SPIRITUALITY Commitment to the Divine Word’s Mission

Commitment, in the working understanding of Organizational Culture, is defined as, any action taken in the present that binds an organization to a future course of action. The definition suggests that the action needs to have a binding effect so that the course can become defining to one’s identity and produce a transforming effect.

We may perhaps ask ourselves: what programs and actions did we engage in over the years of their stay in the school, to commit our students specifically as SVD co-missionaries to faith, resilience and excellence?

For one, we take pride in our Campus Ministry and Community Extension Services programs to commit our students to faith. The leadership of the Crisis Management Committee, one remembers, steered us through the pandemic and ushered new policies and institutionalized innovative practices that would have taught us precious lessons of resiliency. Excellence, on the other hand, has been the battle cry, for example, to successfully level up and gain PAASCU accreditation this year 2023. Now, were these actions binding enough to continuously commit our graduates?

Yet perhaps the most telling standard if we have been successful is to ask ourselves if we have molded our graduates in their identity as SVD co-missionaries. I dare to say then that it is our founder’s prayer that can best sum up this identity. For after all, the SVDs carry out their mission to spread the Word of God as reflected in this prayer by Saint Arnold Janssen: “ May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the spirit of grace, and may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen.” The SVD Constitutions note that this prayer is anchored on the founder’s love for St. John’s Prologue.

No doubt, translating this prayer into concrete programs, was and continues to be a challenging mission in itself. Yet we understand that using this prayer to stir us with a sense of urgency to commit ourselves to our institution’s vision, mission and goals, serves as an act of faith and love. It’s consoling, defining and transformational in itself to motivate oneself based on a humble act of prayer. A prayer that has worked wonders over all these 148 years of the SVDs worldwide, and specifically 78 years and counting as Divine Word College of Calapan.

During the graduation ceremonies I remember making the effort to repeat their first names as they approached to receive their diplomas. I noticed that when I congratulate them with their personal names, they light up wonderful memories of what has been. Perhaps, it would have even evoked a certain sense of pride, as if saying: “yes, that’s me!” Yet, the deepest wish was, if only for as a last hail Mary, to strike that much needed bond that would hopefully sustain them forward to faith, resiliency and excellence as SVD friends to a whole new, wider world.