Recent News

March 6, Ash Wednesday, kicked off the Lenten Season for the Catholic world. The previous day, March 5, the devout parishioners witnessed the ceremonial Burning of Palms to Ashes outside the Divine Mercy Chapel just before the 6 pm mass. March 8, the first Friday of Lent, was the first Parish Way of the Cross, which would then be held every Friday thereafter during Lent, after the 6 pm mass. For March 8, the sponsoring parish organization was the Parish Pastoral Council, with Lay Coordinator Bert and Marie Anne Santos coordinating. The five…continue reading →

In 1995, when I was still a deacon preparing myself for my eventual ordination to the priesthood, I wrote a deacon’s prayer. A deacon, our priest-formator told us, is literally a servant (the Greek word for ‘servant’ being ‘diakonos’). Priesthood therefore must always be understood as a life of service to God and to his Church. As soon-to-become priest, I knew (and boy, was I anxious and nervous!) that I would automatically become a leader (there was no choice!) in the Church community. Being a future leader, I had to remind myself that…continue reading →

The World Youth Day Vigil last January 26 to 27 drew 155 young people from the different parishes in the OLPH Vicariate. Fr. Steve gave his opening remarks remotely from Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Fr. Jojo delivered the opening prayer, and Pope Francis was on live stream early Sunday morning. In attendance were nine different youth groups from: CTK, St. John Paul II Parish, Libis community, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish, Nativity of the Lord Parish, St. Paul’s College students, members of the Timothy Youth Ministry…continue reading →

As of press time, Fr. Steve Zabala would have already received the results of the tabulation and summary of the nominations submitted by the current members of Parish Pastoral Council, plus some 70 other involved parishioners, mostly core team members of the different ministries plus mass slot liturgical coordinators. This is part of the leadership selection process devised by Fr. Steve in consultation with the Parish Pastoral Officers, or PPO. Up for replacement after serving for the three year term July 2016 to June 2019 are the Parish Pastoral Of@icers (Lay Coordinator, Secretary,…continue reading →

Fr. Anton Pascual, the Executive Director of Caritas Manila and president of Radio Veritas, gave a well received talk, ‘The Ultimate Test of Servant Leadership’, to the Parish Pastoral Council and a few other non-PPC members last March 9. This was part of the Discernment Assembly that Fr. Steve required of all those identified to participate in the PPC leadership selection process. Fr. Anton started by saying that everyone was there to ‘learn, unlearn, and relearn’. He argued that we all needed to learn because only learners will be successful in our knowledge…continue reading →

March 6, Ash Wednesday, opened the 2019 Lenten Season, a season of fasting, prayer and alms-giving. It came much later than last year’s Ash Wednesday which was celebrated on February 14, 2018 or even the previous year’s, which was held in March 1, 2017. Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar and it takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday (40 days not counting the Sundays). It comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes…continue reading →

As part of its annual Lenten activities, Christ the King Parish Greenmeadows holds Way of the Cross devotion every Friday at the main church immediately following the 6 pm mass. The Friday devotion to the Way of the Cross is organized by the Worship Ministry headed by Peter and Leila Banico. The first Friday Way of the Cross was held last March 8, officiated by Fr. Steve Zabala and led by the CTK Parish Pastoral Council members. The Sponsors of the other Friday Way of the Cross at the main church are: ‣…continue reading →

In celebration of the World Day of the Sick, February 11, Fr. Manny Flores officiated the 6 pm mass at the main church and followed this up with the healing service immediately after. Parishioners brought their sick relatives and friends for healing of body, mind, and spirit. The World Day of the Sick also coincided with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. In his introduction, Fr. Manny implored the faithful to intone, ‘Jesus, Son of Mary, have pity on us.’ Then, painstakingly, Fr. Manny whispered to each of the parishioners in the…continue reading →

Fr. Steve Zabala used all of the weekend masses of March 2 and 3 to report on the use of stewardship donations for 2018. Fr. Steve officiated in all the masses and deliberately shortened his homily so he could spend 10 minutes to report on how the Parish Pastoral Council had used the stewardship funds. The Stewardship Committee had collected PhP 8.9M for 2018. Of this, 38% was turned over to the diocese as part of the CTK parish’s long-term commitment to channel roughly 40% of donations as financial assistance to: a) diocesan…continue reading →

A total of 197 delegates, consisting of 68 priests, 117 lay persons and 12 bishops from 26 dioceses, 60 parishes and 10 religious congregations from the Philippines, USA and South Korea gathered for the First Asian Pacific Stewardship Conference in Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines from February 4 to 7. The conference was sponsored by the International Catholic Stewardship Council and its local partner, Socio- Pastoral Institute (SPI) with the objective of deepening participants’ understanding, appreciation and resolve to be good stewards of their churches, communities, and of the earth. During those four days, they…continue reading →