The full text of the Pope's address to the Philippine Congress on the New Evangelization, October 18, 2013

This speech also marks the first time that the Pope has delivered an English-language speech in public.

Post by News.va English.

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,

I greet all of you with the peace and joy of Our Lord. The first Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization is a worthy offering to the Year of Faith. For this I thank all of you, my brother Bishops, the priests, religious men and women, seminarians and the lay faithful who organized and are participating in the conference. I am happy to learn that you came to Manila from different parts of the Philippines and Asia. The Holy Spirit is actively at work in you. The Church of Christ is alive!

Through this conference, I hope you would experience again the loving presence of Jesus in your lives, that you would love the Church more and that you would share the Gospel to all people with humility and joy. Don’t get tired of bringing the mercy of the Father to the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the young people and families. Let Jesus be known in the world of politics, business, arts, science, technology and social media. Let the Holy Spirit renew the creation and bring forth justice and peace in the Philippines and in the great continent of Asia that is close to my heart.

Please pray for me, I need it. I promise to pray for you, especially to Our Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization.

Mabúhay ang Pilipínas! Mabúhay ang Asia! Pagpaláin kayó ng Dios!

God bless you in the Name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit.

Source.

Three Philippine church organs (two from Bohol) in action

I originally posted this on October 5, 2012 as "Two Philippine church organs in action". In commemoration of the churches lost during the earthquake that devastated Bohol today, October 15, 2013, I am updating this article to include videos of Baclayon organ in action. I hope that the Loay and Baclayon organs were not totally destroyed. CAP. 

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In the first video, a Belgian organist plays on the church organ of Espiritu Santo church in Tayuman, Sta. Cruz district, Manila, which was inaugurated in 1968 and restored from 2009 to 2011. The story of its restoration is chronicled in the Espiritu Santo Pipe Organ blog.

The restoration of this organ, and the ongoing restoration of the Sto. Domingo Church pipe organ is part of the gradual recovery of the importance of the pipe organ to Church music in the Philippines. Earlier pipe organ restorations in Metro Manila were that of the "Bamboo Organ" church (St. Joseph) in Las Pinas in the 1970's, that of San Agustin Church in Intramuros in the 1990's, and that of Manila Cathedral, restored as of 2006. 

 

The sounds of the 19th century church organ of the Holy Trinity parish church in Loay, Bohol:

     

And, finally, the organ of Baclayon, Bohol in action: