Jun 4 2016

Priestly Ordination of Deacon Sergio

On June 3, 2016, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Deacon Sergio Shoiti Matumoto, SCJ, was ordained priest. The ceremony of ordination was held at the Paróquia Nossa Senhora de Lourdes (Our lady of Lourdes Parish) in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, run by the Priests of the Sacred Heart and was presided by the Most Rev. Vilsom Basso, SCJ, bishop of Caxias in Maranhão, Brazil.

Prior to this, the parish had a three-day special preparation for this event from May 31 – June 2, 2016. Just before the ordination Fr. Sergio shared in his email “I am really blessed to be ordained on our great Feast! I am a little nervous, anxious, feeling unworthy of such wonderful grace, I know I don’t deserve it and I am afraid not to correspond to so great grace but on the other hand I am very happy of being chosen by God a sinner who experienced God’s merciful love. … I hope to be a real Priest of the SACRED HEART OF JESUS; I hope to be a prophet of love and a minister of Reconciliation wherever you send me.”

The ceremony of ordination of Fr. Sergio, which was live streaming over the internet, started at 7:30 PM (6:30 AM – June 4, 2016, Manila Time) and lasted for more than two hours. The celebration was attended by many SCJs from the BSP Province and friends. The Philippine Region was represented by Fr. Aloisio Back, SCJ. In his thanksgiving speech, the newly ordained priest greeted the Philippines in English and Tagalog.

Jun 3 2016

Celebration in Cagayan de Oro

The celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Cagayan de Oro community was connected with the Thanksgiving Mass of Fr. Ronald Basco, SCJ, who was ordained priest on May 19, 2016, in Tagum City by the Most Rev. Wilfredo D. Manlapaz, D.D.

In the morning, members of the three neighbor SCJ communities, Sacred Heart Formation House, Immaculate Conception Parish and Dansolihon Chaplaincy, met together for a moment of reflection led by Fr. Janusz Burzawa, SCJ, and an hour adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The concelebrated Mass in the afternoon was presided by the newly ordained priest Fr. Ronald. After the reading of the Gospel, all SCJs renewed their commitment as religious, which was followed by the acceptance of new Postulants. Fr. Francis Pupkowski, SCJ, the Regional Superior, accepted six Filipinos and six Vietnamese into the Postulancy Program. The candidates were presented by the newly appointed Master of Postulants, Fr. Patrick L. Gutib, SCJ. The homily was delivered by Fr. Donald S. Longno, SCJ, the superior of the community.

At the end of the Mass, Fr. Ronald gave a special individual blessing to all the participants of the celebration, which was followed by the simple yet delicious supper.

Jun 3 2016

Happy Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

The heart has always been seen as the “center” or essence a person (“the heart of the matter,” “you are my heart,” “take it to heart,” etc.) and the wellspring of our emotional lives and love (“you break my heart,” “my heart sings,” etc.) Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is devotion to Jesus Christ Himself, but in the particular ways of meditating on his interior life and on His threefold love — His divine love, His burning love that fed His human will, and His sensible love that affects His interior life.

Pope Pius XII of blessed memory writes on this topic in his 1956 encyclical, Haurietis Aquas (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart).

The Friday that follows the Second Sunday in Time After Pentecost is the Feast of the Sacred Heart which brings to mind all the attributes of His Divine Heart mentioned above. Many Catholics prepare for this Feast by beginning a Novena to the Sacred Heart on the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is the Thursday of the week before. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart itself, we can gain a plenary indulgence by making an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart.

From the earliest days of the Church, “Christ’s open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side, the wound in the Heart was gradually reached, and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of love.” (Catholic Encyclopedia)

This general devotion arose first in Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries of that time, especially in response to the devotion of St. Gertrude the Great, but specific devotions became popularized when St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a Visitation nun, had a personal revelation involving a series of visions of Christ as she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote, “He disclosed to me the marvels of his Love and the inexplicable secrets of his Sacred Heart.” Christ emphasized to her His love — and His woundedness caused by Man’s indifference to this love.

He promised that, in response to those who consecrate themselves and make reparations to His Sacred Heart, that:

He will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life
He will establish peace in their homes
He will comfort them in all their afflictions
He will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death
He will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings
Sinners will find in His Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy
Lukewarm souls shall become fervent
Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection
He will bless every place in which an image of His Heart is exposed and honored
He will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts
Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in His Heart
In the excessive mercy of His Heart that His all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in His disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. His divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment

Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=275

May 21 2016

Founding Anniversary of Kasanag Daughters Foundation

On May 21, 2016, the Kasanag Daughters Foundation, Inc. (KDFI), one of the social projects of the Priests of the Sacred Heart – Philippine Region in Cagayan de Oro City, celebrated its 17th Founding Anniversary. The celebration started with the Holy Eucharist and was followed by the arts exhibit prepared by the beneficiaries of the program, short cultural presentation and common supper. The institution, providing shelter and rehabilitation opportunities to the victims of sexual abuse, was established in 1999 by Fr. Eduardo Aguero, SCJ.