+ Sr. Mary Julia M. Gonzalez RGS: Following <br>the Good Shepherd in pasture and in peril

+ Sr. Mary Julia Gonzalez RGS who passed away July 30 of cardio-pulmonary arrest in Quezon City was laid to rest August 3 at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.

Families, friends and Good Shepherd Sistersm gathered at the Good Shepherd Chapel to celebrate the Mass of the Resurrection presided by Fr. Jim O'Donnell, SJ. Concelebrant was Fr. Ron Bagley, CJM.

Photo: Sr. Julia, seated, with her bandmates and Bishop Chito Tagle, during the Golden Jubilee celebration.

Following is the tribute to Sr. Mary Julia by Sr. M. Suzanne Sinense RGS of the Good Shepherd Commuity:

Good morning and thank you for coming to join us in bidding farewell to our dear Sr. May Julia, a zealous missionary, a devoted group mother to so many children, and a gifted pianist. Her life gently ebbed away last Monday, like the soft, gentle notes of some parts of her Concertino which she played at her graduation.

By Sr. Maryanne Terrenal RGS Good morning! In the year 1957, the late Mother Mary Francis Flynn, then Superior of this compound sent 7 young ladies to the Good Shepherd Novitiate in Los Angeles, California. On April 24, 1958, we were formally accepted as novices, changed our bridal gowns into the holy habit, and were given our religious names. Exactly 50 years later, on April 24, 2008, the 7 of us held our golden jubilee celebration in this very chapel. All of us had been missioned to foreign lands, as also to the local communities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. And our number 7 remained intact. No one had died, no one left the convent, and no one got married. And I think the secret of that is, on our clothing day, we held hands and formed a circle and prayed for one another. We promised to pray everyday for our perseverance, that we may remain intact till God called us to His Kingdom. We even distributed the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit to ourselves. Sr. Guding, our oldest, got the gift of Wisdom. Sr. Benigna, got the gift of Knowledge because even in our postulancy, our American teacher admitted she knew more of the subject matter at hand than all of us put together. Sr. Mary Julia even then possessed the gift of Understanding, and her confirmation goddaughter Sr. Michelle got the gift of Counsel. Our youngest Sister, Grace got the Fear of the Lord, and because I was the healthiest and strongest then I got the gift of Fortitude. Soon after our golden jubilee, our gift of Piety Sr. Mary Immaculata, hastily departed to heaven. The first of four (4) Antigua siblings to enter the Good Shepherd Congregation, she could not wait but be the first to enter the eternal kingdom. And now we have our beloved Sr. Mary Julia here. She has gone ahead of us to prepare in diligence and focused commitment our mansions in heaven. For when I think of Sr. Mary Julia, I associate her with the Good Shepherd spirituality that work is integral to our vocation. She was a concert pianist, and her delicate fingers should not have been used for work. But what I remember of her in Los Angeles was the tender loving care she gave to our chicks and ducklings. In Oc Pong, Korea, she got up at five (5) in the morning to gather the tomatoes and vegetables, later in the day to be sold in the Kunsan market. When I contemplate Jesus teaching the crowds, healing the sick and casting out demons, the next picture I see is Sr. Mary Julia in Isabela, continuing the work of our founder St. John Eudes and our Mother Foundress St. Mary Euphrasia, inculcating the principles of faith, hope and love and teaching the law of duty and responsibility, particularly to the poor and marginalized, the women and girls, the farmers and miners. She made mercy and compassion the moving force of her life. Her vow of zeal encompassed everything she did. Mother Foundress likened the Mother House of Angers to a beehive, urging the Sisters of sharing the labor among themselves, helping each other in wonderful orderliness, utilizing their innate talents towards justice and peace. St. Mary Euphrasia exhorted the Sisters to love work. She said it is the chief austerity that we can practice. We must combine the activities of Martha and Mary in all our endeavors. Like Martha we must keep busy on external things, and like Mary, we must never withdraw from the Master’s presence. Dear Bandmate, Sr. Mary Julia, you were always my icon for zeal and hard work. Help me and all of us here present, to do well all that we do, and to abide what St. Paul wrote the Colossians, “Whatever you do, do in the name of Jesus our Lord, our model, our Shepherd. So that someday we too may hear in the sear or remote future what we know Jesus Christ is saying to your now – Come, Beloved of my Father, enjoy forever the fruits of your labor.”  August 3, 2012

Yes, Julia’s life seem to echo the movements of that melodious composition she created for her graduation recital for her Bachelor of Music degree from St. Scholastica’s College in 1951.

Sister was born in 1928 with roots from San Miguel, Bulacan and San Juan, Batangas. Early on she showed a story musical bent with a particular love for the piano. So it was quite natural that after primary and secondary schooling at St. Scholastica’s in Manila, she would proceed to take up a Bachelor of Music degree, Major in Piano, in the same college.

The seed of a religious vocation burgeoned early but she could not respond immediately due to frail health and a great sense of responsibility to help her younger siblings. So the first years after her college graduation were spent teaching piano first in St. Scho’s (1951 – 1953) and then at the Fernando Piano School in Davao City from 1955 – 1957.

Finally, God’s time arrived, and she was declared fit enough to follow the call to the religious life. The words of her spiritual directors, Fr. Hudson Mitchell, SJ and Fr. Raymond Gough, SJ, are touching testimonies to the beauty and genuineness of her vocation following Jesus the Good Shepherd in pasture and peril for 54 years.

She entered the Good Shepherd Novitiate in Los Angeles, California and received the holy habit on October 15, 1957 and the name Sr. Mary Julia. She made her First Profession on April 24, 1960 also in Los Angeles.Soon after profession, she came back to the Philippines to work among the Shepherd’s flock for more than fifty years. Her versatility and availability enabled her to engage in almost all the ministries of the Good Shepherd in the Philippines

Strict but loving, she was a beloved group mother in several residences: Baguio, St. Domitilla’s in Quezon City, Welcome House in Manila, Heart of Mary Villa in Malabon and Good Shepherd Home in Legazpi. She was also a pioneer missionary in our first Good Shepherd foundation in Oc Pong, South Korea and in our rural mission in Guibang, Isabela.

In between these busy working days, she finished a Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling at La Salle University in 1972. Her counseling skills extended not only to the girls and women under our care but even to priests who needed help. She did not mind crossing rivers and climbing mountains just to reach these “lost shepherds” and help them find their way back to the Loving Shepherd of Souls.

Her music of course was a wonderful asset in her work with our girls in the residences. How many veladas and operettas did she not accompany during her years in St. Domitillas’? Until now we meet alumnae who can proudly say, “I was in the King and I”!

But when she threw herself heart and soul into the rural mission work, as well as work with the urban poor, the piano of course was forgotten. Even on her visits to Manila, she would not play for the Sisters. Being a perfectionist, she would not play unless she was sure it would be note perfect. So, many of us never heard her beautiful Concertino in G, her graduation composition, no matter how much we begged her.

But during the war years, when many people evacuated back to their home towns, Priscilla de la Fuente, a good friend of Oya, related that her father organized a concert in their town plaza and Oya played the Grieg Concerto, accompanied by a full orchestra, since many of the violinists also evacuated back to San Miguel. At that time, Oya had not yet finished her BM but she played the Grieg to perfection.

The Third Millenium probably can stand for the third and last movement in Oya’s  Concertino in G. Sr. Julia finally retired to the Maria Droste Infirmary of the Good Shepherd Community in 2000. But there was still one big bash during these quiet years in Quezon City: the Golden Jubilee of their band which they celebrated last April 24, 2010 right here in this chapel. It was truly a joyful celebration and a fitting ritual for the golden years of service to God’s people. Sr. Julia spent the last 12 years of her life in the Infirmary, a serene place to rest and to reflect on her long years of loving discipleship, following in the footsteps of our Loving Shepherd.

Photo: Sr. M Julia Gonzalez (Gloria Mercado Gonzalez) after her graduation recital.

Sr. Maryanne Terrenal RGS,
bandmate of Sr. M. Julia, gave the homily as requested by Fr. Jim O'Donnell SJ.

Sr. M. Cecilia Torres RGS, province leader of the Good Shepherd Sisters in the Philippines thanked the Gonzalez family for the life of Sr. Julia shared with the congregation and with the poor. She was also grateful to those who came during the wake, the Mass of the Resurrection especially to Fr. O'Donnell and Fr. Ron Bagley CJM.

After the Eucharistic Celebration, the remains of Sr. M. Julia were interred at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.

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