To His Excellency Most Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco, D.D.,
Bishop of Cubao, to whom I dedicate this book as a sign of my thankfulness for
his fatherly guidance and the grace of assisting him and the diocese for nine
(9) years. Also, thank you to my former parish priests: Fr. Jun Pascual, Fr.
Dennis Soriano, Fr. William Garcia, and Fr. Aris Sison, for allowing me to
serve as their altar server, liturgist and master of ceremonies.
I am very grateful to Bro. Jess N. Matias, O.F.S., a
renowned author and expert when it comes to St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who
dedicated time and effort to edit my work and to bless me with a wonderful
Foreword. Most of all, thank you to Claretian Publications, to Bob, Fr. Ed,
C.M.F., and the Executive Director, Fr. Dennis, C.M.F., for accepting my work.
To my Claret School of Quezon City students, especially the
members of Societas Claret, the Faith Education and Enrichment Division
(F.E.E.D.) co-teachers and campus ministers: thank you very much for a
wonderful and meaningful friendship and for a year filled with love in
spreading the Word of God, inspired by the ideals of Saint Anthony Claret.
To my religious community, friends, family, and to all my
readers, thank you very much and may God, the source of all holiness, bless and
keep you always! To Dinky Nievera, for the picture of Bishop Ongtioco; Carlos
Babiano and Macky Villasis for their time to proof-read my work and for the
friendship, thank you!
I would like to thank in a very special way my spiritual
fathers: the Priests of Opus Dei, in particular: Fr. Francis Ongkingco, Fr. Jun
Bermejo, Fr. Ramon Nadres, Fr. Jong Sabandal, and Msgr. Cayo Estrada. Thank you
dear Fathers for guiding me to Jesus and for teaching me to love and serve the
Church, the Pope, and all souls in the spirit of our Father Saint Josemaria
Escriva.
Thank you to my dear “Tatay” Bro. Carmelo Cortez of the
Diocese of Malolos, Jesuit Fathers: Rev. Bozidar Nagy, postulator for the Cause
for Canonization of Blessed Ivan Merz, and Rev. Marc Lindeijer, assistant to
the Postulator General of the Society of Jesus in Rome, for their endless
spiritual and moral support.
And, of course, I deeply appreciate the patience and love of
Rev. Fr. Timoteo Jose M. Ofrasio, S.J. who served as my mentor and spiritual
father during my last year in P.I.L. Thank you for accepting the challenge to
help me finish the course! Lastly, to the late Rev. Fr. Anscar J. Chupungco,
O.S.B. and to all my professors at the Paul VI Institute of Liturgy and San
Beda College-Graduate School of Liturgy, thank you for all your patience and
love in sharing to me and my classmates the beauty and significance of the
Sacred Liturgy in our lives!
