| Chronicles of a foundation no. 7 & 8 - Adveniat House, Manila |
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| Sunday, 17 December 2006 | |
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First experience of a typhoon When you received the Chronicles no. 6 we were suffering the shock of typhoon Milenyo which hit Manila on September 28. Thank God it lasted only two hours! It started exactly two hours after we signed the final papers of the purchase of our new residence in Manila. Everybody here was home as the typhoon was announced on the radio early in the morning. Our neighbourhood was not badly hit, only trees were damaged here and there. In both our properties (the one we rent and the one we just bought), only branches were broken by the strong winds. In San Lorenzo, however, at Assumption College, the windows of the new gymnasium and swimming pool were broken to pieces and another building was also damaged. In Downtown Manila, 15 % of the trees were uprooted (so impressive to see the trees dancing!) and many of the huge billboards along the highways were torn down, falling on the shanty houses, cars, buses or taxis. Two hundred people were reported dead or missing. Twelve hundred families were badly hit by the typhoon because of land slides, floods, their homes destroyed or roofs blown away. In the poorer sectors, drinking water was only available after a very long delay. The day following the typhoon, Bernard and Gilles were travelling towards Tagaytay (south of Manila) for a session with their class of formators. They met an impressive and desolate scenery: trees torn apart, roofs blown away, numerous billboards destroyed leaving their iron skeletons all crooked, electricity poles lying on the road… Of course, there was no electricity or water; fallen trees made roads impassable. People were busy cleaning whatever could be cleaned. Yet, after the typhoon, there was beautiful sunshine in a pure blue sky … as if nothing had happened, and the temperature was well above 30 degrees. Since then, the weather has been cooler and it seldom rains… Council of the Province in North America: the Philippines foundation on the agenda On October 11, Bernard flew to Québec from where, after two days recovering from jet lag, he left for Worcester, near Boston, to attend his first Council of the Province. Apart from the news from the different communities and the religious of the three regions of the Province (Québec, USA and Mexico) plus the foundation in the Philippines, the business of the meeting was rather dry: finances and 2007 budgets, recommendation from the last Provincial Chapter, composition and mission of the Formation Commission, adaptating the Ratio Institutionis to the Philippines. After a thorough evaluation of Local Chapter decisions and a presentation of the self-financing projects of the Manila foundation, Bernard spoke about three areas to the Council concerning the future of our mission here: formation, apostolic commitments and composition of the community. We are considering whether it is already time to open a new house in Manila to ease the congestion in the present community that covers all levels of formation: candidates, postulants, student brothers and formators. It would be better to separate the different stages of formation. Formation in community life is not easy when dealing with large numbers: fraternal life with more than ten brothers becomes difficult and alters the organization and lifestyle of the community. A new house could be modelled on the «homes» that we have in Saigon. The possibility of opening a novitiate was discussed. If candidates are accepted to postulancy early next year, we need to be thinking of a Novitiate in May 2008. All of us would prefer that it be opened in the Philippines in order to respect the local culture in this initial stage of formation - without unnecessary disorientation and problems of adaptation - and benefiting from the experience of many other formators well trained in the Asian context and from within the Augustinian family. The Island of Cebu, in the South, seems most appropriate since there are already many other religious Congregations have chosen to have this early formation there. It would also bring the formators closer to the native territory of most of our present candidates and enable us to continue a vocation ministry in that part of the country. The priority of Adveniat House is formation and community building. Yet, we need to envisage future apostolates, especially for the candidates and the student brothers. We need to dicide which among many possibilities to adopt: catechesis in the squatter areas of our parish, campus ministry in public or private schools or universities, collaboration with the institutions of the Religious of the Assumption, chaplaincy to the French community of Manila, work with Bayard International and its up-coming projects in the Philippines, welcoming young people from other Asian countries: China, Indonesia, East Timor, Myanmar… Lastly, the Council needs to reflect on a second wave of missionaries for Asia. After the first wave (Frans Desmet and Leo Brassard in South Korea, Bernard Holzer, Gilles Blouin and Jean-Marie Chuvi in the Philippines, and the first Vietnamese and Filipino brothers in their country), it is now time for a second wave if we are serious about spreading the charism of the Assumption on Asian soil and support the mission of the brothers in the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam? Prospective work of this issue will be on the agenda of the Commission on Asia which has convened its first meeting in Manila at the end of January 2007. Bernard spent a week in the USA, meeting the communities, benefactors, giving news, showing pictures, telling the story of our first months in Manila and our many discoveries. He was able to spend an evening with the new Provincial Council of the Religious of the Assumption in America (the Provincial Superior and one of the counsellors are Filipinas). Driving back to Québec under the snow with Father Marcel, the Provincial, and Bernard met both Assumptionist communities at Montmartre and the Sisters of Saint Joan of Arc at their Mother house in Sillery (where the three former sisters working in Rome had returned recently) and about forty Little Sisters of the Assumption, in Montréal. Visits included friends and benefactors. The community is still growing On October 22nd, Hector, a young accounting graduate in Cagayan de Oro, joined the community to share our life. He will help greatly with the administration and overseeing the construction of our new residence. On October 30th, Eugene returned home to Cagayan to complete his College degree in accounting, after 4 months of volunteer work with the Little Sisters of the Assumption in Malibay. He will graduate (1) in March and intends to return to the community in June. To strengthen our community life, two new regular features have been introduced to our schedule: half an hour’s Eucharistic adoration on Sunday night and a singing class on Saturday between Evening prayer and our weekly cocktail.
Renovations to our new residence On Saturday October 7th, we received the keys of our new residence and took possession of the property. On Monday, October 9th, early in the morning, some members of the community accompanied by Mr. Joseph Musni, the architect, met the workers to bless the work they were about to start. A traditional merienda was shared and everything was in place for a new venture. “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labour!”, as the Psalm goes. Apart from his work as Vocation minister and treasurer of the community, Gilles Blouin will be the administrator of the new house (contractor), which means buying the material, keeping the books and paying the salaries; it will save 10% of the total cost. He has a devoted and competent assistant in the person of Hector. Is this new responsibility in any way related to Gilles’ sudden and painful gout attack that took him to hospital? Rest assured: he is back at work, limping a little but not in agony… with appropriate medication he will soon return to his full capacity. Bernard, Gilles and Hector have regular weekly visits to the renovation site with the architect and the foreman. There are 16 men working on the new house. Formation Formation is another key apostolate. Bros. Clemente Boleche and Alex Castro continue their theological studies. During the semestral break, Alex enrolled in a three day seminar for archivists in Cebu. It was facilitated by the Society of Filipino Archivists. Topics included introduction to records and archive management, preservation and organization. There were workshops on disaster control, enclosures for archival materials and preservation planning. The 80 plus participants at the seminar-workshop were record keepers, librarians or archivists from government, non-government and religious institutions from different parts of the Philippines. Among the four candidates living with us, Joseph is presently studying philosophy and Greg is writing his MA thesis in philosophy. Glenn continues teaching mathematics and religion in a grade school. Bros. Ricky Montanez and Ed Molina are adapting to their new community. After a few days of home visit, with Greg, they took entrance exams in each of three different Schools of Theology: the Jesuit Ateneo, the Dominican Santo Tomas and the Scheutist Maryhill. Since they succeeded in all three places, they chose the Ateneo, possibly the most demanding but also the closest to our residence. Classes started on November 13, the second semester of the academic year. Jean-Marie Chuvi continues his classes in Tagalog full time and keeps up to date with the progress of the presidential election in his native Congo which seems to be an unending saga… On November 6, Bernard and Gilles «graduated» from their formation for formators at the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies. Vocation ministry During the last three months we have been busy gatherings many different young people interested in serving in the Church. A Vocation Café Among the many initiatives promote d by the Diocesan Office for Vocations in Cubao is the first Vocation Café, an evening spent with young priests and religious in a bar-like atmosphere, with dancing, singing, skits and table discussions on God, the Church, religious vocations, prayer life… and the young people sharing with each other their fears, hopes and dreams. Some two hundred people took part in this event on September 16, most of them already in programmes of discernment with one congregation or another. A similar activity will take place next year but linked to youth groups and parishes. According to the participants who went from our community (Eugene, Ricky, Greg, Joseph and Glenn), it was a great success. Vocation Promotion Week in the Diocese of Antique September 17-22, Ricky took part in the Vocation Promotion Week organized by the Diocese of San Jose-Antique, on the island of Panay in Visayas. Bro. Carlos Melocoton who is finishing his theological studies in Boston was born here. Ricky made sure to visit Carlos’ parents. The Religious of the Assumption have two schools in this diocese. So, Ricky teamed up with them in visiting various schools in the public and private sectors, and many parishes. They also presented radio programs but it was mainly in the schools that various religious congregations met the young men and women, made their presentations and answered questions. Topics included: who cares for my parents if I join a religious congregation? Who will pay for the schooling of my younger siblings if I become a priest? Financial solidarity among the members of a family is a strong and necessary tradition. Other questions were straight to the point: «Have you ever fallen in love? Are you a virgin? What do you wear when you go to sleep?»… Seven young men of Antique and two others from Iloilo were interested in knowing more about Assumption and how to discern if they have a call to join the community. Ricky is in regular contact with them, sending them text messages or vocation promotion materials while waiting for a more formal gathering during a week-end discernment retreat. Other gatherings The week end of October 14-15, twelve candidates from the Manila region gathered at Adveniat House for an input on Community Life according to Saint Augustine and a long singing class in preparation for our formal presentation to the parish in November. During the week of October 16-20, Ricky took part in a seminar prepared for 35 vocation promoters from various religious congregations. Jean-Marie Chuvi, Ricky, Clem and Greg were invited to the secondary school of the Religious of the Assumption in San Simon (Pampanga) as facilitators of a retreat for 4th year high school students (three classes). Fr. Chuvi practically spent the day hearing confessions. During the week-end of November 4th-5th, Ricky and Gilles flew to Cagayan de Oro for a discernment retreat for candidates of that area. The five participants decided, at the end of the retreat, to meet on a monthly basis at the residence of the Religious of the Assumption and continue to share their lives, pray and have a good time together. National Youth Days in Davao After the retreat, Ricky made his way to Davao by bus (7-8 hours) on the Southern shores of Mindanao. He was representing our community at the National Youth Days (Nov. 7-12). This youth festival, based on the model of the World Youth Days, happens every other year: opening Eucharist, daily morning catechesis on three sites, lectures and faith sharing groups in the afternoon, concerts in the evening and finally long walk towards the closing Eucharist and a mega concert. The media reported that 7,500 enthusiastic young people from all parts of the Philippines participated in the festival. During free time, vocation promoters were given the possibility of making presentations of their congregations. Ricky was at hand with our newly printed brochures and posters and met numerous interested young men: 3 from Manila and 4 from Mindanao: 2 from Davao, 1 from Cagayan and 1 from Bukidnon… He also met some lay vocation promoters who offered to help with vocation promotion in their respective localities (Bacolod, Davao, Bukidnon and Iloilo). He met also with Bishop Joel Baylon, from Masbate (South of Luzon), one of the poorest areas of the Philippines. There is only one religious congregation of men in his diocese. The bishop would like us to take over the administration of a school and the formation of its teachers. God’s Dream Academy On Saturday November 24th, the Archdiocese of Manila organized its first God’s Dream Academy based on the popular Filipino TV reality show Pinoy Dream Academy. Three thousand young people from the seven diocese of the Archdiocese of Manila took part. The activity began with the enthronement of the Jubilee Cross. There was an hour long adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, then all were invited to one of the three lectures presented on marriage, religious life or consecrated celibacy. A night long concert followed. Our quad team was made up of Ricky, Greg, Joseph and Glenn. They gave out brochures of the Assumption family. Brochures and postersIn order to publicize our new community to other young people, our young religious and some candidates got together to create posters, brochures and post cards (see samples of them on the web sites indicated below). Apostolates with the poor On November 14, Bernard presided a Eucharist with students from Assumption College parish on their way to the Senate with a request supporting the reform of the house-helpers legislation. During the Mass, a 17 years old employee (who had started working at 13) told her tearful story of how she had been exploited when she only wanted to work to pay her way through school. He also accepted to supervise the volunteer work of a young Belgian involved with street children and a downtown prison. On November 17, the community welcomed leaders from nearby squatter areas. A Major Superiors Association partner for Social Justice facilitated the meeting. We heard about the situation and the main problems these people face today, how they are organized and the means they take to cope with their fragile existence. We were invited to visit these neighbourhoods the next four Friday afternoons: Daang Tubo (sections 1,2 and 3), Marytown, Park Seven, Ronas Garden and Meralco Jocson. Thus, the following Friday, Bernard, Chuvi, Gilles and Ed, accompanied by one of the leaders, visited the squatter areas as a first contact. They were warmly welcomed, people thanking them for the visit; they have few visitors, except during election periods when candidates are hunting for votes. The next Chronicles will tell you more about our discoveries. Bonding with people The week end of November 11 and 12 was set apart for the official presentation of our community to the parish; we are responsible for the 5:30 Masses on Saturday and Sunday. This is how Father Bong, our parish priest presented us to the parishioners: “On behalf of the whole parish community of the Our Lady of Pentecost Parish, we would like to welcome the whole Adveniat Community of the Augustinians of the Assumption on the celebration of the Feast of the Assumptionist Bulgarian Martyrs.The Assumptionist Community was established here in our parish in January 2006. They are composed of seven religious; three of whom are foreign priests namely: the Superior of the community, Fr. Bernard Holzer from France, previously a member of the General House in Rome as Assistant General; Fr. Gilles Blouin from Canada, previously in Jerusalem; Fr. Jean Marie Chuvi from the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly a parish priest at the Assumptionist parish in Arusha, Tanzania; and four Filipino Brothers: Br. Celmente Boleche from Malibay, Pasay; Br. Alex Castro from Pampanga; Br. Ed Molina from Caloocan City and Br. Ricky Montanez from Bago City, Negros Occcidental. Also staying with them are four candidates.The Assumptionists belong to the bigger Assumption family, two of whom are established in the Philippines namely: the Religious of the Assumption who administer Assumption College in San Lorenzo, Makati; and the Little Sisters of the Assumption who were established in Malibay, Pasay in 2000.Right now they are staying at a property owned by the Good Shepherd Sisters at 141 B. Gonzales Street but in February 2007 they will be transferring to their new house at 17 C. Salvador Street, a property formerly owned by the Sabido Family.Please take note that even though they have been here for 9 months, they have decided as a community not to engage on any ministry yet as they want to build and strengthen their community life – a very important aspect of any Augustinian community; and for them to have an opportunity to be immersed gradually into the Filipino context and way of life. But surely after another 9 months we will feel their presence in the life rhythm of our parish.Tonight, we have the joy of joining them in the Celebration of the Feast of the Assumptionist Bulgarian Martyrs. During the entrance procession, an Icon of the Blessed Martyrs will be enthroned at the altar with incensing proper to the Eastern Byzantine Rite.” After the Saturday night Mass, we invited to a buffet, the Religious of the Assumption, the Little Sisters of the Assumption and some neighbours. On Sunday night, the same invitation was offered to the parish priest, members of the parish council and the Superiors of the 14 other Religious Congregations who live in the parish. With all of our Manilan candidates present, it was quite a crowd. Both the evenings were a great success. From the 20th to the 23rd of November, Bernard went to Malolos (North of Manila) to a workshop on Augustinian spirituality. It was organized by APAC (Asia-Pacific Augustinian Conference), an open forum for the Religious Congregations who live the Rule of Life of Saint Augustine. The theme was: To honour God in every human being. Lectures, small group sharing, celebrations and corridor talks provided a deep spiritual experience for the forty participants, mainly formators and vocation promoters from various Religious Congregations of the Augustinian family in Australia and the Philippines. During this semester, Bernard has accepted to preach the monthly day of recollection to the Canossian Fathers and Brothers. Other celebrations, feasts and get togethers You are now used to this feature. Feasts and celebrations - with meals - are very much part of Filipino culture. On October 28, Gilles and Greg gave a day of formation to the junior sisters of the Religious of the Assumption. It focused on Saint Augustine. Greg made a presentation on Friendship according to Saint Augustine and Gilles’ input was entitled Community Life according to Saint Augustine. A good way to strengthen links between our two Congregations. On that same day, the community had the unexpected visit of the Brasilian Consul, Carlindo Teixeira and his wife Marlise. They were off to a celebration of Nostra Signora de Apericida, where some 300 Brasilians living in Manila were gathered. The Consul is an alumni of Eugenopolis (a former Assumptionist Minor Seminary) and a long time friend of Don José Geraldo da Cruz, Assumptionist Bishop of Juazeiro, in Brasil. On October 29-30, two priests from Montréal visited the community: Father Roland Drouin, General Superior of the Priests of Foreign Missions, on his way to visit his confreres in Davao, and Father François Jacques, a friend and theology classmate of Gilles. On November 2, the whole community went to Antipolo to a Mass with the Religious of the Assumption in Luzon honouring the deceased sisters of their Province who are buried in the cemetery behind the school chapel. This might be the place where we will bury the first Assumptionists to die in the Philippines! After the Eucharist and a prayer at the cemetery, we all shared a meal. We were able to greet the new Provincial, Sister Maria Josefina Matias, better known here as sister Marjo, the former Mistress of Novices. She had been officially installed in her new function the day before, All Saints’ Day. On November 4, some members of the community took part in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Emmaus Center where Br. Ed Molina used to work. This Centre forms and accompanies formators and offers a psychological expertise to help candidates to religious life and priesthood as well as to religious in formation integrate spiritual values. We use the resources of the Centre to help build our community and shape our formation plan. On November 15, the community celebrated the 40th birthday of Jean-Marie Chuvi. On Sunday November 19 we invited the Little Sisters of the Assumption to join us in celebrating the anniversary of the “birth in heaven” of Father Emmanuel d’Alzon, our founder. It was a family celebration, with a solemn Eucharist, a good meal and a fraternal gathering, while Manny Pacquiao, the boxing hero, was winning with a third round KO over his Mexican opponent in Las Vegas. The sisters were also given a tour of the new construction. On Saturday November 25, the community had the surprise and the joy of receiving Father Michael Sullivan, an Augustinian from Australia and missionary in South Korea for the last twenty years and President of the APAC (Asia-Pacific Augustinian Conference). He knows our brothers in Gwangju well and is interested in the developments in China. He is accompanied by Sister Jocelyn Widwid, an Augustinian of Our Lady of La Consolation, General Secretary of the APAC. In brief * The renovation of our new residence helps us understand the condition of workers in the country: a daily worker earns 300 pesos a day ($6.), a specialized worker - like a carpenter - 350 pesos ($7.), an electrician earns 375 pesos ($7.50) and the foreman in charge of the whole work is paid 400 pesos a day ($8.). They work from Monday to Saturday and go back to their families every other week end (from Saturday noon to Monday morning). But the work starts as early as 5:30 am on Monday, which means leaving home at 3:30 am since they come from the province! * In the hospital, every room is provided an extra bed for a family member so that the person who is sick is never left alone. Thus, brothers and sisters took turns while Gilles was hospitalized, even for his short 24 hour visit when he had a complete check up. * After winning his fight, the boxer Manny Pacquiao took part in a Thanksgiving Mass at the Church of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. * Political killings continue. The main headline of the newspapers on November 21st was the assassination of three Union leaders in three different regions, the cost of siding with the poor! Merry Christmas! Maligayang Pasko! You should receive Chronicles no. 9 on the eve of Christmas. But the community cannot wait to send you its best wishes for your community, your family, with your loved ones. May the Lord Jesus grant us with the eyes of little children, hearts open to all; and may he give us the strength to stand for dignity for everyone and peace in the world. (1) Graduation: the school system in the Philippines, as well as the university, is similar to the USA: after six years of grade school, the high school includes 4 years study (1 to 4). The student may choose to go to College (4 years) for a diploma in a specific field. Graduation from here is necessary to enter University. We require our candidates to be College graduates with two year work experience. Pictures For pictures of our community look at the following web sites: Adveniat House, 141, B. Gonzales, Loyola Heights, 1108 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES From February 2007 on: Adveniat House, 17, C. Salvador, Loyola Heights, 1108 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel: 63 2 929-0373 @: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it November 26, 2006
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