By Sr. Virginia Guerrero, MIC
Japan
Mantra
Every Wednesday and Thursday, starting out from our convent in Aizu Wakamatsu, I take a thirty-minute walk to the station- to take the bus that brings me up to Shimo Yanagi Wara. From there I walk another ten minutes to Ai no Sato which means Haven of Love. Surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation I find myself repeating like a manta the words, “Thank you Lord!”
By Meriam R. Jordan
Hesitation
The parish priest had asked her to follow up those taken both the Basic Bible Seminar (BBS) and the Bible Facilitators Seminar (BFS). Not knowing anything about the apostolate then, she was not keen on taking it. “I was hesitant because I did not know what this was all,” she recalled. But having seen the interest of the parishioners, and how alive the word of God was for them, affecting their lives, she agreed.
By Fr. Rudy Ramos, CICM
Brazil
Death
“Oh, he died?”
What do you think? He is there lying covered with news paper. And we policemen, what do you think we are supposed to do here?”
“Well, you are right. He is dead. Can I take a look?”
“For what? You might get scared…”
“No! No! I’ll not get scared.
Can I take a look?”
On my way to the Philippines, I stopped at our Mother House in Steyl in the Netherlands. Fr. Antonio Pates, SVD, a Filipino missionary in Brazil invited me to accompany him to visit our Filipina Pink Sisters at the vicinity. Two cute Filipina Sisters entertained us. One of them was really an interesting and fascinating storyteller to listen to. At the end of our visit, Fr. Pates told them, “So this is Fr. Joe Panabang, a visiting missionary from Ghana.” “Panabang?” blurted the other sister and started laughing. She looked at me again, looked donw and laugh again. I was quite peeved. “So you are Barnabas? Hi...hi...”she continued bubbling with laughter. Only then did I come to know, as the two Sisters told me, they had been receiving copies of Misyon magazine which published the jokes. The mention of my name to them was provocative enough for them to laugh.
By Sr. Mary Anne Terrenal, RGS
Sr. Mary Anne Terrenal is a Good Shepherd sister working with needy girls and women in Seoul, South Korea.
First Joseph
In the most Catholic Churches in Europe and America and even in my own country, the Philippines, there is prominent statue of St. Joseph, the fosterfather of Jesus Christ. The inscription underneath is usually “Go to Joseph.”
We Catholics go to St. Joseph for our material and spiritual needs of the Holy Family here on earth will aid us who call on him for help. We also pray to St. Joseph to obtain for us the Grace of a happy death, like his own, in the warm presence of Jesus and His Virgin –Mother.
By Fr. Hermogenes Emmanuel Bacareza, SVD
“The Berlin Wall will stand for a hundred years!” said Erich Honecker, President of East Germany, on a TV program I was watching one evening in July 1989. Yet on November 9 of that same year, a few minutes before midnight, his successor as head of state in East Germany, Egon Krenz, announced: “All citizens of East can go anywhere they want!” Next morning the newspapers printed in bold letters:”Die, Mauer funkioniert nicht mehr!” (The wall doesn’t function any longer!”) I could hardly believe it. It was just too good to be true.
Sr. Ching Madduma, ICM
Sarnath, Varanasi, U. P. India
Finally the stage arrives when Kamal begins to recognize people. This is the turning points in his life. Now a new potential opens up. Read on:
Great Potential
There are many anecdotes and incidents about Kamal that indicate the great potential that still is to be realized in him. He is very curious and observant. He likes to tyro out object he sees around. He needs freedom to develop his own creativity and imaginations. Kamal can be trained to help himself, to be independent to a certain extent.
