St. John Bosco Today • December 2014–February 2015 by St. John Bosco Today

EDITOR’S

note

taBLe of Contents St. JOHN BOSCO tODAY |tHE SALESIAN fAMILY MAGAZINE | PHILIPPINES december 2014 - February 2015 | Volume 44 • number 3

Giving HoPe

COVER STORY EMPOWERING THE YOUTH

Mula sa Pugad hanggang sa Paglipad Cl. Juvelan Samia, SDB

FEATURES

Remain Humble Like Don Bosco By Bishop Pat Buzon, SDB,DD

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

The “Pinardi House” Don Bosco’s Heart for the Poor and Marginalized Youth By Cl. Donnie Duchin Duya, SDB

A PREVIEW | STRENNA 2015

Like Don Bosco, with the Young, for the Young Last Part

SALESIANITY 101 | MISSION TO LOVE

Don Bosco Along the Streets of Turin

By Fr. Caesar Dizon, SDB LAURA VICUÑA CENTER

An Oasis of Love and life

By Sr. Aleth C. Evangelista, FMA DON BOSCO BOYS’ HOME LILOAN

A Ray of Hope

By Fr. Randy Figuracion, SDB

HOLINESS IN THE FAMILY

By Ms. Alejandra Tica, ADMA

The Servant of God, Fr. Joseph Augustus Arribat, Declared Venerable

REGULARS

COMMUNITY EXTENSION PROGRAM

Planting the Seeds of Social Responsibility in the Hearts of theYoung

SpecialFEATURE

EDITOR’S NOTE

REFLECTION | BE HUMBLE, STEADFAST, STRONG

Giving Hope to the Poor By Fr. Bernard P. Nolasco, SDB MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

As it was for Don Bosco Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime,SDB FIN-FIS NEWS

3 22

Magazine of Information and religious Culture of the Salesian family in the Philippines

Owner Salesian Society of St. John Bosco Printer Don Bosco Press, Inc. EDItOrIAL BOArD Publisher Don Bosco Press, Inc. | Editor fr. Bernard P. Nolasco, SDB | Copy Editor Cl. Donnie Duchin-Duya, SDB | Coordinators fr. randy figuracion, SDB fIS; Sr. Maria Socorro Bacani, fMA fMA & fMA Past Pupils; Sr. Sophia Akiko Oshita, SCG SCG; Brenda ramirez ASC; Dr. Victor B. Endriga DBAPNf; Maria Junifer Maliglig ADMA; Evangeline Dolliente fADS | Art Director Early Macabales|Circulation Commission on Social Communication for subscription contact St. JOHN BOSCO tODAY Commission on Social Communication 3/F Don Bosco Provincial Ofﬁce, Don Bosco Compound, C. roces Ave. cor. A. Arnaiz Ave. 1264 Makati City, Philippines Tel (02) 893-8227 loc. 114 • Telefax (02) 892-8174

to the

POOR

he Catholic Church in the Philippines has declared 2015 as THE YEAR OF THE POOR. As a Salesian Family, we are one with the Church in becoming Christ to others, especially to the poor and marginalized members of our society. We continue to live the spirit of St. John Bosco in giving hope and strength to young people who are so rich in promises and who are full of dreams but have not enough means to reach their dreams. We all know that St. John Bosco came from a poor family; having lost his father at the age of two, with only his mother, Mama Margaret to rely on. But his being poor did not stop him from reaching his dream of becoming a priest. With the help of good and generous people and with his own ways and means of making both ends meet, he managed to ﬁnish his seminary studies and receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Forever grateful to Divine Providence, Don Bosco dedicated his life for the poor young people, giving them hope for a brighter and more meaningful future; leading them to a life of virtue that was guided by the holy fear of God. Inspired by his life, we, the members of the Salesian Family, wish to be of great service to the poorest and most in need young people in our society. Guided by the Salesian spirit, we unite ourselves with the Church in this Year of the Poor in renewing our respective commitments to serve the Lord Jesus in Don Bosco’s way. In this issue, therefore, we feature some of our works that directly cater to the needs of the poor and marginalized youth in our country. Let us be inspired by the message of our Rector Major as we try to draw our spiritual strength from our ﬁdelity to our Salesian mission. Indeed, dedicating ourselves to the most needy youth is our sure way to sanctity. St. John Bosco’s life is our best cue.

Annual subscription (4 issues) P200.00

Send your comments and suggestions to salesianbulletinphilippines@gmail.com All rights reserved © 2014 by Don Bosco Press, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

Fr. Bernard P. Nolasco, SDB Editor

As it was for

Don BosCo:

Our Priority is the young MESSAGE Of tHE who are Poorest, the Least, rECtOr MAJOr the Most Excluded An excerpt from the closing message of the Rector Major to the Chapter members.

r. Vecchi wrote in one of his letters: “Poor young people have been and still are a gift for the Salesians. Returning to them will allow us to recover the central characteristic of our spirituality and our pedagogical practice: the relationship of friendship that creates correspondence and the desire to grow.” (AGC, 359) It is clear that no one could interpret Fr Vecchi as defending poverty by this, but we do understand that where unfortunately poverty and poor young people exist, if we are with them and among them they are the ﬁrst to do us good, evangelize us and help us to really live the Gospel with the charism of Don Bosco. I am encouraged to say that it is the poor young people who will save us. Our being servants of the young means, as we reflected in our General Chapter, leaving behind our securities, not only of life but of pastoral activity in order to take up an outgoing ministry which begins from the deepest needs

of the young and especially the poorest of them. By working with the young, you come across the world of the marginalized youth. This is no trivial matter and we can even have some fears in entering this territory. This is why I dare to ask that with the courage, maturity and much prayer with which we are sent to the most marginalized young people, we choose in each of our provinces to take another look at where we are, where we must remain, where we should go and where we can leave, as needy young people challenge us with their groans and their cries of pain. In their own way they are calling out to us. This demands serious moments for reflection in each Province over these six years so that, in the light of GC27 and our option of being servants of the young, going out to the peripheries, we arrive at decisions with courage, maturity and a profound gaze of Faith, at the province level, so we can make things happen. With courage and determination, let us be prophets, giving hope to the most marginalized youth.

Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime, SDB Rector Major

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C O V E r S t O r Y | Empowering the Youth

Mula sa PugaD, Hanggang sa

PagLIPaD

Migrant youth empowered to Soar High jUVelAn sAMiA By cl.

namely: honesty, fidelity, and sense of justice.” These core values are drawn from the very intention of st. john Bosco himself who said that the purpose of his pastoral work for the young is to make them “good christians and honest citizens.” King Mark Marzonia, a Pugad migrant and an aspiring Salesian, describes Pugad in his own words saying, “Ang Don Bosco Pugad ay isang tahanan para sa maraming kabataan na nangangarap makaahon mula sa kahirapan. Nagbago ako dahil sa Pugad... May mga bisyo ako noong ako ay nasa probisya pa... pero dito sa Pugad lumalim ang pananampalataya ko sa Diyos.” a LiVing MOnUMenT TO DOn BOScO It was during the centennial celebrations of the death of St. John Bosco in 1988 that PUGAD

sT. jOHn BOscO TOdAy DECEMBEr 2014-fEBruArY 2015

“Pugad stands out among other similar institutions,” explains Pugad Director Fr. Dave Beunaventura, SDB, “because of its holistic formation that is permeated by three core values, namely: honesty, fidelity, and sense of justice.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DON BOSCO PUGAD

“E

mpowered to soar high is the catchphrase that motivates the migrant youth residing at the don Bosco Pugad center,” says salesian Brother and Pugad counselor Tony caspellan. like a bird’s nest, don Bosco Pugad is a temporary shelter for migrant youth, mostly 17-24 years old, needing care, values formation, education, and skills training. like nestlings, these young men, through carefully designed formation programs, are empowered to soar high and reach their fullest potentials as individual persons. “Pugad stands out among other similar institutions,” explains Pugad director Fr. dave Buenaventura, sdB, “because of its holistic formation that is permeated by three core values,

, sdB

was conceived by Fr. Remo Bati, SDB to serve both as a home and then a school for the hundreds of street children within the territory of St. John Bosco Parish, Makati. The name PUGAD stands as an acronym for Parish Urchins Gathered athered Around Don Bosco. osco. With the transfer of Tuloy Foundation to Alabang, Muntinlupa in 2001, Don Bosco Pugad was redesigned to become a Home for Street Children and Migrant Youth. From being a humble street children presence, Don Bosco Pugad developed into a center for migrant youth coming from various provinces in the country eager to pursue education in Metro Manila. At present, Pugad embraces a vision of

uplifting the lives of poor and needy male migrant youth by empowering them through a holistic formation in keeping with Don Bosco’s preventive system of education based on reason, religion and loving kindness. Every Salesian work has as its paradigm and permanent criterion Don Bosco’s Oratory in Valdocco described in the SDB Constitutions (40) as “A home that welcomes, a parish that evangelizes, a school that prepares for life and a playground where friends meet and enjoy themselves.” Faithful to their identity as children of St. John Bosco, the Salesians and Lay Mission partners in Pugad strive to implement their programmes and activities DECEMBEr 2014-fEBruArY 2015 sT. jOHn BOscO TOdAy

C O V E r S t O r Y | Empowering the Youth “Ang Don Bosco Pugad ay isang tahanan para sa maraming kabataan na nangangarap makaahon mula sa kahirapan.” according to this example. A home that welcomes. “Dito sa Pugad naramdaman ko ang pagmamahal ng isang pamilya” narrates migrant Nick Manzala. Far from being a functionary boarding house, Pugad serves as a real home for the migrant youth staying there. In Pugad, they feel belonging to one another as in a family. A parish that evangelizes. Pugad migrants are adequately formed into “Good Christians” through the various spiritual and catechetical formation that are given to them like the daily rosary and goodnight talk, regular celebration of the Holy Eucharist, weekly catechism classes, and annual spiritual retreat. Last April, during the Easter Vigil, 3 Pugad migrants, John Randell, Enrique and Jestoni, through the guidance and support of Fr. Dave and the rest of the Pugad staff, received the Sacrament of Baptism and were welcomed to the Catholic community. A school that prepares for life. Through Pugad, the migrants are able to earn either a bachelor’s degree or a certiﬁcation from TESDA for technical skills training. Aside from formal education, the migrants are also given organized livelihood seminars/workshop and integrated

livelihood skills training. Through the able leadership of Fr. Dave, the migrants are able to immediately put into practice the skills they learned through their involvement in the livelihood projects: Bosco Springs for water reﬁll, Coffee and Saints for baking, cooking, and restaurant management; Pugad Farm for agriculture. The Pugad Farm in Balete, Batangas is a pilot farm for organic fruit and vegetable farming, poultry raising and animal husbandry. A playground where friends meet and enjoy themselves. A Salesian institution wouldn’t be Salesian without healthy recreation and enjoyment. Don Bosco Pugad allows the migrants to regularly play basketball and go for swimming. As we look forward to St. John Bosco’s bicentenary of birth in 2015, we take Don Bosco Pugad as an example of a Salesian apostolate that effectively empowers the poor and marginalized youth to become productive members of society. The migrants who have spent their time in Pugad know how it is to be truly empowered through education, training, and values formation. In them the lyrics of the Pugad Hymn comes to life:

Mula sa Pugad, hanggang sa

matutupad.

Pangarap ng kahapon , abotMula sa Pugad, ako’y lilipad

kamay ngayon .

nang lilipad

Hanggang sa palad mo mapa padpad

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF DON BOSCO PUGAD

Mula sa Pugad walang hindi

paglipad,

Holiness in the Family | fS EP AE tC uI Ar LE

The servant of God, fr. Joseph augustus arribat, declared Venerable On july 8, 2014, Pope Francis authorized the congregation for the causes of saints to promulgate the decree concerning the heroic virtues of the servant of God, joseph Augustus Arribat, a priest and professed member of the salesian society of st. john Bosco.

r. Joseph Augustus Arribat was born on December 17, 1879 at Trédou (Rouergue France). The family’s poverty forced young Augustus to start middle school at the Salesian Oratory in Marseilles only at the age of 18. Because of the political situation at the beginning of the century, he began his Salesian life in Italy and received the cassock from the hands of Blessed Michael Rua. On returning to France he, like all his confreres, engaged in semi-clandestine Salesian activity, ﬁrst in Marseilles, and then at La Navarre. He was ordained a priest in 1912. Drafted into the army during the First World War, he served as an ambulance stretcherbearer. After the war, he continued to work intensely at La Navarre until 1926, when he went to Nice where he stayed until 1931. He then returned to La Navarre as Rector and at the same time assumed charge of the parish of St. Isidore in the Sauvebonne valley. His parishioners would later call him

the saint of the valley. At the end of the third year, he was sent to Morges in the Vaud canton of Switzerland. Thereafter he served three consecutive terms of six years each as Rector of Millau,Villemur, and Thonon in the diocese of Annecy. The period most fraught with danger but also laden with graces was probably his tenure at Villemur during the Second World War. In 1953 he returned to La Navarre and remained there until his death on March 19, 1963. Fr. Arribat’s life was an epitome of the Gospel statement, “I came not to be served but to serve.” (Mark 10:45) He never refused any kind of work; in fact, he sought the most menial services. Because of his willingness to do cleaning work, the novices dubbed him the knight of the broom. He kept sick people company all through the night. When, during the war, confreres passed through his house, he gave them his room and bed, and spent the night in an armchair or in the chapel. In all his posts of responsibility,

especially as Rector for several years and in various houses, Fr. Arribat showed himself to be an exemplary Salesian: he was always present among the young students in the playground and in the chapel, in Sunday school and in the inﬁrmary; he easily moved from the dining hall to the dormitory, from the confessional to the garden, and was always attentive to everyone and everything. He showed an extraordinary respect and great consideration for every person, especially the little ones and the poor. He took such good care of the house that he was considered a lightning conductor, another St. Joseph. With his open and smiling face, this son of Don Bosco never alienated anyone. While his thin and ascetic ﬁgure recalled the holy Curé of Ars, his gentleness and his smile were worthy of St. Francis de Sales. His spirituality was Christocentric and markedly Marian, with a particular devotion to the Help of Christians.

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f E A t u r E | Home Away from Home

The "PInarDI Hou

Don Bosco’s Heart for t Poor and Marginalized By cl. dOnnie

dUcHin dUyA, sdB

http://onapensivemood.wordpress.com |@donnieduchin

t was Palm sunday in 1846 and don Bosco was in a real predicament. He was told to leave the field he was renting where he held his activities for his poor young people. That field was everything for them: a playground, classroom, theater and a whole lot more! While they celebrate Masses in nearby churches, on o n feast days that field enabled him even to hear the confession of his young people. Don Bosco noted that on a good day, the youngsters would reach to about 400. Surely, that Sunday was a good one, but it would be deﬁnitely their last. He withdrew to one side and began to cry. This must have been one of the most heartrending episodes in the life of the Father and Teacher of youth. He would write in his Memoirs: ““My God, why don’t you show me where you want me to gather these children? Oh, let me know! Oh, show me what I must do!” That very moment, someone would introduce him to Francis Pinardi who had an available site Don Bosco could use for a fee. Upon sealing the contract, history records that Don Bosco would put up there the Chapel of the Resurrection, or simply and more famously called the Pinardi Chapel, the Bethlehem of the Salesian Family, which remains the center, both geometrically and spiritually, of the Salesian motherhouse. The cruel conditions which affected the young people during the time of Don Bosco have remained up to this age. In the Philippines alone, lack of opportunities in the provinces force many a youth to wander in the cities to try their luck; not a few of them are fooled by dark elements and if they are not put into trouble, they themselves learn the ropes of committing crimes.

sT. jOHn BOscO TOdAy DECEMBEr 2014-fEBruArY 2015

use"

the Youth In the Philippines alone, lack of opportunities in the provinces force many youth to wander in the cities to try their luck; not a few of them are fooled by dark elements and if they are not put into trouble, they themselves learn the ropes of committing crimes.

Marching toward the 200th birthday of Don Bosco, we realize that the Pinardi house tradition started by Don Bosco lives on even at this age. Here in the country, various Don Bosco settings have established “Pinardi houses” which welcome countless youths from Mountain Province down to Mindanao. They did not just receive inputs that ﬁll their minds and hearts, more importantly, here, they ﬁnd a real home away from their homes. These are young people who do not just enjoy the opportunity to receive technical education and access to employment, but are given the opportunity to dare to dream bigger. “They learn to dream anew … and

to realize that they still have the power to dream” said Br. Paul Dungca, SDB who, as a prenovice, was tasked to look after the young migrants in Don Bosco Tondo. Such is the case of Br. Manuel Entigro who came all the way from Leyte and stayed in Don Bosco Tondo as a migrant youth. Apart from the formal training he received from attending their school, there were weekly catechism and Bible classes too. He was also actively involved in the daily house chores, occasional outings, and other recreational and formative activities. The structure of the center was beneﬁcial to him in as far as its variety made him and his companions

explore other life’s possibilities. True enough, after ﬁnishing the course on machinist a year after, he went to work outside—but only for a time. He realized that he wanted to answer a call he ﬁrst had when he was young. Having been exposed to the work of the Salesians of Don Bosco, his vocation to the religious life was nurtured. Now, he is already a fourmonth old Salesian of Don Bosco. Don Bosco envisioned the Pinardi shed as a refuge for the lowly youth in order to protect them from the dangers of the society. As with Don Bosco’s experience, some boys leave him, but some found a permanent home—in his midst.

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S A L E S I A N I t Y 101 | Mission to Love

Don BosCo Along the

Streets of

Turin

By Fr. cAesAr diZOn, sdB

he first article of the salesian (sdB) constitutions makes this bold assertion: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through the motherly intervention of Mary, the Holy spirit raised up st. john Bosco to contribute to the salvation of youth that part of human society which is so exposed and yet so rich in promise.

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Don Bosco felt that he was called by God for the salvation of young people. But he knew in his heart that he had a special calling for a particular class of young people. In that same article, we ﬁnd this categorical declaration: “I have promised God that I would give of myself to my last breath for my poor orphan boys.” Fr. Desramaut interprets Don Bosco: “In other words he had promised to spend his whole life for the abandoned youngsters whose father he had become.” Don Bosco’s conviction that God called him to be a father to abandoned youngsters did not come all of a sudden. It took him years of experience, prayer, reflection and divine intervention to arrive at this moral certainty. After ordination in 1841, Don Bosco spent about ﬁve months with his parish priest to gain experience in the ministry. Still, his “delight was to

Don Bosco began thinking how to put this idea into practice. His encounter with Bartholomew Garelli while he was preparing for Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in 1841 turned out to be the ﬁrst step in that direction. After Mass, Don Bosco taught him catechism. Bartholomew continued to come for catechism on Sundays and feast days. He also brought friends with him. Their numbers increased, limited only by the size of the courtyard made available to them. However, Don Bosco paid special attention to those who were just out of prison. He helped them get work with good employers. For Don Bosco this providential meeting with Garelli marked the beginning of the Oratory and the founding of the Salesian Society! Three years passed. Don Bosco ﬁnished the courses at the Convittto. It was time to move on. Fr. Cafasso sent

to compile the booklets that I absolutely needed. On account of that, my already frail health deteriorated to such a degree that the doctors advised me to stop all my activities.” But of course, Don Bosco didn’t. And so the inevitable happened. “I collapsed and was carried to my bed. I had bronchitis, combined with coughing and violent inﬂammation. A week later, I was judged to be at death’s door.” The news spread among his boys like wildﬁre. They came in droves to try to see him. They stormed heaven with their prayers. And God heard their prayers. When Don Bosco was well enough, he went to meet all his boys of the Oratory. Don Bosco addressed them with these words: “I want to thank you for the love you have shown me during my illness. I want to thank you for the prayers you said for my recovery. I am convinced that God granted me an extension of

“I have promised God that I would give of myself to my last breath for my poor orphan boys.” make contact with the children and teach them catechism.They used to come from Murialdo to see him, and on his visits home they crowded round him.Whenever he left the presbytery there was a group of boys, and everywhere he went his little friends gave him a warm welcome.” Heeding the advice of Fr. Cafasso, Don Bosco enrolled for further priestly formation at the Convitto Ecclesiastico (Pastoral Institute) in Turin. The pastoral experience that proved decisive for his vocational choice was the prison apostolate. Reflecting on this experience, he said: “I saw large numbers of young lads aged from 12 to 18, ﬁne healthy youngsters, alert of mind, but seeing them idle there, infested with lice, lacking food for body and soul, horriﬁed me.What shocked me most was to see that many of them were released full of good resolutions to go straight, and yet in a short time they landed back in prison, within a few days of their release. It was because they were abandoned to their own resources. ‘Who knows?’ I thought to myself, ‘if these youngsters had a friend outside who would take care of them, help them, teach them religion on feast days… who knows but they could be steered away from ruin, or at least the number of those who return to prison could be lessened?’” With Fr. Cafasso’s encouragement,

him to assist Fr. Borel at the Refuge and at the Little Hospital of St. Philomena. Marchioness Barolo who founded these institutions allowed Don Bosco the use of a room for his boys. Here the oratory assumed the title of Oratory of St. Francis de Sales. .All the while, Don Bosco’s bread and butter was the directorship of the Little Hospital. But things came to a head when doubts about Don Bosco’s sanity reached the ears of the Marchioness. She gave Don Bosco this ultimatum: “Give up either the work for boys or the work at the Refuge. Think about it and let me know.” Don Bosco did not have to think about it. “I will resign from the steady employment you offer and devote myself expressly to the care of abandoned youngsters. My life is consecrated to the good of young people. I thank you for the offers you’re making me, but I can’t turn back from the path that Divine Providence has traced out for me.” Thus did Don Bosco’s option for abandoned youngsters become exclusive and irrevocable. A little later Don Bosco reafﬁrmed this option for abandoned youngsters. Writing in the Memoirs of the Oratory, he said: “My many commitments in the prisons, the Cottolengo Hospital, the Refuge, the Oratory, and the schools meant I had to work at night

life in answer to your prayers.Therefore, gratitude demands that I spend it all for your temporal and spiritual welfare.This I promise to do as long as the Lord will permit me to remain in this world.” Divine Providence rewarded Don Bosco for that fundamental option for the young in a dramatic fashion. It was Palm Sunday of 1846. A certain Mr. Pancrazio Soave came up to Don Bosco offering a site for a laboratory. He had to clarify that it was a site for an oratory and not a laboratory that he was looking for. But Mr. Soave insisted that Don Bosco come and see. He did and there he met Mr. Joseph Pinardi. After some negotiation, they came to an agreement for the use of a shed as a chapel and a strip of land around the house as playground. The following Sunday, 12 April, 1846, Easter Sunday, Don Bosco and his boys went to the Pinardi shed at Valdocco to take possession of the new home of the Oratory of St. Francis of Sales. There at Valdocco, the Oratory took root and grew to become the motherhouse of the Salesian Society whose members continue their founder’s mission to love the young people, especially the abandoned and the marginalized.

DECEMBEr 2014-fEBruArY 2015 sT. jOHn BOscO TOdAy

f E A t u r E | Laura Vicuña Center

An Oasis of By Sr.

akatulong ang Laura Vicuña Center (LVC) sa akin kung paano ko harapin ang buhay na dating nalugmok sa kadiliman. Dahil sa LVC at bilang isang Krsitiyano ay bumangon ako sa aking nakaraan na madilim. Natuto akong magpatawad sa taong nanakit sa akin dahil ang Diyos ay kayang magpatawd sa mga tao. Kaya ang LVC ang aking tahanan na nagpakilala sa akin na may mapagmahal akong Diyos Ama, mapagkalingang Inang si Maria. Dito lumago at tumibay ang aking pananampalataya. Nakatulong

sT. jOHn BOscO TOdAy DECEMBEr 2014-fEBruArY 2015

Aleth c. eVAnGelisTA, FMA

sa akin ang mga itinuro ng mga Salesian Sisters sa pamamagitan ng mga group sessions, recollections, goodnight talk, katekesis, mga Sakramentong aking natanggap at pati na rin ang pagbibigay serbisyo sa aking kapwa-kabataan. Lahat ng ito kagaya ni Laura Vicuña na siyang idolo ko, ay nagpatibay sa aking puso na ngayon ay bahagi na ng buhay ko. Damang dama ko ang pagmamahal ng Diyos sa akin at kailanman ay hinding-hindi Niya ako pababayaan at lagi Siyang nasa tabi ko. (Marie [not her real name], 22 years old, who lived in the center for 5 years, is now working as a secretary in a ﬁnancial corporation.)

PHOTOS PHOTOS COURTESY COURTESY OF OF SR. SR. ALETH ALETH C. C. EVANGELISTA,FMA EVANGELISTA,FMA

LoVe and LIfe

Girls would often describe LVC as their true home where love, healing, comfort, joy and mercy are truly experienced.

Another Vicuñan shares, “This is my home. I never experienced a family until I was brought to this home. I love the Sisters and my fellow Vicuñans.This is where I learned how much God and Mama Mary love me. I also learned how to bake bread

Jesus’ word “talithakum” still echoes and sheds a ray of light and hope in their hearts. The girls are healthy survivors victors and no longer victims. and cookies, do cross stitch & art works, dance, sing and most of all, pray.” Girls would often describe LVC as their true home where love, healing, comfort, joy and mercy are truly experienced. It is their home where they feel accepted and loved by everyone. Even those

who were reintegrated with their nonabusive families and those who have now their own families keep on coming back. They have but one sentiment, they miss their LVC home, their oasis of life and love from where they continue to draw strength and courage to face life proactively. Each girl at the center has a sad story to tell. Life was not fair because in their tender years, that precious child in each of them has been taken away. Unthinkable yet true, but life never ends there. Jesus’ word “talithakum” still echoes and sheds a ray of light and hope in their hearts. The girls are healthy survivors - victors and no longer victims. They are God’s beloved children! They are Don Bosco’s and Mother Mazzarello’s preferential love. And for them Blessed Laura Vicuña is a true companion, friend, guide, model and idol. They can very well identify with her as they strive to live and make Laura’s motto their own, “Suffer Silently, Smile Always.” But it is a silence ﬁlled with strength and steadfastness to rise again without bitterness and blame. It is a smile that springs from a serene spirit that is in the process of recovery and healing. It is a motto of young saints in the making! No less. The Laura Vicuña Center of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco) was established in 1990. It is a 24/7 residential home for abused girls. It continues to respond to the plight of children in need of special protection by going out to the margins. With the dynamics and severe effect of abuse, the Laura Vicuña Foundation started its Child Protection Clinic on Wheels, an innovative and pioneering preventive

education mobile program that goes to depressed areas to give childrenrights sessions, psycho-social spiritual services, educational, medical, livelihood and skills training to children and parents. It also trains children and youth to become advocates through LVF’s YEHEY (Youth Helping Youth) program. The teens from the center are the YEHEY leaders that facilitate sessions among their fellow children and youth. This also helps them in their healing and recovery. We take pride that Laura Vicuña Center is now recognized in the national and international arena. One of our girls, Jonalyn Bren (now in college taking BS Psychology) was given the 2014 Violet Richardson Award of the Philippines by the Soroptimists International. This is a national award given to young people who make a signiﬁcant contribution in the country. The Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) has been recognizing our very own movers and champions in child protection as they have awarded our LVF Executive Director Sr. Ma. Victoria P. Sta Ana, FMA as the 2013 Outstanding Professional of the Year in the Field of Social Work; and has confered the same award to our LVF consultant Ms. Asuncion Cueto in 2014. These awards are concrete signs from God that this is His project and we are His instruments in fulﬁlling it. Faced with the multiple challenges of caring for these children and young people, as Salesian Sisters, we recommit ourselves to the mission of our great founder St. John Bosco believing in its charismatic vitality, dynamism and power in being for young people “a Home that Evangelizes” because it is an oasis of life and love.

DECEMBEr 2014-fEBruArY 2015 sT. jOHn BOscO TOdAy

f E A t u r E |Don Bosco Boysʼ Home - Liloan

A ray of HoPe By Fr.

Studies have consistently pointed to at least three major immediate factors that push children to stay or live in the streets. These are the poverty of the family, family relationship factors (child physical or sexual abuse), and peer-gang influence. The street child has become part of the urban landscape. One of its basic root causes is the inequitable socio-economic structure and poverty of majority of the population. For the street children, life in the streets is a constant struggle to overcome the various negative elements that threaten to overtake them and destroy their hope for survival. Cebu has its own share of street children and children living in poverty. It is said that the best investment any nation can make is to invest in its youth. Thus in partnership with Cebu City Task Force on Street Children, the Salesians of Don Bosco South Province-

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(FIS) have consistently embarked on programs to alleviate the situation of marginalized youth. Don Bosco Boys’ Home, since it was relocated in 1999 to its present location in Cotcot, Liloan, has cared for and catered to over 2,000 poor and abandoned youth according to Fr. Lan Guiao, SDB its present Rector. It has fed, clothed, sheltered, healed and educated these street kids and out-ofschool youth guided by the vision of St. John Bosco of making them “good Christians and honest citizens.” To date, Don Bosco Boys’ Home has 125 boys and is committed to its motto of helping them help themselves in life. Aside from the free education in Elementary and High School the center is offering, it has also provided them with vocational technology training when Don Bosco-Liloan Training Center was put up in 1999. A one-year training program in mechanical, welding and

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FR. RANDY FIGURACION, SDB

ccording to UniceF there are approximately 250,000 children living in the streets in 65 major cities in the countr y. The majority of children visible in the streets are boys (70%). Girls are fewer because, among other reasons, they are generally helping younger siblings, they are usually hired as domestic help within private household, they are lured or trafficked into prostitution and are housed in brothels. Human trafficking is a serious problem in the Philippines. Aside from being a source countr y for human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, it is also a transit and destination countr y.

rAndy FiGUrAciOn, sdB

For the street children, life in the streets is a constant struggle to overcome the various negative elements that threaten to overtake them and destroy their hope for survival. woodworking technology was designed to equip graduates for long-term employment. It has produced more than 1,200 graduates some of whom are already technicians and supervisors in various industries. In the on-going rehabilitation of the Yolanda victims in Northern Cebu, the trainees have been tapped to repair and build houses for the ﬁsherfolks and residents of Bantayan Island. Fr. Felix Rotor, SDB is now the training director. In 2011, a new residential facility called the “Magone Home” was launched to provide aftercare programs for Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL). It is a 24-hour center for CICL who have undergone rehabilitation and are being prepared for re-integration into society as productive and sociallyable citizens. This aftercare program of the Salesians is an expansion of its existing work in Cebu City Operation Second Chance Center (OSCC) and has now encompassed the clients of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Magone Home currently has 14 aftercare clients undergoing individualized aftercare plan supervised by Fr. Arvin Abatayo, SDB with his three staff which includes a social worker and psychologist. The program is carried out in a multi-disciplinary team environment that gives educational and values formation as well as vocational skills in carpentry, welding, baking and farming skills. This CICL aftercare program is still at its infancy in Cebu

Province and Magone Home is taking up the task to run and document the gains and challenges of this pilot project implementation. It is anchored on the Philippines RA 9344, also known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act and is supported by Jugend Dritte Welt, a German non-government organization and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The most recent addition to this growing complex in Don Bosco Boys’ Home – Liloan is the school within its compound. For the longest time, the elementary boys attend classes at Tiltilon Elementary School just a halfkilometer walk. They still do until now. But since June 2013, the High School boys have ceased studying at the nearby town in Compostela. Instead they have enrolled at the Liloan National High School – Don Bosco Campus. In their desire to make a stronger impact on the boys of its center, the Salesians have partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) Region VII. This school is one of its kind. Through the assistance of generous benefactors, the Salesians have been able to construct six classrooms to cater a K to 12 ready Senior High School. The DepEd sustains it by providing salaries for the teachers. It will offer a Tech-Voc and Sports Track for its students. The vision of this school is to turn a street child into a success where he can bloom in society. It also welcomes poor students from its vicinity. This year it has 360 students enrolled. Among its teachers is 24 year

old Junjun Pintuan. After obtaining the degree in BS-Ed major in Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH) from the University of San Jose – Recoletos, he took the Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET) and passed. He used to be a boy from Boys’ Home. When his mother abandoned him, he thought he could never be up to anything.Yet his skills in football earned him a scholarship that brought him to where he is today.Vice Principal Fr. Brian Butanas, SDB accepted his application to teach. For Junjun, it is a dream come true. Through the football program the school is implementing, he can pay forward what he had received from Don Bosco. The grassroot football program is training more than 300 boys from three elementary public schools nearby. This can be a means for poor youngsters to earn a college scholarship someday. A boy once raised a question to Fr. Lan Guiao: “Do I have the right to dream, Father, even if I am poor?” As a Salesian, it struck a chord in his heart, Fr. Lan shared. He realized that these poor kids have lived with the misconception that only those who can afford have the right to dream or have a vision. Fr. Lan and the rest of the Salesians in Don Bosco Boys’ Home in Liloan, are trying very hard to change that. By their work and full time presence, they make a statement that everybody can dream and have those dreams fulﬁlled whether you are rich or poor. And this thought when put into action is a ray of hope for kids who have less in life.

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f E A t u r E |Community Extension Program

Planting the seeds of so

in the Hearts of tHe

“These experiences will be treasured in my heart. I learned to be thankful in what I have and never forget to extend a helping hand to people who need them most.” These were the words expressed by a group of Bosconian students who approached me after their Community Extension Program (CEP) experience. These words gently lingered in my mind for a moment. I was stunned and mesmerized by the thought. It was then when I realized that this program would be of great assistance not only for the beneﬁciary but also for the holistic formation of the Bosconians.

OPPORTUniTieS Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) has always

believed in the capacity of the younger generation to learn and to be of service to others. In line with the school’s vision and mission: “to educate and evangelize the youth to become servant leaders in the Church of the poor,” the High School Pastoral Affairs has conceptualized the Community Extension Program which encourages the entire High School Department to be involved in the development of the community it belongs to. The Community Extension Program aims to reach out to our marginalized brothers and sisters through evangelization and education, career orientation and even in the infrastructure. With this program, social responsibility through actual experience is given more importance. CEP has also developed a ladderized program for the Bosconians, where they can appreciate and evaluate their social involvement and maturity. Moreover, this program entails collaboration from its chosen community, organizations, and

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institutions to contextualize the outreach experience signiﬁcant to the formation of the Bosconians through the “see-judge-act” process in becoming active members of the Church and society.

WiTneSSing One of the CEP activities the DBTC-HS students engaged with is the Gawad Kalinga house repainting. It may seem messy and dirty but these young men have soon realized the importance of volunteerism and the love for doing things without expecting any thing in return. Performing activities such as tutorials, catechesis, campus clean-up, tree planting, interaction-visit with the physically challenged and abandoned children, are some of the fruitful endeavors of this CEP that help our Bosconians to be men for others. Graduating students undergo a two day exposure-immersion with the foster parents of the partner community, in which they are called for a commitment

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MS. ALEJANDRA TICA, ADMA

“M

a’am, the experience was great. it was an unforgettable first-hand experience and an eye opener for me!”

SPECIAL fEAturE

ocial responsibility Performing activities such as tutorials, catechesis, campus clean-up, tree planting, interaction-visit with the physically challenged and abandoned children, are some of the fruitful endeavors of this CEP that help our Bosconians to be men for others.

e Young

By Ms. AlejAndrA

TicA, AdMA

Practical application of learning outside the classroom widens the students’ world as they become more aware of their social responsibilities and become proactively involved in community building through their Bosconian values. to responsible stewardship. Witnessing the realities of the situation of the people in our partner community - Barangay Burol (a barangay near DBTC), and other institutions, the students are not only offered quality education, but they are also given an opportunity to practice social responsibility and to be of assistance to the people. In this activity, not only the excellence in academics, skillfulness in technical works, and adeptness in Godgiven talents are shown. Above all, the Christian formation that Bosconians learn in school is put into practice. CEP makes Bosconians see Christ in others as others also see Christ in them.

Life-changing Inspired by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s words: “Faith in action is love and

love in action is service,” Don Bosco schools hope to generate more effective programs like the Community Extension Program where students can attain the value of self and social transformation by learning and doing their social responsibilities with the heart. This CEP is one of the means that DBTC uses to inculcate in the heart of every Bosconain the love of St. John Bosco for the less fortunate members of their community. Allow me to share a reflection of one of our senior students, Lennard Prado: “When solidarity comes, I myself can be the product of change in justice and equality. Understanding the footsteps of solidarity, I can be a product of a servant-leader. It is a way of saying to everybody that no one is poor nor rich when it comes to service. It is a

way of realizing the full essence of coresponsibility.” Indeed, education must not be limited to classroom experiences as part of the students learning process. Practical application of learning outside the classroom widens the students’ world as they become more aware of their social responsibilities and become proactively involved in community building through their Bosconian values. Through the years, the CEP proved the willingness of the Bosconians to reach out their hands wholeheartedly towards their needy brothers and sisters. Bosconians begin to appreciate their roles in nation-building whose citizens are morally standing on solid Christian values. Truly, the CEP challenges them to be good Christians and upright citizens.

DECEMBER 2014-FEBRUARY 2015 ST. JOHN BOSCO TODAY

r E f L E C t I O N | Be Humble, Steadfast, Strong

Remain Humble like Don BosCo

Homily: Fin launching of the Bicentenary year of the Birth of don Bosco,16 August 2014 By: BisHOP PAT

BUZOn, sdB., d.d. BisHOP OF KABAnKAlAn

“W

ho is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” The story of the apostles is very much our own story. like them, we all have the same innate desire to be greater than those beside us, to be a step ahead of everyone else. jesus is aware of this and teaches us to put this natural tendency in the proper context – in the context of the kingdom of God. Our pursuit for excellence and our quest for perfection will all be empty and sheer vanity outside the kingdom. Today, as we remember the birth of our founder, the Lord asks us to be humble. The bicentenary’s call “to start afresh from Don Bosco” is a call to return to our humble beginning. Don Bosco started his life in the lowly home and hamlet of Becchi. When he received his mission, his ﬁrst lesson from the Lady of his dream at nine was, “Be humble, steadfast and strong.” Likewise, our congregation started small, and literally so, with small kids. We read in the Biographical Memoirs

Don Bosco telling us, “All congregations were bolstered at their start by highly educated and talented individuals who joined and assisted their founders, thus becoming co-founders. Not so with us. Our ﬁrst Salesians were all pupils of mine…” (MB 13, pp.159-160) A few months before his death, while celebrating Mass in the Church of the Sacred Heart, he saw his whole life flashed in front of him. He could not hold back his tears as he marvelled at the extraordinary things God had accomplished in “this poor country boy from Becchi” through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. At the end of his life, Don Bosco could only look back with deep gratitude and utter humility. Humility marked the beginning of our Congregation and Family. Humility will assure our growth and fruitfulness. The Salesians have just concluded their 27th General Chapter (GC27) which sets the direction of the Congregation and to a great extent also that of the Salesian Family for the next six years. As I was reading through its documents, I became convinced that its implementation and realization will greatly depend on the humility of every Salesian. Take for instance

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the primacy of God, a persistent and recurring theme in the chapter. The opening paragraph of the documents of GC27 is in fact a call to the primacy of God. The restoration of the primacy of God in our personal and communal life is a primary call of GC27 because it is our primary and urgent need today. In his Closing Address at the Chapter, our new Rector Major, Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime, laments that depth in interior life is not our strength. He insists however that this weakness is not a default in our Salesian DNA. Don Bosco definitely did not have such weakness (Pope Pius XI defined him as union with God) nor does he want any of us to have it. This has long been pointed to us by past General Chapters and previous Rectors Major. I remember that even as a seminarian, I already heard Fr. Ricceri warning us that the greatest threat to our Salesian vocation is spiritual superficiality. To restore the primacy of God requires authentic conversion, and conversion means turning away from self to God. Only when we are empty of self can God enter and take his central place in our life. The call to restore the primacy of God is a call to humility. Likewise, the Chapter’s challenge

Humility marked the beginning of our Congregation and Family. Humility will assure our growth and fruitfulness. to live the Salesian binomial of Work and Temperance, as a concrete expression of Don Bosco’s DA MIHI ANIMAS, COETERA TOLLE, can only start from humility. The ﬁrst task of temperance is self-denial, and the ﬁrst item of coetera tolle is self. When we are able to let go of our many pretensions, claims and entitlements, we leave more room for God, his love, his kingdom and zeal for souls. Humility is the primary and necessary ascesis if we are to become true mystics, prophets and servants. Before closing, I would like to add my own voice to an appeal of our Rector Major emeritus, Fr. Pascual Chavez. In his presentation of the program for the Bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth, Fr. Chavez exhorts the Salesian Family to take this occasion as “an opportunity to give the charism of Don Bosco back to the Church and society. It is not the property of the Salesian Family but has been raised up by the Spirit for everyone.” Don Bosco belongs to the Church. GC 27 is more emphatic. “Through our

educative-pastoral activity, we work in close harmony with the local Church and the local institutions towards an effective and qualiﬁed service in favour of the youth and the local community. Our youth ministry and the Salesian educational system are not our private property, nor are they meant solely for the exclusive use of our Congregation, but are a precious gift for the Church and for the transformation of the world.” (CG 27, 57) Our understanding of youth ministry continues to evolve and expand, no longer as an isolated apostolate but as one within the context and as a constitutive element of family apostolate. This, in fact, is the motiff of our celebration: “There can be no real youth ministry without a ministry to families.” It’s now ten years since Kalakbay, the Directory for Catholic Youth Ministry in the Philippines, was published. When I ﬁrst read it, I suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu. The document reads like an adapted and inculturated version of GC23 (the icon

of Emmaus, youth ministry as journey, structure, programs). Upon inquiry, I learned that the drafters assigned by the Episcopal Commission on Youth were Salesians. No wonder! Yet throughout the document there is no trace of Salesian branding; it is totally owned by the Philippine Church. I think this is how we are called to take our place in the Church. We put our unique Salesian gift and ministry at the service of the Church. Once we hand it to the Church we withdraw our own trademark and relinquish our copyright, as it were, to the Church. As we continue our celebration of the Eucharist, let us ask our Mother and Patron, the Immaculate Help of Christians to accompany us in our mission, as she accompanied Don Bosco at every step of his life. She was his ﬁrst teacher and her ﬁrst lesson was, “Be humble…” May she teach us the same lesson so that the great things the Lord accomplished in Don Bosco may continue to be accomplished in the Salesian Family and in each of us.

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A P r E V I E W I Strenna STRENNA2015 2015

like DOn with the

for the Y

The SaLeSian chaRiSM “aT The SeRVice Of eVangeLiZing cOMMUniOn” I have already said several times both in family situations and on more public occasions that the Salesian charism is not our personal property, neither as Salesians nor as the whole Salesian Family. Pope Francis expresses very clearly this deep conviction when he says in Evangelii Gaudium (EG) that the Holy Spirit enriches the whole Church in her evangelizing mission with various charisms. “These gifts are meant to renew and build up the Church. They are not an inheritance, safely secured and entrusted to a small group for safekeeping; rather they are gifts of the Spirit integrated into the body of the Church. To the extent that a charism is better directed to the heart of the Gospel, its exercise will be more ecclesial. It is in communion, even when this proves painful, that a charism is seen to be authentic and mysteriously fruitful.” (EG, n. 130) I really believe that the Salesian charism is certainly one of those gifts

with which the Holy Spirit has enriched the Church so that with a gaze firmly fixed on the heart of the gospel and first of all within that ecclesial communion, and then afterwards within the communion of the Salesian Family it can be a precious gift to the young. WiTh The YOUng, fOR The YOUng, eSPeciaLLY The POOReST. And, brothers and sisters of our Salesian Family, we are saying WITH THE YOUNG, because the starting point for our giving flesh and blood to the Salesian charism is our being with the young, being with them and among them, meeting them in our daily lives, knowing their world and loving it, encouraging them to take a leading role in their own lives, re-awakening in them a sense of God, inspiring them to set their sights high, to live their lives as the Lord Jesus lived his. And dear brothers and sisters of our Salesian Family, we are saying WITH THE YOUNG, because if what is filling our hearts as we respond to the vocational call of the Lord Jesus is a

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special pastoral love for boys and girls, for the young, this will show itself in us as it did in Don Bosco as a very real passion in discovering what is best for them, devoting all our strength and all our efforts to this. fOR The YOUng! … eSPeciaLLY The POOReST. I have said on various occasions that when Pope Francis talks about going to the peripheries, we ﬁnd ourselves challenged in a very real and direct way because he is asking us to be almost deprived of everything, , excluded, as though without any opportunities. I want to say that as a Salesian Family, these peripheries are something typically our own, because the periphery forms an integral part of our Salesian DNA. What was Don Bosco’s Valdocco if not the periphery of a large city? What was Mornese if not a rural periphery? We need to make sure that our examination of conscience as individuals and as a Salesian Family sees us facing up to the strong demand from the Church,

BOScO, young,

YOUng last of two parts which in its turn is part of the essential nature of the Gospel. It will be necessary to question ourselves about being with and for the young, especially the least. WhY The YOUng, eSPeciaLLY The POOReST OneS aRe fOR US a gifT. It was the Rector Major Fr J.E.Vecchi who wrote that “the poor young people have been and still are a gift for us.” (AGC 359, p 24) And we certainly cannot think that Fr Vecchi was defending poverty, since if we are with them and among them, it is they who ﬁrst of all are good to us, who evangelize us and help us to live the Gospel in what is the most typical feature of the Salesian charism. As on a previous occasion, I boldly say that it is the young, boys and girls and especially the poorest and those most in need, who will save us, helping us to emerge from our routine, from our apathy and from our fears as often we are more concerned with maintaining our own securities than opening our hearts, our ears and our minds to what the Spirit may be asking of us.

in The BicenTenaRY Of The BiRTh Of DOn BOScO On the occasion of an event such as the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco, which demands an acceleration in our journey of ﬁdelity to the same call that he felt, heard and translated into life; in a year in which the celebration of the gift that Don Bosco is for the Church and for the Salesian Family will not leave us closed in on ourselves, self-absorbed and self-satisﬁed but rather launch us, if possible with greater energy towards the mission; it is a question of a year of celebration that we are being invited to experience and express it as a truly Family Celebration. WiTh MaRY The MOST DiSTingUiSheD cOLLaBORaTOR Of The hOLY SPiRiT I will conclude with the words of Saint John Paul II at the end of his letter, Juvenum Patris, (JP) in which he invites us always to have before us Mary Most Holy, the most lofty collaborator of the Holy Spirit. The Pope invites us to look at Mary

“The poor young people have been and still are a gift for us.” (Fr. Juan E. Vecchi, SDB) and to listen to her when she says; “Do what Jesus tells you.” (Jn 2,5) In a beautiful ﬁnal passage addressed to the SDB in those days but in a context that is most appropriate for all our Salesian Family today, the Pope says: “To her I entrust you, and with you the whole world of youth, that being attracted, animated and guided by her, they may be able to attain through the mediation of your educative work, the stature of new men for a new world: the world of Christ, Master and Lord.” (JP n. 20) The strength of these words the saintly Pope of the youth dedicates to us is such that we can all respond with a big ‘AMEN’ entrusting all the members of our Salesian Family to the grace that comes from the heart of the Good Shepherd, through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians.

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fin Salesian family Launched DB200 DBS Sta Rosa, August 16 – If the launching of the bicentennial celebration of Don Bosco’s birth in the FIN province is an indicator of how colorful the actual celebration of Don Bosco’s 200th birth anniversary is next year, then we expect that it is something that we look forward to. The launch was a powerful display of how the Salesian Family of FIN Province manifest its devotion to the Father and Teacher of the Young. An estimate of 1,000 participants from various groups comprising the Salesian Family showed up headed by Fr. Paul Bicomong, SDB, Provincial Superior of FIN and Sr. Sarah Garcia, FMA, Provincial Superior of Phil-PNG. The celebration of the Holy Mass was led by no less than a Salesian Bishop, His Excellency Pat Buzon of the Diocese of Kabankalan. In his homily, he invited the participants, the Salesians of Don Bosco in particular, to remain humble. “Humility marked the beginning of our congregation and family. Humility will make it grow and prosper in the future.” After the Holy Mass, Fr. Renato Guzman, SDB presented the iter of the Journey with the Families. Right after, the Salesian Family Concert was held which showcased the talents of the Salesians, FMAs, Cooperators, students, and even past pupil! – Cl. Donnie Duchin Duya, SDB

Lay People: Saints and heroes ... no Less!

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PHOTOS PHOTOS COURTESY COURTESY OF OF CL. CL. DONNIE DONNIE DUCHIN DUCHIN DUYA, DUYA, SDB SDB

Pasig City, August 21–The Catholic Church in the Philippines, gearing up for its 500 years of presence in the largest Catholic nation in the Asian continent, marked one of its highlights in devoting this year to the lay people thru a Philippine Congress on the Laity meant to train the limelight on them in the task of building the Church. The event was held in PhilSports Arena in Pasig City and drew at least 10,000 participants from various schools, parishes and dioceses of the Philiipines. The Mass was concelebrated by a number of priests and ﬁve bishops. Archbishop Soc Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philipppines, gave a thought-provoking homily about the role of the lay people in the Church, that is, not to beautify the Church, but to sanctify the world they live in through their Christian witnessing. Three leaders of big communities of lay people served as main speakers: Bo Sanchez of the Light of Jesus Community, Mike Velarde of the El Shaddai Movement and Frank Padilla of the Couples for Christ-Foundations for Life (CFC-FFL). In between their talks were short sharings and reﬂections given by various lay people active in the

tasks of evangelization and parish ministry. The long-day reﬂection showed the vibrant lay people who make up the majority of the Church in the Philippines. At the helm of this big event is a Salesian priest, Fr Francis Gustilo, who serves as dean of Don Bosco Center of Studies and teaches theology subjects in the same institute. – Cl. Donnie Duchin Duya, SDB

fIN-fIS NEWS

2nD aDMa-fiS convention held

PHOTOS PHOTOS COURTESY COURTESY OF OF JAN JAN ODIVILAS; ODIVILAS; FR. FR. NESTOR NESTOR IMPELIDO, IMPELIDO, SDB SDB

Cebu City, September 6 -- Members of the Associazione di Maria Ausiliatrice (ADMA) of the FIS Province gathered at the Don Bosco Technology Center in Cebu City, Philippines for a full day of input, discussion, Mass, and pilgrimage. With its theme “ADMA: Up Close and Personal” the Convention focused largely on the personal commitment of ADMA aspirants and members to promote devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist. The highlights of the Convention were the keynote speech of Fr. Adriano Satura, SDB dwelling on the theme; the drafting of action points for the local ADMA Chapters; the induction of eight full-ﬂedged ADMA Members of Cebu who underwent more than 2 years of formation; the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in

Pasay City, October 29 – At the 36th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) Night held at the GSIS Theater, the Salesians of Don Bosco won four major awards and one special citations. Our heartfelt congratulations! Fr. Salvatore Putzu, Word And Life Magazine BEST YOUTH MAGAZINE Fr. Armand Robleza, Yohwel, BEST SHORT STORY Fr. Bernard Nolasco, Between The Lines BEST ENTERTAINMENT COLUMN

Buhisan, and to the San Pedro Calungsod Chapel at the SRP. The event gathered 113 participants, among them, teachers, staﬀ, students, and Salesian priests from the FIS Provincial House, Don Bosco-Pasil, Don Bosco-Lawaan, Don Bosco-Victorias, St. Louis School-Don Bosco, Don Bosco Technology Center-Cebu, MHC Church-Davao, and ADMAFIN. Similar to its ﬁrst gathering two years ago, the 2nd Convention was held on the Saturday closest to the birth anniversary of the Blessed Mother as an act of honor and veneration of ADMA members to Mary. The 3rd ADMA-FIS Convention will be on September 10, 2016. – Leah N. Samson

GONE TO THE FATHER FR. DOMINIC CURTO, SDB

Born: April 30, 1922 Died: August 01, 2014 First Religious Profession: January 06, 1941 Priestly Ordination: January 07, 1951

The Salesian Society of St. John Bosco, St. John Bosco Today BEST LOCAL COMMUNITY / PARISH NEWSPAPER Don Bosco Press, Inc., Family Matters FAMILY-ORIENTED MAGAZINE SPECIAL CITATION

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