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Bishop Hagemoen challenges pilgrims to be Prophets of the New Millennium

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SASKATOON — As Catholic youth gear up for the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Bishop Mark Hagemoen urged those who participated in the Mount Carmel Pilgrimage Site to embrace their role as prophets of the new millennium. On the Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel feast, hundreds of pilgrims gathered at the Mount Carmel Pilgrimage site on Sunday, July 16, to participate in the annual liturgical services, and the day commenced with the recitation of the rosary and Marian hymns, culminating in a concelebrated mass led by Bishop Hagemoen. Bishop Mark Hagemoen During his homily, Bishop Hagemoen echoed the words of Pope Francis, calling on the pilgrims to embrace their prophetic calling and spread God's word to all. He emphasized that each individual, through baptism, has received the gift of Messianic prophecy, becoming a prophet themselves. "The pope says, ‘Each of us, brothers and sisters, is a prophet. In fact, with baptism, let us all receive the gift of the Messian

Papal visit hopes to repair relationship with Indigenous Peoples

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SASKATOON — The Vatican has released the official itinerary of Pope Francis with the pontiff heading straight to Edmonton to make his first visit to Canada to meet with Indigenous Peoples, especially residential school survivors. The Holy Father will leave Rome on July 24, Thursday, at 9:00 a.m. local time and will arrive at the Edmonton International Airport for the official welcome at 11:20 a.m. the same day. Rome is eight hours ahead of Alberta, which follows mountain daylight time. The theme of the papal visit is “Walking Together” which will focus on reconciliation and healing the strained relationship between the Catholic church and Indigenous Peoples, especially the survivors of the abuses caused by attending the Canadian residential school system. Pope Francis’ six-day trip is a combination of public and private events and meetings, especially with Indigenous Peoples. The visit comes after a few months when a historic meeting between First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegates in

A letter to Tatay

SASKATOON—My father died in February 2018, more than a month after our last vacation in the Philippines where we get to spend Christmas and New Year with our family and friends. I have no idea that would be the last time we would see Tatay alive, the last time he would see my family and spend time with two (Macky and Nathan) of his more than 10 grandchildren, and the last time I would speak to him in person and my last time to mano before heading to the airport the early morning of Jan. 9, 2018. He died while we were back on Saipan, thousands of kilometres away east of the Philippines; while I was busy covering House and Senate sessions at the CNMI Legislature or busy hounding the governor about a local or federal issue, and while I was working on an island surrounded by the ocean in the Western Pacific. I haven't mentioned this to anyone—and I'm not sure if Nanay or my sister who was then taking care of him remembers this—but I got furious at him when we talked on the ph

Love, not hate

SASKATOON—Black, brown, red, white, and yellow. These were the colours describing the skin tones of all human beings. Science, particularly the branch of biology and genetics, states that all modern humans share a common ancestor. Whether you believe that or not, is up to you. So, if we share a common ancestor, why are there still people who judge a person based on the colour—how light, fair, or dark—of their skin? Why do some people think that their skin colour or race is far superior to those who are different and don’t share their qualities? It has been like this for thousands of years. Comb through history and you will come across hundreds of stories where people judge others for being different. Indigenous Peoples were called savages by European settlers since they dress differently and do not conform to the social norms that western society had. A few other examples are how people from Africa were made slaves and how the Jews were treated during the reign of the Third Reich

Promoting Filipino food

SASKATOON—Festivals and other outdoor events are back in Saskatchewan after the provincial government rescinded the health restrictions that were put in place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And last August 7 and 8, the inaugural Filipino Music and Food Street Festival was held in downtown Saskatoon where the local Filipino community came out and celebrated the weekend. Even non-Pinoys joined the festivities and can be seen falling in line with several food vendors to sample our local dish. Food items such as Lechon (roasted pig), pancit (noodles), grilled pork belly, crispy fried chicken skin, Filipino-style dumplings, lumpia (spring rolls), taho (soy milk with caramelized sugar), and banana cue (sweetened fried bananas) were some of those sold. There were also booths to entertain the kids with balloon animal-making and face painting while a Filipino dance group under the Filipino-Canadian Association of Saskatchewan performed Philippine folk dances and another group s

Comparing apples to dalanghitas

Living and working here in Canada, particularly in the city of Saskatoon in the province of Saskatchewan, I can’t help but compare how local officials run the government here to the Philippines. I know that Canada is a first-world country and it is like comparing apples to dalanghitas (citrus oranges) but hear me out before calling my head to be chopped off. The first thing I noticed is how the taxes that you are paying are spent wisely where even a foreign worker like me can enjoy its benefits. I’m still using an open work permit here, still a foreign worker, while we’re waiting for our papers for permanent residency status. However, being a foreign worker did not prevent me from receiving benefits that were also available to legal residents and Canadian citizens like free healthcare and employee insurance. After all, when I started working here, local and federal government taxes were deducted from my salary. I have a health card under the universal health-care system administer

A new challenge

(This was published in the Saipan Tribune) https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/a-new-challenge/ Last October 4 (2020) was my first day of being an assistant coach under Hollandia Soccer Club. I volunteered this season for a U13 team, Hollandia Tapia. Nathan, our son, plays for Hollandia Ajoboru, the other U13 team under HSC. They would play against each other in a club league since tournaments are still on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. The teams are named after the person coaching them. Nathan team’s head coach is Henry Ajoboru, while the squad where I am one of the assistants is handled by Hernan Tapia. Percy Hoff is the club director of coaching and player development and brings in more than three decades of technical and training expertise to HSC after guiding the University of Saskatchewan to two provincial titles and helping the Huskies gain a spot in the Nationals in Edmonton and Winnipeg in the ’90s. Coach Percy, who’s also a part of the training staff that prepared