Editor’s note: As a tribute to Josephine Darang, who passed away Dec. 28, 2014, feast of St. John the Evangelist, patron of writers and journalists, the Sunday Inquirer will continue her well-read column, Purely Personal, as a service to the Church and to the faithful. Those who would like to have their announcements published in this column should e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].

The 50-day countdown to the “Kaplag,” which commemorates the rediscovery of the Santo Niño de Jesus of Cebu in 1565 by the Legazpi expedition, officially started last March 9.

The 450th anniversary of the Kaplag will be on April 28 at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City, said Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA, who’s in charge of the celebration.

Free prayer cards

Prayer cards of saints and/or candidates for sainthood are among the personal effects left by the late Josephine Darang.

They include prayer cards of the   Santo Bambino of Aracoeli; Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt; Our Lady of Nations; Our Lady of Guadalupe; Santo Niño de Atocha; Dora del Hoyo of Opus Dei; St. Catherine Laboure; Venerable Francesco Antonio Marcucci, founder of the Congregation of the Pious Worker Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and bishop of Montalho, Marche, Italy; St. Josemaria Escriva; St. John Paul II; San Ildefonso; San Padre Pio of Pietrelcina; and Nuestra Señora de la Merced of Candaba, Pampanga.

Other cards: Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Prayer to the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Prompt Succor of Buhi, Camarines Sur; Novena to Our Lady of the Visitation of Guibang in Ilagan, Isabela, Novena to San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, Prayer for the Beatification of Servant of God Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary, and Nobena kay San Expedida.

For those who would like to receive free prayer cards, write to “Miss Josephine Darang c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer, Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.” Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for easier mailing.

Domnet Youth fest in Iloilo

The Dominican Network of Schools, Colleges and Universities (Domnet) of Western Visayas (WV) held the 2015 Domnet WV Youth Festival at the Sacred Heart Academy in Zarraga, Iloilo, recently. Theme was “We Need, We Share, We Preach, We are Freed.”

About 800 students and teachers from 15 Dominican schools in Western Visayas attended the biennial festival.

Main organizer was Fr. Lauro de Dios, OP, chair of Domnet Western Visayas and director-principal of Angelicum School of Iloilo.

Held during the festival were Eucharistic celebrations, Living Rosary and a community outreach activity at the Sacred Heart Academy Gym.

Among the speakers were Fr. Jeffrey Aytona, OP, national adviser of the Domnet Youth, who discussed the Dominican Jubilee celebration’s theme, “I am a Dominican, I am for Veritas”; engineer Elijor Benjamin Rodil of the International Dominican Youth Movement, on “The Truth, the Youth and the Social Media Today”; and Fr. Allan Lopez, OP, parish priest of the Our Lady of Manaoag Parish in Pangasinan, on the “Year of the Poor.”

Ang Dios Gugma Catholic Ministries also took part in the festival.

International biblical studies confab

The Institute of Preaching complex recently hosted the joint international conference of the Society for New Testament Studies Asia-Pacific and the Catholic Biblical Association of the Philippines (CBAP) at the Pio V Building, Santo Domingo Church compound, in Quezon City.

Around 60 bible scholars and graduate students from various Christian churches and institutions in Austria, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines gathered to discuss 22 scholarly papers representing the broad spectrum of New Testament interests in the Asia-Pacific context.

The Philippine Dominican Province was represented by Fr. Clarence Marquez, OP, director of the Institute of Preaching, who cochaired the joint conference organizing committee, and Brother Art Vincent Pangan, OP, student-brother pursuing his STL-MA in Biblical Studies.

In his welcome address, Marquez, who trained at the famous Ecole Biblique et Archeologique in Jerusalem, said, “In 1 Cor 15:33, Saint Paul said, ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’ But the original Greek is more telling.”

“Bad homilies corrupt good morals,” he added. “Bad homilies are bad conversations.”

The Institute of Preaching, he added, aims to become a venue for good homilies and “conversations” by offering homiletics and other relevant programs.

Marquez was later elected to the CBAP board of trustees and as treasurer of the association.