The San Fabian Parish School of Lay Leaders

by Elizabeth Terte

18 June 2011 – Dagupan City. Ten lay leaders from the Parish of St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr, together with the other lay leaders from the different parishes of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan,completed their modular studies given by Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, last 18 June 2011.

The modular program centered on the Spirituality of Stewardship.

Stewardship Committee

Fr. Oliver E. Mendoza, parish priest of San Fabian, was  full of optimism for the lay leaders who had just completed the modular program.

“They will form the nucleus of the ‘Stewardship Committee’ of the parish”, he said.

Fr. Mendoza also said that the group will be responsible in bringing the Spirituality of the Stewardship to the parish. The group has been meeting several times to map out the parish stewardship program.

“The stewardship is a must in the parish especially with the planned phase-out of the arancel system in the Archdiocese”, Fr. Mendoza further said.

The ten lay leaders who completed the Stewardship modular program are: Sisters Rosalia P. Edic, Carmencita D. Chua, Julieta C Soliven, Violeta A. Omiles, Gloria Euslan, Fritzy M. Narvas, Bros. Antonito Supremido, Marvin Borja, Felipe Dagarag and Joey Estandarte.

Target Date: 16 February 2013

In a Circular Letter issued by Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas on 20 January 2011,  the gradual phase out of the arancel system was laid out for the whole archdiocese. “Our collective discernment to gradually phase out the obligatory table of offerings for the administration of the sacraments and sacramentals is a positive step in the right direction. Our target date for the full phase out of the arancel system and our active engagement in the spirituality of stewardship is the golden jubilee of the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan on February 16, 2013”, he wrote in his circular.

“We cannot pursue this pastoral goal without catechesis. We cannot reach our stated goal without a process of conversion and a change of pastoral paradigms. The phase out of the arancel is not a money issue. It is a deeply spiritual matter. We need to change our understanding of the Church from being a stone building or a service agency to a community of disciples called by Jesus, formed by Jesus and sent by Jesus”, the letter further said.

Stewardship as a Way of Life

The Arancel System is the traditional system of Church support. It follows a fixed amount from the faithful as their support for the church. This system centers on the sacramental services being offered by the church in which a fixed ‘fee’ is asked from the faithful. With the phase-out of the said system, there is a need to find a new way of supporting the church in her mission and apostolate that is not focused on the monetary amount, but more on stewardship as a way of life.

This new way of system of church support must flow from the generosity of the people as stewards of God and the Church. It must also provide for a structure by which the faithful can give their support regularly in an orderly, systematic and transparent way.

(Elizbeth Terte is a member of the Union of Prayers for Vocation (UPV)of the Parish of St. Fabian. She is also a member of the Parish PREX Secretariat. She is at present the Head Teacher of Palapad Elementary School. Pictures, courtesy of Sis. Fritzy Narvas, from her Facebook account)

San Fabian to join in 60-Hour Adoration marking the Pope's 60th priestly anniversary

by Shirley Tersol

Dagupan City, 17 June 2011. The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan will hold a 60-Hour Adoration at the Sanctuario de San Juan Evangelista to celebrate Pope Benedict XVI’s 60th year as a priest. The adoration will start on 28 June 2011, Tuesday. It will end on 1 July 2011, Friday.  A mass will be celebrated at 5:00 PM at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Dagupan City to open the celebration of the Pope’s 60th sacerdotal anniversary. Another mass will close the commemoration on 1 July 2011, at 6:00 AM at the Sanctuario de San Juan Evangelista.

Pope Benedict XVI was ordained a priest on 29 June 1951. It is very fitting that the the adoration will end on 1 July, the Feast of  the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Day of Prayer for Priests.

For the Sanctification of Priests and For more Vocations

The intention proposed by the Congregation for the Clergy, according to L'Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican Newspaper, is the sanctification of priests and to obtain from God the gift of new and holy vocations. According to Zenit, an international news agency, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza and Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta, prefect and secretary of the congregation, note that the anniversary is a "particularly propitious" occasion to draw near to Benedict XVI, and to express to him gratitude, affection, and communion in the service of God and his Church and, above all, in that "shining of the Truth on the world," which he calls us to.

Schools and Parishes

The 60-Hours of adoration will be distributed to all the parishes and schools of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Each parish and school will be given a one-hour adoration each. The Congregation for the Clergy also proposes that in addition to praying for the Pope's life, health, happiness and protection from every evil, the faithful are asked to pray for bishops, priests, deacons and all ministers of the Gospel, that they may be faithful to their vocation and their self-giving, and to remember the Church, vocations, the laity and deceased priests.

San Fabian Parish and ASSF Schedule

The Parish of St. Fabian will have its one-hour adoration at the Sanctuario de San Juan Evangelista on 29 June 2011, Wednesday, from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM. The Archdiocesan School of San Fabian will have their adoration on 30 June 2011, Thursday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

All the religious organizations and movements, and the different cenacle communities are enjoined to participate in the adoration. Assembly area will be at the church patio at 5:00 AM.

(Ms. Shirley Tersol is a regular contributor to the website. She is a member of the Union of Prayers for Vocations  (UPV) as well as of the Ministry of Social Action (MISA) of the parish. She is at present the teacher-in-charge of Jose N. Juguilon Elementary School, Colisao, San Fabian, Pangasinan)

ONLA-ALD launched; first Lay Coordinator from San Fabian Parish

by Dado Gerard C. Vallejos

18 June 2011 – LFC, Dagupan City. Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, DD, the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, formally announced the composition of the recently constituted Archdiocesan Council of the Laity, locally known as OLUPAN NA LAIKO – ARKIDIOSIS NA LINGAYEN-DAGUPAN, during the meeting of various lay representatives of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Bro. Antonio Supremido was chosen by Archbishop Villegas to become the first Lay Coordinator of ONLA-ALD.

Supremido is presently the BEC Parish Coordinator of San Fabian and the Parish Social Action Lay Coordinator. He heads the Apostles of Divine Mercy, the vehicle organization of the parish in building the small communities, or cenacles, in the barangays.
In his Easter Sunday Circular Letter, Archbishop Villegas laid down the rationale in constituting the ONLA-ALD.

He said, “ In steady pursuit of our pastoral goals laid down in ICTHUS, we are now ready to constitute our Archdiocesan Council of the Laity so that we can unify our church lay organizations, apostolates, ministries and communities into a corporate body and hopefully consolidate all our lay pastoral initiatives and plans towards a common thrust.”

The other members of the ONLA-ALD chosen by the Archbishop were: Sis. Susan Aoanan (Worship), Bro. Marcelo Vistro (Education), Sis. Janice Hebron (Services), Sis. Silvana de Vera (Temporalities) and Bro. Dennis (Youth).

(Dado Gerard C. Vallejos is a contributor to the Parish Website. He is at present a member of the Ministry of Social Action (MISA) of the Parish and the Barangay Coordinator for the Hapag-Asa Feeding Program of the Parish. He is also a Teacher -I in Longos Central Elementary School. 

Picture courtesy of Ms. Fritzy Marques Narvas, from her Facebook site.)

ICTHUS Song

ICTHUS Song

The Vision and the Mission of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan in a song. The lyrics were written by Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan. Mr. Ryan Cayabyab wrote the music.
ICTHUS Song