Now that it’s November families are coming to gather to honor their loved ones who have passed, visiting cemeteries to tidy gravesites and repaint tombstones in loving remembrance. Offering prayers, sharing food, and coming together to commemorate the departed has become a deeply cherished Catholic...
How time flies! The first time I joined in the fiesta of Sta. Ana Parish was in 1983, and I was only 16 years old at that time. Together with some charismatic youth, we presented a dance number to the tune of Flashdance in the...
I was first a writer before I became a teacher. Both are my passions in life. But I know that I belong more in the classroom than in a newsroom. That is why I left writing after more than a year in a regular newsroom...
I was one of the few parish coordinators who created and designed the first LCCP in 2008 which was held in SOS Bajada. Fr. Joel Caasi was our ALC director. Back then, LCCP stood for Lectors, Commentators, Cantors, and Psalmists. Ate Elena Cunanan of St....
In celebration of the Women’s Month and Fire Prevention Month, let me share the stories of women who were able to niche their place in firefighting especially the now-familiar all women fire stations. First, is Molly Williams. She is known to be the first female fighter...
Joy and sadness do not always come together. But it did happen to me once upon a time in the Advent season. A loved-one died while another loved-one gave birth on the evening before the Gaudete Sunday. The coming and the going of people in...
Misa de Gallo is the most celebrated advent season traditions in the Philippines. The Misa De Gallo was brought-in by the Spaniards during their time of colonization. The most notable part of attending a Misa De Gallo is the churchgoers buying Christmas delicacies from the vendors...
The first time I heard this song “Christmas won’t be the same without you” in 1987 I immediately fell in love with the lyrics and the melody that it has become one of my favorite Christmas ballads. I so love this song of Martin Nievera...
For the Catholics, there are four liturgical seasons to celebrate every year: Advent season, Christmas season, Ordinary time and Lenten season. I was always told that Jesus Christ is the focus of these seasons of which these can be translated in simpler meanings: waiting for...
I grew up in a place where noise is an ordinary occurrence; barking of dogs, meow of cats; horns of speeding cars; rings of our telephone or my cellphones; sounds of TV programs or music from the radio. Actually, I practically live in a city...