Archive 1

 

REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPACT OF TYPHOON "FRANK"                          By Sr. Catherine Cheong, F.I.

It was during a late Sunday evening when the news of the devastation of typhoon Frank began reaching us.  We had seen the news, but had not actually known of what was happening to our sisters, their families, our friends and benefactors in Panay.  The first inkling of how bad the situation was came through a text message of Sr. Rosa Ortega, asking for prayers because the waters were rising.  By Monday evening we got a clearer picture of what had happened.  Until then, there were very few details offered in the broadsheets.

That the sister would give whatever it could to the Province to help was beyond doubt.  To me, what was astounding was not only the outpouring of generosity of the students of SMAD, but how they did it.  The situation of Panay was brought home to the student body by its Supreme Student Council President, Lugille Teola.  She stressed that contributions were totally voluntary, but if everyone was a brother and sister, should the Marisians not do something about the havoc wrecked by Typhoon Frank?  Within a day a big amount was collected among the students.  But the sacrifices that were entailed spoke more of the grace and the giving heart of the young people of Stella Maris.  I got to know that many teenage boys went hungry that day because they were joking about it outside my office.  They were talking of their growling stomachs, and how they wanted to faint, all said in good spirits and with a hearty laugh.  But it was true.  The canteen did not have a lot of business that day.  Boys who tried to be tough and macho were the first ones to give of their daily allowance.  After all, they said, they had so much to be thankful for, and a day of growing hungry was well worth the sacrifice.  And they said it reminded them not to take their many blessings for granted. 

The girls of the FI Youth were a bit frantic.  They had made friends the year before during the Youth Encounter in Paranaque, and they were asking about what had happened to them.

After the day had ended, some of the children complained that they still wanted to give.  Some clubs cut back on expenses and gave some of their funds the following day.

The teachers also took up a collection.  SMEMCO, the Cooperative of Stella Maris gave as well.

Still, there was more to come.  Some parents and friends sent checks because their daughters said “Kawawa ang mga victims.  Do something!”  Thus when the school announced that it would be collecting old uniforms, the donations came and filled several huge boxes.

This experience with the educative community was very meaningful for me – not because many people donated, but because it was an occasion for me to see the nobility of people, and the kindness of the human heart which more often than not remains hidden until something touches it and draws it to open up to others.  The world would be a more beautiful place if we allowed the natural in us – the kindness, the compassion and the connectedness to our fellow human beings to surface more often.  And it should not take a typhoon to let the human face of Christ in us come out.

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                                    Being an Answer to Another’s Prayer
                                         By Lorena Sevillo, F.I.

“Mommy, I’m scared. The wind is shouting.” I woke up to this early morning of June 23 when typhoon Frank passed by Metro Manila. “Don’t worry, John. Mommy is here.” As my son went back to sleep in my arms I thought,  “Here we go again… another normal cycle of storms coming in and out of the country.” TV footages later that day  shocked, shamed and put me down on my knees to pray. At that moment when my family and I were comfortably sleeping on our beds thousands of people in Panay were fighting for dear life amidst raging wind, rain, flood and mud some on rooftops and trees (rescue would come 8 – 10 hours after), sparing no one, from poor settlers beside river banks to middle class families in posh subdivisions. More chilling and heartbreaking stories came, stories that I thought can only happen in movies.

            Manresa School educative community immediately sprang into action. Putting flesh to its character of being brothers and sisters to another (especially to those in need) the Pastoral team gathered all students for silent reflection, prayer and action. Teachers planned ways to tap generously whatever resources they have and contribute to the school’s communal action. Amidst all these I became aware of a mixture of emotions. No mother can remain unaffected when you hear of another mother’s grief of loosing a child before her very eyes. Or of a father running amock after being refused to be given rice, sold at P 150 per ganta because all he had was P 100. Of children wailing as MV Princess of the Stars finally overturned…Anger, helplessness, despair… I can never claim to share these people’s grief or claim to know the storm that rages in their hearts. But in the call for help I can claim to have been there, thinking about them, praying for them and giving a piece of myself to lighten their burden.

            I prayed for generosity, starting for myself. I struggled to give up the little saving I accumulated because I also have a brother and his family in Antique who will surely ask for help. That savings have to be shared to others, strangers to me, but who have the same right to be helped. I was well aware that the disturbance of holding on to that little amount was an answer to my own prayer. God as a loving Father was after all present in the raging storm. He was present in the prayers of those who called on Him. He was quick to listen and knock on the hearts of those who cared to be answers to another’s prayer. He reminded me that He doesn’t ask for that which He has not already given. And true enough my prayer for generosity worked. Amidst the calamity outpouring of help, here and abroad, has sprung. Now that God has proven to really answer to prayers I pray that such magnitude of human suffering does not happen again.

 

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 THE MIGHTY GOD IS WITH US!
                                              LYNN FALSIS, FI
                                 COLEGIO DE LAS HIJAS DE JESUS
                                                 ILOILO CITY  

God once again showed His mighty power, a power that cannot be compared to any of the strong and tough typhoon like Frank.” The recent typhoon that hit the country was for us, especially the Ilonggos, an experience of helplessness, fear, deep anxiety and uncertainty. But this experience was turned into an experience of faith, of abandonment into the loving hands of God. On the night of June 21, Saturday, our teachers were sending text messages begging us to rescue them and their small children from their places covered with mud flow which reached up to the ceiling of their houses. My heart bled listening to their cries but cannot do anything for them at that difficult moment. Roads were impassable. The cars were pulled and swept away by strong winds and flood. I and the Sisters in the community wanted to respond to their pleading but we felt so helpless and all we could do at that time was just to pray and beg God to give them the help and strength they needed. I did not have a good sleep that evening thinking of the sufferings of my brothers and sisters who were affected by the typhoon. I, too, was called by God to trust Him fully and abandon into His loving hands the teachers, the families of our students and other people who were badly affected by the calamity. The following day, Sunday - June 22, upon knowing that the road to Pavia (one of the towns that were hardly hit) was already passable we went to rescue the family of our teacher.

While on our way to Pavia my heart was so pained seeing the many people who lost their houses, livestock and other properties. They were covered with mud and shivered of coldness while crying for help. Beyond this pain I saw God’s love and providence. He listened to the prayers of His people. The heavy downpour of rain stopped and the water subsided and help and rescue were made easier and possible. Upon seeing our teacher and her small children alive and safe, God was telling me: “See, I was with them the whole night”. I believe that God was with them the whole night! The teacher recounted how God saved them. In the midst of a devastating situation God gave her the strength and courage to save her children. She placed her 4 year old boy inside the big pail and transferred him to a house much safer than her own. God’s rescue came through a banana trunk floating in the mud water. They got it and placed the two small children on top and with the help of some men transferred them to the convent of the Paulinian Fathers. There were many stories similar to this. I was struck by the faith of our lay collaborators who were directly affected sending messages to us like “Sister, please pray for us. We are afraid but we believe God will never abandon us…he is a kind Father”. God showed His fatherly love and care to all of us here in Iloilo. God gave us occasions for us to grow in our faith and trust in Him. To the victims of the typhoon and to me, as well, God is indeed a FATHER who never abandons His children! God’s mercy and love are most evident when we are in utter helplessness. For me, Frank brought out the worst and claimed many lives but for sure it has also brought something that could help us grow more and more in our life of faith with God, thus, making us see the events in the light of His purpose and love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click for More reflections on TYPHOON "FRANK"

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Some Afterthoughts
        ON THE VISION-MISSION SEMINAR  

         By Ms. Minnie Roiles (SHS-Hijas de Jesus, Cebu City)

More than our work output during the encounter, I think there was something more important and relevant that took place. I saw that as we went through the process of studying and assimilating the F.I. Philippine Province Vision-Mission and of re-visiting, re-reading, re-tracing, re-focusing and re-living the vision-mission and core values of our particular apostolic center, certain inner stirrings were evoked.

Taking my experience as a participant this time and not as a facilitator, I have seen that generally, we were responding with enthusiasm and a deeper understanding of the spirit and core values of the F.I. Philippine Province Vision-Mission – filiation-fraternity, Christ-centeredness, obedience-availability, abnegation and love for Mary. To a different level, I felt that we were awakened again to the serious meaning of our role as active agents in the mission of the Church -- evangelizing the gospel truths through education and in seeing more and more the relevance of the mission of giving integral Christian education as a way to reform the world.

What is next after this? Because of the insights and values gained and the positive feelings within each one—a new gust of inspiration, a sense of “renewed feeling of owning and desiring to live the vision-mission” of our particular schools, a strengthened sense of commitment to live the core values and continue to participate in the mission of education, the growing closeness among the F.I. sisters and lay collaborators coupled with a more solid partnership in working for the mission and a deepened faith in God, I hear a longing for the participants to have a follow-up encounter. Although we can keep the learning and inspiration especially as we are now tasked with sharing and giving the same dynamics to our respective school community, a similar encounter may satisfy our increasing desire to grow in the spirituality of the Foundress and to be always updated in contextualizing the spirit and core values of Blessed Candida Ma. De Jesus.

Certainly, because of God’s grace and abiding presence and the inspiration of Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus, the encounter was a success! I saw a solid evidence of the spirit working during the encounter. As I witnessed it myself, the different islands and regions where the delegates of the 11 schools were coming from naturally presented a diversity of realities. However, two unifying elements were at work: the charism of the Foundress where filiation-fraternity was strongly felt and the sense of mission in education through the Hijas de Jesus way that made all the representatives of the different centers dream of big dreams for the persons they are educating and for the world

 

 

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A  RETREATANT’S   REFLECTION:

MANRESA RETREAT HOUSE SACRED SPACE, NATURE’S TOUCH, AND HUMANE CARE

Retreatants flock, visitors come and go…regular occurrence.
Remarkably cited by local and international guests… clergy, religious and the laity,
Returning joyfully for sacred space… for nature’s touch… for humane care.
Hijas de Jesus (Filiae Iesu) Blessed Candida’s beloved,
Sharing special warmth and fraternal concern amidst the greenery with fruit trees abounding.

Landscaping community dwellings, and a gazebo-chapel;
Hugged by the wind, greenery remains still in soulful quiet and natural gaiety enhancing the Creator’s scheme.
Inner lawn grandiosely engaging

As our Lady of Lourdes grotto infuses serenity and security of motherly presence.
With fruit tress and flowers it leads one to the Chapel
Where divine praises are chanted and God’s blessings recited.
Greenery, cool to the senses;
Sprawling ground landing out-of-town milieu
Fruit trees, flowers filling heart and vision;
Retreat gain impact, conferences gifted with facilities a la mode.
Manresa… Manresa… keep up beauty and grace;
God’s love embracing… imparted mainly and instilled graciously
By your sacred space, nature’s touch, and human care.

Prof. Dr. Belen L. Tangco, O.P.  
Manresa Retreat House, Quezon City, Philippines
May 29, 2008