In my counseling class, I feel blessed and enriched by the sharing of the resource persons we had for the past weeks. In our class, I heard about the story of a man who grew up as an orphan and lived in the streets of metro manila. I also heard the testimony of a man who was separated from his family since birth and now that he is of age, he is trying to pick up the pieces of his identity. Two weeks ago, I had the chance to listen to the story of a man who lived a life of addiction and alcoholism, he imparted in our class how alcohol and drug addiction destroyed his family, his dreams, and eventually his own self. Last Thursday, we listened to the story of a man who suffered from severe depression and loneliness, he related to us how he struggled with the lifelessness at the basement of Makati Med during his treatment. For several meeting in our class, I heard different stories from different persons, but all of them, when I listened closely to their sharing, one thing is common and certain – they had experienced how to be tossed by the waves of problems, they came face to face with the wall of adversities, they were shattered by their struggles in life.

In our Gospel today, I noticed that the disciples, in their boat, experienced concretely how to be tossed by the waves, they felt how it was to face an adversity and struggled to come out alive in a situation of an imminent danger and death. Just like the disciples, our class resource persons expressed their fears when they were at their darkest moments. Many of them even said that they felt abandoned by the Lord, it was as if the Lord, while the storm was ongoing in their boat of life, remained asleep in the stern, comfortably laying down on a cushion. But despite their helplessness, they never ran out of courage to call on the Lord’s name and sometimes even question the Lord why He seems so silent, why He seems not to care, why He seems to be indifferent to their sufferings. But the Lord, in His graciousness would always stop the raging storms of life – mostly in His own favorable time.

I heard once that the safest place for the boat is the port or the shore, but boats are not made to stay in the port, boats are meant to sail in the dangerous sea! The Gospel today portrays the disciples leaving the shore to come to the other side. For me this signifies the faith of the disciples in Jesus. When Jesus said “Let us go to the other side” they immediately followed. I believe that that is the mystery of faith – to follow Jesus is to take risks because we don’t know what will happen when we leave the shore of our comfort zones, we don’t know what might take place when we go to the other side. In my religious life, I believe risking includes being faithful to my vows, risking may even mean discovering new horizons in challenging ministries and apostolates, risking may also be shown in an act of forgiving in the community although I know that the person will inflict the same pain again and again, risking may even be manifested by studying well eventhough academic life is in itself challenging and difficult, risking may even include loving not only my enemies but even those who seem unlovable, risking even entails growing deeply in my faith so that I can still risk some more for Jesus and for his kingdom.

By listening to the stories of our resource persons, I realized all the more that as a human being, I have powers within me, which sometimes go in conflict with one another just like a strong wind hurling through the sea. I remember when we discussed addiction in class, the resource person said: all of us are addicts, even without realizing it, we all have our addictions! Our addiction may not necessarily alcohol, drugs, sex, food and any other vices. Our addiction can be in the form of attachment to power, to position of authority, our too much dwelling on our fears, worries, bitterness, hatred, negativity, in other words, addiction can take several forms.

I pray that we all experience the serene grace of the Lord; may Jesus calm our hearts and minds, may we always realize that in every moment of our life, God is will never leave us, He will never leave our boat, no matter how strong the wind blows and whether it is high tide or low tide, God is with us!

In one of the films that we have seen in class, what struck me most was a line uttered by a priest who said “we are a Vatican II people, many may not be aware of it, but most of the things that we do as a Church were the results of the Second Vatican Council.” Attending the Latin Mass in Our Lady of Victories Parish made me more convinced of this; I realized all the more that the way we worship, our manner of seeing the Church and its people, our attitude towards the world, and even the way we do theology at present are all brought about by the fruits of the Second Vatican Council.

I attended the mass on January 1, 2012 at 9:00am; I initially do not know what to do when I arrived in the church since that was my first time to visit Our Lady of Victories, more so, attend a Tridentine Mass. Upon reaching the church, I noticed that some people were lining up towards its entrance, with me not knowing exactly what to do and afraid that people might take offense on my unfamiliarity of the rite if I ask questions, I also joined the queue thinking that maybe it is a line for people doing a required prayer before entering the church. But when I saw some people going inside the church without joining the line, that was the time that I tried to see where the line would lead me, and then I realized that the line leads to a confessional box so I immediately went off the line and proceeded inside the church. I believe that this initial encounter of mine symbolizes my lack of awareness of my spiritual heritage as a catholic who has been initiated to the faith in the spirit of Vatican II. I came to the church with a mentality of openness, not even thinking that it is a schismatic community nor with a superiority complex in reference to my being in full communion with the Catholic Church; in this case, my visit to this traditionalist parish felt like a journey to my past which allowed me to understand our church today and appreciate more and more the Spirit that moved the council initiated by Pope John XXIII.

Upon entering the Our Lady of Vitories church, I felt the atmosphere of solemnity which is sometimes lacking in our own church. It was also easy to be at prayer because of the condition of the place.The general demeanor of the people present that day as well as their manner of dressing up reminded me that I am indeed in a Holy Place. The priest in full regalia and altar servers in inticately designed surplice, together with their calculated moves, give me an impression of the dignity and sanctity of the liturgy we were celebrating.

The first difference that I have noticed when we were about to start the mass was the announcement that we are celebrating the “Circumcision of the Lord” that day  instead of the January 1 liturgical celebration which I know as the “Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God” and our church’s “World Day of Peace.” I experienced more confusions when we started with the mass because I do not know even the basics such as when to stand up, sit, or kneel down so I ended up being always on guard, observing intently the people seated in the pew in front of me. I was also impressed by the fact that quite a number of young people are present and they know exactly the responses and the songs in Latin. But some people continued to do their private devotions, especially the rosary, while the mass is going on; on the other hand, a large number of the congregation, including me, was silent all throughout the mass because they simply do not know what the responses are. My moment of curiosity came to its peak during the consecration, when the priest turned his back to the congregation and started to say the silent prayers. I tried hard to see what he was doing but unfortunately I was not able to do so. I would have wanted to see how the consecration in the Tridentine Mass was being done, specifically the rubrics, but all I saw was the back of the priest and some of his hand movements while holding the vessels.

What I liked the most in my experience attending the mass in Our Lady of Victories church was the homily delivered by Father Alain-Marc Nely, the First Assistant to the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X. I listened carefully to him because that was the only part of the mass delivered in English, thus, the only part which I understood. He started his homily by greeting the congregation with “Holy New Year” instead of saying “Happy New Year.” He continued with his discourse explaining that holy new year is the more appropriate greeting because holiness comes before our happiness. He also said that our happiness depends much on the way we live a holy life and that our joy, to be genuine, must be anchored in the Lord. In a way, I can say that his homily reflects much my experience attending the Tridentine Mass – its emphasis on the things which are holy. I believe that this can serve as a challenge to us, especially when in the church, most of our church-goers fail to recognize that our church is God’s temple and that all of us are called to holiness.

When I read the “Weekly Bulletin” of the church, a newsletter containing the liturgy of the day and some announcements, my attention was caught by this statement: “we must double and triple our prayers and efforts to make our nation more and more agreeable to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the King of the Philippines during this year.” For me, this statement gives an image of a God who needs to be appeased by our own capacity to make amends, it also tends to focus much on human effort rather that the grace of God, his mercy and his gratuitous acts.

Another line from the “Weekly Bulletin” made me uncomfortable because it claimed that “the council of Vatican II devastated the Church. New Masses teaches secretly that the Mass is no longer for God but mainly for men, primarily for their entertainment. The worldly spirit penetrated into the Catholic souls, even priests and bishops, and they are astray. They try to seek an impossible union between the spirit of the Gospel and that of the world.”

This statement made me ask: how do they see us? I may not have an exact answer to this question yet but my experience in Our Lady of Victories convinced me that the Spirit that moved the Vatican II was right in making our liturgy more meaningful to the faithful. Although I am aware that Vatican II is not perfect, it is not a one-shot solution to all our questions as a church  and that there were also abuses in the liturgy done after the council, I still go by the fact that Vatican II gave way to a renewed expression of our faith without digressing to the ideals and creed we uphold.  Personally, I can say that Vatican II unveiled the beauty of God and the Church to the humanity today so that together with St. Augustine we can recognize clearly this “beauty ever ancient and ever new.” By using the vernacular and making the mass inculturated in our own context, I have understood better the meaning of the Word made flesh and dwelt amongst us. I believe more in the God who lovingly makes himself accesible to his people and a church who expresses that its people’s joys, hopes, fears and anxieties are also its own. I ended my new year’s day with a mass in our own rite and i told myself: welcome home!

In one of the retreats I have attended when I was in my process of discernment prior to my entry to the Assumptionists, the facilitator told us a story which until now, I still vividly remember, he said that when we were still in the womb of our mothers, God whispered to us various stories of hope, courage, kindness, forgiveness, and love; but when we were born into this world, the pain that we, and our mothers, experienced in the act of giving birth made us forget all the wonderful stories God shared with us – and reading the book “Stories from a Weekend” allowed me to say that maybe, we haven’t forgotten the stories God told us, after all!

My life story, if it will be turned into a movie, will bore the viewers to death because of its lack of surprising twists, unimaginable conflicts, suspense-filled actions, or tear-jerking drama, thus, it will surely not do good in the box-office. Sometimes, whenever I listen to stories of people in our class, I feel inadequate knowing that they have learned much from their own experiences while I still succumb to my personal little problems, which is nothing compared to the immensity of tribulations our resource persons and even some of my classmates have undergone. That is why I was struck to the core by the different stories written by real persons in the book. I admired the openness, sincerity and generosity of people to share their stories. Maybe for them, it is their way of coping with their problems and starting their healing process, but I hope the writers will also know, that a reader like me learns so much from their own struggles. Reading about their life makes me say that their stories are my stories too, we may not know each other, but we share a common humanity. Thus, I can be the writer of “Friendship as a Sacrament” who also longs for intimacy, or the one who penned “Attractions and Distractions” who also battles with self-worth and self-confidence, or the sharer of the story “Freed by Forgiveness” who needs to let go of bitterness and resentment and to forgive myself, the people who hurt me, and even God, whom at times, I cannot understand.

Through these stories of people who, like me, are searching for meaning, I came to an understanding that stories are God’s tool to make us re-discover everything that He whispered to us when we were still in our mothers’ womb. I realized all the more the value of our humanity, that sharing our stories, our struggles to each one makes the burden much lighter and could pave the way to our inner healing. Personally, it affects me because it helped me look deeper into myself and see my very own story. By their own stories, I am now convinced that my story too, is sacred, just like theirs. It is sacred because it allows me to look into my inner strength as a person, which I believe God entrusted me as a gift, as a grace. It may be simple, but it is no way lesser in value because each of us is unique and we have our own way of living the life God bestowed upon us.

The stories that I have read from the book challenged me to be more sensitive and respectful to the people around me. Now I have realized all the more that I have to be careful in my words and actions towards others because they might be carrying a heavy baggage caused by their stories. I also pray that with full trust in His mercy, we let God, the great storyteller, write our own stories.

*the book “Stories from a Weekend: Essays on Life Journeys by the Life’s Directions Companions” is published by St. Pauls Philippines.

Be an Assumptionist!

Basic Requirements:

We invite young men to share our passion for the Kingdom. If you are a college graduate or a young professional, willing to commit your life to the Assumptionist ideals, we welcome you.

The criteria for an Assumptionist? Aptitude and desire, but above all a passion to bring the message and wisdom of Jesus Christ to today’s world. As Emmanuel d’Alzon, founder of the Assumptionists, wrote: Our Lord said: “I have come to set a fire”. Whoever wants to join in the work of Jesus Christ must be ablaze with an immense love. That is the Apostle’s cry: “The love of Christ impels us”.

 

Vocation Ministry Activities:

• Mini-retreats and visits

Twice a year, a search-in retreat is organized in Antipolo, Cagayan de Oro and Antique for contacts who want to deepen their desire to follow Christ more closely and share their hopes, dreams and struggles. It is one way also to get to know Assumption, the spiritual legacy of Fr. Emmanuel d’Alzon, our founder, and flesh out the ways to maintain a sense of prayer in their daily life. From time to time, the Vocation Ministry team visits the candidates to keep contact with them and up-date them on the life of the community.

• Discovery visit

One means for the contact to better know the community in its day-to-day life is the discovery visit, usually a week-long stay at the Adveniat community in Manila. They observe from inside what community life, daily prayer, chores and responsibilities really mean in the Augustinian spirit. It is also a time for personal dialogue and to evaluate the vocation journey of the person. The contact is sent back home to ponder his own ability to live this life and test the strength of his desire to join the community.

• Home visit

When we come to see that living a community experience would benefit the discernment for a possible vocation to religious life, visiting the family of the contact has proven necessary to better understand his background, his family story, his environment and his commitment in his home parish. It is also good for the parents and siblings to get familiar with the Assumption family.

• Summer work camp

Eventually, an invitation is extended to the contact to participate in a summer work camp whereby one can volunteer with other contacts in helping victims of natural disasters. As an example, in April 2008, such a camp is organized in Albay (Legaspi) to help build homes for the families who were victims of the typhoon of November 2006, when ashes of the slopes of Mount Mayon covered part of the village and destroyed their property. A similar camp was organized in 2009 in Piat (Cagayan Valley).

• Ten step program

In order to help the candidate discern his vocation, a series of questions is sent through e-mail covering ten aspects of his life: vocation story, family background, prayer life… It becomes a basis for on-line dialogue with a member of the Vocation Team.

• Staying in contact

All along the process of discernment, the best means to stay in contact is the regular e-mails and text messages; they help keeping up-dated on the activities and the life of everyone. Once in a while, a text is circulated or the Chronicles from Manila is sent.

Contact Details:

Address:

Galabert House: 11 Regidor St., Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Telephone Number (02) 990 1290

Vocation Director: Fr. Gilles Blouin, AA

email: gillesblouin46@yahoo.com

website: www.assumptionists.ph

 

Few years ago, we watched “2012″ – a movie based on an ancient calendar’s claim that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. And so, here we are, celebrating the first week of 2012. If the calendar, and the movie, is telling us the truth, then, we still have 11 months more to go to enjoy our life here on Earth.

Last December 31, we visited our Tito Cadio in their house in Novaliches, and to spice up our conversation, he initiated a topic which was quite appropriate for the new year celebration – the 2012 end of the world!

My Uncle Cadio told us that he’s not afraid even if the world will end this year. He said that end of the world means that he will no longer be tied up to his concerns and responsibilities in daily life and this will also be the start of our living face to face with God – the source and goal of our life. Instead of being afraid that the world might end this year, he said that one must be happy because it will usher a new life for all of us and for the whole Earth.

I thought of his statement even when I was already here in our community. I believe, his statement carries with it something which is at the core of our Christian faith. Our faith tells us not to be afraid even in the midst of war, destruction, and calamities because at the end of all these, God’s love will triumph.

As we continue with our daily life, may we always be guided by the ideals of our faith so no matter what happens, fear will not overcome us but hope and love will light our path the whole year round…even beyond December 21, 2012.

Dear God,

Today, we celebrate the first day of 2012. Thank you for letting us see this new year. I lift up to you all my plans this year for you to sanctify. Guide all our decisions and actions. Bless us and the people close to our hearts.

I pray for the sorrowing…that they may find joy.

I pray for the distressed…that they may find security in you.

I pray for the sick…that they may be healed.

I pray for the lost…that they may find their way back home.

I pray for all the people that I will be meeting this year, new places that I will be visiting, and new adventures that I will be taking.

Lead the way, Lord.

Amen

Dear Lord, Thank you for another year in our lives. I offer to you all that happened to us in 2011 – be it good or bad. May we learn from all our failures and may our successes inspire us to give always our best. Be with us always this 2012. Bless us together with the people close to our hearts. To you we lift up our plans this coming year. Guide and protect us and lead us always to you. Amen.

“Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world. Let us not tire of preaching love; Though we see that waves of violence succeed in drowning the fire of Christian love, love must win out; it is the only thing that can.” – Archbishop Romero, September 25, 1977

In the book “Oscar Romero,” Marie Dennis, et al, mentioned that Romero was a traditional cleric, a conservative theologian, a generous but reserved pastor, and a man given to regular solitary times of prayer. The movie we watched on the life of Romero portrayed him almost the same especially in the movie’s first part where he was showed having hesitancies on responding to the pastoral needs of his people. From the middle of the movie towards its conclusion, Romero was portrayed in a different light, for then, he was already the fierce but gentle character the world knew and loved.

 

Based on the movie, what sparked his conversion to be the Romero that we know was his sensitivity to the call to live out his vocation as a prophet in the midst of socially-ill El Salvador of his time. He saw in the suffering of his brother priests and men and women religious his awakening of his deeper sense of being a follower of Christ; his being immersed to the issues concerning the poor and taking part in their liberation made him not just a person who works for their welfare but truly a pastor, a saint, and an image of Christ.

 

The poor had a special place in Romero’s heart. For him, they are not part of the collateral damage between the conflicting parties of Salvadorian elites but part of the reign of God, the body of Christ. And this conviction led him to preach, as Marie Dennis, et al, said that the poor were the Good News of God, that the poor – not the magisterium, the episcopacy, or theologians – were the source of holiness. For me, his love for the poor led to his discovery of his mission in life, of his place in God’s plan of salvation.

 

Watching the film on Romero’s life reminds me of my trip to the Martial Law Museum (near EDSA) when I was still working in an NGO working for peace and reconciliation – what touched me most in that museum is the list of the victims which includes many priests and religious, my director (a religious) in that NGO happen to be one of the survivors of martial law who experienced imprisonment, tortures, and any other human rights violation; their life stories, together with Romero’s continue to challenge me to work for peace in a non-violent way, their life reminds me that our Church was indeed founded on the blood of the martyrs who continue to be the voice of the voiceless, the strength of the poor, and the incarnated Christ of our times – no matter what the cost may be.

On November 12, our brothers Ricky and Alex will be ordained to the sacred order of priesthood. We request all of you to join us in a nine-day prayer in preparation for this grace-filled event.

God our Father,
you appointed Jesus Christ High Priest of the new and eternal covenant.
By grace you allow men to share in this priesthood and in his saving work.

We ask you to pour out your Holy Spirit on our brothers, Ricky and Alex, whom you have chosen for priesthood.
May they preach the Gospel worthily and wisely, celebrate the sacraments faithfully and reverently, and pray without ceasing. May they be united more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father as a pure sacrifice.

Bless, sanctify, and consecrate the men whom you have chosen and called to the sacred order of Priesthood. Through the Holy Spirit make their lives worthy of the mysteries they celebrate.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Priest and Lord.
Amen.

Watching the videos about the universe in our class made me realize that indeed, the Earth is just a pinprick of reality in the whole of creation. It was shown in the videos that what we know about the heavenly bodies is just a mere 10% of the unimaginable vastness of the entire space. Although it may be irrelevant to our class discussion, but the videos we have seen made me think of the possibility of other forms of life in the outer space – but this thought breeds more question in me; if there are another life forms out there, would they also have a kind of revelation and salvation? Will they also have a notion of the Trinitarian God? I may not be able to find answers to these questions but one thing is sure, the creation reflects the power and grandeur of the Triune God.

For me, the ecological system around me bears a sacramental nature for it points to the realities of the Father creator, the Word made flesh who became part of our human history, and the Spirit who continues to renew the face of the Earth.

As much as it is a sacrament of God’s power, the current state of our ecology tells us also of how careless human beings have become when it comes to the preservation and conservation of our natural resources. It is a sad fact that every year, there are many animals which can now be considered either as endangered or extinct; due to rapid urbanization in many areas of the world, forests are now being reduced to a wasteland of concrete jungle; and industrialization brought immeasurable destruction to our air and bodies of water.

The world community now is at risk in losing the precious gift of ecology. I believe that one of the things that can help us encourage our fellow human beings in taking action for the benefit of creation is the re-discovery of Trinitarian spirituality and finding ways of doing theology that will be more sensitive to environmental and ecological concerns. If we really believe in God the creator of heaven and earth, both seen and unseen, we must also take part in the on-going creation and not destruction of our planet, our actions must bear the creative mark of the Creator since we are also created in his image and likeness. As followers of the Word made flesh, we must take into our hearts and actions his teachings. John F. Haught said that as Christians, we must widen our circle of relationship which includes our relationship with nature. The gospel portraits of Jesus picture him as one who constantly sought out deeper connections, Jesus’ life then is the model of our own ecological concern. Haught added that “from a Christian point of view, our ecological sensitivity and action can be seen as a manifestation of the radically inclusive Spirit of Christ extending over all creation into the kingdom that will have no end. On the other hand, whenever we pray “come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth,” we must be true to our words and allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit of renewal. The same Spirit who emboldens the disciples to preach the Good News must also move us into action for the sake of our ecology.

Like the Trinity, may all our actions be a source of harmony, just like the way God put order in the midst of chaos at the creation of the universe.