BLD St. Catharines, District in Process

Bukas Loob sa Diyos Open in Spirit to God

September 2011

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 15

ord Living the W

“

Mission Trip to the Philippines

BLD St. Catharine’s Annual Camping

MASS ETIQUETTE

WELCOMING THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL

Mission Trip to the Philippines

By: Felix Fullante

“Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me”. (Matthew 25:40) May 21st – We visited a GK village in Alabat, Quezon. This village was funded by CFC Brampton, which also included donations provided by a mem-ber of BLD Toronto. As we were given a tour by the Kapitbaha-yan President, we could only imagine the radical transfor-mation in the lives of these people from being squatters in shanties to owners of decent homes. CFC has, as well, played a very important and challenging role in the spiritual formation of these beneficiaries as well as providing guidance for keeping the village clean and sustainable. May 22nd –We visited the BLD Toronto-funded Village of An-gels (VOA) in Dalahican, Lu-cena City with the BLD Mission

DCS, GK Coordinator and other leaders. Upon arrival at the site, we were greeted by many children while the par-ents were busy preparing for our visit. We met the Kapitba-hayan President who was all smiles, despite her burden of having to coordinate 28 fami-lies with 96 children. The standing joke in the commu-nity is that the lack of electric-ity in the village has caused the population boom. Children have been sprouting like mushrooms with an age range of 2 months old to 19 years old. A short program was pre-pared for us including an in-spirational talk given by Bernie. As expected of any BLD gathering, snacks were served, this time courtesy of the BLD Lucena District. May 26th –We visited the BLD Toronto-funded Mahayag Vil-lage in Davao together with the BLD Davao DSL, DCS, GK Co-ordinator and a representative from CFC. Fourteen houses have been completed and are now occupied by the benefici-aries. Another 16 houses are under construction. Once fully funded and completed by three groups, one of which is BLD Toronto, the whole village will accommodate 162 houses. (Cont’d…)

(Editor’s Note: In late Spring of

this year, Bernie Consul and Felix

Fullante went on a mission trip to the

Philippines. Bernie and his wife Belen

are BLD Toronto’s Coordinators for

the BYOP Ministry (“Breaking the

Yoke of Poverty) while Felix and his

wife Linda are Treasury Ministry Co-

ordinators. Felix kept a journal of

their trip, which we have excerpted

June 4th – BLD DAY – A day of building houses, a day that the Lord had made, a day when we rejoiced and were glad, as Bernie and I joined fellow BLD Manila District leaders and members build houses in Maralit Village, in Paranaque City. We assisted in painting, plastering, mixing cement, dig-ging and carrying sand and gravel. This village was the worst among the slum areas in Paranaque. It was unbelievable how these people could live in this place with the open, smelly canals, the rotten trash, the muddy, dusty and dirty envi-ronment all around. It tugged at my heart to see children begging for money or food. I had not imagined that there was such a desperate place on earth. I could not hold back my tears at the unfortunate condi-tions the people were in.

Late afternoon that day, BLD Manila leaders requested Bernie and me to join them visit another GK site, this time the Val-Paraiso village, also in Paranaque City. This village, which was funded by BLD-Newark, is about 20 minutes away from the Maralit village. BLD Toronto funded one house in this village. Going there was a real challenge as we had to pass by various squatter areas to get to the interior where the GK-built houses were. The mi-asmic smell emanating from these areas was terrible---you need to wear at least two face masks to minimize the smell, making it hard to breathe. About 35 houses have already been completed and occupied by the beneficiaries. A presen-tation was held at which BLD Manila handed out school sup-plies and school uniforms to 20 deserving elementary and high school children. I thought: How about the rest of the children? How could they have been feel-ing when they did not receive anything?

In the last 5 years, with every visit Bernie and I made to each site, we saw the light of hope shining brighter in the people’s faces. (Cont’d…)

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It is clear that BLD Toronto has become God’s instrument in bringing hope to these people. But it is also clear that we have to do more. Remember the parable of the Good Shepherd who went in search of the lost sheep? “…it is no part of your heavenly Father’s plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief.” (Matthew 18:14). So, brothers and sisters, I now appeal to you: how can we fur-ther help and support these needy children and the poorest of the poor in the squatters areas which we have visited? On behalf of the BYOP Ministry, we reach out to you for help, either as a group or as an individual. The needs are enormous and the task is great, but if each one of us contributes to the effort, then the load will be lighter and hopefully in the end, we all share in a plentiful harvest. May God soften our hearts and fill us with the grace of compas-sion, so that we are able to give to those in need with the hope of bringing greater glory to God.

A Prayer for the Poor by Pope Pius XII

Almighty and eternal God. May your grace enkindle in all of us a love for the many unfortunate people whom poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life unworthy of human beings. Arouse in the hearts of those who call you Father a hunger and thirst for social justice and for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth. Grant, O Lord, peace in our days, peace to souls, peace to families, peace to our country, and peace among nations. Amen.

5

“SOMEONE ELSE”

One Sunday during mass, to con-

clude his sermon, the priest said: Let

me share with you this obituary an-

nouncement:

Our church is saddened to announce

the death of one of our most valued

parishioners - Someone Else. Some-

one's passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has

been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone

did far more than a normal person's share of the work.

Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend,

one name was on everyone's list, "Let Someone Else do it."

Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked

to for inspiration as well as results, "Someone Else can work with that

group."

It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the most gen-

erous givers in our church. Whenever there was a financial need, every-

one just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person; sometimes appearing superhu-

man. Truth be told, everybody expected too much of Someone Else.

Now, sad to say, Someone Else is gone! What are we going to do?

Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to

follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did?

When you are asked to help this year, remember -- we can no longer de-

pend on Someone Else.

Someone Else

is gone!

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By Michael Tolentino

Participating in the ANCOP Walk on August 28th was a very new ex-

perience for me. I remember my feelings upon getting to Nathan Philips

Square, on the grounds of the City Hall, along with everyone else from

my St. Catharines group. It was so unbelievable to see hundreds of peo-

ple present to participate in this event, not only in the Walk itself but in

the program that preceded it. It was very impressive viewing a variety of

performances depicting our culture. The presentations were well organ-

ized, making the day truly memorable.

The thought of performing in front of all the people was very nerve

wracking for me. However, a welcome sight was a group of people who I

have met in past BLD events. Because of these friends, while performing

with Kate, I felt more comfortable than I thought I would be. I also thor-

oughly enjoyed the high level of performances the other groups gave.

The day was a lot of fun and I would

like to say a special thank you to Mr.

and Mrs Panday for their support and

big help in transporting our Youth

group to Toronto.

The “ANCOP Walk”

By Kate Rebarter

ast August 28th, I joined my brother Arven, JP

Tabios, Michael Telentino, Rozbie Gonzalves

and Daniel Abarca who responded to an invita-

tion extended to us by BLD Toronto BYOP Ministry (“Breaking the Yoke of

Poverty”) to perfrom at City Hall before the ANCOP Walk in Toronto. ANCOP

is short for “Answering the Cry of the Poor”.

It was my first time performing for such a large scale event. I was extremely

nervous and excited to represent BLD St. Catharines. Michael Tolentino and I

spent the whole month of August dedicated to practicing for this event. Michael

and I performed a traditional Filipino dance, the tinikling. As we really wanted

to do a good job, he and I practiced long and hard.

On the day of the performance, I was

super nervous. I was scared that we

would mess up or that I would trip or

something. When we arrived in To-

ronto, all 6 of us took one look at the

crowd who were gathered at City Hall

and we just started to freak out. The

crowd was huge! I could feel myself

start to shake because of my nervous-

ness. A few of the ANCOP people who

came up to us told us they were excited

to see our performance, but that only made me feel even more nervous.

When we started our dance, I could feel my excitement starting to build up and

my nervousness starting to fade. Michael and I gave a flawless performance. I

was super proud of my partner for doing so well since this was his first time.

After our performance, we were invited to walk 5kms, with the rest of the

crowd who were there to raise funds for the ANCOP. It was really fun to do the

walk along with all the other sponsors. At the end of the day, I was really tired

but extremely happy. I enjoyed every second of the day. All the tiring and pain-

ful practices really paid off. If I'm given the chance, I would love to do it again

next year. I also want to thank Tito Romy and Tita Minda for driving all of us to Toronto

and for supporting us at the performance. I also want to thank all the people at

ANCOP for inviting us to perform for this worthwhile charity.

8

he BLD Annual Camping on Au-

gust 19-20 for the Youth and

Mark 10 kids organized by the

Singles Ministry at Bissell’s

Hideaway was so good. Even though it

was cut short and there were minor prob-

lems, all was awesome! God truly works

miracles in mysterious ways.

My family and I were all packed early

Friday evening. Our car was absolutely

filled with camping stuff and just enough

room for us and a friend. But when we

got to the front desk, already the devil’s

work was at hand. There was an apparent

miscommunication with the arranged cost

and reservations and we had to wait close

to an hour to clear up the confusion. Fi-

nally an agreement was made. We will be

staying only from Friday till Saturday

night. Even though we were disappointed

over not staying a whole weekend, we

understood. We were able to put up our

tents with ease since some parents were

there to help. The youth, however, moved

a bit away from where everybody was to

avoid overcrowding and, of course, have

a little privacy.

Right away, I felt the excitement, every-

one was having fun already. The Mark 10

kids were jumping, running, chasing each

other around. The parents were also ex-

cited for somehow the experience may

have brought back their youthful years.

Everyone was happy, there was so much

food. Many of the parents stayed and

enjoyed their dinner with us. That night

was a long one. Everybody was having so

much fun that we practically forgot about

the time. All the youth bonded together,

talked about a lot of funny things and

stayed up till the wee hours of the night. I

only got 2 hours of sleep at the most.

Some of the youth did not sleep at all.

The next day was wonderful. The sun

was shining so brightly on the camp

ground. Everyone ate breakfast. It tasted

awesome. We then played games with the

Mark 10 including tug of war. Afterwards

we went swimming. We stayed there for

a long time. It was fun especially going

down the waterslide and jumping off the

dock. We also went paddle boating and

back to swimming. When everybody got

tired, we settled in for a lunch break. Af-

terwards we started to pack so we can go

swimming one last time. We did not want

to leave since we had all bonded greatly

together. Soon it was time to say our

goodbyes.

But as I had stated earlier God does work

miracles. The next morning when I woke

up at home I noticed that it had rained

hard the previous night. So God was pro-

tecting us from being all wet and getting

soaked. Thanks be to God. All in all this

experience was truly great!

By: JP Tabios

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By: Rosanne Marie Bajao Mark 1O

amping is known to be one of the most popular activities during summer, and I just experienced

that during the 2nd BLD Bible Camp at Bissell’s

Hideaway. I enjoyed the outdoors and having some quiet time which allowed me to learn more of God and His creation. It was a time to have fun and enjoy each other’s company with my group,

the youth and the adults, even people I didn’t know. On Friday night, we played some games, roasted marshmal-

lows around an open fire and gazed at the stars. We also prayed the rosary. The next day my group and I got up and exercised. We said our prayers and had our Praise and Worship. It was hot that day so we went swimming and that helped because the water was cold. After

that we played some games, made necklaces out of beads and painted our group poster. Everybody enjoyed the camp, the only problem was that we couldn’t stay for another night like we expected

so we had to leave late Saturday night. Still, I learned that God has done his job to take care of his

creation which he loves so much and that he gave me all the things I

needed and precious friends to have a good life. I learned the value of prayer, praising God and friendship. I thank God for all of these and I’m definitely looking forward to next year’s camp.

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By: Ria Ociones (Singles Ministry)

Camping at Bissell’s Hideaway in Fonthill, Ontario, has become an ex-

citing annual event that is sponsored by our Singles Ministry which our

Mark 10 children and Youth group look forward to. Everyone came pre-

pared with their camping tents, sleeping bags, and flashlights, ready for a

weekend of games, activities, and prayers. There was an abundance of

food, so no one worried about getting hungry.

The evening started with a fellowship, followed by praying of the Ro-

sary. Then, the children roasted marshmallows, which they truly enjoyed.

The following day, the children had arts and crafts, where they tried to

outdo one another making accessories and trinkets for their mothers.

Then, they had games like “tug-of-war”, “survivor games”, and “Know

your Bible” game. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming.

Though our camping was cut short by one day, we were still able to

make the most out of it. The weekend gave the Mark 10 and Youth a rare

opportunity to spend some time together outside of our usual Friday

prayer meetings. God does work in marvellous ways, as rain poured hard

Saturday night. Had we stayed for that night, our children and our youth

would have been soaked and drenched wet.

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13

Experiencing our

First BLD Annual Picnic By: Alex Calanog, ME # 9

ummertime with BLD St. Catharines

wouldn’t be the same without the

annual picnic. And now with sum-

mer over and the children back to

school, our family looks back at the enjoyment we had at this gathering

with our dear BLD brothers and sisters.

Truly it was a day the Lord had made… a beautiful bright sunny day, fun

-filled with activities and kid-friendly games. But it was clear that not

only the kids but even the old married couples thoroughly enjoyed them-

selves as they participated in the games like good sports. The pleasure

and excitement was non-stop. Our ME 9 class dished up cotton candy

and snow cones for the children and for the young at heart! Delicious

food was shared by all, topped by savouring the simply delicious - not

one, but two – lechon! Whatever was left over was cooked later in the

afternoon by Henry Bustos into a mouth watering “paksiw na lechon”.

Once everyone started relaxing, praising, singing and dancing followed.

It was a great time just to enjoy each other.

On behalf of ME 9, a huge thanks to all of you brothers and sisters who

volunteered and shared your time and effort to make our picnic a truly

wonderful day! We all had a blast and we are looking forward to doing it

all over again next summer!

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emember you have entered into the

house of God for the purpose of prayer,

adoration, reflection, or to celebrate a

sacrament. Now is not the time to talk

to your friends, but to talk to God. Please do

not bring in any cups of coffee!

In order to help you enter into a sacred space,

please remember:

1.Turn off cell phones. It's distracting for others who are trying to pray.

It's time to focus on God. Do not text messages or check your Face book

account from the pews or the back of the church. Leave your social me-

dia devices in the car or at home. If you are waiting for an important

phone call, consider going to mass at another time.

2. Do not chew gum during mass or put it in your side cheek, to chew on

it later. Spit it out before entering a church. Did you know that you are

supposed to be prayerfully fasting for an hour before mass? There is a

possibility that if you keep the gum in your mouth and resume chewing

after receiving the Eucharist, you may unintentionally spit out a bit of the

body of Jesus. That would be sacrilegious.

3. Dress with dignity for Mass. It seems that many women, many girls in

this day and age have a need to always have a 'sexy' look. Mass is not a

cocktail party. Mass is not a hockey arena. Come dressed with decorum,

an aura of dignity. Consider teaching your children the different types of

dress are important for different occasions. For everything there is a

time. Please remember to dress modestly and ensure sure your daughters

do too. Bare shoulders and visible bra straps are not a good idea. They

are highly distracting.

4. Do not bring children's activity bags, granola bars, cheerio's, juice

boxes, water bottles, toys including a child's DS, play station, game boy,

iPod touch or similar types of amusements to church. Mass is only one

hour long. Children would grow in virtue if their parents expected them

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to detach from these things for at least an hour a week. For little toddlers

there are beautiful series of little Catholic books put out by Father Lova-

sik. There are plastic rosaries or books about saints. Immerse your chil-

dren in spiritual treasures during mass.

5. Parents have a duty give their children ongoing, on the job training, all

the time. That includes the obligation to train their children in the appro-

priate times to kneel, sit, stand and face the altar. If children are engaged

in playing with toys, eating, and drinking, they are surely not being

taught about the fact that Jesus is really up there on the altar, the signifi-

cance of prayer, self control, and the importance of participating in the

mass. Parents themselves get distracted with managing the dispensing of

food and toys. On top of that, it is a distraction to others in the pews who

are hungry them- selves, or who are try-

ing to fully partici- pate in mass.

6. Do not drink bot- tled water in a house of

worship. If an adult, for some reason needs

to drink water to take some medication,

please leave the church premises or at

least the mass and drink the water, if you

must outside the celebration of the

Eucharist.

7. If you are late for mass, please do not walk down the aisles looking for

a seat until it's appropriate. You are disrupting others. The Toronto Sym-

phony does not allow late comers to waltz in at 'whatever' time. Church

ushers should be trained to enforce this. Please do not leave mass before

it ends. You will be missing the supernatural graces of the final blessing.

Besides it's a bad example for your kids

8. Do not be an observer of the mass, but a participator. Don't ask your-

self, 'What is this mass doing for me?" Instead, ask yourself, 'What can I

do to participate in the mass more fully?" Make an effort to listen, follow

the readings, the homily, read scripture passages before mass, learn the

prayers of the mass, follow along in the misslette and sing! You will be-

come an outstanding role model for your kids.

9. Do not have conversations during the mass. You would never have a

conversation, during a performance of the symphony. If you did, you

would be asked to correct your behavior or leave. Quite simply it's rude.

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10. It might be useful to ask ourselves, Who am I? Why am I here? The

answers: To know God, to love him and serve Him especially at Mass!

ENJOY BEING in the LORD’S presence during the Eucharist Celebra-

tion.

As you enter the House of God, take some holy water provided at the

entrance and sign yourself with the suggested following words: May

the holy waters of baptism, bless me, wash me clean and

make me whole, In the Name of the Father and of The Son

and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Before entering your pew, genuflect before The King of Kings and Lord

of Lords, saying: I bow down before you and adore you most

Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy

Spirit.

At the end of the Mass, after a brief period of thanksgiving prayer, be-

fore exiting the pew say: Thank you Abba Father, thank you

Lord Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit for permitting me to

be so long in your holy presence and for all the blessings you

have showered upon me and this congregation.

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Welcoming The New Roman Missal

New Words: A Deeper Meaning, but the Same Mass

November 27,2011, First Sunday of Advent , will be the day of implementation of the 3rd Edition of the

Roman Missal in Canada and in most English speaking

dioceses in the world.

The Canadian Bishops have launched a website on the new

translation, www.romanmissal.ca

The order of the Mass remain the same. The changes in

some text bring the new Roman Missal to a closer transla-

tion of the original in Latin and is considered a richer way

to explain and proclaim the Catholic Faith. The changes

will be easier to accept when we understand the personal

benefit to us. This can be a time of faith growth.

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Life in the Spirit Seminar

Shepherding Sessions in the Basement of the

Cathedral following Friday evening Praise & Worship

God’s Love - September 23

Salvation - October 7

New Life - October 14

Receiving God’s Gift - October 21

Invocation Mass - October 28

LSS Weekend Proper - October 29/30

to be held at Holy Rosary Church, Thorold

Growth & Transformation November 11

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BLD St. Catharines, District in Process

Bukas Loob sa Diyos Open in Spirit to God