Man's Call To Salvation

Ascension - Jesus' "going up" into heaven by His own power, in the presence of the Apostles, the Blessed Mother and His disciples, forty days after His Resurrection.
Pentecost - originally, the celebration of thanksgiving for the harvest and the end of Passover time. Now, it commemorates the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, marking the beginning of the active apostolic work. Hailed as the birthday of the Church, it is celebrated 50 days after Easter or ten days after the Feast of the Ascension.
gift of tongues - the miraculous gift to speak one language and be heard and understood by many individuals who ordinarily speak and understand a different language.
evangelization - making the message and mission of Christ known to the world.Originally, it meant preaching the Gospel to those who had never heard of Jesus or His Teachings. Following Vatican II, however, the world means "the whole Mission of the Church and the activities of the apostolate through which She announces, implants and brings to maturity the Kingdom of God."
missionary activities - work engaged in, to give witness to Jesus and His teaching. This is expressed through proclaiming the good news, service and acquiring a sense of community.

Do you remember the story of the father who wanted to leave his two sons a good legacy? These two sons seemed to have endless needs and the father knew that inherited material wealth could soon be frittered away if his sons were not imbued with industry, patience, and perseverance.

So, shortly before his death, he called his two sons and told them to make good use of the bag of treasure he had buried in their fields.

The two sons lost no time in looking for the bag of treasure. To make their search systematic, they divided the field into portions and dug up one portion first. Finding no treasure here, they went on to the next. Meanwhile, they decided to make use of the turned-up soil in the first portion by planting some crops on it. Portion after portion was dug up and planted with crops but no treasure could be found. Finally, when they had dug up the last portion, they sat down to rest saw that the crops they had planted on the dug-up soil were growing very well and were, in fact, ready for harvest. They harvested the crops and sold them at a good Profit.

"This must have been the treasure that our wise father meant us to discover," marveled the two brothers.

Saint Anthony was born in Sallent, Spain in 1807. He worked as a missionary in Catalonia and the Canary Islands for ten years. In 1848, he founded the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians). In that same year, he was consecrated Bishop of Santiago in Cuba. There he established the Teaching Sisters of Mary Immaculate.

At the request of Pope Pius XI, he returned to Spain and devoted himself to missionary work by preaching and publishing. He established a museum, library, schools and a laboratory. He also spread devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Heart of Mary through his preachings and writings.

Anthony died in a Cistercian monastery in France on October 24, 1870. He was canonized by Pope Pius X!! in 1950.

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is a wonderful encounter with God's healing touch and is a union with Jesus' passion, death, and Resurrection. It is a reminder for the Church to care for the aged and the sick.

Marriage- a sacrament in which the love relationship of baptized man and woman is made a part of the new covenant and is directed toward the fulfillment of Jesus' mission; a public statement of a man and woman that they have entered a relationship of deep and lasting love in which they hope to foster their own personal fulfillment and bring up new life to responsible adulthood.
Matrimony- another word for marriage.
Divorce- the dissolution of a marriage. In the New Testament, Christ condemned divorce most decisively (Mk. 10:2-12).
Dispensation- the relaxation of the obligation of a law because of special circumstances of a case. This can be granted by proper and competent authority.
Impediment of marriage- an external fact or circumstances that forbids marriage, sacramental or legal, and makes it invalid or unlawful.

"Facing the Concerns of Today and the Challenges of the Future"

The Tertio Millennio Adveniente (TMA) is a program launched by Pope John Paul II to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity. Consisting of a three-year Jubilee which starts in 1997 until 1999 towards the Great Jubilee 2000, its primary objective is the strengthening of faith and of the witness of Christians. For Great Jubilee 2000, the Holy Father has worked out a program of preparation which he calls the "new Advent." He asks us, the faith ful, to spend the new Advent in intense prayer and in solidarity with our neighbor, especially the needy.

In response to the call of his Holiness, a Philippine program has been drawn up. Called A Filipino Vision for the Third Milleneum, the program joins the TMA themes of the Holy Father with some acts and decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) to make the observance of TMA relevant to our own national needs

As Sister Teresa (later Mother Teresa) wended her way to the train station that would take her to the retreat house in Darjeeling, India, she walked past thousands of outcasts preparing to spend the night on the stairways, hallways and streets of Calcutta. These Indian outcasts were scattered throughout the city in a repulsive atmosphere generated by dampness, buzzing flies, garbage, vermin, and body waste.

Sister Teresa slept very little during the overnight journey. Pictures of the poor and the suffering kept running through her mind. She was so greatly disturbed by what she had seen that there and then, she resolved to leave the Convent and devote herself exclusively to the poor. That was in September 10, 1946.

After receiving of the Archbishop and her religious superior, Sister Teresa studied basic health care. After three months, she returned to Calcutta where she immediatly went to work with soap and water washing one hut after another and feeding and caring for the children in each household. As she moved throught the streets, countless people cried out to her, asking for food.

The example of Sister Teresa attracted other young women who were also concerned for the poor. With their assistance and the financial support of many generous citizens, Mother Teresa founded schools, orphanages, a center for lepers, medical dispensaries and many other institutions for the poor.