Date:
11/26/2004
Rambak Kristo Ari
The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia celebrated Rambak Kristo Ari (the Feast of Christ The King) last November 21, 2004 in the Parish of St. Lucy in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur. The said feast is celebrated in the entire Archdiocese through a rotation system where each parish gets its chance once approximately every forty (40) years. This year, the honor was bestowed on the Parish of St. Lucy in Narvacan. Last year it was celebrated in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur. Next year it will be in Santiago, Ilocos Sur.
Elsewhere, La Union celebrated the Feast of Christ the King in Sto. Tomas led by Diocesan Administrator Samuel Banayat and Sto. Tomas Parish Priest, Fr. Raul Panay. In Ilocos Norte, the celebration was held in Dingras, Ilocos Norte led by Bishop Ernesto Salgado and its Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Rodolfo Nicolas.
To us Minor Seminarians of yesteryears and I suppose even today, the celebration was a big day in our annual calendars. For one, it meant, “stomach progress”, i.e. we would be fed with food that is different from the seminary fare. For other reasons, we would be given the chance to meet other people, particularly, the girls. Aminin! Some of us though would insist that they looked forward to the Feast for what it stood for, the Feast of Christ The King. O sigue na nga!
Today, the Minor Seminarians were still in attendance. So were the seminarians of the Immaculate Conception School of Theology. Some traditions never change.
Spearheading the celebration was the Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, Msgr. Edmundo Abaya who gave a 45-minute sermon.
The Parish Priest of St. Lucy, Msgr. Vet Avila and his Assistant Parish Priests Father Gerry Antolin and Father Melchor Reonal (see previous article on Fr. Reonal elsewhere in the News & Updates page in relation to his ordination) spared no effort in making this celebration a howling success. In fact, the Sunday concelebrated mass was a culmination of a month-long flurry of activities. The celebration started on November 4 and 5 with First Communion activities followed by Healing (Nov 6 & 9), Women Religious Organizations Day (Nov 7), Mass Wedding (Nov 8), Womens Civic Organizations (Nov 10), Fishermen, Farmers, Laborers’ Day (Nov 11), Government Officials’ Day (Nov 12), Family Day (Nov 13), Pastoral Leaders’ Day (Nov 14), Elementary Pupils’ Day (Nov 15), Acolytes’ Day (Nov 16), Sisa and Bible Apostolate Day (Nov 17), Barangay Tanod Day (Nov 18), High School Students’ Day (Nov 19) and Youth Day (Nov 20).
The culminating event was the concelebrated Mass on the 21st. The Mass was followed by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the main streets of Narvacan. The procession ended right where it started, at the makeshift altar in front of the Church. It was then followed by prayers led by both religious and lay leaders, the last word of which was given by Apo Mundo. Fr. Vet gave a straight-from-the-heart acknowledgment of everybody who helped in the successful staging of the month-long event. A 15-minute firework display capped the ceremony. After which it was . . . how did I describe it ? . . . stomach progress all over again.
We went to bed at 5am the following day with all the celebration going on. Everybody was tired, happily tired, but who cares? The jubilation that the celebration gave was a lot better than all the opiate materials in the world.
To Apo Vet, Apo Gerry and Apo Melchor, congratulations on a job well done! You have our utmost admiration and respect! See you in another forty (40) years! (Celebrating the Rambak Kristo Ari, that is!)
We are also inviting you to visit the website of the parish - http://www.stlucynarvacan.com.
Pictures show the makeshift altar in front of the beautiful St. Lucy Church with Apo Abaya, Avila and Mercado as main celebrants. The next pictures show the right and left side of the altar with the rest of the clergy of Nueva Segovia as concelebrators, Apo Mundo, Apo Vet, Apo Gerry (picture to follow) and Apo Melchor. (Notice their brand new vestments which were specially made for this occasion.) The final picture is the start of the procession.
Elsewhere, La Union celebrated the Feast of Christ the King in Sto. Tomas led by Diocesan Administrator Samuel Banayat and Sto. Tomas Parish Priest, Fr. Raul Panay. In Ilocos Norte, the celebration was held in Dingras, Ilocos Norte led by Bishop Ernesto Salgado and its Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Rodolfo Nicolas.
To us Minor Seminarians of yesteryears and I suppose even today, the celebration was a big day in our annual calendars. For one, it meant, “stomach progress”, i.e. we would be fed with food that is different from the seminary fare. For other reasons, we would be given the chance to meet other people, particularly, the girls. Aminin! Some of us though would insist that they looked forward to the Feast for what it stood for, the Feast of Christ The King. O sigue na nga!
Today, the Minor Seminarians were still in attendance. So were the seminarians of the Immaculate Conception School of Theology. Some traditions never change.
Spearheading the celebration was the Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, Msgr. Edmundo Abaya who gave a 45-minute sermon.
The Parish Priest of St. Lucy, Msgr. Vet Avila and his Assistant Parish Priests Father Gerry Antolin and Father Melchor Reonal (see previous article on Fr. Reonal elsewhere in the News & Updates page in relation to his ordination) spared no effort in making this celebration a howling success. In fact, the Sunday concelebrated mass was a culmination of a month-long flurry of activities. The celebration started on November 4 and 5 with First Communion activities followed by Healing (Nov 6 & 9), Women Religious Organizations Day (Nov 7), Mass Wedding (Nov 8), Womens Civic Organizations (Nov 10), Fishermen, Farmers, Laborers’ Day (Nov 11), Government Officials’ Day (Nov 12), Family Day (Nov 13), Pastoral Leaders’ Day (Nov 14), Elementary Pupils’ Day (Nov 15), Acolytes’ Day (Nov 16), Sisa and Bible Apostolate Day (Nov 17), Barangay Tanod Day (Nov 18), High School Students’ Day (Nov 19) and Youth Day (Nov 20).
The culminating event was the concelebrated Mass on the 21st. The Mass was followed by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the main streets of Narvacan. The procession ended right where it started, at the makeshift altar in front of the Church. It was then followed by prayers led by both religious and lay leaders, the last word of which was given by Apo Mundo. Fr. Vet gave a straight-from-the-heart acknowledgment of everybody who helped in the successful staging of the month-long event. A 15-minute firework display capped the ceremony. After which it was . . . how did I describe it ? . . . stomach progress all over again.
We went to bed at 5am the following day with all the celebration going on. Everybody was tired, happily tired, but who cares? The jubilation that the celebration gave was a lot better than all the opiate materials in the world.
To Apo Vet, Apo Gerry and Apo Melchor, congratulations on a job well done! You have our utmost admiration and respect! See you in another forty (40) years! (Celebrating the Rambak Kristo Ari, that is!)
We are also inviting you to visit the website of the parish - http://www.stlucynarvacan.com.
Pictures show the makeshift altar in front of the beautiful St. Lucy Church with Apo Abaya, Avila and Mercado as main celebrants. The next pictures show the right and left side of the altar with the rest of the clergy of Nueva Segovia as concelebrators, Apo Mundo, Apo Vet, Apo Gerry (picture to follow) and Apo Melchor. (Notice their brand new vestments which were specially made for this occasion.) The final picture is the start of the procession.
Posted
By: Nandy Yasay