OFFICIAL QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE MISSIONARIES OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP YEAR XXX1, NO. 106 , JULY—AUGUST—SEPTEMBER 2015
Ave Maria!
“For a tree there is hope; if it is cut down, it will sprout again, its tender shoots will not cease” (Job 14, 7).
The first two objectives that Pope Francis has laid down for us to consider this Year of Consecrated Life are: 1. To look to the past with gratitude, and 2. To live the present with passion. These, we have reflected on in a special way in our two previous issues of Estrella Misionera. They somehow, have given us joy in gratefulness for all that we have received in the past, and firm courage to stand up in facing the future as a result of passionately living the present. This disposition of joyful gratitude and courageous passion leads us to the third and last objective of this year of Consecrated Life which will be concluded during the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple on the 2nd of February 2016 which is - “To embrace the future with hope”. When was the last time you consciously embraced someone? Can you remember your position and the dynamics that happened within yourself and the other person as you embraced? Normally, when we embrace someone, we extend our arms and put these around the other person as we press him/her to close our bosom. That is what we call embracing. Our Holy Father, the Pope, did not use “To face the future with hope” in expressing the third objective. Rather, he replaced "face" with “embrace,” giving it a very significant meaning; because when we extend our arms to embrace someone, we open ourselves, our heart, our life, our whole being. And when we draw the person close to our bosom, we are sharing our very self and whole life. In the midst of the many discouraging things that Consecrated Life is currently facing in the different parts of the world, as enumerated by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter to all Consecrated People on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life: “decreasing vocations and aging members, particularly in the Western world; economic problems stemming from the global financial crisis; issues of internationalization and globalization; the threats posed by relativism and a sense of isolation and social irrelevance…”, which are actually happening in our Congregation, we are still called to embrace the future, not alone, but with hope. As we read in this issue the experiences of our sisters from the different regions, may we all recognize that we can indeed embrace the future because the Lord has never abandoned us. Nevertheless, He continually accompanies us and show us the way for us to live our consecration in its fullness. He, who is our hope, will help us to embrace the future. With this conviction, we rise and open our arms to embrace the challenges and hardships that our vocation and mission present to us. St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first canonized Filipino Saint whose feast we celebrated on the 28th of September and whose life story is also featured in this issue, has these words to challenge and inspire us if we wish to be authentic followers of Christ: "I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept
death for God; had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer”. We are not just Catholics, we are also consecrated women…we are Missionaries of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.” If the future threatens us with “death” even in the form of sickness, difficulties in our mission, problems in our communities, trials in being faithful to our vocation, etc., can we also say “Yes” to Him with joy, passion and hope? Job is quite right. Let us look at the Tree, let us see how great our Savior’s love is for us on the Cross. Let us touch the Hope on the Crucifix that hangs on our chest; the Hope that dwells in our heart. In the future, “if that tree is cut down”, by the many disheartening situations that happen along the way, let us hold on to the Lord and His Word because this tree will sprout again; its tender shoots will not cease”. The Lord is ever faithful to us whom He has called and chosen to be His own. Let us always remember: “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom. 5, 5).
Sr. Maria Victoria Vivar, Flores ,MPS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Secretariat of Communication and Diffusion would like to express its heartfelt gratitude for all the sisters who have contributed articles for this issue of the Estrella Misionera. Our sincerest appreciation for the Sisters Responsible of this Secretariat in each region, most especially for those who did the layout of the articles, pictures and design for their respective regions. We also thank Sr. Martha who helped in translating the articles originally written in English to Spanish. The Secretariat always hopes to be able to publish every issue right after the end of every quarter. For this reason, we continually request all the communities to send your contributions as soon as possible to the Sister Responsible of Communication and Diffusion in your region so she may be able to send them to the General Secretariat on time. Let us all work hand in hand in making use of this particular means of communication in our Congregation in the most beneficial and productive way.
For more news about the Congregation which we have also shared with the public, kindly visit our website: www.perpetuosocorro.com.mx. May God bless us always.
Ave María!
Let me all greet you in the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (15, 13).
As we continue our journey as a Congregation in the context of the Church and in the world today, the third objective of the Year of Consecrated Life as emphasized by our Holy Father Francis is indeed very important. If we have truly looked at our past with gratitude and if we do live our present with passion, there will not be any other way to consider the future but to embrace it with hope. All the encyclicals of Pope Francis, not only the ones addressed to Consecrated Life but even the one on the Care for the Common Home, entitled “Laudato Si” which I am sure that every community has already read and shared on, reflects so much of the great hope he has in his heart despite the many sad realities that our brothers and sisters experience in the different parts of the world. We can also realize that our Father Founder Agustin Nistal Garcia, C.Ss.R. whose 136 th Birth Anniversary we celebrated in September of this year, was also a man of hope as he visualized and with much conviction said: “For us there will be no distinction of nationality, our nation will be the world, our native land the Church and our home, the Congregation." (Cf. Agustín Nistal, Reseña de la Congregación de Madres Misioneras de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro. 1919, Section 4, pages. 5 y 6). He himself recognized the whole universe as our common home. It is in our own homes that we first learned how to embrace. We received our first embrace from our family and as we grew much older, we embrace people we encounter in our journey, people we care for… until we became part of this religious family and we embrace its charism and spirituality, its history of ups and downs, its very members whom we call our very own sisters and lastly, its very mission in the Church and in the whole world.
The apostolic missionary zeal of our Mother Foundress Maria Teresa Rivera Carrillo was manifested in her courage to risk her life for those who need her services, that taking Mary as her model in loving with simplicity, in humility, perseverance, in the transformation of the daily live, in the acceptance of God's will, in search of a better quality of life, not only for her Congregation, but for all that she encountered in her journey by creating for them schools, workshops and missions. This is indeed embracing the future with hope. It is now our turn, my dear Sisters. Let us continually widen our horizons. We are all part of a home with all our Father’s beloved creatures. Let us keep burning in our hearts what we have expressed when we embraced this religious missionary vocation: “ I therefore, offer myself wholeheartedly to this Congregation so that, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, by the example of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the intercession of Saint Alphonsus and all the Saints, and with the help of my sisters, I may reach the perfection of charity to contribute with all my strength for the extension of the Reign of Christ the Redeemer in the world, and to honor the Most Holy Virgin Mary under her title of Perpetual Help” (Formula of Profession, Const. 18). With the help of the different experiences and events that we would read in this issue, let us continually internalize these words of love and commitment in our hearts. And as St. Paul says to the Ephesians in his letter, let me now embrace each of you saying: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call” (1,18).
M. Cecilia Morales Tapia, MPS
St. Lorenzo Ruiz is a Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. A Chinese-Filipino, he became the country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century. Saint Lorenzo is patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people. Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Binondo, Manila, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother who were both Catholic. His father taught him Chinese while his mother taught him Tagalog. Lorenzo served as an altar boy at the Binondo Church. After being educated by the Dominican friars for a few years, Ruiz earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) because of his skilful penmanship. He became a member of the Confraternidad del Santo Rosario. (Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary). He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter. The Ruiz family led a generally peaceful, religious and content life. In 1636, whilst working as a clerk for the Binondo Church, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard. Ruiz sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests: Saint Antonio Gonzalez, Saint Guillermo Courtet, and Saint Miguel de Aozaraza; a Japanese priest, Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a lay leper Saint Lazaro of Kyoto. Ruiz and his companions left for Okinawa on 10 June 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers and Fr. Giovanni Yago. The Tokugawa Shogunate was persecuting Christians by the time Ruiz had arrived in Japan. The missionaries were arrested and thrown into prison, and after two years, they were transferred to Nagasaki to face trial by torture. He and his companions faced different types of torture. On 27 September 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the Nishizaka Hill, where they were tortured by being hung upside down over a pit. This form of torture was known as tsurushi (釣殺し) in Japanese or horca y hoya ("gallows and pit") in Spanish. The method was supposed to be extremely painful: though the victim was bound, one hand was always left free so that victims may signal their desire to recant, leading to their release. Ruiz refused to renounce Christianity and died from blood loss and suffocation. His body was cremated, with the ashes thrown into the sea. According to Latin missionary accounts sent back to Manila, Ruiz declared these words upon his death:''Ego Catholicus sum et animo prompto paratoque pro Deo mortem obibo. Si mille vitas haberem, cunctas ei offerrem" ..."I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God; had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer." Lorenzo Ruiz died on September 29, 1637 (aged 36–37) in Nagasaki, Japan. He is being venerated in the Catholic Church. He was beatified on the 18th of February 1981 in Manila by Pope John Paul II and was canonized on the 18th of October 1987 in Vatican City by Pope John Paul II. The major shrine of St. Lorenzo Ruia is in Binondo Church, Binondo, Manila, Philippines. His feast day is every 28th of September. He is the patron saint of all Filipinos, Overseas Filipino Workers and migrant workers, the poor, separated families, Filipino youth, Chinese-Filipinos, Filipino altar servers, Tagalogs and the Archdiocese of Manila. (Source: Wikipedia)
Entrance to the Novitiate “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before
you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a
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prophet to the nations.”
(Jer. 1,5)
As Missionaries of Perpetual Help, we are grateful to God for the life and vocation
of our sisters Gabriela Pérez and Gloria Mercedes Alvarado Culajay who on the 15th of August this year have started a new stage in their life as they entered the Novitiate. The ceremony was held at 10:00 am in the Postulancy House, Zone 18. The mass was presided by Rev. Fr. Manuel Villagrán, C.Ss.R. The relatives of the sisters, the MPS sisters and our neighbors in the village shared our joy as our two young sisters moved on to their next stage of formation. Thank you, Lord, for You continually call laborers to Your vineyard.
“I have found In the heart of my mother, the ChurCh, my voCatIon to love” A POEM ON VOCATION True vocation comes from the heart; it is God who shows you the way that you have to take, so you may find such bliss that your heart seeks for. The light shone in our minds, our being is transformed, and this vocation is so strong that your flames embraced,
Thus filling our lives in the holocaust of love, During this long night, we feel the peace of the Lord, to whom we consecrated our life. (By Novices Gabriela Pérez y Gloria Mercedes Alvarado Culajay )
CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY
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On September 11 and 15, we, from the different levels of education had the walk for a cause in commemoration of the 194th Anniversary of our Independence Day. The community of Sonsonate and Perpetual Help College together with the children and young people expressed their joy as they celebrated their freedom through the said walk.
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At the end of September 15 parades, all the sisters from the Postulancy and Novitiate communities came together for a simple fellowship and sharing. Thank you sisters for your visit and for sharing this special moment with us. . (By Sr. Ma. de los Ángeles López)
CELEBRATING THE CONGREGATION’S FOUNDATION DAY
On September 17, our community of Mazatenango celebrated the 81th Anniversary of our Congregation’s Foundation. We had a very beautiful prayer time during the Holy Hour wherein we thanked the Lord who inspi-
red both Fr. Agustin Nistal Garcia and M. Ma. Teresa Rivera Carrillo to found our Congregation. We also had the Thanksgiving Mass at St. Bartholomew Parish where we were joyfully joined by the children, young people and teachers of Perpetual Help College. Thank You, Lord, for our beautiful vocation! (By Sr. Ma. de los Ángeles López)
Formands and Formators’ Day Ave María:
On September 26, we happily celebrated the day for formands and formators, which has blessed Gaspar Stanggassinger, a Redemptorist Missionary, as its patron.
We left very early on the 26th, Saturday morning to Sonsonate so as to start the activities on time. As we arrived Sonsonate, the Sisters of the community gave us a warm welcome. A delicious lunch with some delicious bread and chicken, so famous in El Salvador was pre-
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pared for us. In the afternoon, we did some walking by the Cobanos beach where we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the waves of the sea. The evening would not be complete without the “pupusas” and so we went to Nahuizalco which is a place where they make such delicious “pupusas”. We continued with the celebration on Sunday, September 27 in a very wonderful atmosphere of community fellowship. We began with the dynamics of integration, the prayer and the theme on the Biography of Blessed Gaspar which was facilitated by Sr. Ana Celina Sánchez. After lunch, we prepared ourselves for our trip back to Guatemala with our hearts full of joy and gratitude to God for the opportunity to share this event with our sisters coming from the formative stages.
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of sisterhood and friendship that we are gladly fostering among us! (By Sr. Ma. de los Ángeles López)
MY DREAM TO BE A TEACHER HAS COME TRUE
University of Sonsonate Higher Education with Excellence
Graduation time: 9: 30 am at the University’s Auditorium Degree: Teacher in basic education for first and second cycle. I thank God for having culminated this adventure which started in the year 2012 with joy. I can recall that it was a decision we took up as a community of the Missionaries of our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sonsonate community. On this day, September 29, 2015, the time has come when seeing that my dream to be a teacher in this blessed country "El Salvador" has come true, I feel grateful to God, the Congregation, especially to the community of Sonsonate who accompanied me during this time. Today, with immense joy the Sr. Maria Aracely Guzman Castro, superior of the community and our friend Angela Rebecca Duran Pino accompanied me as I received the fruit of my hard work, patience and trust that one day I shall finish and graduate. (By Sr. Maripaz Santos Vicente)
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Devotees of OMPH Philippine Region Update By: Sr. REGINA ERECRE
Beginning last January 2015, invited devotees of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH)-Philippine Region gather every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month with the objective of fostering and imbibing the spirituality of our Mother of Perpetual Help; deepening their relationship to Jesus Redeemer and to Mary; and promulgating her to others. This is part of the program in celebration of the 150th Jubilee of `Making Known’ the Icon of OMPH. Attendees of this activity come from different levels and states of life -- youth, married couples, single and widows. Through the creativity and coordination of the sisters, and the openness of the devotees, each one is able to engage in a prayerful and reflective atmosphere. The flow of prayer includes praying of the Holy Rosary, pondering on the Word, and faith-sharing. Inputs on the History and Background of the ICON were also given by Sr. Alejandra Valdez, Sr. Lourdes Martho and Sr. Regina Erecre. The active participation of each devotee by reading, reflecting, praying and sharing encourages one another to deepen their knowledge, relationship and love to Jesus and Mary. At the same time, it challenges them to act and live according to the values and example of Mary, our Mother of Perpetual Help.
One of the devotees shared how she was touched by the story of the Icon, particularly the wife of the merchant’s friend who wanted to keep the Icon in her house instead of putting it in the church. Sometimes in our life there is a tendency to keep our faith within ourselves and to be spiritually content, failing to be an Icon to others. Another devotee also shared that she was inspired by the colorful history of the Icon since it was discovered, and then entrusted to the Redemptorists Fathers by
Pope Pius IX, until the present time as devotion to her continues to spread throughout the world. I am thankful for this opportunity of being able to be part of this program of accompanying and journeying with other devotees of our Blessed Mother. May this period of celebration for the 150 th Anniversary of OMPH ICON bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God. For all sisters who are united with us in prayers and sacrifices, we thank you all for the untiring support and understanding to make
these activities possible and meaningful. May Jesus Christ our Redeemer inspire us always to follow His footsteps through Mary our Mother of Perpetual Help.
MPS Lay Missionaries By: Sr. MICHELLE GALLON
The
Secretariat of Missionary Action spearheaded the monthly formation of prospective MPS Lay Missionaries which was held last July 21, 2015 from 9 until 11 AM at the Novitiate House in South City Homes, Biñan, Laguna. Seven hopeful MPS Lay Missionaries (MPSLM) attended the activity namely: Lucy Manahan, Florie Vana, Vilma Fuentes, Caridad Patalagsa, Sally Torres, Baby Villanueva and Zayda Cristobal. The topic was Communication and Relationship facilitated by Sr. Shirley Mabunga. SMA Coordinator, Sr. Michelle Gallon and MPSLM in-charge, Sr. Annie Estraza were also present during the talk. The half-day formation is not just a gathering of future MPSLM but also an opportunity to deepen in their bond with one another through good communication and relationship with Jesus Christ as true leader and model.
Our Mother’s Gaze By: Sr. MICHELLE GALLON
The Church is celebrating the 150 years of Making known the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. A lot of activities and events were lined-up in connection with the said special celebration. One of these is the integration of the icon in our monthly recollection’s theme wherein there is always a link of Mary in every reflection. The topic for the month of August was focused on the face of the Virgin of Perpetual Help particularly with the way Mary looks at us her children. It is not just a quick view but a loving gaze. There is a deeper and meaningful way of understanding the way Mary gazes. She is looking at us her children with tender loving care and concern. As a Mother, she is always looking after the welfare of her children, interceding for us not to go astray. How fortunate we are to have a mother like Mary. Realizing and experiencing the greatness of a Mother’s love, a child could not help but to depend and cling to her. Mary is also asking us not only to look at her but to focus more on Jesus, her Son, because He is the one who teaches us in our daily journey. May we bear witness to Jesus in word and deed through the constant guide and prayer of Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
FEAST DAY of ST. ALPHONSUS MA. DE LIGOURI And the INSTALLATION OF THE NEW RECTOR at OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP SHRINE By: Postulant FLORINDA LAMAGON
On August 1, 2015 at 5 in the afternoon, members of the Alphonsian Family which includes the Missionaries of Our Lady Of Perpetual Help (MPS), Oblate Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer (OSR), and Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Good and Perpetual Succour (BPS) gathered together at the Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran for the Eucharistic celebration on the Feast Day of St. Alphonsus Ma. de Liguori. It was a great celebration because it was also the day for the installation of Fr. Joseph (Joey) Echano, C.Ss.R as the new Rector of the Shrine. Bishop Jesse Mercado, the Bishop of Parañaque was the one who administered the rite for installation.
Before entrusting the key of the Tabernacle to Fr. Joey, Bishop Jesse Mercado gave him a very important message. He said that Fr. Joey as the new rector of the Shrine should be a good shepherd to all the people who come to him, especially to the needy, and should be a good leader to his new community. After his installation, Fr. Joey presided the Mass with his concelebrants Bishop Mercado, some diocesan priests, and his Redemptorist confreres. In his homily, he extended his warmest gratitude to all the workers and staff of the Shrine for their dedication to their work and their apostolate. He also said that God loves without condition. Just like St. Alphonsus, in His untiring mission for the poor and the most abandoned in our society. After the Mass, dinner was served at the refectory which was joyfully shared over by all the visitors including us, MPS Sisters in the celebration of the Feast of our great saint, St. Alphonsus.
A Sharing of What Has Been Received Re-Echo of JPII Conference By: Sr. SHIRLEY MABUNGA
Last August 31, 2015, the Secretariat of Missionary Action held a Re-echo of the John Paul II (JPII) Conference in Manila Times Village, Las Piñas, from 9 am – 12 noon. It was attended by some sisters from the different MPS communities. It began with a prayer led by Sr. Regina Erecre, followed by an animation that was led by Sr. Merlyn Cañonio. Three sisters namely Sr. Ma. Barbara Flores, Sr. Maricel Gopita, and Sr. Regina Erecre generously shared with
their time, talent and efforts the knowledge, learnings and reflections they have received by attending the said conference. Sr. Ma. Barbara shared about the talk on “Fostering Young Saints through Social Media” that was given by Fr. Bernard Nolasco, SDB. It was about the ways and means by which the young or even the missionaries can use social media in their mission to proclaim the Gospel. At the end, Sr. Barbara shared the Address of Pope Francis during the recent World Communication Day for all the faithful. The next hour was followed by Sr. Maricel Gopita who shared about the “Youth As Callejeros De La Fe (Street Evangelization)” by Emmanuel Community. She shared the steps on How to do the Street Evangelization, which she also believes that we, as missionaries are already actually doing in our mission. She also gave a re-echo about “Mary, the Mother and Model of Consecrated Persons” by Sr. Melanie Pilar, FMA that led the participants to reflect. Finally, the third sharer was Sr. Regina Erecre who shared her learnings and reflections on “Spirituality of Encounter in New Evangelization” and “The Role of Saints in Youth Ministry Today”. Here, she shared some interesting facts that drew the participants to a deeper reflection. She ended by sharing handouts from “YouCat”, a book meant for giving catechesis especially for the youth. After the re-echoing, Sr. Alejandra Valdez, Regional Superior, affirmed and congratulated the three sisters for their generosity in sharing what they have received. The re-echo ended with a simple lunch and agape as a celebration also for the gift of life to Sr. Maricel, who celebrated her 31st Birthday on that very special day! ***************************
“Media: Expression of Beauty, Richness and Meaning of Life with God” By: Sr. SHIRLEY MABUNGA, MPS
Upon knowing the title of the seminar for Juniors about Media and Religious Life by Fr. Javy Alpasa, SJ, questions came into my mind: Why is there such a seminar on Media for religious? How is media related and significant for my religious formation? Is it really necessary and inevitable? How is this related to my mission as a 2nd year junior? When I heard of the word “Media”, I thought that generally it is something associated to the secular world, which we traditionally think is different from the spiritual aspect that we religious associate with. But, our world has changed, the understanding about the difference between the secular world and spiritual world also advanced that the Church and religious life has become open to the secular world. The invitation for us by our Holy Father, Pope Francis
is to do the new evangelization, with the same content of truth that Jesus is our Lord who redeemed us, but in different approach that is pertinent to the signs of the time. And the sign of the times is that, we are in a world of advanced science and technology including the rapid influence of Media in the life of the faithful especially the youth of today. As religious, we are in the world but not of the world as the Gospel often remind us. We are still human beings and not far different from lay people, we are also affected and influenced by the media, thus, we can adapt yet we must hold on to our values. That is why media becomes relevant to the formation of us religious. As missionaries, we go to the places where the people are. We are fishers of men as Jesus said. But how can we catch fish and reach out to people if we do not go to the places where they are. Media becomes the means for us to convey the message of the Gospel in an attractive and interesting manner but the same teachings. Thus, for us to go with this technological world, it is necessary and inevitable for us religious to enter and use the world of media. But just as Fr. Javy reminded us, we enter and use the power of technology and media not just simply to socialize but to evangelize. In that way, secular world can still have a glimpse of our religious state of life which is to give witness to the Gospel. We have to be creative and attractive. I believe, Jesus also became attractive to the crowd because he was able to catch their interest because he started from the point of reference of the people whom he wanted to encounter. The invitation is also the same with us. It’s been said in a homily of a priest, “a consecrated is not afraid to love and be loved”. I realized too, a consecrated is not afraid to get into the world of technology and to encounter people there because he/she knows what his/ her purpose or mission in it. It is just a matter of responsible use. And just what Fr. Javy mentioned the power of Media rests in the user. Thus, this seminar challenged me to use the power of media in expressing how beautiful, rich and meaningful my life has become when I allowed God to enter totally in my life as I continually give my yes to Him. With the advantage of this world of media I am also called to share that good news I received through an indirect evangelization, by updating, posting pictures, blogs, comments that speaks of the joy of the Gospel that would help in awakening the people in the social media of God’s presence to build up communion and to increase our faith, hope and love. I am inspired to be creative in using the power of media as means of conveying the message of the Gospel in my apostolate. Thus, to think of all the possible things that I can do and give for the good and effectiveness of our evangelization. With all these, I ask the grace from God and the intercession of Mama Mary, that I may truly live out my witnessing in this fast changing modern times of the world.
“throw the net on the rIght sIde of the boat and you wIll fInd somethIng” By Sr. . Rosalie C. Factolerin
For these past years, I have been journeying with the ministry of vocation promotion as my specific mission. I can say that it is particularly challenging at this time when globalization has spread in our world. I say `challenging’ because it is difficult to find young ladies nowadays who would take the risk of leaving everything behind and putting their trust on the one who is calling. To journey with the searchers and candidates is like walking with them on the road to Emmaus. As promoters, we provide the things they need in their discernment process at the end of which the individuals themselves will be the ones to decide. Meantime, along the way, we pray that they recognize the Lord calling, see the manifestations of their calling and be able to say...” It is the Lord!” But again, many who tried, focused more on the worries of the future rather than embracing the treasure of the now which is acknowledging the voice of God, calling on them for consecrated life. I heard a lot of what ifs, buts, and maybes. These are natural during discernment. I just can't help feeling sad when a potential candidate gives up entering into a covenant with the Lord for a consecrated life and go back to their life outside. We all know that it is so hard to find fresh vocation; that is why we need to take care of our own and of each other’s vocation as we would a precious treasure. Its growth depends undoubtedly on the fidelity of all of us, sisters, to the consecration that the Holy Spirit has infused in us... (Const. #105). In times of doubts I am remembering the experience of the apostles with Jesus in the lake of Tiberias. The apostles went fishing; but after a whole night, caught nothing. In their disappointment, the Lord came and asked them to “Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will find something.” They obeyed the Lord and caught a large number of fish. The Lord is the Master of the Laborers; He is the author of our vocation. I believe He will sustain the congregation He founded. We travel many places far and near, offering our love and sacrifices for more vocations to the holy church and to our congregation. We never fail to pray for more harvest and beg the Lord during adoration for vocation. Deep in our hearts we believe in God’s graciousness. But then, and again, whatever the reasons why these searchers come our way, part of our evangelization and catechism hoping to help them to love and serve the Lord more in their chosen path. Moment by moment, the Lord is asking us to throw the nets on the right side of the boat. The Lord is asking us to believe and trust Him. In Him, everything is possible. My trust in the Lord and in the maternal assistance of our Mother of Perpetual Help puts my heart at peace. Let us continue to love and embrace our vocation and be not afraid to manifest God’s glory for these will radiate into the beauty of our calling. May we always find the inspiration to promote vocation and to share the beauty and depth of our Charism and Spirituality to those called to be one of us with the passion of carrying out the mission of the Master entrusted to us in the distinctive manner of OMPH. May our presence and witnessing be a source for others to find the merciful love of God and say...” it is the Lord! "
MI ENTRADA AL NOVICIADO ÂĄAve MarĂa Hermanas!
I hope that wherever you are, may you continually feel a great joy to follow Christ the Redeemer under the vocation of Missionaries of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. On the 28th of August 2015, the Eucharistic Celebration for my entrance to the novitiate in Eagle Pass, Texas, United States was held. It was a celebration where I felt very blessed to have the presence of our Mother General Cecilia Morales Tapia, general council member Sr. Anavela Barrientos, USA Regional Superior Mother Melissa Garza together with the community of Eagle Pass, Texas, where I would spend my novitiate stage. I felt so much loved, happy, strengthened and so much secured, that even if my family could not come and be me with on that day. I know that it was a time of grace when we pray to our God, the Father for the Church, for the Congregation, for all the young people, for all the government leaders, for peace in the world and in all families. Similarly, I felt very grateful with all of you for your prayers, support, advices, greetings, gifts and good wishes for me at this stage of my formation process. Thank you for celebrating with the whole Church consecrated life and I hope to continue to count on your prayers. I also pray for you. With much love from your sister novice, Lucero Anayely Romero Medina MPS USA Region
THE ASPIRANCY STAGE By Binita Kullu and Nirmala Dungdung
We, the
aspirants: Nirmala, Binita, Mary and Joy, have
begun the formal English class for this academic year. We have been fortunate indeed to have very good teacher Mom, Gila, who comes to teach us in the convent itself. She is an excellent teacher who teaches and encourages even we commit errors. She teaches us English Grammar which we could use to communicate with each other in the convent. She gives us daily tests to check if we understood the lesson, or not. We worry, but we try. Our teacher patiently explains things to us as many time as necessary. And by the way, she teaches important general knowledge besides, such as air travel, bank accounts, parts of the vehicles, etc. which we find very helpful. Learning to speak, read, and write English which as we all know is a universal language, improves our communication skills and enables us to enjoy attending seminars
with other congregation sisters. We are thankful God and our congregation for this opportunity given to us.
India’s Independence Day
By Sr. Vandana Thomas
Last August 15, we celebrated our country’s 6th Independence day. On that same day, we also remembered with joy the feast of the solemnity of the Glorious Assumption of Mary, the Heavenly Mother. We are very happy to be the citizens of independent India. Sixty-eight years ago, India gained political freedom from foreign rule, giving it a right for self-governance. Patriotic and courageous Indians: men and women who suffered and sacrificed their lives fought for this freedom under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. India is blessed with rich natural resources. People speak different languages, follow different religious beliefs and practices and belong to different cultural backgrounds. There has been beautiful unity in diversity. For the past 68 years, India has seen tremendous developments in science and technologies; in trade and industries. There is also a big growth in population. India is one of the fast-developing countries in the world. Living in freedom is not doing everything one wants to do. Freedom is meant to be good, and to do good; to be right, and to do right. Freedom should enable us to do our duties perfectly well for our families, our society and our nation. Mahatma Gandhi used the values of Truth and nonviolence to get political freedom for our country. In our struggle for true freedom, along with these two values, let us include the spiritual values of renunciation and service, and above all, love. We began celebrating the grace-filled Independence Day by invoking the blessings of the Holy Trinity and the intercession of
our Mother Mary for all of us and for our country. We had creative liturgy with a flag- hoisting and the Eucharistic celebration. It was truly a memorable day for all the Indians.
NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY By: Sr. Vandana Thomas
September 8th Our Lady, in celebrating her birthday, has been described as “the hope of the entire world and the dawn of salvation.” Her image was looked up to as light for the whole Christian people. St. Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. “She is the flower of the field from where bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is changed”. In celebrating the nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the
Incarnation and the birth of her Divine Son, and give honor to the mother of Our Lord and Savior. This feast provided us an occasion for praise and thanksgiving in honor of the personal sanctity and vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus. We have been privileged to actively participate at the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Bengaluru. We, as a congregation, volunteered in selling the candles and flowers during the novena days, We have been very happy in doing this service for the Church even though it was tiring; for it helped us manifest our devotion to our Mother Mary. We too, attended
mass in the Basilica on the feast day. The Basilica, where different people come to show their reverence and to thank our Mother for all the favors they have received.
PREPARING FOR THE 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR PRESENCE IN MACAO By: Sr. Nileta Rudillas
ur community here in Macao is preparing for the forthcoming celebration of the golden jubilee year of our presence in the Diocese. We formulated a prayer to be prayed daily by the community and we started that prayer right after the Eucharistic celebration on the launching of the MPS Macao foundation last 27th of April. We thank God for this wonderful blessing to our Congregation, to be part of those whom HE called to be missionaries in this non-Christian country. We would like to invite all the sisters to pray with us using the same prayer we formulated for us MPS. We also formulated a prayer to be prayed by all our families, benefactors, friends and those whom we meet in our mission and apostolate as we would like them to be one with us in thanking God as we journey in this year of grace for our Congregation here in Macao, China. The prayers are in three languages. We would like to thank Fr. Daniel, MCCJ for translating into Spanish the prayer for the MPS sisters. We also thank Fr. Jay Daet Gapayao, SOLT for formulating the prayer for non-MPS and to Fr. Alberto Rossa Santiago, CMF for the Spanish translation. And of course, we thank our very own sister, Brigida Kuan for the Chinese translation.
ARRIVING MACAU By: Sr. Ma. Elena Godinez
Its emblem consists of a beautiful Lotus flower, surrounded by five golden stars which shows that Macao as part of the Republic of China. This somehow looks like the star of Perpetual Help. “ONE CAN FEEL AN EXCITING CHALLENGE�
It's breathing in the legacy of 49 years of prophetism, seeing the Lord of history..." "It is closing our eyes to look back and see the women of prayer who have trusted in the Providence of God, and have spoken word of God, with the ability to discover and proclaim the true God as women who linked the past with the future in one and interrupted history of salvation...� Is to be "embodying the spirituality of communion and making the ecumenical spirit present in the Church by welcoming the values in different cultures" (DA 228, 479; 52 RMI) such as China, India, Philippines and Mexico. It is to allow oneself to listen to the language and hear the voice of God. .
81ST YEAR OF OUR FOUNDATION By Sr. Nileta Rudillas
On the 17th of September at 5:30 in the afternoon, Fr. Alejandre Vergara, SOLT, celebrated the Holy Eucharist in our community chapel here in Macao to commemorate the 81st year of the foundation of our Congregation. On that day only the four of us were present, namely: M. Beatriz (Veronica) Noguez Lugo, Sr. Jenie D. Amsua, Sr. Rosalia Soreng and myself. While Sr. Jenie and Sr. Rosalia were busy preparing the Mexican and Indian foods and myself preparing the chapel, M. Veronica was silently praying in the chapel for all of us. She said this is the only help she can offer at this time. But for us, her prayer helps us so much for it gives us strength in everything we do.
During the homily, Fr. Alejandre reminded us of the many sufferings and sacrifices our founders experienced in founding our Congregation. And the fruit of their labor is the precious gift they left to us which, we, all MPS sisters are now bringing with us wherever we go. This beautiful and precious gift that we inherit from our founders is the charism of our Congregation.
10TH TO 21ST OF AUGUST 2015
A NEW BEGINNING A new school year begins and the community of Juan Ram贸n Jim茅nez School has been prepared with great joy to receive the children who will continue their preschool and elementary education. From the 10th to 21st of August, we held meetings with the teachers and staff of the school. In a spirit of openness, joy and availability, the School Directress Sr. Mar铆a Rosa Vargas Rend贸n gave a warm welcome to each and every one as she emphasized that one of the strong ideals of our founders was actually the pursuit for a better education for children, and therefore each person who is part of our school must have the same ideal.
Prayer strengthened us at every meeting, and we always kept a dynamic spirit, always open to new realities, for which the Junior sisters Miriam and Alejandra before each meeting started with a prayer so as to make the loving presence of God and in the maternal love of Mary, our Mother of Perpetual Help, patroness of the Congregation felt in each one. The activity was concluded with a Holy Hour wherein the School staff appreciated it as part of the education of the children. On August 24, the doors of of our School were opened to welcome hundreds of children. The first ceremony took place and we had the honor of having the presence of the Regional Superior Isabel Aguilar Maldonado who together with Sr, Maria Rosa hand-
ed over to each group the set of books and expressed their commitment to accompany the students in their formation. Something very touching was the gesture of the 6th graders who enthusiastically welcomed 1 st graders while they encouraged them to give their best at all times. In an atmosphere of respect, collaboration, openness and joy, i.e. in an environment wherein the presence of God is truly felt, we begin this new school year with a hope that every action we perform would always be for the building of the Kingdom By Sr. Alejandra Flores Galvรกn
LET US CELEBRATE LIFE! Every day we celebrate and share life, however there are special days where we gather to give thanks for the gift of life of each sister.
On August 27, the Colegio Juan Ramón Jiménez community celebrated with great joy the feast of our sister Monica by treating her with some delicious quesadillas in Marqueza. Sister Monica was very happy as well as the whole community. We took her to visit a museum inside Marqueza which she enjoyed so much and at the end of the day she had not guessed yet who her secret friend was until the following day. Her secret friend Sister Alejandra surprised her with a beautiful gift.
28th of August 2015
“Seek the Holy Spirit within you, The Spirit will teach you to love Jesus, It will love in, for and with you.” (Fr. Agustín Nistal García C.Ss.R.)
As we start this new school year, the students of Colegio Juan Ramón Jiménez, together with the teachers and all the community of the Missionaries of our Lady of Perpetual Help gathered together on August 28 at 8 in the morning to joyfully celebrate together the Eucharist which Fr. Jesus, CICM presided with much enthusiasm.
guided by it.
Celebrating the presence of the Holy Spirit, we ask the Spirit of God to accompany us during this New Year, to grant us His grace to make us docile to its inspiration and that we may open our hearts at all times so as to be
The children enjoyed so much this time, the joy which they received from the Holy Spirit can be reflected in their faces. It was also nice to have the presence of the parents caught in deep prayer.
THE WATER IS TOO COLD! In the month of September, we did not only celebrate our country’s independence day but also on 2 September, we celebrated the life and presence of our sister Miriam in our community. Very early in the morning, we got ready to take her out for a swimming butwe did not imagine that the water was very cold that we all hesitated to get into the pool. Well, at least at the end, that did not prevent us to at least make our feet wet. We enjoyed very much that afternoon and Sr. Miriam thanked her secret friend, M. Edith for that special celebration of her birthday. By Sr. Alejandra Flores Galvan, MPS
¡VIVA MEXICO! The historical commemoration of the beginning of the struggle for national independence highlights the uniqueness of our past and our culture. It also rediscovers our past belongingness and a horizon of large civilization that include not only all Mexican s but all the peoples with whom we share a league and history . On September 15 the whole staff, students and parents of the Colegio Juan Ramón Jiménez gathered together to remember the historical epic of our national independence. The celebration started with the giving of honors to the flag, which with great respect was held at the school grounds. Subsequently, all the attendees were delighted with all the activities that the students prepared, all the way from the preschool children who led the presented a song dedicated to the national heroes up to the groups of the elementary levels who performed dances, tributes, poems, and representations that we took us back to the history of our beloved country Mexico. At the end of the cultural events, the moment most awaited arrived, i.e., the national flag was handed over to the Sr. Ma. Rosa Vargas Rendon, who, with great solemnity, directed a message to all emphasizing the importance of the freedom as children of God. She urge all of us to pray so much for our country and the countries that are in conflict and invite everybody to continually feel the love of God. Finally, with a clear and strong voice, she mentioned the name of all the heroes who fought for our country’s liberty so we may all shout out: “VIVA MEXICO!” With one voice, in the midst of the fireworks, streamer, confetti and joy, everybody responded to the cry of freedom. However, the celebration did not end up for it continued with the refreshments where we all enjoyed the typical Mexican food which we joyfully shared together. By Sr. Alejandra Flores Galván
TO LIVE THE PRESENT WITH PASSION
Welcome School Year 2015 – 2016! On the 23rd of August, our community was on a festive atmosphere, and do you know why? It is because we received with open arms and heart the girls for our Casa Hogar. From 4 pm, some mothers began to arrive, and at 5 pm sharp, we begun the celebration of the Eucharist, which was presided over by Fr. Jesus Herrera. It was a very lovely and touching celebration in which all of us were invited to put in the hands of God our work as well as all the girls for whose welfare we have the Casa Hogar. "They are not alone, in the school, they have the Sister Directress, all of us will walk hand in hand under the protection of our Mother of Perpetual Help"…these were the words which Sr. Maria Rosa Vargas (School Directress), addressed to the Assembly. Let me also share with you that our sisters from the Colegio Juan Ramón Jiménez; Srs. Miriam and Alejandra were also present as they led the choir. They made along with a girls a beautiful choir. Congratulations! We are also glad to have with us the presence of Sr. Maria Isabel Aguilar Maldonado, Regional Superior of Northern Mexico, who expressed her gratitude to all the mothers for trusting in us as a Congregation and at the same time requested them to pray for the girls, who will be in the care of all staff working at the Casa Hogar. At the end of the mass, Sr. Ma. Carolina Gallegos Jurado, Directress of the Casa Hogar presented to all the operational staff who will be working in this school year. Thereafter, Fr. Jesus sent us all off to this particular mission, and as a sign, he gave us a crucifix which reminds us of the mission of Jesus, the Redeemer, in which we participate.
Subsequently, we gathered at the kiosk wherein all the girls together with their mothers, some families, and the MPS sisters shared as one big happy family a lovely snack. “Missionary, surely, you can radiate LOVE!” Yes, we are capable of making the Love of God present in the lives of these little ones. By Sr. Margarita Hidalgo
SCHOOL YEAR OPENING 4th of September 2015 In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit‌ Thus, we begin this new school year‌with faith in the will of the Lord. Of course, that He may help us during this enrollment period, since as it is well known at present, enrolment in schools have been affected by the economic situation and insecurity that our society experience. The All-providing God did not forsake us and all that were needed came at the right time. And we, as good missionaries, heirs of a firm, strong and fearless faith, we did the task of performing all the evangelical and redemptive work that our founders bequeathed to us. Therefore, we lift up to the MASTER our entire educational community. For this, On the 4th of September, at 8 in the morning, a special blessing ceremony, i.e., the priest, with a para-liturgy celebrated at preschool where he blessed the children and the building. It was a warm and worthwhile ceremony in which Fr. Leobardo Mecalco urged the parents to commit themselves in the education of their children, not just to entrust to the school all the formative and educational work of their children. In addition, he invited them to strengthen their and spiritual life and that of their children as well through pious and sacramental practices. Actually, all the kindergarten pupils behaved very well, that despite having only four days of class, they showed respect and devotion. Some were able to control their crying while they saw their parents as they wanted to go with them, but they had to remain in their respective group with their teachers. In high school, on the same date, but at 1 pm, the Holy Eucharist was celebrated with the same intention that the compassionate and merciful God may bless and free of all the sections of this school from all evil. Fr. Leobardo Mecalco encouraged the teenagers to take a practical Christian life, that being young men and women, they may discover the action of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and that they take the Virgin Mary as their example, who allowed the Word to enter her life and heart. She gave life to a new being and thus to a new era, that they may also give life to new hope, be positive, be builders of a new society, where peace, harmony, dialogue and reconciliation are the governing axis. Before the Mass, the Icon of our Lady of the Perpetual Help was enthroned to begin its Jubilee year. As a symbol of such a life of new hope, each group was given a pot with seeds, so that under their care, it may also flourish like themselves in the Kingdom of God. This was concluded with the Consecration to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. In the elementary department, the Mass of the Holy Spirit was held on the 30th of September, Feast of St. Jerome, Doctor. By: Sr. Magdalena Islas Mendoza.
CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY AT COLEGIO ALFONSO DE LIGORIO VIVA MEXICO, INDEPENDENT AND SOVEREIGN!!! We joyfully started our patriotic celebrations, in this beautiful and warm city and port of Tampico. So as not to have overlapping of celebrations with the other departments of the school, the preschool had their tribute to the heroes who gave example of selfless love for our country on Friday, September 11. It began with the giving of honors to our national symbols. This civic act was something no one would want to miss. For this, the children have their escorts and the opportune ceremony takes place weekly. Later, they sang melodies that were popular during those times, others presented a rhythmic table, and of course, a brief representation of the invasion of the Americans to the Chapultepec Castle, and the heroic gesture of Juan Escutia as well as the cry of independence of Don Miguel Hidalgo. At the end of this civic-social act, a "Mexican mañanita" was sang by the entire educational community. We tasted rich crunchy pork with guacamole, tacos, stew and juice of Jamaica, horchata, and lemon. To entertain, there was a karaoke made available with which the educators delightfully sang for us Mexican songs. In the elementary and highschool departments, the celebration was held on September 15 itself. “Mrs. Botello”, as the elementary dance teacher is commonly called, presented a watercolor of costumes typical of the different states that make up our country; all were so alive with the song "Mexico en la piel" with a live Mariachi. Likewise, the songs "Madrugada (Dawn)" and the "Jarabe tapatío", melodies were played which animated the students to dance. The work of “Mrs. Botello” was appreciated and the children who danced exhibited their techniques of the dance steps, just like professional dancers. In high school, as it is known, the young people already feel shy and so few have collaborated for the presentations. But with all these, the civic-social ceremony was performed with respect. Similarly, at the end of this activity, there was the "Mexican mañanita". Thanks be to God that all came out very well. And yes, there were fun and the manifestation of veneration toward our national heroes. By Sr. María Magdalena Islas Mendoza
By Sr. Anilu Morales –Arroyo, MPS
“Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” (Joshua 3,7) ¡Ave María!
Sisters, let me share with you the gratitude I feel for God, our Lord, who has been shaping my being and I have now come to a special stage in which I will prepare for my perpetual profession. For this, so, it was necessary to have my renewal for one year. This celebration took place in the Central House Community, in which I currently belong. The Eucharist was presided by Fr. Carlos Flores Rodríguez C.Ss.R., on August 13, 2015, at 4 in the afternoon, which was attended by some sisters from the the Novitiate Community and the sisters of the Central House and of the General Council. The readings were taken from the day’s readings that echoed the phrase that I quoted above, since Fr. Carlos emphasized the mission that was assigned to Joshua "The living God is among you" and on the other hand asked me about how many times I should renew?, well, in the Gospel there was also this kind of question: how many times should I forgive my brother? Actually, renewal is a continuous experience in which it is necessary to be aware of what I'm going to give to God each day, but being in His hands, He the will do wonders. Therefore I say, “Transform this temporary renewal into perpetual sacrament.
COMMUNITY OUTING AVE MARIA, SISTERS!
On August 23, Sunday, we, the Sisters of the Central House, had our first community outing for this year. This was organized by our superior M. Yolanda Sánchez and in which we have enjoyed in different moments. We were also joined by some sisters of the Fray Martín de Valencia Community. We went to the city of Puebla, and indeed, the elderly sisters were really very happy. Sr. Concepcion Toral drived for us and she also offered us to arrive at her family’s house where we all enjoyed a pleasant fellowship.
First we arrived at Tepeaca at 12 noon, to participate in the Eucharistic Celebration in the Church of the Child Doctor. The sisters were very contented. After the mass, we got to know the place and structure which attracted the many faithful. Then we arrived at the house of Sr. Concepcion’s family. Her mother, Mrs. Francisca received us with great joy; we were very well received by the whole family, an atmosphere of trust and closeness could truly be felt. The food was already prepared and we enjoyed a delicious mole and corn. They accommodated us with love and we all enjoyed the gettogether. We thanked the family our stay at night, and return to our community As the evening drew, we thanked the family and went our way back to our community.
"What God wants from you is that you be holy”
On Friday, August 28, date in which we recall the memory of our founder, Father Agustín Nistal Garcia, it was agreed that we celebrate the day of the elderly, our very own sisters in the community of central house. The major feast was the participation in the Eucharist which was presided by Fr. Jesus, CICM, who acknowledged that we find ourselves in the midst of the wisdom of the Congregation, as our sisters who have once guided us and worked in the Congregation, as they gave everything they could and now it's their time for them to be attended by us as they were like the virgins of the Gospel, who were prudent and that the invitation for them is to continue to keep watching and praying, so that they can stand without fear before the Son of Man.
After participating in the feast of the Lord, there was a moment of fellowship to share at table with music and joy. The sisters were glad as it was a special day for them. How nice to share with them and to make them feel that they are important, despite the sickness and situations that each of them has to bear. We continually entrust our sisters to your prayers, remembering that they were the pillars of our Congregation. May God always grant you all His grace.
01 09 2015
Report of the activities /apostolate of the Community of San ANTONIO BUENAVISTA, Toluca, State of Mexico Ave María! A cordial greeting to our Sisters of the Congregation in general and the readers of the Estrella Misionera. One of our apostolate is: Giving of Holy Communion to some patients who request for it. And also sometimes when there is a need to hold a celebration of the word in our community. There is a group of girls in the choir who gather to rehearse with the choir master. We have mass on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (twice a week). The lay missionaries gather every month for their permanent formation. Sometimes they help us in any M.L.D.N.S.P.S activity. We give attention to young students who are preparing to complete their Bachelor's degree in the TEC DE MONTERREY, some of them are foreigners. We support them by offering them food and lodging In the community. The catechesis is our primary apostolate in the Parish. This is a short summary of what we can do in our community.
Members of the Community:
Sister Inés Tello Gutiérrez
Sister del Socorro Arreola Solís Sister Blanca Emilia Romero Rodríguez
DREAMS, GOALS, PROJECTS, AND A GOOD START FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016 By: Sr. María de Lourdes Villalobos Garcia
MARIA TERESA RIVERA INSTITUTE, SALINA CRUZ SCHOOL and JORGE LALIBERTÉ KINDERGARTEN “God gave you talents and abilities, so you may use them in the most possible way and leave impacts on others”
Ave María, Sisters: Greetings! How wonderful it is to always enjoy the presence of God and to feel that we are loved by Him. The educational community of the Maria Teresa Rivera Carrillo Institute, the Colegio Salina Cruz and the Jorge Laliberté Kindergarten, celebrated the mass of the Holy Spirit on Friday 4 September, on the occasion of starting the school year 2015-2016. It was presided by Fr. Ramon Rosado Ambrosio (parish priest of San José Obrero Parish Church).
The Gospel reading was from St. Matthew 25, 14-30 which speaks about the parable of the talents. Fr. Ramon invited all students to value the school and to enjoy their study. He shared an experience of a child who he knew in a community of Chimalapa in the Diocese of Tehuantepec and said that: I remember that I was preparing to celebrate the Eucharist, a 10-year-old boy came up to me and told me: "Father, I'm not going to school, but here you know that I have the image of the Divine Child Jesus for whom I light a candle and I ask him every day that I may go to school." I live with my aunt and uncle and they have told me that I'm going to go to school, I am very happy because I will attend the school." Fr. Ramon who was truly moved by this
news, shared it to all the pupils of the school to emphasize the value and importance of education and that all must recognize this opportunity to attend an educational Institute, knowing that there are children who cannot go to school at all. También comentó que los talentos son dones que Dios nos presta y que hay que ponerlos al servicio de todos, que es importante compartirlos, que tienen que ser impacto para otros.
During the offertory in the mass, the teachers of the three departments presented to God the following: the list of each group, seeds which are to represent that we must sow knowledge and practice the values with our good and best students. It is important to maintain a healthy coexistence, where Christian values are being lived out valuing each person's life.
Fr. Ramon acknowledged the participation of all students of the school, as well as the teachers and administration staff, for their collaboration in the teaching of the students in the school. He also congratulated the parents for the support they give to their children. And finally, he thanked us, the Missionaries of Perpetual Help for the service that we render for more than 60 years of the presence of MPS community in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. So we have seen ourselves in the task of continuing with this great mission that God has entrusted to us that we share with our recipients the gifts that He has granted us and to put them to the service of others. As the song says: “That whatever each one she has received be put at
the service of others, the gifts are not to be kept within oneself , but for the service of all”. With glory and praise to our Creator, I give you the most cordial farewell, knowing that Jesus our Friend and Brother blesses us, forever in each of our apostolates.
THERE ARE NO OTHER NOBILITY THAN VIRTUE, KNOWLEDGE, PATRIOTISM AND CHARITY Sr. María de Lourdes Villalobos García M.P.S.
“For us there will be no distinction of nationality, our nation will be the world, our native land the Church and our home, the Congregation”. (P. Agustín Nistal García, C.Ss.R.)
COLEGIO SALINA CRUZ, MARÍA TERESA RIVERA CARILLO PREP- UNIVERSITY and INSTITUTE Ave María, Sisters: May the Lord bless and protect you, smile upon you, and always show His compassion, favor and peace upon you. Once again, I am happy to wish you all and to know that we live day by day the joy that characterizes us as M.P.S. I want to share the activities that the Jorge Laliberte Kindergarten, Salina Cruz College, and Maria Teresa Rivera Institute and Preparatory during our Independence Day, Tuesday, September 15, 2015. The Kindergarten and Elementary school began with the civic ceremony, highlighting the honors for the flag and the events for the month of September, presenting the heroes who gave us our homeland. Subsequently the Civil Act with some typical dances and a skit on the memory of the cry of independence were presented by Section 5° A. The ceremony was concluded with the cry led by Assistant Principal Ivette Vanessa Rejón Vazquez who invited all the students to all go up to the atrium to shout all together the cry and ring the bell of pain. After this Memorial Act, the students joined by their families enjoyed a delicious Mexican favorites. On the other hand, high school department also held their Mexican feast by starting with a civic ceremony, then continued with the Social Act, wherein all were invited to feel part of this Institute that opens its doors to everyone for a good
academic education. Sr. Alicia Ortiz Suarez, Directress of the High School department, welcomed again the students and every group that forms part of the Institute. She expressed her thanksgiving to God, first and foremost, for by the presence of everybody. After the welcome address, the following activities followed: Native Costume Contest Decoration Contest per Section
Of course, there would be a criteria in these contests. For the jury, we were so pleased to have as judge for the High School Department, the President of the DIF of Salina Cruz Lic. Diana Villalobos Notario. Immediately after the Costumes Contests, the Classroom Decoration Contest followed. It included the heroes of the fatherland, and each class must explain the motif of their class room as well as the creativity of the students who made it. The winners were: Section 2° A - third place, Section 2 ° B - second place and Section 1° A - first place. The prizes were: to wear civilian clothes on one Friday for first place, 30 minutes as playtime for second place and 15 minutes for recreation for third place. For the Native Costumes Contest, the Flor de Piña de Tuxtepec, Oaxaca won $150.00. To conclude the celebration, Sr. Alicia Ortiz Suárez invited the students and teachers to shout out the cry of the independence and ring the bell on behalf of Fr. Hidalgo. All shouted outwith passion, love and service for the country. VIVA MEXICO! LONG LIVE THE HEROES WHO GAVE US OUR HOME-
LAND! LONG LIVE THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE! VIVA MARIA TERESA RIVERA INSTITUTE! VIVA MEXICO! After giving the winners their respective awards, the students and teachers enjoyed some Mexican appetizers.
The Pre-university Department is also delighted to celebrate our independence by starting with a civic ceremony, then a nice fellowship as they also enjoyed the rich and tasty Mexican food. On September 16, 2015 we celebrated the CCVth anniversary of our independence of Mexico by having a school parade, accompanied by the Navy and Army, /military of the city and port of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. The route started from Progreso Avenue and ended at 5th of May Avenue, in front of Maria Teresa Rivera Pre-University Building where the concluding rites were held. This is how our educational community was pleased to celebrate the CCVth Anniversary of the independence of Mexico.
OPENING OF SCHOOL YEAR: COLEGIO MARTÍN DE LA CRUZ (Sr. Cecilia Reyes, MPS)
On the 04th of September 2015 at 8:00 a.m. the celebration of the beginning of the school year 2015-2016 was held at the Colegio Martín de la Cruz, in Xochimilco. The Eucharist was presided by Fr. Omar Díaz (C.Ss.R.). All the students, teachers, sisters, staff, and parents participated. We keep our heart open by putting ourselves in God's hands so that He may be present in our lives and to guide our steps. Jesus directs our lives towards the way of the message of the Kingdom. Message: to get to know His will through wisdom, to please Him in everything and bear fruit with good deeds and to grow in the knowledge of God in the spirit of Joy, constancy, and always with a grateful heart. “THERE IS NO GOOD TREE WHICH PRODUCES BAD FRUIT, NOR A BAD TREE WHICH PRODUCES GOOD FRUIT” The message is to live the joy of the Word of God who invites us to always bear good fruits, and that the important thing is to work every day so that our fruits may be honesty, friendship, tenderness, solidarity, generosity and that we will always live the joy that Jesus gives us every day. We should be enlightened by the Holy Spirit to act according to His gifts. The impact cannot be detected with a Eucharistic Celebration, this is projected in the future along the whole evangelization process. There were 10 candles that were lit, each one represents a month during the school year with the participation of the Directress, teachers, parents, students and administration staff. All teachers received the Holy Spirit as they were sent to be missionaries to these children, who during this year have joined in the academic and spiritual formation.
HERMINIA CABALLERO SEPÚLVEDA KINDERGARTEN AND COLEGIO MORELOS DE IXTEPEC, OAXACA (Sr. Norma Salazar Hernández)
Ave Maria, Sisters! On this occasion, I would like to share with you the activities that we have carried out in this quarter at the Herminia Caballero Sepúlveda Kindergarten and in the Colegio Morelos.
INAUGURATION OF SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016 On August 24of the current year, after welcoming the students and parents, we began the opening of the school year 2015-2016 in kindergarten Herminia Caballero Sepúlveda and the Colegio Morelos of Ixtepec, Oaxaca with great emotion. Then, we gave honors to the flag and carried out the ephemeris and the social event.
Subsequently, the students with much excitement expected presentation of the teachers, so that they may know which of them would be their teacher during this school year. As the names, levels and sections are mentioned, there were screaming and applauses while receiving and greeting their teachers. Finally, the teachers went to the classrooms with their students to start their classes.
CELEBRATING THE 15TH OF SEPTEMBER MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY
On September 14, the honors for our patriotic heroes were jointly
carried out it the kindergarten and primary section in order to celebrate the commemoration of the 205th anniversary of the independence of Mexico.
The ceremony was directed by Teacher Rosa Ariana Morales Hernández, adviser of Preschool Section 3 °. The first part of the program was the Civic Part, where the children of the band participated with great respect and elegance. A preschool student Vanessa Guzman Vazquez from Section 3 performed the pledge of allegiance and the Professor Luis Enrique Hernández Jiménez , adviser of 5th grade led the national anthem. The 3° preschool children recited the ephem-
eris and from there, we subsequently proceeded to the social act where the preschool children presented a parade of the Little Héroes, while the teacher narrated a short biography of each one of them. We continued with the stage presentation of the Independence of Mexico by the 4th grade students, a song dedicated to the heroes of independence by 2nd graders, a group poetry by the 6th grade students from the Elementary Department. We concluded with a parade of the preschool children of levels 1 °, 2 ° and 3 °. Without a doubt the work done by teachers and students was a success while the parents congratulated us for this so much awaited event.
PARADE ON SEPTEMBER 16 I N THE TOWN OF IXTEPEC, OAXACA On September 16, we, from the groups from 3rd grade to 6th grade and teachers, had met at the corner of General Joaquín Amaro St. and General Santos Degollado St. to participate the Independence Parade. We waited for the students at 8:30 and started to move at 9:30. The children endured the 33 ° degrees Celsius heat for the love of their school and their enthusiasm to participate in this event. Undoubtedly, the most exciting part was at the time of passing through the military area, because the military men upon seeing us passing by their area shouted "Viva, Colegio Morelos!" and with their applause, all the children and students who were in the parade felt so motivated.
We concluded at the José Murat Plaza, where the parents waited for their children. T’ was a day full of emotions and surprises.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF THE BISHOP AND THE VICAR OF THE RELIGIOUS IN THE DIOCESE OF TEHUANTEPEC On September 19, we went to the city of Tehuantepec to celebrate the birthday of Monsignor Oscar Armando Campos Contreras and Vicar of Religious, Bro. Roberto Hickl, OMI. The Bishop, in his welcome address, exhorted us to us guided by the Holy Spirit as we all dispose ourselves for the success of the election of the Board of Directors for the new cycle.
The sisters who were elected accepted their responsibility with great availability. Then, the new members of the communities in each congregation were presented. We took some time to relax a bit and continued to teach the songs for the Eucharist since we, the M.P.S. were assigned to be the choir. The Eucharist was very touching, full of meaning and moments of encounter with the Eucharistic Jesus. At the end, we sang the Mañanitas and wished our brothers priests, in the midst of cheering and applause. We started with a small program prepared by each of the communities, the presentations included: a Chiapas dance, songs, poems and jokes that one could not miss. We really had fun and we concluded this great moment with a delicious and succulent meal; that was why some of us returned to our communities savoring still a good taste in their mouth. Bro. Martín Lacky OMI, invited all the sisters to integrate ourselves in the diocese so as to participate in the Diocesan Team for Pastoral Care of Vocations. He gave all the communities tickets for the next concert of Martín Valverde which will take place on Saturday, November 21, in the field Rojitas, Salina Cruz. It was indeed a beautiful gift from the Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Tehuantepec. He also sent the propaganda for those who may be interested to come.
SUCCESSFUL MEETING OF SUPERIORS In SOUTHERN MEXICO REGION Sr. Leticia DĂaz Paredes
We are happy to share with you that on Saturday, September 26, we held our first meeting for this year 2015-2016, of all the sisters whom God has chosen to coordinate and accompany the communities and apostolates in Southern Mexico Region. And we were very pleased to announce that it was a very enriching day, since we started with the Eucharistic Celebration presided by the P. Desire Afana, CICM, who, during his homily, had highlighted the delicate work of a superior, reminiscent of the Good Shepherd who cares for and guide his flock. Subsequently, we were accompanied by the Lic. Diana Isabel Santos PĂŠrez, for the workshop on "Leadership", who emphasized the following points: Management of emotions Problem solving Decision-making Assertiveness
We are grateful to God and to the Congregation for the mission that was entrusted to us and we ask each one of the you, our sisters, for your prayers so that in every each moment and decision, we may allow ourselves to be enlightened by the Spirit of our Lord and we may know to see in each sister the presence of Jesus, the Redeemer and Mary of Perpetual Help, and thus fulfill this difficult responsibility.
ARCHDIOCESAN MISSION - VENEZUELA 2015 Holy Christ and St. Rita Parish, Old Highway Caracas la Guaira- Venezuela
Sr. Hna. Edith Martínez The motto of the Mission was: "live in your heart the love of Christ". There were more than 45 missionaries participated in this mission. The mission formally began on the 8 th of August 2015 with the mission sending mass that was presided by Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabinos, who in his homily urged us to have the smell of the sheep, to go out and find the lost sheep and not to be afraid to visit the houses and announce the Good News of Salvation, especially in these times in which our country is experiencing an extremely difficult situation. This mission was convened by the Cardinal himself to evangelize the area which has been hit, by the Satanism and sorcery that confuse people and made them move away them God’s love. As a Missionary of our Lady of Perpetual Help, this made me concentrate on the mission and to give everything for all, to share my missionary experience, with religious men and women from other congregations, with priests, seminarians and laity. Each one has put himself/herself at the
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service of the mission with love and joy. During the mission week, each day was an experience of different God, as we walked by the alleys and climb up and go down the stairs, and as the song says "listen to God, where life cries out" and yes, there was clamor in every corner of the neighborhood. Very early in the morning on the 15th, the Grand Feast for our Mother Mary, the two parishes (Holy Christ and St. Rita) in mission have come together. We had lauds and later had our “Walk for Peace”. The street youth whom the Pope is fond of, animated everybody with their cheering and songs. Each group chose a name for itself and our group’s name was: "Missionaries of joy, announcing Redemption”. We ended with a fellowship and thanked Fr. Miguel Angel for the kindness he extended to all.
MISSION SUNDAY By Sr. Edith MartĂnez
"The missionary activity is up to this day the biggest challenge for the Church and the missionary cause should come first ". Pope Francis
Parochial Mission, 5th of September 2015 The Resurrection of the Lord Parish and its parishioner, went to bring the good news in response to the call, which our Lord gives us, that is, to be in constant missionary work. We are happy and hopeful to bring this Good News to our brothers and sisters who are farthest from the Church. It is opportune that in the week of the Nativity of Mary, Mother of God and the month of Our Lady of Coromoto, Venezuela's patroness, all the parishioners went to bring the message of salvation and give words of comfort to the people who need it. The chapels under the parish that attended were: San Pancrazio Chapel and its collaborators Missionaries of our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. John the Evangelist Chapel and its collaborators Sisters of St. John, the Evangelist, Our Lady of Nazareth Chapel, Chapel of Mary, the Queen and the laypeople who assume their commitment as baptized. Thanks to God's call that this mission was carried out and also for the initiative of our pastor JosĂŠ Gregorio Moran.
CONGREGATIONAL VOCATION YOUTH CAMP CASA HOGAR- ZACATENCO From 21st to 24th of JULY 2015 By Srs. ISABEL AGUILAR and ELIA VAZQUEZ, MPS NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN REGIONS
After the Spiritual Exercises last Easter, we have finalized in a meeting the details with each of the sisters who would participate in this encounter with the youth. On July 20th, we have come early to prepare the place, set the place for the meetings, the chapel, bedrooms, dining room, and the necessary materials. The local promoters from Salina Cruz, Coyul, Tampico, together with the novices and juniors have made themselves present. Of course, The Casa Hogar Community with all their generosity are always ready to share us the space and all the facilities, as well as the Lady Cook and everything we need for the meal. The Juan Ramón Jiménez School also helps us with the electrical needs, LCD and photo copies. After this preparation, we waited for the youth from of the States of León Guanajuato, Puebla, Tlalpizahuac, Mexico State, Michoacán, Xalostoc, Salina Cruz, Coyul and Santa Catarina. For this occasion, there were attended 19 young women who attended and another youth who came to render her service and requested to be accommodated at the Casa Hogar. All in all there were 20 of young people who participated in the encounter from whom only two have come for the second time. We would like to thank the sisters who were present namely: novices Lorenza Calel, Lidia, and Yolanda and the professed sisters: Alejandra Flores, Miriam Aldana, Alma Yadira Mejía, Ana Ramírez, and Juana Valadez; Sr. Rocío Calderón, who was the treasurer for the event, Sr. Rosa Maria Pichardo, as the timekeeper, Sr. Rafaela Cortés, Sr. Bertha Otero and Sr. Verónica Zendejas que es who would be the Vocation Promoter for Northern Region. On July 21 to 24, we held the vocation youth camp by starting the day with the dynamics of integration and presentation. The prayer that were led by a very creative and dynamic team of sisters. It was not only held in the Chapel, but also in other places of the House and to adapt as well to the need of the youth. The themes of discernment were very ingenious that the young women were impressed by the creativity of the facilitators, above all, by their simplicity and conviction. One day, we went to the Basilica of Guadalupe, we participate in the Eucharist at 4:00 in the after-
noon. Afterwards, we climbed Hill of Tepeyac, went to the candy market, and at the end, due to a threat of a strong rain, we all hurried back home and luckily arrived before the heavy downpour. Every group of young people according to the place of origin presented something typical of their State, to enrich us with the culture of each place, and we concluded that day with a fellowship gathering with a delicious dinner of hotdogs. On July 24, we could not miss a moment of contemplation with the Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help, who leads us to Jesus. For this reason, we celebrated the Eucharist, presided by the Fr. Armando Romero, of the Marist fathers. The Lady of the kitchen prepared some delicious lunch, for each youth who would be going to the terminal to travel back to their respective places. At 5:00 p.m., as a whole team, we evaluated the activity by reading the feedback sheets that each youth has written about the vocation camp. We thanked God for the participation of each one of the sisters who helped in making this encounter possible. Some of the youth have expressed their interest for consecrated life. They will start to undergo the accompaniment process. The pastoral work for vocations is the task of all MPS.
DAY OF REFLECTION ON THE CHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS LIFE TODAY On July
29, 2015, within the Consecrated Life Week with the theme: Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation” that was organized by CIRM (Conference of Major Superiors in Mexico) in which our Superior General M. Cecilia Morales Tapia is an active member of its Board of Directors, Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life shared a very enlightening reflection on the causes and response to the crisis of Religious Life.
With this, he emphasized that the religious and consecrated life shall put at the center of the renewed experience of the Triune God and consider this experience as its fundamental structure. The essence of the religious and consecrated life is Quaerere Deum, i.e., to seek God and to live in God. Sisters Norma Patricia Perez Esparza, Senaida Anavela Barrientos Caseros, Maria Elena Godinez Torres and Maria Victoria Vivar Flores were thankful to God and the Congregation for having been able to attend even on this particular day of the said week. As the CIRM President Sr. Juana Angeles Zarate, CSC gave the words of thanks to Msgr. Carballo, M. Cecilia was assigned to present the token of appreciation to the humble Archbishop. The day was culminated with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist presided by Msgr. Carballo along with all the religious priests present as concelebrants. It was indeed a day of overflowing blessings for Consecrated Life in Mexico. (Secretariat of Communication and Diffusion)
Pilgrim Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Novitiate of Mexico July 11 to August 09, 2015
With great joy, the MPS Novitiate Community which is located in the premises of the former Colegio Fray Martin de Valencia and is very close to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, received the Pilgrim Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help.
It stayed first at the Central House in Azabache 38, Colonia Estrella, from June 27, on the feast of our Patroness, until July 11, when the community in pilgrimage, moved it to the novitiate community. It is to recognize that almost all our elderly and sick sisters from the Central House accompanied the Icon in pilgrimage, although in wheelchair cart, but their gesture was very pleasing and encouraging for those who saw their great disposition to be bearers of the message that God wants to give us through the Pilgrim Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help. The pilgrimage came to the Novitiate with the Icon in a cart, decorated with beautiful flowers. The sisters and four seminarians from the Congregation of the Divine Infant walked as they pray the Rosary and sang songs. Once they reached the community, Sr. Josefina Anaya, Superior of the Casa Central Community, led a prayer and the novitiate community welcomed the Mother and Patroness with great pleasure and the novices shared a PowerPoint presentation, a prayer of
the Pilgrim Icon, which invited for all us, MPS to reflect on this special event. Afterwards, we were able to share a small snack and enjoy the fellowship of the two communities. At the time of the sending of the Pilgrim Icon by the Superior General, M. Cecilia Morales Tapia, on June 27, 2015, all MPS communities were invited to organize and be creative during the visit of our Mother of Perpetual Help and were given some suggested activities, such as:
Perpetual Novena every week and establish it already in each community Daily Rosary of Perpetual Help Program activities according to the initiative and creativity of each community. That all communities must have a copy of the Original Icon That for communities with schools: the Icon will be 15 days in school and 15 days in the community For the last day of the visit of the Pilgrim Icon of PH, a special activity that includes the turning-over of the Icon to the next community. Among the aforementioned activities, the Novitiate Community had daily Rosary, it established to have the Perpetual Novena every Tuesday, we received a copy of the Original Icon courtesy of Sisters Ma. Carmen Estrada Hurtado and Maria de los Angeles Alonso and we had the opportunity to frame it for the community. We prepared each activity with joy and all the sisters were making reflections proper for this visit. Together, we organized the farewell pilgrimage of our Virgin Missionary for her visit to the following community which is in the Juniorate. The day to say goodbye came, August 09 at 11 in the morning and through the kindness of our Superior General M. Cecilia Morales Tapia and Sr. Conception Toral, we were able to take the Icon to the Juniorate Community in the car of the Casa Central Community. The Juniorate Community together with the Lay Missionaries of the Perpetual Help of Nezahualcoyotl waited for us, so that altogether we may celebrate the arrival and welcoming, with special devotion and love for such lovely and noble mother: the Virgin of Perpetual Help. The juniors, the other sisters and the lay people prepared a nice moment of prayer that motivated us to continue seeing the life and mission with hope, joy and unity. After the prayer, we all went to the dining room to share the food which was generously prepared by each community. We took pictures that will serve for us to remember that day of the Icon’s arrival to the novitiate and the arrival to the Juniorate, which we fondly share now with you taste, and invite you to make this Congregational activity, a time of meditation that we will bring to life, and may the message that God gives us by means of the Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help continue to echo in our hearts in our communities, in our apostolates, in our families and in the world. Sr. Maritza Josefina Morillo Herrera
The MPS Commission for 150 Years Jubilee of "Making Known� the Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help, was appointed in August 01, 2014 by the General Superior of the Congregation of Missionaries of our Lady of Perpetual Help, M. Cecilia Morales Tapia, MPS, has been working since their appointment with joy and dedication and wishes to continue to let the Congregation participate with great responsibility as all Catholics have in making the Mother of the Redeemer known to all. Any invocation of Mary has great teachings for the believer, for us and for those who profess the redemptive spirituality. It is a commitment or a mission to share the redemptive message which the Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help bears. The MPS Commission for this Jubilee has been formed in union with our Superior General, the members of the General Council and Sisters from some MPS regions. The Commission is formed through the invitation of the Religious Life Secretariat in charge of the Redemptorist General Government, Fr. Juventius Andrade; for which reason, we have been working together with our Redemptorist brothers, both at the C.Ss.R-Latin America and C.Ss.R-Rome level. As far as the program that we have elaborated, we wanted to involve the whole Congregation and also share with the Redemptorists commissions in Latin America and Rome. This event, which has a threeyear program for the Jubilee, This event that has merited a Jubilee of three years, fills us with missionary commitment to always make the Mission of the Redeemer transmitted and lived by the believer and to make known to non-believers. Indeed, the Redemptorist missionaries received in the year 1826 the mandate of Pope Pius IX "Make Her known," but all who know and love the Virgin Mary are called to take bring the consolation, mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation... and love to all the needy and the abandoned, and to all who have gone far away from God. The MPS Commission, for each Jubilee year 2014-2015 (year of the Father), 2015-2016 (year of the Son) and 2016-2017 (year of the Holy Spirit), has written a prayer that has been translated from the Spanish into English, contemplating Mary of Perpetual Help in the three divine
persons. The Rosary of Perpetual Help has been created and translated from English to Spanish, Filipino and Portuguese, the Novena of the Perpetual Help proper to MPS and Monthly Reflections for the second and third year of the Jubilee were sent to each sister in the different Regions. Currently, a copy of the original Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help beginning from June 27, 2015, has been sent off for a pilgrimage to the communities of the MPS Northern and Southern regions. This activity is allowing us to reflect her message, to offer personal and community prayer with her and "Make Her Known" in our apostolic works as we entrust her all the needs that we are conscious about as existing in the different countries where we are present and in the whole world. In addition to those mentioned above, there is also the Prayer of the Pilgrim Icon of Perpetual Help and two videos, one of which is the promotional video that was sent as an entry to the contest organized by the General Commission of the Redemptorist missionaries in April 2015in Rome, and another video that served to explain the work of the Commission. The remaining activities for the Jubilee are as follows: A concert for December 2016, a special mission for the year 2017, among others.
We make an appeal to all the MPS regions to value this jubilee year in order to grow more deeply in our Redemptive Spirituality, to get to know the Mother of the Redeemer each day and to put into practice whatever the icon conveys to us through each of its characters and details. May Mary continue to be our perpetual help and may we "Make Her known" in our mission and commitment. General Secretariat of Religious LIfe Sr. Maritza Josefina Morillo Herrera, MPS
MISSION SENDING OF TWO ZEALOUS MPS SISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES On Sunday, 20th of September 2015, all the communities of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Our Lady of Perpetual Help have offered their thanksgiving to the Lord for the generosity, sincere dedication and self-giving of Srs. Maria Elena Godinez Torres and Patricia Faviola Morales Morales. The two sisters are being sent off for their new missionary assignment in Macau, China and Springfield, Massachusetts respectively. The General Government headed by Superior General M. Cecilia Morales Tapia organized a meaningful celebration for the mission sending off. The Holy Mass was presided by Fr. Roberto Morales, C.Ss.R., who in his homily has congratulated, encouraged and at the same time has challenged the two missionaries. While all the perpetually professed present in the mass have been edified by the disposition, joy and courage shown by Srs. Maria Elena and Patricia, the young junior sisters have been inspired by their true witnessing of being true prophets in the modern times…prophets who radiate the joy and hope in living out the Gospel. A heartfelt thanks and all the best to both of you, Srs. Maria Elena and Patricia. The whole MPS family will always be accompanying you through prayers and radical commitment to our consecrated life and mission in the Church. - See more at: http://www.perpetuosocorro.com.mx/es/enviopara-la-mision-china-y-estados-unidos-de-dos-hermanas-mps -apasionadasmission-sending-chinaand#sthash.MhGCowrg.dpuf
FELLOWSHIP WORKSHOP FOR JUNIORS IN MEXICO (By the Minor Juniors in Mexico) On September 19 and 20 of this year, we, the minor and major juniors in Mexico had our first encounter.
It was filled with joy, sisterhood, fun and reflection as we gathered together and shared our being consecrated women. We celebrated on the feast of our patron as formands: Blessed Gaspar Stanggassinger, whose real feast is on September 26 but we anticipated the celebration in his honor. On September 19, we left very early for Tenango, Puebla, where Sr. Elia Vazquez’ family was waiting for us with great joy and enthusiasm. Upon reaching their place and after greeting the family, we decided to have our prayer, which is the force of all of our fellowship. The prayer was led by Sr. Alma Mejía and Yolanda Sánchez; they invited us to meditate on the Gospel of the day, Lk. 8, 4-15, Parable of the Sower. To reflect on it, we were invited to answer the questions: how is my soil? As Consecrated life, what we are sowing? It was a beautiful prayer, we remember Blessed Gaspar, and that this year is dedicated to Consecrated Life. After sometime, we had different activities: some went for swimming, others went to dance, others went to play soccer; we walked, talked, etc. and clear of course, we could not miss a meal prepared by the family who accommodated us, with the collaboration of many people. We are very grateful for the so nice and warm welcome they gave us. It was fun and we all enjoyed this day. We feel blessed and loved by God, with their presence in our lives. On the same day, we returned home to the Juniorate to continue with our meeting the next day. Since there is time for everything, on the second day, Sunday, September 20, after a pleasant night's rest and a delicious breakfast, we resolved to continue with our meeting. We started with a prayer led by Sr. Anavela. It was a reflection guided with the Gospel of the day, Mk. 9, 30-37, "it is only with Jesus that we would be able to embrace the things that come in to our life", "many times we forget to serve and we only see those who recognize us". "’Let us learn to recognize Jesus in the little ones of this world", "Jesus teach me Your way of being more human towards others", "Lord help me to find a genuine harmony between what I believe and I want to be". "Your image over me what will transform me", "Jesus accept me as I am, don't judge me and help me to go and be with others". These are some of the phrases that we reflected on. After nourishing ourselves with the Word of God, we had some sharing on a very dynamic subject taught by Sr. Diana Cruz, entitled "The Value of the Consecrated Life", as the Church dedicates this year for all consecrated people. We evaluated how we have lived
it so far, beginning with how we understood from the following sentence: "We live what we celebrate, and we celebrate what we live", and we were asked the question: in what way or how have I been this year of Consecrated Life? For this, we had a space of reflection with some key questions. Then, through a dynamic, we were able to share our answers, which helped us to situate ourselves and know more ourselves with the sisters. We concluded this moment with a commitment as young consecrated life, expressed in a phrase that we captured in a "graffiti: “I AM PROPHET, SIGN OF HOPE WHICH ANNOUNCES THE GOSPEL”. We intend to mention the three aspects for this year of consecrated life: Gospel, prophecy and hope. We all participated with great joy and creativity, reflecting our being young and eager consecrated women who will continue to follow Christ the Redeemer, as the Foundation of our life and with an attitude of fidelity. To continue with this joy, we had a second moment with the intervention of Sr. Anavela Barrientos, who shared with us the richness of the Encounter of the Pope with the Religious Youth Congress which was held from 15 to 19 September in Rome on the theme "Wake up to the world, Gospel - Prophecy - Hope". The objective of the day's reflection is: give witness to the beauty of your own vocation, from the experience in formation through biblical deepening, theological-charismatic and ecclesiological study of Consecrated Life which are to be later shared, celebrated and to bear witness to the own realities, desires and expectations in the formation. Subsequently, we gathered together in teams to meditate on these messages of the Pope and make personal commitments and then shared through a song, a slogan, a phrase... as a result of our reflection. The themes to which the Pope invited us to meditate on are: “Becoming comfortable in consecrated life”: Consecrated life can also be sterile when it is not exactly prophetic and does not allow itself to dream.” “Evangelizing is not the same as proselytizing. We are not a football association looking for fans, followers ... To evangelize is not only to convince, and it is to testify that Jesus Christ is alive. And how do we testify to this? With your flesh, with your life.” “One of the sins that I often find in community life is the inability to forgive between brothers, between sisters.’Ah, I will make him pay! I'll make them pay! ... '. And this is blemishing the other! Gossip in a community prevents forgiveness.” “Gossip is terrorism! Because those who gossip are attacking the reputation of others and destroying others, who cannot defend themselves … And so the priest, the religious, who has dedicated his life to God, becomes a terrorist and a terrorist, who bombs his community, a bomb that destroys.” To the Religious women: “You must have the desire to be on the front line: why? Because you are mothers –
you have this maternal quality of the Church herself, which unites you.” “Prophecy, proximity, memory,” are key in consecrated life. “Narcissism” and “a culture of provisional” must be rejected. He also recalled the importance of remembering one’ own encounter with the Lord: “When you remember the miracles, you smile from ear to ear, one of those beautiful smiles, because the Lord is faithful.” “Prophesy, proximity, memory, a heart that burns with apostolic zeal, a culture of the definitive, not a throwaway culture, not a culture of the provisional.” Narcissism is to be avoided: “One of the worst attributes a religious can have is being a narcissist, steer clear of this.” “Yes to what strips you of all narcissism, yes to worship and I believe this is one of the points we need to progress in: prayer and worship.”
2. - Pope Francis exposes three essential aspects for the life of the religious: Obedience: as the icon of the way of Jesus Motherhood: with perseverance, fidelity, unity, heart. Putting love in to action, the love of God. The role that they play in the Church: the essence of the role of women is to express their womanhood 3. - Pope Francis: Everything is that is not of God is like imitating a “cartoon” Adore: The sense of worship is lost and so the Pope requested an effort to grow in worship. Walk/Journey: Go to the peripheries of all kinds. Accompany: Walking alone, is half boring. God walked and is accompanied and He accompanies us, too. 4. - Pope Francis: Be beautiful face of the Church just like the Good Samaritan. May the lay faithful, especially the youth recognize in us the perfume of Christ and of the Gospel, by living with simplicity day by day just like the Good Samaritan. After this activity, we thanked God for this space for sharing and we received our gifts from our Superior General, Sisters of the Council and Formation Team. To conclude this encounter of the juniors, we went together to the Central House, to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist on the occasion of the mission sending of Srs. María Elena Godinez Torres to the community of China and Patricia Faviola Morales to United States. We participated with much enthusiasm and gratitude for the generous dedication of our sisters. As one family, we pray for each other to always give glory to God and to radiate His merciful love in our being and in whatever we do, wherever we are and wherever we would be sent. At the end of the Eucharist, we were very happy to share our experience with our Mother General: Cecilia Morales Tapia, who congratulated and encouraged us to continue to joyfully live with our Consecrated Life. This activity ended with a fellowship meal and a toast for our sisters who had just been sent for mission. Cheers to you, Srs. Malena and Paty. May God accompany you in your new mission. Rest assured of our prayers, too. Happy Formands Day, too!
SECOND THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE: "UNDER THE BREATH OF THE SPIRIT" (Sr. Senaida Anavela Barrientos Caseros)
On the 4
th
and 5th of September, the Theological Conference II was held
and was organized by the Amerindia Group, with the theme: "Under the Breath of the Spirit". They reminded us as consecrated people as to how we shall respond to the Encyclical of the Pope Francis “Laudato Si”, which prompts us of the value of creation and how we must harmonize ourselves with it, care for it, respect it and not dominate it. In the beginning of creation, as the book of Genesis narrates us that the Spirit of God moved in the waters; the Lord breathed His Spirit unto it and gave life to the human being, created them in His image and likeness It is the Spirit who encourages us in our journey in consecrated life and who makes us discover new things every day. The speakers in these days were: Sr. Socorro Martinez, Lic. Alejandro Ortiz Cotte, Lic Juan Luis Hernández Avendaño, Lic. Alejandro Castillo Morga and Fr. Juan Manuel Hurtado. It was a shared theological wealth. One of the issues which has struck most the participants is that of Fr. Juan Manuel Hurtado, entitled: Discerning the passage of the Spirit in the reality of Mexico; seven outcries, two screams and one hope. To make a careful reading of the encyclical of Pope Francis "Laudato Si'" which is about caring for the common home, we discovered several cries of our mother earth and the humanity that can be read as groans of the Spirit, as questions to our Christian conscience. These cries of humanity and the rest of creation, it seems to us, as common with our situation in Mexico. So let's look at some of them: 1. “A cry comes from the earth. The Pope tells that "among the most abandoned and devastated poor is our oppressed and devastated land, which groans and suffers the pains of childbirth (Rom. 8, 22)”. 2. We can read the cry in that gives instrumental reason, the techno-science that has led to the earth at the limit of its capacity, to a cliff, creating inequality, violence, insecurity and that seems unable to explain the mystery and the multiple relationships of living beings. 3. A cry is the opening to the mystery: to discover in nature - including human - traces of the creation and the project of God's love for all creation. The human being is the conscious and free part of the creature. The clamor arises because it is has pigeonholed the human being separated from creation and the chain of living things that inhabit our planet. 4. A cry that we see today is that the Spirit filled the entire universe of capacities: everything is relationship and communication, complementarity and growth. It reflects the triune God. The entire material universe is
a language of the love of God toward us (LS 8). 5. A cry at the disparity that exists between what has been achieved by techno-science and human behavior with their discoveries. That happened in the 2oth century with atomic bombs: an act of human barbarity. What will human beings with their inventions in biogenetics, in biotechnology, in the Internet do when it has not advanced values, consciousness and responsibility? The excessive use of economic, scientific, technological and political power does not guarantee human development (LS 105). 6. A cry is the ecological crisis manifesting another even deeper crisis that is the ethical crisis of values, of principles. But the ecological awareness in all humanity is now growing and their proof caused the echo around the world by the Encyclical of the Pope ´Laudato Si¨. It is time to let the attention come to reality. 7. A cry is the practical relativism: everything is the same, everything can be done, everyone decides. With this thought, every one becomes the absolute standard of what exists according to their circumstances. Obviously this does not coincide with each other, nor with the creation with God. Two Screams. In terms of what is happening in our country, the letter to the Romans expresses that “the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings “(Rom 8.26). And a moan, a cry that we cannot express nor do convincingly is that which emerged in Ayotzinapa. the scream of the 43 young students killed Ayotzinapa, although there had been an attempt to silence the voices from officials of the Mexican Government and with all the economic, political power and communication that there were, however, the cry remains there, sometimes deadened, suffocated, but it remains there burning in conscience as a river of lava and someday it will be heard. Now, the relatives of 43 students killed want to make their cry heard by Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia in the World Meeting of Families. the scream of the people which has not yet been heard is that which arose as a result of the structural reforms that the Government undertook. Perhaps, the scream that sounds more comes from the teachers because of the educational reform. But there is much discontent and dissatisfaction with many of the implemented reforms. People didn't find even the language appropriate to express themselves and to be understood. So far, it only has asserted the strength and the power of money and the interests of the transnational companies. But the scream is there. .A hope: the Church must learn to discern these cries of trumpet because there is the passage of the Spirit, there is the invitation of God today for a reform of the Church; a Church that walks with the groans of the Spirit. This is to journey toward a missionary Church on the go, who knows how to go to existential and geographical peripheries as requested by Pope Francis. We must not lose hope; as a church, our roots; as Francis says: "Return to the Gospel", the Church of the Apostles, to the historical Jesus. The hope is that we sound our trumpets and let the cries of the suffering humanity be heard; the hope is that we do not lose the memory as a Church and be an institution of more service, more mission than structure, more Gospel that condemning and judging. In summary: as a Consecrated Life, we are invited to return to the Gospel and the love of creation; to live in harmony with any human being as one more of its inhabitants, as to what Pope Francisco has invited us.
Moved by the Spirit, to be more human in Christ Redeemer, in the distinctive manner of Mary General Directress
M. Cecilia Morales Tapia, MPS Editor-in-Chief Secretariat of Communication and Diffusion
Sr. María Victoria Vivar Flores , MPS Directive Council Animation and Authority
M. Cecilia Morales Tapia, MPS Secretariat of Religious Life
Sr. Maritza Josefina Morillo Herrera, MPS Secretariat of Formation
Sr. Senaida Anavela Barrientos Caseros, MPS Secretariat of Missionary Action
Sr. Ma. Teresa Medina Sánchez, MPS General Secretary
Sr. Norma Patricia Pérez Esparza, MPS General Econome
Sr. Ma. de los Ángeles Alonzo Aragón, MPS Mailing Address
MISSIONARIES OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP Azabache 38, Col. Estrella, Delegación Gustavo A. Madero ,07810 México D.F. Tel /Fax: 01 55 55 77 07 98 perpetuo@prodigy.net.mx www.perpetuosocorro.com.mx