AS THE country faces a massive flood control projects fiasco, a Vincentian priest urged Thomasians to contemplate and assess whether their lives and worship places have been tainted with corruption.
During the Faculty of Arts and Letters’ (AB) monthly mass, Fr. Rolando Limjoco, Jr., C.M. reminded Thomasians of their responsibilities to consistently heed God’s word and honor Him through prayer.
“We are challenged to examine our own lives and our own temples: our homes, our schools, our churches and communities, our faith [and] hearts [to] see if they have become places of prowess, corruption [and] sacrifice,” Limjoco said in his homily at the Santísimo Rosario Parish on Friday, Nov. 21.
Limjoco, the director of the Miraculous Medal Apostolate, said corruption can be likened to the merchants during the time of Jesus who turned the temple of Jerusalem into a market.
He recalled how a woman struggling in her marriage became a devout Catholic after receiving the Miraculous Medal from him — a change he deemed as a reflection of the Gospel’s call to let God renew one’s “temple” in the face of suffering.
Citing a vision of St. Catherine Laboure, Limjoco said the presence of God not only dwells in the physical manifestation of the Church but also within every individual.
“Whenever you are afraid, whenever you are lost, pause for a while and in the silence of your heart you will find God who is Emmanuel, God who is always with us,” the priest said.
St. Catherine Laboure is the patron saint of the elderly and the sick. She was canonized in 1947.
Limjoco said the stars above the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal’s head symbolized the mission of the Church and the people’s duties to receive and share it
“The Miraculous Medal reminds us of our consecration to Jesus through Mary and the duty to keep our bodies as worthy witnesses of God. It reminds us to be constantly in prayer in all of our hearts,” he said.
Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, students should have a life rooted in prayer and commitment to God, Limjoco said.
“Mary is our model in prayer, contemplation and service to God’s will,” he added.
The faculty-wide celebration was held in conjunction with the farewell mass in honor of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal and the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Marian image arrived at the St. Raymund’s Building on Nov. 19 as part of the three-day celebration of a feast in honor of the Blessed Virgin. Several AB faculty members and students also participated in a procession that took place inside the campus. F – Kayla Pauline Gonzalez
