CMF
Newsletter of the Claretian Seminarians - Philippine Province
October 2002
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CMF |
Newsletter of the Claretian Seminarians - Philippine Province |
October 2002 |
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Claretian Publications Awarded
On August 30, 2002, at the Gintong Aklat Awards 2002 sponsored by the Book Development Association of the Philippines, the award in the religious category was given to Liturgy Alive, Weekdays by Camilo Marivoet, cicm, for its functionality and comprehensiveness of coverage in content. This is the result of more than forty years of work through study, meditation and prayer.
Inauguration
of a New Claret School Building in Zamboanga June 24, 2002 was one eventful day in the life of Claret High School of Zamboanga City. It was on this date that the newly-constructed three-storey school building, named after the late Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, CMF was blessed by His Excellency, Most Reverend Carmelo Morelos, D.D., Archbishop of Zamboanga. The day began with the mass of the Holy Spirit The Cutting of the Ribbon Ceremony led by the Honorable Mayor Maria Clara L. Lobregat followed right after the mass. Some PTA officials and their invited guests were also present during the mass and the blessing ceremonies. Afterwards brunch was served to the guests at the Educational Media Center while the employees had theirs at the Science Laboratory. While the guests and employees were having their brunch, the students were entertained by a live band at the CMPC. Classes were called off in the afternoon.
Special
Feature:
The Claretians are in the Philippines for more than fifty years but they are presently only in Luzon, particularly in Quezon City and in Mindanao where most of the mission areas are concentrated in Zamboanga and Basilan. Discerning the need to extend its missionary presence in the country, the Provincial Chapter of 1999 resolved to open a new mission in the Visayas. Fr. Carlos de Rivas, CMF, the Provincial Superior sent Fr. Daniel Deloso, CMF to scout for possible areas in Western and Eastern Visayas. Then Fr. Rene Manubag, CMF and Fr. Nestor Banga, CMF concentrated in Eastern Visayas. The report of their Samar-Leyte journey during the Provincial Assembly on December, 2002 was thee basis for the decision to open a mission in Ormoc City.
After consulting with the Archbishop of Palo, Leyte, Msgr. Pedro Dean and with the permission of the General Government of the Claretians in Rome, the pioneering missionaries, Fr. Rene Manubag, CMF and Bro. Benedict Dilag, CMF arrived in Ormoc City last May 22, 2002. Within the first few months they were able to achieve the following goals: 1) to establish a foundation; 2) to expose themselves to the local church; 3) to explore possibilities for ministry.
As for the second goal, the Claretians have effectively exposed themselves to the parish and the archdiocese. Fr. Rene and Bro. Bong put their unique Claretian brand of relating to good use with the clergy, religious and laity. They have established connection with collaborators, that goes beyond functionality. They have offered service of the Word to the local church by making themselves available to share during meetings, conferences, recollections and retreats. They already have a schedule for the first semester to give various formation seminars in Ormoc, Tacloban and even in the Diocese of Naval. They are part of the Formation Team of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish. Fr. Rene is teaching theology in St. Peter College while Bro. Bong is handling philosophy in the diocesan seminary in Palo and in Western Leyte College. They have gotten to know and befriended a lot of people from various walks of life, from the urban poor to the rich haciendas. They have joined them in their celebrations and sorrows. They have been journeying with them as "Prophetic Servants of the Word." As for exploring possibilities of expanding Claretian missionary presence here, they have discovered a lot! Many people here are clamoring for a retreat house. They have to go all the way to Cebu for lack of a suitable venue. The location of the donated property is ideal for the purposes of retreat. It is situated on top of the hills overlooking the bay. It is Ormoc's version of Tagaytay with a similar cool weather. It is near the idyllic Lake Danao, the premier natural wonder of Eastern Visayas. The area has many potentials like developing an ecological trek similar to that of Baguio recently cited by the United Nations for its significant contribution to environmental awareness and preservation. Their exposure to the various schools, institutions and various faith communities assures them of patrons and supporters. Furthermore, they plan to develop a lay formation institute similar to that of Claret Zamboanga City. The best way to empower the laity is providing them with adequate and competent courses on evangelization. This is really a distinctive Claretian apostolate. A third possibility is to establish a Claretian Communications Center. Archbishop Pedro Dean offered a thousand square meters of prime land in the Government Center in Palo precisely for this purpose. The clergy are demanding for an outlet for our theological and pastoral books. By having a branch in the center of Leyte, the Claretians can cater not only to the priests but also to Waray-speaking population by translating the Christian Community Bible and making a misalette or commentaries on scripture accessible to the faithful. Meanwhile, the pioneers are asking for financial support for the construction of the Community Center and Mission House that will become the hub upon which future development and succeeding phases of the mission will grow. The new mission in Ormoc is definitely anew chapter in the history of
the Claretians in the Philippines. The missionaries insertion in the local
church of Eastern Visayas is a significant initial step in journeying
with the people of God in this part of the country. With the auspicious
start, we pray that the Lord will continually bless the efforts of his
faithful servants with success.
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Claretian
Communications bagged two prestigious awards in the recently concluded
13th Philippine Bookfair, the biggest and most-awaited annual book event
of the year.
As
the terrorism issue grows, more stories are retold on the stuggle of the
innocent victims. Into the Mountain: Hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf
by Jose Torres, Jr. is his first book. This is the story of ordinary men,
women and children kidnapped and held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf group.
Quoting from Joe's notes, "We have nothing to lose if to paraphrase
the psalmist, we walk with the people into the mountain by listening to
their story. Maybe we will find salvation here." Indeed, nothing
was lost and everything gained, when on September 3, 2002, the book was
honored by the Manila Critics Circle at the National Book Awards 2002,
where he won the Best in Journalism award.
with
the Archbishop as main celebrant. It was held at the Claret Multi-Purpose
Center, right after the flag ceremony. His co-celebrants were Fathers
Bong Suñaz, Angel Calvo, Max Rodriguez, Noel Daduya and Carlos
de Rivas.
Eastern
Visayas has always figured prominently in Philippine history. Magellan
discovered the Philippines when he landed in one of its islands called
Homonhon. The Spanish missionaries celebrated the first mass in the Philippines
in another island known as Limasawa. Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to
the Philippines to liberate it from the Japanese in Palo, Leyte. Now,
Eastern Visayas figures prominently this time in the history of the Claretian
Missionaries in the Philippines with its new foundation in Ormoc City.
Ormoc City
was chosen for its accessibility and numerous possibilities for evangelization.
Its strategic location makes it the ideal jump-off point in extending
Claretian missionary presence not only in Eastern Visayas but in Central
Visayas as well. The goal is to reach out to Samar, where the poorest
of the poor in the country are found. However, since the personnel and
resources of the province do not permit establishing there at the moment,
Ormoc is a better alternative. The place was devastated by a flash flood
eleven years ago claiming more than eight thousand lives. The city has
recovered physically but the psychological scars of the tragedy remain.
The people are characteristically religious and conservative. There is
perceived need to form the local church according to the vision of Vatican
II and PCP II of a participatory lay-empowered Church, a "Church
of the Poor." The primary intention is to form an itinerant missionary
team who will assist the local Church in training and forming lay leaders
and new evangelizers in building Basic Ecclesial Communities and in developing
Biblical apostolate.
Indeed,
God provided his servants with a fine and large foundation! The initial
offer of land by the Larrazabal family was doubled from three to 6.4 hectares.
They gave the Claretians the entire lot covered by the title. A geodetic
engineer made a topographic survey upon which an architect and engineering
team who offered their services for free, will design a development plan
of the lot. Site development and construction of a modest house will commence
in August. In the meantime, the missionaries will stay in the neighborhood
while construction will be going on. Their immersion in the area starts
the process of establishing the Basic Ecclesial Community.