Message

(The following is the Message of Sr. Mary Cecilia Torres RGS, Province Leader, on the Golden Jubilee of Philippine Province of the Good Shepherd.)

The Philippine Province turns Gold today.

Let’s take quick look at the Annals found in our Archives:

“The Feast of St. Francis Xavier on December 3, 1960, dawned into a bright and beautiful day, shall we say, because of a momentous hour marking another stride in our Convent at Quezon City. Our very dear Mother announced in the Community Room at noon recreation: Quezon City is the Provincial House.”

That was written 50 years ago. The creation of the Philippine Province led to the establishment of the Philippine Novitiate. Missionaries, foreign and local, worked together to reach out to women and children in the country. 1960 was just 15 years after World War II when 9 American Good Shepherd Sisters were among the religious who were jailed in Los Banos. Their zeal and commitment to the Good Shepherd modeled for us what shepherding meant.

The 1960s also saw the reforms in the Church, in our liturgy and in religious life. Our own expression of God’s compassionate love to the poor enabled our Sisters to reach out to those who are in the margins of society, to seek out the lost in the context of their families and the community where they live.

The Filipinization in the 70s gave us Sr. Christine Tan, the first Filipina Provincial, whose prophetic voice and courage also led our province and other congregations in the country to be steadfast as we fought the dictator and worked towards social justice and peace for our people.  New foundations were begun in various parts of the country, especially in Mindanao. Succeeding provincials and our Province Chapter Statements affirmed prophetic role, our conviction to work for the poor and be with our people as we face tanks and military to radically demand for a change of government.

In the 90s, while communities are being founded, we also looked at restructuring of our  Province. We worked on Women’s Perspective Schema, Formation to a Life of Compassion? and our RGS/CGS Complementarity. These efforts led us to a joyful and festive celebration of the bicentennial celebration of the birth of St. Mary Euphrasia in 1996 and the Great Jubilee of our Lord in 2000 that gathered Good Shepherd Sisters inside and outside the country.

 We are in the third millennium, contemplative and apostolic Good Shepherd Sisters, our lay mission partners continue to express our zeal in our particular lifestyles.  The zeal of Mary Euphrasia to follow the Good Shepherd and reach out to families, especially girls and women in distress, inspire us to move forward together as we extend the compassionate love of the Shepherd to migrant workers, trafficked women and girls, urban poor, indigenous peoples, students, young people and families in crisis, and especially, our groaning earth.

 As in the biblical jubilee, May this Golden Jubilee, be for us and the future generation, a time to: Reclaim the Feminist Principle; Rest for the Earth, Return the Land, Release the Slaves and Prisoners, and Recall the Debt.

Greetings and gratitude to all of you and to those who rejoice with us in this occasion. Let our Centennial theme: “Weaving Compassion, Embracing Challenges, Forging Hope” give us joy as we celebrate the 50^th year of the Philippine Province.
 

Intercessory Prayers

GLOBE -  St. Mary Euphrasia said, “I am Italian, English, German, Spanish, African, American, Indian ... I belong to all nations where there are souls to save.”  We offer this globe, symbol of the international character of the Good Shepherd Congregation.  We thank God for the gift of the first missionaries from Rangoon who, fired by zeal to bring souls to God, came to start the Philippine foundation in 1912.   We pray for all present day missionaries, apostolic and contemplative, that they may render selfless service to those to whom they are sent, have the courage to speak and act in the name of truth and justice, and bear witness to the love of Christ.

LIGHTED CANDLE –  We thank God for those who have lighted our way -  the priests, retreat directors and directresses  who have nourished and guided us  in our spiritual lives.  We remember all those who helped us to see with new eyes enabling us to respond to emerging needs and to discover God’s presence in our struggles and difficulties.  We also offer our gratitude for the Province Leaders God has given us through the years.  We praise God for their inspiration and leadership which gave us the courage to proclaim the Gospel even in difficult circumstances.

COCONUT SEEDLING -   This coconut sprout symbolizes the various initiatives the sisters have undertaken in creative fidelity to St. Mary Euphrasia’s charism of compassion, which led to a vibrant Philippine province.  We thank God for the flame of love in the sisters’ hearts which enabled them to not simply repeat what our foundress did, but to do what she would have done, faithful to the Spirit, in responding to the apostolic needs of the present time.  May we, together with our Good Shepherd mission partners continue to be a living sign of true concern and dedicated care for those who are rejected, marginalized and oppressed by the society.

SOIL - We ask you to bless our beautiful land, the Philippines, with its wonderful variety of people and languages, flora and fauna, seas and mountains.  May you empower us to transform structures which deprive others of the basic necessities of life.  Create in us a new spirit which desires to sustain nature and live in harmony with all of your creation.

FLOWERS – We pray for all women and children we have served for the past fifty years as a Philippine Province. We also pray for all women caught in the cycle of domestic  and national violence, that they may be healed, gain self-esteem and strength to speak against the injustices they experience.  Bind us together with them so that we can act as a catalyst to build structures which end discrimination and provide equality for all.

BREAD AND WINE -  We pray for the church throughout the world.  Sanctify her life, renew her worship, empower her witness, restore her unity.  We pray especially for the church in the Philippines, help her to be a prophetic voice and a means of reconciliation.

Prepared and Read by: Sr. Teresita Figueroa RGS
 

Introduction

The Philippine Province of the Good Shepherd celebrates today, December 3, 2010 its Golden Jubilee of establishment. This is just two years before the 2012 Centennial that will mark 100 years of Good Shepherd presence in the country.

It was on December 3, 1960, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, patron of the missions, that the creation of the province was announced. The  first provincial of the Philippine Province was Sr. Mary John of the Cross Kroner, an American.

This year’s Golden Jubilee of the province takes special significance as the Good Shepherd Sisters in the country and those in foreign mission, the lay partners and alumnae/alumni look forward to the 2012 Centennial.

The Good Shepherd Sisters, apostolic and contemplative, will mark this occasion with Masses of Thanksgiving in the different convents and parishes where the sisters serve. As the Sisters in the Province thank God for his fidelity and care, the Sisters will also remember the missionaries who came and served in the country, the benefactors who supported the programs, and the girls and women who have been part of the rich history of the Philippine province. With gratitude, the Sisters of the Philippine Province also offer prayers for the priests who celebrated Masses and provided spiritual nourishment to the sisters, and the religious who have collaborated with the work of the Good Shepherd Sisters. It is united with the Congregational Leadership Team and the various provinces, districts and sectors all over the world as we weave compassion and reconciliation in our world today.

The first Irish Good Shepherd missionaries set foot in the Philippines on October 4, 1912 upon the invitation of  Monsignor Joseph Petrelli, archbishop of Lipa, who requested that a Catholic school be established in Batangas City.  The first missionaries that the Superior General Sr. Mary Domitilla Larose sent came from Rangoon. After several months of preparation, on January 1913, St. Bridget’s Academy opened its doors to students.

At the time of the creation of the Philippine Province, the only communities in the country were St. Bridget’s in Batangas City, the one in Sta. Ana, Manila that was opened in 1921 upon the invitation of  Monsignor Jeremy Harty, Archbishop of Manila, St. Domitilla's School, Villa Maria in Cebu, Community in Baguio City and Maryridge in Tagaytay.From its establishment in 1912 until 1945, the Philippines was under the Mother House in Angers, France. The communities of Batangas and Manila, like the one in Shanghai, were later placed under the Los Angeles Province when it was created as a mission province. Candidates were sent to Los Angeles for the novitiate, instead of Angers, France. With the creation of the Philippines as a province, a novitiate was also created in the country.

New communities were opened in the Philippines; the first Contemplative community was founded in Quezon City. With the coming of more vocations,  the Good Shepherd Sisters were able to found communities and residences in Buhi, Camarines Sur, other places in Luzon, and then Mindanao to answer the needs of girls and women in difficulty.

To date, there are 142 apostolic sisters missioned in 24 communities and 24 contemplatives in four contemplative communities in the Philippines. These communities are Good Shepherd Community, Euphrasian Community, St. Bridget School- QC, Heart of Mary Villa, Provincialate in Quezon City, Tahanan in San Andres Bukid, Welcome House/Malate Community, Maryridge and Bahay Pastulan in Tagaytay, Bukid Kabataan in General Trias, Cavite, St. Bridget College-Batangas, Baguio Community, Isabela Community, St. Bridget School in Buhi, Legaspi Community, Good Shepherd Homer in Naga, Villa Maria in Cebu, Reach-Out Center in Davao, Kalilid in Agusan, Iligan/Bukidnon Community, Cagayan de Oro Community, Pagadian Community, CGS-Banawa, CGS-Butuan, CGS-Tagaytay and CGS-Virac. Formation houses for the apostolic aspirants, pre-novices, novices, temporary professed sisters are in Quezon City while the contemplatives are in Tagaytay and Cebu. 

Sr. M. Cecilia Torres RGS, the eighth province leader of the Philippines, was elected during the 2008 Province Chapter held in Maryridge, Tagaytay.At total of 31 apostolic and contemplative sisters are currently serving the foreign mission-- France, Italy, Angola, Austria, Canada, Ethiopia, Hongkong, Japan, Kenya, Macau, Senegal, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand and the USA.

(Sr. Regina Kuizon RGS)