DATELINE Honoring the lives of two martyrs — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod — from the Philippines, Filipinos from around the Diocese gathered for the annual Diocesan celebration of the Filipino Martyr Mass, which has become a tradition. The Mass was held in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here Sept. 26.
Bishop Kevin Sweeney was the principal celebrant of the Mass, which was concelebrated by several priests of the Diocese, including Filipino-born priests. The Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries (DCCFM) coordinated the Mass.
To welcome the congregation, Bishop Sweeney said, “It’s a great joy to be with you today, here in our Diocesan cathedral — St. John the Baptist — to celebrate with our Filipino community in honor of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod. In thanksgiving for the gift of our faith and in thanksgiving for all the blessings we have received, in thanksgiving for the inspirational intercession of the saints in heaven, we give thanks to God.”
The feast day celebration in the two saints’ honor featured hymns in English and Tagalog. Filipinos, who sat socially distanced from each other, wore traditional Filipino attire and facemasks with the image of the two saints on them.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney spoke about the blessings and gifts immigrant communities like those who came from the Philippines give to the Church in the United States. “The beauty of our Catholic universal faith — we can be so different in language, in culture and in history but we share the one holy Catholic apostolic faith,” the Bishop said. “Today as a Diocese we celebrate these two great Filipino saints, Filipino martyrs.”
The Bishop reminded those in the congregation to continue passing down the faith and their many cultural traditions such as food and dance to their children and grandchildren.
To the congregation, the Bishop said, “We have to treasure the gifts that we receive — the gift of our faith, which we received at Baptism, which we received, so many of us, through our parents, grandparents or godparents. Many here in the Philippines where you were born and what you received was handed down to you from your parents.”
Canonized by Pope John Paul II in Rome on Oct. 18, 1987, St. Lorenzo Ruiz was martyred during the persecution of Christians in Japan during 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 consultant for the DCCFM, thanked everyone for attending and those who participated in the Mass. The officers for the DCCFM were announced at the end of the Mass.
“We give thanks to God for the gifts we have received especially the gifts of faith, family, tradition and culture,” said the Bishop. “With those gifts come responsibility. We pray especially through the intercession of our Blessed Mother and all the angels and saints that we will be faithful to the gift and the call that we have received.”