Mati Diocese celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday

Insights on Mercy congress shared

MATI CITY — A week after the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday on April 23, 2017, the Divine Mercy Apostolate (DMA) in the Diocese of Mati is happy to share some insights and joys of their previous attendance to the 4th World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM IV) held in Manila last January 16-20, 2017.

But before details on these, the Divine Mercy Shrine and Parish in Madang, Mati City is thankful for the successful celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday that culminated with the 9:00 am concelebrated Fiesta Mass presided over by Bishop Emeritus of Mati Patricio H. Alo, DD assisted by parish priest Fr. Medardo “Medz” A. Salomea, DCM, among a few other priests.

Fr. Medz spoke on the year of the parish as a communion of communities and thanked the faithful parishioners and visitors for their supportive participation in the novena prayers and activities, including the coronation affair in the evening designed as fund raising for the completion of the parish center building.

Actively leading in the fiesta activities was the DMA that supervised the cleaning and church decoration and the fiesta meal fellowship and sharing with the poor in close coordination with the Parish Pastoral Council. The DMA officers invited other DMA members from different parishes to come and join in the celebration or to organize Divine Mercy celebrations in their respective places since the feast of Divine Mercy is of prime importance every 2nd Sunday of Easter.

Going back to WACOM IV, though the registration and other incidental fees were quite high (Php 7,000), the diocesan DMA had a total of 52 delegates! “It was much more of a pilgrimage,” wrote DMA secretary Susan P. Franco, explaining “that it was quite taxing and a sacrifice in itself for the delegates because of a very hectic schedule with only 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night, with venues in Manila, Lipa, Batangas (National Shrine & Parish of Padre Pio), Malolos Bulacan (National Shrine & Parish of the Divine Mercy, and 15 other places in which the Nazareth Home for Street Children at Bustos, Bulacan was assigned to DMA Mati.” Then the delegates proceeded to the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan, where they had a chance to roam around the vast historic site where all the structures were of Filipino heritage dating back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Summarizing, Sis Susan said that “the 5-day sacrifice, the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist and homilies, the chaplets of the Divine Mercy, talks of the special guests, testimonies/sharings, presentation of the hosts’ dioceses all led up to the spiritual enrichment and contentment among the delegates.”

The WACOM which is observed every three years had as Theme: “Communion in Mercy, Mission for Mercy (Called by Mercy, Sent for Mercy)”. The AACOM or Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy is also celebrated every three years. The 1st was held in the Philippines, the 2nd in Bangkok, 3rd in Indonesia, and the 4th is supposed to be in Korea. The PACOM or Philippine Apostolic Congress on Mercy is also celebrated every 3 years; this was held in Bacolod with four delegates from Mati diocese. The MACOM or Mindanao Apostolic Congress on Mercy is celebrated every year. The DADITAMA Apostolic Congress on Mercy is supposed to be celebrated every year. The last one was held in Digos. Next is supposed to be in Tagum, then Mati.

The DMA, Diocese of Mati, has reportedly been active since its inception in 2002. Their monthly prayer sacrifice is marked every 1st Saturday, the apostolic mission is to the prisoners, delegates always attend any scheduled apostolic congress, the diocesan gathering is every two months aimed at spreading the message of the Divine Mercy, and they have already created an FB account – Divine Mercy Apostolate Mati and web page – Divine Mercy Apostolate, Diocese of Mati. With its 15-year existence in the diocese, the DMA has expanded to all the parishes except three: San Isidro, Gov. Generoso, and Tarragona. At the last presbyterium, the group inquired if the clergy could grant a weekly Divine Mercy Mass to promote the Divine Mercy devotion to the general public. Speaking for the DMA was Diocesan Coordinator is Sis Rosalind Y. Lopez while the Spiritual Director is Fr. Ricardo D. Siblos, DCM, parish priest of San Vicente Ferrer, Lupon, Davao Oriental. (with writer Susan P. Franco)