By: Fr. Vicente Castro, SVD

Multicultural

I am a Divine Word priest working in a parish situated along the border of Brazil and Paraguay. I am with a middle- aged Paraguay priest, and an Argentinian brother preparing himself for Nicaragua, and another Argentinian student of theology having his pastoral experience I our parish. Together with three Brazilian religious sisters, we attend to eighteen thousand (18,000) Catholics, spread over a wide area of six hundred fifty (650) square kilometers.

Our Journey
We actually spend more time traveling than doing pastoral work directly. The chapels are hard to reach when the rains come and the hills can be impossible at times. We have thirty-two communities in all.

New Age of Evangelization
Together with the Latin American Church, the Church in Argentina has begun what we call “La Nueva Evangelizacion”: the new age of Evangelization, celebrating or, better said, remembering with a mixture of light and shadow its five hundred (500) years of Christianity. It is constantly searching for new ways to preach Christ in the midst of abject poverty and an over-dependent economy.

We Accompany the People
Things have been a little bleak lately. The rains have caused floods affecting about one million and a half Argentinians. The crisis of the educational system seems unsolvable. To top it all, the government is lying, but the Church is hopeful. We missionaries are here to accompany them in their struggle and search.

Because I am very new here and have practically tried to forget photography, I have very few photographs. I send you these pictures, they maybe not action pictures but they might be of help to you in understanding what we are doing. Please on sending Misyon magazine. It buoys up the missionary spirit. Que el Dios de la mission te pague por todos tus esfueros. Hasta la proxima.

By Fr Joseph Panabang SVD

Authentic Dreams have a Message

I think dreams if really authentic carry in them divine message. There was a time last year when the going got tough and the sailing rough, quite too much for me. Inside I was in trouble. Call it mid-life crisis or what, but I was determined to return to the Philippines. Then, early that morning I felt half awake when suddenly my door opened and lo my father who died long ago dashed in and immediately asked for pen and paper. “Why do you need a pen and a paper?” I demanded. He said: “I want to apply as assistant priest here”.

 (Kintampo), he replied. I couldn’t move anymore but thanks to the barking of our dog, I woke up seating profusely and breathing deeply. “Why should and how could my father who never went to the school write an application letter?” Kept me amusing wit ha feeling mixed with tears and courage, I understood. The message is crystal clear: Stay put; why ran away from troubles? The same advise he would always tell me when working in our kaingin under the wilting heat of day, when I would run to our little hut pretending to go and drink water.

 

Crime Pays
My nephew wrote me, boasting he had graduated in Criminology: I wrote back my nephew and asked how should I now address him in his new hard-earned profession: Criminal Ernie or Sir?”

Cemeterio
Last night, I was coming from the village when at the cemetery, I saw a car stuck on the road. Obviously the passengers being all strangers did not know they were in a cemetery because the cemetery was bushy. All were standing waiting for the repair of the car. I stopped, craned out my window and shouted: “Hey, your are lucky. You are at the cemetery. You can call the dead to help you. Look up there” pointing to the few moon-drenched white crosses that belong to the rich deceased). Shrieking in panic, they wanted to jump into my car but I was already moving away. See what consciousness can do.

 

The shadow of AIDS Darkens over the Philippines

The whole nation was saddened last year when Dolzura Cortez died of AIDS. She had told her sad story to the world in order to help others. The nation followed her loosing battle with the fatal virus.

Some recent reports tell us that more than twelve million individual people are infected by AIDS and that the figure will rise dramatically. Thee Philippines Bishop recently spoke out on the causes and the Church response

This Pastoral Letter of the Philippines Bishops is in response to that growing realization that AIDS is spreading fast in the Philippines and that unfortunately, because we have no adequately, because we have no adequate monitoring system there is no way of knowing just how widespread the disease is. The Bishop have warned that the government’s condom solution is a short term solution which will have long disastrous effects because it will encourage the very promiscuity which causes aids.

But what is AIDS? (AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.) AIDS itself is not a disease but a virus which destroy our defenses against diseases. We do not die of AIDS but rather the common everyday diseases which came our way. AIDS but rather we die from not being able to defend ourselves against the common everyday disease which came our way. AIDS leaves defense gates wide open.

As in Contraception, so also in preventing HIV-AIDS infection, condom use is not a fail-safe approach.

 

To our beloved Priests, Religious and other faithful who have committed themselves to a life of celibacy, we say: You are a sign for others that chastity lived for the Kingdom of God and a well integrated and ordered sexuality are not only possible but are actually being lived.

HIV-AIDS and other calamities that visit us are not necessarily the punishment of a loving and forgiving God for our personal or collective sins.

 

 

 

 

What Our Bishops Say

Help Don’t Blame
1. Our first attitude must be to serve and minister. If there has been any moral responsibility, we must be ready to say, as Jesus to the sinner: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, from now on do not sin anymore” (Jn. 8:11).

Educate
2. To help stem the spread of this dread disease, we as a Church must collaborate with other social agencies in providing factual education about HIV-AIDS.

Moral Dimension
3. Most of all, we need to recognize the moral dimension of the disease. Though medically the cause of the disease can be identified as a virus, our faith tells us that its cause and solution go beyond the physical.

Condom not the Answer
4. The moral dimension of the problem of HIV-Aids urges us to take sharply negative view of the condom distribution approach to the problem. We believe that this approach is simplistic and evasive. It leads to a false sense of complacency on the part of the State, creating an impression that a adequate solution has been arrived at. On the contrary, it simply evades and neglects the heart of the solution, namely, the formation of authentic sexual values.

Faithfulness
5. We cannot emphasize enough the necessity of holding on to our moral beliefs regarding love and human sexuality and faithfully putting them into practice.

 

By the tear 2000 there could be 30 million adults and 10 million children worldwide infected with HIV. 10 million would have developed full blown Aids.

World Health Organization

 

By: Father Denis Egan

She is called the most beloved woman in the world. She seeks out the poor in whatever corner of the world they are gathered, to bring them love and sense of dignity. Honoured by nations, she looks astonishingly frail at the side of Prelates and Prime Ministers yet at 77 she still cleans the toilets and bathes the maggot-infested wounds of the dying and destitute. In Calcutta alone her Sisters of Charity have rescued some 50,000 of the poorest of the poor from its streets. In an aged that is absorbed in the pursuit of material wealth she stands as a sign of contradiction, and challenges the values of our secular worlds by her reverence for the Poor. The following account of her recent visit to the Philippines is based on a report by Fr. Denis Egan.

Arrives in Olongapo
As she stepped from Bishops Aniceto’s car in Olongapo, in the sweltering heat of the Philippines, her frail figure was immediately surrounded by an excited crowed. They were eager to shake her hand, but she was not at ease with the film star treatment. She took her rosary beads in the elongated fingers that were so accustomed to dressing wounds, and concentrated on her prayers.

Eyes on Tabernacle
Before Mass Mother Teresa, with her rosary beads still clasped in her left hand, clutched the altar with her right, and remained with her eyes fixed on the tabernacle. For her, devotion to the Eucharist goes with devotion to the poor. “Our Eucharist is incomplete,” she has said, “If it does not make us love and serve the poor.”

Start in the Home
She spoke during the Mass. “I have no gold or silver to give you, but I give you my sisters,” she said, and mentioned one of her favourite themes, that of love in the home. “Love begins at home; love lives at home,” she had said previously.. “Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches, so that children have very little time with their parents. The parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world.”

New Home
Mother Teresa had come to Olongapo to open another home for the destitute mother and destitute children. Columban Father Denis Egan had looked forward to this moment. Through the generosity of benefactors, the Columbans had purchased the house that was to be come the new hostel run by the Sisters of Charity.  Initially it was to house twelve children and eight older girls. It was a proud moment for Columban Father, Denis Egan to be associated with Mother Teresa in this work. It is a work that extends now to almost as many countries as her 77 years.

Call Within a Call
It all began in Skopje, Albania, (Now part of modern Yugoslavia), where she was born on August 26, 1910. As a young girl she belonged to a group dedicated to Our Lady.  The group was led by Croatian Jesuits, and it was with their guidance that she decided to join the Loreto Sisters in Bengal. For nearly twenty years she taught in the Loreto High School there. Then she received what she herself describes as a “call within a call”. She knew that her place was in the slums with the poorest of the poor. When she was released finally from her vows in 1949, she stepped out into the world with only five rupees in her pocket. She made her way to the poorest of part of Calcutta. She got a little medical training, found a place to stay, and begun her work. Happy at last with the outcast, the despised ones  of society, she started a little school in the compound of a family  in the slums. Gradually others came to know about her work and brought her things and money,” she said. I wanted to serve the poor purely for the love of God. I wanted to give the poor what the rich get for money.”

Surrender
Within a year others began to join her in the work. “One by one,” she said, the young women ‘surrendered themselves to God to serve the poorest of the poor’.

People Eaten by Rats
In the 1952 she opened the first Home for the Dying. The first woman that she picked up from the streets had been half eaten by rats and ants. She took her to the hospital but there they could do nothing for her. The very same day she discovered other literally dying on the streets. so she went straight to the municipality and asked them to give her a place where she could look after them. The health officer showed her an empty part of Hindu Temple. Within a day she had patients in there. Since then some 50,000 have been rescued from Calcutta’s streets.

We Want Them To Know They are Loved
“They die so admirably...so admirably in the peace of God. Up to now, our Sister and I myself have never yet seen or met a woman or a man who refused to ask to ask ‘pardon of God’, who refused to say ‘I love you, my God”. In famous TV interview with Malcolm Muggeridge she explained: “We want them to know that they are wanted. We want them to know that there are people who really love them.”

Four Sisters
She returned to Olongapo a few days later bringing with her four Sisters who would staff the hostel, Sister Anne Frances from India, two Filipinos, and one sister from Britain. As soon as they arrived they went to what would become the chapel, prayed together. They unpacked a few simple things and begun to arrange the rooms. They put habits out on the clothes line to dry.

Stark Poverty
They had washed them in Manila before journey. They are allowed only two, the one that they are wearing, and the one in the wash. The poverty of the sister stark. Mother Teresa has insisted that in order to understand and help those who lack everything her sisters must live like them. “We do not want to begin by serving the poor and little by little end up serving rich, like other religious orders in history.”

Who Are We To Judge
Her option for the poor is total, but it does not mean that she ignores the rich. “Who are we to judge the rich?” she asks. “Our task is to bring the rich and the poor together.”

We Each Give A Drop
All the accolades that she has won, from India’s Order of the Lotus to the Nobel Peace Prize, are for her simply‘recognition that the poor are our sisters and brothers. She confesses that all her work is just a drop in the ocean. Yet if that drop were missing the ocean would be less.

 

 

By: Sr. Rosalinda Gonzales, MMM

Sr. Rosalinda Gonzales, a Medical doctor and the only Filipina member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary tells us of her journey back to Tanzania, Africa after a very special visit at home.

Saying Goodbye
Returning to the mission after my recent holiday in the Philippines was like leaving one home for another. The loneliness of separation from my family and friends was replaced with the joy of reunion with my Religious Community. It is God’s grace I must say.

Via Ethiopia
The journey back to Tanzania was a pleasant one even though there had been a four hours delay in Dubai due to poor weather conditions when I changed Airlines. The connecting flight from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Tanzania waited, hence I did not miss a flight. I arrived safely at the Kilimanjaro Airport in Moshi where Sr. Mary, MMM waited patiently for me.

Jet Lag
It was an hour’s drive from the airport to the MMM Convent in Arusha where I stayed for a week to rest and get acclimatized. There is a five-hour time difference between Tanzania and the Philippines. The weather was cold but no chilly. The flowers were in bloom and the fields green. Mount Meru, the second tallest mountain of the country was already visible with its snow-capped peak. In due time I had gotten over the jet-lag.

Giraffes, Zebras, Ostriches
As one of the major town, Arusha has fairly good roads. A new high was which connects it the capital city of Dodoma is under construction. The completed part was more than an hour’s drive; the road leaving Arusha is an animals like giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and different fowl roam freely. With one road improvements this has become rare nowadays except in parks.

Bad News
In general, the highways are dirt roads which are in bad shape again during the rainy season. A radio announcement mentioned that lorries and buses were stranded in several places all over the country, especially toward Babati where we were bound. For the faint-hearted, that was appalling news but for a seasoned missionary like Sr. Mary, with whom I was traveling, it only served as reminder to bring along a hoe, a shovel and a big rope to help the car out of trouble during the journey.

 

 

Suppressed Scream
So with a prayer in our hearts we set out before 8:00 A.M. with our veteran Tanzanian driver. It was not raining that day, thank God. Forecast of the road condition were gathered along the way from he drivers who had negotiated the distance so far. Several areas we passed were practically submerged in the water and the main road not recognizable. Our four-wheel drive car managed to get through. After several pot holes and suppressed screams our four-wheel drive car managed to go through and make it to the MMM Convent in Dareda, Babati, without our using the emergency implements.

Short Rest and On Again
The car of Makiungu Hospital came an hour after we arrived. After lunch and a few minutes rest, I was ready to travel farther on. Sr. Mary was left in Dareda. My new companion was Sr. Shirley, MMM, House Superior of Makiungu Convent who came to meet me. The road, while not so good, was sandy rather than muddy this time, hence, was much better than the ones I had traveled on so far. So it was a relief.

Dropping in Along the Way
I started to appreciate the beautiful scenery again. We passed by Mr. Hanang and dropped for a quick visit to our Sisters at Nangwa MMM Convent and to deliver some letters and messages too. The Convent has no Radiotel installed yet hence they are not in communication with the other MMM Convents daily.

Sleeping Bulldog
As we came close to Singida Region, where we have these mountains of rocks of different sizes and shapes. I could imagine a frog in one, a sleeping bulldog in another, a mother and a child, and some scenes from the Old Testament. These and the on-and-off conversation shortened the otherwise long journey.

Home at Last
Just when it had gone completely dark, we arrived home. At our chapel before the Lord I recounted his blessings and thanked Him for everything.

 

An Old Colonial Building Used for a New Purpose

By: By: Sr. Concepcion (Ching) Madduma, ICM

Bareilley the Himalayans
Bareilley is a very old place. It is an unusual place, in crowded north central India, because this “city” seems satisfied and at ease with holding in its vast area only a small population of 150, 000 people or so. It is unusual, too, because it has become known as “little Punjab.” Many people from the strife torn areas to the north have “followed the railway” and have settled down here in the hill sides and lowlands south of the towering Himalayans mountain range.

Old Colonial Style
The scene appears to be one of “long time past;” but there here it still exist before your very eyes! In frame work of lush greenery, there is a magnificent red-brick colonial building, topped with a delicately tiled black roof! This unique building is a distance back-far back-from the city of Bareilley.

Important Meeting
I have come here to Bareilley to attend an important seminar at the old colonial Bareilley club. The seminar is an international meeting on Retardation, a subject which has been the focus of my mission life here in India as an ICM sister.

Mentally Retarded
Some women present in the club are in the best of saris and ornaments; other women wear clothing evidencing poverty. Men are here in well- tailored suits, in Indian formal cloths and others are in baggy (and even soiled!) “doti” wear. The meeting point, the binding force, of all the people who are here in the shadowy hall of Bareilley Club, is the interest in, the love for, and the dedication to serve persons with mental retardation... persons living in the world of shadows!

Disturbing the Ghost
Our 40-hours week long seminar, as always, passes very quickly. Among the participants, there is a small group of ardent Religious Sisters. Two hustling Protestant minister, a concerned core group of parents, teachers, and volunteers from near and far. The rich and the poor people come. A steady stream of worried and saddened parents bring with them persons with mental handicapped. The noises generated by these people and the many educational activities seem almost to bestir the “ghost of time past” in Bareilley Club to complain about the disrespectful disturbances to the aristocracy of the colonial place!

 

 

No Cure but...
Our seminar comes as a spark of light in that dark world of shadows, of frustrations, of doubts, of question of disappointments stigmatizing parents and guardians who come to realize finally that their sons and daughters “cannot be cured” only educated! To our classes come persons young and old two and a half years of age to thirty-two years old), some “free” (without chains!) others bound with ropes, some frightened, some happy! I do feel that many people who come hoping for instant cures and even miracles return to their homes even more sad when they come to know that only many, many tiring years of educating will help their daughter or son to have the same life and respect as a normal person who happens to be “slow.”

Out from the Shadows
Here in Bareilley Club hall, twenty dedicated women and men not only “point the way” for persons who are mentally handicapped, but even walk together with them through this week of growing educationally, spiritually, and physically. This place is a “good place” where people live and work together in bringing persons with mental handicapped out of the world of shadows and into the light of normal community life!

“Parents and guardians finally realize that their daughters and sons “cannot be cured”-only educated!

Only many, many tiring years of educating will help their son or daughter to have the same life and respect as a normal person who happens to be “slow”.

By: Sr. Josephine Evident, DC

30 Years Ago
I came here thirty years ago on last, 1960 when Taiwan was still an agricultural country with mud houses even in the suburbs of Taipei. People farmed with primitive means of cultivation and their produce was not of good quality. Everything was of miniature size like fruits and vegetables and they used human waste for fertilizers which polluted the whole vicinity.

Sudden Change
With the advance in technology and science of farming through the help of the U.S.government, Taiwan has produced triple the quantity and the best quality rice, fruits and vegetables. The farmers got rich and lived in the most modern way with telephones, electrical gadgets such as washing machines, refrigerators and even air conditioners. What a contrast with our poor farmers in the Philippines! Then Taiwan turned to industry and factories sprouted like mushrooms, and even individual families owned a factory in their homes. With this new trend of life the people got richer and started to sell their land and condominiums were built on these lands. The simple farmer turned rich millionaire overnight. The farmers or middle class families who sold their lands to the rich people had a share of the buildings built on their land as a condition of payment. Now they live very comfortably in well furnished flats with rugs and furniture fitted for a millionaire.

High Wages
Prices of commodities went sky-high yet, people can afford to living because the salaries are high too. Imagine a simple workman like mason, carpenter or construction is paid about P1, 500 daily. Some office workers such as executives or manager are paid about P2, 200 daily. We were living in the midst of this very high standard of living and we only depend on Divine Providence to go on with our works of charity. Thanks God, all our needs are provided for and even more than we need. We always feel God’s love and care for and our poor wards, those in our home for the aged.

Crime Up
 Our biggest problem now is where to get helpers for our Home for the Aged and Children’s Home. No one among the Chinese or Taiwanese likes to do dirty jobs because they prefer to join the stock market wherein they get rich in a day. The government here does not accept foreign workers anymore, even lay missionaries. We are understaffed now with our lay missionaries leaving for good after several years of dedicated service to the poor. We have no more candidates for the congregation because almost all the young people here live in opulence and ease, and their sole ambition is to go abroad or study and get a good job. God is not present in their lives and the almighty dollar becomes their god. That’s why there are so many crimes committed by youth even in the opulence society.

Empty Churches
I think I have given you a good idea of our life here in Taiwan. By the way, I forgot to tell you that our Churches are empty, even on Sundays because our “flour and powdered milk” Catholics have long forgotten their doctrine of Sunday obligation and some have gone back to their Buddhist  practices for lack of follow-up instructions.

Paradox
The greatest poverty of the people here is spiritual poverty and for this we ask the people of the Philippines to pray for them. We, Filipinos are very poor indeed but we are rich in faith, for which I rejoice and thank God.

Missionary Journey in Retrospect

By: Sr. Tess Espina, FSP

Appointed to Sabah
A few years ago, I was appointed to Sabah, in Malaysia. While waiting for the approval of my visa, I already experienced fears and anxieties. What would life be like in Sabah? A non-Christian frontier. Shall I go or not? Trusting in God’s love which is as certain as the dawn, I let go of my fears of personal inadequacies, of loneliness and hardships. I took a leap of faith and together with Sr. Margaret ventured into my new mission land SABAH, the ‘land below the wind,’ so called because it is never visited by typhoons.

Jaruk, Tuhau and Tapai
According to a Sabahan priest, one should do three things in order to appreciate the Sabahan culture, namely: First, one must learn how to eat “jaruk”, a fermented fish which is equivalent to our ‘bagoong.’ Second, one must learn how to eat ‘tuhau’, a jungle plant eaten as an appetizer. For a beginner, the smell and the taste are indescribable but once you’re used to its peculiarity, it proves to be the best pickle in the world. Lastly, one should know how to drink ’tapai,’ a homebrewed rice wine. Adjustment of the palate was difficult in the beginning, but gradually Sr. Margaret and I learned to eat and drink the Sabahan native delicacies.

Joining the Dance
The Sabahans and the Filipinos have a lot in common. They too are warm and friendly, accommodating and hospitable. They usually entertain their guest with their guest with their native dance called ‘sumazau’ which is accompanied by the beating of gongs and wooden or bamboo instruments. Sr. Margaret and I were not able to follow the proper rhythm, the Sabahans were happy that we gave it a try and enjoyed doing it.

Learning the ‘Bahasa’
To speak the language of the people is one of the best approaches to inter-religious dialogue. To learn others’ language is truly a challenge! A studying the language for three months, Sr. Margaret and I manage to speak a little of the national language-Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language). Some of the familiar experience we mastered are: Apa Khabar? (How are you?), Terimah kasih (Thank you), Sudah makan? (Have you eaten already?) See you (Jumpa lagi).
During our home visit to the families, Sr. Margaret, and I had to have translator because we could not express ourselves fluently in Bahasa Malaysia. Sometimes, however, there were families who wished to share their problems with us and they did not want that others would hear, so I had to let the translator step aside. I had to look at the dictionary every now and then to be sure that I was using the correct words. I was really tormented by this limitation of mine. SAYANG! There were many things to be shared but we were unable because of the language barrier.
In the bookcenter, when the telephone would ring, Sr. Margaret had to pray first the Litany of Saints so that she could get the message correctly. There were many unpleasant events that happened because of this problem.

We Get Involved in Lenten Mission
To prepare the people of Sandakans (the former capital of Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia) for a meaningful celebration of Lent and Easter, we gave a series of talks on repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. We used slides/ videos to drive home the message more forcefully and to facilitate its assimilation.

We were Shocked
In the process we visited the people in their community halls where they were gathered. We were surprised to see thousands of Filipino there. Many where domestic helpers and laborers in construction. Some have become Muslims so had they can find better jobs. Some women were swindled and ended up as prostitutes. Some had live-ins, in some cases not only with one, but with multiple partners. There was widespread deterioration of Christian values among the Filipinos there. After meeting them and hearing their problems, I felt ‘sick’. My heart went out to them. We just did what we could. The parish priest said that the Filipinos are the ‘thorns of his flesh.’ He is deeply troubled by their spiritual life. He is grateful that Fr. Pigeon, CSsR, who is based in Singapore, visits them twice a year. He hopes that there will be a permanent Filipino chaplain for them.

Media Awareness Seminar
The media today promote values which are very contrary to the values of Christ. There is so much materialism and competition in the media advertisements. People are not aware the bad effect of media. If one is not critical, she or he can be seduced by media without being conscious of it. Her or his mentality and lifestyle can be shape by media.
Through media awareness seminars, people are taught to be selective and responsible users of media. Through group dynamics and sharing, they come to realize the dangers media pose to their children.  “If everyone is committed to the truth, the media can be life giving,” says one participant. After attending the seminars, the parents begin monitoring the programs their children are viewing and listening to.

Farewell Sabah
Sr. Margaret left Sabah last December 18 and I followed on June 5, 1992. Our visas expired and we had to go out of the country. Sabah is truly a mission country. There’s so much to be harvested but the workers in the vineyard of the Lord are few. “I’m praying earnestly that he will send more laborers in Sabah,” shares Sr. Margaret.
 I, for my part, am grateful to God for the opportunity He has given me to work in foreign mission; for choosing me as an instrument to bring out the best in people by virtue of my vocation. I always cherish our Pauline ideal, that of bringing Christ to all the people through the Media of Social Communications. Through our presence, our love and compassion, may people always find hope and discover the real meaning of life.