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  1.  Please pray for the soul of my sister-in-law Barbara's father, who passed away Wednesday. His name is Wilfredo Salvador and he and his wife raised their five children in Dumaguete City in the Philippines. You might remember I wrote about one of his grandchildren, Brennan Kyle Alcantara, who was miraculously rescued from flood waters during Typhoon Sendong. Keep Reading...

St James the Elder , Rembrandt Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  Mark 10:35-45 [42-25]  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) [James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"  And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be b

I first wrote the post below for the short-lived Negros Times in October 2008. I have re-posted it a number of times because Lala's story is one that should be told over and over again. This evening she will be celebrating her 33rd birthday with a quiet dinner at  Punla, Ang Arko , the only  L'Arche community  in the Philippines, in Cainta, Rizal, part of the metropolitan sprawl of Manila. Lala, with Jordan Let us show our service to the poor, then, with renewed ardour in our hearts, seeking out above all any abandoned people, since they are given to us as lords and patrons.(St Vincent de Paul, used in the Office of Readings for his feast day, today.) Both Lala and Queen Elizabeth II have have two birthdays, the real one and the official one. Lala’s official birthday is 27 September and she turns 33 today. Queen Elizabeth’s official birthday is celebrated in 53 Commonwealth countries, but not on the same date. Only the Falkland Islands observes her official birthd

Sr Mary Pilar Lahoz Verzosa RGS  (24 September 1944 - 9 September 2012) Sister Pilar died yesterday morning. She  suffered an aneurysm  last Thursday afternoon while giving a seminar at De La Salle University – Dasmariñas, Cavite. She was the founder of  Pro-Life Philippines . May she rest in peace. Please remember her in your prayers. Sister Mary Pilar   L. Verzosa RGS was one of the great Filipinos of our time. She founded  Pro-Life Philippines  and was tireless in her work for women and girls who found themselves in difficult situations. The Religious of the Good Shepherd for many years in the Philippines have provided home for unmarried women who find themselves pregnant. You can get a good idea of what Sister Pilar committed her life to  here . Last February Sister Pilar was  one of the recipients of the Mystery of Life Award  from the Archdiocese of Seoul. I met her a number of times and, on occasion, exchanged emails with her. I went to see her in Manila a co

From  The Gospel of John  (2003)  Directed by Philip Saville. Jesus played by Henry Ian Cusick; narrator, Christopher Plummer. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  John 6:1-15  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberi-as. And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would

Jesus ,  detail  from  The Calling of St Matthew , Caravaggio, 1599-1600 Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Mark 6:30-34  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. +++ 'Come away . . . to a lonely place' Lake Taal, Philippi

Fr Michael Sinnott arriving in Dublin in December 2009 after his release The website of the Catholic Bishops's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)   carried this story  yesterday .  MANILA, July 18, 2012— An Irish missionary kidnapped and freed by gunmen in 2009 in Mindanao is leaving the Philippines for good. Father Michael Sinnott of the Society of St. Columban is leaving for Ireland Friday and will retire there after many years of serving the Catholic Church and various communities in Mindanao. In a send-off party held at the Malate Church on Tuesday night, Sinnott admitted how difficult it was for him to decide whether to retire in the Philippines or in his native land. Greeted by President Gloria M. Arroyo the day of his release, 12 November 2009 Full post on Misyononline here and on Bangor to Bobbio here.

Though We Are Many - Official Hymn of the 32nd International Eucharistic Congress Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  The black mustard plant Gospel Mark 4:26-14 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on ea

La Disputà (Disputation of the Holy Sacrament) , Raffaello Sanzio, painted 1510-11 You will find a description of this magnificent fresco here and a video on its restoration here . The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?" And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the householder, 'The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?'

 Estefanio Luceño with his wife Teresita, 60 years married, taken in Dahilayan, Bukidnon, last year Please pray for the repose of the soul of Estefanio A Luceño who died in Pagadian City on Holy Saturday, 7 April, and will be buried there on Easter Saturday, 14 April. He was 85 and the father of Aurora Luceño, a long-term Columban lay missionary who has spent much of her time in Pakistan. Many of us have read stories, including vocation stories, about and by missionaries and been inspired by them. We don't hear quite as often from the parents of missionaries, about their part in the vocation stories of their sons and daughters or of what it costs them. Below is an article we published in Misyon , the Columban magazine I edit here in the Philippines, in January-February 2004 by the late Estefanio: We had to let her go . Now God has asked his wife and family to let him go. As the Irish prayer for the dead goes, 'May the light of heaven shine upon him'. Aurora Luceño, kno

Fr Robert McCulloch with his Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam award.    Pakistan's highest civilian award for foreign nationals, the Sitara-e-Quaid-Azam was presented to Fr Robert McCulloch by the Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishrat ul Ebad Khan, on 23 March, Pakistan Day, at Government House in Karachi. Governor Ishrat ul Ebal Khan of Sindh conferring the award on Fr McCulloch You can read the full post on Misyononline.com, the online magazine I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines, here and on Bangor to Bobbio here .

General Intention - Contribution of Women That the whole world may recognize the contribution of women to the development of society. Weaving a Dream By Mercy B. Gawason The author is a young Subanen who works with Subanen Crafts . She and her companions at Subanen Crafts recently visited Negros Occidental and dropped by the Misyon editorial office in Bacolod City. The word 'Subanen' means 'people of the river'. The Subanens live in the mountains of western Mindanao. This article is in the March-April 2012 issue of Misyon , the online magazine I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines . . . Mission Intention - Persecuted Christians That the Holy Spirit may grant perseverance to those who suffer discrimination, persecution, or death for the name of Christ, particularly in Asia. 'I only want a place at the feet of Jesus' Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 1968 - 2 March 2011) The first anniversary of the assassination of Clement Shahbaz Bhatti in

The title of this post is a text message I received from a friend whose daughter and grandchildren survived Typhoon Sendong that hit northern Mindanao a week before Christmas. I use it in   Pulong ng Editor , 'Editor's Word', in the January-February issue of Misyon , which I edit for the Columbans here in the Philippines. My friend is no stranger to suffering. When he was a small child his father was murdered. Yet he powerfully expresses his faith in a simple text message, an expression of the resilience of the faith of so many Filipinos.

A Report by Fr Pat O'Donoghue Fr Pat O'Donoghue is the Regional Director of the Columbans in the Philippines. He visited Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan Ciy last week. He wrote this report on 8 January, the Solemnity of the Epiphany here in the Philippines.  I arrived in Cagayan de Oro in the early afternoon of Monday, 2 January. The signs of the calamity were visible from the air as we approached the airport, but the full extent of the damage hits you when you stand on the river bank or visit those places where whole neighborhoods were simply washed away. The damage to the water system was such that most of Cagayan still did not have running water when I arrived. On the way from the airport we saw groups of people surrounding trucks or fire hydrants where water was being dispensed while others were coming and going with all kinds of water containers – the innovative spirit of people once more shining through the difficulties. Drinking water was also being dispensed at poi

 We are still in the Christmas Season until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, observed on Sunday in countries that celebrate the Epiphany as a holyday of obligation on 6 January. In countries that celebrate the Epiphany on Sunday the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord will be observed on Monday 9 January. Katolikongpinoy posted the old English song, The Coventry Carol , as a tribute to those who died in Tropical Storm Sendong/Washi a week before Christmas, especially in Iligan City and in Cagayan de Oro City, both in northern Mindanao, . Full post here .

 Glenn, a young man who is studying law at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, the southern Philippines city hardest hit by Typhoon Sendong/Washi a week ago, wrote and recorded this song. His sister Maria Fe produced the video. Their parents, Joe and Annie, are teachers who grew up in Columban parishes in Mindanao. Please continue to pray for the souls of those who have died, for those who are trying to pick up the pieces and for the many people who are working together for a better future for all.

Photos from Iligan.org San Lorenzo Ruiz Church, Iligan City, a temporary evacuation center. The Columbans are very familiar with both Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City, the two places most badly hit by Typhoon Sendong/Washi last weekend. 'Washi' was the international code-name for the storm, 'Sendong' the Philippine name. Columban Fr Rolly Aniscal lost a cousin and her two children in Cagayan de Oro. The children's bodies haven't been recovered yet. I'm posting photos taken in Iligan City, which is about 90kms from Cagayan de Oro City. New Zealander Fr Paul Finlayson and his team in the Columban-run Holy Rosary Parish, Agusan, Cagayan de Oro, are taking care of 25 families whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Venus Guibone, who worked in Ireland as a Columban lay missionary whose house was very badly damaged is among those being accommodated at St John Vianney Theological Seminary. Full post here .

Among the news you read in won't read in thee aftermath of the Typhoon Sendong that hit southern Phillipines is the miraculous story of my brother's newborn nephew, Brennan Kyle Alcantara. Read more here...

 Tropical storm 'Washi', Philippine name 'Sendong', devastated two major cities in northern Mindanao in the early hours of yesterday morning, Saturday, 17 December, killing hundreds of people. The two cities, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, are very familiar to me and to many Columbans. We still have a house in Cagayan de Oro and a parish in the city, and at one time worked in all of the parishes in the Diocese of Iligan, including those in the city. Mindanao isn't a small island. It is larger than Ireland. The storm was initially forecast to strike the island of Negros, expected to affect Bacolod City where I live. But it changed course and hit an area of Mindanao that rarely if ever experiences a typhoon or tropical storm. Some friends were directly affected but nobody that I know, as far as I am aware, was killed. The home of one of our household staff in the Columban house in Cagayan de Oro was very badly damaged. He and hiw family are now staying in the Colum

An Israeli soldier wearing phylacteries (tefillin), on his forehead and on his left arm, while praying . Readings  Gospel Matthew 23:1-12 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, 'The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi. 'You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since