Leo Angelo de Castro y Mercado

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Where there is charity and love, there is God. Dakilang pagibig saan man manahan, Diyos ay naroon walang alinlangan. It's the fourth Sunday of Lent, halfway through this sacred season. It's Laetare Sunday and the penitential character is softened down. The priest wears rose vestments instead of donning the penitential purple. Flowers are permitted on the altar, and the organ may be played-although everything in moderation. The Gospel speaks about how God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son to save it. Everyone who looks to this Son will be saved. Laetare Ierusalem! The introit proclaims. But why? Why do we need to rejoice? The Lord's love is infinite. His mercy have no end. To show love is to show the dwelling of the Lord himself. We proclaim love, we proclaim the Lord. God is love. He is the first one to love us. Where there is charity and love, there is God. Therefore we see him in our daily struggles, if we perform it with great love and devotion. We see him carrying his cross. We see him in agony but not because of the physical weight of the wooden cross, but because of the insults of the men he so loved. He fell down because of our blows against his merciful heart. There is still a need to rejoice. His resurrection is neigh. All this sufferings will turn to glory because of his love that empowers us to transform evil into goodness. LEO ANGELO

Replica of the Crucifixion Nails that was placed into contact with the Sacred Relic of the Nail deposited in the S. Croce in Gerusalemme. Personal custody.

Six years ago, we went to the Church of OL of Lourdes (Tagaytay) for her Feast day. I bought a Crucifix from the souvenir shop and a religious brother saw me. He gave me this little image of Our Lady as a remembrance. Pray for the clergy and the religious!

Glory to Your name, not to us. 

My heart is filled with anxious thoughts of what tomorrow holds for me and my dreams. Everything I planned seemed to be crumbling down. The future is dark and uncertain, but I know I, we, will face it with bold hearts and minds that would constitute the plan of God for us and our colleagues. May His Will be done, not mine, but Yours!

Sundo

Let this not be a source of jealousy or controversy among the other organizations in which I belong, but I will always and forever put this family in my priority list, more than any other thing. This predilection for KOA will always remain in me until the day I face the Judgement seat of God. Almost six years ago, I made a solemn vow to the Lord to serve Him in His sacred altar and I will always put this into mind. No other succeeding commitment would and could erase this mark in my heart. It is my duty and responsibility to serve Him through this organization. Only a few value her; only a few see through the importance of this venerable and old organization: being more than servers and helpers of the priest, but friends of Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest. One year remaining. 2015-2019. Anxiety fills my heart every time the thought of time comes to my mind. How can I, how can we, make a mark and imprint a legacy that would last forever, for a long time, in this organization? Today, I can do nothing but to ask for God's guidance. May His will be always done. Make me an instrument for the betterment of this organization. LEO ANGELO

Kyrie eleison.

Feast of the Holy Child

157th Anniversary of the establishment of Saint John Nepomucene Parish here in Alfonso, Cavite. 

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Last day of the Misa de Aguinaldo I have so much to thank for, most especially for the gift of friendship and peace during these days of the Misa de Aguinaldo. Christ is coming, He surely is coming. Prepare! Prepare! Prepare your souls for His coming! He prefers to lie on a manger than on a bed; let us prepare our lowly hearts. Veni, veni Emmanuel!

Caroling On the 16th and 17th of December, the altar servers of Alfonso made their very first Christmas Caroling. What makes this special for me is that this is a fulfillment of a promise done a year ago. Apart from the intention of having funds to repair the image of our patron, S. Lorenzo Ruiz, this activity served as a bonding time for each one of us. I would say that this whole undertaking almost never happened. From the signing of the letters, from the rehearsing of carols, this activity could just have died out. If not for my insistence, this would surely be cancelled. It is to prove that servers will always overcome any obstacles that bars him from doing what must be done. The laughter and the joyous tune of Christmas carols made me forget all the hardships that I've experienced in planning this activity. It is hear warming to see the younger servers happy, along with their leader. People view altar servers as tied only to the altar. Outside the church, they cease to function. But no! It is our identity. It is who we are. It creates an unscratchable and indelible mark in our own selves. We are Knights of the Altar; we are called to serve! LEO ANGELO

So, seven days have passed since the Dawn Masses held in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary have started. There are only three days left to complete these novena Masses. In our parish of Saint John Nepomucene up here in Alfonso, Cavite, these Misa de Aguinaldo were held at 4:30 am, with a somewhat large congregation all hoping to complete the nine days of Misa de Aguinaldo "so that their wishes may be granted", according to old beliefs. But the real question for me is this: "Do we sacrifice getting up very early, showering amidst the bitter cold, and wearing or best clothes for this simbang gabi out of love for the Divine Infant who is to come? Or do we do this to gain advantages?" Yes, I do not have the capacity to judge each ones' intentions might be, but how do we see this wonderful tradition? Nine days. Nine months. These nine days symbolizes the nine months of the long awaited messiah in the immaculate womb of her Mother. In the whole year, do we spend nine months doing good or doing what satisfies us that might not be according to His plan? Do we remain good only on these nine days? Simbang gabi or Misa de Aguinaldo is a very special tradition. It is a gift to God and to the Blessed Mother in thanksgiving for the gift of Salvation. Do we also offer ourselves that we might be one with Christ in his birth, passion, death and resurrection? Or do we refuse to see its real meaning? LEO ANGELO

"Hidden God, devoutly I adore You, Truly present underneath these veils"

10 September 2016 Bylaws and Constitutions approved. (at Saint John Nepomucene Parish, Alfonso, Cavite)