One of our candidates, Sem. Mike Dupo, was granted his government-mandated degree (AB Theology) corresponding to the first two years of his theology studies at the Divine Word School of Theology (DWST), Tagaytay City.  The graduation rites was held last March 24, 2012 from 9:00 o’clock in the morning to 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon.   Mike will have two more years of studies before he completes the ecclesiastical degree.  He will be moving to Maryhill School of Theology (MST) in Quezon City in the coming school year.

In the same rites, Sr. Betty of the Contemplatives of the Good Shepherd was granted her certificate in theology studies. 

Sem. Mike Dupo Graduates

One of our candidates, Sem. Mike Dupo, was granted his government-mandated degree (AB Theology) corresponding to the first two years of his theology studies at the Divine Word School of Theology (DWST), Tagaytay City.  The graduation rites was held last March 24, 2012 from 9:00 o’clock in the morning to 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon.   Mike will have two more years of studies before he completes the ecclesiastical degree.  He will be moving to Maryhill School of Theology (MST) in Quezon City in the coming school year.

In the same rites, Sr. Betty of the Contemplatives of the Good Shepherd was granted her certificate in theology studies.

It was on October 4, 1912, that Good Shepherd Sisters, arrived from Burma to the Philippines. They were Irish missionaries stationed in Rangoon, and were sent by Superior General Domitilla Larose to study the possibility of a foundation in the Philippines as requested by Bishop Joseph Petrelli of the Diocese of Lipa.

The first foundation, located in Batangas, opened  a school several months later -- St. Bridget Academy (now St. Bridget College). Today there are 22 apostolic and four contemplative communities in the Philippines.

Since 1912, the Good Shepherd Sisters help in Jesus' mission through education, residences for women and children.  They continue to work zealously to uphold the integrity of creation as they minister to indigenous peoples, farmers, migrants, trafficked women, and the poor so that they may experience fullness of life. 

To gear up for the centennial celebrations, the sisters have started preparing and holding activities in their respective communities since 2009 in line with the theme: "Weaving Compassion, Embracing Challenges, Forging Hope!"  A wooden staff, the symbol of the Good Shepherd's compassion and the ideal lived by the sisters, is going around the Good Shepherd communities all over the Philippines.  Come February 8, 2012, the Feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary which was first celebrated by St. John Eudes, the staff will arrive from Baguio City - signalling the start of regional celebrations of Good Shepherd communities in the Province of Cavite.  

(Based on an article in the Good Shepherd website, written by Sr. Regina, RGS)

The newest seminarian to join the Eudists, Dennis Mercurio from the Diocese of Legazpi, formally entered probation last Saturday, January 28, 2012.  Probation refers to the period of Eudist formation for a minimum of 4 years to prepare the candidates to become priests in the Congregation.  Dennis is now in his first year of theology studies at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.  He will also join the international Special Time of Formation in France by December 2012.

Fr. Ron Bagley, CJM made the announcement of Dennis' acceptance into probation in a simple rite within the mass, after which he and Dennis signed the formation contract.  The mass happened to be  the culmination of our January recollection.  Msgr. Terry Iral of the Diocese of Surigao (in Mindanao), who directed our two-day recollection, presided the mass.   All the Eudists and the candidates in the Philippine community were there and witnessed the occasion.  

The 65th General Assembly since the foundation of the Congregation on May 25, 1643 ended this morning with the Eucharistic celebration presided by the new Superior General, Fr. Camilo Bernal, CJM.  

It marks the recognition of the shift in the Eudist presence toward the southern hemisphere, as the Congregation mirrors the trend in the Church as a whole.  While Eudist presence is on the wane in France and Canada, it has grown steadily in Latin America, particularly in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, etc.  But it is also growing in Africa.  Lately, it has also shown resurgence in the US while the Philippines holds promise to be a stronger foundation in the years to come to serve as jump-off point for the rest of Asia.

The General Assembly is expected to guide the Congregation's response to the realities of our contemporary times in bolder and more creative ways while adhering faithfully to the charism bequeathed to us by St. John Eudes.   With a dynamic and spirited General Council at the helm of the Congregation, we look forward with confidence that God's will shall prevail in the mission.

Fr. Luc Crepy, CJM, who was earlier assigned as the Director of  Formation in the second Philippine community to be established in Quezon City, Metro Manila, was elected Vicar General yesterday, January 5, 2012.  As the Vicar General has to take residence in Rome, Fr. Luc can no longer assume his Philippine post.  He was elected along with the two new General Councilors:  (1)  Father Gilles Ouellet, currently Provincial Bursar of the North American Province and Director of Champboise Retreat Center in Quebec, Canada; and (2) Fr Carlos Alvarez, currently Rector of the House of Formation in Quito.  





With this development, a new Rector for the Formation House will be selected from any of the six (6) provinces.  The Philippine community welcomes this turn of event with mix emotions but with the belief that it shall be for the greater good of the Congregation and those to whom we are called to serve.

As it is, the new General Council is a good mix of capable men from the provinces of Minuto de Dios (Fr. Camilo Bernal),  France (Fr. Luc), North America (Fr. Gilles) and Colombia (Fr. Carlos).  

The 65th General Assembly gathered in Fusagasuga in Cundinamarca, Colombia elected Fr. Camilo Bernal Hadad as new General Superior of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.  He is elected for a mandate of five years (2012-2017).  Father Camilo accepted this responsibility.

He was born on July 25, 1954 in Bogotá, the bustling capital of Colombia.   He  is a systems engineer and mathematician, and taught for a while at the Universidad de los Andes, one of the most prestigious educational institution in Colombia.  He has a  postgraduate degree in Artificial Intelligence at the Ecole Nationale Politecnique de Grenoble in France, and was ordained priest on November 28, 1987.  He is a theologian, and was  teaching at the premiere learning institution ran by the Jesuits, the Universidad Javeriana.  He was also the national deputy director of Social Pastoral arm of the Bishops' Conference in Colombia and the head of  Fund for the Development of Higher Education (el Fondo para el Desarrollo de la Educación Superior, Fodesep).

Aside from being part of the Board of Directors of various social and academic institutions in the country, he was Vice President of  La Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios and served as Rector of the Universidad Minuto de Dios from 1997 to 2010.  His contribution to uplifting the quality of education in Colombia was widely recognized and was capped with an  appointment by the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as director of the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje, Sena (National Service for Learning) in January 2010.

He was installed as the Superior General at 9:00 pm on January 2, 2012 (Colombian time, 10 am of the next day Philippine time).  He made the profession composed by St. John Eudes as well as the Profession of Faith asked of all major superiors. He then signed the book of the Superior Generals which contains the signatures of all the previous superiors general as well as the signatures of the electors at the respective assemblies.   After Fr. Camilo signed, each voting member signed the book as well. 

The Eudist representatives from all the six provinces, all the provincial superiors and their respective councils, the General Superior and the General Council come together at Fusagasuga, Colombia for the 65th General Assembly since the congregation was founded by St. John Eudes in 1643.    

Many congregational projects, issues and directions will be taken up.  However, one of the highlights of this assembly is the election of the General Superior, the Vicar General and the two councilors.  Those elected shall hold the office for five years.  Current General Superior is Fr. Jean Camus, the former Vicar General during the incumbency of the late Fr. Michel Gerard who died in office.  Fr. Jean  is only serving the remainder of Fr. Michel's term.

Fr. Ron M. Bagley, the superior of the Philippine community has been designated as one of the representatives of the North American Province.  As such, he is also the voice of the Philippine community on matters affecting the Congregation's foundation in Asia.  

The General Assembly will run from last week of December till the first week of January.  Fr. Ron shall be back in the Philipppines by January 10, 2012.

The traditional 9-day novena mass before Christmas has started!  It is popularly known as Simbang Gabi.  It is known before by its spanish names:  Misa de Gallo or Misa Aguinaldo.   It used to be exclusively celebrated at dawn, at around 4 o'clock in the morning.  However, to accommodate the number of devotees, specially professionals who go to work early, anticipated Simbang Gabi masses are now being held in the evening.  

The Eudist seminarians are assigned to help in the celebrations in various parishes around the Diocese of Imus.  Some are assigned to preside in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word in places that are far from any of the parish churches.  Some continue to assist in the parish where they have been placed for pastoral exposure from the beginning of the school year.

The Eudists held its first parish mission in Sariaya, Quezon (not to be confused with Quezon City in Metro Manila) from December 12-15.  Fr. Jose Angel Carillo, CJM led the two-man team for a four day mission in a community being organized by Sr. Zenaida Pineda, RGS in that town.  The community is actually composed of members of a rural multi-purpose cooperative called, Alay-Kapwa, which was established to address the socio-economic needs of the people.  

Catechesis was given in the morning and in the afternoon each day for three consecutive days, capped by the celebration of the Holy Eucharist around 4 pm.  It focused on preparation of couples who have been living together for years to receive the sacrament of matrimony.  The sessions, however, were opened to other members of the community.  The mass wedding was conducted this morning at 9 o'clock in the morning with Msgr. Noe L. Loredo, the parish priest of St. Francis of Assisi of Sariaya town, presiding over the marriage rites.

The wedding was financed by some generous benefactors and friends of the Good Shepherd sisters and Eudist Fathers.  They paid for the church expenses, gifts and the wedding reception.  

The people are very poor and depends largely on farming and employment in various quarries around the villages mining rocks and sand for construction.   The latter, however, causes environmental havoc on farming and the people's lives due to danger of soil erosion, land slide and flooding.

Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle was installed today to the Metropolitan See of Manila succeeding the popular Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales (who was a graduate of the Good Shepherd sisters' St. Bridget school in Batangas City).  Archbishop Tagle himself is popular and well-loved owing to his simplicity, humility and humor, qualities that lend themselves well in The Word Exposed and Kape't Pandasal, TV programs he hosts and co-host, respectively, with a loyal following.   These TV programs has made him a household name among Catholic faithful even in Metro Manila while he was still the Bishop of Imus.  

Fr. Ron Bagley attended the mass at Manila Cathedral where and when Bishop Chito Tagle was installed to the office.  He attested to the moving and very relevant homily delivered by the Bishop. (For a description of his homily pls. go to http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/241424/news/nation/archbishop-tagle-urges-filipinos-to-love-the-poor-thwart-disunity.) 
 
He becomes the 32nd Bishop of Manila, and the de facto Primate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines at a time when materialism and individualism is making a headway into the Philippine society, when religious values are being questioned and ridiculed by many.  

The Diocese is blessed on this Golden Jubilee with five new priests:  Fr. Eric Orcullo, Fr. Glenn de la Pena, Fr. Mayolene Joseph Mayola, Fr. Ryan Sasis and Fr. Mark Anthony Reyes.   They were ordained by Archbishop-elect of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, at the Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral in Imus, Cavite.  The first four are products of Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol where the Eudists assist in the spiritual formation of seminarians.  The latter went to San Jose Major Seminary, a Jesuit-ran seminary for diocesan seminarians in Quezon City.  It is the same seminary where Archbishop Tagle had his formation.  Seminarians of this seminary and other congregations join the Jesuits scholastics at the Loyola House of Studies for their academics.

The Diocese of Imus enters the 50th year of its foundation and begins its year-long Golden Jubilee with a midnight mass officiated by Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle.  The celebration is historic as it is one of the last official activities of the Bishop before he moves and takes possession of the Archdiocese of Manila on December 12, 2011.  In view of this, the celebration takes greater meaning for many people of the Diocese as they also bid farewell to the much-loved Bishop.  

The midnight mass to welcome the year of jubilee capped the 3-year preparation that was undertaken with its theme "Tena't Mag-KARAKOL" to help renew and strengthen the faith of the people in the Diocese.  The people came in droves as early as 2 o'clock in the afternoon of November 24 to be ready for the prayer vigil held at five key points within the town of Imus.  Tagaytay and Silang parishes, comprising District 5 of the Diocese gathered at Imus Institute, an educational institution located along the main thoroughfare that leads to the Cathedral.  Many from Tagaytay's religious communities participated.

At around 11 o'clock in the evening, the procession to the cathedral from the five key points of Imus begun converging at the plaza in front of the cathedral where the mass was held shortly.  The jubilee door was opened through a short liturgy, whereupon the Bishop and the clergy entered the church.  The mass started a few minutes before 12 midnight.  During the singing of Gloria, the bells of the church of Imus and all the parishes in the Diocese was rung.  An atmosphere of exultation and thanksgiving pervaded the crowd that gathered from all over Cavite throughout the mass.  

A special thanksgiving mass was officiated by His Excellency Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales at 4 o'clock later in the afternoon. The new Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, 20 bishops and more than 200 priests (including Fr. Ron and Fr. Francois) concelebrated the Mass.   The homily was given by Bishop Tagle.  He emphasized that we are entering a year of Jubilee.  He harked back to the Jewish observance of Jubilee as a time of forgiveness, absolving of debts, thanksgiving, and action on behalf of justice.  Near the end of his homily, he pointed out that the first three bishops of the diocese came from Manila.  Bishop Chito himself is a native of the Diocese of Imus.  Referring to his recent appointment as Archbishop of Manila, he tearfully said:  “Now it is time for the daughter church to give back to the mother.”  The congregation reacted with sustained applause.

Today, the spiritual sons and daughters of St. John Eudes all over the world celebrate his 410th birth anniversary.  We thank God for touching the heart of St. John Eudes, and through him our own hearts many centuries later.  

Here in Tagaytay, we celebrated the gift of life in St. John Eudes through votive masses offered in his honor at Maryridge, a retreat house ran by the Good Shepherd sisters; at the Contemplatives of the Good Shepherd Convent; and at the current formation house with the seminarians.  

October 29, 2011

Fr. Luc Crepy, CJM, the incoming Rector of the formation house to be established in Quezon City came for a short visit to look and see at what awaits him by August 2012.  He came on October 21, 2011 and spent some time with the local community in Tagaytay holding individual sessions with priests and seminarians about the formation house, which will be the second Eudist community in the Philippines.  Together with Fr. Ron Bagley, CJM,  he solicited ideas about the relationship of the Tagaytay community with the Quezon city community.  

On top of these, he joined the rest of the community to look at properties near Ateneo de Manila University as possible formation house.  To experience some local tradition and customs, he went to visit St. Jude Parish  on October 27 and concelebrated the mass with some diocesan priests of the Diocese of Imus at Trece Martires in observance of the feast of St. Jude.   

He also met some aspirants during his brief stay.  Some of them may be accepted and join him in the new formation house.  He left with eagerness to come back and help in growing firmer roots for the congregation in the Philippines.