Blessed , the Cebuano Teenage

Objectives: 1. To retell the martyrdom of Pedro Calungsod in the island of in 1672 2. To realize and explain that our Christian faith is worth living for 3. To illustrate ways to be instruments of God‟s loving presence in our world today 4. To seek the intercession of Blessed Pedro Calungsod for strength to face life‟s challenges regarding faith and moral

I. Exposition

A. Word of God Acts 6:1-15, 7:51-60

At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit....

Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against and God." They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

They presented false witnesses who testified, "This man never stops saying things against (this) holy place and the law. For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Stephen preaches to the Sanhedrin, concluding: "You stiff- necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it."

When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"; and when he said this, he fell asleep.

B. Text Analysis 1. Who was Stephen? 2. Why did they stone him to death? 3. Where did he get his strength to face death? 4. Who did he see before his death? 5. What were his last words before he died?

C. Definition of terms

1. Hellenist refers to a Jew of the Diaspora (Jewish communities outside of Israel) who adopted the Greek language and culture,

2. Hebrew is one of several names for the Jewish people.

3. The Twelve also known as Apostles were men whom Jesus chose and called to preach the Kingdom of God.

4. Disciples are the followers of Jesus

5. Deacons http://www.bible.ca/H-deacons.htm

a. Pseudo-Clement, Epistle to James 12 “Let the deacons of the church move about intelligently and act as eyes of the bishop, carefully inquiring into the actions of every church member....let them find out those who are sick in the flesh, and bring such to the notice of the main body who know nothing of them, that they may visit them and supply their wants, and the president may judge fit.

b. Didache 15. “Appoint therefore to yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men who are meek and not lovers of money, and true and approved ; for unto you they perform the service of the prophets and teachers.

c. , Epistle 5.2 “In like manner deacons should be blameless in the presence of his righteousness, as deacons of God and Christ and not of men; not calumniators, not double-tongued, not lovers of money, temperate in all , compassionate, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord who became a deacon of all.

6. Kingdom of God is where the love of God is.

7. Great Sanhedrin was the highest council of the ancient Jews, consisting of 71 members, and exercising authority from about the 2nd century B.C.

D. Summary

St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons chosen by the disciples to serve the needs of the new Christian community during the time of the Apostles.

A deacon was assigned to help distribute the goods while the apostles devoted themselves to prayer and preaching.

Stephen was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. He was also full of grace and power and did great wonders and signs among the people. And because of these, some people became envious and accused him of against Moses and God. He was brought before the Great Sanhedrin, They were so angry with his defense that Jesus was indeed the Son of God whom they betrayed and murdered. With this, Stephen was stoned to death.

However, before his death, he was filled with the Holy Spirit he told everyone around that he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And while they were stoning him to death he asked Jesus to receive my spirit and to forgive his all those who persecuted him.

E. Linkage

Stephen was the first man recorded in the Acts of the Apostles who bravely proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. And because of his unwavering belief, he was persecuted and later stoned to death.

Centuries after him were thousands of men and women who fought for truth and died for their faith.

They were not afraid to die for what they believed in and the Church honors them.

Let us now focus on a young Cebuano boy who risked his life to save a in the Ladrones Island, now known as Guam in the 1600‟s.

II. Context

A. Story telling on the Life of Pedro Calungsod

Pedro Caungsod was a young boy from the Visayan region. The Jesuits who were evangelizing the in the 1600 have trained young boys as assistants or catechists to help them in their missions. The training was in Jesuit-run boarding schools for boys. Pedro could be one of the boys who attended the school. He was among those brought by the Jesuit Fr. Diego Luís de San Vitores to start the Mission at the Ladrones Islands together with other Jesuits.

Fr. Diego Luís de San Vitores was assigned in Antipolo. Fr. Juan Lopez, OP, the bishop of at that time, manifested his willing support to the Mission organized by Fr. Diego since the Ladrones were then part of the ecclesiastical territory of the of Cebu. The bishop himself may have sent boys from the Visayas to support the Mission. Another possibility is that the Jesuits in the Visayas themselves may have sent the boys to their fellow priest Fr. Diego.

Overcoming all difficulties, the left with the ship named “San Diego” from the port of Cavite on August 7, 1667. They sailed first to Acapulco in to get some provisions for the Mission. They arrived in Acapulco on January 6, 1668 and stayed there until March 23, 1668 when they left for the Ladrones. They reached the island of Guam in the Ladrones on June 15, 1668.

A Chinese quack, named Choco, envious of the respect that the missionaries were gaining among the Chamorro, started to spread the talk that the baptismal water of the missionaries was poisonous. In addition, since some sickly Chamorro infants died after , many believed the calumniator. The Macanjas, and Urritaos supported the evil campaign of Choco. Together with the apostates, they began to persecute the missionaries, to the point of killing them.

The missionaries were able to persevere in the Mariana Mission because of their firm spiritual life. They were fervent in their prayers and sacrifices for the salvation of souls. They were faithful to the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist. They regularly and frequently received the Sacrament of Confession, which helped them be at peace with God and always prepared for death. Moreover, they were so devoted to the Blessed Mary as their inspiration and protector.

The most unforgettable attack happened on April 2, 1672, the Saturday just before the Passion Sunday of that year. At around seven o‟clock in the morning, Pedro who was about seventeen years old, and the superior of the Mission, Padre Diego, came to the village of Tomhom in Guam. They learned that a baby girl was recently born in the village. They went to ask the child‟s father, named Matapang, to bring out the infant for baptism. Matapang was a Christian and a friend of the missionaries, but having apostatized, he angrily refused to have his baby christened.

To give Matapang some time to cool down, Padre Diego and Pedro gathered the children and some adults of the village at the nearby shore and started reciting with them the truths of the Catholic Faith. They invited Matapang to join them.

Matapang shouted back that he was angry with God and was fed up with the Christian teachings. Determined to kill the missionaries, Matapang went away and tried to recruit in his cause another villager, named Hirao, who was not a Christian. At first, Hirao refused, aware of the kindness of the missionaries towards the natives. However, when Matapang called him a coward, he got irritated and so he consented.

During that short absence of Matapang from his hut, Padre Diego and Pedro took the chance of baptizing the infant with the consent of the Christian mother.

When Matapang learned of the baptism, he became even more furious. He violently hurled first at Pedro. The lad avoided the darting spears with remarkable skill. Witnesses said that Pedro had all the chances to escape because he was very swift, but he did not want to leave Padre Diego alone. Those who personally knew Pedro believed that he would have defeated his fierce attackers and would have freed both himself and Padre Diego if only he had some weapon because he was a brave boy; but Padre Diego never allowed his companions to carry arms because they were missionaries of peace. Finally, a hit Pedro at the chest and he fell to the ground. Hirao immediately charged towards him and finished him off with a blow of a short sword on the head. Padre Diego could not do anything except to raise a and give Pedro the final sacramental . After that, the assassins also killed Padre Diego. Matapang took the crucifix of Padre Diego and crushed it with a stone while blaspheming God.

Both assassins stripped the bodies of Pedro and Padre Diego, dragged them to the edge of the shore, tied large stones to their feet, brought them on a proa to sea and threw them into the deep. Their remains were never found.

When the fellow missionaries of Pedro learned of his death, they exclaimed, “Privileged youth! How well rewarded his four years of persevering service to God in the difficult Mission are; he has become the herald of our superior, Padre Diego, in Heaven!”

They remembered Pedro to be a boy with a very good character. He was a righteous catechist, a faithful assistant, and a good Catholic whose perseverance in the Faith even to the point of martyrdom proved him a good soldier of Christ.

No one knows from where Pedro was from. However, “bissaya” may be just the perfect description of who Pedro was and who he should be to us today. For according to Fr. Ignacio Francisco Alcina, SJ, who worked in the Visayas during the time of Pedro, “bissaya” means “a happy man”, “a man of fine and pleasant disposition.” Pedro as described by his companions in their accounts of his martyrdom: that he was a lad of “very good disposition”, and that he was a “fortunate [happy] youth” because he lived and died for the Christian Faith.

B. Definition of Terms

1. Evangelize refers to the initial proclamation of the Good News about Jesus Christ. 2. Catechist teaches the Faith of the both by word and example. 3. Jesuit is a member of a Roman Catholic religious order () founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534. 4. Mission is Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups (missionaries) to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. 5. Missionaries preach the Christian faith (and sometimes to administer sacraments), and provide humanitarian work to improve economic development, literacy, education, health care, and orphanages. 6. Ladrones Island from Spanish Islas de los Ladrones meaning "Islands of Thieves" is now called the . Guam is the largest of these Islands. 7. Ecclesiastical territory is being under the spiritual guidance of the Diocese of Cebu. 8. Bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and supervises a number of local churches or a diocese. 9. Quack is a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have knowledge, and medical skill. 10. Chamorro is a native of Guam. 11. Calumniator is a person who makes false and malicious statements and later apostatized. 12. Apostate is a person who abandons or renounces his/her religion. 13. Macanjas were superstitious local herbal medicine men. 14. Urritaos were young native men who went into some immoral practices. 15. Passion Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Lent which is commonly known as of the Passion of the Lord. 16. Proa in generic terms meaning sail boat in their native languages. It is similar to a vinta used in .

D. Guide Questions 1. Who was Pedro Calungsod? 2. What kind of a lad was he? 3. What did he do in the Ladrones? 4. What did he learn from the Jesuits during his stay with them? 5. Why did the natives kill him? 6. Why didn‟t he run away from the attackers? 7. What made him die for his faith? 8. How do we call people who willingly give up their lives for their belief in God?

C. Summary

Pedro Caungsod was a young boy from the Visayan region. No one knows from where Pedro was from. He was one of the boys trained by the Jesuits as assistants or catechists to help them in their missions at the Ladrones Islands together with Fr. Diego Luís de San Vitores and other Jesuits.

Their life at the Mission was spent for prayers and sacrifices for the salvation of souls. They were faithful to the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist. They regularly and frequently received the Sacrament of Confession, which helped them be at peace with God and always prepared for death. For them the Blessed Virgin Mary served as their inspiration and protector.

Since many inhabitants of Guam were envious of the respect that the missionaries were gaining among the Chamorro, they spread rumors that the baptismal water of the missionaries was poisonous. The persecution of missionaries began and others killed.

It was a Saturday just before the Passion Sunday. Matapang an apostate became furious upon knowing that Fr. Diego baptized his baby. Together with Hirao a non-Christian, they killed Pedro and Fr. Diego using a spear. They dragged the bodies of Pedro and Padre Diego to the edge of the shore, tied large stones to their feet, brought them on a boat to sea and threw them into the deep. Their remains were never found

Upon learning the deaths of the two, their fellow missionaries rejoiced for Pedro. They remembered Pedro to be a boy with a very good character. They called him “bissaya” which means “a happy man”, “a man of fine and pleasant disposition.” He was a righteous catechist, a faithful assistant who did not abandon Fr. Diego. He was indeed a good Catholic whose perseverance in the Faith even to the point of martyrdom proved him a good soldier of Christ. He was 17 years old.

III. Integration

A. Interplay of Life Situation and Word of God

Stephen was the first martyr of the Church because he was not afraid to die for his belief that Jesus was the Son of God. Pedro Calungsod was another martyr from the Visayas who could have easily run and saved his life from the assassins. However, he chose to remain close to Fr. Diego who was the target of the wrath of Matapang after knowing his baby was baptized by the missionary.

Countless people have died for their faiths. The question is why do they do this?

B. Slide show presentation on the early Christian persecutions, and the many others from different countries who risked their life for their great belief in God.

1. Early Christian http://www.loyolapress.com/early-christian-martyrs.htm

For the first three hundred years of Christianity, the followers of Jesus were under great pressure to betray their friendships with him. They lived in what was known as the , which extended from northern Africa all the way up to England at that time. For almost the entire period from A.D. 100 to 313, it was illegal to be a Christian in most of the Roman Empire.

Every person in the Roman Empire, no matter what their religion, was supposed to honor the Roman emperor as a god. If they would do that—once a year burn a little incense in front of astatue and say, “Caesar is god!”—they were okay and could go on home and mind their own business for another year.

Christians refused to do this. They knew there was only one God. They were persecuted: fed to the lions, nailed on the cross, burned at stake, imprisoned, stone to death and many more.

2. Jesuit Martyrs of North America 1600 http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/272.html

In the 1600's, Jesuits of French origin did considerable missionary work among the Huron Indians of North America, chiefly in what is now Quebec and in upper New York State.

One of them was Charles Garnier stationed in the Huron village of Jean, Quebec. The Iroquois attacked the people. They shot Garnier down while assisting his flock to escape. He struggled to his feet and attempted to reach a dying Huron to give him absolution, but an Iroquois struck him dead with a tomahawk.

3. 1637 http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=231

Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint.

He was accused of a crime he did not do. Afraid of being sentenced to death he left the in 1636.

Upon landing in where Christians were being persecuted, he was arrested and imprisoned together with his companions. He underwent inhuman and bravely confessed his Christian Faith.

Refusing to renounce his Faith, he told his executioner that he was ready to die for God and give Himself for many thousands of lives if he had them. He was hung from a gallows by his feet, his body falling into a pit. After two days of agony, he died of bleeding and suffocation. His body was cremated and the ashes thrown into the sea.

4. Oscar Romero (1980) http://followingjesus.org/companions/romero.html

As , he witnessed numerous violations of human rights and began a ministry speaking out on behalf of the poor and victims of the country's civil war. Chosen to be archbishop for his conservatism, once in office his conscience led him to embrace a non-violent form of liberation theology, putting him in the line of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

Like them, he was martyred for his non-violent advocacy. In 1980, he was assassinated by gunshot shortly after his . His death provoked international outcry for human rights reform in .

"The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the rights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history."

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/romero.html

5. Father , C.M.F., (2000) Claretian missionary

http://thesplendorofthechurch.blogspot.com/2010/06/fr-roel-gallardo-cmf-modern-day-martyr.html

Father Gallardo was a Claretian missionary who volunteered to go to Mindanao when the priest who had been assigned there fell ill in June 1994. In addition to serving as director the Claretian school, he also fulfilled his duties as a parish priest in Sumislip, .

It was reported that he had been abducted with 52 others, including teachers and school children

His captors beat Fr. Gallardo every evening at six o‟clock, while leading the among male hostages or whenever he would ask about the situation of other hostages who were separated from them.

He suffered three gunshot wounds in his head, shoulder and back, and the nails of his index finger and on his toes had been pulled out two or three days before he was shot at close range. He was 34.

6. Pedro Calungsod (1672) http://pedrocalungsod.org/index.php/life/77

Blessed Pedro is a martyr because he gave witness to the Christian faith in word and deed as a Teenage lay catechist in the Mariana Mission. He gave his life over to a cruel death because of his faith and the reason why he was killed was because he was a Christian and a catechist.

C. Summary

What you saw were countless people who died for a cause. We learned how the early Christian martyrs bravely faced death in many forms. The Church believes that their blood is the seed of Christianity. This means that their faith was in the risen Lord was indeed worth dying. Stephen filled with the Holy Spirit before his death was given the vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Pedro Calungsod, a prayerful person, nourished daily with the Holy Eucharist, and frequented the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and a Marian devotee undertook the demanding work asked of him and bravely faced the many obstacles and difficulties he met. In the face of imminent danger, Pedro would not forsake Fr. Diego but, as a „good soldier of Christ‟, preferred to die at the missionary‟s side. His mission was to remain faithful to their missionary work which was to proclaim the Word of God and to assist in the administering of the sacraments to the natives.

Like all the other martyrs, they fought and stood for the truth about God‟s existence, and His way of unconditional love for the other. They do believe that their reward was everlasting life with the Holy Trinity.

The Church honors the many holy martyrs. Countless of them had become beatified and eventually proclaimed as .

B. Linkage This year the Holy Father, Benedict XVI will alleviate Blessed Pedro Calungsod to sainthood on October 21, 2012

C. Faith Affirmation

1. Doctrine The Catholic Church will soon proclaim Pedro Calungsod the martyr as one of her saints

A saint is a holy person. In the New Testament, St. Paul used the term to mean a member of the Christian community, but the term more commonly refers to those noted for their holiness and venerated during their lifetimes or after death. In Roman Catholicism, saints are publicly recognized by the church and are considered intercessors with God for the living. They are honored on special feast days, and their remains and personal effects are venerated as . Often Christian saints perform in their lifetime, or miracles occur in their names after their death.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Catholic+Saint

2. Worship

Pope Benedict will canonize Pedro Calungsod.

Canonization is the solemn act by which the Pope, with definitive sentence, carves in the catalogue (canon) of saints Blessed Pedro. By this act, the Pope declares that Blessed Pedro now reigns in eternal glory and decrees that the Universal Church show him the honor due to a saint. Thus, Blessed Pedro will be addressed as Saint Pedro Calungsod or San Pedro Calungsod.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 828.

Generally in the Roman Catholic Church the title saint is limited to the canonized if they lived after the year 1000. The criteria for recognition of sainthood are martyrdom, holiness of life, miracles in life and after death. The addition of the name of a person to the official occurs through the process .

The feast of Blessed Pedro is celebrated every April 2, the anniversary of his martyrdom and it will remain as is after the canonization. If the date falls within or Easter Week, the feast is observed on the Saturday before Passion Sunday. If the date falls on a Sunday of Lent or on a Sunday of Easter, the feast is observed on April 1.

A Catechetical Primer on the Life, Martyrdom and Glorification of Blessed Pedro Calungsod - Part 1 by Msgr. Ildebrando Jesus Aliño Leyson

http://pedrocalungsod.org/index.php/life/76

3. Moral

Blessed Pedro Calungsod died a martyr‟s death.

A martyr is somebody who voluntarily suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by . He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of courage. The early Christians who first began to use the term “martyr” in its new sense saw Jesus as the first and greatest martyr, on account of his crucifixion. The early Christians appear to have seen Jesus as the model martyr.

A lay catechist, he died at 17 in Guam while trying to defend his fellow mission worker, Jesuit priest and now Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, when natives attacked them on April 2, 1672.

Calungsod was struck by a spear and his skull was split by a machete blow. Their bodies were then tied together and thrown into the sea.

D. Linkage As Christians like Pedro Calungsod our goal is to be a saint which is to be with God in His Kingdom.

E. Faith Response

1. Doctrine “Blessed Pedro Calungsod intercedes for the young, in particular, the .” Blessed JP II

Young people today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro Calungsod, whose love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teach the faith as a lay catechist and later as a martyr.

Linkage: As a Filipino Saint, Pedro Calungsod encourages us Filipinos to follow his footsteps.

2. Moral As a follower of Jesus, we are to die to ourselves and be witnesses of faith anytime, anywhere and in whatever circumstances.

Blessed John Paul II in his homily during the of Blessed Pedro Calungsod on March 5, 2000, called on the Filipino youth to emulate Calungsod in all aspects:

a. Culture

1) Situation: The young people of the Marianas during the Pedro Calungsod practiced a form of liberal and immodest sexual life. The subculture of the young today tends to take sexuality in a casual way, abandon the dignity and esteem with which our Christian faith considers the conjugal act.

2) Challenge: Morality must purify some distorted elements of culture. Culture does not determine morality.

3) Response: Practice purity and chastity in words and deeds. Be critical and discerning to fads and pervading fashion preferences. Allow the story of Jesus to become part of our own life-story and transform the way we live.

b. Family

1) Situation: It was at the service of the family that Pedro Calungsod lost his life. Forces beyond our control now are threatening to rip our families apart. Our self-centeredness especially our consent to Divorce, Euthanasia, Abortion, Total use of contraceptives and Homosexuality causing the deterioration of family bonds, the erosion of values that hold us together as families and peoples, and the loosening of the human ties from which we derive our identities and which give meaning to our lives.

2) Challenge: Familial relationship must be God centered in order to hold together in spite of separation and dislocation.

3) Response: Faithfulness to family members must be the priority. Reading the Word of God daily faith sharing and prayer be part of one‟s activity among family and friends. Parents must guide the young in righteousness. Parents and elders must be models to the young in living out the Christian faith. Involvement in Church activities/ministries is encouraged.

c. Social Communication

1) Situation: Pedro Calungsod had the zeal of a missionary, which led him to do face- to-face encounters, actual conversations that led to friendship and house visitations. These opened up homes to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Nowadays, the threat of self-interest and personal needs may lead to the formation of a culture of superficiality and mere appearance, which lead to the alienation of the social life from its moral dimension.

2) Challenge: Our everyday activities are Jesus‟ centered in order to bring wholeness and healing of our relationships.

3) Response: Make an effort to have face-to face encounter with others and build right relationships. Use social media to develop right relationships. Use social media to spread the Good News about Jesus.

d. Economy

1) Situation: In leaving the relative security of his homeland to face the dangers of an uncertain land, Pedro Calungsod displayed the detachment and generosity of a true missionary. Today, the worlds of materialism and consumerism has driven us to acquire for more even through illegal means. Thus, we deprive our neighbor what rightfully belongs to them.

2) Challenge: Pope Benedict the XVI in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate has proposed an economy of gratuitousness. A gratuitous spirit replaces strict commutative justice, allowing nations, institutions and individuals to “start all over again,” so that goods and resources that have been locked up in the hands of a few may once again circulate, thereby creating wealth and promoting progress.

3) Response: Practice simplicity in life style. Be very generous with what you have. As stewards of God‟s creation, we hold accountability to each and everyone‟s well-being.

e. Technology

1) Situation: People during Pedro Calungsod‟s time did not have the conveniences we take for granted for today. In addition, because of that, they had diligence, patience and endurance. In our present generation, the advances in this field have challenged the people‟s imagination to tamper on people‟s lives to the point of reducing everything as objects.

2) Challenge: Technology is the world‟s newest object of idolatry as if it provides all the answers to the questions of human life and to make things easy for us. It breaks up the limits of what we can do.

3) Response: Ask God to give us patience, endurance and diligence in all the things we are task to do for the betterment of everyone. Stop complaining about life‟s difficulties and strive to surpass them by doing tasks with diligence and patience,

f. Political

1) Situation: Pedro Calungsod and Fr. Diego were both victims of political intrigue among the natives of the Marianas. Pedro could have run away to save himself. He only evaded the lances thrown his way. He chose to stay close to Fr. Diego hoping to save his master.

The Philippines claimed her right to freedom from a repressive regime. EDSA empowered us to chart the political course, though the choices we have made since as a people did not always bring about our hopes of justice, freedom and fullness of life.

2) Challenge: Like the Israelites, we have only crossed the Red Sea to be liberated from but we continue to wander in the wilderness. We need to recognize the power of God in our lives and to follow his commands so that he may make us a holy and priestly nation.

3) Response: Awareness of civic concerns and political issues affecting our nation and other countries as well. Practice the Bayanihan system all the time. Respect each other‟s rights. Do what you can for the good of everybody.

Linkage: Pedro Calungsod lived very differently from our time today. Yet his values he acquired are the same values we need to meet the challenges in life to make the world a better place to live in. All of us are called to be martyrs. Dying for our faith does not mean beheading or to be fed to the lions.

We only have to die from our selfishness and greed.

John Paul II urges the young people today to ask Pedro Calungsod‟s intercession so we may respond in righteousness to whatever circumstances we may now be. g. Worship

We pray to Blessed Pedro Calungsod to intercede for us to God as we pray our petitions.

Let our response be: O Blessed Pedro, help us!

We, your fellow citizens of this earth, call upon you… That, like you, we may learn to love God and our neighbor… That, like you, we may also be eager to know and defend the truths of our Catholic Faith taught to us by Holy Mother Church… That, like you, we may also strive to faithfully live the faith we have received at Baptism… That, like you, we may also be zealous to share our Christian Faith to others… That, like you, we may also be willing to offer our lives and talents in loving service to the Church… That, like you, we may also endeavor to develop our abilities to serve our society better… That, like you, we may also be poor in spirit by overcoming our attachment to worldly things and by being generous to others… That, like you, we may also gladly endure the daily trials of life for the love of God That, like you, we may also be constant in prayer in order not to be overcome by temptation… That, like you, we may also keep our hearts and bodies chaste to be worthy temples of the Holy Spirit… That, like you, we may also be truly sorry for our sins and receive the Sacrament of Confession regularly and frequently… That, like you, we may also learn to forgive those who have hurt us… That, like you, we may also become instruments of God's peace among people… That, like you, we may also be true to our friends… That, like you, we may also be deeply devoted to Our Blessed Mother Mary… That, like you, we may also love and adore our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist… That, like you, we may also learn to accept and do the will of God our Father… That, like you, we may also be ready to die for our Christian Faith… That, like you, we may also become fellow citizens of the Saints in heaven…

Pray for us, O Blessed Pedro Calungsod, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

Let us pray:

Almighty and ever-living God, * you are glorified in your saints. * Graciously hear the prayers we offer * through the intercession of your holy martyr * Blessed Pedro Calungsod. * Guide and protect your pilgrim Church on earth. * Grant your peace to our nation * and to the whole world. * Fill all our families with your grace. * Preserve us in love and unity. * Bless and guide our young people * so that they will not be led astray. * Help them to grow in faith, * hope * and charity. * Convert those whose hearts are far from you. *Comfort the sick and the lonely. * Protect the poor and the oppressed. * Welcome into your Kingdom * our departed brothers and sisters.* We thank you for the graces you have granted us * through the intercession of Blessed Pedro Calungsod. * We hope * that after our mortal bodies will have slept in death, * you will raise us up to new life on the last day as your saints * and join Blessed Pedro * in praising your Name forever in heaven. * Amen.

Submitted by:

Jen May Filoteo College of the Holy Spirit