'Our Lady' Helps Build a Church

"But the Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation."
- Pope Pius XII

An image of the Blessed Virgin Mary reportedly shed tears of blood on August 17 and 22, 1998, in Lindogon, Simala, Sibonga, Cebu. The shedding of tears happened again on 13th of October, the anniversary of the apparition of the Our Lady of Fatima and on 29th of December still on 1998. From that time on, the image is called, ‘Our Lady of Simala’. The miraculous image is now housed in the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist run by the Monks of Mary. Devotees of the Blessed Virgin frequently visit the image on Sibonga. To be able to get there, you have to take approximately a three-hour bus ride from Cebu City. For us Catmonanons, our travel will total up to 5 hours if we will start from our town. But everybody rejoiced when it was announced that the image will visit different parishes to give chances for those who cannot make it to Simala. The icon is scheduled to visit the Parish of Saint Joseph the Worker, Catmon, Cebu on June 26, 27 and 28, 2009.


Today, July 26, 2009, the image is welcomed by prayerful Catmonanons. Streets are full of blue and white flaglets as a sign of warm salutation to the image. The icon will stay at the Catmondaan Chapel until the 28th of July. Parishioners will have now time to honor the Blessed Virgin with prayers and songs. Government as well as non-government organizations will take turn for the vigil schedules.

Students of Carmen National High School leave their classrooms to greet the miraculous icon.

Welcome sign on the boundary of Catmon and Carmen. Blue flaglets are decorated on the streets.

A cloudy sky, which means, it is going to rain...

Parishioners eagerly await the arrival of the icon despite the rain.


Another important reason of the visit is to raise funds for the construction of the Church of the Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, in Panalipan, Catmon, Cebu. Catmon now has two Parishes, San Guillermo de Acquitaña Parish, which will celebrate its 175th anniversary next year and the new Saint Joseph the worker Parish. Since we are now on the times of global recession, raising funds for the church construction is quite a herculean task of the parish priest, Fr. Joriel Chan and the rest of the parishioners. But with everybody’s concern and support, and the prayers of the Blessed Mother, the Church of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish will be finished hopefully in the near future to become proof of God’s love for the people of Catmon.




You can also help build the church. Share your blessings, and we will see in the future a magnificent edifice overlooking the sea at Panalipan, Catmon, Cebu.

BIDLISIW 2008 - 2009

BIDLISIW


Bidlisiw is the official paper of the student body of Carmen National High School. I got hold of a copy last Friday when a female student hand me one after the teachers' practice of a folk dance to be presented this coming Tuesday for the 158th Founding Anniversary of Carmen. The front page made me smile from ear to ear because I saw my students' pictures displayed on it. Paulo Amiel Coloscos, the editor-in-chief wrote the headline about the culmination activity of the English Week '08 which happened to be a Yuletide Showcase. Two of the pictures posted on the upper right corner of the front page are excerpts of the Broadway Musicals which my students performed under my direction and training. The third picture is the Sinulog performance of the Carmen contingent of which majority of the dancers are from CNHS. Almost 90% of the articles of the latest BIDLISIW issue were written by Paulo, and he is not just good, but he is really excellent in writing. Kudos to Paulo! I suggest that he should apply for a staff position in the UP Cebu's TUG-ANI. I'm really sure that he is ready for college campus journalism.

Paulo and proud mother (Mrs. Eunice Coloscos)


Bidlisiw brings back to me the events of the Yuletide Showcase which happened on December 12, 2008. It is just so right that I kept some pictures of the show; and here I posted some clearer take of the performances.

Phantom of the Opera


Yancy Saison, Maria Christina Bregente and Patrick Salili doing the finale of their performance.


Yancy, Christina and Patrick portrayed Raoul, Christine Daae and the Phantom of the Opera respectively; the unforgettable characters of the famed musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber. These three students are really talented, they did their best during our practices and on the final performance as well.

Les Miserables
Pearl Joy Celades as Cosette and Bebilyn Gica as Eponine

Les Miserables is a musical composed in 1980 by the French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg with a libretto by Alain Boublil. Many songs from that play became worldwide hits like 'I Dreamed a Dream' which is currently getting attention in You Tube because of Susan Boyles performance on 'Britains Got Talent' and of course the timeless 'On My Own'.



Bebilyn sang 'On My Own' and the rest of the characters did a dramatic scene from the original story of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, of which the Broadway Musical is based upon. Japhet Villaber's performance as Marius Pontmercy was quite a remarkable one, but his picture was not posted on Bidlisiw, so I am posting one here.

Japhet Villaber and Bebilyn Gica

Bebilyn sang Lea Salonga's version; and after her performance I call her Lea Salonga of CNHS. Here's a YOU TUBE video of Lea's rendition of 'On My Own'.



Center Fold



On the center fold of the paper is a photo gallery of the teachers and students of CNHS. The other two performances of my students are included here. One is the short play which I had written, directed and voiced, 'The Temptation of Talilay', and the other is the choral presentation of my second year section 7 English class, which won the Christmas Carol Competition.

The Temptation of Talilay


The plot of 'The Temptation of Talilay' is very simple and common. It is the dilemma of the student, Talilay (Gladys Remoto), lured by a debonair devil (Norvin dela Calzada) and saved by the flamboyant angel (Arnel Arenza). I had to practice using my voice in various ranges, from the lowest note to the highest one that I can reach to make the characters believable. I felt like I was auditioning for Disney animated movie during their performance. I was just glad that the actors were excellent and had done it like a pro.


Let it Snow


Everybody loves underdogs! Who would have thought that the last section of the sophomore class, the second year section 7, out staged all the pilot classes, from the freshmen to the seniors. It was an amazing feat for my students. Maybe they are lucky enough, but it was not just pure luck; their hard work has paid off! From the daily practices, to the making of props, looking for costumes, during the dress rehearsals, until the final performance; everybody showed enthusiasm and full support for each other. I'm so proud of this class!

More photos of the 2008 Yuletide Showcase on my Multiply account, just click 'Les Miserables', 'Phantom of the Opera', 'Let it Snow' 'The Temptation of Talilay', and 'The Journey'.

And don't forget to get your BIDLISIW copy. I agree with Paulo, it is already a collector's item...