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Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Santa Elena, Santa Elena (2026)

08/09/2026

“Life is short, so do what matters most.

Pray sincerely, love deeply, forgive freely,
and live each day with a grateful and joyful heart.

Don’t wait for tomorrow to appreciate the blessings of today.” 🙏❤️

08/09/2026

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Homily of Archbishop Abet Uy

There was once a mother who celebrated her birthday. Her children asked her several days before: “Mama, what do you want for your birthday?”
She smiled and said, “I don’t need anything.”
But the children insisted.
“New shoes, Mama?”
“No.”
“A new dress?”
“No.”
“Flowers?”
The mother smiled. “Flowers would be nice, but there is something I would like much more.”
The children became curious.

Their mother said: “For my birthday, I want one day without fighting. I want you to speak kindly to each other. Help one another. Forgive each other. That would make me happier than anything you could buy.”

On her birthday, there was no expensive gift. But the older brother helped the younger one with his schoolwork. One sister washed the dishes without being asked. Two siblings who had not been speaking finally said sorry to each other.
That evening, their mother looked at them and quietly said: “This is the best birthday gift you have ever given me.”

——
My dear brothers and sisters, I think Mama Mary would say something similar to us today.
“You want to give me flowers? Thank you. But become a good person.”
“You want to light a candle for me? Thank you. But bring light into someone’s life.”
“You want to pray the Rosary? Please do. But afterward, forgive the person you are angry with.”
“You want to sing a beautiful song to me? Thank you. But afterward, speak kindly to your family.”
Because the greatest gift we can give Mama Mary is not something we place before her image. It is the kind of person we become because we love her.
So on her birthday, we can simply pray:
“Happy birthday, Mama Mary. I may not have much to give you. But with your help, I will try to give you a better version of myself.”

07/09/2026

“The best way to correct others is to correct ourselves first.”
— St. Augustine

Before we correct others, Jesus invites us to look within ourselves. It is easy to see the mistakes of others, but true charity begins with humility and the willingness to recognize our own weaknesses.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us that correction should never come from anger, pride, or the desire to condemn. It should come from love; a desire to help one another grow closer to God and restore what has been broken.

Let us therefore learn to correct with kindness, listen with humility, and forgive with a generous heart. May we never seek to win an argument, but to win back a brother or sister through love.

St. Augustine, pray for us!

06/09/2026

PASTORAL LETTER | My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you all!

As we celebrate the Season of Creation from September 1 to October 4, I invite every parish, BEC, family, school, religious community, organization, business, and person of goodwill throughout Cebu to renew our commitment to care for our common home.

Our theme, “Listen. Flow. Heal: A Listening Church for Our Common Home,” speaks deeply to our journey as a Listening Church.

The prophet Ezekiel saw water flowing from the Temple. Wherever it flowed, there was life: polluted waters became fresh, barren places became fruitful, and trees bore fruit for food and leaves for healing (cf. Ezekiel 47:1–12).

This is what the Church is called to be today: a life-giving river flowing into the wounded places of our world.

LISTEN TO THE CRY

Before we can heal, we must first listen.

Our common home is speaking to us through stronger heat, destructive floods, polluted rivers and seas, disappearing forests, damaged mountains and watersheds, growing waste, and communities increasingly vulnerable to disasters.

We must also listen to the cry of the poor, who are often the first and hardest hit by environmental destruction. A polluted river, a denuded mountain, or a damaged coastline affects homes, livelihoods, health, food, water, and human dignity.

This is what integral ecology teaches us: everything is connected.

What happens to our mountains affects our rivers; what happens to our rivers affects our seas. The decisions of businesses affect communities. The way governments plan our cities affects future generations. What we consume and throw away at home affects the whole environment.

We cannot truly say that we love our neighbor while destroying the environment our neighbor needs in order to live.

LET LIFE FLOW

The water in Ezekiel’s vision did not remain inside the Temple. It flowed outward.

Our faith must do the same. Prayer must flow into action. Worship must flow into stewardship. Love of God must flow into love for His creation.

Let us protect our forests, watersheds, rivers, mangroves, and coastlines. Let us reduce waste and unnecessary single-use plastics, conserve water and energy, keep our surroundings clean, and support responsible and sustainable development.

As one concrete response, the Archdiocese of Cebu aims to establish a Laudate Deum Pocket Forest in every parish. Inspired by the Miyawaki Pocket Forest model, this does not require a large piece of land or great expense. Even a small available space can be planted with native trees and plants and, with proper care, become a living pocket of biodiversity.

I ask every parish to identify a suitable space and involve parishioners, young people, schools, BECs, families, and communities in this effort. We do not simply want to plant trees; we want to grow forests. Planting takes a day; nurturing them requires commitment.

Imagine small Laudate Deum Pocket Forests growing throughout Cebu—living signs that the Church does not only preach about caring for creation, but gives creation space to live and flourish.

This responsibility belongs to all of us. Government must enforce environmental laws and plan responsibly. Businesses and developers must recognize that profit can never justify environmental destruction. Schools and parishes must form ecological consciences. Families must teach children by example.

But we should not wait for others before we begin. Small actions, when faithfully done by many, become a mighty river of change.

ALLOW GOD TO HEAL US

The ecological crisis is also a crisis of the human heart. We have learned to consume more than we need, throw away what can still be used, and sometimes measure progress only by what we can build, buy, extract, or possess.

The Season of Creation therefore calls us not only to environmental projects but to ecological conversion—a change in our way of life. Creation is not merely a collection of resources for our use. It is God’s gift entrusted to our care. Let us live more simply, waste less, share more, consume responsibly, and learn to be grateful for what is enough.

True development cannot mean destroying today what our children will desperately need tomorrow.

My dear brothers and sisters, there is still time—but we must act while there is still time. Instead of simply asking what others should do, let each of us ask: What can I do? What can my family, parish, school, business, organization, or community do?

A river begins with drops of water. May each of us become one of those drops.

During this Season of Creation, let us listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Let God’s love flow through us in concrete action. And together, let us help heal our wounded common home.

Like the river in Ezekiel’s vision, may the Church in Cebu bring life wherever she flows. Listen. Flow. Heal. And may we begin—not tomorrow, but today.

May Señor Santo Niño bless our beloved Cebu and make us faithful stewards of the beautiful home God has entrusted to us.

Mary, Mother of Creation’s Lord, pray for us.
St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, pray for us.

Given this Season of Creation 2026, in the Archdiocese of Cebu.

+ MOST REV. ALBERTO S. UY, DD
Archbishop of Cebu

04/09/2026

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA, a woman whose life became a powerful witness to Christ’s love for the poorest and most forgotten. 🙏🤍

Born Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, North Macedonia, Saint Teresa grew up with a strong desire to serve God. At the age of 18, she entered the Loreto Sisters in Dublin and later traveled to India, where she took the name Teresa.

For many years, she taught at a girls’ school in Calcutta. Although she worked among students from comfortable families, she could not ignore the extreme poverty and suffering surrounding the city.

Then, in 1946, while traveling by train to Darjeeling, Sister Teresa experienced what she described as a “call within a call.” She believed Christ was asking her to leave the convent and serve Him directly among the poorest of the poor.

With permission from the Church, she left the Loreto Sisters and began a new mission. After receiving basic nursing training, she returned to Calcutta, moved into the slums, and opened a school for poor children.

Wearing a simple white sari with a blue border, she went from home to home, caring for the sick, comforting the dying, and reaching out to people who had been abandoned by society.

Her mission quickly grew.

Volunteers joined her, including some of her former students, while others provided food, clothing, medicine, buildings, and other necessities. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation dedicated to serving those most in need.

The ministry eventually expanded to care for orphans, abandoned children, the elderly, the sick, people struggling with addiction, and those living on the streets.

For decades, Mother Teresa traveled around the world, asking people to recognize the dignity of every human person and to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor.

Her dedication to the suffering earned worldwide recognition, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Yet despite her fame, she continued to describe her work simply as an act of love and service to Christ.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta died on September 5, 1997. Nearly two decades later, she was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.

On her feast day, may Saint Teresa remind us that holiness is not always found in extraordinary places. Sometimes, it is found in a small act of kindness, a hand extended to someone who is suffering, a meal given to the hungry, or simply taking the time to care for someone whom the world has forgotten.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

May we learn from Saint Teresa to recognize Christ not only in the Church and in prayer, but also in the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the forgotten.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, servant of the poorest of the poor, pray for us! 🙏🤍

📅 FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA ┃ September 5

03/09/2026

𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧
𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩

A great leader does not seek greatness for himself.

Saint Gregory the Great served the Church with humility—as pope, pastor, teacher, and servant of the poor. He guided the Church through difficult times, cared for those in need, and helped preserve and deepen the Church’s tradition of prayer and worship.

His life reminds us that true greatness is found not in power or recognition, but in 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.

“Behold, I am with you always.” — Matthew 28:20

May Saint Gregory the Great inspire us to lead with humility, serve with love, and faithfully share the Gospel wherever God has placed us.

𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀. 🙏

22/08/2026

ENCOUNTER BEYOND THE CROWD

As the Church celebrates the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Fr. Marion Nguyen, OSB, offers his thoughts on the day’s liturgical readings under the theme: “Encounter Beyond the Crowd."
By Fr. Marion Nguyen, OSB*

There is a great difference between knowing what people say about someone and knowing who that person truly is. We live in a culture saturated with opinions, judgments, and interpretations, yet all this talk can paradoxically make genuine recognition more difficult.

Perhaps this is why Jesus’ question to his disciples at Caesarea Philippi is so penetrating: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They give him the answers circulating among the crowds: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. The crowds recognize that Jesus is important, but they fit him into categories they already understand.

Then Jesus makes the question personal: “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus tells him that this knowledge did not come from public opinion or human reasoning: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father” (Mt 16:17).

St. John Chrysostom observes that Jesus first asks about the crowds precisely to expose the inadequacy of their answers. The crowd can talk about Jesus, but Peter recognizes him. Peter’s confession is not simply a better opinion; it is a gift of revelation. As Chrysostom writes, Christ “did not begin by saying, Who do men say that I am? but, Who do men say that the Son of man is?” He leads the disciples from the opinions of others toward their own confession of faith. (cf. Homily 54)

This is at the heart of Christian discipleship. We live surrounded by voices telling us who Jesus is, what the Church should be, and even who we ourselves are. Yet faith cannot ultimately rest upon the voice of the crowd. It must become our own confession: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Yet hearing the Father’s voice is not easy. The monastic tradition has long recognized the logismoi—the thoughts and impulses that can occupy the heart and draw us away from God.

If the crowd at Caesarea Philippi represents the noise of external opinion, the logismoi are something like a crowd from within: competing voices of thought, desire, and self-image that rise up in the heart and vie to answer the question “who are you?” before God ever gets the chance.

Evagrius Ponticus and John Cassian understood that the spiritual life requires vigilance, because we can gradually become governed by whatever we repeatedly allow to occupy our minds and desires (cf. Praktikos, 6–14; Conferences, 5).

Perhaps the most recognizable forms of this inner crowd in our own time are distraction and vainglory. Our digital culture continually competes for our attention, while social media encourages us to measure ourselves against the lives and opinions of others—an outer crowd now internalized as a constant, low murmur of comparison and self-judgment. The result is a peculiar kind of exhaustion: we are surrounded by constant noise and ever-changing opinions, both outside us and within, yet increasingly hungry for quiet, simplicity, and space.

The monastic response is therefore not simply to escape the noise, but to cultivate a Petrine, attentive heart: a heart made capable of listening, receiving, and responding to what is true. Monastic life creates this space through humility, silence, stability, prayer, and attentive listening. It teaches us to become quiet enough to recognize the presence of God in the other.

Saint Benedict gives this a particularly beautiful expression in Chapter 53 of the Rule, where he commands that every guest be received as Christ himself: “Let all guests who present themselves be received as Christ” (RB 53:1). The monk must be attentive enough to recognize Christ when Christ comes to him—not merely in prayer or liturgy, but in the person standing before him.

This brings us back to Peter. Jesus does not simply congratulate him for getting the answer right. Immediately after revealing who he is, Jesus reveals who Peter is: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church” (Mt 16:18).

The revelation of Christ immediately leads to a revelation of Peter’s vocation. Peter learns who Jesus is, and consequently discovers who he himself is.

The same is true for us. Our identity does not begin with the question, “Who do I want to be?” It begins with the question, “Who is Christ?” When we recognize him as the Son of the living God, we begin to understand ourselves as people called by him, given a place in his Church, and entrusted with a vocation.

Peter is not asked to silence the crowd outside him alone; he must also quiet the crowd within, so that one voice—the Father’s—can be heard and answered. So must we.

Perhaps, then, Jesus’ question to us is not simply, “Who do you say that I am?” There is another question beneath it:

Who are you after you have encountered me?

Peter learned who Jesus was, and in that revelation he discovered who he was called to become. So do we.

19/08/2026

Cardinal Tagle calls on families to strengthen human connection and guide children with compassion.

Click the link in the comments below.

19/08/2026

TODAY’s GMRC | Check Your Heart

Jesus reminds us: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” (Matthew 7:3).

It is easy to see the mistakes and weaknesses of others while remaining blind to our own. Sometimes the problem is not our eyesight, but our heart. Pride looks for faults; humility looks within. Judgment condemns; love understands.

Before pointing a finger, examine your own heart. Remember how patient and merciful God has been with you.

If you can see only the faults of others, but not your own, have your heart checked—not your eyes.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

08/09/2026

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07/09/2026

06/09/2026

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