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.

These two feasts remind us of the lives of those who have gone before us, and we give thanks for the gift of their being shared with us when they were still alive which has formed part of what we are today. How they lived their lives, whether consciously or unconsciously, have an impact on us directly or indirectly. The mystery and beauty of life!

Such reality is true to all forms of life: the birth of a baby, the sprouting of a new plant, the birth of a fish, an animal, a cell and others. And in the process of growing, these different lifeforms mature into becoming what they are meant to be, and then gradually proceed to their inevitable deaths. But what matters most for me is how these lives are lived, as beautifully expressed in the poem, “Time of Your Life”, by Linda Ellis.

From remembering those who have died, we are led into another season, a season of hope in the birth of the promised Messiah. Jesus’ coming into the world is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love for us. Jesus is the hope in a beautiful but broken world we live in, and we are called to live our lives following his footsteps. Sharing in his paschal mystery, we strive to live life by becoming living hope for each other and to our planet.

In this issue, we are featuring stories of how some people left an imprint on the lives of others, by the words they had spoken, the deeds they had done or simply by being the person they were meant to be.

There are other forms of birthing too – a new idea, a new project, a new organization, a new product, new friendships forged, a new adventure, and the list continues, which would eventually come to a certain end, a form of a closure.

In the September-October issue of misyononline.com, I said and I quote, “When the printed form of Misyon magazine ceased its production in 2008, www.misyononline.com was created alongside the production of its CD version. Since then misyononline.com has been publishing its regular issues, every two months, until now.” With a tone of sadness but filled with gratitude and joy for the blessings of your support and friendship, we at misyononline.com would like to thank all of you for the journey that has been through the many years we’ve been together. This will be our last issue as we fold-up in January next year, 2019.

We invite you to visit our new website, columbanmission.org.ph, where you can continue to read our stories, know more about the Columban missionaries and their works and become part of the wider Columban mission.

All the back issues of misyononline.com will form part of the Archives of the new website. This gives you access to the previous issues of misyononline.com in the new regional website of the Columban Missionaries-Philippine region.

With hope in our hearts, may this new beginning bring us together into another journey of meaningful encounters in the mission of love which beckons us to participate in the evolving story of our universe, our planet, humankind – the unfolding story of God’s creation.

Thank you 2018! We await 2019 with joy and hope in our hearts.