By Fr Seán Coyle

Father Arsenio ‘Dodo’ Redulla from Bohol, now a priest of the Diocese of Lubbock, Texas, USA, worked for some years with the Columbans in Ireland. Early one Sunday morning he was driving out of the small southeastern port city of Waterford to celebrate Mass in a nearby town and to speak about the work of the Columbans. As we say in Ireland, ‘There wasn’t a sinner to be seen’ – the Irish aren’t early risers on Sunday morning – except for a young Filipino thumbing a lift. At the time there were very few Filipinos in the country and Father ‘Dodo’ was the only Filipino priest there. Of course, he stopped. To his amazement the young man said, ‘I was hoping someone would take me to a church for Mass.’ His ship had just docked and he had never been in Ireland before.

By Armando Machado

The author, who writes for The Catholic Northwest Progress, www.seattlearch.org/progress, is originally from Panama. Raised in New York, he has been in western Washington State since 1987.

Church of the Assumption

Bellingham, WA — Pilar Lim was happy to share her traditional Filipino celebration honoring Blessed Mother Mary with members of other cultures within the Assumption Parish community.

By Charles Phukuta Khonde CICM

Elsewhere we have an article showing how Filipinos have brought the Simbang Gabi to the USA. Here a missionary from the Democratic Republic of Congo discovers a parallel Mexican novena in his American parish. Both articles show how migrants can enrich the Church by bringing and adapting their religious traditions to the countries where they settle.

Advent means ‘coming.’ Hospitality is at the heart of Advent because it is a season of opening doors. During this time the community of Saint Eugene Catholic Church in Wendell, North Carolina, USA, prepares, like all other Christians around the world, for the coming of Jesus, born that first Christmas in a stable. Here, our Advent season is marked by two special traditions among others: the novena preparing us to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 December, and the Posadas, a novena that prepares us for the celebration of Christmas. The Spanish word posada means ‘inn.’ ThePosadas begin on 16 December and end on 24 December. They are a reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem (Luke 2:2-7).

By Fr Chris Saenz SSC

Father Saenz, a Columban from Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was ordained in 2000. He had part of his formation in the Philippines.We are now observing the Year of the Eucharist. His article shows how a debate over the role of the Eucharist helps heal wounds caused by ‘the sword and the cross’ in Chile and Argentina.

Ever since childhood I was always taught that the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, were the cornerstone of our Catholic faith. During my training as a priest, it was reinforced that the Eucharist is the center of our faith, the most sacred Catholic celebration. Jesus Christ’s body, broken and shared, brings healing to his people.