The Filipino Chaplaincy

In the desire to attain a holistic Christian maturity based on authentic cultural Filipino spirituality, the Diocese of Parramatta has created a Chaplaincy for the Filipino Community to support and assist migrant Filipino families in their Christian life journey.

It is the desire of the Diocese that the Filipino community being people of Faith be able to integrate to the Diocese and share the gift of living faith with the local church. Integration is not assimilation i.e. forgetting one´s culture root nor is it isolation as an independent sector within the whole church.

With such aim, the Filipino Chaplaincy ventures on its journey to reach out to Filipinos in the different areas of the Diocese of Parramatta and lead them to understand, be one, and become an active part of the local church to which they now belong.

The Challenge

B.On.U.S (Belongingness, Oneness, Unity, Solidarity) is the battle cry of the Filipino Chaplaincy for the moment. It is a tough call that challenges not only the few but all Catholic Filipinos in the Diocese. Simply the challenge is to feel our BELONGINGNESS as one ethnic group and acknowledge that what binds us together as 0NE even if we come from different regional backgrounds, cultures and traits, is our strong faith in Christ. Such faith then UNITES us to follow Jesus as his disciples and pushes us on to be in SOLIDARITY with His Body, the church (Integration).

Eucharistic Celebration as a Beginning for Integration

As a starter, we are calling all Filipinos in different areas to support the Area Filipino Masses we have at the moment. We have the 2nd Sunday mass for the Parramatta area at St. Patrick´s Cathedral, Parramatta; the 3rd Sunday mass for the Penrith area at St. Joseph´s Parish Church, Kingswood; and the 4th Sunday mass for the area of Blacktown in St. Michael´s Parish Church, Blacktown.

We believe that the Eucharist is the center of our Unity. It is in there that we are nourished, united by Christ as His body and it is in there that we are challenged to show Solidarity with Him in our daily life. Thus, we hold Filipino Masses in every area, hoping that this will become the jumping board for Filipinos to start the process of integration and true service to the community. We consider the Filipino Sunday Masses as a catalyst to the community to reach out inclusively to all and to become yeast in every parish that will ignite more participation and witnessing of a living faith. Thus the Filipino Mass in not an end in itself but a beginning of greater participation and integration.

Other Activities

Culture and Faith cannot be separated. Faith expression in a certain culture allows people to connect and express more deeply the essence of faith. Thus the Filipino Chaplaincy actively maintains the Filipino cultural expression in faith through such activities as the annual Diocesan Filipino Fiesta in honour of our Patron Saint, St. Joseph the husband of Mary. We also have the unique celebration of Holy week starting with the Pabasa, then the Way of the Cross and finally the Salubong as a celebration of Easter. Liturgical celebrations are also organized for All Souls Day on the 1st Saturday of November as well as for Misa de Gallo and New Year´s Eve in December every year.

While these liturgical activities are limited to the worship kind of faith, the call remains for the chaplaincy to be truly holistic in its service and the community to be responsive to the needs and signs of the times. The challenge lies in forging a role for the chaplaincy in community issues such as a rapidly aging population and the cultural dilemma of the youth in understanding and retaining the spirit of Filipino culture. The chaplaincy is prepared to rise to this challenge.