JULY 20, 2015 – 181st PRIESTLY ORDINATION OF EYMARD

After his father’s death in 1831, he succeeded with the help of his former superior in gaining admission to the major seminary of the Grenoble diocese. On 20 July 1834, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grenoble. He was assigned assistant pastor at the town of Chate, and three years later, appointed pastor of Monteynard.

B.S.V.C. – A GIFT OF GOD TO POLA, A GIFT OF POLA TO THE CHURCH:

Every third Sunday of the month the 3:30 p.m. Mass at Sta. Cruz Church is celebrated for vocations.  This tradition has its roots when the Blessed Sacrament Vocation Club (BSVC) was founded by Fr. Honorio “Nory” Vasquez on July 16, 1978. He thought that the concept of a “club” would be a great way to attract young men to become members – young men who love God but are not sure how they can serve God, and to help these young men discern their calling in life, particularly if it is to the religious or priestly life.

The BSVC started with twelve members (Christ called twelve, a coincidence?). From there it grew through word of mouth to family, friends and schoolmates, and different BSVC chapters were formed in such areas as Pagadian, Ozamis, Dapitan, Cagayan de Oro and Davao in Mindanao; Tacloban and Tagbilaran in the Visayas; and Bicol and Pampanga in Luzon. All chapters are either based in schools or parishes.

The members of the different BSVC chapters meet regularly. Aside from the monthly gathering, there are also recollections and retreats, pilgrimages, outings and other recreational activities. And for their continued formation, an SSS religious is asked to give talks about vocation and about the congregation and its founder.

The activities lined up for the members are designed to foster interaction between and among them and provide opportunities for reflection and discernment.

It is heartwarming to note that a good number of past BSVC members are now with the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament or with other Institutes/Orders, or have joined their respective archdioceses/dioceses. Some have also found their vocation in married life and have successful careers.

This third Sunday of July (July 19) the BSVC turned 37 years old!  To mark this occasion there was the traditional 3:30 p.m. Vocation Mass as the Anniversary Mass, with old and new members in attendance especially those who became priests and religious. A pre-anniversary celebration was held the day before (July 18) in Bulacan where old and new BSVCians gathered together for a Mass and Agape.

CONGRATULATIONS – BSVC 37th Anniversary

The BSVC is truly a gift of God to POLA and a gift of POLA to the Church!

S.S.S. TAKES OVER STA. CRUZ QUASI-PARISH IN SURIGAO:

After a period of discernment and preparation, POLA has informally taken over the administration of the Quasi-parish of Sta. Cruz (later will surely be renamed San Pedro Calungsod Parish) on July 18, 2015 when the pioneering group composed of Fr. Willy, Fr. Lennen and Bro. Ed M. arrived there. Fr. Provincial with Fr. Hermie (Consultor) endorsed the three religious to the Diocese of Surigao represented by Fr. Bobby (chancellor). Then, the Quasi-parish of Sta. Cruz was turned over to the SSS by the Chancellor in the presence of some lay representatives. The SSS religious and the parish leaders will determine later the date of the formal turnover where more people will be invited to witness the event.

The local Ordinary of Surigao del Norte, Bishop Antonieto Cabajog, DD, formally invited POLA to establish an SSS presence in the Diocese of Surigao, which is located in the southern part of the Philippines. Initially, he spoke with Bishop Sofronio Bancud, SSS, DD, and Fr. Miguel Garcia, SSS, when the two attended the 75th Foundational Anniversary of the said Diocese. In response, Fr. Hermie was delegated to visit the place and reported to the Provincial Council his impressions of it. Then after a thorough deliberation, the Council approved a period of immersion that will commence before August 2, 2015.

The very reason for the invitation of the good bishop is for us to share our Eucharistic charism in his diocese which we think is very reasonable for possible foundation.

A.M.R.S.P. JOINT BIENNIAL CONVENTION 2015:

The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) one hundred forty (140) men and women religious coming from one hundred and twenty-five (125) member congregations, together with its lay partners, held its biennial convention in Cebu City from July 13-17, 2015. The theme of the convention was “Prophetic Witnesses of the Gospel Among the Poor.” Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, OFM, DD, secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, was the keynote speaker.

The AMRSP took to heart the aims for this year of Consecrated Life, as embodied in the Pope’s Apostolic Letter for the occasion, by coming up with parallel objectives as they carry out their missions to the peripheries  (proposed by Pope Francis):

• To bring the joy of the Gospel. They are asked to intently listen to ‘both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,’ as it is only by being one with the earth and the poor can they build caring structures for mission and effective and loving relations in their own congregations and the communities of the faithful.
• To reflect on the message of Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical letter on the environment: The encyclical affirms the innate goodness of humankind and all of creation. It invites every woman, man and child, the bearer of the divine, to embrace the interconnectedness and oneness with all of life. It challenges them to reject economic systems that fuel the drive for profit over humane development, power and consumerism which deprive the poor and deplete the resources of the earth.
• To be prophets of hope: This is evident in the ministries of the AMRSP Mission Partners working with those in the peripheries: detainees and prisoners, the poor farmers, workers, migrants, indigenous peoples, trafficked women and children, and the efforts to live peace in the world.

REVISIT OF THE POLA 1999 FORMATION DOCUMENT:      

Very recently, the Formation Commission, with the help of Religious who had previously been engaged in Formation Ministry, undertook a review of the current Formation Program of the Province, as requested by Fr. General, in the light of the publication of the new Formation Program for the entire Congregation.

Fr. General states, “Among the steps that must be taken by all those directly involved in formation work is the reworking of the formation plan in the different levels that are presented in the text. This work should be initiated by the Provincial/Regional Formation Commission and also the Inter-Provincial Formation Commissions of the Geographical Conferences that have assumed the formation work together. Once these formation plans are actualized, the Provincial/Regional Councils and the Geographical Conferences should approve them, in particular, the Novitiate, Scholasticate and Preparation for Perpetual Profession, and send them to the Superior General and his Council for final approval.”

Four-days of working together as facilitated by Ms. Eva Galvey of the Emmaus Institute of Formation yielded the following:

• Revisit of the 1999 POLA Formation Document and attempt to incorporate a number of approved proposals from previous Chapters and APCs in order to fill in the backlog;
• Look at, give comments and re-appropriate the newly approved Formation Program for the Congregation entitled “Follow Me: An Itinerary of SSS Formation”;
• See the newly documented Formation Program of Uganda and decide where to insert it in the Province’s Formation Program; and
• Surface current issues in formation especially sexual matters and social media to see how the Province may stand on these issues.

New proposals will be presented to the APC, then those approved will later be added to the Program. Finally, the revised POLA Formation Document will be sent to Rome for final approval.

To come up with a beautiful formation program is one thing. To faithfully implement it is another. Thus, the formators were reminded to implement the formation program that they laboriously worked on.

MIDDLE RELIGIOUS GATHERING:

Last June 22-25, our perpetually professed religious belonging to the Middle Religious Group gathered for their annual Ongoing Formation in El Nido and Puerto Princesa, Palawan. These Middle Religious are the following: Frs. Joel L., Roel dC., Pat L., Froilan B., Randy V., Jun-ed P., Jun-vic D., Muriel U., Dannen M., Thon R., Rudsend P. Bros. Rey A. and Reno I. The gathering was relaxing, at the same time stimulating a sense of awe and wonder as nature unfolded its beauty before the eyes of our religious. The Social Night, mainly Videoke, added fun and strengthened the bonding.

A very significant moment was the sharing as the group members were cognizant of the fact that though they all belong to the same bracket, still they have different years in profession/ordination and are assigned in different communities, occupying different positions or doing different ministries. Thus, the gathering was not complete without the sharing of varied experiences of joys, pains and struggles which in its second phase lasted up until 3:00 in the early morning.

ADORATION FIRST!

Even though the members of the different Eucharistic associations, religious groups and parish ministries/organizations are in a hurry to plunge right away into the main agenda of their meetings, they could not just do so because ‘ADORATION FIRST!’ is at the top of the list. This is a kind of policy adapted in the Parish of Assumption in Davao as a way of telling the people especially the parishioners and volunteers not only about the importance of Adoration but that it is our priority apostolate.

PRAISE AND THANKS TO GOD!

For the past few months many wonderful things have been happening to Saint Joseph Parish in Hilo, Hawaii. The parishioners are very appreciative of our presence especially the way we share our Eucharistic charism. Many people are commending our life of prayer especially Morning/Evening Prayers and our Adoration of the exposed Blessed Sacrament which they could not find in non-SSS parishes around. They are very appreciative of the nourishing homilies and talks/formation on the Eucharist. They are also very happy to see our religious always available to attend to them especially for funeral services. But most of all, they praise the good relationship of our religious in their parish.

REFLECTION – PERPETUALIST BR. JON SISON, SSS:

One Sunday morning, a little boy was brought by his father to attend Mass in church. The little boy was well-behaved inside the church until the part when the priest was about to start the consecration of bread and wine. He became restless and threw a tantrum.  In an effort to pacify the little boy, the father carried him on his shoulders.  The boy suddenly stopped crying as he witnessed the Eucharistic ceremony at the altar.  With awe and wonder, he was still and kept his eyes at the altar while the priest raised first the Host then the Chalice.  That little boy was me.

The story reminds me of my journey to the religious life.  Before entering the seminary, I was once a constant wanderer; everything seemed to be elusive, whether it be happiness, success or contentment.  Oftentimes, in seeming isolation, I found myself in churches and adoration chapels; and there I found my solace.  It was God’s way of leading me to his sanctuary; and I mustered up courage to follow His calling.  Soon enough I heeded His call, and found out that I am not the same man as I was before.

It has almost been ten years of formation, the learning, unlearning and relearning; my perpetual profession, the ultimate giving of oneself, is just within my reach.  While preparing for this grace-filled event, I am filled with awe and wander, marveling at God’s goodness.  Looking back now, all I can see are the hands of God working on me, with His constant and abiding presence, to become that giver of self.

Eventually, I will be receiving the gift of ordination.  This time, I will not be the boy who used to gaze at what is happening at the altar, I will be up close and personal with the Eucharist that is filled with mystery and fulfills every heart’s longings.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have given and are still giving of themselves for us.  There’s an African saying: “I am who we are.”  Indeed, without your support and prayers for us, we will not reach this far, thank you immensely!  Lastly, I would like to pay homage to my late father, Ruben Sr., my first catechist.  Thank you very much for introducing me to the center and summit of Christian faith!

PRAYERS FOR:

• Mama Ponsa (mother of Fr. Mandy), that she fully recover her health.
• John Bourque – speedy recovery
• More vocations to Religious and Priestly life, perseverance for all those in

formation and guidance for formators.

Fr. Joseph Matitu, SSS