From 25 January until 29 January, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) convened the Second National Clergy Congress as a highlight of the celebration of the “Year for Priests” in the Philippines. At the height of the congress, 5500 were present at the halls of the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila. Among these, 29 priests of the Society of St Paul registered and attended. They were: from Makati Community—Frs. de la Pena, Tangi, Gamutan, Yntig, Lagdamen, Botavara, Guzman, Marquez, Lumabas, Reyes, Tacdoro, Sobrejuanite, Cellan, and Gozun; from Cebu Community—Frs. Hitosis, and Baguna; from the seminary community of Silang—Frs. Alinsangan, Taneza, and Ellezar; from the parish community of Our Lady of Sorrows in Pasay—Frs. Flores, Montealto, Atole, Tapang, and Barisoro; from Cagayan de Oro—Fr. Reforeal; from the Iloilo Community—Frs. Ferraris, and Sinoy; and from the novitiate community of Pampanga—Frs. Melliza, and Aripio.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, preacher of the papal household, gave five talks that centered on the renewal of priestly faithfulness through the ministry of the Holy Spirit; Bishop Chito Tagle of the Diocese of Imus devoted a whole day articulating the pastoral challenges of Fr. Cantalamessa’s talks.
The Society of St Paul through ST PAULS also had a much-appreciated apostolic presence in the duration of the Congress. ST PAULS maintained a booth at the lobby of the World Trade Center. Among the best buys were: various liturgical and homiletics books, the remainder sales of the 2010 “365 Days with the Lord” Bible Diary. ST PAULS also launched 5 titles for the event: the Philippine reprints of Pope Benedict XVI’s Spiritual Thought Series “On St Paul” and “On the Priesthood;” Bishop Mylo Vergara’s “Way of the Cross with St John Marie Vianney;” Fr Domie Guzman’s “Devotions: Prayers for persons who love priests, and for priests who love God and his people;” and Fr Gil Alinsangan’s Sunday Gospel homilies for Year C—“Into the Deep.”
In the morning of 27 January, Wednesday, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa personally visited the ST PAULS booth. He appreciated very much that ST PAULS has copyrighted some of his books so that these are now available at affordable cost in the Philippines. Among the Cantalamessa books we have for local reprint and sale are: ‘The Mystery of the Word of God;” “The Mystery of the Eucharist;” “Life in Christ: Commentary on the Letter to the Romans.” Cheap reprints by ST PAULS-India of Fr Cantalamessa’s “Power of the Cross-Vols 1 & 2” were also on sale.
Keeping you in touch—Fr Domie Guzman (Provincial Secretary)
