NEWSLETTER
January 15, 2012: Feast of the Santo Niño (B) White

GOSPEL READING: MARK 10:13-16
People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

CHURCH CALENDAR
January 15 – Feast of the Sto. Niño, Proper Feast in the Philippines
January 17 – St. Anthony, Abbot
January 19 – Family Prayer Assembly
January 21 – St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
January 22 – 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

SANTO NIÑO
Every third Sunday of January, we, Filipinos, celebrate the feast of the Santo Niño as a sign of our special devotion to the Child Jesus. The feast brings to our attention the mystery of childhood. In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands the disciples to let the children come to him. Like Jesus, we should have a special love for the “little ones”: the humble, the poor, the defenseless, those who rely only on God for their support. Even more important, Jesus invites us to become like little children. Let us accept the Kingdom and the Lord’s gifts without reservation. Let us forsake cunning, deceit, and cold calculation. It is only by responding to his invitation that we can go beyond mere sentimental devotion to the Child Jesus.

Prayer
Almighty Father, your only Son, begotten from all ages, humbled himself as a child in Nazareth and became subject to Mary and Joseph. Grant that we may learn from his example to embrace your will in all things and, holding fast to the dignity of all, serve our lowly brothers and sisters with open hands and gentle heart. We ask this through our lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

January 19 – Family Prayer Assembly
Celebrate the beginning of 2012 as the year of Faith and Hope. The literal and figurative storms of last year, especially few weeks before Christmas, necessitate our renewal of our relationship with the Author of Life. As Christians, we have the power to move mountains and change lives. Because we have been made partakers in Jesus’ victory over sin and death (Jn 4:4) we have authority as sons and daughters of God to pray for others pushing back the darkness of sin and oppression in people’s lives (1 Tim 2:1-2). In prayer, we have a weapon that has Divine power to destroy stronghold (2 Cor 10:4). There are many ways to love our neighbors, but INTERCESSORY PRAYER – praying on behalf of other people – should be central to all our efforts. Come to the FAMILY PRAYER ASSEMBLY on the 19th of January 2012, beginning with the 6:30 pm Eucharistic Celebration. Expand our understanding of “THE POWER OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER“. Resource person: Sis. Vita Monforte

ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF PARAÑAQUE
DECREE
“volumus Iesum videre” (John 12:21)

“We wish to see Jesus”. These words addressed by the Greeks to St. Philip ring true even today among the People of God in the great cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, especially among the young, who hunger for truth, justice and prosperity and who find in Jesus Christ alone their truest friend and highest ideal.

As we thank the Lord for the graces he granted us since our erection as a Diocese on 7 December 2002 especially during the year 2011 dedicated to the “renewed laity’s commitment to the catechetical formation of the young”, we realize that we ought to continue the worthy initiatives of making the liturgy youth-friendly and family-friendly, enhancing the catechesis of the youth particularly in public schools, enabling parents to educate their children in life, love and marriage, and empowering our out-of-school youth. Let us intensify our efforts so that we may manifest Jesus to each other, especially to the young.

We had difficult lessons to learn:

1. that the catechetical formation of the youth should be integrated into the holistic evangelization of the family, and that fundamental to the evangelization of the family is the renewal of marriage;
2. that we must evangelize culture by developing and manifesting more clearly and convincingly a Catholic conscience as our authentic contribution to Philippine society, whether or not it will be welcomed;
3. that we must address the spiritual as well as – if not more so – the physical hungers of Filipinos today in order to enable each human person to become a committed Christian as well as a productive citizen;
4. that it is Christ himself whose charity urges us to serve him in the least of his brethren, to promote a culture of life and to fulfill our vocation as stewards of creation;
5. that unity is vital for evangelization: the unity of the priests with their Bishop in particular cannot but affect the credibility of our collective witness as a community of Christ’s disciples.

As we welcome His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s declaration of 11 October 2012 to 24 November 2013 as a “Year of Faith”, we also note that 2021 will mark the fifth centenary of the first Eucharist and of the first Baptism on what would later become the Philippines. Recalling that “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ”, we declare the years 2012-2021 as a “Decade of New Evangelization” in the Diocese of Parañaque. In continuity with our Diocesan Vision and Mission, we shall be enhancing the basic ecclesial community as a way of life by walking together in the light of God’s Word (Bible), uniting around Christ’s redeeming Cross (Eucharist) and transforming communion in the faith into communities at the service of the poor (Community-in-service).

We entrust our efforts to Mary, the Mother of our Lord – whom we invoke in Parañaque as Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso and in Muntinlupa as Inang Mapag-ampon – and to St. Joseph, the Spouse of Mary – whom we invoke in Las Piñas as Tata Husep. Let us follow the example of St. Andrew who, together with St. Philip, presented the Greeks’ desire to see the Lord. In communion with St. Peter, his brother and fellow fisherman, let us heed the Lord’s command, “Duc in altum et laxate retia vestra in capturam (Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch)”.

Given in the Cathedral of St. Andrew, Parañaque City, on 1 January 2012, the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.

Most Rev. JESSE E. MERCADO, D.D.
Bishop of Parañaque

Rev. Fr. BENJAMIN D. MOLINA, JR.
Chancellor

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