parishworks! 1Vol. 7 No. 41 January 14, 2012

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Pastor’s MessageAll It Takes Is To Be Childlikeby: Msgr. Dennis S. Odiver

John the Baptist introduced Jesus to his disciple Andrew: “Behold the Lamb of God!” Andrew broke the news about Jesus to his brother: “We have found the messiah!” Philip shared his encounter of Jesus to his friend Nathanael: “We have seen the one whom Moses and the prophets have spoken, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”

Knowing Jesus was a life changing experience for all of them. Andrew ceased being a disciple of John and became an apostle of Jesus. Peter remained a big brother to Andrew, but developed likewise a strong fraternal bond with Jesus. Nathanael, who questioned Philip about anything good coming from Nazareth, has turned to being a devoted friend to Jesus.

The Lord reveals Himself to us once again on this Feast of the Santo Niño. How does He influence us, form us and direct us then in our lives? Do we find ourselves becoming His disciple, His brother, His friend?

The Santo Niño is indubitably dear to us Filipinos. But our faith expressions if not properly oriented and rightly informed may serve as the very barrier in establishing a real and personal relationship with Jesus.

Jesus reintroduces us to Himself. He wants us to focus on the innate qualities of a child; qualities we must all possess.

Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazarenoby: Susan Amoroso

The devotees inside the Quiapo Church that Monday January 9 of 2012 were in unison singing “Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno, sinasamba ka namin, pinipintuho ka namin. Aral mo ang aming buhay at kaligtasan,Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno iligtas mo kami sa kasalanan. Ang krus mong kinamatayan ay sagisag ng aming kaligtasan. Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno dinarangal ka namin..niluluwalhati ka namin.” It’s a beautiful and powerful song of homage and devotion to the Black Nazarene . Handkerchiefs, religious images, and hands wave upwards as we beseech our Lord Jesus’ iconic image enshrined in the altar. I could feel tears brimming and flowing down my checks, oblivious to everything. All I could think of and feel is the love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ, the overflowing energy and spiritual magnetism that envelops every one of us when we sing that song of praise, love and devotion.

It is not image of the Black Nazarene, it is not the shrine (Quiapo Church), it is not the procession, it is not the ritual that galvanizes the eight million devotees to attend and pay

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The Santo Niño: A Love Affair with the Filipino Peopleby: Russel Matthew Patolot

A few days ago, I was able to watch on television an impressive presentation of the great George Frederic Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” as rendered by a local chorus and accompanied by a very good orchestra. For all of you non-classical music lovers out there, this oratorio may sound alien to you as may be the name of Handel himself, but I would wager that you have most certainly heard its most famous sequence, the Hallelujah Chorus. (If nothing seems to be ringing in your heads, maybe a scroll or a click or two in Youtube would refresh you.)

I was struck at one of its lesser-known but just as imposing and inspiring sequences entitled “For Unto Us A Child Is Born” which is a musical setting of Isaiah 9:6, stating “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder…” Indeed, as we have just finished celebrating the wonderful event of the Incarnation, this passage seems to reecho for us the unalterable essence of the message that Christmas brings.

How appropriate this would be as we ponder on the same mystery again as we celebrate the all-Filipino feast of the Holy Child Jesus, our Santo Niño.

The Filipino devotion to the Santo Niño is as old as the history of the colonization and Christianization of our islands. It is a well-known fact that the epicenter of this devotion in our country is in Cebu, where the revered centuries-old image of the Child Jesus still stands, wearing the regalia fit for a king – a crown, an orb and a scepter and enthroned not only on the High Altar of the Minor Basilica which is named after him, but more evidently, in the hearts of the faithful who congregate around Him day in and day out.

After Magellan had given this image to the wife of the newly-converted Raha Humabon as a baptismal present, the annals of history have not been kind in providing the details of the honor and reverence that the Filipinos have had with the Child Jesus. In spite of this, we now have a living and strong religious fervor with particular regard to the Santo Niño since our culture has mostly married with Him. Almost every Catholic household, as well as the multitude of business establishments in the country have become homes to an image of the Santo Niño and is given a place of prominence. In our churches, we also have at least one statue of the Child Jesus and many parishes bear the name of the Savior under this title.

What is the reason for this “Santo Niño” phenomenon?

We love children. Scratch that. We adore children. Every time a newborn comes into the family, we cannot help but celebrate the new addition to our natural family. Whenever a baby is baptized, we rejoice at the new addition to our spiritual family. The Filipino family is one that is open to children (plural) as seen in rural areas, where children seem to abound like the stars in the sky and the grass in the fields.

Our ancestors, perhaps, fell in love with the fact that God became man, like them and us, and became one of us in all things except sin. God took on human nature because of the depth of His love for us. Being a sentimental people, we accepted a religion which presented neither a God who is not bloodthirsty nor a faultfinder who is fond of exacting vengeance on those who transgress and trespass His laws. In the Santo Niño, we have found that same God – the God of Love.

Maybe that is the reason of our culturally-ingrained love for the Child Jesus.

In the Santo Niño, we see that God is not frightening. We behold a God who loved us so much that He made Himself visible and tangible, seen in flesh and bone. We come to terms with the Creator who willed to become created to share the Divine Life with His beloved creation. We meet a God of omnipotence, yet became a child out of His love for us. God became helpless so as to share in our weakness and in that weakness, we are made strong.

I would like to point out another good premise which our former parish priest, Reverend Monsignor Emmanuel V. Sunga would reiterate in his homily at the feast of the Santo Niño wherein he said that the Filipino term “Bathala” came from two words – “Bata”, meaning child and “Allah” or “God”, pointing out our Islamic pre-colonial days. Thus, the word “Bathala” is a term worthy of the Santo Niño – the God who became a child.

Finally, may our devotion to the Infant Christ not become mere lip service, but become a pattern of Christian life for us. As Saint James warns all of us in his epistle, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20) Let us therefore, be imitators of the Santo Niño – becoming humble, simple, loving and cheerful in all things, keeping in mind what Christ reminds us in the Gospel today, the Kingdom of heaven belongs to the childlike.

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Pastor’s Message... from page 1

Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno... from page 1

Beyond the festivities of music and dance, the Santo Niño brings to our consciousness forgiveness, exhilaration, audacity, receptivity, sincerity, lightheartedness.

Children often quarrel but they do not take much effort to reconcile with one another and be playmates once again. As adults, however, we harbor ill-feelings and sow vindictiveness in our hearts. We simply refuse to forgive.

We consider child play recklessness, being care-free and unproductive. But during these moments, the power of creativity is displayed by children. Much admirable, is the manner they discover through the process a profound vision and appreciation of life. We have lost our sense of awe and wonder.

The relationships we establish are built on contracts, concessions and negotiations. Children are downright honest and sincere expressing their thoughts and feelings that eventually nurture more strong and stable ties. We dare not open ourselves to what we perceive as vulnerability.

Adulthood has definitely led us to distort the values of the gospel. But all is not lost because Jesus has not given up on us. He continues to reach out to us and assure us that in His Kingdom we belong. All it takes is to be childlike.

homage to the Lord represented by the Black Nazarene icon. Rather there is something miraculous and spiritual that happens in the hearts and minds of the devotees. who pray, attend mass, and join in the procession.

I have been a devotee of the Black Nazarene for years. I join the procession, attend mass and pray in front of the image. I have friends and relatives who are devotees too. But the devotion is very personal to each one of us. Nobody told us to. The decision to join in the yearly homage is voluntary, independent and a very personal decision.

I don’t know of spectacular miracles that happened to any of my friends and relatives who are devotees. All I know is somehow along the way, their lives have improved financially, socially and spiritually. A very close friend who was living in a squatter’s area in San Miguel , Quiapo some years back is now working in a big passenger cruise liner, his sisters who are nurses are presently working in the United Kingdom . My kumare, a single parent became a proud mother of a son who graduated magna cum laude currently employed in a

lucrative position. A sickly cousin with a congenital heart ailment is now a successful businessman-doctor married to another doctor. Another cousin whose birthday falls on January 9 has finally found marital bliss in Canada. Of course we know past Vice President Noli de Castro has been a devotee for years and never fails to join the yearly procession. Who would think that he would rise to the second highest post in the country. He just started out as a lowly radio employee and rose from the ranks until he became a TV broadcaster.

These people I know did not waver in their devotion. Many devotees have their own personal ardent wishes and prayers to the Lord. Only God knows how he will answer these prayers. But true devotion and homage to the passion and death of our Saviour represented by the Black Nazarene never fails. This year’s intention as contained in the Traslacion for 2012 by the Shrine is a prayer for our Heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ to save the Philippine and our people. May our prayers be answered and our nation and people be blessed abundantly. May our Lord Jesus Christ bless us all this 2012!

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Ria Salvaña Matthew LizaresParish Works StaffMagda Gana, Emilio Medina, Russel Matthew Patolot, Karen Ann Phoa, Angelina PoeBulletin Board EditorEJ Carlos, Harley Dave PunzalanPowerpoint CoordinatorEllie Medina,Ging Santos SAAP Facebook AdminRochelle Pineda

Spiritual AdvisorRev. Msgr. Dennis Odiver

PublisherSt. Andrew the Apostle ParishN. Garcia St. cor. Kalayaan Ave.Bel-Air II, Makati CityPhones: (632) 890-1796 / 890-1743 media@saaparish.com

Parish Works is the official weekly newsletter of Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish.

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Sunday Mass Schedule 6:30am - Filipino

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The Music Ministry is recruiting new members to join in the different choirs of the parish. If you are 16 years old and above and would like to share your singing voice for God’s service, please sign your name and leave your contact details on the sign-up sheet located on the Music Ministry Bulletin Board at the choir loft. The Music Ministry Coordinator will get in touch with you, or e-mail at: windchime316@yahoo.com for current opportunities to serve the parish in any of the choirs

1. The 3rd Sunday of January, we celebrate the Feast of the _ _ _ _ _ _ _.(O O T S I N N)

2. Like little children, we must accept the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (M I N K D O G) and the Lord’s gifts without reservation.

3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (G U L O N I S) Festival is a Cebuano fiesta commemorating the Feast of the Sto. Nino.

4. “People brought _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (R I D H E N L C) to Jesus that He might touch them, but the disciples _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (D U K E E R B) them.

St. Hilary of PoitiersFeast day: January 13

Patron against snake bites“They didn’t know who they were.”

This is how Hilary summed up the problem with the Arian heretics of the fourth century. Arianism attacked the divinity of Jesus; saying He was only a created being.

He “chanced upon” the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. When he read the verse where God tells Moses “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Hilary said, “I was frankly amazed at such a clear definition of God, which expressed the incomprehensible knowledge of the divine nature in words most suited to human intelligence.”

He was elected bishop of Poitiers in what is now France by the laity and clergy. The Arians did not believe in the divinity of Christ. When Hilary refused to support their condemnation of Saint Athanasius he was exiled from Poitiers to the East in 356.

He tells us about the Trinity, “For one to attempt to speak of God in terms more precise than he himself has used: -- to undertake such a thing is to embark upon the boundless, to dare the incomprehensible. He fixed the names of His nature: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Whatever is sought over and above this is beyond the meaning of words, beyond the limits of perception, beyond the embrace of understanding.”

Answer key: 1)Sto Nino, 2)Kingdom, 3)Sinulog, 4)Children, Rebuked

January 15, 2011 – Feast of the Sto. Nino / 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Gospel: Mark 10:13-16