Hope’s Herald: The Path Forward

Busyness, some believe, is not only a badge of honor but an indication of brilliance and blessedness. That may not be fully true, for busyness does not always translate to meaningfulness only being tired! When we see how much we as a parish have accomplished in 2022 when the pandemic restrictions were lifted until the first quarter of 2023, we realized how much we have put into motion a good portion of our 2023 Parish Pastoral Action Plan. Having said that, we remind ourselves of what David Allen said about being busy and doing many things: “Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.” Or, may I add, planned to do!

As the stranglehold restrictions of Covid-19 were lifted, we took the path of recovery as a parish with a clear direction by doing our Parish Evaluation and Planning session. Much of what we are doing and will continue to do is a product of such vital and necessary activity. As the adage goes: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Another key pastoral program of the parish is our Stewardship Program, Daluyan Pag-asa. The lessons of the pandemic years and the myriad of challenges it brought to our doorstep were an impetus to the program’s realization. But beyond it, Stewardship has to be a constant in any parish for it must be a way how we live our parish life. In fact, it should be part of the spirituality of every baptized Catholic. We also have embraced a more faithful celebration of our Parish Fiesta Day as we have recovered and designated the actual date of the apparition of the Blessed Mother Mary as Our Lady of Hope in Pontmain, France, on January 17, 1871.

Other important undertakings we have done include the forming of the Misa ng Batang Pag-asa which has gotten more of our children involved in our parish life. The Maki-Misyon Program continues to be our bridge for parishioners to volunteer their time and talent. Our Voters’ Discernment Seminars were our contribution to the last 2022 national elections on good citizenship. Another new program of the parish is Aral Pag-asa, a scholarship program that helps children in need to study at the Our Lady of Hope Parochial School, for free, as parish scholars.

We have to mention as well the importance of improving and maintaining our parish facilities. Our Parish Action Plan has identified what are the key facilities improvements we need to prioritize. We have renovated our parish offices together with the sacristy and an addition of a vestry, all for better liturgical preparations. More so, we have relocated our Eucharistic Adoration chapel in a better place to lessen noise & improve flow both of foot traffic and ventilation. We have upgraded our restrooms as well. Unfortunately, vandals and thieves have destroyed and stolen some of the fixtures in the restrooms. The new

TV screens in our church are donated by a generous and kind-hearted family of the parish.

At the moment, one major facility we are adding to the parish is the Serenitas Columbarium. During the pandemic, many parishioners asked if there are still available units of niches for the remains or ashes of their loved ones who died. I found it important to build and extend our existing columbary. Now, we are nearing the completion of Serenitas Columbary thanks to the members of our Parish Facilities and Maintenance Group who are overseeing this needed project. The Serenitas Project also is in view of the much-needed upkeep, improvement, and renovation of our parish church. The years of wear and tear of the physical church are showing already. Come 2025, the Jubilee Year announced by Pope Francis will happen. He has designated that year with the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.” It is fitting that we realize the dream of the parish that we become a shrine in honor of Mary as Our Lady of Hope.

During the pandemic years, our Parish Social Communications Ministry (SoCom) made it possible that you and the parish remain connected with each other through our online programs. Our OLHP Project Damayan, with our courageous parish volunteers, who went from house to house, pamayanan to pamayanan distributing gift checks and food bags, creating our Mesa ng Pag-asa food bank, showed our compassion for our fellow parishioners during those most difficult times.

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that the pandemic is no longer a global health emergency. As we rise from the scourge of Covid-19, our parish Action Plan has identified already what our key priorities are. We shall pursue them with focus, vigor, and hope. I thank our Parish Pastoral Council, headed by our PPC Coordinator, Bro. Arnold Divina, together with the PPC Execom, for their valuable support and sacrifices. Without them, my ministry as pastor will be enormously difficult and burdensome. With your cooperation, contributions, and active collaboration and participation, dear parishioners of Our Lady of Hope, we shall continue building the kingdom of God in our Pamayanan through our BEC.

Let us keep reminding ourselves of our vission as a parish: Isang pamayanang naglalakbay na sa Diyos umaasa at sa kapwa ay nagbibigay ng pag-asa. Together, let us live out our parish core values of prayer, sacrifice, hope, compassion, service, and generosity.

Dearest Lady of Hope, pray for us always.

Fr. Raymond Joseph L. Arre