We wish to invite you to the following Lenten activities in our parish:

• Stations of the Cross inside the church every Friday of Lent every after 6:00 PM mass

• Confessions every Wednesday and Friday starting at 5:45 PM, during and after the mass as needed during the entire Season of Lent.

• Lenten Recollection at the St. Paul Hall on March 30, Friday, 7:30 PM with the theme “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” Hebrews 10:24

Our speaker will be Rev. Fr. Nelson “Osong” C. Orqueta, our new Parish Priest.

• Kumpisalang Bayan on March 31, Saturday at 7:30 PM

• and a Procession and Blessing of Palms at 6:30 AM on April 1, Palm Sunday,  from Pansol Plaza to the church parking lot. Please be advised that the blessing of palms will be done only during the start of the mass.

Christ sacrificed himself for the redemption of mankind.  During this Lenten Season, we are inviting you, especially our parishioners, to make a sacrifice to make your Lenten Season more meaningful this year  for the benefit of the poor. Just by doing small sacrifices each day of Lent, you can feed and give home to the poor. Alay-Kapwa letters are available on the table at the main entrance of the church. The offering from your lenten sacrifice will go to the Pabahay ng Diocese Program for the workers of the Parish/Diocese of Cubao.

Thank you!

A. Summary of pledges and commitment by type of pledges   as of month end.

B. Number of response  offerors  by area as of month end.

Total 1,151

C. Total amount of Balik-Alay offerings for Stewardship of Treasure

We wish to invite you to the following Lenten activities in our parish:

• Stations of the Cross inside the church every Friday of Lent every after 6:00 PM mass

• Confessions every Wednesday and Friday starting at 5:45 PM, during and after the mass as needed during the entire Season of Lent.

• Lenten Recollection at the St. Paul Hall on March 30, Friday, 7:30 PM with the theme “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.” Heb. 10:24

Our speaker will be Rev. Fr. Nelson “Osong” C. Orqueta, our new Parish Priest.

• and a Kumpisalang Bayan on March 31, Saturday at 7:30 PM

Christ sacrificed himself for the redemption of mankind.  During this Lenten Season, we are inviting you, especially our parishioners, to make a sacrifice to make your Lenten Season more meaningful this year  for the benefit of the poor. Just by doing small sacrifices each day of Lent, we can feed and give home to the poor. Letters to this effect are available on top of the table at the main entrance of the church. The offering from our lenten sacrifice will go to the Pabahay ng Diocese Program for the workers of the Parish/Diocese of Cubao.

** February 22, Ash Wednesday, is the start of the Lenten Season. Our schedule of masses on that day will be at 6:00 AM, 12:00 Noon, 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Imposition of ashes will be done in all masses during that day.  And starting Friday after this activity and every Friday thereafter until March 30, we will have the Stations of the Cross at the Main Church every after 6:00 PM mass.

** We wish to inform you that we were able to collect the total amount of P 102,813.50 and US $9 in the 2nd collection last Saturday and Sunday for the victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Negros and Cebu.  MARAMING, MARAMING SALAMAT po sa walang sawang pagtulong!!!  The Treasury Office of our Diocese will turn this over to the respective Dioceses of the affected areas.

** May we read a personal letter from our parish priest, Fr. Manny, inviting us to make our Lenten Season more meaningful this year.

View letter in English

View letter in Filipino

Just by doing small sacrifices each day during Lent, you can feed and give homes to the poor.

The money you save by sacrificing one can of soft drink for a day can buy a poor family 2 cans of sardines for their meal.  A cup of signature coffee can buy a family 3 kilos of rice that may feed them for 3 days.  If 40 people can give up a fast-food meal for one day, it can buy a family 1 square meter of land for a house they have been praying to have. And if 1000 people can do this for just one day, they can give a house to a homeless family.

My dear parishioners, personal sacrifice is the most concrete way to experience Lent and be united with Christ’s suffering. I don’t ask for big sacrifices, only those that you are willing to do wholeheartedly, to share in the passion of Christ. And as we share in Christ’s pain, we will also experience the joy of His resurrection as we see how our small sacrifices can touch and transform the lives of the poor.

To help you get started here’s an example of how you can plan a week:

You can use the calendar at the back to record your personal sacrifices each day. Add up your savings at the end of 45 days and enclose your offering in the attached  envelope. You can bring your offering to the Holy Mass at the Sta. Maria Della Strada Parish on Holy Thursday or Easter  Sunday.  You can also drop them at the Parish Office from Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday.*

Thank you for your personal sacrifice.  However small it is, it will touch and improve the lives of others.  May God bless you!

Fr. Manny Sarez

SMDS Parish Priest

*Proceeds will go to the Pabahay ng Diocese Program for the workers of the Parish/Diocese of Cubao.

“This, rather, is the fasting I wish: releasing those bound unjustly…setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.” - Isaiah 58: 6-7

How will you spend Lent and Holy Week this year?

A. Summary of pledges and commitment by type of pledges   as of month end.

B. Number of response  offerors  by area as of month end.

Total 1,064

C. Total amount of Balik-alay offerings for Stewardship of Treasure

We praise and thank the good Lord for your generosity.

“God loves a cheerful giver”    2 Corinthians  9:7

** February 22, Ash Wednesday, is the start of the Lenten Season. Our schedule of masses on that day will be at 6:00 AM, 12:00 Noon, 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Imposition of ashes will be done in all masses during that day.

In this regard, we would like to seek your help by way of donating your old palms for burning into ashes. Please send in your palms to the Parish Office no later than February 19.

** The Parish Health Program Ministry will conduct a free clinic on Sunday, February 19, 2012.  Registration starts at 7:30 AM and consultations follow immediately until 12:00 Noon.

This service is made possible through the kindness of our regular benefactors, our Balik-Alay Program donors, and the doctors who have offered their services at no cost.

Let us continue to support this program to be able to reach out to more of our less fortunate.

** There will be a 2nd collection today after communion. The purpose of this is to aid the victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Negros and Cebu.

This gesture of solidarity will certainly bring hope to the victims of the devastating earthquake.  Let’s pray for those who have perished, for the injured and for the displaced.

Whatever amount is collected will be turned over by the Treasury Office of the Diocese of Cubao to the affected Dioceses.

Thank you!

** February 22, Ash Wednesday, is the start of the Lenten Season. Our schedule of masses on that day will be at 6:00 AM, 12:00 Noon, 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Imposition of ashes will be done in all masses during that day.

In this regard, we would like to seek your help by way of donating your old palms.  Please send in your palms to the Parish Office for burning into ashes no later than February 19.