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Verse 1
One day to these Islands
as gift and in pledge God
sent you to us, o beloved Child
And always you have been,
the light of our souls
The guide of our people,
the flame in our hearts.

Chorus:
Senor Santo Niño,
with your scepter guide our people,
Who hail you king forever,
the World is your Kingdom,
Senor Santo Niño,
in Your hands the world find its rest;
Proclaim your truth and justice,
bring to men Your peace and love

Verse 2
The ship You were sailing,
arrived at our shores
To conquer this land, the pearl of the seas;
But you had decided,
to stay in this soil
To conquer our people,
and give us a name

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 3
The queen and the rajah,
accepting the faith,
Received you in their arms,
and fell on their knees
They welcomed your presence,
and called on your name
To ask for your blessings,
and help in their needs.

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 4

More ships in the Orient,
with soldiers arrived;
And searching for gold,
they found you instead;
Legaspi, Urdaneta, the Rajah, the Queen;
Their subjects our people,
proclaimed you their king.

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 5
Now one as nation,
we pay You respect
Our people did pledge, a long time ago;
We ask You to hear the prayers of all;
The sad and forsaken,
the poor and the sick.

(Repeat Chorus)

Sharing ideas and experiences with friends and acquaintances have a way of making us appreciate and even discover new realities and insights into life.  A lady currently involvd in working with the poor in the Philippines made a comment that the Church hierarchy in the Philippines has come to a deep realization that all these years they have been sending “missionaries” all over the world - and these missionaries do not belong to any religious order.  And who are these missionaries?  They are you and I… and all the thousands of Filipino immigrants who have left their country to seek better opportunities but took with them their deep religious faith!  Everywhere tehy went, they became the fire to renew and re-invigorate the parish they belonged to.  The Archdiocese of Vancouver is a classic example.  THe Filipinos figure prominently in the Church activities:  they almost always belong to the music minitry or are actively involved in the other parish committees or in the running of the parish school.

There is also the reality that vocations to the priesthood or the other religious orders are running low particularly in the West.  The priests right now are stretched to their limits to carry out an effective shepherding of the flock.  There is no doubt we all have to pray for more vocations.

GIMILAMI continues to pursue our goal of assisting deserving seminarians who directly need financial help.