By Venus C. Vega

The author is a pre-novice with the Columban Sisters
(www.columbansisters.org)

This reflection started with a very simple question, ‘What do you do in your place of ministry?’ ‘I clean leaves by the sackful’, I said. My workplace is in Marikina, about an hour’s ride from where I live. The Tuason Community Center Foundation, Inc is dedicated to empowering women and so most of the workers there are women who are considered poor and marginalized. Except for the few who do administrative work, the rest are non-professionals.

Cleaning leaves by the sackful

Once a week I go to work in the Center as part of my pre-novitiate formation program. One section in the Center is dedicated to the production of herbal medicine. This is where I was assigned. The first time I entered the room where I was to work, I saw nothing but sacks and sacks of dried leaves. My task was to clean the leaves – one by one. The more leaves I clean, the more capsules the workers can produce, and the more money they bring home to their families. My companions are fast workers; they produce as many as 1,000 capsules a day. Naturally, I was nervous the first few days at the Center. I was very slow in cleaning the leaves. I was very cautious. I was fingering each leaf carefully, afraid I might tear it up, as the leaves were very brittle. At the end of each day I felt very, very tired.

AND 43 OTHER MARTYRS ON 5 MARCH 2000

‘If anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven’ (Mt 10: 32). From his childhood, Pedro Calungsod declared himself unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to his call. Young people today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro, whose love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teaching the faith as a lay catechist. Leaving family and friends behind, Pedro willingly accepted the challenge put to him by Fr Diego de San Vitores to join him on the mission to the Chamorros. In a spirit of faith, marked by strong Eucharistic and Marian devotion, Pedro undertook the demanding work asked of him and bravely faced the many obstacles and difficulties he met. In the face of imminent danger, Pedro would not forsake Father Diego, but as a ‘good soldier of Christ’ preferred to die at the missionary’s side. Today Blessed Pedro Calungsod intercedes for the young, in particular those of his native Philippines, and he challenges them. Young friends, do not hesitate to follow the example of Pedro, who ‘pleased God and was loved by him’ (Wis 4: 10) and who, having come to perfection in so short a time, lived a full life (cf. ibid, v. 13).

‘Do not be afraid that your life will have an end;  be much more afraid that it will never have a beginning’

–The Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801 – 1890)

***

EDSA PRAYER FOR PEACE

Lord Jesus, we come to you in our need. Create in us an awareness of the massive forces of conflict that threaten our world today. And grant us a sense of urgency to activate the forces of goodness, of justice, of love and of peace.

By Father Dan Joe O’Mahony OFMCap

Deep-sea fishing is very hard work! It’s also a good image of what I’m doing at the moment. It’s very different from the time I was chaplain in various community schools where life was very structured and I had great support. But, we work under the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit; each day praying, ‘Oh, that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord...Listen...Today...Listen to the Spirit.’ And this has led me to my present position: I am an industrial chaplain, working in a town center or shopping mall.

By ‘A Hidden Pearl’

Here we publish the last of a three-part reflection by a ‘Pink Sister,’ now 82, who prefers to be known to our readers as ‘A Hidden Pearl.’ The official name of the congregation is ‘Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration’, www.adorationsisters.org . The Sisters have six monasteries in the Philippines.

Jesus chose to live the hidden, humble Nazareth life for 30 long years – years of an uneventful succession of prayer, work, silence and solitude in the company of Mary and Joseph. This was a phase in Jesus’ mystery of which Scripture speaks in a few terse words: ‘and He was subject to them...He grew in wisdom and grace!’ We have been called to the same simple, humble and hidden life – not for just 30 years but for life!

By Fr Ariel Tampus SVD

In the January-February 2006 issue Father Ariel described his experiences as a seminarian during his two-year Overseas Training Program in Zimbabwe, where he was hoping to return. Having been denied a visa for there, he applied for one to Botswana and, a ‘waiting missionary’ no more, left for there in January.www.svdbotswana.com  is the website for the Botswana – Zambia – Zimbabwe province of the Missionaries of the Divine Word, known officially in Latin as Societas Verbi Divini, hence ‘the SVDs’ as their popular name in the Philippines.

PHOTO: Francis Espera

By Heidi Lyn O. Veran

The author is a 22- year-old resident of Muntinlupa City. She dedicates this letter to her father and to all other fathers.

Dear Father,

When I was still in my mother’s womb, you set your plans for me. When I was born into this world, you had such high hopes for me just like you did for my other siblings. The first time you held me in your arms you felt your first bliss as my father. You called me your little star, for my eyes were big, round, shining and smiling. You would rock me to sleep, humming your gentle songs, while looking at me and dreaming about what I would become someday. You always said, ‘There’s my child,’ with your proud smile.

Blessed Pedro Calungsod,
student, catechist, young migrant,
missionary, faithful friend, martyr,
you inspire us by your fidelity
in times of adversity;
by your courage
in teaching the faith
in the midst of hostility;
and by your love
in shedding your blood
for the sake of the Gospel.

By Father Bobby Gilmore

FOR MY FATHER

Our trivial fights
over spading
The vegetable patch,
painting the garden fence
ochre instead of blue,

And my resistance
to Armenian food
In preference
for everything American,
Seemed, in my struggle
for identity,
to be the literal issue . . .