What you need to know...
Our Lady of Grace Parish, is located in Ireneville 1 Subdivision in Sucat, Parañaque City, where it acts as a uniting force for the different villages surrounding it. The parish is a member of the Dioceses of Parañaque, who is headed by Bishop Jesse Mercado. The resident priest is Msgr. Benedicto S. Aquino, who has routinely presided masses every 6:00 am. He actively invites the residents of the villages to participate in the celebrations of the community. To strengthen the bond that the parish it has recently made vision & mission statements, which they hope would “tear down the walls” that divide each village. There are a total of five of villages in the parish. Each has their respective territory, their own rules and their own set of officers. The parish converges each of the villages’ individualism and reminds us that we are one communion. The vision states that
“We the parishioners of our Lady of Grace envision ourselves as one communion of diverse communities, embracing & living the life, teachings & mission of the Lord Jesus in building God’s kingdom, constantly renewed by the Holy Spirit & accompanied by our Lady of Grace.”
The parish’s mission states that
“With the constant renewal of the Holy Spirit & through the intercession of Our Lady of Grace & cognizant of our diversities we unite & commit ourselves to:
- Revive and sustain the Basic Ecclesial Communities
- Respond the needs of the community especially the materially and spiritually poor
- Mainstream the family and the youth in the parish community building
- Strengthen and intensify, faith and prayer life development in continued formation and education for all parishioners
The Our Lady of Grace parish has various ministries which the parishioners, especially the youth, can participate. The Parish Youth Ministry, who serves in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the major events in the Christian calendar. Last Lent, the youth ministry has performed a “senakulo”, which dramatizes the series of events of the passion of Jesus Christ around the villages. The Parish Youth Choir, which specializes in leading the whole community in a harmonious atmosphere of praise to the Lord in song. Ministry of Altar Servers, are composed of enthusiastic young men who want to server the Lord by being an altar server.
The parish is composed of 9 different villages, including my village (Jackielouville). Our Lady of Grace parish also celebrates the Holy Eucharist at least once a day. Every first Saturday of the month, a procession at five in the morning before the first mass of the day, the second mass is held at and six in the evening. Every Sunday there about six masses are held three at “The Our Lady of Grace Parish” and three are at Seacom Chapel, Shopwise near Santana Groove and Parañaque Medical Center. The church offers all the seven sacraments, guidance and counselling and special blessings. Novenas are held every day, every Monday to St. Lorenzo Ruiz & Blessed Pedro Calungsod; Tuesday to St. Anthony de Padua & St. John Vianney; Wednesday to Our Mother of Perpetual Help; Thursday to St. Jude Thaddeus; Friday to Sacred Heart of Jesus & Santo Niño de Cebu and every Saturday to Our Lady of Grace.
The church also offers scholarship to its parishioners, so that they can go to school. They also offer relief goods to parish and neighbouring parishes.
In this parish, I felt that my relationship has been a roller coaster. I go there to mass, and then I don't. Our lady of grace is the first parish I attended mass to when I first moved from Pasig. It was the nearest church in the area, so we regularly went to mass there. I didn't join the ministry because I didn't know I could. I wasn't at all active at the church. I was not part of any ministry in the mass.
There was a priest there, who gave comedic sermons, which made us attend that certain mass every Sunday despite the mass being in Filipino. We only stayed for a year in that village, since we had our house built in another village. By the time we moved out, we found another church a bit far from where we lived now but the priest gave sermons with a PowerPoint, which made the gospel easy to live by. As for the "Our Lady of Grace Parish" (OLGP), we didn't go there as often as we used to unless they had processions.
A year had pass and we found another church, Jesus the Divine Healer (JDHP), it was right next door to our village. In that church, they had masses that weren’t too early or too late which was in English. From that time on we attended that church's service every Sunday. In this church, there were children's mass, where the children were serving. I saw some of my batchmates, serving at that time. At that time, I wanted to join the choir too. I was inspired by my friends on how fun it is in the choir. I remember her telling about the people had met and their amazing voices. On how being in the choir, I could practice my singing. I was already in the choir in school and we also sang at masses. But at that time, I was already 15 years old and I was going to join the children's choir. So I also asked my sisters to join so that we could have more time together. Since I was third year at that time, there was a possibility that I wouldn't be at home all the time when I start college. Another reason why I wanted to join was that I could give back to God what He gave to me. In one gospel, it was not enough to keep the talent for myself; I have to share it so that it can multiply. I finally volunteered to the children's choir in that village. During practices, I didn't have as much training as I expected because there was no voicing only the melody. The songs were easy so that the kids could follow. I still had fun, with the kids and my sisters.
Little by little, I was indifferent to my old parish. I didn’t bother to go back; I couldn’t find a good enough reason. When I still participated mass at OLGP I noticed that only people older than me were serving and I didn’t of serving in the church as much. The only time that I went back to my parish was through this Church Service. It was easier to walk to OLGP and I belonged to in their jurisdiction. I also feared that JDHP wouldn’t allow my services to have credit because I belonged to another parish.
It felt strange going back, I felt like I was a stranger to my own parish. I never felt that I belonged there. Through the church service I met more people, who had been working in the parish for many years. I was assigned to be a collector or a collectera, as my supervisor, Ms. Fely would call us. Again I felt that I was not welcome, in some ways they treat me like an alien to this community. Besides the fact that I was the only teenage collector, the way they talk to me it seemed that they don’t like me at all. The longer I stayed with the collecteras, I was slowly being accepted as a member of their church. At times I still feel, that I am an outsider from this community. But whenever I hold the collector’s basket or sit with the collecteras I am reminded that I am part of it.
Today I am currently a member of the teen’s choir at JDHP and I was recently invited by Ms. Fely to serve every Sunday as a collector in the afternoon mass.
Thank You Technology
Me and my Parish
In this parish, I felt that my relationship has been a roller coaster. I go there to mass, and then I don't. Our lady of grace is the first parish I attended mass to when I first moved from Pasig. It was the nearest church in the area, so we regularly went to mass there. I didn't join the ministry because I didn't know I could. I wasn't at all active at the church. I was not part of any ministry in the mass.
There was a priest there, who gave comedic sermons, which made us attend that certain mass every Sunday despite the mass being in Filipino. We only stayed for a year in that village, since we had our house built in another village. By the time we moved out, we found another church a bit far from where we lived now but the priest gave sermons with a PowerPoint, which made the gospel easy to live by. As for the "Our Lady of Grace Parish" (OLGP), we didn't go there as often as we used to unless they had processions.
A year had pass and we found another church, Jesus the Divine Healer (JDHP), it was right next door to our village. In that church, they had masses that weren’t too early or too late which was in English. From that time on we attended that church's service every Sunday. In this church, there were children's mass, where the children were serving. I saw some of my batchmates, serving at that time. At that time, I wanted to join the choir too. I was inspired by my friends on how fun it is in the choir. I remember her telling about the people had met and their amazing voices. On how being in the choir, I could practice my singing. I was already in the choir in school and we also sang at masses. But at that time, I was already 15 years old and I was going to join the children's choir. So I also asked my sisters to join so that we could have more time together. Since I was third year at that time, there was a possibility that I wouldn't be at home all the time when I start college. Another reason why I wanted to join was that I could give back to God what He gave to me. In one gospel, it was not enough to keep the talent for myself; I have to share it so that it can multiply. I finally volunteered to the children's choir in that village. During practices, I didn't have as much training as I expected because there was no voicing only the melody. The songs were easy so that the kids could follow. I still had fun, with the kids and my sisters.
Little by little, I was indifferent to my old parish. I didn’t bother to go back; I couldn’t find a good enough reason. When I still participated mass at OLGP I noticed that only people older than me were serving and I didn’t of serving in the church as much. The only time that I went back to my parish was through this Church Service. It was easier to walk to OLGP and I belonged to in their jurisdiction. I also feared that JDHP wouldn’t allow my services to have credit because I belonged to another parish.
It felt strange going back, I felt like I was a stranger to my own parish. I never felt that I belonged there. Through the church service I met more people, who had been working in the parish for many years. I was assigned to be a collector or a collectera, as my supervisor, Ms. Fely would call us. Again I felt that I was not welcome, in some ways they treat me like an alien to this community. Besides the fact that I was the only teenage collector, the way they talk to me it seemed that they don’t like me at all. The longer I stayed with the collecteras, I was slowly being accepted as a member of their church. At times I still feel, that I am an outsider from this community. But whenever I hold the collector’s basket or sit with the collecteras I am reminded that I am part of it.
Today I am currently a member of the teen’s choir at JDHP and I was recently invited by Ms. Fely to serve every Sunday as a collector in the afternoon mass.
