Pope Francis Tweet

"This Christmas may we be consistent in living the Gospel, welcoming Jesus into the centre of our lives." - Pope Francis on Twitter today.

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Saint Joseph the Worker Parish - The First Fully Air Conditioned Church in Davao City

Saint Joseph is minutes away from our village. Saint Joseph the Worker Parish is located in Sasa, Davao City. If you want to go there you can just take a public vehicle (Jeepney). You wont have a problem asking directions on Jeepney drivers or taxi driver because the church is well known (well known in the sense that it is "fully air-conditioned).

It is well known of course, because its the first church here in Davao City to be fully air-conditioned. The place is pack with people like I said since it has a air-condition unit the place is cool.

I consider Saint Joseph as one of the nice churches here in Davao. Why? It's a nice church since it's (again fully air-conditioned) it's not located in the busy streets of downtown area. Although if you take a jeep. You have to take a 2 minutes walk to get there (main road to the church).

Schedules of Service

Daily Masses

Monday to Friday at 6:00 am and 5:15 pm

First Friday Mass is at 5:15 pm

Saturday 6:00 am and 5:30 pm

Sunday Masses

6:00 am (Cebuano Mass)                                7:30 am (Cebuano Mass)           9:00 am (English Mass)                                 11:00 am (English Mass)

4:00 pm (Cebuano Mass)                                5:15 pm (English Mass)

2:30 pm (Children's Mass)

Baptism

Registration - Tuesday and Thursday

(8:00 am - 12:00 noon; 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)

Interview - Saturday

Celebration of the Sacrament - Sunday at 10 am

Weddings

Interviews - Saturday

(8:00 am - 12:00 noon; 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)

Pre-Cana-Seminar-Every 1st Saturday and Sunday of the month

Amansibado Wedding - Every last Thursday of the Month at 2:00 pm

Community Wedding - Every Saturday at 6:00 am

Individual Wedding - Wednesday to Saturday

Confessions

Saturday and Sunday 4:00 pm

Sick Call/Blessings

Anytime upon priest's availability

Office Hours

Tuesday to Sunday

(8:00 am - 12 noon; 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)

Monday no Office

Telephone Number 235-1101 or 234-6176

My neighbor had her wedding in this church last October 16, 2013 it cost her 15,000 pesos because it was fully air-conditioned, if you don't want to use the air-condition units and settle for the electric fans it will only cost you 3,600 pesos.

Here are some photos of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish.

December 29, 2013

Captured by: Rodrigo B. Sumuob Jr.

"The newly renovated St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Sasa, Davao City"

My beloved St. Joseph The Worker Parish -- An experienced to reminisced

December 30, 2013

Captured by: Rodrigo B. Sumuob Jr.

As I went home about month 2 years ago, I was able to meet and see the church were I used to serve…The St. Joseph The Worker Parish, Sasa-Pampanga, Davao City. In that church, I became:

• choir member for 3years
•  psalmist until now
• Youth Leader (Pangulo sa Batan-on) in our GKK (BEC) for about 6 years,
• School Lector for about 2 years
• Lector and Commentator in the present
• Teatro ni San Jose up to present

Brief History

This parish is established on the year 1964 with the help of the PME fathers. Presently, It is located at the north part of Davao City where Sasa Port, just 1 km away from the parish and the Davao International Airport (F. Bangoy International Airport) also resides.

It is divided into 9 Zones wherein it stretches from the north of DAMOSA, left part of Lanang, Lanang Beach Club up to Km. 11, Sasa and jump the left part of the Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Highway (La Verna Hills, Buhangin). As to estimate, there are about 100,000 members of that parish and is still increasing.

Development

When I walked in going to St Joseph parish (since from the highway, you need to walk for about 6-10 minutes before you could get there), I really cherished the times when I used to do that routine especially as I run directly to the parish convent for my schedule . As I saw it, I am flabbergasted with the amazing beauty of the parish. It has improved a lot from the time I left Davao City on the year 2008.

Unexpectedly, I saw from the Fr. Godbout Center (Near the parish building and the venue for the yearly activities of the church) that the Teatro ni San Jose are preparing for the youth night. I had a good talk with them especially that some members where my comrades in the Lectors and Commentators. I heard from them that the parish had been so active with regards to ecumenism talk since some communities of our parish have Muslim inhabitants. The Parish according from them had organized various activities by clustering the GKK (BECs) to small ones in order to accommodate the spiritual needs of each family. They also shared to me that the parish installed air condition units and is the first in Davao to make a Catholic Parish be air conditioned, where I personally saw that outstanding development.

I am very thankful that because of this parish, my doubting years is gone and also to the leaders and workers of the parish that helped me mold my faith to become strong and effective.

Misa de Galeo in the Philippines

The Misa de Gallo or Mass of the Rooster is celebrated only in the Philippnes now and nowhere else in the world., Msgr. Esteban Binghay, Cebu episcopal vicar.

“Only the Philippines continues to practice the Misa de Gallo. Although there are novena Masses for Christmas in Rome, they are not conducted at dawn. The Misa de Gallo is not even practiced in Spain.

The Misa de Gallo dates back to the 17th century when missionary priests offered dawn Masses to allow farmers to go to church before tilling their fields.

Over the years, the beloved tradition has become associated with cool dawn weather, and snacks of hot chocolate and “puto” after church.

The Misa de Gallo is celebrated to honor the Virgin Mary and to spiritually prepare the faithful for the birthday of Jesus.

Many mistakenly call it Simbang Gabi, which actually refers to the evening or midnight Mass on Dec. 24.

First Dawn Mass: An experienced

I woke up around 2:00 AM in the morning since it’s First Day of Misa De Galeo, expecting that there would be few people to attend the mass. I,  and my mother went to the church and arrived around 2:30 AM. I was shocked when I saw there are many parishioners.

Last year, during 3:00 AM, you can't see vacant seats and all you can find are people carrying their own chairs and laid them on the aisle. But now, it took around 1:30 AM before the crowd of people started. But different from last year, yeah there are many people attended the mass this dawn but not as few as last year.

I wonder why. I heard from the other people that if you completed the mass then you can make a wish and it will come true. I realized how many percent (%) of the people who attended the mass this morning thinking that way. Does that mean also that the increase of number of people attending the mass this year compared to last year.

MISA DE GALEO @ St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Sasa

The St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church, Sasa, Davao City celebrated the Misa de Galeo with the two (2) schedules, 3:00am and 4:30am. They make a "PAINITAN SA PAROKYA" for the parishioners who wants to buy "kakanin" after the dawn mass celebration.

The archdiocese of Davao wrote a letter to the parish priest to announce the suggested offering for the victims of BAGYONG YOLANDA.

Catholic Faith: explained

4 More Reasons for the Importance of the Church

As if the gospel and the very nature of God weren’t important enough, Allison goes on to add even more reasons for the significance of the church.

1. God’s Planned People

The church is not an afterthought in God’s eternal plan, something he tacked on when he realized that his original plan had failed in the garden. From all eternity, God knew that he would established his redeemed community in Christ. And if the church was part of God’s plan from all eternity, it’s probably worth paying attention to.

2. Christ and the Church

At the end of the ages, when the Father exalts the Son above all power and authority, he will give him “to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). That’s a pretty amazing statement because it means that God has decided in his eternal plan that the church will be a necessary part of the Son’s exaltation forever. I’m sure he didn’t have to do it that way, but he did. Christ and his body forever. That’s the plan.

3. The Church and the Revelation of God

God also decided to reveal himself through the church. I’m sure he has really good reasons for this, though I look at myself an my fellow believers on Sunday morning and wonder why he chose to use goofy, broken people like us to manifest his awesome glory. But he did. And he does (Eph. 3:10).

4. The Prophesied Role of the Church

Allison’s last reason for emphasizing the importance of the church are the amazing prophecies that we find in the Bible regarding the church. According to Jesus, he’s going to build a church that even the gates of hell can’t prevail against (Mt. 16:18). Elsewhere Jesus ranks the promise that his people would take the gospel to all nations right alongside his death and resurrection (Lk 24:44-49). And, of course, these promises continue in the Acts narrative as we see the church taking on its prophesied role in the eternal plan of God.

Doctrine of the Church

            The Catholic Church is a single, unified, visible society, instituted by Jesus Christ in order to carry on His saving mission after His Ascension into heaven. Thus, the Church is endowed by Our Lord with everything necessary to accomplish this mission. First, Jesus gave the Church the authority to teach in his name, thus guaranteeing the truth of Her teaching. Second, he gave Her, in the Mass and the Sacraments, the means to sanctify men and draw them closer to God. Third, he gave Her the authority to rule and govern all men in those matters which pertain to salvation.

           These powers were given by Jesus not to all the members of the Church individually, but rather to certain men, the Apostles, whom He chose especially to rule His Church. The apostles were united under the supreme authority of Simon Peter, whom Jesus chose to be the visible head of the Church on earth. The Apostles and their successors, the bishops, united under Peter and his successors, the Popes, have exercised this authority continuously since the time of Christ.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Sasa,  Davao City