Devotion and piety inspire the Catholic faithful to go on pilgrimage to churches and sacred places. A shrine, for example, is visited by thousands of pilgrims to practice their devotion. The Philippines has been home to numerous shrines with some approved by its Episcopal Conference to be a national shrine.
The Cost of Following Jesus – Luke 9:51—62 When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not
The World Meeting of Families (WMOF) was created by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II in 1994, coinciding with the United Nations’ declaration of that same year as the “International Year of the Family”. The 1st World Meeting of Families held in Rome on October 8 and 9 that year
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand – Luke 9:11b—17 Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to
The Holy Trinity – John 16:12—15 Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak
The Basic Ecclesial Communities or BECs are local Christian communities in neighborhoods within parishes described by the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) as “small communities of Christians, usually of families who gather around the Word of God and the Eucharist. These communities are united to their pastors
Fifty days after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Catholic Church celebrates Pentecost. On this feast day that concludes the Easter season, Catholics celebrate the beginning of the Church. The word Pentecost is derived from the Greek word “pentecoste” which means fiftieth. In Christian tradition, the faithful celebrate at
Receive the Holy Spirit – John 20:19-23 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said
The Ascension of Jesus – Luke 24:46-53 Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from
