Sunday, October 21, 2012

Archbishop urges youth to use social media for evangelization


VATICAN City, Oct. 21, 2012— Speaking at the last of the triduum masses held earlier today at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo urged young people to maximize the use of social media and other tools of communications to evangelize.
It was the turn of the Mindanao Bishops to sponsor the last of the Triduum masses, led by Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales (who was Bishop of Malaybalay, Bukidnon prior to his appointments as Archbishop of Lipa and later, Manila) as presider and Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI of the Archdiocese of Cotabato as homilist.
In his homily, Quevedo appealed to the youth, telling them that despite being only 14 years old when Calungsod joined Padre Diego in the missions, he was already mature enough to be an evangelizer of peoples.
The youth, he said, can do this with the means of social communications, saying “(s)o often the internet is used for evil, for pornography, for scams and crimes.”
Instead, the internet should be used to share what is good, the archbishop said.
“Send biblical messages by SMS, by texting. Use twitter and blogs to share your faith, chat with others about how your faith has always been an anchor of hope in the midst of difficulties,” Quevedo said.
“Send inspirational pictures and images by email, Youtube, or Facebook. Today, the power of communications, of the internet, email, Facebook, is beyond calculation,” he furthered.
Also mentioning the many Filipino overseas workers in all parts of the world, Quevedo lauded their efforts as “faith-givers”, thanking them for their efforts to teach the children of their employers the tenets of the Christian faith.
The triduum mass at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was the largest of the three triduum masses, filling into full capacity the big Marian basilica in the heart of the Eternal City. [Aaron James R. Veloso]

Pope praises Calungsod’s ‘heroic courage’


VATICAN City, Oct 21, 2012—The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI praised the “heroic courage” and “tenacious profession of faith” of Filipinos’ second saint, Pedro Calungsod, during the homily at today’s mass.
In his homily for the canonization ceremony, the Holy Father recalled the life of Saint Pedro in the Marianas mission.
“His desire to win souls for Christ…made him resolute in accepting martyrdom,” he said.
Key in Pope Benedict’s exhortation on the young martyr is the special circumstances of his death – that he could have decided to leave Fr. Diego de San Vitores, but decided to stay on.
Making a direct appeal to modern-day Filipinos, he said, “May the example and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and to win souls for God!”
The Holy Father also praised Pedro and the six other new saints, for their “… heroic courage, [spending] their lives in total consecration to the Lord and generous service of their brethren.”
Hopefully, the example of Saint Pedro, “will inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and win souls for God,” added the Holy Father.
Besides being a day of celebration for the Church because of the canonization, October 21 is also celebrated this year as World Mission Sunday. [Aaron James R. Veloso)

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