Back to the future

“Introibo ad altare Dei.”

“I will go unto the Altar of God” will signal the beginning of the Mass in St. Jerome to be celebrated according to the Rite of the Missale Romanum issued in 1962. This will be the first time the TLM will be publicly celebrated in St. Jerome in almost 40 years.

Parish priest Rev. Fr. Germanetto Grato has willingly received the petition of a group of faithful for the public celebration of the Tridentine rite every Sunday at 9:30 A.M. starting June 29, 2008, the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul. St. Jerome Church is conveniently located at the Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa City.

What to expect

Some pertinent [edited] notes from Get ready for the Tridentine Mass:

Because of some of the architectural changes made to the church, there might be some physical changes that will have to be made in order to offer the Tridentine Mass.

Although not yet possible at this time, having the Tabernacle on the altar would be a great blessing because the celebrant will now be facing the altar, and in truth, he should face the altar even in the Novus Ordo.

1. The most important thing is that the priest will face the altar (the back wall), standing in the front of the altar.

2. There will be altar rail so that people can receive communion kneeling.

3. Vestments, altar clothes, candles, a crucifix, patens, etc. outlined in the Rubrics will be strictly followed in offering the Mass.

4. The Tridentine Mass is more visual than verbal, so all will be done to decorate the altar: candles, statues, flowers, etc.

5. The choir will be completely out of sight, either in the back of the church, up in the choir loft, or in a side altar. No one but the priest and altar boys will be on the altar.

6. A paten will be held by the altar-boy when passing out communion.

7. Although not required, an altar rail cloth may be hanged from the back side of the altar rail. Just before communion this cloth is flipped over the altar rail and when people come up for communion they put their hands under the cloth. This is added protection in case a host or piece of host drops past the paten.

What the people need to know

The first thing people need to know about the Tridentine Mass is that its emphasis is silent prayer and quiet reflection. This means that from the moment you walk into the church, you change all your actions from social to prayerful.

Movements should be reverent and slow. Absolutely no talking, not even a “Hi!” Treat the Mass is if you were at the foot of the Crucifixion of Christ, silently watching Him offer sacrifice for your sins, because that is what the Mass is. Treat the Tabernacle is if you were being presented face to face with the Triune God in Heaven for the first time, because that is who is in that Tabernacle. Christ said to Saint Gertrude: “One idle word in church is worth a hundred years in Purgatory.” Of course, “idle” means unnecessary but what words are necessary?

1. Dress as if you have died and were about to see God face to face in Heaven.

2. Men should never go to Mass in shorts or short sleeve shirts.

3. Women should dress modestly and feminine (not like men).

4. Women should use veils as is traditional but not mandatory.

5. As for standing or kneeling during Mass, just follow the other people or the altar-boys.

6. Music should be sung like a whisper. The choir is taught to sing to God and not to the people. The church is not big so speakers may not to be used because the music should sound like Heavenly background to prayer and not something that beats up the ears and brain, preventing prayer. Since there is a choir there is no reason to sing along with them. The choir is well trained and any singing along should be done very quietly so as not to interrupt the trained singers.

7. Follow along with the mass in the Missal (English on one side and Latin on the other). If the church has not purchased the missals yet or cannot afford them, you can buy them.

8. After reading the words of the Tridentine you will see that most of the Mass is the priest praying to God and only when he turns and faces the people does he speaks to the people. This is the high priest (Christ) praying to the Father for us. It is Christ offering His sacrifice for us, and we are just there watching and thanking God.

9. Remember that people are there to pray, so do not fidget with your rosary or make sounds or movements that would distract others from prayer. Just use common Church etiquette, which means making others comfortable around you.

10. When going to communion stay in line and go to the next space at the altar rail and kneel down and wait for the priest to come to you. If there is a communion cloth over the altar rail, but your hands under it. The priest will say, “May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul unto everlasting life.” You will receive communion on the tongue, bow your head a moment and get up and go back to your pew. Remain kneeling until the priest starts the final prayers of the Mass.

11. After Mass leave the church without talking because a great many people will remain inside praying and you do not want to interrupt God. After some distance from the front door, it is time to socialize and share your faith with others.

There is an on-going recruitment for more altar-boys (no altar girls) because it is traditional to have four or more altar-boys at each Mass. This will also increase vocations to the priesthood because this is where God touches boys with this grace.

Multinational Village “takeover”

By Atty. Renato “Tito” Fernandez

I had an interesting conversation with a homeowner from Multinational Village who filled me in on what happened, and is still happening, in their subdivision. What he related was very informative and bears a very close resemblance to what is happening in BF Homes/United BF Homeowners’ Associations, Inc. (UBFHAI).

Before the election of Mayor June Bernabe in 2004, Multinational Village had a well-established and peacefully functioning homeowner’s association. By many accounts, it was a well-run organization under the leadership of Arnel Gacutan, a popular, dynamic and articulate young man whom we met several years ago. He implemented various projects in Multinational including a mammoth covered court, all self-funded without any assistance from the city government. (Unfortunately, the beautiful covered court was not properly maintained after he was eased out).

Some two (2) weeks before the local elections in 2004, he was asked by then Vice Mayor Bernabe, who was running for Mayor, if the latter could put a table near the main entrance of Multinational Village. Because it could be mistaken as being partisan, Arnel Gacutan politely declined. [Homeowners associations are supposed to be non-partisan, non-political organizations]. One had to consider also the matter of fairness to other opposing candidates.

In any case, Vice Mayor Bernabe won and Dr. Olivarez lost. That was when Arnel Gacutan and Multinational Village experienced intense and withering turmoil. Not long after, the city government accused the association of using guards without individual posting permits (shades of UBFHAI) although they were all employed by a licensed security agency given a valid permit by the previous administration. Arnel Gacutan was publicly portrayed as a drug lord who amassed unexplained wealth. He was harassed, arrested, subjected to congressional investigation and in the process suffered extreme personal humiliation.

But the young man knew how not to knuckle down. He counter-attacked. He showed and proved that he had in fact been given a written commendation by the Head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for his efforts in assisting the campaign against illegal drugs, a revelation which no doubt exposed him to grave personal risk. As for the charges of unexplained wealth, he produced before the congressional investigation his BIR income tax returns, the exact copies of which were already in the possession of our Parañaque congressman. What his detractors conveniently failed to reveal was that Arnel was, and is, in the real estate business up to now from where he made honest income.

All the disinformation, accusations and complaints against Arnel for involvement in drugs (sic), unexplained wealth, etc. were all dismissed by the concerned agencies (including the DOJ) and none survived objective legal scrutiny. In short, they were baseless and were only a subterfuge, a pretext to cut Arnel down before his constituents for the real and ultimate objective – his expulsion from the leadership of the homeowners association of Multinational Village and its domination by personalities close to the powers that are.

During all these, elections were held in Multinational’s homeowners association in early 2005. For some reason, the HLURB suddenly got involved and enjoined the use of proxies (previously allowed during past elections) of which Arnel Gacutan had quite a number. His valid proxies were disregarded to neutralize his popular advantage during a rigged election (it was postponed by the Board but pushed through by the HLURB and his opponents) and he “lost” to Felix Resuello. In time, a power behind the throne began to emerge in Multinational, commonly referred to as the La Huerta group who called the shots behind the scenes. It is said they are close to the powers that are. Resuello was later shunted aside, to be replaced by Olive Begre who was also later wrongly taken out on an issue of principle, and replaced by a retired general Arsenio Torres, with the blessings of the power brokers.

Arnel Gacutan and company appealed the HLURB’s adverse resolutions/decision to the Office of the President which on May 16, 2006, set aside the election of the Resuello group. In due time, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita’s decision became binding and executory in favor of Arnel’s group. However, in a rash of legal maneuvers, the losing parties close to the city government secured from the HLURB that “modified, altered or amended a decision that has become final and executory”, and were considered in excess of jurisdiction by the Court of Appeals. Still, they would not yield the leadership of Multinational’s homeowners association and resisted all attempts to fully enforce the decision of Secretary Ermita. Arnel’s group is aghast at such open defiance.

In the meantime, Multinational Village is in limbo. Their clubhouse is shuttered and padlocked with the misleading sign “Under Renovation”. The lawful officers under Arnel Gacutan refrain from entering it to avoid a confrontation with the powers that are in the government. Inexplicably, the breakaway group under Gen. Torres holds court in the subdivision’s auditorium, not in the clubhouse. Maybe they already feel they are not lawfully empowered.

What pitiless events dogged Arnel Gacutan because of his good faith denial of the installation of a table before elections! On the other hand, Celso Reyes of UBFHAI got into trouble because his newly-elected Board in 2004 turned down the proposal of the security agency of Dr. Renato “Boy” Bernabe, the Mayor’s brother, to provide security services to all the gates, clubhouse and sensitive areas of BF Homes. Never mind that the winning bidder had a superior offer, including Closed Circuit TV (CCTV). That was beside the point.

The dogs of war were soon unleashed and the rest are current events where the full might of the city government, HLURB, and UBFHAI’s disgruntled elements were brought to bear on Celso Reyes and his group. BF Homes is in limbo. Maybe that’s also the game plan.

However we look at them, the two (2) situations are eerily similar!

BF homeowner slams LGU takeover

What is the undue interest and persistence of Parañaque Mayor Jun Bernabe in the internal affairs of United BF Homeowners Associations, Inc. (UBFHAI)? He is the only mayor we know who is actively preoccupied with seeking the dissolution and destruction of a proud and self-respecting homeowners’ association organized according to law.

UBFHAI has existed continuously for more than 18 years and, except for the usual problems that attend to the life of a village association, has been the only central spokesman for the 10,000 BF homeowners in Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.

Starting with his takeover of UBFHAI’s gates in Aguirre, Elizalde and El Grande in 2005 with a blitzkrieg sweep of his SWAT troops, Mayor Bernabe has been systematically prying away at the structure of UBFHAI. Under the law, it is not the job of a city government to enforce a decision of the regular courts or the HLURB. That is the job of the sheriff. The enforcement of compliance lies with him and the courts – they have the power to cite for contempt, to penalize, to impose fines and damages. The Mayor’s office has gone beyond and has been acting as the judge, jury and executioner, more than the courts.

Several years ago, the same thing happened to Multinational Village which effectively destroyed the vestiges of the homeowners’ established self-governance. The city government actively supported a rival block of candidates, created widespread dissension in the village and sealed the takeover of the clubhouse with SWAT troops. The LGU supplanted the homeowners’ for self-government with its own indirect control.

When the Management Committee (Mancom) of HLURB took over the UBFHAI Clubhouse last year, they were aided by shock troops and personnel of the Mayor. They are still there for everyone to see, big and brazen as life, with the uniform patches of CSU (Civilian Security Unit?). They act as the praetorian guards to the Mancom and their followers.

The city’s liaison officer for homeowners’ affairs, Ms. Diana Quiros, acts as the spokesperson, mouthpiece, enforcer, campaigner and apologist for the group. Widely distrusted by mainstream homeowners, she goes about her job creating discord and disunity among BF’s residents. DIVIDE and CONQUER! That seems to be the unwritten motto of the Mayor’s game plan.

When the Mayor organized a meeting several weeks ago at the Dragon Prince ostensibly to brief homeowners on the water situation, the first part of the discussion was an exposition of the work of the Mancom, their alleged findings (sic) in their audit of UBFHAI and the participation of leading personalities of the opposition in BF who seek the dismemberment of UBFHAI and supplanting it with another. It means, therefore, that the work of the Mancom and the game plan of the Mayor are parts of the whole, being presented at the same time, at the same venue, and at his initiative.

The Mayor’s fingerprints are all over the place, including his Dear Jimmy letter when he asked Mayor Fresnedi to dismantle BF’s gate in Tirona in the Muntinlupa side. The prize is the domination of BF Homes and the suppression of self-determination and self-governance as a village. Does he do that in Tahanan Village where he lives? He wouldn’t dare!

But why does he want to stamp UBFHAI out of existence and supplant his minions? Arrogance of power?

Let’s express our feelings freely!

Atty. Renato “Tito” Fernandez

[Atty. Tito Fernandez is a charter member of UBFHAI]