0 Devotees share stories of faith

Two women yesterday shared their stories of faith in San Pedro Calungsod’s intercession for divine providence.

Mary Jane dela Torre, 33, of Mandaue City, said doctors found a lump in her child’s neck two months after he was born.

Dela Torre said she had a hard time giving birth to Ejhay, her second child now aged three.

The mother went to St. Joseph’s Shrine in Mandaue City yesterday with the boy and his sister Sharia, 7.

“I promised San Calungsod that I would go to the shrine to see him,” she said.

Dela Torre gave birth to her son on Sept. 14, 2009. She was advised to undergo a caesarian operation which would cost P50,000 to P60,000. She refused.

The doctor who later delivered her 7.5-pound baby used forceps.

Unable to pay doctor fees, Dela Torre didn’t come back for a checkup. Two months later, the mother noticed a lump in the right side of her sons neck. Again, the doctor said the child had to undergo an operation when he reaches 7 years of age.

Dela Torre said her husband Jody, a tarpaulin sewer, can’t afford that.
Instead, she relies on prayers for the intercession of Pedro Calungsod after hearing accounts of miracles attributed to his help.

Every night before going to bed, the mother applies liniment on E-Jhay/s neck.

She said one night while doing their usual ritual, the boy uttered: “Calungsod ayoha nako ha, Mama Mary ayoha nako (Calungsod please heal me. Mama Mary please heal me).”

Like the Dela Torres, 32-year-old Lolita Andero also went to the St. Joseph’s Natinoal Shrine to see the pilgrim image of the saint, which stayed there overnight.

Andero suffers from goiter.

God’s will

She took a tricycle to the shrine at 5 a.m. to catch the send off mass for San Pedro.

Andero said her health deteriorated after she didn’t show up for her medical check-up.

“It’s God’s will for this to happen to me that’s why I accepted this,” she said.

Andero, who has bald patches which she says was the side effect of pain killers she was taking, told Cebu Daily News that the doctor advised her against undergoing operation.

“I hope that San Pedro Calungsod will help cure me of my illness,” a teary-eyed Andero said.

By Jucell Marie P. Cuyos
Cebu Daily News

0 Bishop urges Pinoys to follow Calungsod's ways

CEBU, Philippines – Bishops and Archbishops who joined the national thanksgiving Mass for San Pedro Calungsod on Friday expressed their happiness over the Cebuanos’ effort in organizing such a big event.

They said that it was a chance for everyone to renew their faith especially during the Year of Faith.

Bishop Julius Tonel from the Diocese of Ipil in Zamboanga-Sibugay said Calungsod’s sainthood was celebrated at the right time when the Church is facing key challenges.

“It’s very important especially for our faith as a Catholic nation in many situations that we are threatened by moral issues and our faith would give us, our very core  what it means to live as Catholic missionaries like Pedro Calungsod,” said Bishop Tonel.

Bishop Ricardo Baccay, Auxilliary Bishop of Tuguegarao, said Calungsod is everyone’s saint, and everyone is encouraged to follow his ways.

“There are many ways to have Pedro in our lives, but for me, now especially in the Year of Faith and call for evangelization, all of us are being called radically to follow him,” said Bishop Baccay.

But aside from Calungsod’s sainthood, Bishop Jose Romeo Lazo of Antique said Cebuanos and the entire country should also celebrate and be thankful that another Church leader has been elevated as Cardinal.

He said Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and San Pedro Calungsod have something in common -- their youth. Tagle is one of the youngest Cardinals while Calungsod is also a young saint.

“There’s timing in this situation that we are in, a young Cardinal like that will also be a witness how the young can be really alive in their faith,” said Bishop Lazo.

Cardinal Tagle felt humbled by his elevation. He said that he still feels nervous but promised to serve his best as a man of God.

Tagle, who will have his thanksgiving Mass on Saturday, also expressed his happiness over Friday’s event.

He emphasized how Calungsod unconditionally gave his love, service, and faith to others and offered his life to God.

“Si Pedro Calungsod ngayon ay larawan na ng lahat ng Pilipino, ng kagitingan, nga kabanalan, at yung kakayahan natin pala na ‘yung Pilipino ay kayang magbigay ng sarili, ng kabutihan kahit na sa kanyang hindi kababayan. Kitang-kita natin sa ating mga OFWs, seamen, sa mga tao na gumagawa ng mabuti hindi lamang para sa kanilang pamilya at sa kapwa Pilipino kung ‘di pati na sa ibang bansa. Ito ay talagang Thanksgiving Day,” said Tagle, who went back to Manila with Cardinal Rosales immediately after the thanksgiving Mass.

Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales also said Calungsod should really be admired because despite his young age, he was  able to prove his faith.

“Pedro Calungsod is not only a Cebuano, a real Filipino and a model for young people, the idealism that he showed should be an example for our young Filipinos. His love for the church, love for the gospel, love for higher truths, higher values, should also be followed by Filipino people especially the young,” he said.

By Carine Asutilla, ABS-CBN News Central Visayas

0 Super Inggo as St. Calungsod gets standing ovation in Cebu

Makisig Morales, 15, better known for his starring role in the Emmy- nominated fantaserye Super Inggo played the teen Visayan martyr Pedro Calungsod.

Thousands of Cebuanos caught a glimpse of the life, travels and martyrdom of the young saint in a musical staged at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino Grand Ballroom on Wednesday night.

“Teen Saint Pedro” showed the young martyr from who travelled with Jesuit priest Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores and other missionaries to the Marianas islands (now Guam) in 1668 where they died while propagating the Catholic faith.

The show was an adaptation of Msgr. Rudy Villanueva’s full-length musical, Scenes from a Martyrdom, which was produced and performed by 29AD Musicionaries and members of Couples for Christ and its ministries.

Storyline

The play, opens with Blessed Diego de San Vitores and his co-missionaries including the young Pedro, played by Morales, arriving in the Marianas islands.

The play ends with the whole ensemble singing “Way Sukod” (Without Measure), with a solo by Gretchen Yaoyao.

The song about undying long was composed by Fr. Villanueva in 1983 and has come to be closely identified with Calungsod to underscore his unfathomable love and faith in God even in his dying moments.

The Cebuano audience was generous in showing its appreciation with loud applause after every scene.

The musical merited a standing ovation after the last act with Makisig in centerstage portraying San Pedro Calungsod holding the Bible and a palm branch.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who was at the front row, went on stage to rejoice with the cast and placed a garland around Makisig’s neck, congratulating him.

Micca Eleccion, 30, who watched the show with her 1-year-old baby said she was impressed by the play.

“I really saw the real saint Pedro Calungsod in him,” she said when asked why she wants to see Makisig up close.

Makisig is a graduating student in St. Augustine International School in Quezon City.

He said he wants to pursue Film Directing and Theater Arts in college.

The musical premiered in the University of Santo Tomas auditorium last Sept. 28.

By Santino S. Bunachita
Cebu Daily News

0 Electric shock survivor dedicates ‘second life’ to San Pedro Calungsod

PETRONILO Dagojas, an electrician of the Mandaue city government, is grateful for his “second life” which he said he dedicates to San Pedro Calungsod.

The father of two almost died when he touched a live wire while replacing street lamps in Hermag Village in barangay Basak last May 28.

The electric shock forced doctors to amputate his left arm.

“Basin gibuhi pako sa Ginoo kay pabalikon ko niya ug serbisyo ug plano nako mahimong devoto ni Pedro Calungsod karon nga gitagaan ko ug ikaduha nga kinabuhi,” Dagojas said.

(Maybe the Lord saved my life because he wants me to serve him and I plan to devote my life to Pedro Calungsod.)

Last Nov. 26, he paid Mayor Jonas Cortes a courtesy call as he resumes work after a six-month medical leave.

Dagojas has found a new devotion in St. Calungsod and is reviving his interest in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, where he was an inactive member.

Last night, he attend the third and final triduum Mass for St. Pedro Calungsod in the National Shrine of Saint Joseph the Worker in Mandaue City.

In his near-fatal accident last May, Dagojas and a co-worker were hoisted in a boom ladder up an electric post to replace a street lamp.

He accidentally touched a high tension 23,0000-volt wire of the Visayas Electric Company (Veco).

Dagojas was hospitalized for about two months and was granted a paid six-month leave.

He was discharged from the Perpetual Succor Hospital last July 11.

As a breadwinner, Dagojas never thought he would lose a limb.

Sometimes, he said, he would look at his amputated arm and wish he could rewind his life like a cassette tape.

“Usahay makahilak ko magtan-aw sa akong kamot pero wala koy mahimo isip magpasalamat nalang ko nga gilugwayan ko ug laing kinabuhi sa Ginoo,” Dagojas said.

(Sometimes, I cry looking at my missing arm, but I can’t do anything about it. I am just thankful that the Lord gave me a second life.)

After learning about the life and struggles Pedro Calungsod, he said he realized he still has much to be thankful for.

By Jucell Marie P. Cuyos
Cebu Daily News

0 PHLPost reprints more Calungsod stamps due to ‘high demand’

MANILA - The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has just announced that it will reprint 500,000 more copies of commemorative stamps in honor of St. Pedro Calungsod.

PHLPost Postage and Philatelic Department manager Elenita San Diego said the new copies have been made available to the public since Tuesday due to high public demand.

The new batch of stamps, however, was only presented and launched Wednesday at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, ahead of the Thanksgiving Mass for Calungsod’s canonization on Nov. 30.

She said that they decided to release the copies earlier because there was a continued clamor for them to issue more stamps on the second Filipino saint.

“Due to insistent public demand, we would be reprinting 500,000 more Calungsod stamps. We would be using the same design,” San Diego said.

Last Oct.21, coinciding Calungsod’s canonization in Rome, the PHLPost first launched the Calungsod stamps at the historic EDSA Shrine in Quezon City.

The agency initially printed 50,000 copies and were sold out in just a matter of nine days, spurring them to produce more stamps, which are sold at P9 per piece.

“Right there, we had a lot of buyers and not all of them are philatelists. They bought sheets of the stamp,” San Diego said.

“One person even bought 200 sheets of Calungsod stamps which she said she would give to friends as gifts,” she also said.

(RL/CBCPNews)

0 Calungsod parish seeks to bring hope to informal settlers

MANILA - A new parish named for the country’s second saint and focused on serving a community for informal settlers has been created in Muntinlupa City.

The San Pedro Calungsod Quasi-Parish was established last October 14 by Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado to address the spiritual needs of the residents.

The parish covers the housing resettlement projects for informal settlers in the 50-hectare portion of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reservation.

Fr. Benjamin Molina Jr., parish priest, said they see the need that is present, and the church wants to reach out to the people in the area with around 50,000 population.

“The quasi-parish envisions itself as a church of the poor, a refuge for those seeking hope and healing, a venue for people to be agents of change through spiritual formation and livelihood programs,” he said.

Molina said among the parish’s priorities is to intensify teaching the life and faith of Calungsod among the parishioners.

“We’ve been holding catechism on the life of San Pedro Calungsod in different venues including public schools,” Molina said.

While the parish has no church yet, Molina said he currently hold office and services at a covered court managed by the National Housing Authority (NHA).

Aware of the conditions of the residents, the parish also administers sacraments like baptism, marriage including funeral and house blessings without parish fees or “arancel”.

“We bring the sacraments closer to the people for free,” said Molina, who currently resides at the Ina ng Awa Parish Church’s convent inside the NBP minimum security compound.

On December 29, the parish will also hold a Christmas gift-giving activity for around 2,000 children in the NBP reservation.

According to canon law, a quasi-parish is a community of faithful within a particular Church, entrusted to a priest, but because of special circumstances not yet established as a parish.

Following Calungsod’s canonization, church officials expect that more parishes across the country will be established in honor of the Visayan martyr who was canonized in Rome last October 21.

In Cebu, the Pedro Calungsod Parish Church stands in barangay Cantabaco, Toledo City although there is another plan to build another parish church for the new saint in Talamban town.

The San Pedro Calungsod Institute for the Young (SPCIY) was also established in the Diocese of Laoag in Ilocos Norte, which aims to mobilize young faithful to be missionaries for the “New Evangelization”.

(RL/CBCPNews)

0 Forecast: more vocations because of St. Pedro

MANILA - How does one measure the impact of a new saint in the Church?

For Directors of Vocations in the Philippines (DVP) National Coordinator Fr. Rochester Charles Resuello, one concrete effect would be an increase in vocations in the Philippines.

“I am expecting of more vocations (sic), especially in Cebu,” he said in an interview.

For Fr. Resuello, the newly-canonized saint’s example is like a “big invitation” to sainthood and a life well-lived, especially to young people.

According to Fr. Resuello, several characteristics make St. Pedro Calungsod particularly appealing to young people, such as his dedication and his witness to faith.

“(The) number one tool for vocations promotions is life witnessing,” he added, saying it is an even more effective means than posters, websites or brochures promoting vocations.

Fr. Resuello, who helps oversee formation programs and training for some 50 vocations directors in the country, said life witnessing allows a person to join a youth’s personal life journey.

He seems to be banking on the fact that the example of St. Pedro Calungsod, who was martyred in 1672, will be riveting and inspiring to modern Filipinos, even after more than three hundred years.

According to the 2012 Pontifical Yearbook, there is a trend of increasing priestly and religious vocations, especially in Asia and Africa.

Though specific figures for the Philippines are not available yet, there was an increase of 1,695 priestly vocations in Asia, to which the Philippines contributed considerably.

[Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz]