parishworks! 1Vol. 7 No. 30 October 29, 2011

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It’s The Doing That Matters.By Susan Amoroso

Imagine begging from house to house to pay his board and lodging while studying at the seminary,at one point chased and almost got bitten by a dog while doing so; a crossfire between the PNP SWAT team and a drug-crazed man inside his parish resulting in three dead personnel and front page headline news the next day; being assigned to a neglected dirty parish where he had to butt head-on to instill discipline, cleanliness and decorum.

This is just a snippet of a veritable soap opera material of the life of Father Victor Allan B. Dichoso. At 51, Father Allan who looks younger than his age also celebrated his 26th sacerdotal year at the St. Andrew the Apostle Parish (SAAP) last October 5. He has been with the parish in the last seven years and seven months.

“I belong to a clan of priests. I have an uncle,a cousin and nephew who entered the religious life,” he said. As a child, mesmerized by the holy mass, he vowed to be a priest and did just that.

Not belonging to a wealthy family, his family could not afford to sustain paying for his board and lodging while at the seminary. Its fortunate that he became a scholar of a parish priest in Pasay City where he grew up. But on his third year at the seminary, funds were not enough to pay for his board and lodging. He had to solicit funds from house to house, from family and friends, from neighbors and benefactors. Fortunately,

MAGPAS 6by Gene Alberto, Evangelization Ministry

Believing that we are all of one mind and one heart, about 2,000 people representing priests, religious, pastoral workers, MAGPAS team and lay faithful met at La Salle Greenhills on October 22 to celebrate the 6th year anniversary of the Archdiocesan Vision Statement of MAGPAS.

It was highlighted by Eucharistic Celebration by His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. The out-

Last week, Fr. Patrick Paraiso, in his homily, urged the faithful to go to confession before “All Saints Day”. Receiving the sacrament would earn each person a plenary indulgence for a faithful departed during the practice of “undas,” when relatives of the dead visit the grave and pray for salvation of their dearly departed. The indulgence would be applied towards gaining an early exit out of Purgatory.

There are two kinds of indulgences: partial and plenary. A partial indulgence removes part of the punishment of sins. A plenary indulgence removes all

Plenary Indulgenceby Emilio Medina

representatives of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish at Magpas 6

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It’s The Doing That Matters... from page 1

a Belgian priest paved the way for him to be a scholar of a widow from Belgium who unselfishly supported his studies for six years until he graduated. He finished his Bachelor of Philosophy and Doctor of Theology at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary.

Because he experienced the unselfish love and support of being a scholar while studying to be a priest, Father Allan has and still is returning the favors. From the time he was able financially, he has sent quite a number to finish their vocation and become full-pledged priests like himself. Still and won’t count the cost, he has pledged to continue this benevolent advocacy. Presently he has four scholars under his wing.

His life as a priest has been rich and full. His first assignment was as Deacon and Assistant Parish Priest at the Sta. Clara de Montefalco Parish in Pasay City. His next stint was as Parish Priest at the Our Lady of the Pillar at Pilar Subdivison, the biggest and one of the most progressive parish in the south of Metro Manila.

Next,he was assigned at the Sacramento Parish in Novaliches where he stayed for two years and a half. He also served in other parishes from the North to South of Novaliches.

He experienced the most frightening and gruesome time of his pastoral life on December 12, 1994 at his Parish in Blumentritt. At the time as everywhere in any parish in the Philippines, they were all tired and busy preparing for the usual Simbang Gabi.

At 6:30 in the morning of that day, while three parish assistant-helpers were sleeping in an upstairs room in the parish quarters, a drug-crazed man grabbed the gun of the security guard, went on a shooting spree and killed the three men in their sleep.

Meanwhile, Father Allan was in the next room and his sacristan hid in the bathroom. The police sent a

SWAT team and a crossfire ensued killing the suspect.

The days following the incident was harrowing. In the midst of the Christmas season and the mundane activities of the parish, Father Allan also had to attend to the mortuary requirements, the wake and burial of the three victims, the police investigation and the curiosity of the media and the public.

Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin at that time initially wanted him to take a leave of absence as the experienced left him stressed out. But Father Allan could not abandon his duty and stayed on until after everything was settled.

“I had to take sedatives for three days,” Father Allan disclosed.

His next tour of duty as Parish Priest took him to St. John the Baptist Parish in San Juan where he served for one year and a half.

After that he was transferred to his present station at the St. Andrew the Apostle Parish where he is assisting Monsignor Dennis.

Father Allan had his share of illusions, disillusions, triumphs, disappointments, joys and some over-the-top experiences but his unwavering faith in God and sense of duty and service to people in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as His representative here on earth has always been his guiding force.

“Whatever I do, I do it with the love of God. I consider everything I do as a priest unique, special and meaningful. When I celebrate mass,bless the people, hear confessions, motivate and guide them to follow the will of God, conscienticize them, minister to them, I am doing them with love. No matter how ordinary, its how you do it,it’s the doing that is essential. It’s the love and the heart that you put that matters.’’

Words of Father Allan as he sums up his priestly vocation and mission in life.

Vote for the the Fiesta Logo Design of your Choice

Designs will be posted in the bulletin board and in Facebook. Deadline November 4, 2011

Please get hold of a ballot and drop into the ballot box at the Parish Center. You may also cast your vote by “Liking” the entry on our

Facebook page.

parishworks! 3

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MAGPAS 6... from page 1

plenary indulgence... from page 1

going Cardinal re-infused a deep spirituality to the See of Manila. Very skillfully, he instituted the Vision of MAGPAS and the Mission of PONDO NG PINOY, geared towards the entire Gospel of Christ on the gift of life, its fullness, its process and one’s final destination.

In his homily, Cardinal Rosales challenge everyone to have special commitment to evangelize and to carry his or her duty of being the messenger of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There is no doubt that the effort to proclaim the Gospel to the people of today may not be easy. Many are coming in an age where they are indifferent to religion. The dictatorship of secularism and relativism are predominant in this modern world. Man thinks that he himself can do everything that he once waited from God alone. He believes that it is good to be good, but one doesn’t have to be anchored to God in order to be good. Science is the provider of men, not God. He considers religion as a relic of the past. What matters most is the material means.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo spoke of Fundamentalism which is also prevalent in the society today. Fundamentalists are people who are misguided in their attitude – continually claiming to love Christ, but without the Church, to listen to Christ, but not to the Church, to belong to Christ but outside the Church.

The Gospel tells us: “Anyone who rejects you rejects me.” And how can one wish to love Christ without

loving the Church. The Church is inseparable from Christ. However, the fundamentalists interpret the Holy Scripture their own way.

Christ sent the Holy Spirit to the Church. The work of evangelization will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost that the Apostles depart to all the ends of the earth in order to begin the great work of the Church’s evangelization. Mary was there and watched over with her prayer.

On that October 22 morning which was especially consecrated to Mary and which was also the 6th anniversary of the Vision of MAGPAS, we rejoiced to entrust to the hands and heart of Mary all our works. She is the Morning Star of the new evangelization that will renew our minds and hearts, promotes and accomplish God’s command, especially to these times which are difficult but full of hope.

of the punishment of sins. Granting an indulgence of a certain number of days or years means that is how many days or years is removed from the time of punishment a person must undergo in purgatory.

During the time of Martin Luther’s establishment of the Lutheran church, one of the articles of faith which he declared as wrong was the practice of the church of selling indulgences in exchange for material goods. The modern Catholic Church believes that only prayer, reconciliation and good works can earn plenary indulgence.

The storehouse of merit. It is like a treasure chest where indulgence accumulates. It was started with the holy acts of Christ, his mother, Blessed Virgin Mary, and of His saints. This collection of merit is drawn upon and applied to Roman Catholics via the Roman Catholic Church so that their future duration of punishment might be reduced. So, essentially what we have is a system

where merit is dispensed through the Roman Catholic sacraments and priesthood. “We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints ‘the Church’s treasury’, which is “not the sum total of the material goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the ‘treasury of the Church’ is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ’s merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their efficacy” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1476).

It is this treasury that makes the members of the Church dependent on her, for spiritual needs and the necessity of daily prayer to ask for intercession from Mary and the Saints in the work of salvation and deliverance from punishment.

In photo are some representatives of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish during the sharing portion at Magpas 6

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Ria Salvaña Matthew LizaresParish Works StaffSusan Amoroso, Magda Gana, Emilio Medina, Angelina Poe, Irene Gonzales, Noemi Sta. AnaBulletin Board CoordinatorsEJ Carlos, Harley Dave PunzalanPowerpoint CoordinatorsEllie Medina, Ging Santos SAAP Facebook AdminRochelle Pineda

ContributorGene Alberto

Spiritual AdvisorRev. Msgr. Dennis Odiver

PublisherSt. Andrew the Apostle ParishN. Garcia St. cor. Kalayaan Ave.Bel-Air II, Makati CityPhones: (632) 890-1796 / 890-1743 media@saaparish.com

Parish Works is the official weekly newsletter of Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish. Media and Communications Ministry Co-coordinators

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T?MAGPAS 6... from page 3

The MAGPAS VisionA PeopleCalled by the Father in Jesus Christto become a Community of Personwith Fullness of Lifewitnessing to theKingdom of Godby Living the Paschal Mystery in the Power of the Holy Spiritwith Mary as Companion

(Tagalog)Bayang Tinawag ng Ama kay Hesukristoupang maging Sambayananng mga taong may Kaganapan ng Buhay sumasaksi saPaghahari ng Diyosnagsasabuhay ng Misteryo Paskalsa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santokasama ang Mahal na Ina,ang Birheng Maria

towards the end of the MAGPAS celebration, a thanksgiving was offered to His

Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales