Debotong Mahal ng Poong Hesus Nazareno: Nananalig, Sumasaksi

A Homily delivered by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle at the Mass for the Feast of Jesus the Nazarene at 6 a.m. on January 9, 2013 at the Luneta Grandstand.

Nagpapasalamat po tayo sa ating Mahal na Panginoon. Tinipon na naman niya tayo dito upang ipagbunyi ang Kanyang Anak, ang ating Mahal na Poong Hesus Nazareno. At tumingala po kayo. Nagbubukang liwayway na naman, sisikat na naman ang araw, ang pag-ibig at liwanag ng Panginoon. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat na walang sawang nagpapakita ng malalim na pananampalataya at debosyon sa pag-ibig ng Diyos na ipinamalas sa pamamagitan ni Hesus Nazareno. Kaya kung maaari lang po, gawin natin ang araw na ito na talagang araw ng ating pagdiriwang ng ating pananampalataya sa Diyos.

Napakaganda po ng tema ng ating kapistahan sa taong ito: Debotong Mahal ng Poong Hesus Nazareno: Nananalig, Sumasaksi. Sana memoryahin natin, “Debotong Mahal ng Poong Hesus Nazareno: Nananalig, Sumasaksi.” Pagnilayan po natin ang temang ito sa tulong ng ating mga pagbasa. Sino ba si Poong Hesus Nazareno? Ang pinakamadaling sagot ay, “Si Hesus na taga Nazareth.” Kaya siya ay tinatawag na Nazareno galing siya sa bayan ng Nazareth. Subali’t sino nga ba ito? Sino siya? Sa mata ng pananampalataya, sinasabi ng ebanghelyo, ganoon na lamang kamahal ng Ama ang sanlibutan kaya ibinigay niya, isinugo niya ang kanyang buntong na Anak upang hindi mapahamak ang mundo kundi ang mundo ay iligtas. Iyan si Hesus Nazareno, nakikita natin sa kanya ang pagibig ng ama para sa atin, ang pagibig na hindi natin lubos maisip na ibibigay sa atin. Ganoon na lamang tayo kamahal ng Diyos, pati ang kanyang kaisa-isang anak ay ibibigay para sa ating makasalanan upang tayo ay mabuhay, upang manumbalik tayo sa kanya.

Kapag tinignan po natin si Poong Hesus Nazareno, makita nawa natin ang hindi malirip na pagibig ng Diyos, ang Diyos kanyang ibigay ang lahat para sa atin. Yung mga dalaga dito palagay ko kapag may nanligaw sa inyo at sasabihing, “Ibibigay ko ang lahat para sa inyo,” ang inyong puso ay biglang dadagundong at sasabihin niyo, “Ito na yata! Ito na yata ang nagmamahal sa akin.” Bakit? Ibibigay kasi lahat. Pero tignan mo baka nambobola lang iyan. Pero ang Diyos hindi nambola! Tinutoo, ibinigay talaga ang kanyang Anak. Pero baka magtanong kayo, eh kapag tinitignan namin si Hesus Nazareno, larawan ba ito ng pagibig? Parang larawan ng pighati-- pasan ang krus kung saan siya ipapako; nadapa dala ng bigat ng kanyang pinapasan. Kapaguran, kahinaan, iyan ba ang pagibig?

Opo ganyan ang pagibig. Sabi sa ikalawang pagbasa, Sulat ni San Pablo sa mga Filipos: Ang pagibig ng Diyos na ipinakita kay Hesus ay naipamalas sa Kanyang pagtalikod sa sarili. Sa Kanyang paghuhubad ng Kanyang karangalan upang maging mapagpakumbabang tao. Ang kanyang pagibig nangahulugan. Niyakap niya ang ating situwasyon. Kung nasaan ang Kanyang iniibig nandun siya. At kung ano ang dinaranas ng kanyang iniibig daranasin niya. Di ba ganoon ang tunay na umiibig? Kahit ilang ulit mo tatalikuran ang sarili mo gagawin mo para sa iniibig mo.

Mga magulang kahit gustong gusto niyo yung ulam pero kapag sinabi ng anak mo, “gusto ko pa” tatalikuran mo ang hinihingi ng dila mo para sa anak mo. Gagawin mo iyan, anak mo eh, mahal mo. Mga mag-asawa, lalo na yung may asawa na OFW, Overseas Filipino Worker, kapag nabalitaan niyo ang asawa niyo maysakit, ano ang silakbo ng damdamin niyo? Kung mayroon ka lang pera, kung mayroon ka lang visa, gusto mo pumunta, “Kung nasaan ang asawa ko, nanduroon ako, kung nagdurusa siya ibig kong makiisa sa kanyang pagdurusa. Kung siya ay gagaling ibig kong makasama sa ligaya ng kanyang paggaling.” Ganyan po ang pagibig, pagibig na handang tumalikod sa sarili, kaliumutan ang sarili, yakapin ang situwasyon ng kanyang iniibig, dumamay, makiisa.

Sa atin pong pagtingin kay Hesus Nazareno makikita po natin ang hindi mapapantayang pagibig ng Diyos na handang bumaba, talikuran ang kanyang dangal, yakapin ang ating pagkatao at sa pamamagitan niya, anak ng Diyos na tao, maligtas tayo. Sabi ni San Pablo, itong Hesus Nazareno naging “obedient,” tumalima sa Diyos at sa pamamagitan niya ang sangkatauhang namihasa sa paglaban sa Diyos, ngayon may bago ng kasaysayan. Ang tao ngayon handa nang sumunod sa Diyos. Maliligtas na, hindi na mapapahamak. Ang kaligtasan, ang ganap na buhay ay ang pagbabalik ng pagibig sa Diyos. Inibig tayo ng Diyos, ibigin din natin Siya. Tinalikuran ng Diyos ang kanyang sarili para sa atin, tumalima tayo sa kanya. Talikuran ang sarili, sariling kagustuhan, sariling yabang upang mapasailalim sa Diyos. At sa gayang pamamamaraan may bagong buhay, may ganap na buhay, may kaligtasan.

Mga kapatid sana po sa ating pagdiriwang sa araw na ito ang ating mga mata, ang ating puso ituon natin kay Hesus Nazareno, ang mapagpakumbabang pagibig ng Diyos, na dumamay sa atin, at binago ang pagkatao natin, mula sa pagiging rebelde sa Diyos sa pagiging masunuring anak ng Diyos. Ano po ang tugon natin sa pagibig ng Poong Hesus Nazareno? Sabi po ng tema, manalig, manampalataya sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ni Hesus Nazareno. Pananampalataya. Sabi po ng ating Santo Papa Benedict XVI, ngayong taon ang pananampalataya, ang pananalig ay isang buhay na ugnayan kay Hesus. Siya na nakiisa sa atin bilang tao. Kayo ba makikiisa sa kanya? Siya na naging tao at dumamay sa atin, siya ba ay ating tatanggapin bilang kapwa, kapatid at mangliligtas?

Mga mahal na deboto ng Poong Hesus Nazareno, tanungin po ninyo sa inyong sarili, tanungin natin sa ating sarili, “kumusta na ang ugnayan ko kay Hesus? Buhay ba siya sa akin? Ang kanyang salita ba nakatanim sa aking puso? Ang kanyang presensiya ba ay laging aking nararamdaman at hinahanap-hanap? Siya ba ang aking kinakapitan katulad ng kanyang pagkapit sa akin? Ako ba ay laging nakikiisa sa kanya katulad ng kanyang pakikiisa sa akin? Buhay ba si Hesus sa akin? Nagtitiwala ba ako na nandiyan siya? Kapag ako ay maligaya, maligaya siya kasama ko. Kapag ako ay nangangarap, nangangarap siya kasama ko. Pag ako ay nalulumbay, nalulumbay siyang kasama ko. Pero kapag ako ay nagsusugal hindi niya ako kasama, ha. Kapag ako ay nandaraya sa aking asawa, ah, hindi kasama si Hesus diyan. Hindi niya tayo sasamahan sa pagrerebelde sa Diyos. Sasamahan niya tayo kapag mayroon tayong karanasang makatao na kailangan ang Diyos ang manaig.

Mga kapatid, ang debotong mahal ng Poong Nazareno, nananalig, buhay ang ugnayan kay Hesus. Suriin nating ang ating sarili. O, bato bato sa langit ang tamaan bahala nang magalit. Eh yung ibang tao kung alagaan ang kanilang alahas buhay na buhya ang alahas pero si Hesus hindi naman pinapansin. Yung ibang tao mamatay kapag hindi hawak ang kanilang cell phone. Buhay na buhay ang cell phone. Ikamamatay kapag ang cell phone ay hindi nararamdaman sa palad, sa bulsa, sa bag. Mas nananalig pa sa cell phone kaysa kay Hesus! Yung iba paggising sa umaga kinakausap ang mga alaga nilang halaman para raw mamukadkad, pero si Hesus hindi kinakausap. Yung iba may kaya binibili pa ng espesyal na pagkain ang kanilang mga tuta at kanilang mga pusa pero ang kasambahay bibigyan ng mga inaamag amag na at ang pananampalataya kay Hesus hindi pinapalakas.

Ang tanong sa atin, si Hesus ba talaga ang ating pinananaligan. Siya ba na nagmahal sa atin ang ating sinusuklian ng pananampalataya at pagibig? Ang tunay na deboto kay Poong Hesus Nazareno makikilala sa lalim ng kanyang pananampalataya. Buhay na ugnayan kay Hesus. Pero ang pananalig kay Hesus kailangan umuwi sa pagsaksi kay Hesus. Ganyan po, ganyan na buhay ang simbahan. Nagsimula sa iilan na alagad ni Hesus; nakaulayan ni Hesus, nanampalataya kay Hesus. At nang si Hesus ay muling nabuhay sila ay nagpatotoo na si Hesus nga ay anak ng Diyos. Sa kanilang patotoo lumaganap ang pananampalataya. Pananalig, pagsaksi at sa pamamagitan ng pagsaksi marami uli ang mananalig. Ganyan lang. Kapag ang nanalig sasaksi lalong darami ang mananalig at ang mga nanalig sasaksi nanaman. Darami na naman ang mga mananalig.

Ano ba ang trabaho ng saksi? Magpatotoo. Ipakita sa salita, gawa, pagkatao na tunay nga si Hesus. Totoong may Hesus. Totoong may pagiibig ng Diyos. Alam po ninyo si Hesus nagdusa dahil sa mga na huwad na saksi. May mga binayaran para magbulaan at gumawa ng kaso laban kay Hesus. Itigil na ang kabulaanan. Nagdusa si Hesus dahil sa mga bulaan, mga huwad na saksi. Ang tunay na nanalig kay Poong Hesus Nazareno lalabanan ang kabulaanan na sumisira hindi lamang sa tao at lipunan, kundi sumira sa anak ng Diyos. That should not happen again! Ang tunay na pananampalataya at debosyon uuwi sa pagiging totoo, saksi sa katotohanan ni Kristo lalo na sa kanyang pagibig na mapagdamay.

Mga minamahal na kapatid kailangang kailangan ng mundo ngayon ang saksi na magpapatotoo sa kaligayahan na matagpuan si Hesus. Ang dami-daming reports tungkol sa mga patayan. Mas dumami sana ang sumaksi sa katotohanan na ang buhay ay sagrado. Patotohanan natin iyan. Ang dami dami sa mundo ngayon, giyera. Ang pera na dapat sanang gamitin para pakainin ang tao, magtayo ng mga bahay at eskuwelan na nagagamit para sa pagpatay. Kailangan nating sumaksi sa katotohanan na dumating si Kristo hindi upang ipahamak ang kapwa kundi upang mabuhay ang kapwa ganap na buhay at kapayapaan. Tayo po ang kailangang sumaksi kay Hesus ng may kaligayahan, ng may pananagutan. Kung papaano tayo binuhay ni Hesus Nazareno magpatotoo kayo. Ipalaganap na napakaganda na manalig sa kanya. Sa kanya mararanasan ang buhay na ganap at buhay na kasiya siya. Debotong mahal ng Poong Hesus Nazareno manalig ka at dahil sa iyong pananalig, magpatotoo ka na nakita mo si Hesus ang pagibig ng Diyos.

Tayo po ay tumahimik sandali at hilingin ang biyaya ng malalim na pananalig at tapang, pagtitiyaga na sumaksi sa katotohanan ni Hesus.

Papal Message for the World Day of the Sick 2013

POPE'S MESSAGE FOR WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

11 February 2013

"Go and do likewise" (Lk 10:37)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. On 11 February 2013, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Twenty-first World Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated at the Marian Shrine of Altötting. This day represents for the sick, for health care workers, for the faithful and for all people of goodwill "a privileged time of prayer, of sharing, of offering one’s sufferings for the good of the Church, and a call for all to recognize in the features of their suffering brothers and sisters the Holy Face of Christ, who, by suffering, dying and rising has brought about the salvation of mankind" (John Paul II, Letter for the Institution of the World Day of the Sick, 13 May 1992, 3). On this occasion I feel especially close to you, dear friends, who in health care centres or at home, are undergoing a time of trial due to illness and suffering. May all of you be sustained by the comforting words of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council: "You are not alone, separated, abandoned or useless. You have been called by Christ and are his living and transparent image" (Message to the Poor, the Sick and the Suffering).

2. So as to keep you company on the spiritual pilgrimage that leads us from Lourdes, a place which symbolizes hope and grace, to the Shrine of Altötting, I would like to propose for your reflection the exemplary figure of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37). The Gospel parable recounted by Saint Luke is part of a series of scenes and events taken from daily life by which Jesus helps us to understand the deep love of God for every human being, especially those afflicted by sickness or pain. With the concluding words of the parable of the Good Samaritan, "Go and do likewise" (Lk 10:37), the Lord also indicates the attitude that each of his disciples should have towards others, especially those in need. We need to draw from the infinite love of God, through an intense relationship with him in prayer, the strength to live day by day with concrete concern, like that of the Good Samaritan, for those suffering in body and spirit who ask for our help, whether or not we know them and however poor they may be. This is true, not only for pastoral or health care workers, but for everyone, even for the sick themselves, who can experience this condition from a perspective of faith: "It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love" (Spe Salvi, 37).

3. Various Fathers of the Church saw Jesus himself in the Good Samaritan; and in the man who fell among thieves they saw Adam, our very humanity wounded and disoriented on account of its sins (cf. Origen, Homily on the Gospel of Luke XXXIV,1-9; Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, 71-84; Augustine, Sermon 171). Jesus is the Son of God, the one who makes present the Father’s love, a love which is faithful, eternal and without boundaries. But Jesus is also the one who sheds the garment of his divinity, who leaves his divine condition to assume the likeness of men (cf. Phil 2:6-8), drawing near to human suffering, even to the point of descending into hell, as we recite in the Creed, in order to bring hope and light. He does not jealously guard his equality with God (cf. Phil 2:6) but, filled with compassion, he looks into the abyss of human suffering so as to pour out the oil of consolation and the wine of hope.

4. The Year of Faith which we are celebrating is a fitting occasion for intensifying the service of charity in our ecclesial communities, so that each one of us can be a good Samaritan for others, for those close to us. Here I would like to recall the innumerable figures in the history of the Church who helped the sick to appreciate the human and spiritual value of their suffering, so that they might serve as an example and an encouragement. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, "an expert in the scientia amoris" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 42), was able to experience "in deep union with the Passion of Jesus" the illness that brought her "to death through great suffering" (Address at General Audience, 6 April 2011). The Venerable Luigi Novarese, who still lives in the memory of many, throughout his ministry realized the special importance of praying for and with the sick and suffering, and he would often accompany them to Marian shrines, especially to the Grotto of Lourdes. Raoul Follereau, moved by love of neighbour, dedicated his life to caring for people afflicted by Hansen’s disease, even at the world’s farthest reaches, promoting, among other initiatives, World Leprosy Day. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would always begin her day with an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and then she would go out into the streets, rosary in hand, to find and serve the Lord in the sick, especially in those "unwanted, unloved, uncared for". Saint Anna Schäffer of Mindelstetten, too, was able to unite in an exemplary way her sufferings to those of Christ: "her sick-bed became her cloister cell and her suffering a missionary service. Strengthened by daily communion, she became an untiring intercessor in prayer and a mirror of God’s love for the many who sought her counsel" (Canonization Homily, 21 October 2012). In the Gospel the Blessed Virgin Mary stands out as one who follows her suffering Son to the supreme sacrifice on Golgotha. She does not lose hope in God’s victory over evil, pain and death, and she knows how to accept in one embrace of faith and love, the Son of God who was born in the stable of Bethlehem and died on the Cross. Her steadfast trust in the power of God was illuminated by Christ’s resurrection, which offers hope to the suffering and renews the certainty of the Lord’s closeness and consolation.

5. Lastly, I would like to offer a word of warm gratitude and encouragement to Catholic health care institutions and to civil society, to Dioceses and Christian communities, to religious congregations engaged in the pastoral care of the sick, to health care workers’ associations and to volunteers. May all realize ever more fully that "the Church today lives a fundamental aspect of her mission in lovingly and generously accepting every human being, especially those who are weak and sick" (Christifideles Laici, 38).

I entrust this Twenty-first World Day of the Sick to the intercession of Our Lady of Graces, venerated at Altötting, that she may always accompany those who suffer in their search for comfort and firm hope. May she assist all who are involved in the apostolate of mercy, so that they may become good Samaritans to their brothers and sisters afflicted by illness and suffering. To all I impart most willingly my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 2 January 2013

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

New Delhi Attack: The Victim's Story

It was early afternoon just before Christmas (2012) in India's capital, and a young woman spoke to her friend on the phone, eager to get together.

"Wake up, wake up," she told him. "It's already very late — 1 o'clock." The two agreed to meet. And so began an innocent outing that set in motion a killing that would horrify the world.

The two met at Select Citywalk, a trendy mall where New Delhi's 20-somethings gather to spend pocket change and enjoy a small taste of the glamor promised by India's economic rise. The young woman—her family's nickname for her was "Bitiya," which means daughter—admired a long coat in a shop window, her friend said in an interview. He thought he would like to buy it for her later. Then, they took in a movie, "Life of Pi," sitting in the same seats where, on an earlier visit, they had watched "Gulliver's Travels" together.

A few hours later, the pair were dumped, naked and bleeding, from a private bus along a highway. Both had been viciously attacked with an iron rod, according to police, and the young woman so violently raped that she died a few weeks later, on Dec. 29.

Her death has spawned a moment of national introspection over the threats women face here, whether on the streets of the capital city or in the lanes of a distant village, despite the advances of India's liberalizing society and invigorated economy. Her life embodied the modern Indian dream, the one-generation upward transformation that millions here are pursuing.

The Wall Street Journal reconstructed the details of her life from interviews with family and friends, including the young man, a 28-year-old software engineer, who was with her when she was beaten. He was treated and released but still requires medical attention. The Journal is refraining from publishing the woman's name in keeping with Indian laws governing the identification of rape victims.

The young woman, the child of an airport laborer who earns 7,000 rupees a month (about $130), was determined, her friends and family said, to become the first from her family, which hails from a caste of agricultural workers, to have a professional career. She was on the cusp of achieving it. She had enrolled in a yearslong physiotherapy course in a city in the foothills of the Himalayas. To afford it, she worked nights at an outsourcing firm, helping Canadians with their mortgage issues, family members and her friend said.

As she amassed some money of her own, she enjoyed figuring out how to spend it. Lately, she had her eye on a Samsung smartphone. One day she hoped to buy an Audi. "I want to build a big house, buy a car, go abroad and will work there," her friend, the software engineer, recalled her saying.

Indian women carry placards as they march to mourn 

the death of a gang rape victim (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

On Monday, five men who allegedly raped and killed her appeared before a New Delhi court for the first time, their faces covered in gray woolen caps. All five face charges of kidnapping, rape and murder, among other crimes. They face the death sentence if found guilty. A sixth alleged assailant, a juvenile, faces proceedings before a juvenile court.

A lawyer for the accused couldn't be reached.

The family originally hails from Ballia in rural Uttar Pradesh state. They moved to the capital city, Delhi, about 30 years ago to seek "a better life," her father said. He worked for 13 years as a mechanic at an appliance factory. Then, he struggled for a decade in his own business, assembling voltage meters. He worked as a hospital security guard.

About three years ago, he became a loader at the airport. He sold half of a small parcel of land to pay for the education of his daughter and her two younger brothers, who are now 17 and 15 years old.

The family lives in Mahavir Enclave on a 6-foot-wide lane off a decrepit street lined with shoe shops, dispensaries and jewelry stores. It is a neighborhood of migrants who work as construction laborers, building apartment houses for Delhi's blossoming middle class.

Her brothers recalled pillow-fights with their elder sister, who was only 5-foot-3 and weighed about 90 pounds. But she stood out as a high achiever in school. She earned pocket money tutoring other children. "She was the brightest student in the classroom," said a school friend who identified herself only as Nisha.

At first, Bitiya had wanted to be a doctor. But her father couldn't afford her tuition or find a suitable guarantor for a loan that a bank would require.

The Sai Institute of Paramedical and Allied Sciences, in the city of Dehra Dun in the Himalayan foothills, offered an alternative: a 4½-year physiotherapy course that was more affordable. She enrolled in November 2008. A graduate from the school is expected to earn a monthly salary of nearly 30,000 rupees, more than four times what her father earns.

She attended classes from noon to 5 p.m., staff and her friends said. To pay the fees, she worked at a call center on the 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift, handling questions from Canadians about their mortgages and supervising a team of employees, friends and family said. The company couldn't be located.

When she first arrived at school in Dehra Dun, she was an "introverted and submissive" young woman who wore simple, traditional dresses, said Bhawna Ghai, a professor and head of the physiotherapy department.

But as the course progressed, she opened up. She left the dorm and moved into an apartment with two friends. She began choreographing and emceeing college dance recitals.

A good English speaker, she became an avid reader, particularly Sidney Sheldon novels, her college friends said. She was a fan, too, of "One Night @ the Call Center," a best-selling novel by Indian author Chetan Bhagat about six call-center workers.

Money remained an issue. Combining her studies and the call-center job was exhausting, friends said. "She slept for only two hours" a night, said Sheen Kaur, one of her roommates, in an interview. In all, she paid about $3,300 in tuition fees.

Along the way, she developed an eye for fashion. If she spotted an outfit she couldn't afford at the mall, her brother said, she would find ways to replicate it in the bazaars. She amassed a shoe collection, preferably high heels.

This past October, she returned to Delhi to look for a volunteer internship, a requirement to complete her physiotherapy studies.

On Dec. 16, the day of the attack, her family gathered at their home. The young woman and her mother cooked lunch—fritters in yogurt, beans, and puffy bread called puri. The siblings teased each other about who would steal a bite of their father's food.

After lunch, their father went to work on the 2 p.m. shift at the airport, one of her brothers recalled. And his sister went to see her friend at the mall, the meeting the two had earlier arranged on the phone. The two weren't dating, both he and the family said, but had been friends for years.

At the mall, her friend recalled noticing that she had put streaks in her hair—white, gold and red. She asked him what he thought. He says he wasn't really a fan of the look, but answered "It's OK," so as not to hurt her feelings. He also remarked that she seemed too thin.

"A lot of people struggle to get this physique," she responded.

After "Life of Pi" ended—she loved the movie, her friend said—they took a motorized rickshaw, an inexpensive, three-wheeled taxi, to Munirka on Delhi's main southern highway, a convenient point to board a bus toward her home.

The same evening, about five miles away in a slum of about 300 dwellings known as Ravi Dass camp, two brothers, Ram and Mukesh Singh, were throwing a small party with chicken and alcohol, according to police. Ram was the driver of a private bus.

They were joined that evening by Vinay Sharma, a young man who earned $40 a month as a helper at a local gym, police said. Earlier he had been watching television at home, according to his mother, Champa Devi, when a friend and local fruit-seller, Pawan Gupta, stopped by. Eventually, according to police, the two men joined the Singh brothers, who lived down a narrow lane nearby.

The group, which included one other man and a juvenile, decided to take what police have described as a "joy ride" on the bus that Ram Singh drove.

Around 9:15 p.m., police said, the bus pulled into the stop where the young woman and her friend were looking for a ride. The men aboard the bus offered them a lift to Dwarka, near the young woman's home, according to police.

Four of the alleged assailants acted like regular passengers, according to the young man who boarded. One of them collected 20 cents for each ticket and the other drove.

The accused began taunting the woman with lewd comments, according to her friend, which led to a brawl. The young woman's friend said that some of the men knocked him unconscious with an iron bar.

At the back of the bus, police said, the young woman was raped as the vehicle was driven around, passing Vasant Vihar, an upscale neighborhood which is home to embassies and expatriates. After about 40 minutes, according to police, the bus stopped near a strip of budget neon-lit hotels with names like Star, Venus and Highway Crown, that cater to travelers near the airport.

There, the men on the bus dumped the two friends, naked, by the side of the road in a dusty strip of dried grass, according to police and the young man. As the woman lay barely conscious, her friend, who was bleeding from a cut to the head but could now stand, waved his arms and shouted for help at passing cars. For more than 20 minutes, he said, no one stopped.

Several people who work in the area said that two employees of DSC Ltd., the company that built the highway and now runs it, were the first to attend to the two victims, around 10 p.m. The company declined to comment. One of the DSC employees put in a call to the police, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Moments later, a manager from one of the nearby hotels, a burly 28-year-old, got on his motorbike to head home. He passed the scene without stopping—but then turned back, struck by the image of blood streaming down the man's face.

He offered to get a sheet and a bottle of water from his hotel to cover them as they waited for the police, he said in an interview. One of the DSC employees gave a sweater to the young woman and a shirt to her friend. About 45 minutes after the two were dumped, the police arrived.

Around the same time as the young woman was being taken by police to Safdarjung Hospital, about eight miles away, her family was starting to grow concerned. Usually, her brother said, Bitiya returned home by 8:30 p.m. "We were really worried, but didn't have any other option than waiting," he said. He dialed the pair's mobile phones without success.

Around 11:15 p.m., the police phoned and said the young woman had been in an accident. Her father rushed to the hospital with a neighbor on a motorbike. "It was a sinking feeling," her brother said. "We feared for the worst."

—Preetika Rana, Amol Sharma and Aditi Malhotra of the Wall Street Journal in New Delhi contributed to this article.

†Dom Anscar Javier Chupungco, OSB (1939-2013)

†DOM ANSCAR JAVIER CHUPUNGCO, OSB

Benedictine Monk, Academician, Liturgist, Theologian, Philosopher, Mentor and Spiritual Father to Filipino Liturgists

10 November 1939 – 9 January 2013

Jose Herminio Javier Chupungco was born on November 10, 1939 in Cainta, Rizal. He took the name Anscar when he became a monk of the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat in 1958 at the age of 19, and was eventually ordained priest in 1965 at the age of 26.

After receiving the Bachelor and Licentiate degrees in Philosophy and Theology, both magna cum laude, from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, he pursued post-graduate studies and obtained the doctorate in Liturgical Studies at the Pontificio Ateneo di Sant’Anselmo in Rome. Thus, began a lifetime involvement and dedication to the vital aspect of Christian life, the Liturgy, of which Fr. Anscar has since been an acknowledged and revered expert and authority.

He was the President of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute and Rector Magnificus of his alma mater Sant’Anselmo. He established the Paul VI Institute of Liturgy in Bukidnon with (then Malaybalay Bishop) Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. He was one of the co-founders of the Maryhill School of Theology (MST) in Quezon City; and he held the distinction of serving as Rector of the three San Beda schools - Mendiola, Rizal, and Alabang. He was the Secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines; and he was a part of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) that made the English Translation of the Roman Missal.

Furthermore, Fr. Anscar wrote extensively on the Liturgy and done pioneering work in Liturgical Adaptation and Inculturation which have benefited both the local and universal Church. As a leading expert in Liturgy, he also produced the Handbook for Liturgical Studies, which is the standard set of textbooks for liturgical education in the world. He served as Consultor in the Sacred Congregations of the Divine Worship and the Sacraments of the Vatican, and has lectured to bishops’ conferences and clergies of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Fr Anscar received two honorary degrees: in Humane Letters by the Ateneo de Manila University (1996) and in Theology by the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago (1997). In 2000, his alma mater UST also honored him with the Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Award. In 2010, he was conferred the Serviam Award by the Archdiocese of Manila. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious McManus Award by the US Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. He was about to receive the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award and the Jorge Barlin Golden Cross Award when he passed away on January 9, 2013, the Feast of the Traslación of the Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno. His demise marks the conclusion of an era for liturgical reform in the Philippines.

Source: www.ust400.com