Thank you Sir Mulong [Tampolino] for the kind introduction.
Good evening everyone.
I am speaking on behalf of Mayor Bong Marquez and to those who are not familiar with the whereabouts of the mayor at this very point in time, our LCE, together with Councilor Mc. King Legaspi, is in Geumsan-gun county in South Korea upon the invitation of Mayor Park Beom In to forge a pact of mutual understanding and friendship that around 500 of our farmers will benefit from. Kon. Marffin Dulay here could have joined them but due to his/her hectic schedule as chair of the Foundation Anniversary Committee, Kon. Marffin was not able to process his/her travel documents.
We will keep you posted on this official travel.
Mayor Bong is extending his warmest congratulations to all of you on this occasion. And since he gave me a full blanket authority to speak to you freely, I am speaking now as his appointed interim Municipal Administrator.
I missed speaking in front of the laity, the officers and members of the mandated religious organizations, the parish pastoral council, the basic ecclesial communities, the catechists, lay ministers, acolytes and all that we call the workers of the vineyard of the Lord. Many of you are aware that before I entered the government, I was first a lay employee of the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose for 25 years. I was with the Diocesan Human Development Commission, the social action arm of our local church. In 2011, when I was retrenched at the Vicariate, Mayor Bong, then executive assistant of Mayor now Governor Ed Gadiano, came to San Jose and invited me to join his government and help them in serving you, their beloved constituents. As they say, the rest is history, for the three of us.
We are gathered here today for two main reasons: For Charity and Recognition.
Charity. This is a Night for a cause. Proceeds of this charity drive would be used for the construction of our church’s retablo. But what is a retablo? The word “retablo” comes from the words “retro and tabula”, roughly translating “behind the altar”. Working behind the altar is what San Sebastian, our patron saint, has done. To me, the highest form of charity is to offer one’s life for others and his or her faith. This may not be theologically or doctrinally sound but I consider Sebastian a martyr of charity. Isn’t martyrdom the highest form of charity? Sebastian faced martyrdom, to borrow from the late Susan Roces, not only once but twice!
It is not only money we can give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, we can give our love, or simply give a smile. None of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give. My favorite quotation about Charity is one from Mother Theresa who said, “It is not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” As you have emphasized in tonight’s theme, “Every charitable act makes a difference.”
The upcoming retablo is somewhat our expression of our devotion to our faith.
Recognition. San Sebastian, due to his “double martyrdom” was recognized and declared a martyr and saint by the Mother Church. He has Her full recognition as a brave believer and dedicated soldier, he is the patron saint against plague and illness, of archers, armorers, ironmongers, police officers, soldiers, athletes, the dying, and the Pontifical Swiss Guards. Lately, he is without authorization considered the patron saint of those who belongs, take note Kon. Marffin, to the LGBTQ+ community. If I may repeat, this is not backed up by some sectors of the universal church.
Both social media and real life itself are full of discouraging people who live to put others down. But we as pilgrims under the banner of Catholicism and our Pamayanang Kristiyano in general, are people who recognize others as we encourage them. Your Parish Pastoral Council led by your Parish Priest, the ever-dedicated and hardworking Rev. Father Ronald Panganiban, and its VP, Ms. Nimfa Yyance, and the Parish Finance Council VP, Councilor Clarinda Alvarez-Lorenzo, appreciate and honor you and are grateful for what you have contributed for the sake of our faith by bestowing recognition tonight. With ardent prayers for you to keep the bush burning, congratulations to all the recipients of the Gawad San Sebastian, Huwarang Lingkod ng Simbahan.
My greetings and felicitations too to Mother Butler, for leading this year’s fiesta celebration and also to Madam Rose Dangeros, overall coordinator of the Working Committee and Festejos President, for a job well done.
As pilgrims on a journey, both your local government and your parish look for the integral development of men and women, the LGU constituents, and the Church faithful and continue our partnership, our unity despite diversity, for the common good and general welfare of our people. If the church looks for the spiritual side of us, the government is in charge of our physical needs, therefore they are inseparable. They work and do their mandates differently but towards one goal which is the development of human beings, as citizens and as believers. How could we separate one’s body from his or her soul?
Give ourselves a good round of applause and my congratulations to all who had been tirelessly standing to their faith and being workers of the Lord’s vineyard in this part of the universe.
On behalf of Mayor Walter Bong Marquez, whom I consider an honorary Catholic, let me say out loud:
Viva San Sebastian!
Hail Sablayan on its 121st Founding anniversary!
Thank you.
(Inspirational Message rendered in Filipino on the occasion of A Night for a Cause, a project of San Sebastian Parish on January 17, 2023, at Fr. Luis Halasz Gymnasium, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro)
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