0 ‘San Pedro Calungsod,’ a GMA News TV historical docudrama

SAN PEDRO CALUNGSOD - A GMA News TV Historical Docudrama Airing Sunday, October 21, 8:45 PM

The Philippines gains a new Saint this October 21 in Pedro Calungsod.

Calungsod will only be the second Filipino officially declared a Saint after Pope John Paul II canonized Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila in 1987.

Very little is known about Pedro Calungsod.  GMA News TV Channel 11 sets out to introduce him to the audience — with a television special dramatizing his life.

Pedro Calungsod was born in 1655 in what was then the Diocese of Cebu, which covered the islands of Panay and Mindanao, as well as the Pacific island of Guam.  An assistant lay catechist, he was killed “in hatred of the faith” by Chamorro natives while trying to defend his fellow missionary Jesuit priest Diego Luis de San Vitores.

Through historical reenactments interspersed with interviews with Church experts and followers, GMA News TV provides the audience with a deeper understanding and appreciation of Calungsod’s life.

San Pedro Calungsod will air on Sunday, October 21 at 8:45 PM, the day Calungsod is canonized. The docudrama will be a highly anticipated News TV program for the over 80% Catholic audience in the Philippines, particularly Cebuanos.

0 Jamie Rivera sings own composition for Calungsod

MANILA, Oct. 2, 2012―Pop singer Jamie Rivera took the stage for the first time last Friday to sing a song she composed in honor of Blessed Pedro Calungsod during the closing of the National Laity Week at the University of Santo Tomas.

Inspiration behind the song 

In an interview, Rivera said she composed the song “Kuya Pedro” a mere four months ago, a collaborative effort with Noel Espidina who did the musical arrangement for the song.

The voice behind songs like "Heal Our Land" and the "The Great Jubilee" sang her own composition for Blessed Pedro last week on the same stage where she first started singing during her elementary days in UST.

“Suntok sa buwan ‘to (This was an unlikely event). This is just a contribution from me to the Catholic Church kasi wala pa ‘kong narinig na Tagalog na kanta for Pedro Calungsod (Because I haven’t heard any Tagalog song yet for Pedro Calungsod), she explained.

Rivera said the song, which is available on Youtube, is inspired by the fact that the young martyr was a catechist who taught about the faith and is like a “big brother” to Filipinos.

Big brother to everyone 

“The part that says, ‘teach us, big brother Pedro’ means we are asking him to help us pray to God because they are really good friends now,” she said in Filipino, explaining specific lyrics in the song.

The singer of such Church classics like the World Youth Day ’95 theme song, “Tell the World of His Love”, said she was aiming for a very “Pinoy” feel to the song by titling it “Kuya Pedro” because, for Filipinos everyone is an “ate” (older sister) or a “kuya” (older brother).

Rivera also called attention to the fact that Blessed Pedro was a big brother even to people he did not know.

Different aspects of Calungsod 

“Hindi niya pinipili kung sinong tao’ng tutulungan niya. Hindi naman niya kilala ‘yung mga ‘yun pero tinuruan niya,” she said referring to how the young missionary reached out to the Chamorros of the Marianas Islands.

According to Rivera, the song’s stanzas revolve around the different aspects of Calungsod’s persona – as a follower of God, a friend and a brother.

The Ars Cantica Ensemble did the back-up vocals for the song.

[Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz]

0 Catholic Church eyes Calungsod’s sainthood as a way to revive faith

The sainthood on Oct. 21 of the young lay missionary Blessed Pedro Calungsod is “a moment of great pride” and a boost to the declining Catholic Church, according to a Jesuit priest.

In a symposium on lay spirituality at the University of Sto.  Tomas on Friday, Fr. Catalino Arevalo cited a 2000 study that said the Philippines would no longer be a Catholic country in 40 years at the rate it has been losing members.

He added that only 6 percent of young Filipinos have been receiving “significant religious instruction,” according to a commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that examined the youth evangelization.

“They are not turning away, they are simply not being reached,” Arevalo said, adding that Calungsod, being a patron of the laity, was symbolic of what the Catholics needed to do to revive the faith.

Incidentally, Oct. 11 this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, a global convention that led to the renewal of the Church and its role in the modern world, and the 20th anniversary of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

Pope Benedict XVI declared Oct. 11, 2012, to Nov. 24, 2013, the Year of Faith to promote reflection on the Vatican II documents and the catechism.

These events helped fast-track the sainthood of Calungsod, surpassing the popular Mother Teresa and Blessed John Paul II among the more than 400 in line for canonization, retired Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said in the symposium.

Vidal had pushed for Calungsod’s sainthood upon learning in 1985 from Archbishop Felixberto Flores of Guam that the Philippines had a candidate. Calungsod was the sacristan of Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, who was beatified that year.

The archbishop sought the help of Jesuit Fr. Juan Ledesma to write a thesis on Calungsod, which he submitted in 1996 to the Vatican as a requirement of beatification. After four years, Calungsod was declared blessed.

Vidal added that he was not surprised when he heard of Calungsod’s canonization since someone from the Vatican told him last year that the young missionary was suited to the Pope’s Year of Faith and new evangelization.

Calungsod was a Visayan teenager who volunteered in the missionary expedition of San Vitores in 1668 to Ladrones Islands, renamed Marianas after Queen Maria Ana of Spain, now known as Guam. Calungsod endured physical labor in building churches and taking care of the group’s supplies. He was the constant companion of San Vitores, carrying the Mass kit, organizing baptismals and teaching the Catholic doctrines through songs.

The two missionaries were killed after baptizing a chieftain’s baby in Tumhon, Guam, on April 2, 1672. A Chinese who was not happy with the missionaries’ growing influence convinced the natives that the water used for baptizing was poisonous.

Parañaque Bishop Jesse Eugenio Mercado, chair of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity, also talked about the theme “Building up the Body of Christ and Strengthening our Faith through New Ways of Evangelization.”

“We have one same message, but because of the rapid changes in our society, it is important for us to adapt. The way we are going to present Jesus will vary according to the situation we are in,” Mercado told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“To revive the faith, we should let the youth participate and express in their own ways their belief in Jesus. It can be through social media, rock concerts, hip-hop dancing or theater plays, but without betraying the message of Jesus Christ,” he said.

source: INQUIRER

0 CBCP briefs media on miracle of Pedro Calungsod

Uploaded by TheABSCBNNews

0 Ruiz or Calungsod? Check the feet

MANILA, Philippines – To tell apart which image represents the first Filipino saint, Lorenzo Ruiz, and that of soon-to-be saint Pedro Calungsod, a Catholic Church official tells the faithful to check the feet.

At first glance, an observer might encounter difficulty in differentiating the two saints since both are wearing camisa de chino and short black pants. However, a closer look would show three distinguishing marks of Calungsod.

“(First) the face, he does not look Chinese. While Lorenzo (facial features) is with Chinese distinction,” said Fr. Marvin Mejia, assistant secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Calungsod would also be carrying a palm that symbolizes his martyrdom and a book – the Doctrina Christiana – that shows he is a catechist. Saint Ruiz’s hands, meanwhile, are clasped in prayer and holding a rosary.

Lastly, Calungsod’s feet are not positioned firmly on the ground as his right foot is placed forward.

“This was (retired) Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal’s idea and some priests (that) Pedro Calungsod should be presented as somebody who is dynamic… He is on the move because he is a missionary,” Mejia said.

The CBCP has been trying to gather information on Calungsod, who is to be canonized on Oct. 21 at the Vatican.

But up until yesterday, they have not yet traced his exact roots or from which province he hails nor did they find a birth certificate or baptismal certificate. The only thing certain was that he was Visayan.

There is also no definite description about him and whether or not his now famous painting was a product of the artist’s imagination.


By Evelyn Macairan

0 Live Jesus in Our Hearts, Forever

The gospel reading for this Sunday (30 September) is from the Gospel of St. Mark (Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48). The gospel speaks of two things- following Jesus and avoiding sin. Jesus notes that whoever is for Him and does mighty deeds in His name shall receive eternal reward; at the same time he berates everybody to detach themselves from that which causes one to sin. He illustrates the lesson by telling His followers to cut off their hands and feet if they cause a person to sin.

This fire in my heart must be the same fire that burned in the heart of Blessed Pedro Calungsod. This burned in the heart of a missionary, eager to bring the Gospel of the Lord to a place where He hasn’t been heard of. At a young age (it is estimated that he joined Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores), he willingly left home and joined the mission, to be an assistant to the Spanish Jesuit. He was a catechist, a companion, a missionary, a migrant, and a friend- and he welcomed Jesus in the deepest cavities of his heart.

We Filipinos are famous the world over for the hospitality that we show our guests, ever ready to give up the best bedroom in the house so that even the humblest guest would be comfortable. This reminds me of a La Sallete Missionary who was in the Philippines after the Second World War. He was the chaplain of a private university in Sampaloc, Manila and one day the priest was on an out-of-town trip when he decided to visit the residence of one of his frequent visitors in the chaplaincy, who happens to live in a remote village where he was visiting.

The family was poor. There was very little furniture in the nipa hut, just a chair and a papag. When the priest entered, he was treated like a king- the mother of the student gave him the seat- in fact the only seat in the house, and gave ten centavos to her son to buy two ice cubes and a bottle of soda. This was all that the woman had, and gave it so that the visitor would have refreshments. Noticing this, the priest offered to share with everybody the soda, but no one wanted to take even one sip. It was for their guest.

We are all called to welcome Jesus in our hearts. Do we welcome Him the way we Filipinos traditionally welcome our guests? Or do we treat Him like an unwanted visitor that gets sent away?

That is the challenge I present to you this week- to make our hearts a wonderful yet humble abode for the King of Kings, the Saviour of Mankind. He needs not riches nor extravagance, but a heart that does things for the glory of His name and who consciously avoids occasions of sinning. What he desires is not elegance than can rival the most expensive hotels in the world, but the heart of a person who shows compassion and love for His other creations in the way that He taught us. He prefers not glitter and gold, but simplicity, purity, and humility.

Let us promise God that we will continue to do all our actions for the love of Him. And, with a meek and humble heart, we beg him, “Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!”


By Aaron James R. Veloso

(Aaron Veloso has been helping with Blessed Pedro’s canonization since 2008. Counting Church history as one of his interests, his undergraduate thesis tackled the evolution of the Catholic Church in the Philippines vis-à-vis the evolving forms of government in the country. He is also the Prefect of the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception in the University in the Philippines. )

0 Calungsod Musical Culminates National Laity Week

MANILA - A musical show on the life of the upcoming second Filipino saint, Blessed Pedro Calungsod will culminate the week-long celebration of the National Laity Week.

The musical, which highlights the life and examples of the young Filipino martyr, is meant to serve as an inspiration to the laity.

The National Commission for the Canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod together with the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas and the University of Santo Tomas have organized the musical event called “Araw ng Katolikong Laiko, pagpupugay kay San Lorenzo at Beato Pedro”.

In a Church-organized forum, Ms. Giovanna Fontanilla of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Public Affairs Office said, the show will grace three major events on September 28, the closing of the Catholic Laity Week, the Feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz, and the welcoming of the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

Prior to the Calungsod musical, a mass will be presided by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle at 2 p.m. followed by a conference on Lay Spirituality at 3:30 p.m.

Fontanilla also said a painting exhibition which is open to everybody will take place before the Mass.

On display will be the works of art of the Angono painters that were presented to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle early this month, she added.

The show is an adaptation from a 1995 musical focusing on the life of Blessed Pedro leading to his canonization with TV actor Makisig Morales portraying the role of Pedro Calungsod.

With free admission, organizers hope the musical will inspire the public to pay tribute to the next Filipino saint by imitating his life and examples.

UST Education Auditorium will be venue of the show on Friday, September 28. (Jandel Posion)