parishworks! 1Vol. 7 No. 40 January 07, 2012

turn to page 2

www.saaparish.com and www.facebook.com/saaparish

Sunday GoSpel

Mt 2:1-12turn to page 3

turn to page 3

new year: ushering a Season of Faith, Hope and love

Last week, almost everyone in the world came out to celebrate the advent of a brand new year. Only a week after Christmas, it is a mardi gras open for all, especially for the Filipino people, who are, by nature, fun-loving. No wonder we consider ourselves as a happy nation.

Who of us did not (or would not) partake in the festivity of all the lights and sounds which bombard the senses only but once a year? Who would not join in the revelry of cackling and laughter all around? Who would not take time to look upon the darkened sky just to

Last December 29th, 50 kids participating in the SAAP Feeding Program were given a new year’s treat by the P.J. Lhuillier Scholarship Foundation represented by Atty. Cesar Vidal and Ms. Marian Padilla. Delicious snacks, games, prizes and gifts were distributed to the kids during the fun-filled afternoon.

Our pastor Monsignor Dennis Odiver turned 45 years old last 2 January 2012. What a great way to start a brand new year in the parish! Monsignor’s special day was off to an unexpected rousing start as he was serenaded in the convent by the parish staff right at the strike of midnight. Fr. Allan Dichoso, Parochial Vicar, gamely joined in the singing. Although Monsignor remained characteristically quiet about his birthday, after his noon Mass, he invited all those

Happy Bday Monsi dennis

a new year’s treat by the p.J. lhuillier Scholarship Foundation

2

turn to page 4

new year... from page 1

Brother andré, the HealerFeast day 6 January

Brother André expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to St. Joseph. Sickness and weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth

of 12 children born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at 12, when both parents had died, he became a farmhand. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith—all failures. He was a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War.

At 25, he applied for entrance into the Congregation of the Holy Cross.

catch even the tiniest glimpse of those bolting and jolting pyrotechnic tangents we call firecrackers which lightens and brightens the heavens for a moment and illuminates the heart with hope amid the tempting pessimistic view of this year, 2012? (Who gives a better hint, the movie or the Mayas?)

A New Year has come on us and we have another reason to rejoice and enjoy heartily.

As I was pondering on some thoughts on New Year’s Eve, I came to realize three things that make up a New Year celebration – fireworks, a resolution and a family [midnight] meal. These three ought to be remembered for what they are worth.

First, New Year is never complete without fireworks. Seeing it go up higher and higher into the sky and then explode into smaller, miniscule pieces of flame which disperse the darkness cannot fail to make one’s heart leap for joy in sheer exhilaration. Those fireworks symbolize our faith life as Christians.

Jesus had sparked the flame of faith in us when we were immersed in the waters of Baptism. We must follow the example of the firecracker. We must let ourselves be consumed by the fire of Christ so that we may come to let our faith – that inner light – shine ever more brightly in the darkened, corrupt, egocentric and highly secularized society in which we live in. We must become evangelizers, never hesitating in proclaiming our faith in Christ in all our works and undertakings.

Second, though some people, if not many, discontinue practicing this, is that of making a New Year’s resolution – a promise to change something negative in us. It may come in many forms – physically, (losing weight, exercising more) mentally, (studying more, reading more)

emotionally, (never giving up, moving on from a past relationship), socially, (gaining more friends, spending more time with the family) or spiritually (finishing the Simbang Gabi, going to Confession more often). All of these manifest that we are persons who wish to improve the world by improving ourselves.

What motivates us to change? Hope - that virtue which is either left out in catechism classes or mostly misunderstood. Hope is not a vain longing or yearning; rather, it is a lively but humble reliance on God’s Providence, proven to us this Christmas season in the gift of His Son, Jesus. We hope because we find a reason to hope in Him. We know we can reform ourselves because we hope in the mercy and goodness of God.

Third and lastly, we have the Media Noche, the midnight feast heralding the New Year. We gather as a family around the table to celebrate together, to spend this intimate moment together with those we care about. The dining table becomes a place where not only food is shared, not only drinks are poured, but it becomes a center of giving and receiving Love – God’s Love, who took on human nature in Jesus at Christmas.

That love which flows from the table should fill our hearts to the brim that we may spread that very same love to everyone throughout the year. We ought to make love incarnate in our lives so that, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may give birth to Jesus and share Him to our confused world once again.

Today, let us ask the Newborn King that we may be given the grace to light a firecracker of Faith, make a resolution of Hope and feast on the Media Noche of Love so that we may become a community of disciples ready to proclaim Him to the ends of the earth.

parishworks! 3

days of prayer... from page 1

a new year’s treat (more photos)... from page 1

in attendance to partake in an agape consisting of lunch packs that were prepared and distributed by the parish staff. Later in the day, Monsignor also presided over Mass after which he again invited those who attended to dinner that he hosted together with his mother and his sister, in Jubilee hall. An impromptu program to honor the birthday celebrant and entertain the guests who came to greet him, then took place. In his remarks, Monsignor

Dennis gave thanks for the gift of life, for the gift of healing of his mother who was recently ill, and for all the graces and blessings bestowed upon him, the parish, his family, and friends.

Happy, happy birthday once again, Monsignor Dennis! We, your parishioners, thank God too for making you our Shepherd. May you be blessed more and more with each passing day of this new year!

4

Parish Office Hours

Tuesday-Saturday 9:00 a.m.-Noon; 2:00-7:00 p.m.Sunday 7:00 a.m.-Noon; 2:00-7:00 p.m.

Ria Salvaña Matthew LizaresParish Works StaffMagda Gana, Emilio Medina, Russel Matthew Patolot, Angelina PoeBulletin Board EditorEJ Carlos, Harley Dave PunzalanPowerpoint CoordinatorGing Santos, Ellie MedinaSAAP Facebook AdminRochelle Pineda

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

Sunday Mass Schedule 6:30am - Filipino

8:00am - English 9:30am - English 11:00am - English 12:15n.n - English

3:30pm - Filipino 5:00pm - English 6:30pm - English 8:00pm - English

AUTHORIZED PETRON DEALER IN MAKATI

FAST DELIVERY

TEXT OR CALL: 0918-9640000

843-2207•886-0931843-8440•843-8691

487 J.P. Rizal St. Makati CityFiRsT ChOiCE

After a year’s novitiate, he was not admitted because of his weak health. But with an extension and the urging of Bishop Bourget (see Marie-Rose Durocher, October 6), he was finally received. He was given the humble job of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained 40 years,” he said.

In his little room near the door, he spent much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of St. Joseph, to whom he had been devoted since childhood. When asked about it he said, “Someday, St. Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!”

When he heard someone was ill, he visited to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person. He would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel. Word of healing powers began to spread.

When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, André volunteered to nurse. Not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. “I do not cure,” he said again and again. “St. Joseph cures.” In the end he needed four secretaries to handle the 80,000 letters he received each year.

For many years the Holy Cross authorities had tried to buy land on Mount Royal. Brother André and others climbed the steep hill and planted medals of St. Joseph. Suddenly, the owners yielded. André collected 200 dollars to build a small chapel and began receiving visitors there—smiling through long hours of listening, applying St. Joseph’s oil. Some were cured, some not. The pile of crutches, canes and braces grew. Brother André’s oil and medals were authentic sacramentals of a simple, total faith in the Father who lets his saints help him bless his children.

The chapel also grew. By 1931 there were gleaming walls, but money ran out. “Put a statue of St. Joseph in

the middle. If he wants a roof over his head, he’ll get it.” The magnificent Oratory on Mount Royal took 50 years to build. The sickly boy who could not hold a job died at 92.

He is buried at the Oratory. He was beatified in 1982 and canonized in 2010. At his canonization in October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI said that St. Andre “lived the beatitude of the pure of heart.”-Catholic Online

Brother andre ... from page 2