FR. RICK'S DOMAIN at St. Joseph's Church, 242 Wall Street, Kingston, NY 12401 US - San Lorenzo Ruiz

San Lorenzo Ruiz San Lorenzo Ruiz De Manila First Filipino Saint Feast of St. Lornezo Ruiz A message from Rev. Anthony E. McGuire Director of the Office of the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees Celebrant of the Fourth Annual Filipino Apostolate Mass in honor of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila It was both an honor and a delight for me to be with you on the feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz in the great Cathedral of St. Patrick's. I was inspired by the devotion of your community, the beauty of the choir, and the good orders of the liturgy. You are to be congratulated. The Homily of Fr. McGuire Today as we come to the end of the twentieth century we carry a statue of St. Lorenzo Ruiz who lived and died in the seventeenth century into a Cathedral built in the nineteenth century in honor of a saint who lived and died in the fifth century. We hear the Word of God and celebrate the Eucharist given to us in the first century. The World of God, the Eucharist, the saints and this Cathedral help us reach back over the centuries into our collective memories as members of the Catholic Church to remind us of what is the center of our faith and how we are called to live it. In this cathedral built as a sign of faith by poor immigrants, St. Lorenzo Ruiz speaks to us about what is most important in our faith and what God's will is for us to build up the Church of His Son. St. Lorenzo Ruiz was not a great writer or eloquent speaker. He was a poor layman who because of an unjust system had to leave his wife and children and his Filipino homeland and ended up in the hostile territory of Japan. The few words that are recorded are taken from the chronicles of his martyrdom. Among them are these words: "If I had a thousand lives to give, I would give them for my faith." His faith is the same faith in Jesus which is so beautifully written in the second reading today in which St Paul uses a hymn of his day to describe how the Son of God so loved His Father and all of us that He emptied Himself and entered fully into the human condition, into the pain of loneliness and rejection, into suffering and servanthood, even to death as a criminal. But in the midst of all that human suffering Jesus had a heart full of love for which God exalted Him and gave Him a name above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth. Today St. Lorenzo's life and death points us to Jesus and His loving obedience to the Father's will, His triumph over death, His glorious resurrection and His presence with us here today. Today St. Lorenzo Ruiz calls on us to renew our faith in Jesus Who in the Gospel calls on us to do the Father's will as He did it in His life. Here we are today, in the same situation as St. Lorenzo Ruiz, away from family away from homeland, in the same situation as the poor immigrants who built this magnificent cathedral. What is God calling us to do? What is God's will for us? It is the same as God's will for them, to give witness to the presence of the Risen Christ by daily acts of love and service, by daily prayer and devotion, by daily efforts to build up Christ's Church by living lives of integrity and being willing to speak openly of our faith. I remember when I was working in Hong Kong for a few years, there were Filipinas working as amahs in the houses of the Chinese and the expatriots. At the beginning only a few came to the church. They joined the choir, then more came. Then some of the fallen away Catholics, their employers, came. Then some of the non-Catholic children, then their parents came. Each Sunday they would sing a joyful song, a hymn of praise to others of the presence of the Risen Christ. I know that when I felt discouraged or homesick, I was always renewed by their faith and joy. The Gospel tells us of the son who says he will work in the father's vineyard, but does not. That is not the kind of faith which will build up Christ's Church, a faith that is only lip service, a faith that goes through motions, but inside is filled with selfishness and indifference, pleasure-seeking and violence. The faith which will build up Christ's Church is the kind of faith that penetrates the daily life, a faith which expresses itself in love for others, in generous service, in prayer, in concern for the poor. A faith that evangelizes in the informal dialogue of daily life. A faith which is faithful to marriage promises and open to life and love for children. A faith which confronts the idols of possessions, pleasure and pretensions. A faith that is from the heart, warm and loving, willing to sacrifice self for others. As St. Paul says, "Humbly regard others as better than your selves, each looking out not for his own interests but for those of others." On this day when the Risen Lord speaks to us through His Word and feeds us with His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist and sets before us the powerful example of St. Lorenzo Ruiz we pray for a renewal of faith, a desire to built up the Church of Christ by giving witness in a daily way to our faith so that the world will come to believe in Jesus' Name. We remember the words of the Filipino bishops in their 1987 message to migrants and overseas workers: "We exhort you, our Filipino brothers and sister abroad, to live your Christian faith wherever you are. In that way, like St. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, our migrant saint, you are giving witness for Christ before all the world." Launching of Pastoral 'Tree of Life' Foundation: The Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New York has launched an endowment cam-paign called the "Tree of Life" in support of its newly-opened Philippine Pastoral Center on Last 62nd Street in New York City. The projects with full approval of the Archdiocese of New York will giv donors the opportunity to have their names or their departed loved ones, anniversaries or anv significant occasion be engraved and memorialized forever in the Tree of Life. Crafted bv artisans in bronze and Plexiglas~ the Tree of Life -with 2,0O0 leaves - has been installed on the wall of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz at the Philippine Pastoral Center. It will remain there as a lasting tribute and memorial to those whose names are eneraved on its beautiful bronze leaves," said Father Erno Diaz, Archdiocesan coordinator and director of the pastoral center. Alone with the Tree of Life, there is all the "Memorial Rooms" campaign involving the different rooms of the four-story building of the Philippine Pastoral Center to be memorialized for major gift donations. The campaign got an early boost with the pledge of $35,000 from former Sen. Helena Benitez, chairman of the Philippine Women's University (PWU). Dr. Benitez, an avid supporter of the Filipino Apostolate, chose the receiving room of the pastoral center to memorialize her gift of $25,000, and a statue for Birheng Maria, Ina ng Poon at the garden of saints for a gift of $10,000. Dr. Dolly Lasan. PWU chancellor, also pledged $10,000 for one of the retreat rooms. Singer/composer and businessman Jose Marie Chan promised to stage a concert for the benefit of the pastoral center, It' a meeting with Fr. Diaz in Manila early this year, Chan agreed to raise funds for the large meeting room of the pas-toral which he intends to dedicate to Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin. In the Tree of Life, the offering for a bronze leaf bearing your name or personalized message permanently is $600. For an offering of $1,000, your message will be carved on a plaque to be placed near the Tree of Life. And for 53.000, your message will be engraved on a foundation stone placed around the base of the Tree of Life. The Philippine Pastoral Center was established to meet the pas-toral and spiritual needs of the big Filipino community in the Archdiocese of New York by providing them resources in terms of meeting spaces, pastoral programs and apostolate materials that current and future Filipino pastoral workers need to carry out their respective ministry in a more confident and effective way. With initial programs and activities like the 'Couples of Christ, the Charismatic prayer meetings, third Friday of the month all-night vigil, youth and adult recollections, and conferences and clergy support groups. The Center has truly become a 'home' and "spiritual watering hole" to many Filipinos in the area. Fr. Diaz said the formal blessing and dedication of the Center will be on June 13, to coincide with the visit of Bishop Ramon Arguelles, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Immigration of the Philippines, and the national conference of Filipino pastoral workers to be held in New York. A whole-week "open house' to the public will be held immediately after the dedication. For more information about the Tree of Life and the major gift opportunities, call the Pastoral Center at (212) 838-6998. Fr. Erno Diaz at (212)358-9804 or 475-1966, or write to the Filipino Apostolate C/O Rev. Erno Diaz. 239 East 21st Street, New York, New York 10010.

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