The

Concelebrated mass was officiated by Msgr. Pepe Ramirez, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila and Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, Spiritual Director of the PWHS.

The "two-in-one" Lenten Activity of the PWHS proved to be a very fruitful one. Called "two-in-one", the first part started with a beautiful "Praise and Worship" in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament led by Violette Ramiro and the choir of the St. Paul’s Contemplative Community. This set the mood for the Lenten talks by Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, Spiritual Director of the PWHS. Each talk ended with a short prayer meditation, and an appropriate song by the choir.

After the talks, the participants were led to do the way of the cross for the Holy Souls in Purgatory (see Fore and Aft Vol III No.7 Jan-March, 2001) by Bro. Victor Ortega.

There were confessions during the lunch break, PWHS booklets and paraphernalia for sale, and a packed lunch prepared by Barrio Fiesta. Earlier, the participants were given handouts composed of: Info Sheet, Application Form, Stampita, Green Scapular, Referral Form, Way of the Cross, Calendar and 3 sheets of PWHS memo pad.

Chita Monfort giving the participants an update of the PWHS and expounding the "shared dream"

The second part of the Lenten Activity started with the powerful prayer of St. Gertrude, led by PWHS Executive Director Chita G. Monfort. She proceeded to give a brief background of the PWHS, how it started, where it is now as an organization, and what are its plans for the future.

The participants were informed that from a membership of 813 last July 15, 2000, the membership has ballooned to 3,416, mostly because of the referral program that was launched after the 1st National Congress in July 29, 2000. The mailing list of the PWHS quarterly newsletter now includes the parish priests of the Archdiocese of Manila, and the Bishops in the entire Philippines.

Plans are afoot to compile a booklet of prayers for the holy souls, to include a novena for the dear departed, which hopefully will be endorsed by the CBCP for all parishes as novena prayers to culminate on the eve of November 2, 2001.

The organizers and core group members of the PWHS likewise are one in working for the PWHS to be recognized as a "lay organization", thereby institutionalizing the said apostolate.

The "shared dream", as expounded by PWHS Executive Director Chita G. Monfort, is for PWHS to have an active parish-based prayer group in every parish in the Philippines.

Rose Baybay, PWHS Area Coordinator in Fairview, sharing how she goes about organizing prayer groups for the PWHS.

Since it was emphasized that the objective of the PWHS is "to create and spread awareness of the plight of the holy souls", Sister Rose Baybay of the Parish of the Divine Savior was requested to briefly share how she goes about organizing prayer groups for the PWHS in areas where she is led by the Lord. She has so far organized four groups and is now on her way to organizing a fifth one.

The sharing was followed by a grouping of the participants where they were requested to answer the question: What can I do to help the holy souls? During the plenary session that followed, which was moderated by Bro. Vic Sevilla, Jr., group facilitators reported on their members’ responses. It was evident that there was a lot of interaction and lively discussions among the participants.

The whole day Lenten activity ended with a concelebrated mass officiated by Msgr. Pepe Ramirez, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila (and a dear friend and supporter of the PWHS) and Fr. Jojo Zerrudo. The choir of the St. Paul’s Contemplative Community outdid themselves again with their melodious singing, which contributed to the heightened spiritual awareness of the participants.


A short break for lunch	The choir of the St. Paul’s Contemplative Community

The 130 participants, composed of PWHS members, friends of PWHS members, and just plain "walk-in" participants, went home spiritually nourished, more aware of the objectives and plans of the PWHS, and elated by the feeling that during that day, a good number of souls were again released from their sufferings, especially during the concelebrated mass for their intentions.

The activities for that day created a greater awareness of the plight of the holy souls in the minds of the participants, who for sure are now even more determined to do more for the early release of the holy souls in Purgatory.