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Arlenne B. Villahermosa

From the Editor

Beginnings – Endings

By Arlenne B. Villahermosa

We just celebrated the feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day on November 1 & 2 respectively. I visited the grave of my father and stayed there for a few minutes with my mother and my brothers. While we were talking, I noticed that we often referred to what my father said or his stand on a particular issue or what he shared with us or did for/to us. He’s been dead for one year and six months, but he’s still very much a part of our lives… and will always be. He’s alive in our hearts and minds.

Celebrating 100 Years of Mission in the Philippines

By Arlenne Villahermosa

With gratitude to God in our hearts, the Missionary Society of St. Columban launched the year-long Centenary Celebration in November 2017 and will culminate in November 2018. The Columban Society was founded on June 29, 1918 by two young Irish diocesan priests, Fr. Edward Galvin and Fr. John Blowick, who answered the invitation of Christ to: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:19).

From the Editor

By Arlenne Villahermosa

As the Missionary Society of St. Columban continues the celebration of its 100th founding anniversary this year, Misyononline.com features in this issue stories and testimonies of people who have been touched by the love of God as their lives intertwined with the faith-witnessing journey that the Columban missionaries had lived-out through the years. This issue also includes insights and reflections on mission by a Columban lay missionary and a Columban student who is currently on his First Mission Assignment to Pakistan.

From the Editor

Giving Honor

By Arlenne Villahermosa

Everyday in our lives we meet people of various ages and coming from different backgrounds. Many of them we don’t know but some of them we know and interact with. And maybe, in one way or the other, whether we know them personally or not, certain people make an impact on us.


From the Editor

Responding to the Call

By Arlenne Villahermosa

The Missionary Society of St. Columban’s centenary celebration has been blessed with two ordinations in the Philippines in the month of February: Diaconate Ordination of Rev. Peter Dong, the first Chinese member of the Society in one hundred years on February 4, 2018, and the Priestly Ordination of Rev. Erl Dylan Tabaco on February 17, 2018.

From the Editor

How do we live for Christ?

By Arlenne Villahermosa

At this present age and time, with the advancement in technology and social media, we ask ourselves, “How do we live for Christ?”


When the founders of the Missionary Society of St. Columban said YES to the call, they did not know where it would lead them yet, with faith, trust and love in their hearts, they sailed on, going beyond their fears and limits, responding to the needs of the people, and constantly being open to be lead to something new, some place new. They lived for Christ. So did the Columban Missionaries who have gone before us and many others who simply lived the Word in the silence of their hearts.

From the Editor

November – December 2017

Life, Death and the In-Betweens

By Arlenne Villahermosa

This issue of MISYONonline.com focuses on life, living and death. In November, we celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day wherein we remember the lives of all those who have gone before us – how they had lived their lives and the mark they left on us. In December, we commemorate the birth of Jesus, the Word made flesh, the fulfillment of God’s love for humanity and all of His creation. Jesus showed us the way how to live life fully, inviting us to follow Him in loving obedience to the will of the Father.

From the Editor

September-October 2017

Yes to another day!

Each day every day we say our YES . . .
- to life
- to love and care for creation and each other
- to be open and be grateful to God’s beauty around us and within us
- to His invitation to share in Christ’s mission here on earth
- to our commitment to live out our faith in joy and thanksgiving


Painting done by Jason Antiquera
Jason is a Columban priest assigned in Korea.

What is it to be a Columban Lay Missionary?

By Arlenne B. Villahermosa


CLM Arlenne Villahermosa in Myanmar

The author, who is currently the Coordinator of Columban Lay Missionaries – Philippines, has worked as a lay missionary in Korea and Myanmar. She is from Talisay City, Cebu. At their annual meeting last year the Columban Lay Missionaries in the Philippines reflected on these three questions.

  1. What was it like to leave my family, culture, and country for the first time?
  2. What about my coming to a ‘new land?’
  3. As I respond to this calling of being a Columban lay missionary through my ministries, how has this calling been deepened over time?

Family.  Relatives.  Friends.  Relationships.  The familiar. A good job.  Security.  These were the sources of my joy before I joined the Columban Lay Missionaries in 2000 and at the same time the reasons why it was difficult to leave for mission.  Ironically, however, these have become the sources of my strength as well and the inspiration to continue.  The past has made the present become possible and meaningful.

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