Greeting you all the Peace of our Risen Lord.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Faith in the risen Lord is not something we explain by way of retelling the story of the resurrection, but by way of resurrecting also our actions of faith, hope and love which might have died along with our weaknesses and limitations. It can become entirely pointless to celebrate Easter Season if we fail to recreate the life-giving values of the resurrection in our relationships with our confreres in the community, our friends and with those whom we share our Eucharistic mission. We only become true Christians on account of our sincere resolve to bring Christ alive in our sentiments and in our actions. In fact, if there is any spirituality, we Christians must value the most, it is the spirituality of the resurrection; always attuned to newness, fullness, rebirth, hopefulness and faithfulness. This is one reason why in this sacred season of Christ’s Resurrection, we are called to promote and protect the dignity of the human life.
May we all seek to be blessed with the spirit of Easter to increase our fervors to know, to love and to serve the Lord. Let our dailies be as bright and warm as the joy of the resurrection; because the Resurrection is not a past event, but always a present event. That is why we say: “Christ IS Risen”; we do not say “Christ was Risen.” This is to think that even the grammar is a perfect indication of the truth of the Resurrection. It is not a past perfect tense; it is a present perfect tense. Meaning, that the resurrection already happened and it continues to happen until now, so must it be in our thoughts and actions.
A blessed Easter Season to one and all!
FR. ROEL L. DELA CRUZ, SSS
Provincial Superior
The Council’s animation and visitation of Fr. Provincial, Roel dela Cruz, SSS with Fr. Rudsend Paragas, SSS in Canberra, Australia last January 26 to February 1, 2023 concluded through a meeting with Archbishop Christopher Prowse. Part of the meeting program was the ocular inspection of the possible parishes to be administered by our present SSS religious, Fr. Anthony Riosa and Fr. Renoir Oliver, Jr. starting sometime in June 2023. The Archbishop recognized how we, as SSS religious highlighted the importance of being assigned in “cluster” as religious in immersion and mission. Hence, the Archbishop expressed his intention of having the future administered parishes of SSS to be all located at Central Business District of Canberra, Australia, namely: St. Joseph Parish (with possible chaplaincy of the Australian National University attached to the Parish), St. Patrick Parish, St. Bridget Parish and Holy Rosary Catholic Church (with possible chaplaincy of Australian Catholic University attached to the Parish). The archbishop requested for another SSS religious, in addition to Fr. Sebastian Luistro, who is preparing for future Canberra mission.
On February 9, 2023, Fr. Mario Jose Parlingayan, Jr., SSS officially reported to the City of Lamar, Colorado where the Bishop of Pueblo assigned him as Parish Administrator of St. Francis de Sales Parish/Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Fr. Leonard Ayuyao, SSS also arrived in the same parish on March 22, 2023 to officially assume the task of the assistant Parish Administrator.
Rev. Fr. Zaldy Norba, SSS made his oath and act of faith on February 1, 2023 as the newly appointed Local Superior of the SSS Pueblo, Colorado Community.
PIONEERING MEMBERS OF THE PUEBLO, COLORADO COMMUNITY
Fr. Zaldy Norba, SSS – Local Superior, Parish Priest of St. Pius X Parish
Fr. Joel Lasutaz, SSS – Local Com. Treas. / Parish Priest of Mary Help
of Christians Parish
Fr. Peter John Abgado, SSS – Parish Priest of St. Francis Xavier Parish
Fr. Joseph Matitu, SSS – Parish Priest of Our Lady of Guadalupe /
St. Patrick Parish
Fr. Jose Mario Parlingayan, SSS – Administrator, St. Francis de Sales
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
Fr. Leonard Ayuyao, SSS – Asst. Admin., St. Francis de Sales / Our
Lady of Guadalupe Parish
Fr. Mark del Rosario, SSS became the first Filipino Sacramentino to go for pastoral immersion in Pueblo Colorado until its approval as a Canonically Erected community on January 1, 2023. Effective on July 1, 2023, Fr. Mark will assume his new assignment as Pastor of Saint Joseph Downtown Catholic Church, in San Antonio, Texas under the Province of Saint Ann, USA.
On March 25, 2023, the first meeting of the Province of Our Lady of the Assumption (POLA), Philippines’ international collaboration with Spain Delegation under the Province of Madonna del SS. Sacramento, Italy was held at Sainz de Baranda Community in Madrid, Spain. The said meeting was presided by Fr. Jose Antonio Ruiz, SSS (Vicar General) with the Philippine Province represented by Fr. Roel dela Cruz, SSS (Provincial Superior), Fr. Jonelito Sison, SSS (Consultor on Lifestyle), and SSS Filipino Delegation in Madrid, Spain, namely Fr. Allen Peña, SSS and Fr. Throy Fuentebella, SSS; and the Province of Italy represented by Fr. Gabriele Di Nocolò, SSS (Provincial Superior) and Fr. Mateo Magri, SSS (Provincial Treasurer).
The said meeting discussed some concerns on Spain mission and collaboration as continuing steps to undertake more comprehensive and realistic planning of future, as one SSS aspiring internationality in mission and collaboration.
Fr. Provincial Roel dela Cruz, Fr. Jonelito Sison and Fr. Allen Peña with Fr. Vicar General Jose Antonio Rivera during their courtesy visit and audience with Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Spain.
Rev. Jessie was Ordained to the Priesthood
On February 4, 2023 (birthday of our Founder, St. Peter Julian Eymard) Rev. Jessie Baldonado Argoncillo, SSS received the Sacrament of Ordination to the Sacred Order of Presbyters at the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the Provincialate.
House, by the Most Reverend Victor B. Bendico, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Baguio; a former professor of Fr. Jessie in the college seminary. The ordination was well attended by his family members and friends who came all the way from the province.
Fr. Jessie Argoncillo, SSS is now assigned in the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Holy Eucharist in Cagayan de Oro City as the community treasurer and vocation animator of the parish.
On February 11-15, 2023 the POLA young religious held their annual gathering in the Province of Capiz in time with the Thanksgiving Mass of Fr. Jessie Argoncillo in his parish last February 11, 2023. This year’s theme centered on the concerns of “Coordination, Collaboration, and Collegiality: Toward Effective Team Ministry”. Fr. Provincial, Roel dela Cruz served as the resource person during the annual gathering. The shared thoughts from this gathering reminded each young religious to nourish a sensitivity to the need and condition of each community. This is a call to recognition and appreciation of individual uniqueness of God’s gift that come in many yet completing favors of natural abilities, talents, personal qualities, characteristics and skills. At the heart of this gathering is the key reminder for the young religious that there is so much hope in religious life to keep the fire of the Eucharist burning in us, with us and through us.
SOLEMN RITE OF PROFESSION
IN THE SECULAR INSTITUTE
SERVITIUM CHRISTI – MANILA CHAPTER
The Servitium Christi – Manila Chapter celebrated admission of its members for First Profession (Rite of First Incorporation): (1) MS. EVANGELINA O. NOVALES, (2) MS. MARITES H. DIAZ (3) MS. SOTERA F. ROQUE; Renewal of Vows (Rite Renewal of Incorporation): MS. CARMENCITA B. HUEVOS; and Perpetual Profession (Perpetual Incorporation): MS. MARIA FATIMA C. PADUAL on March 11, 2023 at the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the Provincialate. The Rites of Profession was presided by Rev. Fr. Roel dela Cruz, SSS. The occasion was graced by the presence of the General Directress of Servitium Christi, Ms. Mary J. Keane from Ireland.
FIRST INCORPORATION …. The member expresses her first incorporation by professing the vows of chastity in the celibate state, poverty and obedience, for the duration of one year. This incorporation may be renewed each year for six years, after having requested in writing and having obtained approval from the Regional Directress with the consent of her Council. (Secular Institute, Servitium Christi Rule of Life No. 27)
PERPETUAL INCORPORATION …. Perpetual consecration is the definitive commitment by which the member incorporates herself forever to the service of God, the Church and the world (Secular Institute, Servitium Christi Rule of Life No. 28)
BSVC LENTEN RECOLLECTION 2023
The members of the Blessed Sacrament Vocation Club had their Lenten Recollection on March 18-19, 2023 at the Provincialate House facilitated by their Director, Fr. Israel Cruz, SSS. Church visitation around Metro Manila served as their simple pilgrimage to conclude the two-day Lenten recollection.
On March 26, 2023, the 5th Sunday of Lent, the Eymard Formation Center (Scholasticate Community) celebrated another blessing of academic achievement of its two Ugandan scholastics. Br. Emmanuel Byaruhanga, SSS (Diocese of Lira) completed his Master’s Degree in Theology (MATh) as Cum Laude with his thesis entitled: “An Evaluation of the Theology of Dialogue according to the Vademecum of the Synod of Bishops of 2023-2024 as practiced in the Blessed Sacrament Parish of Kimaanya between the Clergy and the Laity.” Br. Fredrick Bugembe, SSS (Diocese of Masaka) completed his Master’s Degree in Pastoral Theology (MAPTh).
COLLABORATIVE MINISTRY:
New Form of Ministerial Presence of Sacramentinos in a Particular Church
by: Rev. Fr. Miguel Garcia, SSS, JCL
(Notes of references from the SSS Rule of Life by Fr. Vergel Dalangin, SSS)
Collaboration can be defined as people or communities working together to achieve a common goal effectively and abundantly. It moves beyond occasional cooperation and coordination for particular event, activity or schedules like celebration of Masses or hearing Confessions. In collaboration, more persons formally agree to work together in a given particular context. Collaboration is in a way a concrete application of journeying and listening together (Synodality).
We have been engaging ourselves in collaborative ministry. For those who are assigned in parishes, we are collaborating with bishops, clergy, religious and laity of the diocese in the pastoral ministry and in carrying out or implementing pastoral plan of a particular church (cf. RoL 35). Collaboration in ministry is as old as any form of ministerial presence that we are engaged. Perhaps the “newness” here is in the manner or ways and approach how we will engage ourselves. Our Rule #35 reminds us, “Saint Peter Julian Eymard saw the Eucharist as a powerful force of renewal for Church and society. His life and his mission as Founder awaken in us an echo of his ardent faith and love. His ability to translate his eucharistic grace into very diverse ministries stimulates us to be creative in our mission.”
On June 27, 2020, Pope Francis approved an Instruction of the Dicastery for the Clergy entitled: “The Pastoral Conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church.” The Instruction is intended to call attention to the evolution that society has undergone in recent decades and the role and form of the parish in this new context. Pope Francis wants the Christian community to have the missionary and evangelizing spirit of “the Church that goes forth” and the Instruction brings together his interventions related to the community, the parish, the responsibilities of all the baptized in the service of the Gospel and in particular, the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, applied to the parish community. The Pope has stated: “The mission, the ‘Church on the move,’ is not a program, an enterprise to be carried out by sheer force of will. It is Christ who makes the Church go out of herself.”
The Instruction likewise is intended to be a canonical-pastoral tool to better apply the ecclesiology of Vatican II to the life of the parish. In his first address to the parish priests of Rome, Pope Francis “recalled the importance of ‘creativity,’ meaning thereby ‘seeking new ways,’ that is ‘seeking how best to proclaim the Gospel’” and witness it in the reality of daily life. This reverberates our Rule #3, “By our life and activities we share in the mission of the Church, so that the Eucharist may be celebrated in truth, that the faithful may grow in their communion with the Lord through eucharistic adoration in the setting of exposition, that they may commit themselves to the renewal of their Christian communities and collaborate in liberating individuals and society from the forces of evil.” Likewise, Rule #41 tells us, that our “[parishes] and communities shall be places of proclamation and the living of the gospel, places of prayer, eucharistic adoration and festive celebration, places of sharing and fellowship, places of freedom and human development…”. Moreover, “Attentive to the modern mentality, we want to respond to the expectations of our contemporaries with appropriate catechesis, an initiation into prayer and an awakening to their responsibilities” (RoL 42). The spirit of the Congregation needs to be expressed in new forms that responds to the demands and challenges of the modern context. The richness of the Eucharist invites us to engage ourselves in other forms of collaborative ministry available and possible. There are opportunities where we can share our charism and spirituality in accord with our life and mission as inspired by St. Peter Julian Eymard.
The Instruction is composed of two parts: the first part (chapters 1-6) offers a reflection on pastoral conversion, the missionary sense and the value of the parish in today’s world; the second part (chapters 7- 11) dwells on the internal divisions of the parish community, the different roles present in it (pastor, presbyters, deacons, consecrated persons, laity), the bodies of ecclesial co-responsibility in parish care, and presents the context in which change can occur and the canonical instruments to address it. Although it contains no new legislation, the Instruction proposes new ways to better apply current legislation.
The current Instruction, therefore, is intended for the benefit of certain pastoral choices, some of which pastors have already introduced and have already been “experienced” by the People of God for some time. This text aims to contribute to the evaluation of such choices, to correct and rethink them, when necessary, with a view to improving upon the journey undertaken thus far, by harmonizing particular law with universal law, while at the same time laying the foundations for a future path for pastoral care. In this spirit we can say that what our rule #10 also reminds us: “Our community does not exist for its own sake but aims at being a setting for seeking God in order to reveal his love to people. It shares the life of the human family and seeks to live the Gospel in all its dimensions. Its project gives concrete expression to its role in the mission of the Church and determines its way of life.”
Given that the Church is mandated by Christ to be missionary, evangelizing and outward looking, a reform of her structures is continuously required in order to respond to the challenges of the day. Naturally, this involves a certain re-organization in the way the pastoral care of the faithful is exercised, so as to foster a greater co-responsibility and collaboration among all the baptized. Rule #34 speaks powerfully along this line, “We seek to understand all human reality in the light of the eucharist, source and summit of the life of the Church [SC 10]. We discern in this sacrament a call to share in the life and mission of the Lord, and we give priority to activities that manifest the riches and demands of the Eucharistic mystery in all its dimensions.”
In addition to the Parish community being determined solely on a territorial basis and clearly distinct from neighboring communities, the present Instruction has also sought to foster and promote, in accordance with essential canonical norms, a pastoral closeness and cooperation between different Parish communities. The grouping Parishes together, whether in pastoral units or vicariates, the purpose of which is “to promote forms of integral collaboration between adjoining parishes.” Let us again be guided by our proper norm as stipulated in our Rule #35, “While our mission extends to the whole Church it is carried out within the pastoral program of a diocese or region. We work in close union with bishops, priests and laity, eager to offer our own particular contribution of spiritual life and apostolic initiate.”
Taking the above-mentioned possibilities for diocesan restructuring into consideration, namely, the various ways of assigning and sharing in the exercise of pastoral care, the establishment of pastoral regions or units, together with the consequent union, merger or suppression of Parishes, this Instruction is intended to offer Bishops and their collaborators, clerics, religious and laity, the pastoral and canonical tools to work together 12 for the greater good of the ecclesial community. “Like the mustard seed which never ceases to grow, the Church progresses in her understanding of the realities and words that have been given to her. Likewise, we ourselves ought to deepen our understanding of the Eucharist and promote a fruitful celebration of this mystery with whatever demands it makes on us…” (RoL 36).
In line with this, we likewise think of our own Sacramentino’s way of engagement in particular church. The current scenario where we are engaged as of the moment is administering parishes entrusted to our care. We are only administering parishes but no parish is owned by the Congregation. Since the beginning of our presence in the Philippines (1957), parishes have been entrusted to us and to date this is still the case. We might as well explore other ways of engagement in particular church. It is time that we can consider new ways of sharing the richness of our charism in a particular church not just in the context of administering a parish. The image that is relevant in this situation is the disciples journeying along the road to Emmaus; after Jesus explained to them everything, their eyes were opened and recognized him in the breaking of the bread and consequently prompted them to go back and engaged themselves in mission with renewed vigor and dynamism. We journey together with our collaborators in a new way or forms of sharing the richness of our Eucharistic spirituality.
The idea about the possibility of being present in a diocese but not necessarily administering a parish may become a new form of collaborative ministry between our congregation and a particular diocese. A way of being present, of having a community or a house within a diocese is an invitation that we can place ourselves at the service of parishes and dioceses. Those religious involve in this engagement can stay in a community living and physically present within the diocese; but this community will not necessarily be canonically established, rather a constituted community attached to a canonically erected community. The presence may even be just in a form of individual presence of a religious belonging to a community that is living within or nearby diocese. There are details that are to consider provided that communal life is not compromised.
This idea is within the spirit of the Instruction issued by the Apostolic See as well as in accordance with our proper law.
Finally, “Under the action of the Spirit, who ceaselessly renews the life of the Church, groups and communities are born, grow and take on responsibilities. We play our part in their emergence and development” (RoL 41). Let us face and take this challenge that is before us as St. Eymard would do it today.