Parish Youth Choir of St. Rita's Parish - Balingasag

Happy Birthday, Fr. Bon!

January 3 || Birthday greetings to Rev. Fr. Bon E. Genson, SSJV, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Bobontugan, Jasaan. Fr. Bon is also the Director of the Archdiocesan Youth Apostolate of Cagayan de Oro.

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A Prayer for our Priest

O Jesus, our great High Priest,
Hear our humble prayers on behalf of your priests.
Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope, and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of his priestly life.
In his loneliness, comfort him. In his sorrows, strengthen him.
In his frustrations point out to him that it is through suffering that the soul is purified.
Show him that he is needed by the Church, he is needed by souls,
he is needed for the work of redemption.
O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests,
take to your heart your son who is close to you because of his priestly ordination, and because of the power which he has received to carry on the work of Christ in a world that needs him so much.
Be his comfort, be his joy, be his strength, and especially help him to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.

#𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙤𝙛𝘾𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙊𝙧𝙤
#𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝘼𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚
#𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙡𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝
#𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 #𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨
#𝘼𝙎𝘾𝘼

Mga idol. Unta matudluan mi ani nila pohon Lord🥰😍

Thank you Rev! See you around.

𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐕. 𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐏 "𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐗" 𝐁. 𝐀𝐆𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐑𝐀!

We, the Parishioners of Sta Rita de Cascia Parish – Balingasag, would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Rev. Papox for his spiritual support and assistance as deacon in the parish and we wish him Godspeed on his journey of becoming a priest.

May God continue to bless you Rev. Papox!

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Date of Ordination: December 2, 2022
Where: St. Francis Xavier Parish - Initao, Misamis Oriental

Congrats Fr. FR!

| 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬

With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish - Balingasag invites you on October 07, 2022 (Tomorrow), Friday, Feast of our Lady of the Rosary @ 6:00AM for the 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀 of 𝐑𝐞𝐯. 𝐅𝐫. 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 "𝐑𝐑" 𝐓. 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐛, 𝐒𝐒𝐉𝐕, our Parochial Vicar as he celebrates his first Sacerdotal Anniversary.
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𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲

O Jesus, our great High Priest, Hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priest, Father Richard. Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of his priestly life.

In his loneliness, comfort him In his sorrows, strengthen him In his frustrations, point out to him that it is through suffering that the soul is purified, and show him that he is needed by the Church, he is needed by souls, he is needed for the work of redemption.

O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your son who is close to you because of his priestly ordination, and because of the power which he has received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs him so much.

Be his comfort, be his joy, be his strength, and especially help him to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.

Amen.

CONGRATULATIONS 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝑹!
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[1] Prayer For A Priest On His Anniversary; https://prayerist.com/prayer/apriestonhisanniversary

St. Francis of Assisi, Pray for us!

October 4th
| 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒕. 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒊
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𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭. 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐢

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi, Pray for us!
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[1] Peace Prayer of Saint Francis, Loyola Press; https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/prayer/traditional-catholic-prayers/saints-prayers/peace-prayer-of-saint-francis/
[2] SFA and Nature Image from Google Images

| September 25, 2022

𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 2𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚
𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈𝐑!🎉
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𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑

Dear Lord,

Please watch over each member of our choir and help us to never forget that You are the center of our lives.

With the many temptations at our disposal, it is so easy to stray off center.

Teach us that, although unity of soul and voice is the essence of excellence we should strive for, we must be
tolerant when choral mistakes are made.

In the same light, fill our hears with love, so that, when we are sometimes placed in upsetting situations, we
can remain reasonably sweet, knowing that sourness can be one of the works of the devil.

Let us be reverently mindful that You are the object of our worship; therefore, guide us through the beauty of
Your liturgical works and make us ever-aware of Your holy presence.

Above all, enlighten us to understand the depth of Your love for us, and to understand and feel the meaning of
what we are singing, so that we may truly glorify Your name and lovingly sing Your praises.

Finally, let us be worthy to be Your emissaries - to reach out and touch the hearts of Your people and be a
witness of Your greater glory.

We ask all this in Your precious name.

Amen
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Sources:
[1] A Choir's Prayer; https://www.archdistrict.churchmusic.goarch.org/resources/a-choirs-prayer

First Day of Novena, September 22, 2022
| 𝐒𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬
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+In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dearest Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth.

Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions…

(𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮)

Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me, and one day see the Face of God whom you loved so deeply.

Saint Therese, you were faithful to God even unto the moment of your death. Pray for me that I may be faithful to our loving God. May my life bring peace and love to the world through faithful endurance in love for God our savior.

Loving God, you blessed St. Therese with a capacity for a great love. Help me to believe in your unconditional love for each of your children, especially for me.

I love you, Lord. Help me to love you more!

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Pray for us!
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Sources:
[1] ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX – 9 DAY NOVENA, Angelus Press; https://angeluspress.org/pages/st-therese-of-lisieux-9-day-novena
[2] St. Therese of the Child Jesus Image via Google Images

𝐒𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝟗-𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐚
| September 22-30, 2022

Join us in our 9-Day Novena as we prepare for the feast day of our vicariate’s patron saint, who is one of the greatest saints of the modern era, 𝑺𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, this October 1. Anyone who received St. Therese's miracle is left with a rose🌹 that is why St. Therese is also known as "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓". Let us emulate Saint Therese's great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God as we consider the power of her prayer. May this novena to St. Therese helps us to follow in her footsteps as she follows Our Lord in her little way.

SEPTEMBER 15 | 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔
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𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒

Our mother of sorrows, with strength from above you stood by the cross, sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, and with tender care you bore Him in your arms, mourning and weeping.

We praise you for your faith, which accepted the life God planned for you. We praise you for your hope, which trusted that God would do great things in you. We praise you for your love in bearing with Jesus the sorrows of His passion.

Holy Mary, may we follow your example, and stand by all your children who need comfort and love.

Mother of God, stand by us in our trials and care for us in our many needs. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Amen!
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(1) Prayer - Prayer to Our Mother of Sorrows - https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=2456
(2) [IMAGE] Our Lady of Sorrows, Mater Dolorosa Catholic Fine Art Print https://www.etsy.com/hk-en/listing/1085187211/our-lady-of-sorrows-mater-dolorosa

SEPTEMBER 14 | 𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔
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𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒

Oh, Adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You have suffered death on the Cross for our sins.

Oh, Holy Cross of Jesus, be my true light!
Oh, Holy Cross, fill my soul with good thoughts.
Oh, Holy Cross, ward off from me all things that are evil.
Oh, Holy Cross, ward off from me all dangers and deaths and give me life everlasting!
Oh, Crucified Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me now and forever.

In honor of the Precious Blood of Jesus, his death, resurrection and ascension which leads to everlasting life; true as Jesus was born on Christmas Day; true as Jesus was crucified on Good Friday; true as Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus down from the cross and buried Him; true as Jesus ascended into Heaven; may He preserve me from my enemies visible and invisible forever.

Oh, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me! Mary and Joseph pray for me.
Lord Jesus Christ, through Your suffering the Cross grant me strength to bear my Cross without fear or dread and give me the grace that I may follow You.

Amen.

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(1) Prayer - SEPT. 14: THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS. Prayers. https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.org/sept-14-the-exaltation-of-the-cross-prayers/ #:~:text=As%20we%20celebrate%20the%20feast,our%20actions%2C%20in%20our%20life.

(2) [IMAGE] https://aleteia.org/2020/09/29/what-kind-of-wood-was-the-cross-of-christ-made-of/

𝘽𝙀𝙂𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝙍 𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙏𝙃𝙎
𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝙋𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙀𝙍

The best way to start the Ber months is to begin it with a prayer. As a genuine child of God, you should know better than anyone else that every new month comes with new blessings. It is, therefore, an avenue to invoke God’s blessing upon our lives, loved one, family, friends, and many other important people around us by simply sending them happy new month prayers and blessings that will protect and cause an unrecoverable breakthrough in their life throughout the remaining days of the year. As we begin the Ber months, here's a simple prayer for everyone:

Lord, I thank You for the opportunity and grace
to see this beautiful month. May this month be
filled with Your blessings, protection, and goodness
for me and loved ones. May this new month
also be a beginning of open doors: divine
favor, greatness, restoration, and intervention
on every matter that concern me.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.





Credits:

📷 Pinterest

St. Augustine, Pray for us!

This 22nd Sunday of Ordinary time, Sta. Rita de Cascia also celebrates the feast of the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro: St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church.
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Prayer to St. Augustine of Hippo.

Let me Know Myself Lord Jesus,
let me know myself and know You,
And desire nothing save only You.
Let me hate myself and love You.
Let me do everything for the sake of You.
Let me humble myself and exalt You.
Let me think of nothing except You.
Let me die to myself and live in You.
Let me accept whatever happens as from You.
Let me banish self and follow You,
And ever desire to follow You.
Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You,
That I may deserve to be defended by You.
Let me fear for myself, let me fear You,
And let me be among those who are chosen by You.
Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You.
Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You.
Let me cling to nothing save only to You,
And let me be poor because of You.
Look upon me, that I may love You.
Call me that I may see You, and for ever enjoy You.
Amen.

St. Augustine, Pray for us!



Sources:

*Prayer to St. Augustine - Daily Prayers, https://www.daily-prayers.org/

Congrats father Glenn!

With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish - Balingasag invites you on August 21, 2022 Sunday @9:30AM for the 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝘃. 𝗙𝗿. 𝗚𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻 𝗠𝗮. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗻, 𝗖𝗥𝗦𝗣 (Glenn Alejandro Manayon) for the gift of priesthood.

Rev. Fr. Glenn Ma. Manayon, CRSP who hails from Sigaoc, Mambayaan, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental received the Sacrament of the Holy Order last August 06, 2022 at the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Paul of the Cross - SSS Village, Marikina City (Diocese of Antipolo). The Ordaining Prelate was Most. Rev. Socrates Villegas, D.D., Archbishop of Lingayen - Dagupan.

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PRAYER FOR NEWLY ORDAINED PRIEST

O Jesus, our great High Priest, hear our humble prayers on behalf of your priest, Father Glenn. Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope, and a burning love which will always increase in the course of his priestly life.

In his loneliness, comfort him; in his sorrows, strengthen him; in his frustrations, point out to him that it is through suffering that the soul is purified. Show him that he is needed by the Church, he is needed by souls, he is needed for the work of redemption.

O loving Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your son who is close to you because of his priestly ordination, and because of the power which they have received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs him so much. Be his comfort, be his joy, be his strength, and especially help him to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.

Amen.
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CONGRATULATIONS FR. GLENN!

(Prayer Ref. https://www.dosp.org/our-faith/prayers/prayer-for-newly-ordained-priests/)

Happy Easter Everyone!🙌😇
Greetings From PYC❣️

Happy 30th Sacerdotal Anniversary Padz!

April 13, 2022
Happy 30th Sacerdotal Anniversary to our beloved Parish Priest
Rev. Fr. Enerio C. Tacastacas, SSJV!

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Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priest, Father En.
Through him, we experience Your presence in the sacraments.
Help Father En to be strong in his vocation.
Set his soul on fire with love for Your people.
Grant him the wisdom, understanding, and strength he needs to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Inspire him with the vision of Your Kingdom.
Give him the words he needs to spread the Gospel.
Allow him to experience joy in his ministry.
Help him to be an instrument of Your divine grace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest.
Amen.

May the love of the Lord be with you always, Father En!💙

Serving God is a joy we can never explain, because every time we are in front of the altar our love for him goes deeper and deeper and we will also learn how to love our neighbor as how God loves us.

Serving God is one of the happiest moments in a person's life. Our disability is not an obstacle for us to serve God. May we make him an inspiration so that we too may serve God.





📷 Pinterest, Vatican VA, Archdiocese of San Fernando

Are you having a hard time to discern your vocation?

Discerning your vocation is not about choosing something you will do for life but about discovering who you are made to be, discovering your deepest identity. It is more than an intellectual weighing up of options, or applying a technique to find an answer. Discernment is a process of becoming aware of what’s in our hearts and minds, listening to God, gaining clarity and making a choice.

And we can do it best during the holiest days of the year—the Lenten Season.

The process of discernment can be compared to the process of fruit ripening. A fruit tree needs to be nourished with water, sunlight and good soil in order for the fruit to ripen. In the same way, we need the right conditions for effective discernment of our vocation—we need to deepen our connection with the Lord, because only in being acquainted with the Lord that you will also
listen to His voice.





📷 Vatican VA, Pinterest

POPE FRANCIS: 'WE ARE DUST LOVED BY GOD.'

Mga bok at ter, as we mark the beginning of the Lenten Season, let us reflect on this line by Pope Francis that while we come from dust and to dust we will return, "we are dust loved by God."

Pope Francis went on to describe ashes as a reminder of the direction of our existence: “a passage from dust to life.”

But if we allow ourselves “to be shaped by the hands of God, we become something wonderous.”

Lent, he said, is a time of grace during which we can change our lives by letting God gaze upon us with love.

“Our earthly possessions will prove useless, dust that scatters, but the love we share – in our families, at work, in the Church and in the world – will save us, for it will endure forever.”

Sources:

GMA News
📷

📢📢📢

What: Orientation & Recruitment for "Men of St. Joseph"

When: March 5, 2022 | 1:00PM

Where: Pastoral Center, Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish - Balingasag

Who: Catholic Men ages 18-59 years old..

For more info please see Mr. Antonio Isidro or leave a message. Thank you!

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Logo (cropped) from:

https://www.dominusest.ph/post/men-of-st-joseph-launched

'To see the face of God is my heart's desire
To gaze upon the Lord is my one desire'

The Feast day of the Holy Face of Jesus is a moveable feast and is always on Shrove Tuesday. The devotion to the Holy Face was revealed by Jesus to Sr. Marie of St. Peter (1816-1848) a Carmelite nun of Tours in France. The primary purpose of the devotion is to make reparation for sins against the first three commandments:

1) Denial of God - includes Freemasonry that has infiltrated our Church
2) Blasphemy - using God's name in vain
3) Profanation of Sundays and Holy Days

The devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, based on the life and writings of Sr. Marie of St. Peter, was eventually approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885 who established the devotion as an Arch-confraternity for the whole world.

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Sources:

[1] Aleteia | Need to awaken your soul for Lent? Here’s the devotion that will do it

[2] Traditional Lay Carmelites of Fatima | Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus!

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐔𝐔𝐌

Lent is 40-day preparation for Easter Sunday and one of the Catholic Church's major liturgical seasons. It is a penitential season marked by prayer, fasting and abstinence, and almsgiving, and commemorates Jesus' 40-day stay in the desert. It begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Thursday with the Celebration of the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. The Paschal Triduum, on the other hand, begins on Holy Thursday with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and concludes on Easter Sunday with Evening Prayer.

For this year's season, it is scheduled as follows:

March 2, 2022 - Ash Wednesday
April 10, 2022 - Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
April 14, 2022 - Holy Thursday of the Lord's Supper
April 15, 2022 - Good Friday of the Lord's Passion
April 16, 2022 - Holy Saturday
April 17, 2022 - Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection

URGENT appeal for prayer and fasting for Ukraine by Pope Francis.
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⚠️⚠️⚠️

CALL FOR APPLICANTS | The San Jose de Mindanao Seminary is once again accepting applicants for the next Formation Year 2022-2023.

VICARIATE: St. Therese of the Child Jesus (Parishes from Malagana, Baliwagan, Balingasag, Lagonglong, Salay, Binuangan, Sugbongcogon and Kinoguitan)

DATE OF EXAMINATION: February 19, 2022 (Saturday)

VENUE: Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental - PASTORAL CENTER

The entrance examination will start at 9 a.m. No examination fee is required. Please bring a pencil and pen.

The qualifications are male, single, senior or junior high school graduate, college-level/graduate, or young professionals.

Thank you very much! God bless and keep safe. 😇💚🙏

- SJDMS

We must learn to accept that in this valley of tears, happiness is not certain. Our lady promised us happiness, but not in this life. Let us be hopeful to achieve happiness in the next life because in heaven, happiness is certain.

Our lady reminds us that the happiness we may find in this world is not what we truly seek. Our lady's words are not words of discouragement- they are words of hope and fulfillment. Our lady gives us hope that in the next world, happiness that we seek will be sufficed by the joys of heaven.

Pray, hope, and have faith that in the next life you will have true happiness.




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HAPPY FEAST DAY OUR LADY OF LOURDES
February 11

The Story of Our Lady of Lourdes
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”

During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.

Through that humble girl, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.

Reflection
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters.

There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film The Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”

Our Lady of Lourdes if the Patron Saint of:
Bodily Ills
Source https://www.franciscanmedia.org/our-lady-of-lourdes/

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙄𝙁𝙁𝙀𝙍𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙉:
𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙏𝙀𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙉𝙏 𝘽𝙄𝘽𝙇𝙀 & 𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙇𝙄𝘾 𝘽𝙄𝘽𝙇𝙀

We are still within the celebration of the National Bible Week. And maybe, it would be fitting if we tackle the differences between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant one.

Did you know that St. Jerome once thought that the 7 books that are included in the Catholic Bibles were not divinely inspired? It is true that St. Jerome initially had some concerns about these books, saying that the Palestinian Jews didn’t consider them canonical, but St. Jerome was not infallible, and later agreed that they were. All of the early Church Fathers accepted these disputed books as divinely inspired.

People would often ask, why does the Catholic Bible have 73 books, while the Protestant Bible has only 66 books? What's with the 7 books? Some protestants believe that the Catholic Church added 7 books to the Bible at the Council of Trent in response to Luther’s Reformation, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In about 367 AD, St. Athanasius came up with a list of 73 books for the Bible that he believed to be divinely inspired. This list was finally approved by Pope Damasus I in 382 AD, and was formally approved by the Church Council of Rome in that same year. Later Councils at Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD) ratified this list of 73 books. In 405 AD, Pope Innocent I wrote a letter to the Bishop of Toulouse reaffirming this canon of 73 books. In 419 AD, the Council of Carthage reaffirmed this list, which Pope Boniface agreed to. The Council of Trent, in 1546, in response to the Reformation removing 7 books from the canon (canon is a Greek word meaning “standard”), reaffirmed the original St. Athanasius list of 73 books.

So what happened? How come the King James Bible only has 66 books? Well, Martin Luther didn’t like 7 books of the Old Testament that disagreed with his personal view of theology, so he threw them out of his bible in the 16th Century. His reasoning was that the Jewish Council of Jamnia in 90 AD didn’t think they were canonical, so he didn’t either. The Jewish Council of Jamnia was a meeting of the remaining Jews from Palestine who survived the Roman persecution of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It seems that the Jews had never settled on an official canon of OT scripture before this. The Sadducees only believed in the first 5 books of the Bible written by Moses (the Pentateuch), while the Pharisees believed in 34 other books of the Old Testament as well. However, there were other Jews around from the Diaspora, or the dispersion of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, who believed that another 7 books were also divinely inspired. In fact, when Jesus addressed the Diaspora Jews (who spoke Greek) he quoted from the Septuagint version of the scriptures. The Septuagint was a Greek translation by 70 translators of the Hebrew Word. The Septuagint includes the disputed 7 books that Protestants do not recognize as scriptural.

Initially, Luther wanted to kick out some New Testament Books as well, including James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation. He actually said that he wanted to “throw Jimmy into the fire”, and that the book of James was “an epistle of straw.” What is strange is that Luther eventually accepted all 27 books of the New Testament that the Catholic Pope Damasus I had approved of in 382 AD, but didn’t accept his Old Testament list, preferring instead to agree with the Jews of 90 AD. Luther really didn’t care much for Jews, and wrote an encyclical advocating the burning of their synagogues, which seems like a dichotomy. Why trust them to come up with an accurate canon of scripture when you hate and distrust them so much? And why trust the Catholic Church which he called “the w***e of Babylon” to come up with an accurate New Testament list? Can you imagine the outrage by non-Catholics today if the Pope started throwing books out of the Bible? But strangely, Luther gets a pass on doing that exact same thing.

For the record, Jesus took the Kingdom away from the Jews (Matthew 21:43), and gave it to Peter and His new Church (Matthew 16:18), so the Jewish Council of Jamnia had no Godly authority to decide anything in 90 AD. They used 4 criteria for deciding whether or not certain books were canonical –

1. The books had to conform to the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible- ......Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy);
2. They could not have been written after the time of Ezra (around 400 BC);
3. They had to be written in Hebrew;
4. They had to be written in Palestine.

So how's that? Which is which? Well, the answer comes with the truth that the Bible is a Catholic Book. The Bible cannot exist apart from the Church. In its origins and its formulation, in the truths it contains, in its careful preservation over the centuries and in the prayerful study and elucidation of its mysteries, Scripture is inseparable from Catholicism. This is fitting, since both come from God for our salvation.





Sources:
(1) What's the difference between a "Catholic Bible" and a "Protestant Bible"?—USCCB (Retrieved on September 29, 2021);

(2) The Bible - 73 or 66 Books?—Catholic Bible 101 (Retrieved on September 29, 2021);

(3) The Bible Canon – 73 Books or 66 Books —Catholix Stand (Retrieved on September 29, 2021);

(4) 📷 Pinterest, PngTree