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Prayer to
Blessed Pedro Calungsod
Almighty God,
by whose gift Blessed Pedro the Martyr witnessed to
the Gospel,
even to the shedding of this blood:
grant, by his example and intercession,
that we too may live for you,
boldly, steadfastly, confessing your name
through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
 From
the Homily of His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin
February 17, 2000
Manila Cathedral, Intramuros
On the Ocassion of the Centenary of the Nunciature
It is only fitting that I include in this homily
a fervent act of thanksgiving to our Holy Father for
the singular gift, given to the Church and to all
the people of our country, in the coming beatification
of the Visayan young martyr, Pedro Calungsod.
This great event will be held at St. Peter's plaza
on Sunday, the fifth of March. For the history of
Catholicism in our country, it will be a major event:
a day to remember. It has extraordinary significance
for the Filipino people, in this Year of Jubilee.
The world today focuses on stars: movie stars, showbiz
stars, pop-music stars, basketball stars. Young people
here and abroad avidly follow the lives, the romances,
the concerts, of these "highly visible"
people, - usually rather young people. We need to
bring before the eyes of our youth the "true
stars" of life: the "stars" of our
faith. Youth who have faith in their hearts, or who
long for "things of the spirit," young people
with goodness and idealism within their souls, look
for the "higher stars, the brighter stars"
in the firmament of the true life, the life of God.
Pedro Calungsod's star will now shine brightly in
our Philippine skies, - even in our Asian skies. In
an age when faith is being eclipsed by materialism,
consumerism, the call for instant gratification and
excitement, Pedro Calungsod's death speaks of conviction,
commitment, the gift of self, unto the end. In an
age of shifting values, of rootlessness of mind and
heart, Pedro Calungsod's mission and martyrdom speak
of a life rooted in God's gift of faith and abiding
hope.
Teenagers today tell us there is nothing left to
live for, nothing left to die for. Pedro Calungsod
tells them: "I was a teen-ager when I left home
and loved ones, left security and ease, to labor for
Christ, to undergo hardships for his Gospel, and on
a distant beach in Guam, to lay down my life, loving
Jesus, seeking only the glory of God."
Holy Father, you have called the Third Millennium
"the Asian millennium." The millennium when
we, Christians of Asia, Christians of the Philippines,
must proclaim the name of Jesus to nearly four billion
Asians who have not yet encountered Jesus.
Holy Father, in World Youth Day 1995 you flung this
challenge above all to the youth of Asia, to the youth
of the Philippines. From your lips we heard the cry,
"Go forth, go and tell the world of God's love!
Go, make Jesus shine, shine in every corner of our
earth!" And now you have given us, not the challenge
only, but the living symbol, the living young person
who embodies this challenge for our youth: Pedro Calungsod,
"bisayo," our new blessed, the "new
star of our faith" who calls the young today
to follow him, to give their all for Jesus. What a
wonderful gift you give us, Holy Father! How grateful
we are, to you, for this high point of the Jubilee
Year.
Holy
Father's Homily for Beatification of Pedro Calungsod
and 43 Beati,
St. Peter's Square, Vatican, March 5, 2000.
Reflection
on Pedro Calungsod by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo,
President of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the
Philippines and Archbishop of Cotabato
 
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