THE SON(NY) ALSO RISES

The above title is no play of words. Neither is pun intended. Truly, Congressman Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara is fast rising, following in the footsteps but not necessarily mimicking or imitating his illustrious father, Senator Edgardo J. Angara.

Congressman Sonny has been of late, pushed into the spotlight, first because of the Pulse Asia survey which ranked him among the top 12 Senatoriables in the coming 2013 elections and secondly, because of his uncanny role as one of the spokespersons of the House panel in the Coronavela involving the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The young lawmaker, although owing tons of gratitude to his surname, has been gradually moving out of the shadows of the senator, catching the discriminating public eye because of his quotable quotes and making a good account of his self in media interviews.

For someone who is a product of Harvard and the prestigious London School of Economics, the congressman’s phenomenal rise in the ranks of senatoriables is not stunning or earth-shaking surprising if you ask me. He is considered one of the brilliant minds in the august halls of the House of Representatives, one who can articulate and explain in layman’s terms legal issues which other lawmakers could not adequately explain.

I was told that the truly gifted lawmaker is not one who can play to the gallery or grandstand in the plenary during the session but someone who can engage in a truly intellectual discussion of issues during committee hearings. One can always engage in sound-bytes for publicity and pa-pogi points but in the committee hearings, that guy will instantly transform into a member, if not chairman, of the committee on silence for lack of ideas to churn out during panel discussions.

I was also told that two of the incumbent senators used to play to the gallery when they were still congressmen but during committee hearings, they groped for explanations, prompting Cong Sonny to butt in a number of times and explained to them the intricacies of the subject matter that was being discussed.

‘Yan si Cong Sonny, simple lang pero astig. Ganyan ang mga taga-Aurora, matatalino at magagaling.

Back to the recent Pulse Asia survey, considering that the elections are two years away and given that those up the ladder of the senatorial survey are veteran legislators and prominent government officials, Cong Sonny is no doubt up there with the best and the brightest.

Consider this: those in the surveys are Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas II, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, ex-Vice President Noli de Castro, San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr., Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, ex-senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Congressman Angara, and ex-senators Jamby Madrigal and Richard Gordon.

No less ecstatic about Sonny’s emergence as a senatoriable is his own father who said that the Senate needs people who can articulate, interpolate and argue intellectually on any issue under the sun in the Senate.

“The Senate needs fresh blood now and someone brimming with intelligence. Now, we have non-performing senators na ‘di mo man lang makadebate,” says the senator.

Sounds arrogant but true and nothing but. We need not name names to argue our point.

Truly, Cong Sonny will be a refreshing face in the Senate. We Aurorans should keep our fingers crossed that he ends up victorious so that we will continue to have a voice in that august chamber immortalized by the men and women of our times.

As Congressman, Sonny Angara assures the public that he is independent from his father in his performance of duty particularly where decision making is called for. This is a strong manifestation that Cong. Angara is not working under the shadow of his father but rather working independently and pursuing his own program and agenda as a law maker. (Jason de Asis)

2 bishops call for speedy impeachment trial

MANILA, January 18, 2012— Two leaders of the Catholic Church called on the senate to fast track the impeachment trial against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona and save people’s money.

Both Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable and Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz believe that the longer the trial gets, the more financially taxing it becomes for the people.

“I would wish that the impeachment process be fast-tracked because we are spending the people’s money,” Afable said.

“All those involved in the impeachment court from lawmakers, prosecutors, senator-judges, the staff and the witnesses are paid by the people… their wages are paid by the tax payers,” said Cruz.

This, according to the prelates, is unacceptable since the money could instead be channeled to more useful things for the public.

“(Typhoon) Sendong caused heavy damages but where’s the government’s attention? They are more focused at the Senate,” said Cruz.

On Tuesday, the Senate, seating as an impeachment court, was forced to postpone their proceedings after the House prosecution panel came unprepared to present their evidences.

The second day of impeachment proceedings lasted for about two hours or just a little longer than the opening day last Monday. [CBCPNews]

Aurora governor eyeing for new doctors and nurses

Sunrise at Sabang beach, Baler, Aurora. 

BALER, Aurora, January 17, 2012-Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo is now working for the hiring of additional medical manpower to equip the newly completed P594-million project of the new Aurora Memorial hospital (AMH) at the 3.8 hectare site in Brgy. Reserva with highly competent medical specialists, nurses and other personnels who will cater Aurorans and nearby provinces.

The governor said, for almost 20 years or since the devolution of public hospitals to the provincial government, district hospitals suffered from lack of specialized medical personnel resulting sometimes to the poor delivery of medical services since the old AMH is now almost 70 years old; thus, Angara-Castillo form her medical consultants into a pool of medical specialists who are on call and will serve as roving doctors to the hospital to cope with the medical needs and services of the hospital.

“I and other provincial officials recently met to map out plans and strategies to ensure the effective and efficient management and operations of the public hospitals under the supervision of the provincial capitol,” Angara-Castillo said.

The governor said that the provincial health and budget gave the provincial government officials several suggestions to properly address their concerns on the hiring and placement of competent and capable medical specialists and staff to ensure quality hospital service.

           

“I suggested that chiefs of hospitals, doctors and nurses to undergo trainings on hospital administration which the University of the Philippines offers through distance learning program to further improve the management of these government hospitals,” Angara-Castillo said, pointing out that the good of hospital services lies on the managerial skills of hospital chiefs, and on their constant coordination with their staff, patients and even to the community.

“Aside from our present doctors and nurses, we have now a new anesthesiologist and affiliate surgeon but still there is a pressing need for more medical specialists,” Angara-Castillo stressed.

Relative to this, Dr. Luisito G. Teh, provincial health officer said that since the turned over of the Japanese to Aurora provincial government last December 14, 2011, they were all in dry-run and familiarization of the newly state-of-the-art newly hospital equipment’s and facilities.

“We are all in hospital reforms to cope up with the latest technology of the hospital that was granted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),” Teh said.

Back to Angara-Castillo, she said that the scheduled setup for the hospital full operation on Aurora Day Celebration is now elastic due to the possible visits of President Aquino in the province particularly in the hospital.

It could be remembered that the old AMH has only 25-bed capacity hospital’s license was even lowered from Level 2 to Level 1 when the Department of Health clamped down on hospitals without a trained surgeon and an anesthesiologist; thus, the Angaras sought assistance from the Japanese government which, in response, conducted a preparatory survey in January 2009 and dispatched a basic design team in June of that same year.

On March 15, 2010, the Exchange of Notes was signed in Manila by then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura. (Jason de Asis)

Bishops urge public to monitor impeachment trial

SC Chief Justice Corona.

MANILA, January 16, 2012— Catholic bishops called on the public to remain vigilant as the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona started Monday.

Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado stressed the need for vigilance to ensure that truth may prevail in the impeachment trial.

Mercado chairs the Episcopal Commission on Laity of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

According to him, the laity as Christians, are asked to become good citizens.

“So part of our being good citizens is to participate in matters that will pertain to the development of our society,” Mercado said.

“Now, the impeachment, perhaps political in nature, is some of the issues which have to be faced by us,” he said.

Bishops Jose Oliveros of Malolos and Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon also echoed Mercado’s statement, saying that the public should monitor the trial with the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.

“The public should monitor it for them to see if it is done properly and for us to know the truth,” said Oliveros.

“An impeachment trial is trying to prove the political unacceptability of the accused. So the public should participate in some way whether the official concerned has betrayed the public trust,” according to Bastes. [CBCPNews]

‘Year of Mission’ highlights need for renewal of faith among faithful

MANILA, January 15, 2012—The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ declaration of 2012 as “Year of the Mission” highlights the need for renewal of faith and missionary spirit among faithful as more and more people veer away from the Catholic Church and its teachings.

This reality was pointed out by Marawi Bishop Edwin Angot de la Peña, MSP after the launching ceremonies of the “Year of the Mission” at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus in Pasay City Saturday, when he said that the Catholic Church needs to do everything it could to keep its flock and win back those who have left.

“The Year of the Mission simply wants to keep the people’s faith alive because people are moving away from Jesus Christ and it seems we are a very ‘distracted’ people with so many things that pull us out of our faith,” he said.

The 57-year old prelate said it appears the Filipinos’ expression of their faith is cultural and “sometimes to the point of fanaticism.”

He added the faithful should experience Jesus in their lives and such a situation should challenge Church people, priests, religious and lay.

“Spirituality is what is needed by the people,” he emphasized.

Asked as to what causes all the distraction, De la Peña said advances in technology pull people away from faith along with advances in Science which continue to separate people from the faith of their forebears.

“Somehow, we have lost the sense of the divine,” he said.

Meanwhile, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Mission executive secretary Fr. Socrates C. Mesiona, said there is a need to “fan the flame of missionary commitment.”

He noted the two big Church events that happened in the country, both of which emphasized the role of missionaries, —the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991 and the National Mission Congress held in Cebu in 2000.

“The time has come to [re]kindle the missionary enthusiasm specifically among the young,” he said.

He said that after eight decades of its establishment in the Philippines, still very few people know of the Pontifical Mission Societies’ existence.

Mesiona said they are trying to introduce lay vocation in the mission.

The priest also expressed alarm at the “de-Christianization” of Europe and the Americas which only underscores the connection between the declaration of “Year of the Mission” in the Philippines and the “Year of Faith” which Pope Benedict XVI will launch in October 2012.

He said Filipino missionaries, including religious women from Asia, are sent to Europe, the Americas and “practically, all over the world.”

The Pontifical Mission Society is directly under the Pontifical Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. There are seven mission territories in the Philippines, including the Apostolic Vicariates of Calapan, San Jose de Mindoro, Tabuk, Puerto Princesa, Taytay (Palawan), Jolo (Sulu), and Bontoc-Lagawe. (Melo Acuna)

Evangelization sans helping the needy is failure – Archbishop Soc

MANILA, January 14, 2012— It is unacceptable to evangelize without helping those who are suffering and in need, a ranking official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said.

To not be concerned with life’s temporal problems is going against the Gospel teaching of helping the needy, Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in his homily during the launching of the ‘Year of Mission’ on Saturday.

“Every missionary must reach out, proclaim, teach, baptize, pray and love. But a missionary must be helpful all the time regardless of convictions, regardless of faith, regardless of culture,” Villegas said.

“Helping hands, meaning to say we embrace all the tears, the joys, the successes, the defeats, the discouragements, the frustrations of humanity. Nothing that is human can be alien to the church. Because the Lord came from heaven in order to embrace fully our humanity,” he said.

Hundreds of faithful, mostly young people, graced the launching of the “Year of Pontifical Mission Society” held at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Pasay City.

It was declared by the CBCP this year to help Catholics deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment to sharing faith with others.

In his sermon, the Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop stressed the need for church leaders to always be engaged in “total development,” saying that the new name of evangelization is “human development.”

“We are not only proclaiming salvation for the soul but it is the salvation of body and soul, of total human development, of total human liberation,” said Villegas.

The prelate also reminded people that praying is not enough, adding that the original vocation of every baptized person is holiness.

“First and foremost in our accepting of the mission of the church we must make sure that we carry holiness of life,” said Villegas.

“Holiness of life does not mean praying all the time. Holiness of light does not mean staying in the church all the time. Holiness of life means loving Lord Jesus and living like Jesus.”

“Because at the sunset of our lives, if the only thing we can say is that I prayed a lot we might have difficulty entering heaven because what’s important in praying is that we love very much,” he added.

He also recalled that even the late Pope Paul VI, in addressing the young people, encouraged them to be saints.

“Do not be afraid to be holy…Do not be afraid to be unique among others. Be holy even if you see sin around you. Be holy even if you see compromise with evil around you,” he said.

Villegas also chairs the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE).

According to him, the Church is a missionary and everyone is called do the same.

“When we speak of the Church, that includes you. The missionaries are all of us because we are the Church that is why even if you are children, even if you are young, you are already missionaries in your own way because you are Church,” he said.

“We pray not only for more missionaries but holy, dedicated missionaries. But my dear young people, the missionaries are not outside, the missionaries are you,” Villegas said. [Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews]

7th ID army chief vows to end insurgency in Central Luzon

BALER, Aurora, January 13, 2012-The 7^th Infantry “Kaugnay” Division chief here renewed his target to totally eliminate insurgency problem in Central Luzon due to the continues dwindling number of rebels in the provinces of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan and Pampanga.

7^th ID Chief Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said that as soon as possible before the end of this year the entire region will be tagged as “Clear Central Luzon (of NPAs-New Peoples’ Army) by 2012 and the next year in 2013 would be in Ilocos Region as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) program to eradicate insurgency problem in the rest of the country in the succeeding years.

“There were more or less 100 rebels left in Central Luzon and half of it are considered as organized crime groups (OCG) with lack of ideology and are just thriving on extortion and illegal activities particular the ‘Marxista-Leninista Partido ng Pilipinas;’ thus, the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan of the AFP was effective against security threats,” Mabanta said.

“It is in line with the AFP IPSP 4Ps strategy referring to People, Process and Systems, Partnership and Policy as the guiding principles of the soldiers to finish their mission for the love of the country,” he added but did not elaborate their strategies.

Mabanta emphasized that he sees his goal of an insurgency free region as first in the Philippine history to attain it as the number of communists in the region continues to decline.

Mabanta was a former military spokesman and a former chief of staff of the Philippine Marine Corps, ex-deputy chief of staff for operations or J3, and replaced Major General Ireneo Espino as commander of the 7th infantry division of the Philippine Army.

Mabanta had also served as commander of the Civil Relations Service (CRS) and as spokesman of the AFP. He graduated from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and was a member of class 1981 “Dimalupig” class. (Jason de Asis)

No need to impose 160% increase PhilHealth members’ contribution-Recto

MANILA, January 12, 2012-“There’s no need to impose a 160-percent increase in the members’ contributions to Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) considering its enormous cash reserves and huge subsidies from government,” Senator Ralph G. Recto said, explaining that PhilHealth could achieve viability and attain efficacy in its delivery of services without having to impose another burden to its members, which is essentially another form of payroll tax.

He cited deductions for withholding tax, SSS/GSIS, and Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth contributions are also automatically deducted from the payroll of workers.

Recto-who chairs the Senate ways and means committee and sits as senior vice-chair of the Senate budget panel said that PhilHealth may always decide to tap its retained earnings, which have peaked to P110 billion in 2010, to bankroll expansion of services and benefits such as reducing out of pocket expenses of members, adding that aside from sitting on its retained earnings that could eclipse by two-fold the entire budget of the Department of Health (DOH), PhilHealth is also a consistent top recipient of state subsidies.

“PhilHealth was among the top agencies that have received the biggest slice of the P45.205 billion subsidies given out to state-owned corporations from January to November last 2011,” adding that in the first half of last year, PhilHealth already racked up P5.1 billion in subsidies from government.

The same GOCC is expected to receive the biggest part of this year’s programmed GOCC subsidy of P18.7 billion.

PhilHealth stands to receive P1.5 billion in the 2012 budget to cover premium payment arrears covering 2.9 million indigent families on top of the subsidies.

“What happened to these subsidies, and what are you doing with your billions in retained earnings?” Recto asked.

He said that the planned hike in premium payments would hurt struggling small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which have to contend with a buffet of regulatory compliance like membership in SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG.

“And we’re making it worse by increasing the premium payments of their workers, which are shouldered in part by them,” Recto said, adding that even local government units (LGUs) would be adversely affected by the move and as a result, create havoc in their fiscal planning for this year.

He said job generation would also be stifled as a result of the increase in PhilHealth premiums since companies will have second thoughts hiring more workers for fear of bloating their operating budget.

The senator said that he was not aware of any consultation held on that matter. “We are slashing the IRA of LGUs this year and here we are, making the life of LGUs more difficult by increasing the premiums of PhilHealth members,” he explained.

PhilHealth premium contributions for new members will increase from P300 to P600 quarterly or a total of P2,400 per year based in a circular approved by its board and based on their income tax returns-covered by the increase are members who are earning P25,000 a year. (Jason de Asis)

Diocese issues ‘fake priest’ warning

MANILA, January 12, 2012— Catholic Church officials have warned the public against a certain individual introducing himself as priest particularly in the Diocese of Parañaque.

Msgr. Benedicto Aquino, Parañaque diocese’s vice-chancellor, said a certain “Fr. Noel Ormenita” celebrated Mass in a condominium within San Isidro Labrador Parish in the name the church.

“Noel Ormenita is not a Roman Catholic priest and has no faculties to exercise the priestly ministry in the Diocese of Parañaque and everywhere else for that matter,” said Aquino.

In his communiqué, the church official also relayed another warning from the Diocese of Cabanatuan about the suspension order it imposed on Fr. Eliezer Navarro.

Navarro was previously assigned as “priest-on-loan” to the Diocese of Cubao and was suspended “indefinitely” by Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud.

Navarro, therefore, has no faculties to exercise his priestly ministry in any diocese.

“Fr. Navarro and Mr. Ormenita are prohibited from celebrating Mass and/or performing priestly functions in any school, chapel, funeral home, or private houses within the Diocese of Parañaque,” said Aquino.

“In case of doubt about the status of priests from other dioceses, please demand a celebret,” he added.

A "celebret" is a testimonial given to a priest when traveling that he is in good standing, with the accompanying request that he be permitted to say Mass. [CBCPNews]

Senate urged to ignore bickering between parties in Corona trial

MANILA, January 11, 2012— A Catholic bishop called on senators not to be swayed by the squabbling between Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona’s defense team and the House prosecution panel.

“We are hoping that the proper bodies will not be unduly influenced by these obvious maneuvers by the two parties,” said Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez.

Iñiguez chairs the Committee on Public Affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The prelate, however, noted that bickering between the opposing parties cannot be avoided especially in a highly-politicized issue like the impeachment trial of Corona.

“What is important is the judges will still be objective and rule on the matter based on the facts presented in the trial proper,” stressed Iñiguez.

The CBCP official, on the other hand, appealed to the public to be rational in following the impeachment trial which is set on January 16 and not be judgmental.

“We should be critical observers of the would-be proceedings, follow it closely, and not make judgments immediately,” he said.

Corona earlier asked the Senate impeachment court to impose sanctions against the House prosecution panel for releasing purported evidence against him over the media before his trial begins.

But the prosecution panel countered by accusing Corona of resorting to delaying tactics by attempting to side-track the main issue at hand. [CBCPNews]

Quiapo rector affirms Black Nazarene procession terror threat

MANILA, January 10, 2011— Quiapo Church rector Msgr. Clemente Ignacio said there had been a terrorist threat to yesterday’s Black Nazarene procession but nothing stopped them to hold the yearly tradition.

The church official admitted he himself received the threat even before President Benigno Aquino III announced it to the public.

“Even before President Aquino arrived here (at Quiapo Church last Sunday), our security group in contact with the intelligence is already talking about it. There was a text message sent to me with the very concrete names of the bombers,” said Ignacio.

Over the weekend, Aquino issued a warning on a possible terror attack directed at the annual procession in Manila, which drew millions of devotees from various provinces.

This year’s procession of revered Black Nazarene statue took 22 hours from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church— the longest procession ever in the history of the traditional religious event.

Ignacio, though, said they still decided to push through with the procession especially with the dedication shown by the government in securing the people and the occasion.

“All the stakeholders talked about it and we are confident that the authorities are doing their jobs,” said the priest.

Aside from that, he disclosed that it would be very hard to back out from a religious event.

“Even Pope John Paul II, when he was in Latin America… I forgot the country but even with the armed conflict, the Mass continued. You cannot back out from the Holy Mass,” he stressed.

Police estimates indicate that as much as eight to nine million devotees had joined the religious event throughout the day. [CBCPNews]

CEAP renews campaign vs mining in Palawan

MANILA, January 9, 2012—The string of environmental disasters happening in the country prompted the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP) to again urge its member-schools to continue the campaign against mining in Palawan and other key biodiversity areas in the country.

“In the face of these disasters, the call for the government to take a stand for the people, to end the wanton destruction of our country’s natural resources, and to end the greediness of some that end to the suffering of many, is now more urgent and critical,” CEAP said in its website.

“If you agree and believe in this advocacy, we need you to sign again the petition against mining,” it added.

The group urged the public to access the link http://no2mininginpalawan.com/ for more information on the issue.

Recent environmental disasters include the landslide in Compostela Valley that killed small-scale miners and the typhoon ‘Sendong’ which killed thousands of people in rampaging flash floods and left hundreds missing. (Jandel Posion)

Seminar explores portrayal of Mary on film

MANILA, January 8, 2012—A film seminar that looks at the way the Blessed Virgin Mary is depicted on movies will be conducted by the Communication Foundation for Asia on January 26-28 at CFA’s Lagerwey Hall.

Titled “Film and Mary on Screen”, the lecture is sixth in a series of Film and Faith seminars being offered annually by CFA to educators, catechists and pastoral workers.

The seminar will delve on how Mary's life was depicted in film and how various women mirrored Mary and her virtues through lectures, film showings and analysis, discussion, workshops and spiritual reflection.

Participants will have the chance to analyze, discuss and learn the traditional, modern and metaphorical depictions of Mary in movies.

Main speaker is Fr. Peter Malone, MSC, an international film critic, who had inspired hundreds of participants in his previous seminars of the same title.

Malone is a former member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and was the first President of SIGNIS, the international Catholic body for film, radio and television. He is also an author of a number of books, a lecturer on film and media education and a regular member of the Catholic Jury at International Film Festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin as well as in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

CFA Training and Production Specialist Fr. Stephen Cuyos, MSC, will join Malone on the third of seminar to showcase Filipino films focused on Mary.

Participants will be charged a seminar fee of P2,500 per person to cover materials and meals, with discounted rates for early and group registrations, or for Signis members.

Interested individuals may call CFA Training Department at 713-2732, 713-2972, or at 713-2981 loc 183 or log in at www.cfamedia.org for additional information. (CBCPNews)

500 gather at Antipolo's annual diocesan youth day

MANILA, January 7, 2012— More than 500 young people gathered for the annual diocesan youth day of the Diocese of Antipolo last December 27 to 29, 2011.

Participants represented four parochial schools, three youth organizations, and 49 parishes all over the diocese.

Organized by the Ministry for Youth Affairs of the diocese, the event was hosted by the Vicariate of Our Lady of Aranzazu and held at the San Isidro Labrador Parish, Marikina.

Diocesan youth coordinator Dani Villanueva revealed that participants had undergone a whole-day preparatory session for the diocesan youth day last November 27 at St. Matthew College in San Mateo, Rizal.

He said the Pre-DYD spiritual preparation included catechism, workshops, orientation and important reminders.

Antipolo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes and Auxiliary Bishop Francis De Leon presided the opening and closing Mass, respectively, at the San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School gymnasium where the closing diocesan celebration of the CBCP Year of the Youth was also held.

The DYD was highlighted by a vocation festival which was an adaptation of the World Youth Day festival on vocation held last August 2011, in Madrid.

Villanueva said the festival aimed to promote religious and priestly vocation among the youth and provide them opportunities to develop skills on discernment.

“Another uniqueness of this year’s DYD,” according to Villanueva, “is the concurrent sessions with some 20 workshops designed to cater to the needs of the youth ministry spread throughout the entire youth days. These workshops are to be facilitated by the selected youth ministers of the diocese, region, FNYO and ECY.”

Villanueva said the diocesan event for the celebration of the CBCP Year of the Youth was the 1M tree planting project of the Episcopal Commission on Youth that aims to concretize the youth's love for the environment.

“A total 356 seedlings shall be added to the number of trees planted this year. Seedlings shall be planted along the Marikina River in Baranggay Nangka.,” he added.

The DYD culminated with the Diocesan Youth Ministers’ Meeting on December 29 and 30. The two-day lived-in meeting was consultative in nature, and served as a pre-planning workshop for the Annual MYA Planning and Evaluation to be held within this year.

“Ministry for Youth Affairs of the Diocese of Antipolo soars high in 2012 as we give much focus on the Formation Programs and assistance to youth ministries in newly-created parishes. We anticipate the official declaration of the Year of the Pontifical Mission Societies as our diocese [will] host the National Mission Festival,” Villanueva said. (Jandel Posion)

Fruits of family prayers seen in children

MANILA, January 6, 2012 – Though praying as a family normally involves at least one parent and the children, and sometimes with elderly relatives such as grandparents joining in, some little ones can easily carry out the practice even in the absence of the senior family members as long as the habit has been instilled in them.

One summer had a brood of three little girls spending a good part of their days away from games, television and the usual fare during vacations.

Nicole Bautista and her two sisters were urged by their mom to pray the rosary together every day since they didn’t have any scheduled summer activities.

“We prayed the Joyful mysteries in the morning, the Sorrowful ones at noon, and the Glorious ones in the evening,” Bautista recalled with fondness.

“I don’t remember why we did it that way. Perhaps it’s so each of us could lead a whole rosary… I don’t really know anymore. That’s how I memorized all the prayers of the rosary.”

In Pope Benedict’s last General Audience of 2011 – December 28 – his catechesis contained reminders that “families should be schools of prayer,” taking their cue from the Holy Family at Nazareth. According to a report on the Vatican news website, the Pope also said it is important that “parents provide an example of prayerful meditation to their children just like Mary and Joseph did.”

Carrying on family traditions

While Bautista’s parents took no part in the young brood’s thrice-daily rosary, they apparently carried out what the Holy Father referred to as the parents’ role.

According to the 28-year-old writer, her family carried on the tradition of praying the rosary together on trips back home to Manila from Cavite – taken almost weekly – for many years while growing up.

Sunday mass together was also ingrained in the family, and “when we were little, my mom and dad used to bring us to weekday masses before bringing us to school and going to work. I don’t remember that they explained the mass to us. It was just part of the routine for us kids,” Bautista said.

These positive memories have helped her look forward to establishing a similar practice someday when it would be her turn to lead her future spouse and children in their life of faith.

“Someday when I have my own family, I want to set a tradition of praying the rosary together every night. I want to bring them closer to Our Lady. It’s a prayer that helps you appreciate important scenes in Christ’s life,” she explained.

“When I was little I had this children’s booklet on the rosary, and every mystery was illustrated in a cute style–I think that’s one way [of] helping a child imagine what happened in the mystery.”

Family prayers hardly done

For other people, helping the kids appreciate the Faith and develop a prayer life came even without the habit of family prayer ingrained in them.

Debbie Nakpil Rodrigo pointed out that there were no traditions of praying together as far as her family was concerned “except for the rare occasions when the image of the Blessed Mother would be at our house for the block rosary. My mom would then make us pray the rosary at 6 pm – at least those she could gather who were at home – for the whole time that it would be there,” she recalled.

Rodrigo grew up in a rather “un-religious” household, she said, where grace before meals, bedtime and morning prayers, and taking part in traditional Lenten practices were not done. The Sunday mass was the one thing her parents made sure was not missed.

Adapting prayers to the little ones

In spite of the absence of established routines during childhood when it came to praying as a family, Rodrigo – now a mother of five boys – has set her own faith traditions together with husband Francis and the brood.

The principles of Liturgical Bible Study have become invaluable in her family, and she has adapted these to her sons, ages ranging from 5-11 years.

“We read the coming Sunday’s gospel, go into details of that reading, before moving onto the First and Second Readings. At the end, we come up with a single ‘thread’ which ties up the three readings,” Rodrigo explained.

“We were very surprised that even at their varying ages they are able to understand, analyze, and relate to the readings,” she added.

Living an authentic Christian life – of which prayer is a part – is important to both Debbie and Francis, but the husband mentioned that his growing up years didn’t involve family prayer, “just occasional rosaries, which he hated because his mother would make them pray it on their knees!” Debbie said, now amused by the thought.

Bautista herself hardly anticipated the daily prayers of that one summer of thrice-daily rosaries, yet on hindsight sees the lessons such experiences taught her.

“I remember that we said the rosary at a specific hour every time. When it would be almost time to pray, you feel like you don’t want to go… but you still go anyway because it’s time. It’s like not wanting to do your homework, but you have to go do it anyway,” she mused.

“And after you pray you feel so good that you did it. That was just one summer when we were kids.”

The fruits of praying as a family

Rodrigo is hopeful that the efforts she and her husband are making in integrating common prayer into family life will engrave a genuine faith in her little boys’ hearts.

“A relationship with God is the most important thing we can teach our children, and we both hope that boys, being boys, will not rebel against the little lessons we teach them,” she enthused.

“More than that, we hope that our actions in daily life will serve as the good examples that they someday look back on as the inspiration for their own personal spirituality.”

“I remember once when I called up my friend at night and I was told to call back because their family was praying the rosary. The rosary brings the family together — it’s really family time. It’s a drop-everything-for-this kind of thing, and if every member of a family had at least one Drop Everything activity that they do together, then that makes them closer; they share a bond,” Bautista explained.

“Of course, praying together also is an opportunity to teach little ones that there is always Someone who is watching over them, and there is always someone who is praying for them. It doesn’t have to be the rosary at family prayer time; it can be as simple as talking to God and asking Him to bless the Pope, or to help a sick grandparent, or to guide somebody who will take a test the next day. And whether or not the prayers are answered soon, it’s one way to help kids understand that things happen because of prayer.” (CBCP for Life)