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St Agatha, virgin and martyr: Friday, 5th February 2010 (Lk 9:23-26) |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 20:34 |
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Dear Friend in the Lord,
Self-Be Focused: Many of us sweat to be slim, fight to defend our pride etc. We focus too much on our external image. How often do we make sacrifices for the good of others, or for our spiritual growth? We need to give more attention to our spiritual health rather than our physical shape.
Fr Philip Heng,S.J.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 February 2010 20:42 |
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DOJ chief: Ampatuans face rebellion raps |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 05 December 2009 16:17 |
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abs-cbnNEWS.com | 12/05/2009 4:29 PM
MANILA - Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said on Saturday afternoon that many of those who will be arrested in Maguindanao after President Arroyo's declaration of martial law in the province will be charged with rebellion.
“Lahat ng mahuhuli ngayon rebellion na ang kaso nila… Lahat ng mahuhuli during this martial law and after processing then they will be charged for that,” Devanadera said at a press conference in Malacañang.
The justice secretary’s statement came amid criticisms that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Proclamation 1959, declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao, was without legal basis.
Critics of the declaration, among them human rights lawyers and opposition leaders, said the proclamation cannot be justified since there is no rebellion or invasion going on in Maguindanao.
But Devanadera explained there is rebellion in Maguindanao, citing police and military reports of groups of armed men massing in the whole province.
Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, operations chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said they have received intelligence reports that armed supporters of the Ampatuans, in groups of between 50 to 100, were seen in 8 areas.
There were also indications that "violence was imminent," as the government tightened its hold on the province. He said these groups had the capability of attacking the Ampatuans' rivals, the Mangudadatus, or mobile phone sites.
Arms cache
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in an earlier press conference, said the sightings of armed groups were aggravated by the discovery of a huge arms cache from a vacant lot near the residence of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan.
The military said the weapons recovered from the vacant lot can supply a brigade-size military unit.
“We have evaluated different reports submitted by law enforcement agencies. We have found that in some areas, rebellion has been completed because they have removed from the duly constituted authorities the allegiance of people because they don’t follow authorities,” Devandera said.
She said judicial offices in the province have been shut down because all judges and prosecutors have taken leaves of absence to avoid being involved in cases filed against members of the powerful political clan of the Ampatuans.
The justice secretary added that municipal and other government offices have been shut down by local officials, allegedly allied with the Ampatuans, which is an “overt act showing they are following some other forces” other than the government.
Insurgent Ampatuans?
Devanadera could not immediately say if the people who have been initially arrested for their possible involvement in the massacre are among those who will be charged with rebellion.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, in the same press conference, said the charges to be filed might vary.
“Depende kung bakit nahuli and ano ang ebidensya (It would depend on why they were arrested and on the evidence),” Remonde said.
Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, confirmed in a separate media briefing in Maguindanao that the ARMM governor and his family are being investigated in connection with the huge arms cache recovered on Thursday night near his residence.
Devanadera said people responsible for the huge arms cache have the capacity to commit “unordinary lawlessness.”
The ARMM governor was arrested after the martial declaration. He has been brought to General Santos City.
His father, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., has been confined at the Davao Doctors' Hospital in Davao City guarded by a government soldier.
Other Ampatuans arrested
The other Ampatuans arrested were: ARMM Vice-Governor Akmad Ampatuan Sr., Shariff Aguak Mayor Anwar Ampatuan, and Cahoner Ampatuan, a Sangguniang Bayan member of Shariff Aguak.
Security forces have also arrested local officials. They were Paisal Sulaik, a Sangguniang Member of Shariff Aguak; Keise Usman, regional secretary of agriculture and of the ARMM; and, Kabuntalan Emblawa, regional environment secretary of the ARMM.
A total of six Ampatuans have been arrested, including another son of the Maguindanao governor, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who has been charged with 25 counts of murder for the massacre.
Ampatuan Jr. is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila.
Devanadera said the DOJ will try to file rebellion and murder charges against the Ampatuans and the other arrested personalities before the 72-hour deadline lapses.
She also assured that President Arroyo will report on the declaration in 48 hours in a joint session of Congress.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 05 December 2009 16:18 |
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SIMBANG GABI SA KUWAIT 2009 |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 15 December 2009 16:17 |
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SIMBANG GABI SA KUWAIT 2009 to be aired via http://www.pinoycatholics.org PINOY CATHOLICS INTERNET RADIO, Your place for heavenly music.... |
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LITURGICAL NOTES FOR ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SEASONS |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 05 December 2009 07:31 |
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Liturgical Notes
Advent
The liturgical year begins with Evening Prayer I of the First Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent continues through the four Sundays of Advent and ends at Christmas Eve.
Advent, therefore, is first of all a time of preparation for Christmas. Even though Christ was actually born over 2000 years ago, during Advent we prepare our hearts to “receive” Jesus into the world each year as a light to the nations, at a time when our calendar is reaching its darkest period. Advent is also a time of looking forward to Christ’s Second Coming in the last days.
The Lectionary for Mass, which cycles through three liturgical years (A, B, and C), changes to a new year at Advent.
The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. It takes its name from that Sunday’s traditional reading from the Epistle to the Philippians (now read only in Year C) which begins with Gaudete in Domino semper (“Rejoice in the Lord always”).
The liturgical color for Advent is violet, a deep bluish red (often mistakenly called “purple”) symbolizing mourning and penance. On Gaudete Sunday, however, rose-colored vestments may be used for this joyful day. Hence the one rose-colored candle among the other three violet candles of the Advent wreath.
Christmas
No one knows the actual date on which the Child Jesus was born. The date on which the Church observes his birth has more symbolic value than anything, coming five days (five being the number of the physical senses) after the winter solstice. Thus we celebrate the Word become flesh, coming to dwell among us as the light of the human race, just after the darkest point of the solar year. And so Christmas is a holy day second only to Easter in the Roman calendar.
The Octave of Christmas (octave means eight; hence the octave of Christmas lasts for eight days) begins with Christmas day and ends after the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Then the liturgical calendar focuses on the next immediate Sunday, counting off days before and after it: Epiphany. Epiphany commemorates the recognition of Jesus as the Son of God by the three Wise Men (and by extension, by all nations). Also, by tradition, the movable feasts of the current liturgical year are announced to the people on Epiphany (Ceremonial of Bishops, 240).
The season of Christmas ends on the Monday after the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, which signifies the purification of the world, through Christ himself.
http://www.shrinesf.org/seasons.htm
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