Love your neighbor

The new thing of this commandment is in its last part: “as I have loved you”. The Jews believed in an invisible and unreachable God. You had to love Him to gain His favour, because He is almighty and He will judge you. But Jesus has revealed the hidden face of God: a loving and merciful Father who loves us far much more than what we love ourselves. He loves us so much that He sacrificed His own son to give us the eternal life.

Now we do not believe in an ethereal God, we love God “with all your heart, with all soul and with all your mind” because He has loved and loves us each day very much. He loves us first with an unconditional love. The Lord has taken the initiative again, and He himself shows us how to be perfect, how to be happy indeed: Give your live for your neighbour, love them as yourself.

Let us search in our lives all the gifts and blessings that the Lord grants us each day, be aware of His huge love for us and may try to give Him back a bit of that love loving our neighbours, specially those most in need and the abandon, and also in thousands of small details in our common life. This is how all will know that we are his disciples. If all the Christians followed this way, I am pretty sure that our world would change and all human beings would recover their hope.

]]> http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?feed=rss2&p=1450 0 http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1377 http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1377#comments Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:11:16 +0000 Phil http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1377 As promised, here is a short video taken on the day of our first profession…

NOTE: If you have problems watching this video, please make sure the latest Adobe Flash Player is installed, then restart your browser.

]]> http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?feed=rss2&p=1377 6 http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1338 http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1338#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:27:38 +0000 Phil http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1338

Profession Poster

On March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, six new members were received into the Society of Mary.  Niño Memorial and Roque Rebito from the Philippines, John GuoWang from China, Daniel Fernández from Spain, Thilo Saft from Germany, and Philip Bennenbroek from New Zealand made first profession into the Society of Mary at the San Nicolas Chapel in Dumalag, Davao, Philippines.  It was a beautiful liturgy presided by Fr. Larry Sabud, district superior of the Philippines, and assisted by Fr. Joaquín Fernández (representing the province of Europe), Fr. Brian Cummings (Provincial of New Zealand), Fr. Tim Duckworth from New Zealand, and many more Marist priests from the district.  Also present were members of the Marist Sisters, Marist Missionary Sisters, Marist Brothers, Lay Marists, Marianist Fathers and Brothers, DHM Sisters, and many other people associated with us in the novitiate community who have supported us over the past year so generously, including the local Dumalag community.  There would have been close to 200 people attending, many who travelled long distances to be with us.

Although it was a hot morning, the liturgy went very smoothly.  Fr. Joaquín gave a down-to-earth homily about the reality of everyday Marist life, both the joys and the struggles.  The prayers of intercession were said by the six newly professed in six different languages, showing just how international the community is.  Also of note was the music which was uplifting and created a wonderful atmosphere for the celebration.

After the liturgy was another kind of celebration at the novitiate house in Dumalag where there was fine food, speeches, singing and laughter.  I’m sure the terraces at the house have never held so many people before and it was a good thing we had just had them renovated!

The six new Marists have now gone back to their respective countries or communities and will resume their studies after a short break.

Thankyou to everyone who was involved in and helped to prepare for the profession; thankyou to everyone who came to celebrate with us, and thankyou to those who supported us with their prayers and their messages of support and best wishes.  Thankyou also to everyone who made this past year so special for us – far too many to mention here.  Most important of all, thanks be to God and Mother Mary for their call to serve them in this way.

• See more Photos of the profession here
• Watch profession video

Newly professed with formators

Blessing

Wherever we place our feet – wherever we are – can be a blessing if we are aware of the inherent sacredness and beauty of that place. That “place” might be the heart of another person or the limb of a newly budded tree or a fuzzy caterpillar climbing a drainpipe. ATTENTIVENESS to the present moment is essential for a blessing to truly communicate the life and beauty of God to us. “Calling forth” a blessing is actually a naming of the goodness that is already there.

In Hebrew Scriptures a blessing is perceived to be something that communicates divine life. With this life comes strength, stamina and inner peace. Blessings were often shared by the Jewish people. When they prayed “Blessed are you, O God…” they were acknowledging with gratitude all that God had done for them.

Blessings were given for a variety of purposes: to invoke divine care; to pray for someone; to regard another with favor; to bring happiness; to guard,  preserve, protect, and to keep safe; to give good fortune or satisfaction; and to approve or encourage another. Whenever God blesses, there emerges bounteous life and an abundance of goodness.

Anyone and anything that brings good or God-ness into our lives is a blessing. To bless is to bring the touch of God, the touch of love and goodness, to another by our presence as well as by our actions. Blessing is a greeting from God saying “I care about you. I desire what will be for your good. You are dear to my heart. I want your life to be filled with love.”

Blessings are not always immediate, “feel good” sorts of things. Sometimes these blessings come disguised in the pain, struggle, and hardship of the unwanted part of our lives. It is only later, with hindsight that we look and see what a gift those times and or events were for us.

As you pray through these days….may you grow in awareness of the countless blessings that are yours. May you become much more aware of how you yourself are a blessing in the lives of others by the loving quality of who you are and what you do. Most of all, may your love and appreciation for the Giver of all Gifts, the best of all blessings, continue to grow and be enriched.

God Bless and praying for you,

ate Carmen

-          God is visiting me; finally He will give me all that I need.

The day of the visit, the Lord approached the beggar and kneeling asked him:

-          Give me something from you.

The beggar got angry at this attitude of the Lord. Rather annoyed, he picked up a small piece of bread from his bag and gave it to the Lord. The Lord kissed him effusively and He left very happy.

A long time after, the beggar opened his bag again and he found in it a beautiful golden piece of bread. Then the beggar realized and told himself:

-          How good is God! Now I understand why He asked something from me.

“If you want to save your own life, you will lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it”. (Lk.9:24)

(Translated form a song of Sr. Glenda)

To prepare for the Profession, the novices will spend the week from March 5 to March 12 on retreat at the Carmelite Monastery in the tugbok district, which will also complete the fourth week of the Ignatian Spiritual exercises for them.

After the retreat will be a few “re-integration” type classes and organisation of the Profession celebration.  The Profession day will be the last day of the International Marist Novitiate in the Philippines for 2009/2010.  In the days following, the novices will head back to where they came from for a short break, then continue their studies; Thilo to Germany, Daniel to Spain, Philip to New Zealand, with Niño, Roque and John remaining in the Philippines.  It will be hard to say goodbye to the many people who have made this year so special for us all, but one thing is sure – this year will never be forgotten…

Novices to be Professed

He started to climb and little by little it was getting late. But the climber had in mind to reach the peak and he didn’t stop. It was getting darker but he carried on.

At night it was really dark. It was impossible to see anything. Everything was in darkness. There was no visibility because the clouds covered over the moon and the stars.

When he was climbing one of the cliffs on the mountains, very close to the peak, the climber fell and slid down the mountain. He fell down very fast and he couldn’t see anything, and he had a terrible feeling that he was near to death…

While he was falling at high speed, many thoughts and memories came to his mind, good and bad. His life flashed in front of his eyes like a movie. He thought that he was at death’s door… when he felt a very strong pull from the long rope which was attached to the rocks. He was left hanging in the air, in absolute darkness, with nobody around.

At that moment, in a dead silence, hanging in the air, powerless and hopeless, the climber shouted to God:

-       My Lord! Help me!

Suddenly, a very low voice replied to him from the heavens:

-       What do you want me to do for you?

-       O God! Save my life! – He replied.

-       Actually, do you think that I can save you?

-       Of course my Lord!

-       Ok, then cut the rope which holds you.

There was a very long moment of silence. After that, the climber held on to the rope with his hands even stronger.

(In this moment, ask yourself: would you have cut the rope?)

The rescue team said that the next day they found a climber hanging on a rope, dead, frozen, with his hands holding onto the rope… who was only two meters from the ground.

As two Filipino Marists in the future, Roque and I were assigned there for our Pastoral Placement as part of our Bugey experience in the novitiate. Our two weeks of stay there with Fr. Aliki Langi, Fr. Long Mechavez and Reynan (lay missionary), were quite challenging, and at the same time overwhelming and very inspiring. We went to different chapels for Masses, visited people and stayed with them. I should say that our visits to the different chapels was very moving and fulfilling, particularly for me.

New Chapel

One of the experiences that really touched and struck me really was when we went to a place called Limbuguin for the fiesta celebration of Sto. Niño as the Patron of the chapel. The place is an hour travel by motorbike (sometimes, it’s 2 hours if the road is wet), mostly Catholics but surrounded by neighboring Muslim places. Prior to the day of the feast, Fr. Aliki told us that the people there are living in fear because of the rebels from the neighboring villages who used to steal their livestock and products (corn), and destroy their houses. At first I was so afraid because of the background of the place. It was so surprising also for me that the last time that they had their feast was 6 years ago, and last October 2009, they have began the new community with a newly built chapel. I remember Fr. Aliki said that when they had the Mass again, the people were very enthusiastic, and you can see the smiles on their faces. Somehow the newly built chapel became a sign of “Hope” for them.

True to what Mary wants, the Marists there are a living expression of Mary’s presence into the newly founded community of believers. In many ways, the Marists there are a good support to the people of that community and to show to them that they are not alone in their fear and suffering, that they are in solidarity with them. Somehow, Mary’s presence (through Marists) with them, makes the faithful realize that the chapel is a sign of Jesus’ love and care for them.

Sign of hope

When we arrived at the place, we could really see the energy and the hope from the people through their smiles and the joy in their eyes. It was a simple fiesta celebration which started with a thanksgiving Mass, followed by lunch and then games for the kids. But what really touched me was during the thanksgiving message of the leader of the chapel, where he thanked the Muslim brothers from there who helped them in building the bamboo- made church. I was really surprised when I heard it, and for me it was not just an ordinary help, but a wonderful expression of trust and unity among Muslims and Catholics in the area. Despite the fear that they have, they were still able to give service to one another. And for me, as a visitor to them, it was indeed a wonderful experience, it is Good News!

This story made me reflect how a simple and small church brought together the people from different religions who worked together with trust and concern for each other. From a very simple support of Mary to the people who are in fear, comes the Peace, Love and Hope of a better tomorrow.

Isn’t it Good News?

]]> http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?feed=rss2&p=1266 0 http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1238 http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1238#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:12:00 +0000 Phil http://www.maristnovitiate.org/?p=1238 Last Tuesday, Feb 2, Sisters Stephanie Smith and Titilia Tupou, both from Fiji, were professed into the congregation of Mary (Marist Sisters) at their novitiate house in Mintal, Davao, Philippines.  It was a fantastic celebration with the chapel overflowing outside – well attended by the Marist Sisters, Marist Missionary Sisters, Marist Fathers (including us of course), the Lay Marists, and some family members.

From Right: Sr. Stephanie, Fr. Aliki, Sr. Titilia and Sr. Stephanie's Mum

In the profession Mass, celebrated by Fr. Aliki Langi sm, Fr. Larry Sabud sm sang the chosen Gospel passage (the Annunciation) to a very rousing tune composed by himself and played on guitar.  In fact, the whole ceremony was very moving and at one point there was hardly a dry eye in the chapel.

After the Mass, several thousand photos were taken(!) and a beautiful lunch provided, during which postulants from the Marist Sisters in Fiji performed traditional Fijian dances, starting the ball rolling for others to get up and srut their stuff.  One older Marist Father confrere even left behind his walking stick to show his moves on the dance floor!  Lots of laughter was the order of the day, which seems to be normal whenever we get together with the Sisters.

Also on this day many other Marist Sisters and Marist Missionary Sisters celebrated their anniversary of profession, adding to the festivities.  Thanks to all who made this a special occasion, especially to Steph and Titi.  All the best for the future girls – we hope to see you again somewhere sometime in the near future.  God Bless.

• See more Photos of the profession here

Short Video of Profession Mass

La Vecilla - Leon - Spain

I know people who are very tied to their land. They value very much their country or region. They usually talk about their town or their country. Some cultures and religions also link their welfare or well practice to a certain place.

On the other hand, there are people that have a tendency to always leave their house. These people like to travel and to move, and very easily they ‘feel at home’ in a foreign land. As they say: “Your home is where you hang your hat”. These are the extremes, but I’m sure we all identify with them to a certain degree. In my case I have to say that I’m in the middle of them.

I recognize that sometimes I miss my country, my culture, my town, but when I deepen in this feeling of nostalgia, I realize that what I miss the most is not a physical place or a certain environment. Above all I miss persons and to be with them, independently where they are. Especially I miss them when I feel sick, or frustrated, or sad for any reason. For me, ‘home’ is being with my family and friends rather than a physical place or building. ‘Home’ is this place where I feel safe, where I can be myself and nobody judges me; this place of total confidence.

Now, after one year in the Philippines, I have some friends here and I ‘feel at home’ being with them as well. And I’m pretty sure that, when I will be back in Spain, I will miss my Filipino friends, because they made me feel at home in a foreign land.

So all of us are different and each one is free to place his/her home anywhere, but, for me, this way of understanding my home makes it easier for me to follow Jesus’ request: “Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples” (Lk.14:27). Because my home is not attached to a physical place but to some special persons and I can meet them or keep in touch anytime, anywhere.

But this is about me. What about you? Where is your home?

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