My Letter to St. Francis Xavier

Dear St. Francis Xavier,

I have been hearing your name since I attended a Catholic High School; I think there was even a class back then that was named after you, but I have a little confession to make, you were not appealing to me, I was not attracted to you. I like to blame my ignorance about you for this attitude of mine. But I was thankful that I was given an opportunity to know you better. I have learned many things about you in our class and I hope this will start a deeper friendship between the two of us.

I hope it will not be too late for me to know you better but one thing is for sure, you have ignited a fire within me that makes me desire to be a missionary like you.

In our class, I heard that you had a not-so-good intention in joining the priesthood because you saw priesthood at the beginning as a way for you to bring back the glory of your family’s name. Your life is an example that motivations, through the grace of God, can be purified. I wonder what made it so easy for you to say yes to go for a mission, even as a last minute replacement; was it because of your curiosity and spirit of daring? Was it because of your sheer love for mission and for God? Or was it because your Society emphasizes obedience so much?

In the movie we have seen, the crab with a cross asked a question: Where is the glory in all that? It is the same question that I give you now, where is the glory in all that you have experienced, all in the name of God?

In your time, we who live in the oriental were regarded by Westerners based on the norms of the West, a practice which led to abuses. St. Francis, how do you see us Asians? When going to a mission, how do you strike a balance between your own culture and the culture of the host country?

I am so impressed with your friendship with Ignatius. Looking at how you longed for his presence in your difficult moments made me appreciate more your humanity; on the other hand, your friendship with Jesus inspires me. The way you cling to him blindly especially in trying times convinced me that you are not only a missionary, you are also a mystic. I believe that it was your being a mystic that sustained you even in the midst of dangers in your missionary journeys and in your apparent failure of not reaching China. Your life is a testimony to the fact that we can do great things if we allow God write our own story.

I wish to journey with you,

Ellis

Be an Assumptionist!

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: http://www.assumptionists.ph

 

Fatal Attraction

In our class last week, we were asked the question “what attracted you to your congregation?” – I have reflected on this question many times and came up with a consistent answer, that what attracted me to the Assumptionists is the community life. When I visited the community for the first time some time in 2007, I was touched to see priests, professed religious, and candidates doing the chores together – which in many places and seminaries in the Philippines is quite unimaginable due to the “honor” we Filipinos give to our religious leaders. I think, that strengthened my calling – when I saw priests in the Assumptionists mopping the floor, sweeping dry leaves in the lawn, and washing the dishes. For me, this reflected the quality of community life the Assumptionists have, a community where equality exists because everybody is treated as a brother and not what a he achieved in his life. Another thing that attracted me to the congregation is the way the Assumptionists celebrate the liturgy of the hours. Our chapel in Adveniat House (our community in Katipunan where I had my first experience of the Assumptionists) is set in a monastic way, the chairs are arranged in two choirs facing each other and the liturgy of the hours, its psalms and canticle, is always chanted. There was also a family atmosphere in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist especially in the giving of the sign of peace and in taking part of the body and blood of Christ. So all these experiences, plus my conviction that I will be able to share fully my talents and gifts to the congregation, contributed in making the decision to join the Assumptionists in 2008.

I believe that the call to religious life starts with an attraction; it may be an attraction to the lifestyle of the congregation, the ministry, the habit, and the good examples set by the religious, the prayer life, etc. But I believe all the more that a call to religious life must go beyond attraction, it must be molded into a conviction that God is the one calling you to live closely to Him and to love Him more fully through the religious consecration. One’s conviction of being called and chosen makes a religious faithful to the evangelical vows – all for the love of Jesus.

But religious life is not at all easy! It may be laden with trials and sufferings. There will be period when one will experience doubts and dark nights of the spirit. I think, these kinds of experiences are part of our faith-journey which calls us, still, to deepen our faith to Jesus knowing that it is in our weakness that His power reaches perfection.

So, if you feel a certain attraction to the religious life, don’t fret 🙂 The best thing that you can do is to pray, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the gift of discernment and guidance that you may hear God’s voice, it may be a start of a wonderful journey of living your life and faith to the fullest.