POLA ON ITS MISSIONARY OPTION to the Peripheries
The New Year is like starting over or beginning a new page for most people; but for us, members of the Province of Our Lady of the Assumption, the New Year is another year of adding more pages in our continuing efforts of rekindling our passion for Eucharistic mission. As a best strategy forward into the future of POLA, Fr. Provincial proposed the missionary option to the peripheries during the recently concluded Amplified Provincial Council meeting (October 22-27, 2017). Pope Francis himself says, “I am convinced of one thing – the great changes in history were realized when reality was seen not from the center but rather from the periphery” (Conversation with the Union of Superiors General of Religious Men, November 2014).
In order for the Sacramentinos to be effective in their engagements in the peripheries, they need to have solid formation. The shape of our future Sacramentinos will largely depend on how they will be formed by our present breed of formators. In dealing with assignments, formation ministry should come first before all else. However, what are formators for if there are no young men in the initial formation? Thus, vocation promotion must be given very serious attention and must be the WORK OF EVERYONE.
The Chapter that Was: The Accompaniment Program for Formators – Fr. Ronel M. Fulo Jr, SSS
When I was informed that I would be taking the Accompaniment Program for Formators at the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies (IFRS), I didn’t really know what to feel. Should I be happy because I am one of just a few to take it? Or should I be anxious, knowing what is waiting for me afterwards? Honestly, I was totally confused; I prayed and asked God, “Are they really serious about putting me in the formation ministry?” Why me? I’m still young and inexperienced, and knowing my own capacity I had doubts about the seriousness of their offer. But Fr. Joseph and the rest of the council were definitely serious about putting me in Formation Ministry. I was taken out from Davao Community and transferred to the Novitiate so that I could attend the program.
The program started in early June 2017. Since most of the participants were foreigners and not well versed in English, some were required to take an English Language Course.
The program proper started on July 1 with a community building activity. Part of the vision of IFRS is to build a community among its students, and I must say that this vision was fulfilled: we became more acquainted with each other during that one week of community-building. At the end of the week, we had an exposure to different sectors (urban poor, urban missionaries, etc.) where we stayed for a couple of days. I was hesitant at first to go because I had already had many exposures during my novitiate and scholastic days. But for compliance I did go, and it turned out to be a beautiful and meaningful experience that gave me a different perspective about apostolates. That was how the whole program started; it made us first realize the value of community and the reality of life outside religious life.
Usually, IFRS conducts the weekend program, which most of my formator confrere in the congregation had attended. The program I attended was different as it is only offered every two years. It is an intensive program wherein we had to come to class from Monday to Saturday for a period of five months. There are even days that we are asked to come on Sundays to maximize the stay of those who came from other countries. The class schedule entailed some inconvenience on my part and Fr.Vergel’s as the latter was left all alone in the novitiate with all the work of being formator and curator of the community. However, Fr. Vergel assured me that he would be OK. I know the struggles of being alone and it is not that easy. So thank you, beloved Novice Master, for your self-giving sacrifice.
With regards the program, most of what it offers are the basics– the basics of forming men for Christ. This is what makes it more beautiful; we started with the basics – things that we all need since most of us are neophytes in the formation ministry. But though it offered a lot of the basics, it also provided us with an intensive and hands-on experience about formation. At the beginning of the program, my only expectation was to learn the basics of Spiritual Guidance, but it gave me more than that. I’ve learned things that I apply today in my ministry. Now I have gained the confidence that what I am doing in my ministry, especially my dealings with our formands, is the right thing I need to do, though I still need to learn more.
The whole experience of the accompaniment program has made me realize the beauty of the formation ministry. Demanding it may be but it is rewarding in the end, especially seeing people change their perspective on being followers of Jesus Christ. It was once said to us that formators are an endangered species in most of the congregations, for many can become pastors and superiors, but not all can become formators. I do not know what the council saw in me to put me in this ministry, and I do not know how serious they were in this idea. But I thank them for giving me such a rare opportunity to study about formation. There are still a lot of things to learn, and I’m a willing and eager learner. Another chapter has ended; now the reality is about to commence. And there is one thing I hold deep within my heart- a belief that gives much consolation to us formators: “God is the main formator, and he forms people according to his will. Formators in this ministry need only to be witnesses and prophets.” We owe everything to God and so we entrust to God the whole of Formation Ministry for it is God’s work.
FINDING EYMARD – F1r. Vergel Dalangin, SSS
(The following is an account of Fr. Vergel Dalangin’s participation in the meeting of the Commission d’etudes sur le fondateur et ses oeuvres, or CEFO, an international commission of the Congregation at work in making St. Peter Julian Eymard known to his religious, to the members of the Eymardian family and to the general public, through his existing writings and preachings. With Superior General Fr. Eugênio Barbosa Martins and Vicar General Fr. Martin Tine present, the meeting was held at the SSS Generalate in Rome, from November 6 to November 8, 2017.)
The International Commission of Study on the Founder and His Works, or succinctly known as CEFO, was first formed by the General Council from a small group of SSS priests and religious who had made their mark in the Congregation for their contribution to the spirituality and life of Father Eymard. To note, the original members, the triumvirate of modern Eymardian legacy, are present: Fr. Fiorenzo Salvi, the head of the commission, Fr. André Guitton, the curator of Eymardian Archives in Paris and Fr. Manuel Barbiero, the president of the Eymardian Spirituality Center in La Mure. CEFO, in response to the recent General Chapter’s call for a much wider membership, now includes a laywoman, Ms. Mary Keanne, the general directress of the Servitium Christi; Fr. Thadée Mupapa, the former provincial superior of the Democratic Republic of Congo and presently a student in Louvain University; and myself, whose only claim for the inclusion in such an august company of SSS giants is that I was, for a brief period, Fr. Manuel’s assistant in the Spirituality Center in La Mure.
The meeting was a very dynamic exchange of ideas, aspirations, insights, filled with many interesting facts and trivia about our Founder. Personally, it was a privilege for me to witness how our experts put their heads together to understand a certain text of Fr. Eymard, or to elaborate the historical and cultural nuances that makes the life of our Saint all the more interesting. Eymard really came alive during and even beyond our meetings. A case in point: in one of our coffee breaks, Fr. Manuel and Fr. André tried to make sense of the curious account concerning… grapes. During St. Peter Julian Eymard’s last days in La Mure, grapes were among the food that was served to him. This is despite the fact that even until today, grapes weren’t commonly planted in the Matheysine plateau, and that, at the time of his demise, the vintage season was still at least three months away. It suffices to say that never had I had a coffee break in my life that is so decidedly Eymardian! Another is the talk given by Fr. Michael Parker on the interior cenacle that again sparked a brisk and engaging debate that involved historical dates, contexts, linguistic nuances, etc.
Of the many topics that were discussed in the meeting, there are two things worth noting for the Filipino Sacramentinos. First is the publication of a book, tentatively titled Directoire des Agrégés: C’est le Christ qui vitenmoi, with the members of the Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament as its main intended readers. This newest offering of the CEFO compiles the preaching of Fr. Eymard in Foubourg-Saint Jacques addressed to the lay associates of the then-nascent congregation. This will be followed by a book that will compile all the preachings of Fr. Eymard on specific liturgical themes, a future collaborative effort of all the CEFO members who are individually tasked to research on Eymard a particular liturgical season and feasts. The book is a response to the desire of our priests, religious and lay people to be guided by our Founder throughout the year. Also, on the occasion of the 150th death anniversary of St. Peter Julian Eymard, the CEFO hopes to publish a slim volume of testimonies by popes, priests and religious on Fr. Eymard.
Another noteworthy detail is the call for the formation of future Eymardian specialists. To assure that the spiritual legacy of our Founder is faithfully and continually transmitted to the future generations, CEFO foresees a possibility of preparing our religious, both men and women, to academically devote themselves to the study of the history and spirituality of our beloved saint. Provinces will be encouraged to assign a scholastic or a professed member for such endeavor, someone who can be in long-term collaboration with the Commission.
To end, I wish to underline that all these efforts of the Commission are useful only if the Sacramentinos and all the members of the Eymardian family supplement their rather anemic knowledge of the Founder, by taking initiative to read and study our Founder’s writing. It is true that the language of Fr. Eymard is dated, somewhat unprecise and at times difficult to decipher, as though he was uncapable of adequately describing his mystical experiences. But this should not push us to try and make Eymard relevant to the modern world by reducing his life and spirituality into neat and simplistic slogans like “Jesus is there; everybody to him,” and “I must be to Jesus who Jesus was to his Father.” The commission affirms: St. Peter Julian Eymard is a proof of the Eucharist fulfilled, and he remains to be the ideal and the source of the originality of our Congregation, especially through his experience of the “Gift of Self.” Many things are still yet to be discovered from him, so that we may truly live the Eucharistic spirituality and rightfully claim to be members of the Eymardian family.
International Study Commission on the Founder and His Works, or CEFO – Fr. Vergel Dalangin, SSS
The International Study Commission on the Founder and His Works, or CEFO, was convoked by the Superior General, Fr. Eugênio Barbosa Martins, at the request of the Commission Coordinator, Fr. Fiorenzo Salvi. The meeting took place on November 6-8, 2017, at the SSS Generalate in Rome. Also present were the Commission’s other members: Fr. André Guitton, Fr. Manuel Barbiero, Fr. Thadée Mupapa, Miss Mary Keane of the Secular Institute of Servitium Christi and myself.
The CEFO discussed the following:
- The commission’s response to the demand of the SSS General Chapter of 2017, like a) the call for a more varied membership of the commission, b) research on certain subjects, and c) a plan to form new Eymardian experts
- Updates on the past, present and future Eymardian publications, the most recent of which is the Directoire des Agrégés, a collection of Fr. Eymard’s preaching to the lay collaborators, during the early years of the Congregation in Foubourg-Saint Jacques. A section of this Directoire, which is about Mary and the Interior Cenacle, was reviewed by the CEFO members in the course of the meeting, for its relevance and soundness.
- Plans for designing a formation program for those who wish to academically specialize on the life and spirituality of St. Peter Julian Eymard. Here, the provinces and regions will be encouraged to identify possible candidates who will collaborate closely with a member of CEFO in systematically and critically studying the extant writings of the Founder. Scholastics are put on priority for this endeavor, and, should they generously respond to this opportunity, they will be closely guided by a CEFO member. (In our case, I can personally accompany our candidate and design a program for him or her (Sr. Mary Ann Mateo was a personal pick of Fr. Manuel Barbiero as a possible Eymardian specialist for the Servants.)
- A future project publishing a research on Fr. Eymard’s thoughts and reflections on particular liturgical feasts and seasons. Thus, the work was distributed among the CEFO members. For my part, I was tasked to make a research on Fr. Eymard’s preaching during the Holy Week and Easter and to submit it before the end of April 2018.
ONGOING FORMATION FOR FORMATORS
Conference on the New Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis
in Cebu City on January 22-26, 2018,
to be attended by the following formators:
Fr. Vergel Dalangin, SSS
Fr. Andres Malawis, SSS
Fr. Manuelino Maamo, SSS
