Bishop celebrates Mass honoring two Filipino martyr saints

PATERSON  Filipinos from around the Diocese honored two martyr saints from their homeland in the Philippines — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod — at the annual diocesan celebration of the Filipino Martyr Mass. The Mass was held at the Cathe­­dral of St. John the Baptist here on Sept. 25 with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney as the main celebrant and priests from around the Diocese, many who came from the Philippines, concelebrating the Mass. The Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries (DCCFM) coordinated the annual Mass.

This is an especially festive year for Filipino Catholics. The Church in the Philippines celebrates 500 years of Christianity. On Easter Sunday in 1521, the first Mass was celebrated in the country.

In welcoming the congregation, Bishop Sweeney said, “We come together on this beautiful day that God has given to us as the Filipino community of the Diocese of Paterson, together with the whole, celebrates the martyrs — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod — and gives thanks to God for the gift of faith. In reflecting on the martyrs, we learn the truth that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, the seed of the faith. As we celebrate with our Filipino sisters and brothers in this year — 500 years of the faith of the Gospel coming to the Philippines — and especially the Filipino people and the way that faith has found good soil and continues to grow and bear good fruit in Filipino families and members of the Church, who are a blessing here in the Diocese of Paterson.”

The feast day celebration featured hymns in English and Tagalog by the Alay Awit Chorale, which is comprised entirely of Filipinos from parishes around the Diocese. Many Filipinos attending wore traditional Filipino attire.

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney reflected on the First Reading of the Mass about the woman with seven sons, who were martyred in front of her. “The woman sounds like some of the Filipina moms that I have known,” he said. “This was no ordinary mother but a mother of deep, deep and unbreakable faith in God and his promises.”

Speaking about the Filipino community, the Bishop said, “It has been a privilege for me throughout my priesthood — since really seminary — to come and know the Filipino community and the faith that 500 years ago came to the Philippines and came to a man named Lorenzo Ruiz and a young man named Pedro Calungsod. And 500 years later, because of that seed of a faith has taken root in the Philip­pines and in those who left the Philippines and have gone all over the world and have blessed our Diocese of Paterson with your faith.”

The Bishop encouraged the congregation to learn about the two Filipino saint martyrs. “Today as we celebrate our Filipino martyrs and hear the word of Jesus in the Gospel, we are called to learn at the foot of the cross with Mary our Blessed Mother sharing in the mystery of the Cross. I encourage families and our young people to Google those martyrs — learn about the lives of the saints.”

Canonized by St. Pope John Paul II in Rome on Oct. 18, 1987, St. Lorenzo Ruiz was martyred during the persecution of Christians in Japan in the 17th century while on a missionary expedition. A layman with a wife and three children, he lived out his faith as an active member of his church community. His feast day is Sept. 28.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized St. Pedro Calungsod on World Mission Sunday in 2012. The saint was martyred in 1672, one week before Palm Sunday, when he was 17. He began serving God when he was 13-years-old as a missionary for the Jesuits. With Jesuit Father Diego Luis de San Vitores, he traveled to Guam to catechize the native Chamorros. They were attacked and killed when the village chief learned his baby daughter had been baptized. His feast day is April 2.

At the close of Mass, Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Sparta and adviser to the DCCFM, thanked everyone for attending and those who participated in the Mass.

The Bishop ended his homily by saying, “We are called to follow Jesus — to be ready to lay down our lives — and we thank those mothers and fathers and families who inspire us and teach us to learn the mystery of the Cross and what it means to follow Jesus day by day.”

The DCCFM organizes events around the Diocese to celebrate Filipino culture and faith. Currently, there are two churches that celebrate Filipino Masses. They are on every first Sunday of the month at noon in Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Rockaway and every Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Passaic.

During Advent, DCCFM will once again hold “Simbang Gabi,” a nine-day novena of Masses from Dec. 15 to 23 in preparation for the Nativity. Masses will be celebrated in 16 churches in the Diocese and Bishop Sweeney will be the main celebrant of Mass on the final night, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. in St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton.

Elmer Lopez Maximo, president of the DCCFM, told The Beacon, “We are truly blessed by the overwhelming support of the Filipinos in our diocese. Bishop Sweeney’s homily was so touching and parallel to it, the DCCFM is like a mother of all Filipino organizations in the Diocese of Paterson.”