On March 25, 2014 – the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, eight Postulants were admitted to the Novitiate. Five of them (Rolly, Felix. Rene, Mark and Chadee) are Filipinos and three (Son, Hung and Dinh) are Vietnamese. The ceremony of acceptance took place during the concelebrated Mass at the Novitiate, Fr. Dehon in Lower Lucoban, Dumalinao in Zamboanga del Sur Province. During his homily Fr. Francis Pupkowski, the superior of the Philippine Region said:  “Today, eight of  you start your fifteen month Novitiate. It is not an accident that we are here; it is a God’s call… God called us here, because He has many and meaningful plans for each one of us… many interesting and inspiring tasks… He firmly believes that we can do something special for Him. So, let us place ourselves at the disposal of God. Like Mary let us give our full cooperation and unconditional collaboration as we say “Ecce Ancilla” – favorite expression of Fr. Leo Dehon, “Lord, let it be done according to your will.”

Novitiate is a time of preparation to become a member of the congregation by professing three vows of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience. It is also a time of discernment if one was called to religious life in the community.  It often includes times of intense study, prayer, living in community, studying the vowed life, deepening one’s relationship with God, and deepening one’s self-awareness. It is a time of creating a new way of being in the world.

Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines –

The presence of the congregation of the Priests of the Sacred of Jesus (SCJ) in the Philippines marks its 25^th anniversary this year.  All these times the group traditionally holds its annual assembly every January, to share, reflect, evaluate and plan for the future.  For 2014, our assembly was set from the 6^th to the 10^th.  At this moment, the gathering is on its fourth day.  As customary, the assembly starts with a recollection and confessions.   During the first day, the group listened to the personal sharing of Engr. Antonio Sevillano, a lay leader in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.  He shared about his experiences with priests and the perceptions and expectations of the lay faithful of the clerics. His major points can be summarized into three themes: Holiness, Presence and Good Homilies. Indeed the group finds the sharing very profound and challenging. Then we continued with the usual personal sharing, giving emphasis on the reflection regarding our 25 years presence, especially in the aspect of internationality, inculturation and hope. After a full day of personal sharing, we proceeded with the reporting by commission (pastoral, social, spiritual, and others). Today, we are having a morning off so we can go to one of our mission areas in the archdiocese to join in the celebration of the parish feast day. Meeting will resume in the afternoon. We ask you to continue praying for us and our mission here in the ‘only Christian nation in the far east’ – the Philippines.

By Fr. Arthur Guevara, scj