Untitled Notes

Greeting and request to maintain solemnity during the Eucharistic celebration.
- Request: Refrain from using mobile phones, keep them in bags.
- Participation: Encourage full, conscious, and active participation in Mass by reciting or singing responses and observing sacred actions while avoiding unnecessary noises.

Context: Gathering after days of prayer, reflection, and encounter for the Alab 2026 retreat.
Theme: Focus on deepening faith, strengthening hope, and anchoring in God's love.
- Thomassian Martyrs: Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas martyrs and their ultimate testimony of faith, hope, and love.
- Reminders: Living faith daily with courage, integrity, and charity is a shared calling for all community members.
Commitment: Renewing commitment to love God above all, and serving with compassion and excellence.
Presider: Very Reverend Father Philemon I De La Cruz, O.P., Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, Vice Grand Chancellor of the University of Santo Tomas.

Opening: Singing of the entrance hymn.
Sign of the Cross: "In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Greeting: "The Lord be with you. And with your spirit."

Commencement: Giving thanks for the martyrs who were part of the University community.
- Martyr Detail: 17 martyrs identified as former students, professors, and administrators.
Acknowledgment: Trust in God's mercy; acknowledgment of sins before the Sacred Mysteries.
- Confession: "I confess to Almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned…"

Opening Prayer: Invoking God’s mercy and acknowledging the martyrs.
- Text: "Almighty ever-living God, who gave the holy martyrs…"

Story of Joseph:
- Favorite son: Israel loved Joseph best, giving him a tunic.
- Brothers' Plot: Brothers' hatred and plotted murder.
- Details: They threw Joseph into a cistern, leading to eventual sale to Ishmaelites for 20 shekels.

Parable of Landowner: Jesus’ parable regarding tenants and their disrespect towards property owner (divine analogy).
- Main Events: Landowner sends servants to collect what is due and is met with violence. Eventually, his son is killed by tenants.
- Judgment: "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death…"
- Connection: Jesus identifies his own coming sufferings.

Expression of Praise: "The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ."

Theme: Revisiting the themes of faith, hope, and love from 1 Corinthians 13:13, which emphasizes love as the greatest of the virtues.
- Context: Often read at weddings, emphasizing true love.
Theological Virtues: Discusses the paramount importance of virtues directed towards God.
Connection to Gospel: Reflects on the Last Supper's meaning and its connection to hope.
- Scripture Reference: John 14:1-6.
- Hope's Essence: Jesus prepares a place, defining true love as seeking communion with God.

Scripture References: Relates readings to life challenges, envy, and hate, especially within families.
- Moral Challenge: Live out virtues amidst personal and societal struggles.
Parable Description: Summarizes consequences faced within the parable of the tenants, urging personal reflection on actions and motives.

Thomassian Martyrs: Challenge and inspiration from the martyrs’ examples.
- Focused on remaining faithful to one’s calling, reinforcing virtues as actionable in daily life.
Imagery: The arch of the century as an optical sighting device—encouraging refocusing and magnifying one’s spiritual journey toward God.

Collective Call: Asking God for strength through martyrs’ intercession.
- Prayers for Various Figures: Pope, bishops, clergy, and community as one.

Offerings: Lifting bread and wine in sacrifice, a call for them to become body and blood of Christ.
Institution Narrative: Recollection of the Last Supper—"Take this, all of you, and eat of it…"

Thanksgiving: Prayer uniting community in the reflection of love shared with God through the celebration.

Expression of Gratitude: To those involved in facilitating the retreat—administrators, faculty, students, and participants.
Community Effort: Recognizing the collective effort in organizing the retreat and the significance of service during these three days.

Celebration of Life of Martyrs: Focus on martyrs’ witness, courage, and commitment to faith.
- Historical Context: Detailed accounts of individual martyrs, their background, struggles, and ultimate sacrifices for faith.

Mission: Invitation to continue the mission of spreading light (lumina pandit) from the University of Santo Tomas in everyday lives.
Closing Blessing: Blessings imparted for enduring strength and guidance towards fulfilling the university’s mission.

Closing Words: "Go forth, the mass is ended. Thanks be to God."
Final Encouragement: Reminding community of their calling to love and witness in the world through God’s light.