January-February 2006

This is taken from www.carmelites.ie , the website of the Irish Province of the Order of Carmelites (OCarm)

The Roman Martyrology commemorates two martyrs named Valentine (or Valentinus) on 14 February, which seems to indicate that both were beheaded on the Flaminian Way, one at Rome the other at Terni, about 100 kilometers from Rome. Valentine of Rome was a priest who is said to have died about 269 during the persecution of Claudius the Goth (or Claudius II Gothicus). The other Valentine was allegedly Bishop of Terni, and his death is attested to in the Martyrology of St Jerome. Whether there were actually one or two Valentines is disputed. One possibility is that two cults – one based in Rome, the other in Terni – may have sprung up to the same martyr but that in the mists of time his true identity became confused.

By Father Rembert G. Rivera

The author is Chairman of the Commission on Mission in the Diocese of Kabankalan, Negros Occidental.

In 1990, in my first assignment, as parish priest of St Isidore the Farmer Parish, Moises Padilla, I had a dream of serving my people zealously in the Diocese of Kabankalan. I worked hard in building Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs), the foremost program of our diocese under Most Rev. Vicente M. Navarra, now Bishop of Bacolod.

By Rowena Dato Cuanico

Rowena ‘Weng’ Dato Cuanico, who has written in these pages before, is one of three lay missionaries from the Philippines currently in Fiji.

After waiting for nearly eight months for our first mission assignment, I heaved a sigh of relief and excitement as the plane touched down at Nadi International Airport, Fiji, on 29 October 2000. ‘Lord, this is it,’ were the only words that I could muster and say to myself as everything that I wished, hoped and prayed for was finally becoming real. I hardly slept on the ten-hour flight from Seoul since during the night. I was awakened at least four times by the captain’s voice telling us to fasten our seatbelts because of turbulence. My drowsiness, fatigue and anxieties vanished quickly as I and five other lay missionaries from thePhilippines were greeted by the bright and glorious splendor of that Sunday morning and by the smiles of friendly faces. Perhaps, the big smile on Father Charlie Duster’s face and his warm handshake said it all in his Bula, Welcome to Fiji!

By Bernadette Pattugalan

The author is now in Fourth Year high school at St Scholastica’s College, Manila.

We had our class outreach in Pandacan, Manila, a squatters’ area where the houses are beside the railroad. I really didn’t know what to expect when we were going there. When we got off the jeepney, children came and greeted us.

By Father Seán Coyle

Brother Marco Laspul1a, 31, from Botolan, Zambales, and Brother Suresh Barwa, 22, an Indian, both novices of the Missionaries of the Poor, were buried in Kingston, Jamaica, on 12 November. The two had been shot dead in the home of the congregation in Kingston on the night of 27 October while washing dishes with their companions. A bullet killed Brother Suresh instantly and then wounded Brother Marco, who died four hours later.

The funeral Mass was celebrated in Holy Trinity Cathedral. This was followed by a procession through the nearby streets before a private burial in the presence of members of the congregation, Brother Marco's parents, Mauricio and Conrada, and his brother Douglas. Sadly, the family of Brother Suresh were unable to travel from India due to bureaucratic difficulties, though two priests from his parish were there.