Santisimo Rosario Church parish priest called on the Thomasian community on Thursday, Oct. 22, to combine the promises of the holy rosary with actions that would lead to reflection and “personal conversion.”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that we just prayed the rosary and that’s it,” Rev. Fr. Paul Raegan Talavera, O.P.  said in a three-day webinar on the holy rosary in the modern age. 

According to Talavera, the 15 promises of the Holy Rosary made by the Blessed Mother which was revealed through St. Dominic, and later to Blessed Alan dela Roche, should guide people to a holier life. 

He also reminded the Thomasian community that the graces from the promises should not be taken literally and will only be granted if it is subject to God’s perfect will. 

“We trust in God’s eternal wisdom but what he gives us is what will benefit us,” Talavera said.

“Palaging may ganon, kasi bakit naman ibibigay ng Diyos ‘yan kahit gusto mo ‘yan kung makakasama naman sayo, diba?” he added.

Talavera was solemnly installed as the 15th parish priest of the Santisimo Rosario Church on June 5, 2019. He replaced Rev. Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P., who served the parish for three years.

The webinar titled, E-PAXUSAPAN:The Rosary and Its Significance in the Modern Age was spearheaded by UST Pax Romana – Faculty of Arts and Letters in commemoration of the memorial of St. John Paul II and the month of the Holy Rosary. 

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The College of Tourism and Hospitality Management regent urged Thomasians on Tuesday, Oct. 21, to pray the rosary to overcome the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“[D]uring this time of [the] pandemic, this is also true to all of us that we can use it as a way to overcome whatever challenges that we have on this present moment,” Rev. Fr. Roland Mactal, O.P. said in a webinar on the rosary in the modern age.

Fr. Mactal, who is also the Promoter General of the Holy Rosary of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, recalled how Dominicans used the prayer of the rosary during the spread of heresy in the Catholic church. 

According to him, praying the rosary must center on meditating on its mysteries as these constitute the “life, death, resurrection, and luminous mystery of our Lord.” 

Mactal also encouraged Thomasians to have their families engaged in the pursuit of peace through the “prayer of and for the family.”

“I hope you encourage your brothers and sisters, your siblings, parents, while you pray this pious devotion,” he said.

The webinar titled “E-PAXUsapan with the theme: The Rosary and its Significance in the Modern Age” was spearheaded by UST Pax Romana Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) unit, headed by the organization’s president Charles Aldrin A. Delgado, and adviser Asst. Professor Chito M. Sawit, Ph.D., in celebration of the month of the Holy rosary.

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Dominican Prior Provincial Very Rev. Fr. Napoleon B. Sipalay, Jr., O.P. urged Thomasians to take Lenten season as the way to go back to God and practice self-discipline.

“The very question I believe [that] is important to ask now is, ‘Why are you here? Not in UST alone but why are you here in this life?’” the University’s Vice Chancellor posed the question during the Ash Wednesday mass at the Plaza Mayor on Feb. 26, 2020.

He explained that the cycle of one’s journey is coming from God, going to His side, and returning to Him despite many diversions along the way.

“When we receive the discipline of Lent, we are reminded of our mortality. We are reminded that we are for Christ, and we return to Him.” Sipalay said.

He encouraged everyone to pray for the weapon of self restraint—fasting, abstinence, and alms giving.

“When we say fast, we don’t eat not only to remember Christ [but also] to heighten our senses [and] to be very aware…Sometimes we fast with food. We fast on something that is very good and needed by our body,” Sipalay said.

“If you can say no to those things, maybe you can start to say no also to things that bring us away from God—bad habits, laziness, maybe gossiping, sinful pleasures,” he added.

Self-discipline, according to Sipalay, may be difficult but it only serves as a preparation for the greatest celebration, as observed in the Holy Week towards the end of Easter Sunday.

“I hope when that Holy Week would come [and] that Easter Sunday would come to us [which is] a new life, amidst all the challenges we have, and I hope we don’t lose track,” Sipalay said.

“We have different ways to follow the Lord, but we have only one destination in his love, so we start that this Ash Wednesday,” he added.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season, a 40-day period of fasting, penance, and abstinence before the celebration of Easter Sunday. 

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