This Friday, the Catholic faithful celebrate the solemnity of the feast of St. Joseph, venerated in all Christianity as the foster father of Jesus, and the head of the Holy Family.

Masses, novenas, processions, and the recitation of the Litany of St. Joseph will be held in Catholic churches all over the world named in honor of the patron of the Universal Church, fathers, workers, and the dying.

At the St. Joseph Parish (home of the Bamboo Organ) in Las Piñas, commemorative masses will be celebrated at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In Eucharistic celebrations today, the Gloria, which is not sung at mass during the Lenten season, will be sung, while altars will be decorated with flowers, traditionally omitted during Lent, to signify rejoicing.

Considered as the second greatest saint in the Catholic Church after the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, who was a skilled carpenter by profession, was a model husband to Mary. As the foster father of Jesus, he taught Him basic carpentry skills and “made Jesus aware of the dignity of labor.” Under his guidance, Jesus grew in wisdom and grace.

St. Joseph was a descendant of David, the greatest king of Israel and was, according to St. Matthew, “a righteous, compassionate, and caring man. He was a man of faith and was very subservient to God.” His other feast day is May 1. (Christina I. Hermoso)

US support
The United States military vowed Thursday to provide support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in its effort to finish off the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the next few months.

But Lieutenant Commander John Perkins, deputy Public Affairs officer of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, clarified that the assistance does not include actual combat operations since it is prohibited under local laws.

"If there is a mission that they require assistance, we are happy to help, if there is something to do, we will love to do that," Perkins told reporters in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Right now, Perkins said their focused is on rebuilding the conflict-torn areas in Mindanao, concentrating on the building and repair of roads, schools, and other infrastructure projects.

Earlier, Lieutenant General Delfin Bangit, AFP chief of staff, said he had already ordered the deployment of additional troops and resources in Sulu in order to defeat the remaining ASG in the island province. (Aaron Recuenco)

Stalls raided
Manila policemen raided Thursday afternoon several stalls reportedly selling magic sugar-laced refreshments in the Tondo area.

The operations conducted by the Manila Police District (MPD) Moriones, Tondo police station 2 yielded 26 gallons of samalamig, a homemade refreshment, and two packages of magic sugar or neotogen.

MPD Station 2 commander Superintendent Ernesto Tendero said that the raids were conducted on ambulant stalls along Juan Luna and Elcano Streets in Tondo at around 9 a.m.

Tendero pointed out that at least six of the vendors were taken into custody after the other vendors left behind their stalls and equipment as soon as they got wind of the police operations.

The station commander said that the raid stemmed from a guidance issued by the city against the use of magic sugar.

Manila city officials have also warned ambulant vendors and other food sellers against using magic sugar based on the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and Department of Health (DoH) warnings against the substance. (Leonard D. Postrado)