Bishop Rolando Santos, CM, DD, from the Diocese of Alotau-Sideia, Papua New Guinea facilitated the reflection at 9:00 am in the meeting hall of the Manresa Retreat House. True to his Vincentian identity, Bishop Rolando passionately shared a heart a spirit-filled reflection about the call to conversion that is found in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. With his profound wisdom and lived experiences, the Bishop accompanied us on a journey into the world of missionary endeavours vis-a-vis the seven challenges of the Pope’s apostolic exhortation: not to allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary enthusiasm, the joy of Evangelization, hope, community, the Gospel, the ideal of fraternal love, and missionary vigor. Most of all he readied us for the words of our Superior General and his desire to send 1% of the Congregation’s membership as missionaries ad gentes before the close of the Extraordinary Missionary Month in October 2019: “Are you also willing to release your confreres for the Missions ad gentes even if your province ort vine-province has few numbers?”
At 11:15 am the Eucharistic celebration on the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist was presided by Bishop Rolando with the delegates as concelebrants. In his homily he encouraged the confreres to learn three things from St. John the Baptist: first, to learn from his motto: “He must increase, I must decrease” thus deepening our love for Jesus, second, to regain our missionary vocation as prophets by being teachers and proclaimers of the Word and third, to be courageous when confronted by the cross by always standing up for and speaking the truth. A resounding AMEN to that!
Then at 4:30 pm an hour of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament followed by the praying of evening prayer.
Fr. Raimundo Regua, CM
Chronologist – Province of Philippines
Monday, June 24, 2019
