Nov 16 2019

Entity Superiors Meeting in Rome and other events

The New Superiors Meeting was followed by the Entity Superiors Meeting. It was held at the SCJ Generalate in Rome on November 11 – 15, 2019. In between there were two important events organized by the Dehonian Studies Centre (CSD): International Dehonian Theological Commission (CTID) meeting and the International Conference on the Sacred Heart Devotion titled “Sacred Heart Devotion: Memory – Body – Image – Text; Continuity and Discontinuity.”

The first activity was an annual gathering  of the coordinators of the continental commissions, the staff of the Dehonian Studies Centre, and the two General Councillors, Fr. Léopold Mfouakouet and Fr. Artur Sanecki. The Philippines Region was represented in this meeting by Fr. Delio Ruiz.

The second event on November 8 – 9, 2019, sponsored by the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the University of Lucerne (Switzerland), was a conference attended by 120 participants including Dehonian confreres from all over the world, lay people, members of religious congregations dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and experts from Switzerland, Germany, USA, Spain and Italy.

The Meeting of the Entity Superiors was attended by 37 confreres from all of the provinces, regions and districts of the Congregation, along with members of the General Government and the main services of the Curia. During five very exhausting days the superiors, among many different topics, reflected on the challenges the congregation is facing, new perspectives, structures, internationality, collaboration among entities, finances, etc.

On November 13, 2019, the superiors of the entities have been invited to commemorate the confreres killed and presented as models for Dehonian consecration and vocation: Blessed Giovanni Maria della Croce and P. Martino Capelli, whose 75th anniversaries of martyrdom are being celebrated and are recognized as important steps in the process of Canon for beatification. The relics of Blessed Giovanni Maria della Croce and the original 1931 document of the renewal of the vows of Fr. Martino Capelli were present in the meeting room. At the end of the day the superiors of the entities and several members of the Generalate community went to the Basilica of St. Bartholomew, to honor these Dehonian martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries. Together with the Community of Sant ‘Egidio, they prayed Vespers and transferred the relics and memories of these confreres, placing them in the chapels.

For more information please visit the webpage of the congregation http://www.dehoniani.org/en/

Nov 6 2019

Meeting of New Superiors in Rome

Superiors of the different entities of the Congregation, in their first triennium as superiors, take part in a meeting organized by the General Curia in Rome, Italy, from November 5 to 7, 2019. The meeting will be followed by the meeting of all entities superiors that will be held in the same venue from November 11 to 15, 2019.

All participants were welcomed by the General Superior Fr. Carlos Luis Suarez Codorniu, SCJ. In the morning, the new superiors shared their experiences on what they consider as the blessing, cross, hope and fear. The workshop was guided by the General Councilor, Fr. Stephen Huffstetter, SCJ.

In the afternoon, the new superiors met with the General Secretary Fr. Iglesias Pedro Curto, SCJ, who explained the different administrative procedures in the Congregation.

The Philippines Region is being represented by Fr. Lukas Hadi Siswo Sasmito, SCJ. The new superiors had the opportunity to meet Fr. Vincentius Sri Herimanto, SCJ, the new General Councilor who replaced Fr. Alexander Sapta Dwi Handoko, SCJ. Fr. Vincent for many years was a member of the Philippine Mission.

Nov 2 2019

All Souls Day Prayer

November 2 is the Commemoration of All of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls. On this day, we pray that all those who have died, our loved ones, and also those people around the world who we will never meet, through the mercy of God, will rest in peace. 

God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen.

Nov 2 2019

Parade of Saints 2019

Like in the previous years, on November 1, 2019, parishioners of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Aluba, Cagayan de Oro, took part in a “Parade of Saints” to celebrate All Saints’ Day. The parade is a counter-culture activity to the pagan celebration of Halloween and an avenue of catechizing children at an early age, and families, about the lives of the saints.

Catholic saints are people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint, the Church honors, responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts for the glory of God and the good of others. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

Similar celebration was also held at San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in Quezon City, Diocese of Novaliches.

Nov 1 2019

All Saints’ Day in the Philippines

The Solemnity of All Saints’ Day, also called All Hallows Tide, All Hallomas, or All Hallows’ Day, on November 1, is a celebration of all Christian saints, known or unknown, canonized or beatified, but more particularly those who have no special feast days of their own. In many countries, including the Philippines, All Saints’ Day is not only for remembering the saints, but also for honoring and paying respects to departed relatives and friends, through prayers, floral and food offerings, vigil, and lighting of candles at gravesites. For Catholics, it is a holy day of obligation, as they go to Mass and participate in ceremonies for the dead.

All Saints’ Day originated from the ancient tradition of honoring the martyrs of Christianity. As the number of persecuted martyrs grew, the church instituted a common commemoration of their faith. Pope Boniface IV consecrated the pantheon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs on May 13 in 609 A.D. Pope Gregory III (731-741) instituted November 1 as the official date of All Saints’ Day.

Filipinos, known for having great respect for their deceased relatives, consider All Saints Day, called “Undas” or Todos los Santos, a day of remembrance, an important liturgical celebration, next to Christmas and Holy Week, that begins at Vespers on evening of October 31 and ends at the close of November 1. Undas is similar to the Mexican tradition of “Dia de los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead,” in which the focus is on family gatherings before tombs of loved ones.

Filipinos go home to their provinces where their loved ones are buried to pay them honor and respect; they offer flowers and food baskets and light candles in cemeteries, memorial parks, mausoleums, and columbariums where they reunite with relatives and friends, share stories and memories, and together pray for their dearly departed. In rural communities, groups of older people, and sometimes children, organize singing groups that go from house to house to serenade families, called “pangangaluluwa” or the Visayan “kalag-kalag” (souling), a practice belived to bring peace to departed souls.