parishworks! 1Vol. 7 No. 22 September 03, 2011

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Pastor’s MessageDo the Sameby: Rev. Msgr. Dennis S. Odiver

“Jesus said to His disciples: If your brother should commit some wrong against you, go and point out his fault, but keep it between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”(Mt. 18:15)

Much has been said and written about conflict management. We hear of concepts, principles and processes like confrontation, leveling and fraternal correction. Admittedly, we find ourselves constantly failing to renew or improve relations with one another.

We are individuals in need of healing and reconciliation. The conflicts we had in our lives have seriously hurt us. It left deep traumas, preventing us hence, from establishing true, loving and lasting relationships.

Jesus urges us to continuously extend our hands in friendship and forgiveness. He wants us to be peacemakers. He wants us to witness to His unconditional and unwavering love for all.

“If he does not listen… then treat him as you would a gentile or a tax collector.” (Mt. 18:16,17)

These words of Jesus exhort us not to avoid, withdraw or isolate ourselves from those who erred against us. It is instead a call for us to compassion. Every conflict has caused wounds upon us. We experience pain, discouragement and loneliness. It is through compassion that we can achieve healing and reconciliation.

The Faithful on SAAP’s First Spiritual Conference

My Brother’s Keeper... an excerpt from the reflections of the Holy Hour last Sept. 1by Ellie Medina

Every first Thursday of the month, the usual Holy Hour is spent inside the church presided by our pastor, Msgr. Dennis. Last Thursday, Sept. 1, our church was fortunate to have 2 guest presiders, Rev. Herbert and Rev. Gerard from the San Carlos Seminary. Come Oct. 1, they, together with other 4 deacons will be ordained as priests in Manila Cathedral.

We are our brother’s keeper. This statement was very powerful during the Holy Hour. Not only are we enjoined to take care of the well-being of our brothers in need but we are answerable to God for our brothers. Jesus has given us two commandments: first, to love God with all our minds, with all our hearts, with all of our soul and with all of our might. Second, He commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. The center of the reflections is our love

Last August 26, the ‘faithful’ people from St. Andrews assembled in the church for the first of the three Spiritual Conferences in preparation for the 43rd parish anniversary.

Most Rev. Bishop Teodoro Bacani

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Pastor’s Message ... from page 1

To be compassionate entails readiness to suffer with the other. It is our acknowledgement that words, thoughts and actions hurled against one another have corrupted and destroyed the relationship leaving us angry, hurting and broken. After which, we turn to God that He may through His grace renew and restore us.

The woman who came before Jesus inside the house of the Pharisee clearly manifested the compassionate heart of Jesus. He addressed those present: “I tell you that her sins, many as they are, have been forgiven her, because she has shown such great love. It is someone who is forgiven little who shows little love.” (Lk.7:46-47)

Throughout the gospels, Jesus has been found in the company of sinners and outcasts. We can name the likes of Zacchaeus, the Canaanite woman and the Roman official. His heart was truly filled with so much compassion for them. And Jesus believes we are capable of doing the same.

Together with our pastor, Msgr. Dennis, Rev. Gerard (left) and Rev. Herbert (right).

Pinky Uy sharing her life experience during the First Spiritual Conference

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First Spiritual Conference... from page 1

Our most Rev. Bishop Teodoro Bacani highlighted the program as he gave a very uplifting talk bearing the theme, “A Community Imbued with Faith.”

The program commenced with a powerful praise and worship led by Bro. Hernan Prodigo of SARC. This was then followed by the inspiring talk of Bishop Bacani whose natural charisma and wits did not fail to hype up the listening crowd. He talked about how God wants his children to become a community of apostles and a true church of the poor. He also advised the Catholic community to imitate Christ and be always faithful to his

Word. The Bishop acknowledges that to be faithful is a form of suffering; yet it is the kind of suffering that will lead us to a good and meaningful life- with Christ as our model.

After the talk, Pinky Uy shared some relevant life experiences where she and her faith had been put to test, but triumphed at the end.

The first spiritual conference ended as a glory-filled and wondrous event with the attendees all blessed and all-smiles. True, that night was a blessing for everyone! See you at the next Spiritual Conference on Sept. 16!

Reflection on “Community Imbued with Faith” By Aldrin Nepomuceno

It is hard to find time for philosophical inquiries; but you would recognize it once it’s there.

On that night of August, I listened intently to Bishop Bacani as he gave a talk about a ‘community imbued with faith’. I remember not being so engrossed to any homily especially of the theological kind. You know, the citation of verses, biblical allusions, and history of the Israelites, the Jewish, or the Gentiles (of which I have great trouble distinguishing one from another). I thought: If it were Sigmund Freud who was giving a lecture, I would have wished for a ‘phonographic memory’ so that I could rush home and write and give my notes on psychoanalysis a nice refurbishing.

Sometimes, I guess some priests strike a false note when they give homilies that require a tapping of certain human virtues like love, faith, and hope. They fall in love with their words- the rhetorics and the episodic stentorian dramatics- not knowing that the beauty of the intended message only gets jettisoned out of the church’s vaulted ceilings, and not ingrained into the minds and hearts of the mass goers. If it does, it only discernibly exists on the selective memory seats of the hearers. Sooner or later, God’s ‘voice’ will be gone.

No wonder, whenever we hear of love, faith, and hope, what we hear are cracklings of skepticism or a desperate pitch for salvation.

But hearing Bishop Bacani’s words made all things different. True, it was the rarest of times that I had to put my faith into close scrutiny. Am I really faithful? Am I following the footsteps of Christ, not because I see it, but

because I believe that if I walk on, I can do everything else?

When asked to describe my faith, I would probably be at a loss for words. For me, talking about one’s faith is like counting how many times I breathed yesterday. Everytime we try to communicate it, we are bound to fail. Both ourselves and it. This is how hard to convey faith: it practically eludes the limits of language. Then again, to discuss about it is an appeal to logic, and faith never works that way.

Being faithful is like crossing a deep ravine on a tightrope where a possible fall lures us from the throes of cold reason, whereas its success lies on the unquestionable tradition of following God’s will and believing that you too can lead a life that is meaningful, however full of suffering. Yes! An action driven by faith is truly a leap into the void, a jump into uncertainty; yet it is in this void where faith is more necessary- this is where we begin to yearn for meaning and life that is truly worth living. Together, with Christ as our leader.

Faith is that one little candle that lights up the world and diminishes the darkness of an indifferent universe. It is the unseen mesh ready to catch you when you feel as though you would fall. It is what pulls you through on those periods of dementia when you are so preoccupied getting by with the stressful motions of living. Faith simply means believing- without demanding for proofs- although truth may sometimes appear obscure, it will never perish. It just lies within you, until you acknowledge its existence, and from that, witness the inherent beauty of its own unfolding.

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Ria Salvaña Matthew LizaresParish Works StaffSusan Amoroso, Magda Gana, Emilio Medina, Angelina Poe, Irene GonzalesBulletin Board CoordinatorsEJ Carlos, Harley Dave PunzalanPowerpoint CoordinatorsEllie Medina, Ging Santos SAAP Facebook AdminRochelle Pineda

ContributorsAldrin Nepomuceno

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. Media and Communications Ministry Co-coordinators

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Announcements1. Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish Community

would like to invite everyone to the second and third series of Spiritual Conferences in preparation for our 43rd Parish Fiesta. This will be at 7:00 pm at the parish church.

• September 16 – A Community Driven by Hope

• October 21 - A Community Impelled with Love

2. On September 8, Thursday, birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary our schedule of masses will be at 6:30 am, 12:15 pm, 5:00 pm, 6:30 pm, 8:00 pm.

Brother’s Keeper ... from page 1

for our neighbors to which Paul stressed in his letter to the Romans, “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Rom 13:10). It is very easy to love our neighbors when they are like us, clothe like us, smell like us or when they are “lovable”. But the readings invoke us to love even the most unlovable of persons and those who may have hurt us. The commandments Jesus has given us are not just a law to be followed. It is a promise as well that Jesus is doing the same for us, even giving His life for our sake on the cross. Rev. Gerard even recounted his personal experience with a simple text message to reiterate the value we have to learn. According to him, we must not lose ourselves to anger, instead be charitable to our brothers. Rev. Herbert helped him overcome his anger in that situation by not sending the text message that could have hurt another person. Even in the simplest things we do and utter, we must have compassion to our brothers, even if they hurt us first. He also added that we are to correct our brothers who err; likewise, we must listen and accept correction when we are the ones who did wrong. It is one thing to give in to our weaknesses and eventually sin but it is another when we resist correction. We must not let pride get in the way of expressing love with our brethren.

Seasoned priests and speakers usually move us with their sermons inspiring us to do good and mend our ways. I had a very wonderful experience of listening to God through the mouths of His future shepherds. Young as they were, their eloquence and charisma oozed with the Spirit of God as they shared their reflections on the readings and gospel for the 23rd Sunday in ordinary time. Moments of silence mostly enveloped the congregation during the Holy Hour. But when both of them gave their reflections, their words can never ring any clearer. For me, their words were like booming thunder clouds making God’s presence known all the more. It is really worthwhile to spend an hour for the Lord, amidst the busy schedule of our day. For in His presence, even in silence, we can feel His love for us overflowing giving us empowerment to do the same for our brothers.