Cardinal Jose Advincula, Archbishop of Manila. CBCP NEWS By CBCP News December 15, 2023 Manila, Philippines As Catholics are expected to flock to churches for the traditional Simbang Gabi, the Archdiocese of Manila has encouraged the ‘voluntary’ wearing of face masks inside houses of worship. In a circular issued Dec. 15, Cardinal Jose of Advincula said the move is in accordance with the recommendation of the archdiocese’s Ministry on Health Care amid cases of Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses. “But we will not allow them to deprive us of Christmas joy,” Advincula said. “…We request our communities to observe the health and safety protocols.” Advincula said. “Let us practice voluntary wearing of face masks and hand hygiene,” he said. Those who are sick, were also reminded “to stay at home so as not to spread infection”. “Let these measures be our gesture of charity and compassion for others, especially those who are vulnerable,” the cardinal added. Also known as Misa de Gallo or “Rooster’s Mass” in Spanish, the Simbang Gabi starts on December 16 and ends on Christmas Eve. The next few days, according to the Manila archbishop, “will again show us how vibrant, festive, and faith- filled Filipino Christmas is.” “As I wish you a blessed Christmas season, I gladly assure you of my prayerful solicitude,” he said. DONATE TO CBCP NEWS CBCPNews is a church-based news agency operated by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.  This apostolate aims at helping the work of the new evangelization through the news media.  This is non-commercial and non-profit.  That being the case, it totally depends on generosity of its readers and supporters. Should you wish to donate kindly press the donate button.  Thank you.  

Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog, the new chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity. NIKKO BALBEDINA By CBCP News December 15, 2023 Manila, Philippines Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog has assumed the leadership role in a Church body that takes charge of the apostolate of the laity. The 54-year old took over the chairmanship of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on the Laity (ECLA) from the late Bishop Enrique Macaraeg of Tarlac. Macaraeg was serving his first term as ECLA head when he succumbed to cardiac arrest in October. The head of CBCP commissions is elected for a two-year term and can be reelected for up to three terms. Prior to his new post, Caermare was already the vice chairman of ECLA. The CBCP set up the ECLA in 1950, made up of a bishop chairman and four other member-bishops. In order to facilitate the work of the commission, the various national lay groups and diocesan councils of the laity were organized in 1957 into the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas or Council of the Laity in the Philippines. The organization is governed by a 15-member board, elected by the members during a national convention held every two years. Currently, there are 54 national Catholic lay organizations and 62 diocesan councils who are members of Laiko. As lay arm of the CBCP, Laiko also seeks to implement the Church’s programs among the lay groups while it also engages in its own advocacies and programs for lay Catholics. DONATE TO CBCP NEWS CBCPNews is a church-based news agency operated by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.  This apostolate aims at helping the work of the new evangelization through the news media.  This is non-commercial and non-profit.  That being the case, it totally depends on generosity of its readers and supporters. Should you wish to donate kindly press the donate button.  Thank you.  

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Friday of the Second Week of Advent 1st Reading – Isaiah 48:17-19 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God that teach you profitable things, that govern you in the way that you walk. If you would hearken to my commandments, your peace would be like a river, and your justice as the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains: his name should not have perished, nor have been destroyed from my presence.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6 R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life. Blessed the man who follows notthe counsel of the wickedNor walks in the way of sinners,nor sits in the company of the insolent,But delights in the law of the LORDand meditates on his law day and night. R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life. He is like a treeplanted near running water,That yields its fruit in due season,and whose leaves never fade.Whatever he does, prospers. R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life. Not so the wicked, not so;they are like chaff which the wind drives away.For the LORD watches over the way of the just,but the way of the wicked vanishes. R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.   Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Lord will come; go out to meet him!He is the prince of peace.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” Today's Readings Homilies

PHOTO FROM QUIAPO CHURCH By CBCP News December 14, 2023 Manila, Philippines The declaration of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo Church as a “national shrine” is slated for Jan. 29 next year. The church announced the schedule in a social media post on Thursday, Dec. 14. Earlier in the day, the Quiapo Church also received from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines the official decree elevating the place of worship to a national shrine status. The decree was handed over by Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, CBCP Secretary General, to Quiapo Church Rector Fr. Jun Sescon. The church has not yet released the details of the event, scheduled for the final day of the bishops’ plenary assembly in Manila. The 127th CBCP plenary assembly is scheduled to be held at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center from Jan. 27 to 29. The assembly will be preceded by a bishops’ seminar on Jan. 23 to 25. The bishops will also attend Mass to declare the Antipolo Cathedral or the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage as an international shrine on Jan. 26. It was on May 10, 2023 when Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila conferred the St. John the Baptist Parish with the title of “Archdiocesan Shrine of the Black Nazarene”. In July 2023, the bishops gathered for the plenary assembly in the Diocese of Kalibo approved the petition to declare the church as national shrine. Quiapo Church is home to the centuries-old and miraculous Black Nazarene, which attracts millions during its annual procession every January 9. In 1987, St. John Paul II declared the church a minor basilica due to its role in fostering widespread devotion to Jesus Christ and influencing Filipino religiosity. DONATE TO CBCP NEWS CBCPNews is a church-based news agency operated by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.  This apostolate aims at helping the work of the new evangelization through the news media.  This is non-commercial and non-profit.  That being the case, it totally depends on generosity of its readers and supporters. Should you wish to donate kindly press the donate button.  Thank you.  

Catholics attend the traditional “Simbang Gabi” at the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph in Las Piñas City on December 16, 2022. MICHAEL DALOGDOG By CBCP News December 14, 2023 Manila, Philippines A Catholic archbishop said that the faithful can fulfill the ‘Simbang Gabi’ devotion regardless of the time of day or night they attend Mass. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan said the timing of the Mass doesn’t diminish the spiritual significance of the devotion. “The key word is simba not gabi. The indispensable part of this nine day pre-Christmas tradition is the Eucharist,” Villegas said. “No matter the time of day or night, it is the Lord who comes at every Mass to speak in the Liturgy of the Word and to feed us with His Body and Blood from the Eucharistic table,” Villegas said. The archbishop provided the reminder in a four-page catechesis presented in a question-and-answer format, addressing the tradition for the Catholics of the archdiocese. Simbang Gabi is a centuries-old Filipino tradition of honoring Mary, mother of Jesus, with a nine-day series of daily Masses leading to Christmas. According to Villegas, it was an “indult” or privilege granted by the Vatican to celebrate votive Masses of the Virgin Mary at dawn prior to Christmas “in order to thank God for the gift of Catholic faith and intercede for its preservation in the Philippines”. Through the years, the time for celebrating Simbang Gabi evolved, particularly during the martial law curfew in the 1970s, which restricted dawn activities. The church leader said that this period brought about a broader understanding that the essence of Simbang Gabi doesn’t reside in the dawn time but rather in the Mass itself. Villegas encouraged the Catholics to focus on the “essentials,” reminding them that the most important aspect of Simbang Gabi is not the time it is celebrated but rather the participation in Mass. “Attending Mass for nine days and preferably receiving Holy Communion in the state of grace during those Masses no matter the time of the day is the most important way to prepare for Christmas,” he said. DONATE TO CBCP NEWS CBCPNews is a church-based news agency operated by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.  This apostolate aims at helping the work of the new evangelization through the news media.  This is non-commercial and non-profit.  That being the case, it totally depends on generosity of its readers and supporters. Should you wish to donate kindly press the donate button.  Thank you.  

December 14, 2023 The world had high expectations when 198 Parties which is composed of 197 countries plus the European Union—constituting a near universal membership—trooped to Dubai for the twenty-eight annual United Nation’s Conference of Parties (COP28) from November 30 to December 12, 2023. World leaders, policymakers, environment activists and corporations were all focused on the Global Stocktake (GST), which is an assessment process designed to evaluate global progress towards achieving the climate goals established by the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as the urgent way to stave off the worst effects of climate change. That goal was supposed to be concluded at COP28 in Dubai. But what everybody got with the draft final statement of COP28 was a thud. The draft glaringly removed any call to phase out fossil fuels which is the main driver of the climate crisis. It instead used a watered-down language with the use of the permissive “could” rather than a mandatory “shall”, in an apparent concession to oil-producing nations that opposed the elimination of fossil fuels. The draft also failed to give timelines. Reportedly, the secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which according to environmental activists is the most powerful oil cartel, Haitham Al Ghais, called on members and allies to proactively reject any language that targeted fossil fuels rather than emissions. The letter which, according to reports, he sent to his allies at the COP28 emphasized that it would be “unacceptable that politically motivated campaigns put our people’s prosperity and future at risk”.Former US Vice President and climate activist Al Gore posted on X that “COP28 is now on the verge of complete failure. The World desperately needs to phase out fossil fuel as quickly as possible, but this obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word…it is deeply offensive to all who have taken this process seriously.” The head of the global political strategy at Climate Action Network, Harjeet Singh, said the latest draft of the COP28 statement is “a significant regression from previous versions…this is a clear indication of the fossil industry’s lobbying power, influencing global policies to favor prolonged fossil fuel use.” This Dubai environmental summit did not heed the directions of the Paris Agreement or the call of the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who was quoted as saying, “I have come back to COP28, because we are on the brink of climate disaster and this conference must mark a turning point. I am here to renew my urgent appeal to leaders: Recommit to the 1.5°C warming limit. End the fossil fuel age. Deliver climate justice.” The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental organization which is most affected by climate change, has already indicated their disagreement with the COP28 draft statement. According to Cedric Schuster, a Samoan chair of AOSIS, “We will not sign our death certificate…We cannot sign on to text that does not have strong commitments on phasing out fossil fuels.”

Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church 1st Reading – Isaiah 41:13-20 For I am the Lord your God. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped you. Fear not, O worm of Jacob, you who are dead within Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I have established you like a new threshing cart, having serrated blades. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. And you will turn the hills into chaff. You will winnow them, and the wind will blow them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. And you shall exult in the Lord; you shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water. I will plant the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree together, so that they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 145:1 AND 9, 10-11, 12-13AB R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness. I will extol you, O my God and King,and I will bless your name forever and ever.The LORD is good to alland compassionate toward all his works. R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness. Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,and let your faithful ones bless you.Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdomand speak of your might. R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness. Let them make known to men your mightand the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,and your dominion endures through all generations. R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.   Alleluia – SEE Isaiah 45:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.Let the clouds rain down the Just One,and the earth bring forth a Savior.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Matthew 11:11-15 Jesus said to the crowds:Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets

Bishop Gerry Alminaza, head of the National Laudato Si’ Program of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. By CBCP News December 12, 2023 Manila, Philippines Philippine Catholic leaders at COP28 in Dubai urged global leaders to decide on ending fossil fuel use, aiming to prevent more suffering for the most affected, impoverished communities by climate change. The call comes after a new text for the Global Stocktake (GST) was released on the eve of the climate conference scheduled last day. According to the delegates, the text featured significantly weakened language compared to earlier drafts regarding the urgency of transitioning to clean energy, especially in terms of phasing out fossil fuels in accordance with the best available climate science. The GST is one of the biggest features of the climate conference, as it sees parties taking stock of climate action and gaps to keep global temperature rise from going beyond the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5°C or the less ambitious 2°C. Bishop Gerry Alminaza, head of the National Laudato Si’ Program of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said thousands came to COP28 with the hope that it will deliver the climate action “we all so desperately seek”. “But the latest Global Stocktake is crushing that hope,” Alminaza said. He said the global leaders have the moral duty to use the remaining hours of this climate conference to deliver action compatible with 1.5°C, and herald a full and equitable phaseout of all fossil fuels. “Now is their chance to make a courageous decision to pursue the global common good above their national interests,” he said. “Our time is running out!” Fr. Edwin Gariguez (right), lead convenor of the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network in the Philippines, at the COP28 in Dubai, UAE. The new text, he added, was received with much concern by civil society and several parties, including the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) group which proclaimed they would not sign their own “death warrant”. In October, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Exhortation gearing up for COP 28. He wrote: “…If we are confident in the capacity of human beings to transcend their petty interests and to think in bigger terms, we can keep hoping that COP28 will allow for a decisive acceleration of energy transition.” “This conference can represent a change of direction, showing that everything done since 1992 was in fact serious and worth the effort, or else it will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far,” the pope added. Fr. Edwin Gariguez, a Goldman Prize awardee, said world leaders must keep the best interests of people and nature in mind in coming up with final decisions. The priest is also the lead convenor of the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network in the Philippines Gariguez resides in a province along the VIP, a marine biodiversity hotspot heavily threatened by ongoing and planned

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin, and Martyr 1st Reading – Isaiah 40:25-31 “And to whom would you compare me or equate me?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things. He leads forth their army by number, and he calls them all by name. Because of the fullness of his strength and robustness and virtue, not one of them was left behind. Why do you say this, O Jacob, and why do you speak this way, O Israel? “My way has been hidden from the Lord, and my judgment escaped notice by my God.” Do you not know, or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, who has created the limits of the earth. He does not diminish, and he does not struggle. Neither is his wisdom searchable. It is he who gives strength to the weary, and it is he who increases fortitude and strength in those who are failing. Servants will struggle and fail, and young men will fall into infirmity. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire. Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10 R.  O bless the Lord, my soul! Bless the LORD, O my soul;and all my being, bless his holy name.Bless the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits. R. O bless the Lord, my soul! He pardons all your iniquities,he heals all your ills.He redeems your life from destruction,he crowns you with kindness and compassion. R. O bless the Lord, my soul! Merciful and gracious is the LORD,slow to anger and abounding in kindness.Not according to our sins does he deal with us,nor does he requite us according to our crimes. R. O bless the Lord, my soul! Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;blessed are those prepared to meet him.R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel – Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said to the crowds: Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light. Today's Readings Homilies