Birthday of Fr. Joseph Yang &  Arrival of New Adult Formand

On March 16, we celebrated the movable birthday of novice Fr. Joseph (February 21 in the Lunar Calendar).  He turned 45 but still “Yang.”  That same day, we also welcomed a new adult formand who arrived in the afternoon. He is Rancel C. Cezar, 30, from Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental, a former seminarian of the Diocese of Mati and a member of the Divine Healer Choir of DMC where Fr. Tex serves as chaplain.

To celebrate the two big events, the community sang songs to welcome Rancel and to greet Fr. Joseph. We also shared a ‘special’ dinner that stretched to an almost endless chat.

We are so grateful to God for giving us Fr. Joseph (who dared to calm all the storms in his life just to reach the shore of Camillian life) and Rancel (who took the challenge to be one of the hands of our Founder). Best wishes to both of them!

Pastoral Visitation 

On March 12-13, our community was blessed to have Fr. Ivo with us for his pastoral visit. The occasion was an experience of fraternal communion among our religious.  For us formands, it was a source of encouragement.  Fr. Ivo spent most of the time in one-on-one closed door talks with each one of us.  For the postulants and the novices, it was a great privilege to air out our feelings and current situation. The visit was definitely a path toward growth for our community and the Province.

Sessions, Sessions!

It seems the postulants have not yet ended their schooling as they attended a series of sessions on Camillian ministries this month. Religious from different ministries shared their experiences and knowledge with the aspirants. Fr. Rolly talked about administration; Fr. Meng tackled parish work; and Fr. Boy shared about chaplaincy.  In addition, they had a session on Camillian Spirituality with Sr. Fe, SMI at the SCPHC in the provincialate compound. Next in their schedule is the session with Fr. Rey on community life. With all these efforts, our postulants can now envision what their life would be as Camillian religious. Some already feel enthusiastic to do their ministry now, especially in Calbayog. I wonder, what’s out there.