Daily Live Mass at 6:30AM. Click here » 
Welcome to our website
"A dynamic and participative parish, relevant to the times and responsive to the needs of all sectors of a community, that is both evangelized and evangelizing, living the gospel values and working together with renewed hope for the kingdom of God."
News and Events
Catholic Articles
November 1: All Saints’ Day—Solemnity
Holy Day of Obligation
Liturgical Color: White
Quote:
After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” ~ Revelation 7:9–10
Reflection: Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, a celebration honoring all men and women who have entered Heaven. While this includes every soul in Heaven, the focus is particularly on those who led extraordinarily holy lives on earth and that the Church has canonized as saints. These individuals honored God in a variety of ways:
through deep prayer and mystical union, through enduring martyrdom or other forms of religious persecution, and through acts of service, such as caring for the needy or teaching the faith. Some saints were powerful preachers or miracle workers. Others were leaders, some lived in obscurity, and still others experienced exile or made significant personal sacrifices for their faith. In various ways, these saints glorified God during their lifetimes.
By honoring this host of saintly witnesses, we honor and glorify God through their lives. By honoring them, we honor Him Who made them holy. This liturgical solemnity is but a foretaste of the eternal Solemnity of Heaven. Heaven will be the eternal glory of God through the lives of all His saints. In Heaven, the virtues, sacrifices, prayers, and selfless service of all the saints will radiate as beacons that eternally manifest the great mercy and goodness of God. The life of every saint in Heaven will become a continuous chorus of praise and worship of God, intertwined with the nine choirs of angelic hosts. With the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, the saints will cry “Holy, Holy, Holy…” With the Dominions, Virtues, and Powers, the saints will participate in God’s providential care of the New Heavens and Earth.
With the Principalities, Archangels, and Guardian Angels, the saints will celebrate God’s protection and continuous communication with all of His sons and daughters. Heaven today, as well as the New Heavens and Earth at the end of time, will be nothing other than a continuous solemn celebration of all that God is in His essence and all that God has done in the lives of those who responded to His grace.
Honoring the saints also becomes an invitation to each one of us on earth to strive after the holiness the saints attained. The saints give us an example; their lives are a “how to” book in holiness. The lives of the “super saints”—such as the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas—should be studied and pondered so that we can learn from their example.
We must also remember that, from Heaven, the saints become powerful intercessors for us on earth. It is true that God could deal directly with us without using the mediation of angels and saints. He chooses to use secondary causes, while He always remains the First Cause and Source of all grace. The saints and angels are among those secondary causes God chooses to mediate His grace. For that reason, we should rely upon their intercession. Doing so is an act of faith by which we profess our belief in God, using the saints and angels as His instruments.
Today’s solemnity has its roots in the earliest days of the Church. Even in the New Testament times, martyrs were honored by the community of believers, beginning with the deacon Saint Stephen, the first martyr. As the first century of the Church unfolded, others began to suffer persecution and death at the hands of Roman emperors, and the Church honored their deaths. In 64, Emperor Nero was the first to organize a persecution of Christians in Rome, taking the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, and many others. After this first persecution in Rome, other Roman emperors systematized various persecutions throughout the entire empire. The worst persecution took place under Emperor Diocletian from 303–311. During that persecution, churches and sacred texts were destroyed; Christians lost their property, legal rights, and lives; and those who were not killed were imprisoned and tortured. Some estimate that during the Diocletian persecutions, there were as many as 3,500 martyrs. Although there is no way to confirm the exact number, there were many.
In the fourth century, after Christianity was legalized in 313 by Emperor Constantine I, who became a Christian himself and began building churches and monuments to the martyrs, public devotion to the martyrs began to flourish. Their graves became churches and places of pilgrimage and prayer. On May 13, 609, Pope Boniface IV transformed the Pantheon in Rome, a former pagan temple, into a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs. The annual celebration of its dedication also honored the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs. On November 1, 731, Pope Gregory III dedicated an oratory within Saint Peter’s Basilica to “all saints” that included the Apostles, martyrs, confessors, and all holy men and women throughout the world. This broadened the commemoration of the saints beyond the martyrs to all who lived saintly lives. In 844, Pope Gregory IV extended the November 1 celebration to the entire Church. In 1484, Pope Sixtus IV made November 1 a holy day of obligation for the entire Church and added a vigil day and octave to follow, making the celebration nine days in all. The vigil celebration for All Hallows’ Day was called All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween. Unfortunately, in many places, Halloween has lost its Christian and saintly focus and has become a secular, and even pagan, celebration.
As we honor all the saints in Heaven today, ponder the fact that you are called to be among their company. The extent to which you become holy while on earth is the extent to which your life will be an eternal glorification of God. Seek a profound depth of holiness. Don’t just try to remain in a state of grace. Seek an abundance of grace. Strive to grow in virtue. Purge all sin, even small sins, from your life. Pray as often as you can. Read about the saints. Ponder the Scripture. Act with generosity and charity. Forgive everyone. And do everything you can to become the super saint God wants you to become.
Prayer: All saints in Heaven, I thank you for the holy witness you each have given to the Church and rejoice in the blessings you now enjoy in Heaven. Please pray for me and for all people, that every one of us will become holy, bearing witness to Christ with our lives, and one day enter Heaven. May God pour forth an abundance of grace upon the world through the example you set and the prayers you now pray before His throne. All saints of God, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Unit Leader: Bro. Dave & Sis. Tess Calces
☺Household Leader: Bro. Daniel & Sis. Dome Magno
Members:
-Bro. Joewey & Sis. Mayang Morales
-Bro. Rodel & Sis. Shirly Saludes
-Bro. Emman & Sis. Joan Leonor
☺Household Leader: Bro. Sonny & Sis. Cora Andal
Members:
-Bro. Bernie & Sis. Lorna Faustino
-Bro. Bong & Sis. Lani Mangalus
-Bro. Randy & Sis. Gina Salma
-Bro. Nonie & Sis. Josie Fajilan
☺Household Leader: Bro. Edmund & Sis. Eve Espiritu
Members:
-Bro. Bart & Sis. Kathy Fallaria
-Bro. Dan & Sis. Tess Tolentino
-Bro. Eric & Sis. Lilian Lingal
☺Household Leader: Bro. Rodel & Sis. Mhang Manuel
-Bro. Bong & Sis. Irene Austria
-Bro. Willy & sis. Milly Lathrop
-Bro. Randy & Sis. Jessa Quing-quing
-Bro. Ernie & Sis. Darmie Sojor
☺Household Leader: Bro. Cris & Sis. Nora Pineda
Our Activities:
National Shrine of Saint Jude: Legion of Mary Praesidium
MARIA SPES SINENSIUM Members :
- President: Caroline Gozun
SCOPE OF WORK:
Home to home visitation; taking and updating of the parish census; recruitment and follow up of active and auxiliary members; follow up on marriage validation, baptismal, Holy Communion and confirmation cases; hospital visitation; block rosary; participation in various parish and curia activities.
ABOUT:
The Legion of Mary
The object of the Legion of Mary is the glory of God through the holiness of its members developed by prayer and active co-operation in Mary’s and the Church’s work. The unit of the Legion of Mary is called a praesidium, which holds a weekly meeting, where prayer is intermingled with reports and discussion. Persons who wish to join the Legion must apply for membership in a Praesidium. The Legion sees as its priority the spiritual and social welfare of each individual. The members participate in the life of the parish through visitation of families, the sick, both in their homes and in hospitals and through collaboration in every apostolic and missionary undertaking sponsored by the parish. Every legionary is required to carry out a weekly apostolic work in the spirit of faith and in union with Mary.
The Legion of Mary is a lay apostolic association of Catholics who, with the sanction of the Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of All Graces, serve the Church and their neighbour on a voluntary basis in about 170 countries. The first meeting of the Legion of Mary took place in Myra House, Francis Street, Dublin, Ireland, on 7 September, 1921. This meeting was to have very beneficial consequences for the mission of the Catholic Church and, in a special way, for millions of members of Christ’s lay faithful who would serve in the Legion and for those who would be served by the legionary apostolate. Many persons outside the Catholic Church would also benefit from that apostolate. With the approval and support of the Popes and a great many Bishops, Priests and Religious, as well as the prayers and efforts of legionaries, the Legion, by the grace of God, has grown into a worldwide organisation with several million members.
Drawing its inspiration from the True Devotion to Mary, as taught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, and which had a profound influence on the Founder of the Legion, the Servant of God, Frank Duff, the Legion is at the disposal of the Bishops and Priests for use in the mission of the Church. While essentially a lay association, legionaries look for spiritual and apostolic formation to priests and religious, who, as Legion Spiritual Directors, hold an honoured place in the Legion system. The Legion requires ecclesiastical approval to work in a diocese or parish. Loyalty to the Magisterium and to Ecclesiastical Authority is a basic legionary principle. The Legion aims to bring Mary to the world as the infallible means of winning the world to Jesus and legionary service is based on the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ so that in their fellow members and in those they serve, legionaries seek to have the Person of our Lord once again seen and served by Mary, his Mother.
The general and essential means by which the Legion of Mary is to effect its object is personal service acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit, having Divine Grace as its moving principle and support, and the glory of God and the salvation of souls as its final end and purpose. Evangelisation, especially the seeking of conversions to the Church, should be a priority for the Legion. Through the visitation of homes and by other means, the Legion must, as a first principle, set out to establish a contact of some sort with every soul everywhere. Seeing and serving Christ in the sick and marginalised is another vital part of the legionary apostolate. While not engaging in the giving of material relief, legionaries will often find opportunities to do works of service for the needy.
The basic unit of the Legion is called a praesidium, which is normally based in a parish. A parish may have more than one praesidium. To be an active legionary it is necessary to apply for membership in a praesidium, which holds a weekly meeting and allocates a weekly apostolic task to the members, who generally work in pairs. After a successful period of probation, members are called to make the Legionary Promise (this is only applicable for members over 18 years) which is directed to the Holy Spirit. Realising the necessity for a strong support of prayer, the Legion has Auxiliary members, who associate themselves with the Legion by undertaking a service of prayer in its name. The administration of the Legion is carried out through its various councils at local, regional and national level. The central council, the Concilium Legionis Mariae, meets monthly in Dublin.
The Cause for Beatification has been introduced for three legionaries: The Servant of God, Frank Duff (1889-1980), Founder of the Legion, who attended the Second Vatican Council as a Lay Observer; Venerable Edel Quinn (1907-1944), Legion Envoy to East Africa; and the Servant of God, Alfie Lambe (1932-1959), Legion Envoy to South America.