The Golden Jubilee Celebration of Sr. Lilia Tanlu, FI
by Sr. Patricia Aragon, FI

May 31, 2010 was a significant day for all Hijas de Jesus all over the world. We celebrated the Feast of the Visitation of Mary as well as the 165th birthday of our Mother Foundress. Here, in Cebu we had another reason for rejoicing, it was the 50th Golden Anniversary of Sr. Lilia Onglatco Tanlu. 50 years of service, commitment and love for the Lord. The Holy Mass was held at the school chapel at 6pm. The main celebrant was Fr. Manuel Uy, SJ and other Jesuit priests, Frs. Ben Sim, Chuang & Jason Dy were the concelebrants. The family and relatives of Sr. Lilia also came to witness this important event.  After the Eucharistic celebration, simple supper was served to all the friends and visitors.

INTRODUCTION of the EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

by Sr. Rebecca Loreto, FI

Good afternoon to all of you my dear Brothers and Sisters!
Welcome to our Eucharistic Celebration!

Today, as the whole Church rejoices on this Feast of the Visitation, we, the Hijas de Jesus have other significant reasons to rejoice and sing together with Mary her Magnificat.  Today we are celebrating the 165th  birthday of our Mo Foundress, Candida Ma.de Jesus, whose forthcoming canonization this coming October 17, 2010 in Rome has filled the whole Congregation of the Hijas de Jesus with immense joy and gratitude.

I would like to start  my introduction with a tribute to Mo. Candida.       ( I’ve lifted this somewhere, but I can’t remember the source)“During your life, You always said Yes, a generous, a committed Yes. You allowed yourself to be guided by the Spirit and gave life with your own life… thus the Congregation came to be All of these are indeed  blessings of God.

You opened new options in the Church , and so, we, the Hijas de Jesus, will always have a field where to carry your committed response… because your ideals are ours too. Thank you Mother Candida.”

The other significant reason for our rejoicing today is  the celebration of the golden jubilee of  Sr. Lilia Tanlu. These are events worthy of celebration for isn’t it a moment of joy and delight to remember the marvels the Lord has done?

“Blessed be God” has been a favorite saying of Mo. Candida Ma. de Jesus, that is why we have chosen this as a background caption of our Eucharistic Celebration. The story of the Congregation is closely interwoven with the vocation story of every Hija de Jesus. Every religious vocation is indeed God’s blessing.

Today, we will witness the renewal of vows of Sr. Lilia who is celebrating her golden anniversary as an Hija de Jesus. Just as good wine needs to be aged, so too, anniversaries have to be waited for, worked for. That is why they are precious. However, it is really God’s fidelity to her through these years that we are celebrating. Such fidelity of God is the one that shines like precious gem: pure gold in the case of Sr. Lilia. It is through God’s blessing that Sr. Lilia is able to keep her vows and all that it demands, surviving difficulties, accepting change and growth through all these 50 years. This is the fidelity that we celebrate today and we who are here feel privileged to share this moment with her.  

May 31 is a very memorable day for Sr. Lilia. She entered the Congregation of the Hijas de Jesus on May 31, 1957, made her first profession on May 31, 1960 and her perpetual vows on May 31, 1966.

In all these years of her religious life, Sr. Lilia’s field of apostolate has been Cebu and Iloilo, serving in our schools and in the parish. Allow us then, Sr.Lilia to publicly express our affection and gratitude to you for being our Sister – an Hija de Jesús. Your commitment and dedication to the mission of the Congregation is very edifying. But it is not only the amount of work that you have done that is the reason for our gratitude, but more so, the spirit behind that has given life to all this service and your belonging to the Congregation.  On this occasion, allow us to make public our expression of appreciation and gratitude.

We are gathered here this evening, we the family and friends of the Hijas de Jesus to celebrate with us a Eucharist - rejoicing and singing with Mary her Magnificat - thanking God for all the graces and blessings He has bestowed upon Sr. Lilia for the past 50 years of her religious life and asking Mary to be with us  always and accompany us as we continuously move on in our journey all throughout our lives.

Thanksgiving Speech of Sr. Lilia Tanlu, FI during her Golden Jubilee

Sr. Georgita Hormillosa, FI Provincial Superior, Sr. Rebecca Loreto, RCA and superior of this community, Fr. Manny Uy, President of Sacred Heart–Jesuit, other priests who concelebrated today, sisters, teachers, staff, honoured guests and friends.

Fifty years ago was the happiest day of my life. It was on this very day that I finally fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming a sister. Since I was small, I have always wanted to serve our Lord and for me, there was no other way to serve Him except by being a sister in the Congregation of the Hijas de Jesús.

But becoming a sister was not easy for me. As some of you may have known, I lost my father when I was fourteen years old. Upon his death, my mother looked on me to help her since I was the eldest of her seven children. I would work day and night to augment the family income. I studied and worked at the same time to help pay for the tuition fees of my brothers and sisters who were still studying during that time.

Because of my role in the family as the breadwinner, it was difficult to bring up the topic of entering the convent. If my father were alive, it would not have been a problem since my mother was a devout Catholic and would go to mass every day.

While I was busy earning a living to help my mother feed our family, I was also trying to seriously think about my desire to enter religious life secretly. I would visit Colegio del Sto. Angel which is now Colegio de las Hijas de Jesús. Once in a while, I would talk to the sisters about my desire to become a sister. One of the sisters convinced me to take up an education course in order to prepare for my entry to the Congregation. After I finished my education course, I then applied for a teaching job at the said school. While teaching I got to observe how the sisters worked and prayed and I really liked what I saw. This experience strengthened my desire to become a religious. I taught at the school for four years and when all my brothers finished school and my mother was not too dependent on my salary anymore, I decided that it was finally the time to enter the convent.

At first, my mother was reluctant and would discourage me from entering the convent. But I prayed really hard to God to help me convince my mother to allow me to become a religious. God was really good since after a short while, I felt that my mother softened and she finally allowed me to go to Manila to start my preparation to become an Hija de Jesús.

My first assignment after my first profession was in this school, which was known then as Sacred Heart School for Girls. I spent the first twenty years of my life as an Hija de Jesús here in this school. After Cebu, I was transferred to Iloilo City and after that I was brought back here in Cebu to continue my services to our Lord.

My family would always tell me that I must love Cebu--which is true, since it was here where I started my profession as a teacher.

I have devoted all my fifty years in serving our Lord by teaching catechism to children. Every Tuesday and Friday, I also help in the charity clinic at Sacred Heart Parish. With all these, I think I can say that I have tried to be a good servant. I thank God that He has given me the strength and courage to serve Him for 50 years. But I pray to God that He will grant me more years so that I may continue to serve Him.

My celebration tonight would not have been complete without your presence. It would be difficult to mention your names one by one. I can assure you that whoever I have invited to be here tonight occupies a special place in my heart. No matter how far you are, and no matter how seldom we see each other, you will always be with me in prayers.

I wish to give special thanks to Sr. Georgette, Sr. Rebecca and the sisters of my community; to Fr. Manny Uy, the celebrant and our priest concelebrants. To my sister Letty and husband Tony and their children Leo and Luchi, Leanne and Caloy for coming here to witness this occasion. Also, I give thanks to my relatives who are here.

Someone had asked me what I wanted as a gift to this wonderful occasion. I answered her that I do not need any material gifts at all. What I want to ask from all of you is to simply say a short prayer for me so that I can persevere in my vocation as an Hija de Jesús.

Again, I would like to thank everybody for taking time to be with me as I celebrate my golden anniversary. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and may God bless each one of you and your loved ones.

before the Eucharistic Celebration: Sr. Lilia Tanlu,FI & sisters of the community with Sr. Georgita Hormillosa, FI (Provincial Superior)

Sr. Lilia Tanlu,FI renews her vows in the presence of the Provincial Superior