BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ST. ELIZABETH SETON Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton began the Sisters of Charity, the first religious community of women founded in the United States. She was born into a prominent Episcopalian family in New York City, August 28, 1774. Her father, Dr. Richard Bayley, was a physician, professor of medicine, and one of the first health officers of New York City. Her mother, Catherine Charlton Bayley, daughter of a Protestant Episcopal minister, died when Elizabeth was only three years old. Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, scion of a wealthy New York mercantile family with international connections, January 25, 1794, at the home of her sister, Mary Bayley Post. Five children were born between 1795 and 1802, Anna Maria, William, Richard, Catherine, and Rebecca. As a young society matron, Elizabeth enjoyed a full life of loving service to her family, care for the indigent poor, and religious development in her Episcopal faith, nurtured by the preaching and guidance of Rev. John Henry Hobart, an assistant at Trinity Church. As the eighteenth century drew to a close, a double tragedy visited Elizabeth. Political and economic turmoil took a severe toll on William Seton's business and on his health. He became increasingly debilitated by the family affliction, tuberculosis. Hoping to arrest the disease, Elizabeth, William, and Anna Maria embarked on a voyage to Italy. On their arrival in Leghorn, they were placed in quarantine; soon after, December 27, 1803, William died. Waiting to return to their family, Elizabeth and Anna Maria spent several months with the Filicchi brothers of Leghorn (Livorno), business associates of her husband. For the first time Elizabeth experienced Roman Catholic piety in her social equals. She was deeply impressed, especially by the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. She returned to New York in June 1804, full of religious turmoil. After almost a year of searching, she made her profession of faith as a Roman Catholic in March 1805, a choice which triggered three years of financial struggle and social discrimination. At the invitation of several priests, she moved with her family to Baltimore in June 1808 to open a school for girls. Catholic women from around the country came to join her work. Gradually, the dream of a religious congregation became a reality. The women soon moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where they formally began their religious life as Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's July 31, 1809. Elizabeth Seton was named first superior and served in that capacity for the next twelve years. As the community took shape, Elizabeth directed its vision. A Rule was adapted from that of the French Daughters of Charity, a novitiate was conducted, and the first group, including Elizabeth, made religious vows July 19, 1813. In 1814 the community accepted its first mission outside Emmitsburg, an orphanage in Philadelphia. By 1817 sisters had been sent to staff a similar work in New York. During her years in Emmitsburg, Elizabeth suffered the loss of two of her daughters to tuberculosis, Anna Maria in 1812 and Rebecca in 1816. By that time she herself was weak from the effects of the disease. She spent the last years of her life directing St. Joseph's Academy and her growing community. She died January 4, 1821, not yet forty-seven years old. Elizabeth Seton was canonized September 14, 1975, by Pope Paul VI as the first native-born saint of the United States. - from Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings, edited by Regina Bechtle, SC, and Judith Metz, SC; mss. editor, Ellin Kelly; 4 vols. (2000-2006) . Used with permission. [Available from Vincentian Studies Institute Bookstore: http://vsi.depaul.edu] Sisters of Charity 6301 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10471-1093 718.549.9200 www.scny.org

INVOCATION-OLPHA GRAND ALUMNI HOMECOMING, OLPHP Ground, MAY 22, 2010, SAT

Almighty Father, Creator Of Heaven and earth,
as we gather in Your Holy Name, we want to be in Your presence.
We praise You and we give You thanks for uniting us as one as
we celebrate our OLPHA Grand Alumni Homecoming Reunion today.
Forgive us Father for all our sins.
We thank You for the gift of life and love.
You have given us many gifts, family, friends, talents.
We depend on You for everything, and so we trust You completely.
Without You, we can do nothing.
You love us with a greater love that we could imagine.
We love You in return because You first loved us.
Unite us, o Lord and may our celebration be a successful one.
May Your love, peace and mercy reign in our hearts forever.
We ask this through Your Beloved Son, Our Lord,
our Savior, our Redeemer, our Brother and our Friend,
Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever. Amen.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Pray for us!

5 Years of Church Service as an Organist

Last September 10, 2010, i celebrated my 5th year anniversary as a church choir organist. I started playing the organ in the church when i was still in college.
It was on Saturday, September 10, 2005 in St. Michael 's Cathedral Parish in Iligan City as a member of the Youth Service Ministry Choir(YSM) of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement (CCRM). I joined the said choir group in March 2004. Until now, i'm still active in our Mass Service every Saturday, 5:30 PM. Last year, August 30, 2009, i also joined our own Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Choir in Linamon, Lanao del Norte, the All Men's Choir(AMC) as their organist also. I am so happy and thankful to our Almighty God for the gift of Music and to my dear family, relatives, classmates, choir groups and friends for their undying support and encouragement.

AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM!!

AS YOUTH COORDINATOR

AS YOUTH COORDINATOR

Early this Month, i was appointed as YOUTH COORDINATOR of the REDEMPTORIST YOUTH MINISTRY (RYM) of the Iligan Redemptorist Church by REV.(MSGR)FR.RAMON OUANO FRUTO,C.Ss.R.(Present Superior of the Redemptorist Community of Iligan, Former Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Iligan, Former Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Cebu Redemptorist (now a Province), and Senior Filipino Redemptorist Priest.

I thank Fr. "Tatay" Ramon, C.Ss.R.for his trust and to the RYM members(Pebs, Godz, Angel, Lorenzo, Yahnz, Evita, Excel, Elaine, Jong, Akie, Jordan,Minette and others for welcoming me to their group as their new family.

May our Lord Jesus Christ, the King and Lord of Divine Mercy and the Most Holy Redeemer bless us all with our Mother of Perpetual Help and with the intercession of St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri and all Redemptorist Saints and Blesseds as we continue to serve our ministry with faith, love and peace.


With the LORD there is mercy, compassion and love......
In Him is Plentiful Redemption....
Iligan Redemptorist: 50 years of Preaching Jesus' Plentiful Redemption.

Saint Jeanne Jugan

Saint Jeanne Jugan (October 25, 1792 – August 29, 1879[1]), was born in Brittany, France, the sixth of the eight children of Joseph and Marie Jugan. Her father died when she was very young and her mother raised this large family alone. When Jeanne was 16, she took a job as the kitchen maid of the Viscountess de la Choue. The viscountess, a devout Christian, had Jeanne accompany her when she visited the sick and the poor. Nine years later, Jeanne began working in the town hospital of Saint-Servan. She worked hard at this physically demanding job but after six years, she left the hospital and went to work for an elderly woman. In the course of Jeanne's duties, the two women recognized a similar Christian spirituality and began to teach catechism to youngsters and care for the poor and other unfortunates, until Jeanne's friend died.

In 1837, Jeanne and a 72-year old woman (Francoise Aubert) rented part of a small cottage and were joined by Virginie Tredaniel, a 17-year old orphan. These three women then formed a community of prayer, devoted to teaching the catechism and assisting the poor. Two years later, Jeanne brought a blind widow (Anne Chauvin) to their home and even allowed the woman to sleep in her own bed. From this act of charity, with the approval of her colleagues, Jeanne then focused her attention upon the mission of assisting abandoned elderly women, and from this beginning arose a community called "The Little Sisters of the Poor". Jeanne wrote a simple rule for this new community of women, and they daily went door-to-door requesting food, clothing and money for the women in their care. This was Jeanne's life work, and she performed this mission for the next four decades.

By 1879, the community Jeanne founded had 2,400 Little Sisters and had spread across Europe and to North America. That year, Pope Leo XIII approved the constitutions for the Little Sisters of the Poor. In September 1885, the congregation arrived in South America and made a first foundation in Valparaíso (Chile) [1], from which it expanded later on.

Jeanne died that year and was buried in the graveyard at the motherhouse. She was beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982. She will be canonized on October 11, 2009 at Rome.

FRIENDS FOREVER

FRIENDS FOREVER

(For NCM 105 Classmates & Friends)

Words & Music by: Nanan J.Castro, 2008



INTRO: GM7 - CM7 – GM7- CM7



GM7 CM7 GM7 CM7

We are friends forever. We laugh, we talk, we cry.

Em CM7 D CM7

In laughters and in tears, you are there.

GM7 CM7 GM7 CM7

We love, we walk, we share and think of lovely times gone by.

Em CM7 D CM7

You’re there through thick and thin, you are there.



Refrain:

GM7 CM7 GM7 D/F# Em

We are friends forever. We are friends fore - ver.

Am7 GM7 Am7 D GM7

I’ll remember through the years, I’ll remember.



(Repeat all )



Coda: I’ll remember through the years,

(We’ll remember through the years)(4x)

I’ll remember.

E-mail reply from Fr.Jan Michael Joncas -American Catholic Priest & Liturgical Composer

From: "Joncas, J. M."
To: "nanan castro"
Subject: RE: Hi Fr.Michael
Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 10:40:09 -0500

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your kind words about my liturgical compositions. Here's
some
news on recent collections of mine that might not have made it to the
Philippines yet.

Last summer GIA Inc. of Chicago, IL, released my first recorded
collection
in eight years. Entitled "In the Sight of the Angels", the songs are
mostly
marks of gratitude to God for having survived a severe bout of
Guillain-Barre syndrome in 2003-4.

I have just come back from a two-week recording session in Portland,
OR, for
my newest collection. It will be entitled "O God of Past and Present"
and be
published by Oregon Catholic Press (OCP). It should be out in about a
year.

But the project I'm most excited about will be published by World
Library
Publications / J. S Paluch, also based in Chicago, IL. I have a new
model
for the singing of the Responsorial Psalm at Mass and will be writing
settings for all the assigned Sunday and Solemnity RPs in the
Lectionary for
Mass (all three cycles). So far I have about 60 of them done. The
first
collection from this group will be the common psalms for the seasons
and for
Ordinary Time.

Please keep me in prayer as I continue to recuperate. Known that I
will
keep you in my prayer as well.

Blessings,
Mike Joncas

_____

From: nanan castro [mailto:fer_casfer86@yahoo.com]
Sent: Fri 5/30/2008 7:39 AM
To: Joncas, J. M.
Subject: Hi Fr.Michael


Fr.Michael Joncas,I'm Paul Castro from the Philippines.i love your
beautiful
religious compositions.I love your song ''ON EAGLE'S WINGS'',''I SING
OF A
MAID'' and many others.May the Good Lord bless you always and may you
continue composing liturgical songs and inspire the people of God.God
bless!!