From the Press...

Discover the promptings of Holy Spirit, says Charismatic head

DAVAO City, May 11, 2008– As the Catholic Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday, a charismatic leader here urged the faithful to “discover the daily promptings of the Holy Spirit” in their lives.

Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement (ACCRMD) Coordinator Vicky Perez said, “The Holy Spirit works mysteriously daily and it is up for the people to discover His inexplicable workings.”

Perez added that the “Holy Spirit, Father and Son all comprise a unified Godhead known as the Trinity.”

She also pointed out that it is a common misconception to say that Christians believe in three different gods.

“This is not correct,” said Perez adding that while each persona is distinct in function, each shares together in the same deity and each reflects the divine attributes of the one living God.

“That is why, the Holy Spirit should never be taken for granted,” she stressed.
She said that one way of knowing the Holy Spirit is to devote time to pray and listen to His promptings in everyone’s heart.

The charismatic head also suggested that one effective prayer is the daily recitation of the little chaplet of the Holy Spirit.

ACCMRD will hold an open gathering today at Christ, the King Center in Bago Aplaya, this city to understand fully the role of the Holy Spirit.

Bro. Ale Aguspina, a preacher and healer from Cebu City will talk on this year’s theme, “The Holy Spirit…a guide to Christian maturity.”

Aguspina said without direction from the Holy Spirit a Christian life is useless and cannot relate effectively with others. (Mark S. Ventura)


back from talavera .
December 10, 2005

it was a great treat for my soul . let me tell you , the first thing i reminded myself ,was never to cry . people tend to cry so much in during these retreats. and so i challenged myself not to . i was laughing all the time on the way , we realized later , most of the participants were common friends of members of the community , some were invited and were paid for . most of the participants knows somebody from the community who conducted the said retreat , and we felt like strangers. it was totally fine with me though , the better it was for me not to know anybody , so i can be myself . cheryl’s a very close friend , so i’m fine with her . i felt mean as i comforted myself that i wasn’t there to make friends but to renew my relationship with my God , and that was all that matters.

the place : Talavera House of Prayers . beautiful and fitting for the activity , was built in 1998 for Recollect Fathers , but has been a place of many spritiual activities not just for the religious , but for lay people wanting to be where God seems to live.

the speakers : Father Vallez - a franciscan priest who just arrived from Brazil , has been assigned and been living in Brazil for along time now , occasionally visits the Philippines , and it was an honor to attend all the activities and talks he has conducted during the three day seminar .

Bro. Chito Jongco - a modern day Paul . excellent, effective, truly gifted. he was a military official during Marcos’ time , had 13 criminal cases and to make a long story short , he was given a chance to live and now his life is truly devoted to being a witness of God’s goodness .

Bro . Alejandro Aguspina - makes me say that God has a huge sense of humor . this speaker is a native from Leyte. he is like a stand up comedian . a total performer and at the same time a great defender of faith . when the participants roar with laughter and in between becomes silent and reflective , then you’d know he’s the one in the front talking .

these three great men have shared their experiences, their journey with the faith towards God . it was an excellent and a deep experience for me .

I will apply all the things that i have learned and live up to my faith . i know it’s not going to be easy . it’s never easy to follow Jesus’ path , it’s never easy to follow him according to what he has really commanded and revealed through the true church. I know there will be a lot of challenges along the way , but i will keep in mind my ultimate goal of going to heaven so i’ll fret at the thought of sin.

and i have to admit that in one of the many activities i broke down and cried. cried like a baby, shouted and begged for something i can’t even seem to mouth.

it was a cleansing, refreshing and reviving experience. not to mention the fun. one thing i’d like to remember is what Bro. Chito told us - to become mature christians , we should not cease to study the word of God , the church history and become witnesses of the faith.



KAIROS. God’s owntime. Things happen according to His will. . . in due time.

Thus, it was Sis Sally de las Peñas who generously accepted several invitations to various charismatic seminars which led her attendance to subsequent prayer meetings. Impressed by the experience and the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, she wanted to share the richness of a happy prayerful life with her employees in the De los Reyes (DLR) Group of Companies.

On the weekend of August 7 & 8, 1992, all DLR outlets were closed, but one. The Young & Healthy clinic at Basak, Mambaling, opened its doors not for the usual daily business, but it welcomed participants to a two-day live out Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS). Believing that loyalty to the company springs from a sound prayer life, attendance to the seminar was compulsory, with the employees still being paid their regular daily salary. The result, which was tremendously great, then ushered in a series of LSS. Instrumentals to these seminars were Sis Fe Doldolea, Bro, Chito & Sis Grace Galang, & Fr. Tito Geron. Follow-up meetings were organized by Bro. Ale Aguspina, where once weekly, he elucidated charismatic principles to the employees gathered at the DLR Main clinic in Colon St. The Bible sharing on the fundamentals of the Catholic faith which was started by our Brother-Mayor Soc Fernandez in 1992, got incorporated in the company’s spiritual development.

God’s love for His people was felt and Magnified so quickly that attendance grew in number and the need for a larger place became eminent. The kindhearted de las Peñas family opened its doors in their residence at Banilad where the almost 300 employees flocked every Friday, 7:00-8:30 a.m. for the weekly prayer meeting. Moved by the love of God, each outlet volunteered to lead out in the worship service making it more fulfilling and varied in style. Bro. Ale and Bro. Soc continued to be the regular speakers. Out of this group sprung AMOR DEI—LOVE OF GOD. Our thanks and gratitude to Bro. Sot-Fernandez for assisting us in giving the group its apt name.

Other significant religious practices diligently done for spiritual enhancement were the daily 6:00 P.M. Angelus, the 3:00 o’clock Divine Mercy prayer and the prayer for the souls in purgatory at 8:00 P.M, simultaneously said in all outlets. Retreats and recollections on Holy Weeks, masses every 1st Saturday of the month and the Healing of the Family Tree and its bondage every 3rd Wednesday highlight these prayer activities. The company was . blessed to have Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Valles and Fr. John Roña who celebrated these masses, respectively.
We can not quantify the blessings brought about by these seminars in terms of spiritual renewal but the clamor of relatives of the members to open the community to the public could very well speak of the results. Broken homes were mended, estranged relationships reunited, misunderstandings patched up, vices reduced; not forgetting to mention that there are many who have just known that there is a Savior who forgives the sinner.

The demand was a public request Amor Dei can not deny for the love of God. By November of 1997, in preparation for the fulfillment of this request where increase in population was expected, a bigger place was a necessity. At this point, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Ezer Binghay, J.D. C, then parish priest of Sto. Rosario Parish wholeheartedly accepted & welcomed Amor Dei. To date, the community convenes at Sto. Rosario Parish church every Monday, 7:30-9:30 P.M., with Bro. Ale as the regular speaker, including a novena mass in honor of God the Father and a Eucharistic Healing every 4th Monday of the month presided by Msgr. Fred Kriekenbeek. The head servant is Bro. Tony L. De Las Peñas, who exemplifies grace, patience and humility in his leadership.

The first public live in LSSeminar was on December 20, 1997. It was held at the USC Retreat house in Talamban, Cebu. It yielded a good number of participants, which has been upheld in subsequent seminars held every other month. Six LSSeminars were sponsored this first year, with each batch identified by the coinage Love 001, 002, 003, . . . etc. The Amor Dei is a member of the Archdiocesan Covenanted Communities of Cebu.

There is tremendous growth within Amor Dei. It has spawned a new ministry to answer the need of evangelism these days. God’s Extension Ministry (GEM) as the name implies is the outreach arm of Amor Dei in fulfilling its mission. The jail ministry is the ongoing program being given to our less fortunate brothers & sisters at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilation Center (BBRC), in cooperation with Fr. Lucas Inoc of the St. Jerome Bible Apostolate and Bro. Ale who conducts the LSSeminars. Aside from the BBRC ministry, there are also five GEM-sponsored evangelists who give daily Bible studies to the inmates in other prisons in Metro Cebu. Bro. Soc facilitates this program. GEM has more to accomplish in God’s vineyard. It intends to bring more precious souls in God’s coming kingdom.

Very cooperative & supportive friends who are truly God-ordained messengers & who dedication to the Lord’s work do not falter even in difficult and treacherous times, have continually inspired us to shine on till the Lord’s second coming. They deserve to be mentioned in this anniversary celebration. To you who have recorded Amor Dei in the Bookds of Heaven, our gratitude and appreciation: His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, Msgr. fred Kriekenbeek, Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Valles, Msgr. Ezer Binghay, Bro. Edward Uytengsu, Bro. Soc Fernandez, Bro. Ale Aguspina, Sis Bella Dimayuga, Bro. Chi to Tabotabo, Bro. Dodong & Sis Diane Limchua, & countless others. May God bless your ministry.

No tongue or pen can ever tell the vastness of God’s love for all of us. Amor Dei shall endlessly spread His love to everyone, rich or poor, anywhere, anytime.