— continue form previous issue

3.    The Care for the Poor

Searching for the poor, having poor people around him, serving the poor, is not a psychological or social compensation for a man born in a family of lower middle class.

To the disciples of John the Baptist, who was asking about Him, Jesus replied: “…..The poor have good news preached to them.” The Kingdom has arrived! Jesus makes of the care for the poor, the sign that the Kingdom is coming; that is there, at the door.  For Montfort, it is the touchstone of conversion.

PENAMPANG – In this issue, Catholic Sabah (CS) focuses on the Monfortian charism.

Religious life in the Church is indeed a gift from God to the Church.  It is a sign and symbol of the Kingdom.  The Religious life of the Brothers is first and foremost a call to live radically the Gospel in the community, in practicing the evangelical counsels. It is the life based on the words and examples of Jesus Christ.

The Tercentenary is an opportune time to make Montfort better known where we are established. Our aim should be to reach as many persons as possible.

The Montfort Brothers, had our origins nearly 300 years ago, when Louis Marie de Montfort gathered disciples around him and formed them into the “Community of the Holy Spirit” in 1715 A.D.

“Bah, mula sudah SYD4 KITA..” that is the word printed on the new T-shirt of the 4th Sabah Youth Day event which was officially launched in Holy Cross Toboh, Tambunan Feb 13-15.

The launching was officiated by Bishop Julius Gitom from Sandakan diocese, witnessed by Archbishop John Wong and Bishop Cornelius Piong, priests, religious and 146 heads of youth contingents from all 3 Arch/dioceses.

QUEZON CITY – Fifteen students of IFFAsia Batch 9, coming from across Asia, attended the Launching Mass for the School Year 2015 at the Chapel, Radio Varitas Asia Feb 14. The new batch consists of students from eight countries: China, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.  On this day, the Rite of Commitment to the Lord was made by the students, and witnessed by more than 50 people who came to lend support.

The theme for the launching is ‘Live Christ! Share Christ.’ It is the call taken from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Pastoral Exhortation on the Era of New Evangelization for the Year of the Poor, 2015.

I still remember right after the Papal Mass, my friend asked me whether it’s a worthwhile experience. I admitted to him that I have some disappointments, but with a heavy heart, agreed that it is a worthwhile experience. I was disappointed at many different aspects, just because they didn’t meet up to my expectation.

But as I shared my disappointment with my family, they reminded me of how blessed I was even just by being there since many desire to be in my place at that time. Even for the next few days, we were constantly reminded of how blessed we are to be one of the ground-breaking 6 million faithful participating in a once-in-a-lifetime event.