PAPAL VISIT 2015: Pope Francis Homily At Rizal Park Eucharistic Celebration

Below is the full text of Pope Francis' homily during his mass before millions of Filipinos at the Quirino Grandstand.

“A child is born to us, a son is given us ” (Is 9:5). It is a special joy for me to celebrate Santo Niño Sunday with you. The image of the Holy Child Jesus accompanied the spread of the Gospel in this country from the beginning. Dressed in the robes of a king, crowned and holding the scepter, the globe and the cross he continues to remind us of the link between God’s Kingdom and the mystery of spiritual childhood. He tells us this in today’s Gospel: “ Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10 :15). The Santo Niño continues to proclaim to us that the light o f God’s grace has shone upon a world dwelling in darkness, bringing the Good News of our freedom from slavery, and guiding us in the paths o f peace, right and justice. The Santo Niño also reminds us of our call to spread the reign of Christ throughout the world.

Pope Francis Arrives In Manila With Warm Pinoy Welcome

Pope Francis is on his papal visit here in the Philippines is bigger news than the State Visit of President Barack Obama for Filipinos who has been longing to see the leader of the Catholic Church for 20 years since the last visit of Saint (Pope) John Paul II in 1995 for the World Youth Day held in Manila.

Pope Francis has been a very charismatic pope upon his election on 2013. Now with his historic visit to the Philippines, it has been declared as a special holiday. And upon his arrival at around 6PM Manila Time, his plane landed in Villamor Air base with almost a thousand people eagerly waiting for the first steps of Pope Francis to the Philippines.

And truly enough, upon his emergence out of the plane, he is greeted by officials of the Philippine government led by President Aquino and the Filipino bishops among them is Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Tagle. Wave after wave of songs and dance were presented to the Pope by children performing different songs to welcome the pontiff.

PAPAL VISIT 2015: Pope Francis Message at UST (January 18)

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to the youth during the Papal encounter at UST.

(Moved by young Filipinos who read their messages and told their stories, Pope Francis discarded his prepared message and did impromptu remarks in Spanish, translated by Msgr. Mark Miles in English.)

The pope's message reads as below:

Dear Young Friends,

When I speak spontaneously I do it in Spanish, because I don’t know the English language. May I do it? Thank you very much. This Fr Mark, a good translator.

First of all, a sad piece of news. Yesterday, as Mass was about to start, a piece of scaffolding fell and, upon falling, hit a young woman who was working in the area and she died. Her name is Kristel. She worked for the organisation preparing for that Mass. She was 27 years old, young like yourselves. She worked for Catholic Relief Services as a volunteer. I would like all of you who are young like her to pray for a moment in silence with me and then we will pray to Our Mother in Heaven. Let us pray.

2015 A New Year Indeed For KatKab!

After some dormant months, KatKab is back and is gaining momentum with a number of Catholic activities which starts as early as January 2015. Well first of course is Jan 1 which is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This is a day of obligation for Catholics as Mary is celebrated as the Theotokos or "God Bearer" who brought into the world Jesus Christ.

There is also the celebration of the feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo or the traslacion that happens on Jan 9 where millions of Catholics join in to pray to Jesus the Nazarene and bring his image from Luneta to Quaipo. This 400 year old tradition has been faithfully followed by Filipinos and even pilgrims from provinces flock to Manila for the celebration. 

Feast of the Black Nazarene 2015 Schedule Revealed

As 2015 starts, the feast of the black nazarene in Quiapo is one of the most anticipated religous festivals in the Philippines which millions of Filipino Catholics attend. And just recently, they have posted their theme and the schedule for the observance of this celebration.

As a devotee, I made it a point to attend the feast day as one of my annual traditions as prayers and intentions asked with the grace of the Nazarene were answered prayers and bountiful blessings.