Parish of the Holy Sacrifice

Have we received the Holy Spirit? Yes, we have. But that does not make us automatically a spiritual person. There is a more important question we need to ask: “Have we responded to the Holy Spirit?”

Faith does not come from seeing him but from believing in him even if we have not seen him.

Every Lenten season, we remember the great event of the passion and death of Christ on the cross to free us from our slavery to sin. Every 25th of February, we remember the great event of a people freeing themselves from slavery to their own fears, apathy and indifference. Let me share with you some reflections on the Lenten season and the EDSA People Power Revolution.

That man Saul we all know today as St. Paul, one of the great apostle of our faith. His story is one of the most memorable and timeless story of change and transformation. From a persecutor of the faith to a preacher of the faith in Jesus, from being Saul the Pharisee to becoming St. Paul the missionary Apostle, from being a sinner to a saint. What happened to him is what should happen to each one of us. We all have to undergo our own road to Damascus, we all need to have our conversion moments.

John the Batist invites us to undergo a change, not only things outside us, but a change of heart. He tells not think about change but to let it penetrate every part of who we are.

Advent is from the Latin adventus, a coming or arrival. There are three ways that the advent of Christ takes place: in history, in mystery and in glory.

Today, we are reminded that Christ is the King. And as king, he will judge us justly. And we will be judged not on our worthiness or personal merit. The basis of God’s judgment will be on how we have proclaimed the kingdom of God and expanded his rule on earth. It will be based, as Jesus says, on how we have treated the least and the last of this world.

Advent reminds us that we are a joyful people. It spurs us to renew our hope, because God comes to us in our darkness. The Virgin Mary gladly experienced His coming into her womb. The story of Mary’s happy expectancy might lead us to think that she didn’t risk the things she valued, and that she knew everything will be all right. Advent invites us to live in joyful hope, even though our situation is difficult, because it is in having this disposition that we are able to ‘risk’ ourselves for God.

The Pastoral Council of the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice (PPC) carries on its second year of implementing the Three-Year Master Plan formulated in 2006 with the vision that being a parish is not merely a one-time moment but a process.

The Worship Ministry is a happy collaboration of varied personalities who have chosen to take up the call to be servant leaders and assume various roles to serve the Church. Sometimes the tasks are daunting, but hurdling this challenge brings about a personal transformation and a sublime sense of spiritual gratification that Ministry members experience.