish PastoralCouncil meeting, as part of thecontinuingorientationforCTK’sPPCon matters related to BECs and thetheme of ‘Parish as Communion ofCommunities’.

Joey Clemente began his talk bytalking through the de8inition ofBECs, which echoed Fr. AmadoPicardal’s de8inition which in itselfechoed the PCP de8inition - smallgatherings of Christians ministeredto regularly by local lay leaders.Membersknoweachotherbyname,feel that they belong and are

responsibleforeachother,andsharespiritualandmaterialconcernsasidefrom the Word of God and theEucharist.

He discussed the vision of the‘RenewedChurch’ in thePhilippines,which is, a church of the poor. Thisvision is being driven effectively bythe movement to foster BasicEcclesialCommunities,orBECS.

Clemente took pains to differentiatebetweenspirituality,thatis,whatwefeel insideus, vs. religiosity, orwhatweshowanddo.Tohim,and toSPI,the ‘Spirituality of Stewardship’ isaboutbeinggratefulfortheblessingsreceived, feeling responsible forfellow brethren, and being generouswith our time, talents, and treasure.He quoted Cardinal Orlando BeltranQuevedo,archbishopofCotabatoandnewly-ordained cardinal, who said,‘the spirituality of discipleship andstewardship is the engine or soul oftheBEC’.

Clementethenspentabitmoretimetalkingaboutthe‘ChurchofthePoor’and how we could individually andcollectively push forward the visionof the new church of Christ. Heemphas ized that the var iousstewardship programs shouldinclude the active and creativeparticipationofthepoorifwearetomoveclosertotherealizationofPCPII’svisionofthePhilippineChurchasa “community of disciples, a ChurchofthePoor.”

ABOUTTHESPEAKERJose Luis Clemente is the Execu.veDirector of the Socio-PastoralIns.tute,orSPI.Foundedin1980byasmall group of priests and religiouswhosharedacommonvisionofsocialjus.ce and transforma.on, SPI is afaith-based NGO in the PhilippinesthatworkswithCatholiccommuni.esand local churches,NGOs, andmul.-faith groups to promote total humandevelopmentthroughasocio-pastoralforma.on program that includesspirituality, community organizing,andsocialchange.

SPI’s board members have includedBrother Armin Luistro, former DEPEDsecretary,BishopBroderickPabilloDD,Sr.MaluzMijarezOSA,andFr.AmadoPicardal, a BES stalwart who wefeatured in the last issue of the CTKHerald. In thepast,Clementeworkeda s a d i rec to r, p roducer, andcameramanwithAlterna.veHorizonsand Asia Visions, non-mainstreamalterna.ve media organiza.ons thatdocument and advance people’sini.a.ves for poli.cal reform andgoodgovernance.

Towards this vision, SPI todayp romote s t he Sp i r i t ua l i t y o fStewardship and the building ofdisaster-resilientcommuni.estolocalchurches, various NGOs and renewalmovements, and other faith groups.Hence, much of its socio-pastoralworkandcommunity-buildingfocusiswith poor communi.es in thes o u t h e r n P h i l i p p i n e s , e . g . ,Zamboanga, Cotabato, etc. Thevarious health campaigns, adulteduca.on , feed ing p rograms ,women’s programs, interfaith work,etc. are framed as elements of thestewardshipmission.

SPI regularly works with the poorestlocalCatholicparishesanddiocesestohelp them become stewardshipchurches, which is oXen a challengesincemost Catholics in far-flung sitesholdfasttoafaithmuddledbypaganfolklore, historical supers..ons, andmagic-supernatural.

Stewardship Committee Sponsors Spirituality of Stewardship Talk re BECs

STEWARDSHIP

4

LastApril4,hotontheheelsoftheHomeCare Provider livelihood training thatendedjusttheweekbefore,theLadiesofCharity - CTK Chapter, started anotherlivelihoodproject,thistimeinbarangaysMasagana and Matandang Balara inProject 4.With the blessing of Fr. BongTupino, LOC launched its Housekeepinglivelihood course that would last fromApril4tillJune29.Aswiththepreviouslivelihood course, this HousekeepingcourseisscheduledTuesdaystoFridays,

8amto12nn. LadiesofCharityprojectchairman is Teri Floro, assisted by BethMonedero.AdvisersareTonetteArizabalandDengCorderoTan.Theycoordinatedwith barangay captain Juliet L. Ginete.And as usual, LOC asked TESDA fortrainer assistance, in the person ofGeraldineGarrac.

20 girls and 4 boys have signed up forthe course. If the past is an indicator,most of the 24 will 8ind jobs, some ofthem leaving for abroad, since TESDAcerti8ication is valid for work abroadrequirements.

Aside from senior home care andhousekeeping,pastcourseshadincluded- food & beverage, bread & pastrymaking, electrical installation, massage,soap making, cosmetology, and bartending.

March 31 saw 32 livelihood scholars-graduates of Ladies of Charity-CTKChapter (LOC) formally receive theirdiplomas in the Home Care Providercourse.

The 32 livelihood trainees came fromtwo barangays of Project 4, namely,TagumpayandDioquinoZobel.Project4alsoincludestheEscopabarangays,BlueRidge, Bagumbuhay, Bayanihan,Marilag,Masagana,Milagrosa,andMariaClara.

Ms. TonetteArizabal, LOC treasurer andalsoactingchairmanofLOC’sLivelihood

Committee, opened the event. LOC vicepresidentDianaGozum spoke on behalfof LOC, since president Fe Pery wasindisposed. Tonette also acknowledgedthe contribution of Dr. Mia Ramos ofQuezon City’s Department of SocialService who actually conducted thetraining. Among the VIPs were several‘kagawads’ from both Tagumpay andDioquinoZobel.

Ms. Gilda Pimentel, Chief of theManpower Development Of8ice in QC’s

D e p a r t m e n t o fSocial Service, gavethe inspirationaltalk to the newgraduates. In hertalk, she committedtoarrangingon-the-job training (OJT)and preparing them

to take the national certi8ication NC2givenbyTESDA.Thatcerti8icationwouldallowthegraduates tobeemployedandworkabroad.

Fr. Bong Tupino graced the event andcongratulatedthegraduates,atthesametime challenging them to take fulladvantage of the opportunity that hadbeengiven to them.After givingout thediplomas, snacks and refreshmentsfollowed.

The three-month course, Home CareProvider, consisted of: vital signsmonitoring, health care servicing, basicnursing, and home care provisioning. Itstarted in January 2017 and ended inlateMarch.Sessionswerehalfdaysfrom

Tuesdays to Fridays,foratotalofnearly200traininghours.

LOC provided freeuniforms and starterk i t s , a s i d e f r o mproviding the trainingforfree.ThetrainerDr.Ramos was given atoken honorarium.TheLadiesofCharityi s t h eimplementation armfor CTK’s Soc ia lS e r v i c e sD e v e l o p m e n tMinistry,taskedwithorganizinglivelihoodprojects and fundedf rom the Par i shPas tora l Counc i lbudget.

32 Ladies of Charity Graduates Get D ip lomas f or Home Care Prov ider Livelihood Course

Above,LOCTreasurerandLivelihoodCommitteein-charge Tonette Arizabal; below, LOC VPDianaGozum

Above right, Dr. Mia Ramos, lead trainer ofthe livelihood course, with two of theDioquino Zobel kagawads. Below, GildaPimenteloftheQCDept.ofSocialService

Above,Fr.BongTupinoaddressingthegraduates.Below,posingwithLOC officers, L to R, Lulu Martinez, Beth Monedero, Josie Mallari,Diana Gozum, Tonette Arizabal, and Mila Bangco. On the floor,rightmost,LOCcoordinatorMaritessTuringan.

T h i s T i m e I t ’ s Housekeeping

ParticipantsoftheTESDAHousekeepingcourse

SOCIAL SERVICES & DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY: LOC

5

LastApril25,2017,theLadiesofCharitywent ahead with their quarterly ricedistribution, this time at Holy CrossParish in the historic Krus na Ligasdistrict of Diliman. This follows the lastquarter’sJanuaryricedistributionatSanIsidro Labrador Parish. It’s also thesecond time the Ladies of Charitydistributed rice in Krus na Ligas - the8irst time was approximately the sametime last year, although Fr. MarvinPajarillaga,HolyCross’parishpriest,hadbeenpleadingforanevenmorefrequentvisitation.

Rice distribution as a Ladies of Charityproject has been ongoing since 2015.Re c i p i en t s h ad i n c l uded L i b i s ,Bagumbayan, Lady of Miraculous Medalparish in Project 4, Lady of PerpetualHelpinCubao,Sta.RitadeCascia,Parishof the Risen Lord, and San IsidroLabrador parish, all part of the Cubaodiocese. In fact, Fr. Arvi Bello of SanIsidroLabradorparishhasbeenthemostfrequent parish recipient with threevisits.

In previous quarters, Ladies of Charitywould raise funds, approximatelyP72,000 per distribution, to be able topurchasethericebutat the end of 2016during the budgetplanning session, Fr.BongagreedwiththeSocial Services &D e v e l o p m e n tMinistry and Ladiesof Charity that theL i n g a p & L o l a sprogram would betakenawayasaPPC-subsidized projectand in i ts place ,Christ the King’sP a r i s h P a s t o r a lCouncil would beginto fund the r i cedistribution. Whenthe program 8irstb e g a n , L O Cdistributed only 2kilos each to only100 families, whichthenincreasedto250families but this hasnearly doubled to400 fami l ies perq u a r t e r l yd is tr ibut ion , andfromonly2kilosto5kilos.

At Holy Cross Parish, the Ladies ofCharity members distributed on behalfof Christ the King Parish 400 packs of8ive-kilo premium rice to each of thefamilies selectedby the local PPC groupcreated by Fr. Marvin and tasked withselecting the poorest of the poor whodeservedthericedonations.Mostof therecipients were heard to say, ‘Malakingbagay as amin ito’. This sentiment wasechoedbyFr.Marvinwhoexclaimed,‘I’mverygratefultotheLadiesofCharity.’

Present at the rice distribution wereLOCs Fe Pery, president; Jessie Fajardo;Malu Cataldi; Emy Ti; Dolor Enriquez;Narching Malatuba; Eden dela Cruz;Eileen de Leon; Tessie Saulog; TerryFloro; and Beth Monedero. Fr. MarvinstartedwithprayingtheOurFather.

Krus Na Ligas once served as a shelterforPhilippineheroAndresBonifaciowhosoughtrefugefromthe1896Balintawakmayhem. With Balara, it eventuallybecame the Katipunan headquarters.Krus Na Ligas thus became a site ofstruggle towards national independenceand freedom from colonial arrests.Howit got its name maybe ascribed to thecrossed-branch poison ivy or ligas treethatthrivedinthischapel'slocation.

Ladies of Charity Distribute Rice at Krus na Ligas SOCIAL SERVICES & DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY: LOC

6

The Basic Formation for New AltarServerswas held over three Saturdays -March4,March18,andMarch25-from2 to 4:00 pm. Boys who had alreadyreceived their First Holy Communionwere quali8ied to join. All sessionswereheld at St. John Hall C. Louie Laudico,former PPC president and currentlyVocation Ministry and Altar ServerMinistryin-charge,ledallthreesessions.

Attending the Saturday sessions were:Charles Caluste, Josito Gonzales, JohanEvangelista, Andre Angeles, KristianCanlas , Raymond Santos , MiguelBermejo, and Jaime Cua. Raymond andJaime study atXavier, Charles studies atPCSHS, and the rest study at Ateneo.CharlesisinGrade7,KristianinGrade6,RaymondandJaimeinGrade5, JositoinGrade 4, and Johan and Andre are inGrade3.

Having completed the basic formationpart of the requirements, the boys thenattended the Diocesan Formation forNew Altar Servers, scheduled for April28wholeday,from7amto4pm.

But from April 1 onwards, for twomonths,thenewrecruitswillbeaskedtoserve in actual Sundaymasses, assistingother experienced altar servers. Senioraltar servers NoelMiro, Jay Gascon andMenggoy Sasi have been providingpractical training to the boys on theweekend of April 22 and 23 on how towalk and ring the bell properly, how tobring the chalice to the altar withreverence, helping the priest during theoffertory procession, when to ring thebell,etc.

TheRenewalforactivealtarserverswillbeheldlater,onMay10,7amto4pmas

well. This schedule parallels those forEMHCs and Lectors & Commentators,wherenewrecruitsattendtheirdiocesanformation session slightly ahead of therenewal session for active or ongoingparticipants. The young boys will thenhave their Commissioning Rite of theNewAltarServersonMay27,aSaturday.At the Commissioning, all new altarserversreceiveabookontheSacramentof the Eucharist as well as a rosary. Inpreparation, the boys’ parents haveaccompanied their children to therecommended tailor to have theirsultanasmade.

All altar servers meet as a group everysecondSaturdayeveryothermonthat2

pm at St. John Hall C. Louie Laudicocontinues to discuss other relevanttopics with the group, such as the NewRoman Missal, Incensing Protocols andProcedures,etc.

Otherplans of theAltar ServerMinistryinclude interactionwith altar servers inthediocese,meet-and-greetboysoftheirageinminorseminaries,etc.

Louiewentthroughthefollowingtopics:March4: ‣ IdealProfileofServerattheAltar‣ AltarServer’sRoleintheLiturgy‣ ‘LiturgicalTime’and‘LiturgicalSeason’‣ LiturgicalSejng&Colors

March18:‣ SacredObjectsandVestments‣ PartsoftheMassandTheirMeaning1

March25‣ PartsoftheMassandTheirMeaning2

For teaching aid, Louie uses ‘TheSacramentoftheEucharist,Catechesis&Rite’publishedbytheSonsofHolyMaryImmaculate, as well as ‘Serving at theAltar:AManualforAltarServers’byRev.Fr.JasonLaguerta.

Basic Orientation Seminar for Altar Servers

Aboveleft,NoelteachingMiguelandCharleshowtowalkandringthebellatthesametime.Aboveright,NoelteachingAndrefinerpointsofpositioningthechaliceatthealtar.BelowfromL,toprow:SacristanMayorNoelMiro,KristianCanlas,CharlesCaluste,MiguelBermeoandLouieLaudico.lowerrow,fromL:JaimeCua,JositoGonzales,RaymondSantos,andAndreAngeles.

WORSHIP MINISTRY: ALTAR SERVERS

7

Every Sunday after the 9 am mass atChrist the King Parish Church sinceMarch5,parishionershavebeengreetedandtreatedwithcoffeeandsnacksinthefrontgardenlawn.

The ‘Coffee After Church’ Program, abrainchild of Parish Pastoral Councilsecretary couple David and Fely Ong,continues to be supported by differentparishionersandgroups.The8irsttimeitwas held, March 5, the treats werecourtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts. Last March12, pizza slices were courtesy ofGreenwich pizza chain’s GeneralManagerAlbertCuadrante,currentheadof the Extraordinary Ministers of HolyCommunion, orEMHCs. Thenextweekbrought Red Ribbon. The most recentone last Palm Sunday, April 9, wascourtesyofFrenchBaker’s JohnluKoa,a

pa r i sh ioner. I n add i t i on , o therparishionershadbeenbringingbiscuits,crackers, turon, and other snacks, asidefrom the coffee and juices provided bythesnacksponsorortheOngs.Thelarge

tent was donated by CTK regulars’husband and wife team of Abet andPinkyAntonio.

More recently, Fely and David put up awhiteboardunderthetentforpostingofweekly activities, to show churchgoershow active the parish is. They will alsogiveoutformsinthecomingSundaysforchurchgoerswhomight be interested in

joininganyofthevariousministriesandmandatedorganizations.

The PPC of8icers have urged the PPCmemberstosignupasvolunteersforthecoming Sundays, and the PPCmembershave responded enthusiastically. PPCregularshaveincluded,asidefromDavidand Fely Ong and Bert and Marie AnneSantos, Amelia Alba, Sheryl Coronel,Irene Robles, Paul Uy, Reggie Nolido,LoungCuartero,GirlieAlampay,MaandelRosario,WinsMirasol,Margie San Juan,Ben and Linda Famador, JeanetteCagurangan, Anna Lagman, TinyPerfecto,DulceBarretto,EileendeLeon,andseveralothers.

The primary objectives of the ‘CoffeeAfter Church’ are - for PPCmembers toget to know more of the regularparishioners and and get them engagedin an atmosphere of fellowship andcamaraderie; introduce the ParishPastoral Council members to the 9 ammassparishioners;allowparishionerstoget toknow theotherparishioners; andfor PPC members to share past andupcoming parish activities, convincethemtojoinamandatedorganizationorministry, and encourage parishioners togive ideas, comments, criticisms, and

Parish Pastoral Council Offers ‘Coffee After Church’

Theveryfirst‘CoffeeAfterChurch’,March5

The second ‘Coffee After Church’, March 12,sponsoredbyGreenwichPizza

TheApril2‘CoffeeAfterChurch’

TheApril9‘CoffeeAfterChurch’,sponsoredbyJohnluKoaandFrenchBaker

PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL

continued on page 11

8

AspartofitsLentenactivities,ChristtheKing Parish held the Way of the Crossevery Tuesdays and Thursdays at thedifferent villages that make up theparish.

Theschedulewasasfollows:March7atGreenmeadows1;March9 atAcropolis;March 16 at White Plains; March 21 atCorinthianHills;March23atSt.Ignatius;March 28 at Corinthian Gardens &Greenwich;March30atArcadia;April4atEnclave,IvoryCourt&GM3;andApril6atLibis.

Arcadia’sboardofdirectorsextendeditsthanks to all the families and staff whoparticipated in the Inter Village Way oftheCrosslastMarch30.Fr.BongTupinothanked village coordinators Fe Floresand Lita Sembrano and the otherorganizers for a wonderful communitygathering, made even more memorablesince it was Arcadia’s 8irst time tocomplete the 14 stations. Fe Floresenthusiastically exclaimed, ‘We lookforward to doing it again in the comingyears.’

Way of the Cross in the Villages from March 7 to April 6

St.IgnatiuslastMarch23

GreenMeadows1lastMarch7

WhitePlainslastMarch16

AcropolislastMarch9

ArcadialastMarch30

9

The Holy Week penitential service andconfessions, orKumpisalangBayan,washeldover three fullevenings, fromApril10, Holy Monday, to April 12, HolyWednesday. Following the 6 pmmasseson Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday,there was a short Penitential Rite withExamination of Conscience. Then theassignedpriests,numberingfouronday1andsixbyday3,tooktheirpositionsinthetwoconfessionalboxesatthebackofthechurch,at the frontonbothsidesof

thealtar,andatthefrontsidecornerstohear the individual confessions.Although confessions were supposed tolasttillonly8pm, forall threedays, theKumpisalangBayanranover time,up topast9pmontwoofthethreedays.

March 18 was the date for the 19thAnnotation ParishRetreat, organized byFormationMinistryheadJoeyGalvez forthe CTK lectors and commentators, forother ministries and organizations, aswellasparishionerswhogottoreadtheannouncements. The mini-retreat, alsoknown as the Spiritual Exercises of St.Ignatius,wastwohourslong,from10amto 12 nn. The retreat leader was Fr.BobbyBuenconsejoSJwhotalkedonthetopic ‘Principle and Foundation’. Theintent is that thiswould thebe the 8irstinafour-partretreatseries.

The 19th annotation - sometimes calledAn Ignatian Retreat in Daily Life - is aversion of the Spiritual Exercisesdesignedforbusypeoplewhocannotbeaway for 30 days to do the Exercises astheywerepracticedoriginally.Often,the19thisdoneinsmallgroupswhichmeetweekly or every other week to receivenew material from the leader, discusshow the Exercises are going for them,and do some prayer practices, readings,and meditations together. The 19thannotation has caught on in parishesbecause it applies all the material fromIgnatius’s Spiritual Exercises but does itovertime,forworkingpeople.

Under ‘Principle and Foundation’, the8irst week is dedicated to the theme of‘sinfulness, mercy and redemption’. ThesecondweekwillfollowJesusfrombirthto his life of teaching and healing. The

thirdweekfocusesonJesus’death,whilethefourthweekoftheSpiritualExercisesdwellsonhisresurrection.Theobjectiveis to recognize God’s goodness as itpermeates through all creation - and toexpressgratitudeforthisgoodness.

Ignatiushadbeena sinnerbutuponhis‘conversion’,hebecametheembodimentof gratitude. So guided by the 19thannotation,westrivetogivethanks-forall the things on earth that had beencreatedforus;foraworldcreatedoutoflove; for the life, death and resurrectionof Jesus.Thegratitude isbestexpressedbytheprayerofthegratefulheart:

TakeLordandreceiveallIhaveandpossessYouhavegivenalltome;Toyou,Lord, Ireturnit.Everythingisyours;Dowithitwhatyouwill

Theendstateiswhenourdeepestdesirebecomes-topraise,reverence,andserveGod.WheneverythingwedoisforGod’s

greater glory, or what Ateneans wouldsay ‘Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam’ (theJesuits’ Latin motto), then we becomeready to give up everything for thegreater glory of God. We becomeindifferent, without any attachment,whether to people, things, and evenhuman conditions such as good health,wealth,longlife,etc.TheconceptoftrustwasalsobroughtupbyFr.Bobby.Whenwesurrender our life to theLord, thenweautomaticallytrustGod’swillforus.

Finally,Fr.Bobbysuggestedthisexercise-writedownthegiftsthatGodhasgiveneachoneofus;thenidentifytheonegiftwe are most grateful for; then use thatone gift as springboard for our praiseand thanks. As a 8inal note, he askedeveryone to re8lect on Psalm 116: whatreturn shall I make for all the good hehasdoneforme?

19th Annotation Parish Retreat Kumpisalang Bayan

FORMATION MINISTRY

10

Easter Sunday ‘Coffee After Church’,sponsoredbyJohnluKoaandChatime

April30‘CoffeeAfterChurch’

Bishop Raul Martirez Leads Lenten Recollection for EMHCs LastApril1,2017,BishopRaulMartirezfacilitated a Lenten recollection for theExtraordinary Ministers of the HolyCommunion(EMHCs)andtheirspouses.Since thiswasprimarilyput togetheraspart of the ongoing formation of theEMHCs, it was appropriate that theoverall theme of the recollection was‘deepening our love for the EucharistthroughScripture’. Forthisrecollection,Bishop Raul 8irst shared an effectivemethodforappreciatingtheWordofGodthrough Scripture via the acronym‘WORD’, to stand for Worship, Observe,Re8lect and Direct. He then walked theattendees throughanactual exampleonhow to do this with his discussion andre8lection on the passage of ‘TheAppearance on the Road to Emmaus',Luke24:13-35.

Therearesomanythingsthelayfaithfulcan take away from this story, whichmany of us have read or heard read inthepast. However, for this recollection,BishopRaul shareda fascinating insighton how this whole story actuallyfollowed the sequence of how theEucharist is celebrated today. The 8irstpart of the story, verses 13-27, can be

considered as the Liturgy of the Word,where Jesus interprets how theScriptures, beginning with Moses,referredtoHim. Thesecondpartofthestory,verses28-32,isclearlytheLiturgyof the Eucharist; where Jesus brokebreadwiththedisciples.

Finally, Bishop Raul shared that, in thestory, even if Jesus was physicallypresent with the disciples during their

moments of ‘darkness’, when theywereexperiencing grief and anxiety, they didnot recognize him, but once they wereenlightenedandtheir‘eyeswereopened’,the Lord disappears, because we havebeencomfortedbythereminderthatheis ever-present even if he is physicallyinvisible. Today,heisever-presenttousin the Eucharist and it is up to us,especially theEMHCs, to ‘openoureyes’torecognizeHim.

May21‘CoffeeAfterChurch’

Coffee After Church

WORSHIP MINISTRY: EMHC

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entire second quarter after which theresultsandoutcomeswillbeevaluatedatone of the monthly PPC meetings todetermine if the program should beextended,modi8ied,ordiscontinued.

suggestions. Fely and David had alsosuggested that after each CAC session,PPCmemberswhoattendedshoulddoapost-mortem to review - who they metandtalkedto,parishioners’interestsandconcernsexpressedduringthechats,andwho seemed open to joining theministriesororganizations.

The CAC experiment will run for the

11

text by Albert Cuadrante

image was also donated by rich andpious Mexican fami l ies . Ser iousrestoration took place in 1965 and in1969, the main altar was consecrated,withtheimageofOurLadyofGuadalupecarvedbyMaximoVicenteofManila.

The facade is a three-level earlyRenaissance styled with a semicirculararchedmainentrance,choirloftwindowand a three-story bell tower. A side

chapel houses a replica of the tilma, orcloak,oftheOurLadyofGuadalupe,anda stone relic from Tepeyac Hill, MexicoCityin1531,thesiteoftheapparitionoftheVirginofGuadalupe.

St. James theApostleChurch inPaetehas a long history of being destroyed

Last April 2, Christ the King Parish’sBishop Raul Martirez led a LagunaPilgrimage. The pilgrimage, with 44passengers in one tour bus, wasorganizedbyCatholicTravel, Inc.Atotal

ofsevenLagunachurcheswerevisitedinjust one day. These included, insequence:

‣ DiocesanShrineofSanAntoniodePadua,Pila

‣ OurLadyofGuadalupe,Pagsanjan‣ StJamestheApostle,Paete‣ StPeterofAlcantara,Pakil‣ Sta.MariaMagdalena,Magdalena‣ StJohntheBaptist,Liliw‣ SanBartolomeApostol,Nagcarlan

The majority of pilgrims were fromvillagesofChristtheKingparish-WhitePlains, Acropolis, Greenmeadows,CorinthianGarden, CorinthianHills, andSt.Ignatius.Therewasalsoasmatteringof pilgrims from other places like ValleVerde&AyalaAlabang.

The pilgrim group left CTK at 6 am,visited the 8irst three churches, stoppedfor lunch at Villa Socorro Farm inPagsanjan, then completed the rest ofchurches in the list. Catholic Travelprovidedaguidewhogavethehistoryofthe towns and the churches plus anescort who looked after the pilgrims’needsand the tour logistics.Foreachofthe churches visited, Bishop Raulnarrated the biography of the patronsaintofthechurch.

TheShrineofSanAntoniodePaduainPila, Laguna was the 8irst Antoninechurch in the country, and the 8irstchurchtobededicatedtoSt.AnthonyofPaduainallofAsia.Constructionstarted

in 1581 on the3 5 0 t hanniversary ofthesaint’sdeath,with the churcha n d r e c t o r ybeing completedin 1617 . TheFranciscans setup the country’ssecond printingpress in Pila in 1606, printed the 8irstTagalog dictionary in 1613, and ran theFranciscanOrder’sin8irmaryinPila.TheparishsealdepictsSt.Anthonyholdingalily, symbol of purity, in his right handand carrying the Child Jesus on his leftarm.Knownasthe‘miracleworker’evenduring his lifetime, St. Anthony is themost venerated Franciscan saint next tothe founder of the order himself, St.Francis of Assisi. An interesting sides t o r y wa s o f t h e t ownspeop l esubmerging the Pila church bell, cast in1681, in Laguna de Bay during theBritishinvasionof1762toavoiditbeingtakenaswarspoils.

Thechurchhasathree-levelfacadewithclassicalDoriccolumns.Atthepedimentis a niche reserved for St. Anthony.Windowsofthechoirloftcanbeseenatthe second level while niches for thestatuesof theSacredHeartof JesusandtheImmaculateHeartofMaryarefoundat the lowest level. The semicirculararched doorway has the Franciscan sealontop.Ontherightsideofthechurchisthe convent, now used as a schoolbuilding,whileasquarebasedoctagonalbelltowerisontheleftside.

OurLadyofGuadalupeParishChurchinPagsanjanistheoldestchurchinthePhilippinesunder thepatronshipofOurLadyofGuadalupe,whoselife-sizeimageof theLadywas contributedbyMexicanCatholicsin1958,toreplacetheoriginalimage from 1688 which was heavilydamaged by American and FilipinomilitarybombersduringWW2.The1688

Christ the King Organizes Laguna Churches Pilgrimage for Lent

Above,theDiocesanShrineofSanAntoniodePadua in Pila. Below, the church’sinteriors.

Above, facade of Our Lady of Guadalupe inPagsanjan. Below, the main altar, andbottom, the side chapel with the cloak andstonerelic.

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thenrebuiltduemostlytoearthquakes-8irst in 1717, then in 1880, and the last

earthquakewasin1937.Thechurchalsoserved as a dungeon and torture housefor the people of Paete during theJapaneseoccupationofthePhilippinesinWW2.

The church is known for its huge andexquisite collection of images depictingthe Passion of Christ, it’s centuries-oldpaintings, intricateretable pieces, andwooden images ofsaints, all hand-carved and paintedby Paetenian localsthat showcase theirmastery and skillsin woodcarving .Unfortunately,someo f t h e e a r l i e rmasterpieces hadbeen de s t royeda l o n g w i t h t h eearlier versions ofthe church. Thecurrent baroquestyle of the churchhas large buttresseson each sidemade of adobe bricks andother native materials. One interestingtriviaisthatthePaeteparishisof8iciallylinked, since February 2016, to theCathedral of Santiago de Compostela inSpain by virtue of the Declaration ofSp i r i tua l Bond o f A f 8 in i ty. TheCompostela cathedral gifted the Paeteparishwith ‘a stonerelic fromthe tombof St. James the Great and a silvermedallion that reverently touched theremains of the apostle’. The currentbaroque mission church has largebuttresses on each side to improve itsearthquake resistance. It was made ofadobebricks,amixtureofeggwhiteandothernativematerials.Thechurchhasanelaboratebaroque stylewith a fusionoforiental artistry. The intricate retablopiecesweremade by Paetenian natives.Thechurch'sfacadeisdividedbyafriezethat continues around the adjoiningbelltower.Ithasbasreliefsofleavesand8lowersandasculptedimageofSt.Jamesdepicted as a Saint James the Moor-

slayer in a central niche of the upperstory.The largemuralsof St. Cristopheronwood panels inside the churchwereexecuted by another notable son ofPaete,LucianoDans.

St.PeterofAlcantaraChurchinPakil,designated as the Diocesan Shrine ofNuestra Señora de los Dolores deTurumba,was 8inished in 1767 after 35years of construction and is widelyknown as the home of the NuestraSeñorade losDolores, or the ‘VirgendeTurumba’ which was enshrined in thechurchin1788.TheiconofOurLadyisa9 by 11 inches oil painting on canvas.The face of Mary is contorted by painfrom thedaggerplunged intoherheart.The image of the Virgin Mary as OurLadyofSorrowsisareplicaoftheimageof Nuestra Señora de las Antiguas from

Spain. The image,a c c o r d i n g t otradition, belongedt o s o m emissionaries whocrossed Laguna deBay in a launch.When the launchwas shipwrecked,some of its relicswerewashedashoreincluding the icon of the Virgin. OneFriday morning, some 8ishermen foundtheiconintheirnets.Believingittobeareligious image, theydecided tobring itto a parish church. When the mencarried the small painting, they found ittoo heavy. They tried sailing with it inmany directions, until they brought it

near the church of Pakil. When theyheaded that way, the wind and currentaided their course, and upon landing,they left the heavy image on a rock sothey could continue their 8ishing duties.A group of women found the icon thefollowing Sunday morning. Although ithad rained during the night, the canvaswasdry.Whentheytriedtotaketheiconaway, they could not move it; even thestrongestamongthem,Mariangga,couldnot lift it. They quickly told the parishpriest,who in turncalled thesacristans,choristers, and churchgoers at Mass tofetchtheimage.Astheyliftedtheimage,it gave way. This the people aroundbegun to sing and dance; the turumbawasborn.ByorderofPopePiusXII,andinrecognitionofthemiraclescreditedtoit, the Nuestra Señora de las Antiguaswas episcopally crowned by AlejandroOlalia, the Bishop of Lipa, on 23 May1953.

The word ‘turumba’ is from a Filipinophrase which translates to ‘tremble ingreat joy’ and is also understood torepresentthesoundofdrumbeatsduringaprocession.The 8irstTurumba feast intheLady’shonorwasheld inSeptember15, 1788. The annual Seven Days ofSorrows known as Lupi or Turumba8iestas is reputed to be the longestfestival in the country, starting frombefore Palm Sunday (8irst Lupi) all theway to Pentecost Sunday (7th Lupi).Then on September 15, the towncelebratesthediscoveryoftheimageandthe image is taken on a procession onOctober19,thetown8iestaday.

The church of Pakil has survived manydisasters over the centuries, including agreat8irein1851thatdestroyedmuchofthetown,earthquakesin1881and1937,and bombings and shell explosionsduringWW2.Aftereacheventwheretheimage of the Blessed Virgin survivedintact, devotion to her increasedtremendously. The church’s facade isadornedwithshields,crossesandangels.Inside,14iconsaredepictedinthemainaltar with each icon enclosed in anintricately-carved niche with theArchangel Michael towering above. Anoriginal painting by 19th century Paetepainter Jose Dans, entitled ‘JudicumFinale’ depicts heaven, purgatory andhell.

The Santa Maria Magdalena parishchurch inMagdalena town, 8irst madeof cogon and wood and constructed in1820wasdedicatedtoMaryMagdalene.

Above, St. Peter of Alcantara in Pakil.Below,thechurch’s interiors,andbottom,thefamedVirgendeTurumba.

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Pilgrimage to Laguna Churches

13

The sandstone church that now standswas initiated in1829,with townspeopleforcedtopaytaxesandquarrysandandstones from the river. Itwas 8inished in1855withthebelltoweraddedin1861.It is said that Philippine revolutionaryheroEmilio Jacinto sought refuge in thechurch’s convent in 1898 where hisbloodstainswerefoundonits8loorafterbeing wounded in a battle with theSpaniardsattheMaimpisRiver.

St. John the Baptist Parish Church inthe town of Liliw has a beautifulbaroque façadeadornedwith redbricksand adobe,with awhite sculpted image

of the Baptism of Jesus by St. John theBaptistabovethewoodendoorentrance.It was 8irst built out of wood in 1620,replaced by a stone church in 1646

which was partially destroyed by the1880earthquake.Itwasreconstructedin1885butwaspartiallyburnedin1898.Italsocontainsstainedglass imagesalongwithredbrickedcolumnsand3retablos

8inishedingoldleaf.The retablo mayorhas13nichesacrossfour levels housingstatues of saints.From the church'sentresueloentrance,a small passagewaytothe left leadstoasmall chapel withthe image of SanB u e n a v e n t u r ae n c l o s e d i n aretablo.In1664,thei m a g e o f S a nBuenaventura weptand sweated blood,witnessed by Padre

Juan Pastor and 120 other Lil ittownsfolk. The grounds outside thechurch was designed to promoteChristian teachings for pilgrims. At themiddleofthepatiofrontingthechurchisa white statue of the Sacred Heart ofJesus. It is 8lanked on both sides byseveralwhite statues of different saints.The church patio was named Patio deSagradaFamilia.

Built in 1752, San Bartolome Apostolparish church inNagcarlan wasmadeof multicolored stones and bricks that

weredonatedbythetownspeopleduringconstruction. In 1781, the church waspartlydestroyedby 8ire so itunderwentre cons t ruc t i on wh i ch gave t heauthoritiesachancetoaddafourstoreybrick bell tower, a choir loft on threestrongarches,anundergroundcemetery,and elaborately designed tiles. Thecurrent design is mostly baroque, andthe design of the facade has asemicirculararchedmainentrancealong

with semicircular windows and tallpedestals and columns at the sideentrance. The bell tower carries theFranciscan coat of arms and Muslim-inspiredcrenelations.

There were quite a number of signeeswhodidnotmakethecut-off.Asaresult,a second pilgrimage was quicklyorganizedforthefollowingSunday,April9. This second pilgrimage had 22attendees in a smaller vanplus a familyinaprivatecar.

WeaskedBishopRaulMartirezhowtheLaguna pilgrimage was 8irst conceived.He answered that Mrs. Jane Dee of ofAcropolisandherfriendsrequestedhimto lead them on a Lenten pilgrimage.Bishop Raul remembered having visitedthe Laguna churches some years backwith the Christian FamilyMovement, orCFM, so he advisedMrs. Dee’s group tocontactCatholicTravel.

When asked if he had any future plansforsimilarlocalpilgrimages,BishopRaulsaidhewasthinkingofgoingnorthnextyear.

Catholic Travel was set up in 1961 byRu8ino Cardinal Santos to service thetravel requirements of the CatholicChurchinthecountry.It’stheMinistryofPilgrimages of the Roman CatholicArchdiocese of Manila and assists theChurch, her members, ministries andinstitutions in its evangelicalmission ofpromoting the Kingdom of God bycustomizing pilgrimages and offeringtravel services. Fr. David Concepcion isthecurrentpresidentofthecompany.

Above, Santa Maria Magdalena parish church.Below and bottom, our CTK pilgrims posebehindandinfrontofthealtar.

InteriorofSt.JohntheBaptistinLiliw

InteriorofSanBartolomeApostol,Nagcarlan

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Pilgrimage to Laguna Churches

14

More than 10 years ago, Nestor Torre,well-known critic, Inquirer columnist,and playwright-director, was moved bythe theme of Jesus Christ sacri8icing hislifeforthesalvationofmankind.Hesawthat Jesus’ divine nature wouldunderstand and accept the need tosacri8ice himself. But, what about hishuman nature? Would it be so readily,heroicallyaccepting?

Around this di lemma, Mr. Torreconceived the 85-minute play, ‘KorderongDiyos’,centeredaroundChrist’sagonyin the garden of Gethsemane. The play,producedbyJourneysofFaith,thetravelagency used extensively by the Dioceseof Cubao for its religious pilgrimages,wasstagedlastFriday,April7attheCTKSocialHalloftheCTKFormationCenter.

ToallowChristtocopewiththequestionof why God, hisf a t h e r, wou l da l l ow h im t osuffer anddie fort h e w o r l d ’ ssinners, directorT o r r e m a d el ibera l use o f8lashbacks andconversations ofthe adult Jesuswith the youngboyJesusandtheteenageJesus.

The episodes with the young boy Jesusallows the adult Jesus to teach him thevirtue of patience and acceptance as itrelated to thewoundedbird thathad toheal before it could once again take8light. It therefore dawns on the adultJesus that he himself had to accept thatthe coming suffering was part of theFather’s plan. With the teenage Jesuswho admits a bit of ignorance to God’splan, the adult Jesus learns that noteverythingiseasilycomprehensible.

NestorTorrealsobringsinJob,thegoodandprosperousfamilymanwhoisbesetwith horrendous disasters that take

awayallthatheholdsdear,includinghisoffspring,hishealth,andhisproperty.AsJobstrugglestounderstandhissituation

and begins a search for the answers tohis di f 8 icult ies , Jesus begins tounderstandthathissituationisJob-like.The other episode involves Abraham,whomGodaskstosacri8icehisonlysonIsaac. Abraham stood ready to followGod’s command but is stopped by theangel at the last second, having provedhisdevotionandsteadfastness. In thereisasimilarlessonfortheadultJesus.

By play’s end, Jesus has gone throughthe stages of denial, anger, confusion,resignation,and 8inally calmacceptanceand understanding of the Father’s planashehangsnailedtothecross.

Theplayused less than a dozen actors,with several playing several parts atdifferent times. All were obviouslyprofessional stage actors with goodpresence, acting voice, and timing. TheaudiencewasparticularlyappreciativeofthegirlplayingMary, theangel,andoneof the faces in thecrowd.Dittowith thegirlwhoplayedthedevil,whowasshornof her horns and tail by God in a comictwist as they bet onwhether JobwoulddesertGodornotafterallhismiseries.

Interestingly, there was the barest ofprops, simply a wall painted with amulti-color tree and two benches in

frontofit.Thewallalsoservedasanexitaswellaschangingroom.

Sure, there were the scenes you wouldexpect - the last supper, the betrayal byJudas, the implied tortureby theRomancenturions,the8indingofJesuspreachingatthetemple,thesermononthemount,the miracles, John the Baptist, thepharisees’ umbrage, Peter’s loyalty, etc.ButtheseweresecondarytoJesus’agony- clearly, it was a different but well-appreciatedtwistontheLentenstory.

Nestor Torre’s ‘Kordero ng Diyos’ Staged at CTK Social Hall by Journeys of Faith

Above, the adult Jesus converses with theteenageJesuswhiletheyoungboyJesussitsbehind them. Below, John the Baptistridiculedbythecynicalcrowd.

Above left, Jesus and his disciples flee persecution. Above right, the devil tempts Jesus.Below,theLastSupper.

Jesusnailedtothe‘cross’

15

Muchlargercrowdsthan usual greetedall thepresiders forall thePalmSundaymasses last April 9,i n c l u d i n g t h eSaturday April 8anticipated masses.Fr. Ronald Plomillopresided over threeP a l m S u n d a ymasses, Fr. BongTupinodidtwo,andFr. Serge Maniba,James Ferry, Fr.Evan Vi l lanuevapresided over atleastonemass.

BySaturdayApril8,palm vendors hadalready lined upGreen MeadowsAve nu e s e l l i n gvarious types ofpalms. Traf8ic hadbecomedif8icultsinceeachPalmSundaymass took over an hour. This wasbecause Palm Sunday of the Lord’sPassionwascelebratedintwoparts-the8irst part was the commemoration ofJesus’ entrance into Jerusalem whichincluded the Blessing of Palms and theGospel reading of the Lord’s entranceintoJerusalem.EvenwiththeEMHCsanddeacons participating in the blessing ofthe palms, it still took quite a while tocoveralltheareasofthemainchurch.

The second part of the liturgicalcelebration on this special day was themass proper, highlighted by the GospelreadingaccordingtoMatthewwhichwasthe narrative and dramatization of thePassionoftheLord.Inthedramatization,the 2nd reader, if a male, or an EMHCtook on the role of Pilate, the presidertook on Chr i s t ’ s ro l e , and thecommentator read the storyline as

n a r r a t o r. T h econgregation wasencouraged totakeontheroleoft h e J e w i s h‘crowd’ and jointhechoir.Sotherewere two Gospelr e a d i n g s , t h esecond being thel o n gdramat iza t ion ,and twohomilies.In addition, mostof the presidersaccommodatedthe late arrivalsbyhavinganotherblessingofpalmsattheendofthemass.

Taking on the Pilate role for the mainchurch masses were Louie Reyes, MonCuartero, Mel Novales, Regie Polancos,

Manny Cortez, AlbertCuadrante, Franco delRosario, Louie Padrinao,Ronnie Nolasco, andCarlo Subido. In thevillage masses, Pilatesincluded: Joseph Mundofor St. Ignatius, TengGerochiandTonyAquinofor White Plains, JayAldeguer for CorinthianG a r d e n s , E r n i eManansala for Acropolis.Del Rosario, Subido,

Mundo, Aquino, and Manansala weremale lectorswhile the restwereEMHCsspeci8icallyassignedtothemasses.

For the 7:30 am mass, Fr. Bong Tupinoblessed the palms at the parking lot infrontof theDivineMercyChapel.At theforefront of the palmwavingwere theiryear’stwelveapostles.Thiswasfollowedby the procession to the main churchwhere the mass was held. For all theothermasses that followed, theblessingof palms was held inside the mainchurch.

Palm Sunday at Christ the King

TheCTKMainChurchwasaseaofredlastPalmSunday

Fr.RonaldPlomilloatApril9noonmass Fr.SergeManibaatSt.Ignatius

Fr. Bong Tupino blesses palms outside the church at 7:30 am mass

Blessing of Palms and Gospel Dramatization

16

ItwasaverybusyHolyWeek forChristthe King Parish. Holy Week began, ofcourse, with Palm Sunday. The 7:30 ammasswascelebratedbyparishpriestFr.BongTupino,with theblessingofpalmsat the parking lot in front of the DivineMercy Chapel, with palmwavers led bythe12selected ‘apostles’.All themasseswere ‘full house’, given the attraction ofHolyWeek,blessingofpalms,andGospeldramatizationonthePassionoftheLord.Palm Sunday is covered in a separatearticleinthisHeraldissue.

HolyMondayandHolyTuesdaysaw theannual Recollection for KasambahaysandDrivers,aregularHolyWeekfeaturein the parish, given that there are over3,000 households in the gated villages,each with several maids and stay-indrivers. The event has always beenhandledbytheCatholicWomen'sLeague(CWL).Therewasalsoannualpenitentialservice and confessions, dubbedKumpisalang Bayan, that ran from HolyMonday to Holy Wednesday, from 6:45pm, after the 6 pm daily mass, till the

crowds 8inished, sometimes till 10 pm.Both Kasambahay Recollection andKumpisalang Bayan are also covered inseparatearticlesinthisHerald.

ThegeneralCTKHolyWeekRecollectionwas held over three days, from HolyThursdaytoHolySaturday,from9:30amto 11:30 am. Facilitator for all threerecollectiondayswasFr.FrancisB.Lucas,currently the President and CEO of theCatholic Media Network and alsoexecutive secretary of the CatholicBishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Social

Communications and Mass Media. LastFebruary4,Fr.FrancisgaveaSpiritualityof Stewardship talk, sponsored by theStewardshipCommittee,onthetopicof-the parish as a haven for the woundedheart.

OnthemorningofHolyThursday,attheImmaculate Conception Cathedral inLantana, Cubao, Bishop HonestoOngtioco, together with the diocese’sother parish priests, celebrated theannual Chrism Mass. Made of olive oiland perfumes, chrism was consecrated

by Bishop Ongtioco in the presence ofthe diocese presbyterium. The oils willbe used in the administration of thesacraments - baptism, con8irmation,anointing of the sick, holy orders, andchurch dedications - throughout thediocese for the rest of the year. TheChrismmassalsomanifests theunityofthe priests with their bishop as well ascelebratingtheinstitutionofpriesthood.

TheEveningMassoftheLord’sSupperat5:30pmlastHolyThursdayinauguratedtheEasterTriduum,andcommemoratesthe Last Supper of Jesus with his

disciples. Bread from Figaro’s wasactuallydistributedbythe12apostlestothe parishioners, most of whom took

them home to eat with some soup orsimpleviand.

Themassstressedthecommandmentofbrotherly love that Jesus gave afterwashing the feetofhisdisciples.The12selected apostles, which included JohnPaulGarciaandAngelitoDeunaofLibis,Reno Magadia and Sonny Garcia ofCorinthian Gardens, Ramil Chua andRamnel Santos of Greenmeadows 1, OleNavalofWhitePlains,DemsiMauricioofSt. Ignatius, Javi Coromina of Acropolis,RaulEvangelistaofKnightsofColumbus,

Holy Week & Easter Triduum Activities: from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday

Way of the Cross, at the parking areafrontingtheDivineMercyChapel

Fr. Bong Tupino carrying the BlessedSacramentandleavingthemainchurchfortheDivineMercyChapelwhichservedastheAltarofRepose

The12Apostles,aboveandbelow.Bottom,Fr.BongwashingandkissingthefootofApostleRaul Evangelista, assisted by altar serversMarcoCuadrante&JGGonzales.

Sharing bread with the parishioners duringtheLastSupperrites

Fr. Francis Lucas facilitates the parishrecollection, from Holy Thursday to HolySaturday

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Jomel Quiroz of Youth Ministry, andJayson De Vega of EMHC, took centerstage again as Fr. Bong Tupino washedandkissedeachdisciple’sfeetinturn.

Fr. Bong then incensed the BlessedSacrament and with his humeral veilh e l d and c a r r i ed i t , i n fo rma laccompaniment by the CTK Knights ofColumbus and under a canopy, to thebeautifullyadornedDivineMercyChapelbelow the main church, that served astheAltarofRepose.AsimpleEucharisticVigil followed, from 7 pm to midnight,assigned to the CTK villages. The VisitaIglesia period, literally, ‘Seven ChurchesVisitation’,of8iciallybeganatthistime.Inthe Philippines and several other

Catholiccountries,thefaithfulwilltravelfrom church to church praying at eachchurch'saltarofrepose.

Good Friday, the second day of thePaschal Triduum, saw the 2 pmWay ofthe Cross. Then, at 3 pm, though masswas not celebrated, the Good Fridayliturgybegan,consistingoftheLiturgyofthe Word, Veneration of the Cross, andHolyCommunion.

TheGoodFridayservicewasfollowedat4:30 pm by the procession of the SantoEntierro, literally, ‘holy interment’, andthe Madre Dolorosa. The procession,whichwound throughGreenmeadows 1then back to Christ the King church,started with the Cruci8ix and Candles,

then the Acolytes, then the image of St.Peter, escorted by Christian FamilyMovementmembers.

This was followed by the image of St.

Veronica, escorted by the LeComs andApostleshipofPrayer, then the imageofSt.Marta,escortedbytheCTKYouthandCouplesforChrist.

The image of the Santo Entierro wasescorted by the band, the Knights ofColumbus Honor Guards, AdorationNocturna and the Catholic Women’sLeague, plus four of the 12 apostles.Santo Entierro was followed by MaryMagdalene, escorted by the MotherButler Mission Guild, then the image ofSt. John the Beloved, escorted by theExtraordinary Ministers of the HolyCommunion and Diwanihan Kristiyano.Finally, bringing up the rear of theprocession was the image of theSorrowful Mother, or Madre Dolorosa,escortedbytheLegionofMary,LadiesofCharity, Buklod ng Panginoon, and theCTKpriests.UponreturningtoCTK,Theprocession carroza of the dead Christwas blessed by Fr. Bong Tupino beforebringing the image inside the mainchurch.

Above, Fr. Bong incenses the carroza of St.John the Beloved. Below, the processionbegins, with the image of St. Marta at theforeground,followedbyMaryMagdalene.

VenerationoftheCross

The procession of the Santo Entierro andMadreDolorosathroughGreenmeadows1

The Service of the Light, above and below,kicksofftheSolemnEasterVigil

DancebytheLibisYouth

Below,aftertheprocession,Fr.BongTupinoincenses the carroza carrying the image ofthe Santo Entierro before it’s returned tothemainchurch

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Holy Week and Easter Triduum

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Holy Saturday was another big day forChrist the King parish with the SolemnEaster Vigil that started at 8 pm. Thisbeganwith theServiceof theLight, justoutside the main church. This includedthe Blessing of the Fire and thepreparation and lighting of the PaschalCandle. The congregation then troopedin,asFr.BongandtheotherCTKpriestswent through the Liturgy of the Word,which consisted of multiple readings,evenasthechurchremainedindarkness,thenfollowedbytheLiturgyofBaptism,and 8inally, the Liturgy of the Eucharist.Before the Salubong at 11:30 pm, theLibis kids entertained the congregationwithadancenumber.

The male parishioners marched downGreenmeadows Avenue to the AcropolisgateandthenaccompaniedtheimageoftheRisenChrist in thedirectionofCTK.A t t h e s ame t ime , t h e f ema l eparishioners marched to the corner ofGiraffe and Greenmeadows Avenue andaccompanied the image of the BlessedMother.TheSalubonghappenedin frontof the CTK Formation Center. An ‘angel,playedbyaLibisyounggirl,liftedtheveiloff thefaceoftheMadreDolorosa.Thiswas already past midnight. A festiveatmosphere was enjoyed by everyone,aidedbysnacksandmusic.

EasterSundaymassesfollowedtheusualweekend schedules. Making it uniquewastheRenewalofBaptismalPromises,withthepresidersandEMHCssprinklingholywateronthecrowd.

Above, the Risen Christ about to leave theAcropolisgateescortedbymaleparishioners.Below, the ‘Salubong’ between the RisenChristandtheBlessedMother,stillinveil.Bottom, a girl ‘angel’ lifts the veil fromtheBlessedMother’sface.

CTK Celebrates ’24 Hours for the Lord’

Above, Msgr. Tony Mortillero doing theBenediction before the 24th hour, the 6 amSaturdayMarch25mass.Below,thelastVigilhour,6to7am.

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Holy Week and Easter Triduum

Following the enthusiasmdemonstratedbytheCatholicfaithfulduringtheJubileeYear of Mercy, Pope Francis once againinvitedCatholicsworldwide tocelebrate’24 Hours for the Lord’. The 24-hourVigil, broken up into 24 one-hourchunks, began last March 24, Friday atthe Divine Mercy Chapel at 8 am, afterthe 7 ammass. It endedwith the 6 ammass of the following day, SaturdayMarch25,whichwas,notcoincidentally,theSolemnityoftheAnnunciationoftheLord.

The Feas t o f the Annunc ia t ioncommemoratesthevisitofthearchangelGabrieltotheVirginMary,duringwhichhe informed her that she would be themother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.Forthe24hours,theBlessedSacramentwasexposed.Then,beforethe7ammassofMarch25,theBlessedSacramentwentthrough Benediction and RepositionbacktotheTabernacle.

Fr. Bong Tupino requested the differentorganizations,ministries,andvillages tolead the vigil prayers for eachof the24hours.Assigned to eachof the24hourswere: Ladies of Charity; Corinthian

Gardens , Greenwich , Arcad ia &Corinthian Hills; Catholic Women’sLeague; Buklod ng Panginoon; St.Ignatius;LSS,HealingMinistry&Legionof Mary; Libis; Mother Butler MissionGuild; White Plains & Green Meadows;Apostleship of Prayer; Acropolis;Christian Family Movement & CouplesforChrist;DiwanihanKristiyano;Enclave& Ivory Court; CTKYouth; and EMHC&KnightsofColumbus.

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thirdand last in theafternoon,after thecatechetical ‘break’ by catechist WengAgramon. Weng led the singing androsary praying. The day concludedwiththeWay of the Cross at 3:30 pm and amassat4:15pm.

Fr. Serge knew that the audience hadshortattentionspanssoheresortedtoalotofvisualsandevenvideos,suchasansegment from Lion King, which had themain message - ‘don’t forget who youare’.

Forday1,CWLdrewin38attendees,allof them from the different villagesnearby - Acropolis, Green Meadows,IvoryCourt,Enclave,WhitePlainsandSt.Ignatius.Day2saw37attendees.

Christ the King held its annual LentenrecollectionforkasambahaysanddriverslastApril10,HolyMonday,andApril11,HolyTuesdayatSt.Luke’sRoom,from9amto5pm.Theprogramwasexactlythesameforbothdays.

The recollection was organized by theCatholic Women’s League, or CWL,headed by Kim Cua, with Flor Cabello,

C W L’ s e d u c a t i o nc h a i r p e r s o n , a n dRosario Joson directlyinvolved in planningand execution. Thisa n n u a l p r o g r a mactually started 17years ago during thet ime of MonsignorJaime Mora, Christ theKing’s 8 irst parishpriest.

The recollection wasfacilitated by Fr. SergeManiba for both days.Fr.Sergeconductedtherecollection in threedifferentsessions-twointhemorning,andthe

Annual Lenten Recollection for Drivers and Househelp

St. Ignatius Village Association Renovates Chapel village news

St. Ignatius Village recently renovatedtheir Community Center cum Chapel,puttingupglassslidingdoorsallaroundto make it fully enclosed and installingair conditioning. LastPalmSunday, theycelebrated their 8irst mass in therefurbished facility, under the ‘PalmSundayONECommunity’program.

The upgrade was a joint project ofBarangaySt.Ignatius,St.IgnatiusVillageAssociation,TheLiturgicalCommitteeofSt.Ignatius,plusdonations fromp r i v a t ehomeowners.

“Thecommunitye f f o r t t ou p g r a d e o u rregular villagem a s s v e n u etrulysymbolizesthe oneness ofo u r b e l o v e dc o m m u n i t y .After all , our

patron saint is St. Ignatius de Loyola,”emphasized Agnes dela Cruz, a CTKregularandaSt.Ignatiuskagawad.

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text by Agnes de la Cruz

Theparish’sYouthMinistryandtheCTKDayswith the Lord held two easter egghunts last Easter Sunday, April 16, oneafter the 7:30 am mass and the otherafter the 9 ammass. Bothwere held atthe garden area in front of the mainchurch. The fun eventwas open to kidsaged 8 years old and below but theyshouldhaveregisteredateither7amor

8:30 am. Kids were requested to bringtheirownbaskets.

Forthe8irsthuntheldafterthe7:30ammass,therewere13winners,andforthesecond hunt held after the 9 am mass,there were 18 winners. They all wenthomehappywithvariousprizesafterthefun-8illedmorning.

Aside from Youth Ministry coordinatorAlthea Geronilla, youth organizers

included Camille and Carlo Calimon,Timmy Tolentino, Kyla Hortaleza, BeaBrillantes,JudoJuan,andBennyDytoc.

Alltheeggshadchocolatesbutsomehadpieces of paper that indicated anadditionalspecialprize.Somewinnersinfactclaimedmultipleprizes.

Theorganizershidaround500eggsperhuntandeachhuntlastedforaround10minutes.Noentrancefeeswererequired.

YOUTH MINISTRY

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Easter Egg Hunt for CTK’s Tiny Tots

Fr. Bong Tupino was the co-pilgrimagechaplain,alongwithFr.JeffreyQuinetela,for the April 16 to 29, 2017 edition of‘EnthrallingEasternEurope’, a ‘Journeysof Faith’ pilgrimage tour that tookpilgrims through Poland, Slovakia,Hungary,andtheCzechRepublic.

Poland stops included Warsaw; Lichenwith Poland’s biggest basilica and itsi c o n o f t h e L a dy o f S o r r ow s ;Czestochowa, Poland’s spiritual capitalandvisitedbypilgrimsfromallovertheworld, with the Black Madonna icon inthe Jasna Gora Monastery; Wadowice,birthplace of St. John Paul II; Wieliczkawiththeundergroundsaltminethathasa salt chapel; Krakow for the WawelCastle and Cathedral, as well as St.Mary’sChurch;Auschwitz-Birkenauwithits Nazi concentration camp and theConventofSr.FaustinaandtheSistersofDivineMercy.InHungary,thetourgroupvisitedthesmallvillageofSzentendretocelebrate Sunday mass, then Budapestwith its Heroes Square, Parliament,Castle Hill, Coronation Church, andFishermen’s Bastion. The pilgrimagevisitedtheAbbeyofPannonhalmabeforecrossing through Slovak Republic to seeBratislava before entering CzechRepublic.Czechvisits includedTelcwithits chateau and town square; CeskyKrumlov with its castle; Lomec; Prague

with the Churchof our Lady ofVictories and itsS t o N i n o d ePraga, CharlesBridge, St. VitusCathedral withHradcany Castle,G o l d e n L a n e ,We n c e s l a u s sSquare andothersights.

The tour had ano p t i o n a lextension to Russia that included 8iveextradaysinRussia,visitingMoscowandSt. Petersburg. Fr. Bong left the tour tocome back to Manila before the Russiaextension. Those who opted for theextensionwerejoinedbyanothergroup.

Therewere 23 participants on the tour,ledby tour guideLuigi.The23pilgrimsincluded Armine Tagaysay and EllenChua of the LeCom and Apostleship ofPrayer groups, Gigi Sawit, anotherC T K L e C om , p l u s a f e w o t h e rparishionersfromValleVerdeIV.

What struck Fr. Bong the most on thispilgrimagewashowcolditgot.“Itwassocold- theyforecastedtemperaturetobearound 15 degrees centigrade - thehottestitgotwassixdegreesabovezero.And to think we were supposed to besliding into late spring already. Instead,thelocalsjokedthatwinterwasfollowedby spring thenwinter again. Sowe all

Easter Pilgrimage to Eastern Europe with Fr. Bong Tupino

Above, Auschwitz concentration camp recentlyvisited by Pope Francis; Below, insideMaximillian Kolbe Church in Nowa Huta, nearKrakow. Bottom, the original image of theDivineMercyattheLagiewnikiconventwhereSr.Faustinalivedanddied.

hadtobuyglovesandmuf8lersandcaps-itwasthatcold.”

Fr.Bongrecalledmeetingaphotographeron St. Charles Bridge in Prague who,when he found out that the group wasfromthePhilippines,jokedthatheknewthecountryhadthreeseasons.Ofcourse,Fr.Bongcorrectedhimandsaid‘weonlyhave wet and dry’. To which thephotographer also corrected him andsaid,‘No,youhavehot,veryhot,andveryveryhot.’ Fr.Bongalsorecalledmeetingup with Fr. Simon Stefanowiczk, asmaller replica of Pope Francis, at the

Above, our Easter pilgrims in front of St.Stephen’sChurchinBudapest,Hungary.Below,posing at the Vienna Gate in Budapest’sCastleDistrict.Bottom,withFr.BongTupinoattheBratislavaOldTownHallsquare.

Above, before entering the Wieliczkaundergroundsaltmine.Below,thegroupposesinthevastsaltcavernwiththechapel.

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Buklod ng Panginoon had recentlystarted to recruit from the youngergeneration, mostly those serving in theSIV homeowners association, thebarangay, as well as those serving aslectors and commentators of Christ theKing. So the pilgrimage was also

organizedasawayfortheoldmembersto get to know the newer recruits andviceversa.

Beforetheyleftearlyinthemorning,theladies agreed that their ‘pa-baon' versewasgoingtobeliftedfromMark16:15-‘and Jesus appeared to the Eleven andsaid to them: go into the whole worldand proclaim the gospel to everycreature’.

The SIV ‘pilgrims’ had buffet luncheonbetween churches then had a mid-afternoon halo-halo snack at Razon’sbeforeheadingbackhome.

Pilgrimage to Pampanga Churches for Buklod ng Panginoon

Above, Buklod ng Panginoon in front of thealtar of Holy Rosary Parish Church inAngeles.Below,infrontofthealtaroftheArchdiocesanShrineofChristOurLordoftheHoly Sepulchre. Bottom, inside theMetropolitanCathedralofSanFernando.

Top, our SIV pilgrims inside San GuillermoParishChurchinBacolor.Above,theoutsideof San Guillermo Church. Below, the ornateinterior of St James the Apostle ParishChurchinGuagua.

Easter Pilgrimage to Eastern EuropeJasnaGoraMonastery inCzestochowa,asenior priestwho loved to tour FilipinotourgroupsaroundsincehehadbeentoQuiapo Church, San Pablo, Laguna, VillaEscudero, Marilao, Bulacan and otherplaces.

Armine Tagaysay and Ellen Chua hadtheir own stories to tell. Armine waspersonally moved by the Auschwitzexperience, especially the bravery andmartyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe, aConventual Franciscan friar whovolunteeredtodie inplaceofastrangerintheGermandeathcampofAuschwitz.Shealsorecountedbeingawedinseeingthe original DivineMercy painting,withthe Lord outpouringHis graces throughthe red and blue rays coming from hisHeart, painted theway Sr. Faustina sawthe Lord. “That’s when I recalled whatChrist said to Faustina,” said Armine. “Ihave opened my heart as a livingfountainofmercy; let all soulsdraw lifefromit.”

EllenChua,ontheotherhand,wasmostimpressedwiththeCzestochowavisit tosee the Black Madonna, located in theChapel of theMother of God, inside theJasnaGoraMonastery.“Wewereactuallyable to touch the relic of the BlackMadonnalocatedatthebackofthealtarbut we had to reach it walking on ourknees. We did this with the help of Fr.Simon.”

“When we reached the place, it was along walk from the bus park to themonastery. And it was a total winterwonderland - snow everywhere. It wasverycold,wewerefreezingtodeath,anditwasallsoslippery.Infact,IhadtoholdArmine coming from the bus and goingbacktothebussinceshecouldn’twalkaseasily as I could,” Ellen recounted,laughing.

JourneysofFaithmountsseveralCatholicpilgrimagetourseachyearandisownedandoperatedbyWillyandArlinaOnglao.

Above, Fr. Simon in audience with thePhilippine group inside the Chapel of theMotherofGodinCzestochowa

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Buklod ng Panginoon, the renewalmovement based in St. Ignatius Village,now headed by Cita Pabillo who tookover from Lulay dela Cruz, held apilgrimage of Pampanga churches lastApril 25. The ambitious itineraryincluded 8ive landmark Pampangachurches:

‣ Holy Rosary Parish Church of Angeles,Pampanga

‣ Archdiocesan Shrine of Christ Our Lordof the Holy Sepulchre, also in Angeles,Pampanga

‣ Metropo l i tan Cathedra l o f SanFernando,inSanFernando,Pampanga

‣ SanGuillermoParishChurch inBacolor,Pampanga

‣ St. James the Apostle Parish Church inBeCs,Guagua,Pampanga

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text by Tiny Perfecto

The Catechetical Ministry co-headed byAlma Yeh and Sheryl Coronel mountedthe annual Flores de Mayo catechismclasses for Libis youth, held during thechildren’ssummerbreak.

The classes had been running daily,during the weekdays, for the entire

month of May, from 1 to 4 pm startingMay2.The8irsthour,1to2pm,hadbeendevoted to formal catechetical lessons.Then the2 to4pmperiodwasdevotedto activities, praying the rosary, and8loralofferings.

Las t year, the c lasses drew 90participants. This year, the Libis villagecoordinators and Libis Youth organizersoutdid themselves, gathering 101children, ages 7 to 12. Given the size,Alma and Sheryl opted to divide thechildren into two different classes, withtheyoungerGroupA,composedofseventonineyearsold,totaling51,andGroupB,consistingofthoseinthe10to12yearagerange,totaling50. Lessons for this year were deliberatelychosen to commemorate the100th yearof the Fatima apparition, with theobjective of getting the children

Flores de Mayo Cathechism Classes for Libis Kids 8-12 Years Old for the Whole Month of May

reacquaintedwiththe HolyRosaryandits central role in the Fatima message.The following topics made up themonth’sdiscussions:

1. MotherMaryandtheRosary2. Basic Prayers of the Rosary: Apostles’

Creed,Lord’sPrayer,HailMary,GloryBe,andHailHolyQueen3.TheRosaryandtheYearoftheParish4.The Mysteries ofthe Rosary: Joyful,Luminous, Sorrowful,andGlorious

Thebiggestproblemlastyearwasgettingenough catechismvolunteers. But forthis year, many PPCm e m b e r s , a n dLeCom and EMHCministers heededthe call to help.Sheryl Coronel andAlma Yeh thank thef o l l o w i n g f o rsharing their timea n d t a l e n t i nvo l un tee r i ng t oteach the childrentogetherwiththem-L e i l a B a n i c o ;Christine Bernardo;Ei leen De Leon;Althea Geronilla;ElsbethLlama;Mina

Mejia;NinoMendoza;WinsMirasol;BethMonedero; Tessie Moran; Fely Ong;ChristiannePasquin;TinyPerfecto;ManyS a l e m ; M a r g i e S a n J u a n ; J o ySchellenberg;andPaulUy.

From the Libis side, we had severalvolunteers, including of course our BECcoordinatorsChingBotero,JoPiyaw,andAzon de Leon. From the From the Libisside, we had several volunteers,includingofcourseourBECcoordinatorsChing Botero, Jo Piyaw, and Azon de

Leon.FromtheLibisYouthMinistry,ourvolunteers inc luded Youthpresident Paul John Garcia andmembersHansDelmar,ChristianA c e bo , Fa r i d a To l e n t i n o ,Christine Capadocia, ManuelBorja, Eunice Alfonso, AngeloDeuna, Daniel Figuerres, KeithOdeiaBotero,andAlbyButol.

ThecatechismclasseswillendonMay 2 9 , Mond ay, w i t h aEucharisticcelebrationat2pmatthe D iv ine Mercy Chape l ,of8iciated by no less than CTKparish priest Fr. Bong Tupino,followed by the graduation ritesat 3:30 pm at St. Matthew-St.Mark Rooms of the FormationCenter. As with last year, weexpectthehalltobepackedwiththe hundred children and theirparents, mostly mothers, plussomeoftheirsiblings.

Volunteer catechists Eileen de Leon, above, and TinyPerfecto, below, do the first day teaching honors underthewatchfulsupervisionofCatecheticalMinistryco-headAlmaYeh

There’salwaysafunactivityeachday

Youngerset,above,andolderkids,below

CATECHETICAL MINISTRY

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To celebrate this once-in-a-lifetimeoccasion,ChristtheKingParishmountedseveral events. First was the Novena inhonorofOurLadyofFatima thatendedonMay12,ortheeveoftheanniversary.

For May 13th, the parish organized thepilgrimage to National Shrine of OurLady of Fatima in Valenzuela, Bulacan.

The pilgrimage was announced startingApril 28 and invited all interested CTKparishioners to sign up. The visitincluded a viewing of the Fatima

Museum, praying of the rosary, then atthemainchurchafterthe9:30ammass,the recitation of the Jubilee prayers inhonorofOurLadyofFatima.

Intheafternoon,at3pmofthesameday,parish organizers had scheduled thescreeningofthemovieThe13thDay,thedramatic retelling of the apparitions inFatima,heldattheParishSocialHall.Asanaddedtreat,parishionerswhosignedup for seatsbeforehandwere given freepopcorn.

Finally, the May 13eveningwascappedbyacandlelight processionw i t h t h e c a r r o z acarryingtheOurLadyofFatima image travelingfrom the CTK mainchurch, going inside theA c r o p o l i sGreenmeadows gate,c i r c l i n g t h e b l o c kbounded by AcropolisD r i v e , A d o n i s ,A n d r o m e d a , a n d

Calypso Avenue before going out thesamegateandbacktoChristtheKing.

The procession was ledby Fr. Bong Tupino andPPC Lay CoordinatorCouple Bert and MarieAnne Santos. It includedthe marching band, thealtar servers, andoverah u n d r e d F a t i m adevotees. Once back atthe main church, Fr.Bong Tupino incensedandblessedthestatueofOur Lady of Fatimabefore thanking all thep a r i s h i o n e r s w h o

par t i c ipa ted in the cand le l i gh tprocession.

CTK Marks Fatima Centennial with Pilgrimage to Fatima Shrine & Candlelight Procession

Above, Fr. Bong Tupino and PPC LayCoordinatorCoupleBertandMarieAnneSantoschatitupwiththecentennialmasspresider.Below, Fr. Bong leads the pilgrims inrecitingtheJubileePrayers.

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community collapses. But once weaccept the assertion that Christ is risen,thenextlogicalquestionis-sowhereishe?

That’s when Fr. Serge introduced thescripturestoryofLuke24:13to35, ‘Onthe Road to Emmaus', where the twomen are joined by a ‘stranger’. Theyrecount the Easter narrative to thestranger, who listens intently. As theycontinue on the journey, a connectiondevelops, with a hint of friendshipbetween the stranger and the twodevotees, enough for the two men toinvite the stranger to break bread withthem. Their guest "took bread, blessedandbrokeit,andgaveittothem”.Whenit dawns on them that the stranger isJesus,hevanishesfromtheirsight.

Fr. Serge emphasized that there aremany truths revealed by the story. One,whentheyreturntoJerusalemtotelltheapostles about meeting Jesus, theybrought the presence of Christ withthem. Two, strangers remain strangersonlywhenfearorprejudicestandsintheway. Otherwise, walls break down andstrangersbecomefriends.Andthree,it’sJesus Christ who breaks down thosewalls between strangers, which meansheisherewithus.

In conclusion, Fr. Serge reminded thelectors and commentators present lastMay 6 that the only way to meet theRisen Lord is to believe in the WrittenWord,whichisthestoryofGodwithhispeople. As proclaimers of the ‘Word’,l e c t o r s a n dcommentators needto believe deeply inw h a t t h e y ’ r eproclaiming.

ThesecondGeneralAssemblyforLectors&CommentatorstookplacelastMay6,aSaturday. The 8irst hour was led byLeCom Coordinator Mel Novales whowent through the calendar of activitiesforMayandJune.HeremindedthegroupthatthetworemainingGAsareschedulefor July 26 and October 21 and theschedule for renewal of currentmembers is on September 16 in theafternoon at Lantana, Cubao. He alsoreminded the LeComs that at leastGeneral Assembly and two formationtalksneedtobeattendedtoqualifyagainfornextyear.

Fr. Serge Maniba gave an EasterRe8lectiontalk forthesecondhalfof theGeneral Assembly, focusing on theResurrection. First, he reminded thelectors and commentators present thatChrist’s Resurrection is the bedrock ofour Catholic faith. If we do no believethat He rose from the dead, then ourCatholiccreed,ourcode,ourcultandour

As part of the CTK celebration of the100th Anniversary of the Apparition ofOurLadyofFatima,BishopRaulMartirezgave a Marian Talk last May 20 on theapparitions.

Bishop Raul began with a briefgeography and history lesson to set thetimeandplacecontextoftheapparitions.HenotedthatinalltheeventswheretheVirginMaryhasmanifestedherself, it isalmost always to the poor, young,illiterate village people, e.g., Juan Diegoin Guadalupe, Bernadette in Lourdes,Lucia,JacintaandFranciscoinFatima.

BishopRaulthenwentthroughthethreesecrets given by Our Lady of Fatima tothe Children. With the early death ofJacintaandFrancisco,onlyLucialivedtowrite them down in her memoirs. TheZirsthadtodowiththevisionofhell.Thesecondhad todowith theendofWorldWarI, thestartofWorldWarII,andtheconversionofRussia.ThethirdsecrettheFatima children’s visionofChriston thecrosswithdeadnunsandpriestsaroundhimandaZigureinwhitebeingkilledashe tr ied to c l imb the h i l l . Theinterpretation was that the Zigure wasthat of St. John Paul II when he waswounded by Mehmet Ali Agca while St.JohnPaulIIwasdoinghisVaticanSquarerounds on his Popemobile on May 13,1981 - note that it was a Fatimaanniversary date. In his meeting withMehmet where the would-be assassinaskedforforgiveness,JohnPaulIIwouldfamously say, ‘Your hand Zired the shot.But the Virgin Mary’s hand guided thebullet.’

Bishop Raul ended his talk with theacronym SPAR, which is what Our Ladyof Fatima asks of everyone - S forsacriZice,P forprayers,A foratonement,andR for reparation. The talkwas thenfollowedbytheHolyMassat11am.

Second LeComs General Assembly B i s h o p R a u l ’ s Marian Talk on the Fatima Apparitions

WORSHIP MINISTRY: LECTORS & COMMENTATORS

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Last May 13 and 14 weekend, theFamilyandLifeMinistryofChristtheKing Parish, Greenmeadows held its111thMarriageVocationProgramfor34 soon-to-be-married-in-CTKcouples. Facilitated by none otherthanformerFamilyandLifeMinistryheads Doy and Estrelle Lopez, theactual originators of the MarriageVocation program, assisted by otherveteran couple-sharers, the two-dayquarterlyseminarwasheldattheSt.Luke Room at the CTK FormationCenter.

The Family and LifeMinistry is nowheaded by Regie and JoannePolancos.

At 16 hours long over twoweekenddays, Christ the King has one of thelongest marriage preparat ionseminars in theMetro area.ReadersInterested inmore details about theMarriage Vocation Program for theEngaged are encouraged to read thedetailed write-up in the April-June2016issueofTheHerald.

LastMay14,Mother’sDay,ChristtheKing parish church presidersconsistently gave recognition to allthemothers in the crowd by askingthemnear theendof themass togotothefrontforspecialblessings.

In his homilies during the May 13Saturday anticipated 7:30pmmassas well as the May 14 Sunday noonmass,Fr.Bonggavespecialtributetomothers, tying up the story of OurLadyofFatimaandheradmonition-‘do not be afraid’ - to the threeshepherdchildren,withthesacri8icesmade by mothers everywhere,including in his own casewhere hismotheradministered toher tenkidsdoinghomeworkallatthesametime.

During the blessing rites, Fr. Bongworked his way from left to rightthen back again to sprinkle holywaterontheproudmoms.

M a r r i a g e V o c a t i o n Program 2Q17

Mothers’ Day Blessings to All Parish Moms

Above,15ofthe34couplesattendingtheMVPlistentoDong,theweddingsinger, on what songs are allowed by the church. Below, Family & LifeMinistry heads Regie and Joanne Polancos discuss strategy with seminarleadcouple-andformerministryheads-DoyandEstrelleLopez

FAMILY AND LIFE MINISTRY

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FromtheEditors:The Herald is the quarterly newsletterpublicationoftheChristtheKingParish.It is published free, and has been since1995, through the kindness of formerPPC Worship Ministry head Mila SanJuan and her printing company TheHousePrinters.

Since The Herald comes out onlyquarterly, parishioners are enjoined tocheck out the parish web site -christthekingparish.ph - for recentparish news since most of the newsarticlescontainedinTheHerald8irstseelight of day at the website, sometimesmorethanamonthearlier.

For the quarter April to June 2017, theparishhighlightswereclearlytheLentenp r e p a ra t i o n s , H o l y Week , a n dspeci8ically, the Easter Triduum of HolyThursday, Good Friday, and HolySaturday.Thetwoother‘bigthings’werethe Flores deMayo set of activities andtheFatimacelebrations.

We thank the following for their textand-or photo contributions for thisissue:

‣ Peter Banico on the fishing boatdona.onsandFa.mafilmshowing

‣ Janelle Pimentel and John Juat on theLaguna pilgrimage led by Bishop RaulMar.rez

‣ ToneAeArizabalontheLadiesofCharity’shomecareproviderlivelihoodprogram

‣ Fe Flores for the Way of the Cross atArcadia

‣ Louie Laudico for the basic forma.onseminarforaltarservers

‣ LeilaBanicofordetailsontheHolyWeek,Easter Triduum, and Kumpisalang Bayanevents

‣ AlbertCuadranteonBishopRaul’sLentenrecollec.onfortheEMHC

‣ AgnesdelaCruzandTinyPerfecto forSt.Igna.us Chapel renova.on, Way of theCross at St. Igna.us, and the Buklod ngPanginoon pilgrimage to Pampangachurches

‣ Eileende Leon on the Ladiesof Charity’srice distribu.on and housekeepinglivelihoodprogram

‣ AltheaGeronillaontheEasteregghunt‣ Alma Yeh for informa.on on the Flores

Mayocatechismclasses‣ Fely Ong on Coffee AXer Church and

EasterTriduum‣ BertSantosonEasterTriduum‣ Armine Tagaysay and Ellen Chua on the

EasternEuropePilgrimage‣ Bethlehem Opulencia and Abby Banico

forthear.cleandphotosofPRExYouth

BingandElisedelRosarioMediaIn-charge

Summer Youth PREX at CTK YOUTH MINISTRY

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who served as their adviser throughoutthe preparation for the weekend. As ateam, they came up with the theme‘#lifegoals: Refresh your faith’ asconnectedwiththeirmissiontohelptheyouth renew their relationshipwith theLord.

The team leaders invited speakers forthe different talks which discussedvarious topics about the Catholic faith.Theyalsopreparedavarietyofactivitiesto compliment the talks and to get toknoweachotherbetteraswellastohelpthem bond not just as an organization

butasafamilytoo.Afterallthetalksandactivities, they all gathered to celebratetheiraccomplishmentinamasspresidedby Fr. Ronald Plomillowhere theywerepresentedtothecommunityandblessedby the priest. As the new batch hasgraduated, the PREx Youth has againgrown as a communitywho are sure tostaycommittedintheirgoaltobringtheyouth closer to God and to renew andunderstandtheirfaithmuchbetter.

The CTK Youth Ministry held its YouthParish Renewal Experience, from theevening of May 19 until the evening ofMay21.Asinpreviousyears,venuewastheentireground8looroftheFormationCenter.Thiswasopentoallsingleyouthages 17-30. This organization aims tobring other people, speci8ically theyouth, to renew their relationship withthe Lord and to build a strongerfoundation with Him. It is done byholdinga3-dayretreatthatmakesthemdisconnect from their distractions, forthem to be able to connect with theirfeelings,emotionsandofcoursewiththe

Lord.

On its last day, May 21st, PREx Youthonce again produced 11 graduates,whoareof8iciallythePRExYouthBatch23.

The groupwas led by the team leadersnamely Jessica Dela Fuente, EarleManucom, and Bethlehem Opulenciatogether with their assistant teamleadersAbbyBanico,QuinoSto.DomingoandFrancisVidaneswithErnestQuizon

text by Bethlehem Opulencia