By Sr. Paula Celina Mandolado RA

God, the God of the impossible

Africa at 58? God must be joking I thought, when I was asked if I want to go to the mission. Never in my 58 years had I ever entertained the idea of going to the mission or of being sent off to a far away land. I had refused offers to go abroad because I was a poor traveler. Just imagine an hour trip to Iloilo would already make me very sick. So how then can I manage the long trip from the Philippines to Africa?

By Sr. Lawrence Consulta, PDDM

Sr. Lawrence is from Tinambac, Camarines Sur and comes from a family of nine children. She graduated from St. Paul’s College, Quezon City with an AB degree in Psychology. After her formation in Antipolo, she was sent by her congregation to Taipei. Here she shares with us something about the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master in Taipei.

The church of Taiwan is dominated by an aging clergy. Due to the fact that Catholics are a minority and the society is becoming more and more industrialized, vocations are scarce. Therefore, a young priests are few. Our response to this situation is Eucharistic, Priestly and Liturgical Apostolic. Particularly in the Archdiocese of Taipei at St. Joseph’s House, we assist priests in the exercise of their priestly ministry, in their sickness and old age, and even at their death bed. In Taiwan, we are composed of eight members: one Chinese and seven Filipinas.

By Auring Luceno

A young Columban lay missionary from the Philippines tells of the difficulties of being a woman in Muslim Pakistan.

Wherever I have new experiences here in Pakistan I always think of home, and that gives me a lot of strength and encouragement. At the same time, the people in the barrios have become a source of life for me and the visits to the families are the things I always look forward to. As ever, I thank God for my own family at home in the Philippines – from whom I first came to know what trusting and real loving means: the same love and trust brought me here and keeps me going.

By Sr. Natividad Lucila, OSB

Sr. Natividad Lucila, a Filipina Benedictine, spent many years in Campus Ministry and vocation work in Batangas. But she has know been assigned to the novitiate in Nairobi, Kenya. Here she shares her first impressions....

I always had the impression as a child that the whole continent of Africa was a very hot place to live in.  But I was mistaken in thinking so.  For in some parts of Kenya , like Nairobi, the climate is cool, especially in Karen where our convent is situated. No wonder that a variety of flowers, plants and fruit trees abound. Had I the charism of St. Francis of Assisi I could have added an epilogue to his Canticle of Nature. Because Kenya’s virgin forest and green vegetation and less polluted environment, the country is favorable for maintaining wildlife, one of God’s beautiful creations.