Santa Cruz Parish in Manila celebrates
400th Anniversary
Santa Cruz Parish in the City of Manila, Philippines is located in the busiest commercial district in this city. It is notably the very first church administered by the American Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers in the Philippines since 15th August 1957. Fr Rosaire Morin was the first SSS parish priest
The Philippines takes its name from Phillip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century. The Spanish missionaries introduced Christianity to the islands
Santa Cruz Parish was erected on 20 June 1619. It was reported that the Jesuits were called to administer the parish primarily to look after the spiritual needs of the growing Chinese population near the church of Binondo, a few block away from this new church.
A replica of the image of Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar) in Zaragosa, Aragon, Spain was enshrined by the Jesuits in this church and in 1743, the Confraternity of our Lady of the Pillar was canonically established. Nuestra Señora del Pilar eventually became the titular of the parish. <pre than a century later, a decree issued on 18 December 1984 by the late Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin that reverted the name to Santa Cruz Parish. In the same decree, St Peter Julian Eymard was named as the second patron of the parish.
Devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist and adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament flourished and became vibrant after the Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers took over the parish administration. Women and Men Adorers took turns in keeping watch and in praying before the Most Blessed Sacrament in exposition on the altar. Adoration was twenty four hours each day and night. A curfew during the martial law years in 1972 cut the adoration schedule to 9:00 in the evening and this tradition continues until today.
At about the same period, adoration chapels became popular in different parish churches. Some adorers from Santa Cruz Church became the prayer leaders when they returned to their respective parish churches.
In the early 1960’s the apse of the church was renovated to give more prominence to the tabernacle and the altar. Fr Gabriel Casal, OSB designed the dome and the Byzantine glass mosaic of a sacrificial lamb whose blood flows like a river to the tabernacle amid a Filipino setting of mango, banana and fire trees was executed by Ms. Elizabeth Chan from 1970 to 1972.
The Santa Cruz Church became a center of Eucharistic evangelization and adoration and was informally recognized as a Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament. Realizing that there was no official declaration and relying solely on tradition that the church is a shrine of the Blessed Sacrament, the Parish Pastoral Council wrote a petition to the then parish priest, Rev. Fr. Francisco Mendoza, SSS, to allow the council to work on the official recognition as a National Shrine.
Succeeding parish priests, Rev Fr. Felix Elverio and Rev. Fr Joseph Matitu prepared the church for compliance to the requirements of being a national shrine.
It was providential that under the administration of Rev. Fr Rudsend Paragas, SSS, the image of Nuestra Señora del Pilar was canonically crowned on 7 December 2017.
A few months later, the Archbishop of Manila, His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle accepted our petition that the parish be declared an Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament. The formal declaration happened on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on June 3, 2018. The Reverend Fr. Rudsend Paragas, SSS, who is the parish priest, was installed by the Archbishop as the first rector of the archdiocesan shrine.
On June 20, 2019, the parish pastoral council launched the year-long celebration of its 400th Anniversary of the parish. His Excellency, Most Reverend Sofronio Bancud, SSS, DD presided over the thanksgiving Mass and the blessing of the Jubilee Door. Bishop Bancud invited the faithful to focus their attention to the very essence of the celebration in spite of the distractions of daily living and concerns. The church, he said, should keep its mission of bringing closer to the Lord those who are left at marginalized in our society.
The festive celebration was a fruit of the several months of preparation by the Parish Pastoral Council inspired by Fr Rudsend Paragas, SSS and his supportive parish vicar, Rev. Fr. Lennen Deciar, SSS and, Rev. Fr. Jonelito Sison, SSS, who is the priest assigned to assist in the parish.
A lot of people were deeply touched by the liturgy prepared to open the jubilee or Holy Door. The rains that poured right before the ceremony started did not dampen the enthusiastic response of the lay faithful and priests who chose to remain outside the church and under the drizzles of rainwater to witness the solemn opening of the Holy Door.
The Holy Mass was made more a Eucharistic experience of joy and solemnity by the grand choir rendering beautiful liturgical music.
This is just the start of a year-long celebration. Much more is anticipated as we move forward to making our 400 years as a parish truly a Eucharistic experience in preparation for a renewed Eucharistic evangelization. (Dante Chua)
#CorpusChristi
The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ held on June 23 was a diocesan celebration by the Vicariate of Sta. Rita de Cascia, Diocese of Cubao. The vicariate is composed of the following parishes: Sto. Cristo de Bungad, Resurrection of the Lord, San Antonio de Padua, Christ the King, Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Sta. Rita de Cascia and St. Jude Thaddeus (now being supported in its ministries by the Sacramentinos of the Philippine Province of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament).
This first year of the diocesan celebration was hosted by St. Jude Thaddeus Quasi Parish. The three main parts of the celebration were a talk by Fr. Vergel Dalangin, SSS, the Eucharistic celebration, and the grand procession to the host parish next year.
The title of this article hints at the talk given by Fr. Vergel, which centered on the Eucharist and the Youth. Fr. Vergel started his talk by speaking about the Internet culture and social media websites such Facebook and Instagram wherein specific contents could be labeled by hashtags (#), consisting of a word or phrase tag with a hash symbol in front of it. People are “so into it” particularly the youth.
The youth almost always have an opinion about something and they want to be heard. Fr. Vergel knows this because of his daily interaction with novices, being the Novice Master of the congregation. According to him, unlike the novices of old that follow without question, the novices of today ask “why” and even give suggestions. The youth want to express and share their feelings, emotions, opinions and share information about themselves, others or about the latest news or issues. Thus, using proper judgment is important.
Fr. Vergel peppered his talk with hashtags which he described as symbols that show a common thought or idea; they points to a reality; they invite you to see what’s behind the hashtag; they are a living collective.
In like manner, the Eucharist, says Fr. Vergel, contains the whole range of things about the Church that we continuously attempt to understand, and that the only thing we can do is to adore it. When we sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament, our purpose should not only be to see and watch our Beloved Lord, but more importantly, to allow Him to see us especially during the times when we are weary and burdened. The Eucharist “points to a reality that is divine”. It is an external sign (a sacrament) that leads to internal grace, “the holy hashtag that invites us to see that there is a deeper meaning in it (#love, #Presence, #communion, #BodyofChrist, #theEucharist)”. There is a story behind the Eucharist; it was instituted on the night Jesus was betrayed. And there is the eternal collective gathered as an offering to the Lord.
Seenzoned is a term on social media. It is explained this way: When you send someone a message and you see on your gadget that the message has been “seen” but that person does not reply. Fr. Vergel said that Jesus is seenzoned when we do not participate in the Holy Eucharist.
When participating in the Holy Eucharist preparation is important. There are those who post their outfit of the day (#ootd), which would indicate a positive self-image. Fr. Vergel stressed that if we care about how we look on the outside, we must also care how our heart and soul look. Challenges are popular among the youth, so why not a going to confession challenge? (#blessmefather, #brokenbutblessed, #bereconciled).
The Eucharist is a homecoming, a gathering, a remembrance, a true celebration with Jesus, the Bread of Life, at the center. Fr. Vergel made a comparison between bread and beer, having worked as a beer taster for three years before entering seminary. Bread and beer have the same ingredients, but the similarity ends there. Bread dough undergoes suffering (baked in oven) to become bread; beer dough is babied as it is placed in a large container set at a temperature of 10 degrees for one week. Bread can remove hunger and be eaten by everyone every day while beer cannot. Bread is solid while beer is diluted. Fr. Vergel concluded his talk with these words:
“Our call is to become bread, to remove the hunger of the world, to be something that’s for all, to be something that can be done every day, the charity that we show every day, and lastly, something that is solid, solid in our faith, in expressing who we are, the identify that we have received during our baptism. You … the youth of today … are called to become bread. Once you become bread … no one in this world will be hungry again.”
The Eucharistic celebration followed after a few minutes. The presider was Most Rev. Ernesto Salgado, D.D., Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, Ilocos Sur.
Keywords in Archbishop Salgado’s homily are Eucharist, generosity, sharing, hunger, the poor. In the first reading, Melchizedek’s welcoming manner of serving bread and wine to Abram is linked to the Eucharist as it reminds us of the generosity of Jesus who gave his body and blood in the form of bread and wine. He pointed to an indispensable element to celebrate the sacrament, that is, sharing our goods with those in need.
In the gospel, a great crowd followed Jesus to listen to Him. At suppertime there was only five loaves and two fish to feed all of them. Jesus blessed, broke and gave the bread and fish to his disciples to set before the people. Afterward, leftovers filled 12 baskets. Here we see a solution to the problem of hunger and that is putting in common all the food that a community has and trusting in the generosity and love of God, who can work miracles.
The loaves and fish put in common stand not only for the food and money that the community owns but also for the intelligence, strength and abilities that the Lord has given each member of the community, which can be used for the good of all. However, selfishness stands in the way of alleviating the plight of the poor.
In conclusion, the Archbishop exhorted us to pray for a greater appreciation of Christ’s generosity in giving himself to us in the Eucharist and the grace to be able to share whatever we have with other people.
The Mass was immediately followed by the grand procession of the Body of Christ, encased in a monstrance that is placed atop a makeshift altar in a vehicle. About 600 people including priests, sisters, laypersons processed through the streets leading to the Parish of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a distance of around 2 km from St. Jude Thaddeus Quasi Parish. (Fr. Joseph Matitu, SSS)
ABS Promise of Belonging
On the last day of the Novena Masses, May 25, 2019 in preparation for the feast of Holy Family in Panal, 40 new members of the Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament pronounced their Promise of Belonging. They are: Rebecca C. Abarientos, Leni B. Alabanza, Tita K. Alabanza, Ronelinda B. Arroyo, Zenaida B. Barbacena, Mathilde P. Base, Ma. Victoria B. Basmayor, Nelia B. Belaro, Frides G. Belchez, Maricel C. Beren, Hermelina B. Bitare, Ave B. Bocalbos, Luz A. Bombita, Dolores A. Boncacas, Paz B. Bondad, Librada B. Bonete, Nilda C. Bonganay, Aurora L. Bongon, Natividad C. Botial, Andrea Gloria B. Breva, Nelia J. Buag, Eden T. Bue, Adela B. Buenconsejo, Zenaida C. Buenconsejo, Gela C. Cadinas, Norman B. Cadinas, Marie A. Consulta, Merly B. Clidoro, Mely P. Jarabe, Evelyn M. Labitag, Felicidad B. Liboon, Meriam M. Magdaraog, Precila B. Moran, Fidelina B. Oscillada, Florenia B. Ravago, Jily L. Roces, Ronaldo M. Roces, Piedad B. Sato, Regina N. Taller and Marites L. Vosotros. Their promise was received by the national Director for Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament, Fr. Jonelito M. Sison, SSS.
Last February 10, 2019 there were also 27 from St. John Marie Vianey Parish who also made their commitment to the Aggregation, these were: Mellie T.Auro, Rosalina T. Banting, Rodelia C.Bernardo, Bernarda R. Dayao, Carmen L.Dayao, Dolores P.De Leon, Norma L.De Leon, Virginia M.De Leon, Jocelyn F.Domingo, Kevin D.Esteban, Henry C.Fermin, Ma. Cecille L.Fermin, Victorina S. Flores, Norma D.Garcia, Crisanta A.Magmanlac, Teresita G.Manuel, Felomina R.Ortega, Roschel C.Padre, , Ruby T.Padre, Dorotea P.Papa, Luz C.Peralta, Marife D. Perez, Emerita S.Ramos, Norma L.Ramos, Ma. Victoria A.Ropeta, Sotera F.Roque and Maria Magdalena A.Yambot. Rev. F. Roel L. dela Cruz, SSS was there to receive their promise.
We congratulate and thank Br. Rey Acabado, SSS of SSS Panal Community and Fr. Bong Luistro of SSS San Leonardo Community for all the effort and support. To date we have 212 total numbers of Aggregates. (Fr. Jonelito Sison, SSS)