Good Shepherd Sisters, students and staff of Mountain Maid Training
Center (MMTC), alumnae/alumni, benefactors and friends marked the 60th year of Good
Shepherd Baguio on November 11.
Bishop Carlito Cenzon of the
Diocese of Baguio was the main celebrant during the Eucharistic
Celebration that highlighted the richness of the Cordillera culture and
the immense thanksgiving that those gathered offered to Jesus the Good
Shepherd.
During the Introduction, Sr. Marilou Castro traced the beginnings of Good Shepherd Baguio, it was a vacation house for the Good Shepherd Sisters of St. Bridget College in Batangas until Bishop William Brasseur CICM invited the sisters to begin a foundation.
"In 1952, seizing the opportunity of the visit of Sr. Mary Ursula Jung, the superior general, he officially asked for a foundation of the Good Shepherd Sisters. In response to his invitation, four Good Shepherd Sisters-- Srs. Mary Victory Walsh (Irish), Sr. Rose Virginie Hayes (American), Margarita Heredia (Belgian-Filipino) and Carmel Medalla (Filipino) were missioned to Baguio to start the apostolate to young girls and women on November 11, 1952." Sr. Marilou continued, the Good Shepherd story "in Baguio is a story of God's tender care, compassion and miraculous providence. From its humble beginnings in 1952, the Good Shepherd has pastured thousands of young women and men to live in dignity, and fulfull their dreams of a better life for themselves, their families and communities."
The Good Shepherd Sisters, through MMTC, serve the youth of Cordillera- Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Ifugao and Benguet. In his homily, Bishop Cenzon, lauded the immense contribution of the Good Shepherd Sisters to the education of the youth who are able to study in the various colleges and universities in Baguio. They do not only learn from the university but also get trained through the livelihood program offered in MMTC, but also get to experience more and appreciate the richness of the Cordillera culture. He also mentioned how the Good Shepherd Sisters have promoted Vermi composting (Eugene, the earthworm) that contributed to a reduced garbage in Baguio City.
Sr. Jeva Sumbillo, local leader of the Good Shepherd Sisters, thanked the students and staff for their hardwork, the customers who support and patronized the MMTC products and the farmers who supply MMTC with raw materials.
After the Eucharistic celebration, a cultural program followed. Songs, poems and dances depicted the closeness of the Cordillera people to Mother Earth and made those present remember the many decades that passed through the beat of drums and the rhythm of music.
"The Prayer" provided a fitting start of the afternoon program that included tribal dances of the six tribes, contemporary, folk, ballrooma nd street dances. The choir rendered songs Wake Up My People, We are Called and Gifts, Let Everyone be Happy, The Hero, Animnapung Taon and It's a Beautiful Sunday.
Dr. Lilet Bautista was the director, scritpwriter and choreographer while Sr. M. Aimee Olaguer was the choir song composer and trainer.
An Alumnae/Alumni Homecoming was held in the afternoon.
Photo Gallery,
Gallery2 Program - http://www.goodshepherdsisters.org.ph/album/asehoy/a50a641134489d
Other related articles are below.
Introduction
Welcome to our Eucharistic
celebration! Today we give thanks for sixty years of Good Shepherd mission in
the Cordillera .
From 19948 to 1952, Good Shepherd Baguio was simply a vacation
house . Bishop William Brasseur, CICM,
did not only want the sisters to rest in Baguio during the hot summer months in the lowlands , but to also
work in Baguio for the people of Montanosa. for the rest of the year.
In response to the Bishop’s
invitation, four Good Shepherd sisters – Sr. Mary Victory
Walsh (Irish), Sr. Rose Virgnie Hayes (American),
Sr. Margarita Heredia, (Belgian/Filipino) and Sr. Mary Carmel Medalla (Filipino) were missioned to Baguio and started the apostolate to young girls and women on November 11,
1952.
The story of Good Shepherd
Baguio is a story of God’s care, compassion and miraculous providence. From its
humble beginnings in 1952, Jesus the Good Shepherd has pastured thousands of young women and men to live in dignity, fulfilling their dreams of a better life for
themselves, their families and communities.
From four sisters at the onset, over a hundred Good Shepherd sisters have been
missioned to Baguio. Some of them are here with us today. Together
with lay mission partners, like the
poor widow in today’s gospel, they “put
in two small coins worth a few cents” to
build up through six decades Mountain Maid Training Center and its current student-workers’ program.
Like the poor widow of Zarephath who shared
her dwindling resources to feed the hungry and thirsty prophet Elijah, her generosity is simply
rewarded. At Good Shepherd Baguio and Mountain Maid Training Center, the
jar of flour has never gone empty and the jug of oil have never run dry. May
this miraculous multiplication of God’s
providential care continue for the next sixty years.
Let us sing our entrance song.
November
11, 2012
Prayer of the
Faithful
Bishop - God
measures a gift not by its size and cost but according to the generous spirit it
was given. Let us pray that we may be as
generous as the widow in the Gospel:
R – LORD, TEACH US
TO BE GENEROUS.
- That
the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI , the bishops, specially Bishop Carlito
Censon, priests and deacons may rekindle the divine gift they received at
their ordination and serve God and his people with a generous heart. We
pray. (R)
- That our benefactors, customers, friends and the graduates of Mountain Maid Training Center may continue
sharing their gifts and blessings and receive their reward from God who is
never outdone in generosity. We
pray. (R)
- That
we remember with gratitude Bishop
William Brasseur, CICM who invited
the Good Shepherd Sisters to share
their charism to the peoples of the
Cordillera and who in 1952 founded the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
known as the Tuding Sisters. We
pray. (R)
- That
the missionary spirit of Sr. Mary Dominica Long, rgs and Sr. Mary Divine
Child Flood, rgs inspire many young women and men from the Cordilleras to
follow in their footsteps of serving the Lord with courage and
generosity. We pray. (R)
- That
those stricken with debilitating illnesses, the victims of natural
calamities, violence and injustice may be relieved from suffering and be
able to recover their lives. We
pray. (R)
- That
all of us gathered here may never
feel so poor that one cannot contribute anything, or so rich that one
cannot receive anything. In all things, may there be solidarity and mutual
help among us. We pray. (R)
- In
the silence of our hearts let us raise to God our personal intentions and
the intentions of all those we love. We pray. (R)
Bishop - Father of mercy, hear your children who call
to you. Make us understand that our
gifts and our sharing are pleasing to you when they come from our hearts. We
ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Good Shepherd
Baguio
E P I L O G U E
Sixty. Sixty years! Sixty, for the
ancient sages of Asia is an auspicious number, affording a favorable sign, full of hope and promise, including good
fortune.
After six decades of weaving the Good
Shepherd story in the Cordilleras, the question asked is: QUO VADIS? Where do we go from
here? What lies ahead?
As
bearers of a precious legacy from those who build Good Shepherd Baguio and Mt.
Maid Training Center, we cannot rest on our laurels nor take for granted God’s
countless blessings.
. We do not know what the future
holds, but we trust in the One who holds our future. The God of the Covenant promised Jeremiah
a “future full of hope”, who told him that his plans are those of peace
and not disaster.
With Isaiah, we
believe in the words uttered long ago: “See, I am doing a new deed, even now it
comes to light; can you not see it?” (Is. 43:19) Can you not see it?