I got lots of reports about in on Facebook, and read the news on my phone, so just so I was able to report it:
VIVA SAN PEDRO CALUNGSOD NG CEBU!!!
PRAYER TO THE NEW SAINT
Blessed Pedro Calungsod,
Young migrant, student, catechist,
missionary, faithful friend, martyr,
you inspire us by your fidelity in times of adversity,
by your courage in teaching the faith in the midst of hostility,
and by your love in shedding your blood for the sake of the Gospel.
Make our troubles your own (here mention your request),
and intercede for us before the throne of Mercy and Grace
so that as we experience the help of heaven we may be encouraged
to proclaim and live the Gospel here on earth.
***
A little trivia for you folks:
Did you know that the model for the beatification icon of Blessed Pedro Calungsod was a not so well-known college athlete (back then, duh!) named RONALD TUBID? Incidentally, Tubid is from Iloilo, a Visayan like our new saint.
Yup that' his face below folks.
And here are some comparison shots for you folks.
Here are articles in the Internet about this: here and here and here:
Now there are a lot of dumb discussion about this choice for Tubid. One anti-Catholic writer writes: 'So when Catholics bow down and kneel before the statue of Calungsod, who are Catholics worshipping, Calungsod or Tubid?"
Ugh!
First, we, Catholics, do not worship saints! We ONLY WORSHIP God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Second, we, Catholics, pray to saints to ask them to pray for us much like what Bible totting Evangelicals ask their pastors to pray for them and lay hands on them during the altar call.
Thirdly, we, Catholics, will PRAY and TALK to Pedro Calungsod who is in Heaven, as attested by the miracles he brought to people who asked for his intercession, miracles HE PRAYED TO GOD for us who are here on earth still 'working out our salvation with fear and trembling." When we look at the image, we see Pedro Calungsod, the young Visayan boy, catechist, martyr and SAINT. We do not see Ronald Tubid the basketball player. We will not talk to Ronald Tubid the basketball player. We will NOT pray to Ronald Tubid the basketball player. We will pray FOR Tubid instead.
Once when the beatification of Blessed Pedro was still fresh, Eliseo Soriano said that the church is asking it's faithfuls to worship a "new God". It was actually from him (unfortunately) that I first heard that the model for the image of Blessed Pedro was taken from a college student, After saying that Mr.Soriano made a silly rhetoric that what if the student (Ronald Tubid) was a womanizer, we Catholics would be "adoring" a womanizer. I know that this kind of statement is laughable, but the common Filipino would actually BUY IT. Somebody suggest a wise answer if this kind of argument be heard again.
ReplyDeleteBlessed Pedro Calungsod. Pray for us!
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DeleteI bet you Little Tarcisius that Eli Soriano is "drooling" over male college basketball players.
DeleteI know that this kind of reasoning is laughable just as the Church of Eli Soriano is laughable. Use the same reason as I gave you and if that would still not work, turn the tables and ask them this question:
"In Cebu, who is the face of the statue of Lapu-lapu? How sure are we that that is the face of Lapu-lapu. We may not be worshiping him, but the entire country is honoring an unknown man who might have been..."
Eli drooling over basketball players? Oy ha, that's tsismis. Though I'v heart this "tsismis" a lot of times already. Though I heard Soriano preach that homosexual desires are natural.
ReplyDelete