MUCH AWAITED PROVINCIAL  WEBSITE:

www.blessedsacramentphil.org is now the official website of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, Province of Our Lady of the Assumption – Philippines-Hawaii-Uganda. During the Council’s meeting on June 3-5, 2015, the commis-sioning of an official website design for the Province was approved. Fr. Joel Lasutaz recommended his friend Mr. Jomar Yanez, a volunteer in his parish of Sacred Heart, to design the website under his supervision. The work included Project analysis, Setting up plugins/themes etc., Homepage of the site, Basic Pages, Responsiveness of the Site, and Final Testing. To both of them we express our gratitude!

Since this new website is still in its initial presentation. we anticipate more improvements later. And we are asking everyone to help and be part of it by supplying corrections and proposing suggestions. More importantly, we need your local community news, parochial activities and reflections so that these can be posted on the website. Accompanying them with pictures will make them more interesting. Kindly course through Fr. Joel, our Website Administrator, your materials.

INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF SSS FORMATORS, SRI LANKA:

SSS Formators throughout the world gathered in Sri Lanka for the International Meeting on Formation from September 24 to October 7, 2015.

The meeting’s main concern was the document “Follow me” – An Itinerary of SSS Formation: SSS Vocation Apostolate, Aspirancy, Postulancy, Novitiate, Scholasticate, P4 and Permanent Formation Level 1. This document was given to be the reference point of the formative process for our Congregation with the intention of continuing to offer a solid formation of our identity to new SSS. Thus, the dream of St. Peter Julian Eymard and our mission recognized by the Church may continue to be an authentic way to actualize our vocation.

The following were the inputs given by the different speakers:

1. Presentation of Document by Martin Tine
2. Vocation Apostolate by Antonio Genziani
3. The Pre-Novitiate by Wilson Duran
4. The Importance of the History of the Congregation in the Formation of our Candidates by Norman Pelletier
5. The Novitiate by Sajeewa Da Silva
6. The Scholasticate by Frédéric and Fr. Joseph Ai
7. IP4 and Ongoing Formation Level 1 by Martin Tine
8. The Key Elements for the Spiritual Process/Itinerary in Formation based on Eymard’s Retreat of Rome by Anthony McSweeney
9. The Challenges of Formation in Facing the Present World by Most Rev. Winston Fernando
10. The Dynamic of the Renewed Eucharistic Spirituality by the Superior General, Eugenio Barbosa Martins
11. A Formation Towards an Economy of Communion by General and Fr. Martin Tine

 

Talks were given in the morning while group work – sharing of personal experiences and responses to certain questions – were conducted in the afternoon.

Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the General Team especially to Fr. Tine, the General Consultor on Formation and the SSS Sri Lankans. Thanks, of course to Frs. Rey, Allen, Thon, Zaldy, Andres, Marlon and Vergel for representing our Province.

YOUNG RELIGIOUS – SIGN THAT GIVE HOPE, RELEVANCE AND FEASIBILITY:               

Happiness and perseverance amidst the many challenges inherent in the pursuit of the SSS Mission is the overriding experience of our Young Religious who gathered on September 14-19, 2015, in Davao City for their Ongoing Formation.

The purpose of this gathering was “to support the ‘first’ steps of the young religious in pastoral work, in the Mission of the Congregation. This will give them a framework for sharing the joys and difficulties, doubts, misunderstandings, frustrations and disappointments, failures, successes, innovation projects and dreams … etc, under the benevolent guideline of an elder. . . It will also help the religious to pass from the “dreams” they have had during the formative years into the concrete reality,  with realism and without getting discouraged, discovering all the wealth and the beauty that the difficulties and failures sometimes tend to hide.”

Those who attended were the following: Frs. Zaldy, Lennen, Allen, P.J., Marlon, Andres, Ben, Wel-wel, Jon, Israel, Ronel and Bro. Art. The Provincial facilitated the sharing (reminiscent of the old style of Group Spiritual Direction) and gave every one a copy of “Authority as Service”. The affair was successfully planned and coordinated by Fr. Ben. The Davao Community, the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Blessed Sacrament Sisters were so accommodating thus making the entire program pleasant and enjoyable.

VOCATION ANIMATORS’ MEETING – ON FISHING EXPEDITION:

The National Vocation Director of our Province, Fr. Marlon Reyes, called for a meeting of the different Local Community Vocation Animators on October 9 at the Provincialate to discuss the following:

1. Vocation Apostolate and Aspirancy Program as

presented in the Formation Document of the Congre-

gation, “Follow me” – An Itinerary of SSS Formation

2. Vocation Promotion Strategies/Recruitment/Inviting
3. Process of Admission/How to Evaluate Candidates
4. Criteria Regarding Candidate’s Suitability
5. Interview Forms
6. How to do the “Aspirancy period” in our Province.

 

The Provincial acknowledged the contributions of the vocation promoters and admonished them to remain zealous in fishing men for the Lord because it is a priority of the Province.

A VERY NICE GIFT TO NUESTRA SEŇORA VIRGEN DEL ROSARIO:

The Parish of Nuestra Seňora Virgen del Rosario in Consolacion, Cagayan de Oro City,  celebrated its annual Fiesta
in honor of its patron, Our Lady of the Rosary, on October 4. Aside from the usual festivity that the parishioners offered to their patron, the parish included in their daily schedule the afternoon adoration, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., as their special gift to Our Lady. This every afternoon adoration culminates with Evening Prayer with Solemn Benediction, then the 6:00 p.m. solemn celebration of the Mass.

 

 

1. BOBIT’S 10^TH YEAR PREBYTERAL ANNIVERSARY:

On October 11, 2015, Fr. Bobit Laroga, SSS, will celebrate his 10^th Year as an Ordained Priest in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.  The occasion will be marked by a simple yet solemn celebration of the Mass, together with brother Religious/Priests and parishioners of Nuestra Seňora Virgen del Rosario Parish.

Fr. Bobit, who is currently assigned in Honolulu, Hawaii, as an Associate Pastor, was ordained by the Bishop Emeritus of Cagayan de Oro, the Most Rev. Jesus Tuquib, D.D., at Sacred Heart Parish (a. k. a. Santuario de Eucaristico).

NOVITIATE – A PLACE REALLY FOR RENEWAL:

In the morning of October 2, Fr. Victor Buyser arrived at the Novitiate to spend a week  of silence, prayer and reflection before he takes up his next assignment at Sta. Cruz Community. In the evening of the same date, Fr. Martin de Porres Ochola also arrived and stayed in this  “holy house” to discern his renewal courses.

Both Fr. Victor and Fr. Martin enjoyed the silence, the prayer structures, the beautiful place conducive for meditation/reflection, the sports, the house visitation and of course, the company of the novices and professed, the employees and the people that attend the Sunday Masses.

COMFORTING C.R. AT STA. CRUZ CHURCH GROUNDS:

After finishing the renovation of the exterior of their Presbytery,  the SSS Sta. Cruz Community followed it with the renovation of the Public Comfort Rooms located at the leftmost gate (when facing the church), adjacent to the Music Room.

The parishioners will certainly feel the comfort that this Public C.R. will give to them because it is clean, nice and large.

RULE OF LIFE #12 – INFIRM OR ELDERLY RELIGIOUS:

“When one of our brothers is ill the community shall unite itself with him in his sufferings and keep him company in his trial.  If he is hospitalised we will visit him every day, if possible.”

“The Superior shall make sure that our infirm or elderly religious are provided with all the care they need and that, depending on their condition, they receive the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, in the joy of the Lord and surrounded by their brothers.”

Prayers for:

1. John Bourque, SSS
2. Henry Java, SSS
3. Rudy Pinto, SSS
4. Conrad Goulet, SSS
5. Felix Elverio, SSS
6. Sebastiao Machado, SSS (Gen. Treasurer)
7. Mark Divine Pangilinan, SSS
8. Garry Manansala, SSS
9. Jay Marlo Huraňo, nSSS

 

Fr. Joseph Matitu, SSS