Weekly News (First Week of November 2011)

1. The Oil Needed to Keep Our Lamps Burning Brightly

Biblical Reflection for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A

TORONTO, NOV. 2, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The three parables of Jesus' final discourse in Matthew's Gospel are a fitting way to move toward the end of the liturgical year. [Read More]

2. Bracing For a New English Missal by Christmas 2012

By Christmas next year, Catholics in the Philippines will be reciting different texts at English Masses. [Read More]

3. Judge Prevents New Jersey Hospital From Forcing Nurses to Assist Abortions

Newark, N.J., Nov 4, 2011 / 02:12 pm (CNA).- Federal judge Jose L. Linares issued a temporary restraining order on Nov. 3 that forbids a New Jersey hospital from forcing 12 nurses to assist with abortions. [Read More]

4. Malaysian Police Ban Gay Rights Festival

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police said they will prevent an annual gay rights festival, with organisers slamming the move Thursday as proof of the repression homosexuals face in the socially conservative Muslim country. [Read More]

5. 'Gay' Rights Activists Confused About Free Speech

A New Jersey teacher has been removed from the classroom, pending an investigation of comments she made on her personal Facebook page. [Read More]

6. UN Used Baby 7 Billion to Promote Population Control

New York, NY (LifeNews/CFAM)– Newborn babies took center-stage last Monday in a global campaign conducted by United Nations officials on Halloween to trumpet the birth of the 7 billionth person in the world. Worldwide, officials declared babies born in their country as the symbolic 7 billionth person. [Read More]

7. Journey to Manhood: A Former ‘Transsexual’ Tells His Story

CARLSBAD, California, November 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Walt Heyer was a little boy growing up in California in the mid 1940s, interested in cowboys, cars and steel guitars when one day, his grandmother fancied that he wanted to be a girl. She naively made for him a purple chiffon evening dress that he would wear when he visited her. [Read More]

8. Vatican Responds to Closing of Ireland's Holy See Embassy

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has given a measured response to Ireland’s decision to close its embassy to the Holy See, saying it is free to do so based on what a state believes is practically possible. [Read More]

9. The Internet as a Source of Grace and Sin [Read More]

10. From Playboy Pornographer to Christian Pastor: The Unlikely Story of Donny Pauling

November 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – It was the very same day that pornographer Donny Pauling was called in by Playboy and offered $4,000 a day to produce a new lesbian reality series, that he unexpectedly found himself at a moment of crisis. [Read More]

I'm A Man: Q&A With An SSA Catholic Guy

A Catholic lay missionary by the name of Teresa Reardon forwarded this article to us. Dunno if she is a reader of the Courage Philippines blog, but I just want to say thank you for taking the time to e-mail us this article. God bless you in your ministry.


Steve Gershom (a pseudonym) is a young, Catholic professional who recently came out as a homosexual to friends and family.


What advice would you give to a Catholic who thinks he might be homosexual?

First, don’t assume that you’re “gay” and that’s that. I think of homosexuality as a spectrum, and there are plenty of people in the middle for part or all of their lives.

Find a priest to talk to who is both orthodox and understanding. Isolation gets you into bad mental habits.

Find a support group that you’re comfortable with: Courage is one, and there are dozens of others.

Finally, pray a lot. You won’t be able to “pray it away,” but prayer, adoration, and frequent communion and confession make everything better. Of course, that goes for anyone with any kind of a cross to bear. Which is everyone.

What advice would you give to parents who are concerned about their son’s sexual identity?

It’s terribly important for fathers to be accessible, emotionally and otherwise, to their sons; to spend regular one-on-one time with them; to praise them when they do well; and to give them lots of physical affection, from early on. I mean really early—we think of the adolescent years as being particularly formative, but a person’s emotional makeup can be drastically affected, for good or ill, from day one.

If the horse is already out of the barn, then first educate yourself [see below for recommended reading], and then talk to your son, in a careful, loving way. That is going to hurt a lot, for both of you, but not talking is much worse. He needs to know that you’re not scared or disgusted.

Do you think that you might be able to become heterosexual, or that anyone can?

I believe some degree of change is possible. Ex-gay groups are caricatured as brainwashers and Bible-thumpers, who will tell you how depraved you are, and to squash your feelings down into the back of your psyche.

My experience with one group is the exact opposite. The work I did with People Can Change would benefit almost every man I know: they helped me to open old, badly-healed wounds, confront old fears and prejudices, and dismantle some of the lies I had been telling myself. It was scary and it hurt like hell, but it left me with the beginnings of a peace and confidence I had never experienced before.

Has it made me less attracted to men, or more attracted to women? Yes, a little bit. But more importantly, it has made me a less fearful, more integrated person. That’s a work in progress.

Maybe I’ll be able to get married and have children, maybe not. But the one sure way to be miserable is to obsess about the things you don’t have, and forget to give thanks for the things you do have. I have a lot.

Is there anything you wish you could change about the Church’s teaching on homosexuality?

Not a thing. Without the Church’s clear teaching on the issue, I would have been at the mercy of my badly confused emotions. When your instincts are misleading, you need something unshakable. The Church is a rock.

On the other hand, I do think the Church’s approach to the topic needs work, and badly. You might hear a sermon or two about gay marriage, but that’s not terribly helpful. Catholics often talk about homosexual men as if they were another species—who should of course be pitied and prayed for: Those poor freaks!

This isn’t due to ill will, obviously. It’s because people are embarrassed, are scared of offending someone, and have been badly misinformed by all the cultural propaganda.

If you could clear up one common misunderstanding about homosexuals, what would it be?

I don’t believe that “gay” is a valid category, the way “male” and “female” are. I used to think being gay meant being a different kind of person altogether—like a third gender. These days I think that it’s something I have, not something I am.

The surprising thing is that gay men are gay because they are masculine, not because they are feminine. What I mean is this: men, gay and straight, want to know they’re real men. If something stops them from believing that, then they’ll go looking for that manhood for the rest of their lives.

Some men look for it by finding a man who will give them acceptance and affection—or at least sex. These are the men we call “gay.” Some men look for it by sleeping with a lot of women and picking a lot of fights. These are the men we call, well, “jerks.” But both of them are the way they are, and want the things they want, because of the specifically masculine traits they started out with.

The best way to sum it up is something a very good priest once said to me in confession. He said, “You’re not a homosexual. You’re a man.”

Resources Steve recommends:

For general understanding: The Homosexual Person: New Thinking in Pastoral Care by John Harvey.

For practical help: Growth into Manhood: Resuming the Journey by Alan Medinger; and PeopleCanChange.com.

For a referral to a therapist: Narth.com

Steve can be reached at steve.gershom [at] gmail [dot] com


(Source: http://www.faithandfamilylive.com)

Holy Souls & Purgatory

Check out these excellent online resources on the topic of holy souls and purgatory.

Read Me or Rue It: E-book on Purgatory

The Secret of the Poor Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma of Austria

Treatise on Purgatory by St. Catherine of Genoa

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great for the Souls in Purgatory

(A prayer to release many souls from Purgatory each time it is said and which was extended to include living sinners as well.)

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen.

Weekly News (Fourth Week of October 2011)

1. Believers of Many Faiths Seek One Truth

ASSISI, Italy, OCT. 28, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Pilgrims of all faith traditions who gathered at Assisi for the interfaith summit agreed that it was a historic event of great importance. [Read More]

2. Hillary Clinton Visiting Philippines as Pro-Lifers Gather

The pro-abortion United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with speak with Philippine President Benigno Aquino during her stop in Manila next month on the eve of what is set to be one of the largest pro-life gatherings in the Philippines this year. [Read More]

3. US Catholic Group Urges All Faiths to Fight for Religious Freedom

Washington D.C., Oct 27, 2011 / 05:40 pm (CNA).- Members from the group Catholic Advocate are launching a nationwide campaign inviting people from every faith to mobilize for the protection of religious liberty in the U.S. [Read More]

4. Promiscuous Sex May Do More Than Break Your Heart – Study Finds HPV/Heart-Attack Link

GALVESTON, October 27, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The condom-resistant sexually transmitted disease human papillomavirus (HPV), known to be the leading cause of cervical cancer, has also been linked to increased risk of heart attack according to new research released this week. [Read More]

5. Any Hope For DOMA?

A conservative military watchdog takes no satisfaction in being right when she predicted that radical homosexual groups would use the repeal of the ban on homosexual military service as a springboard to attack traditional marriage. [Read More]

6. Catholic University in Brazil Hosts Symposium Defending Right to ‘Homo-Affection’

October 27, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Catholic university located in Brazil recently hosted a symposium on “homoaffective law” that gave advocates of the homosexual agenda a platform for promoting their ideology. [Read More]

7. Pepsi Shareholders Demand Company Stop Using Aborted Fetal Cell Lines in Flavor Research

LARGO, FL, October 25, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The pro-life organization Children of God for Life announced today the filing of a shareholder resolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission and PepsiCo, protesting the use of aborted a fetal cell line for the research and development of flavor enhancers for their beverages. [Read More]

8. New York Parents Mobilize Against Sex-Ed Mandate

NEW YORK — A new sex-education mandate in New York City could have middle-school students visiting local pharmacies to catalogue condom brands, among other problematic assignments. [Read More]

9. Tebow Inspires Phenomenon Called 'Tebowing'

DENVER (AP) — Tim Tebow inspired a phenomenon when he dropped to a knee and began praying as his teammates wildly celebrated around him after an improbable overtime victory in Miami last weekend. [Read More]

10. How to Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Susan Tassone won’t admit it, but she is one of the experts on the souls in purgatory. [Read More]

Why Do Gays Raise Their Eyebrow Too High?

Here's a thought-provoking observation by Bro. A on why gay men have this habit of raising their eyebrows.

One characteristic mark of gays is that they tend to raise their eyebrows so high whenever they feel something is off or calls for a little incredulity or sarcasm, raising their eyebrows often higher than women would. A possible explanation for this is that raising eyebrows atmospherically high is just typical, symbolic of the other manifestations of gays to have very high standards, raising the bar to the highest level possible because they are trying to prove something.

One can easily notice how gays consistently have a high-achiever streak. Name a field and they are often the leading lights, the best possible mentors, the standards of excellence, be it in the arts, literature, music, dance, cosmetology, etc., especially topping the fields that are typically female-dominated. Other observers may easily contend that this is a strong basis that gayness is genetic. They may be right in making the link, “gay = excellent/intelligent = genetic?” But what they fail to see is that the equation could be an oversimplification, and that there might be another possibility: it could be that gays are often excellent in any of their chosen endeavors because they are extra-driven for some reason.

If that is the case, the next question to ask is: why the freakish, preternatural drive to excel, reap recognitions, accumulate awards? Could it be that there is such a high desire for affirmation? Why is there such a strong desire? Is affirmation lacking in the first place? Why? What happened?

If one sees this other possibility, one is forced to dig deeper into the secret life of the gay man, particular his inner life and how it was formed growing up. Impartial, independent studies have shown that almost all homosexuals, if they were not sexually abused, grew up in dysfunctional homes characterized by a break in the any of the three crucial links that play a major role not just in the formation of a person’s gender identity but identity itself: mother-son, father-son, mother-father. Developmental psychologists say that any break in these links can possibly be a trauma for the child, especially when that child has a particularly sensitive nature.

These breaks in the childhood development, investigators have noted, explain why homosexuals, as they grow up into adults, exhibit “attachment loss” in various forms: lack of rapport with or lack of a warm and fond relationship with the father, antagonistic relationship with the mother, over-attachment with the mother (as though the son is a replacement boyfriend in cases where the mother has a difficult relationship with the father), or alienation from both parents.

What does this mean for the person with a homosexual problem? This only means deep insecurity resulting in an insecure identity and, by extension, insecure gender identity due to the failure to bond with the father figure. This profound insecurity with the self bears equally profound complications: the person fails to grasp the basic fact that anyone born in this world is whole and complete and has the right to live. Failure to understand this basic concept of self results in the inability to understand that one is loved as he is. And this is where that drive, that compulsion, to succeed and prove oneself comes from.

The insecure homosexual person, having grown up with what he perceived as “unmet needs” of affirmation, will try to live the rest of his life trying to compensate for that perceived lack. He will not only hate himself if he perceives failure, he will hate or despise others who equally don't measure up to the high standards he has set; he will also envy others he perceives to be superior to him. A history of sex abuse compounds the problem as the homosexual person ends up eroticizing his "unmet need" particularly for male affirmation. This wrong understanding born of wrong presumptions leads to this catastrophe: He will live perpetually trying to complete himself, compensating for the perceived incompleteness in various ways, and constantly hunting for other men he is “magnetically attracted” to (to quote a psychologist) as though they were missing parts of himself. His life will be a life of trying to buy love, having mistaken love as something that should be bought or earned. His life will be a life of constantly trying to prove oneself, and his conception of love is one of quid pro quo (“give me this, I’ll buy you that”).

Everything he does, therefore, is tainted by this drive to prove oneself because his one great fear is the loss or death of self: the feeling that he is a failure, that he is worthless if he is unable to prove his worth.

The apparent result of this drive can only be excellence and consequently public adulation, affirmation of excellence in the form of awards, medals, achievement, success, recognition. The paradox, however, is that the person, whose identity by now he may have erroneously accepted fully as being a “gay guy,” will never be happy, satisfied, or fulfilled because, at the end of the day, he is still merely trying to buy love.

The ensuing tragedy is absurd because:

1) The assumption that he must DO something in order to be loved is, after all, false; he is unable to see that all he needs to do to be loved or to earn the right to live and be loved is just BE who he is;

2) His basic assumptions about his mother and father are more often than not mere distortions, in the form of exaggerations, omissions of crucial details, colored interpretations of the past, biased views;

3) He does not realize that, in the end, he had a direct hand in creating the problem, starting with his self-identity; he is unaware that, at the end of the day, he is the one who has set the bar so high, not his parents or anyone else; he is unaware that, after all is said and done, his problem is self-inflicted. The homosexual is almost always bound to experience depression because of this self-imposed standard. When he fails, he is bound to perceive himself as a failure instead of differentiating it from the distinction of a whole and complete person who merely happened to have failed in something. But even when he gets the job done with flying colors, he is still bound to get depressed, for the simple reason that he will not feel loved for who he is but for what he has done; he will always feel more like a “human doing instead of a human being,” to quote a brilliant quip.

4) He may have been a victim of trauma and “abuse” as a child, but the “homosexual person” is unable to get over it because he fails to see that he is no longer that boy – he is all grown up and changed.

5) The person who has identified himself as a homosexual or a gay man is neither that at his core; he is in fact still biologically, physiologically male and will remain so as long as he possesses the X and Y chromosomes; only his emotions have been fouled up, thanks to a harmful family dynamics and his own confused reactions to it.

This complicated life is even made more complex by the fact that the so-called “homosexual person” is bound to extend this view of parents, family, life, society/the world to his spirituality, particularly his relationship with God as Father. He will, again wrongly, make the most tragic equation of God = my father, mother, the world. In case the boy grows up in a Christian household, this can only result in the inability to understand the basic concept of unconditional love. Living his life all along as a series of conditions, a series of impossible standards that he aims to reach, he will be unable to grasp the idea that he is loved for who he is, that like a newborn child, he is loved first, that he is already lovable even when he has not done anything yet to prove his worth.

Only when he can figure out these distinctions for himself will the “gay guy” be able to liberate himself from the prison of gay/homosexual thinking, a large part of which is self-imposed and yet he doesn’t even know it.

So why are gays raising their eyebrows sky-high? It appears that it is because they have such a very high standard they are trying to reach, even when they know that perfection in this fallen world is an utter impossibility. Worse, they hold everyone accountable to such a high standard they have imposed on themselves, wrongly thinking that’s how the cookie crumbles, that’s how the world is made round. Little do they know that they have been victimized as children, but the rest of it was their own doing all along. They don't know that they are no longer the children they once were because the past is long gone.

The key to healing “homosexual brokenness” therefore lies in four crucial steps:

a) Being made aware of the wrong interpretations of the past,

b) Forgiving one’s parents -- and by extension, others -- by recognizing the logic of their behavior,

c) Letting go of the high standards one has unknowingly set for oneself (it is one thing to want to excel because one wants to excel versus to want to excel in order to beg for love), and making peace with other people’s giftedness (after all, one has no right to question God’s plan for people; besides, everyone is wanted by God and is unique and irreplaceable to Him)

d) Forgiving oneself for committing the terrible mistakes of childhood and embracing oneself wholly, including all the strengths and weaknesses, recognizing that it is okay to be imperfect; after all, everyone is and nobody cares if one is not perfect.

Pastoral Awareness on HIV/AIDS Seminar

Forwarded event from Pro-Life Philippines.


With the reality that there are brothers & sisters living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, many of our vulnerable groups (youth, migrants and key affected populations) are losing hope to live and they are greatly stigmatized and discriminated by the society. Couples, parents, guardians, teachers, catechists, Church & lay leaders, social workers, counselors/ life coaches, youth group advisers & all those who deal with this situation, as members of the Body of Christ, doing nothing is not an option.

Primarily the seminar aims to strengthen the participant’s knowledge and understanding on HIV/AIDS and its related issues. It also aims to deepen the understanding of Catholic responses to HIV and AIDS.

It is EXPECTED that by the end of the training, the participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the extent and impact of HIV/AIDS.
2. Understand Philippine Republic Act 8504.
3. Enumerate the cultural and social factors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and list possible solutions to it.
4. Differentiate HIV and AIDS, discuss how HIV transmitted; and enumerate ways by which HIV can be prevented.
5. List current care and treatment for HIV/AIDS.
6. Explain why Catholic response is needed to address HIV/AIDS.


Resource Speaker: Rev. Rodolfo Dan Vicente Cancino Jr., MI Regional Coordinator Southeast Asia HIV and AIDS Catholic Network

Venue: Bahay Ugnayan Bldg., Good Shephered Convent, 1043 Aurora Blvd., Cubao, Quezon City (beside the Katipunan LRT Station, St. Bridget School, and in front of PSBA, a university)

Date: November 19, 2011, Saturday Time: 8:00 am -12:00 nn

Registration Fee: Php 300.00 (inclusive of kits, snacks & certificates)

For reservations or more information, please call Ellen at 7337027 or you may send us a telefax at 7349425; or a text through mobile # 09192337783; or an email at life@prolife.org.ph.

Weekly News (Third Week of October 2011)

1. Church Remembers John Paul II on 1st Feast Day

ROME, OCT. 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The Church will celebrate the first memorial for Blessed Pope John Paul II on Saturday. [Read More]

2. NY Archbishop Lauds Reaction to Susan Sarandon's Nazi Comment

New York City, N.Y., Oct 21, 2011 / 03:15 am (CNA).- Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York praised local news and anti-discrimination groups for chastising actress Susan Sarandon after she called Pope Benedict a “Nazi.” [Read More]

3. Hate Crimes - Can Christians Be Victims?

Police are searching for the culprits who threw concrete bricks through the door and windows of a Christian facility in Illinois as it prepared for a banquet for a group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda. [Read More]

4. Pope Hails ‘Courageous’ Italian Priest Killed in South

POPE Benedict XVI expressed his condolences on Wednesday for the killing of an Italian priest in the violence-plagued southern Philippines, saying he had been “courageous and indefatigable.” [Read More]

5. Seven Billion People: What Population Control Advocates Don’t Say

International population advocates and their allies in the media have decided that October 31, 2011 is the day that the world’s population will reach 7 billion. How convenient for them; they get to play off the day dedicated to spooky tales with a spooky tale of their own. [Read More]

6. Man Nearly Starved to Death Like Terri Schiavo Now Responsive

A 55-year-old Maryland man who became temporarily unconscious after suffering a heart attack and a seizure has been saved from being starved to death like Terri Schiavo after an Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney obtained an order in state court on behalf of the man’s mother and brother. [Read More]

7. Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Could Force Churches to Stop Performing Legal Marriages Altogether: Archbishop

ROME, October 19, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The legalization of same-sex “marriage” in Australia could push Christian churches out of their historic role in solemnizing legal marriages altogether, according to one archbishop. [Read More]

8. Porn Numbs Body’s Response to Sexual Pleasure: Psychology Today

October 20, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Recent research indicates that porn use can cause sexual dysfunction by numbing the body’s response to normal sexual pleasure, according to a report published in Psychology Today. [Read More]

9. Vatican Comments on Moammar Gadhafi's Death, Pledges to Continue Assistance to Libya

Holy See: 'This dramatic event forces us to reflect once again on the price of immense human suffering that accompanies the assertion and collapse of any system that is not based on respect and dignity of the person, but on the principal assertion of power.' [Read More]

10. Sisters Go Online to Promote Vocations

Communities of women religious rely more on the Internet and social media, and some orders report a sharp rise in inquiries. [Read More]

Prayer Warriors of the Holy Souls Upcoming Activities

Come All Saints and All Souls Day, the Prayer Warriors of the Holy Souls (PWHS) is once again inviting everyone to participate in these activities in honor and remembrance of our dearly departed loved ones and all the souls in purgatory.


Greetings with the Love of Our Lord!

Here are the forthcoming activities of PWHS:

1) 40-hour Vigil - Intensive Prayers for the Holy Souls
* Venue: Adoration Chapel - Manila Cathedral
* Date/start: Oct. 24, 6pm Mass Main Altar Manila Cathedral
* Mass Presider: Msgr. Nestor Cerbo, Rector of Manila Cathedral
* Date/end: Oct. 26, 12:10pm Mass Main Altar Manila Cathedral
* Mass Presider: Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, Spiritual Director of PWHS

2) NOVENA FOR THE HOLY SOULS AT RADIO VERITAS
* Date: From Oct. 25 to Nov. 2, 2011
* Time: 12noon
* Radio Veritas website: www.veritas846.ph

3) ALL SOULS DAY MASS:
* Venue: Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Manila
* Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 - 10:00am
* Presider: Bishop Deogracias Iñigues, DD, Bishop of Kalookan

The mass will be delayed telecast in the afternoon at 4pm at
the NBN Channel 4.

4) OCTAVE FOR THE HOLY SOULS AT RADIO VERITAS
* Date: From Nov. 3 to Nov. 10, 2011
* Time: 12noon
* Radio Veritas website: www.veritas846.ph
* The first 8 days of November are highly indulgenced. See:
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/indulge/g13.htm

5) Mass in Honor to St. Gertrude ( feast day)
* Venue: Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Manila
* Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 - 12:10pm
* Mass Presider: Msgr. Nestor Cerbo, Rector of Manila Cathedral

6) Advent Recollection:
* Date: Dec. 3, 2011
* Time: 8:00am to 5:00pm (4pm Mass)
* Venue: Worship Hall of the Spirit of Love Covenanted Community
(SOLCC)
* Recollection Master: Fr. Nolan Que
* Registration fee: P150 - pre-registration encouraged
* Invitation is open to all

All PWHS members and friends of PWHS are invited to attend and involve
themselves in these activities.

For more details, please send email to: info@pwhs.ph or call tel. nos (63-2)
531-0391 / 532-2831 Local 100 & 101 or send text to +63918-9290603

Best regards and God Bless!
Carlos Oda
Deputy Executive Director
Prayer Warriors of the Holy Souls
An Apostolate of the Monfort Foundation, Inc.
www.pwhs.ph
Follow PWHS on Facebook
and Twitter

New office hours (Effective March 1, 2011):
Mon/Thu: 8:00am to 7:00pm
Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm
Sat/Sun/Holidays: Closed

Blessed: A Call to Holiness

I was strolling along Ali Mall in Cubao when I chanced upon this poster of the late pontiff. A musical concert and liturgical celebration in honor of Blessed Pope John Paul II will be staged at the SMART Araneta Coliseum come October 29, 2011, Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. by the Diocese of Cubao. The event will be filled with thanksgiving, inspiring messages, and musical numbers. Among the notable speakers are Fr. Francis Gustilo, SDB, who is currently a member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission and Spiritual Director of Couples for Christ; Former Ambassador to the Holy See Henrietta de Villa, and Former Executive Director of World Youth Day Jo Grafil.

Their uplifting testimonials and inspirational talks will be interspersed with musical performances by the Las Pinas Boys Choir, Hail Mary the Queen Children's Choir, Holy Family Parish Youth Group of the Diocese of Pasig, the IL VOCE from the Ateneo High School, and special surprise performers. The occasion will also showcase a theme song for Blessed PJPII composed by the maestro, Mr. Ryan Cayabyab, with lyrics provided by Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ.

The occasion takes on a special meaning when the pope himself during his visit in 1981 declared in Araneta Coliseum that "this place will be called the colosseo of papal audiences." Blessed Pope John Paul II has undoubtedly had a great influence on the faith of Filipino Christians and I for one practically grew up during his pontificate. There is also a relic and photo exhibit from October 9 to 29, 2011, on the life and works of Blessed PJPII at the Gateway Mall Activity Area.

Admission to Blessed: A Call to Holiness is FREE! Tickets will be distributed to local parishes starting October 9. For inquiries, please contact your parish or the Diocese of Cubao at 723-5114 or 721-6225.

Weekly News (Second Week of October 2011)

1. Don't Get Lost in Problems, Says Pope

Encourages Perceiving the Beautiful Things That Come From the Lord

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 12, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says we should more frequently recall how God has protected and guided us, noting that this exercise not only helps in "times of darkness" but also fills us with joy. [Read More]

2. Archbishop Named for Manila

54-Year-Old Headed Philippine Bishops' Doctrine Commission

MANILA, OCT. 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus, Philippines, has been named the metropolitan archbishop of Manila. [Read More]

3. Minnesota Catholic Leaders Say ‘Gay Marriage’ Group Is Misleading

St. Paul, Minn., Oct 4, 2011 / 12:22 am (CNA).- A self-described Catholic group advocating “marriage equality” in Minnesota is misleading Catholics and others about the nature of marriage and is not recognized by the Church, according to church leaders in the state. [Read More]

4. Artist Uses Unique Way to Reach World For Christ

The animated project "Theo" is the latest use of modern technology to win children to Christ and keep them interested in the gospel story. [Read More]

5. Philippines Congress Adjourns Without Vote on RH Bill

Filipinos breathed a huge sigh of relief yesterday as Congress adjourned for their month-long recess without any legislators attempting to force a vote on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill despite promises from supporters of the bill in the House of the Representatives that it would be passed that day. [Read More]

6. Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Was a Pro-Life Movement Victory

Just this week, Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan signed into law that state’s version of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. As our affiliate, Right to Life of Michigan, said: “The law is a long awaited, celebrated achievement by dedicated pro-life people in Michigan” [Read More]

7. Supreme Court of Canada Homosexual ‘Hate Speech’ Case Could Be Decisive For Religious Freedom

OTTAWA, October 13, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A case argued before the Supreme Court yesterday, if decided the wrong way, could result in “a virtual open season on anyone communicating a religiously informed position on any matter of public policy,” according to Don Hutchinson, general legal counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, which intervened in the case - Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) v. William Whatcott. [Read More]

8. Chastity and Building the Culture of Life

Chastity builds up the culture of life among all people by promoting healthy relationships in which people turn away from selfishness and turn toward generous self-gift. The lifestyle of kindness and self-gift that comes from practicing chastity inspires people to work together in doing the will of God and transforming their families, friendships, neighborhoods and societies into strong examples of authentic love. [Read More]

9. When We Redefine Marriage, These Five Wedding Traditions No Longer Make Sense

All this week I’ve been thinking about weddings. My husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary, and then Hallie Lord is hosting a little online party where bloggers are writing about their honeymoons. [Read More]

10. The Holiness and Work of St. Teresa of Avila, Mystic and Church Reformer

On Oct. 15, Roman Catholics celebrate the Spanish Carmelite reformer and mystic St. Teresa of Avila, whose life of prayer enriched the Church during the 16th century Counter-Reformation. [Read More]