Sharing Love The Verbum Dei Way

Singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan performs during the ‘Share the Love’ fundraising event on Feb. 18, 2024 at the Valle Verde 6 Clubhouse in Pasig City. (Credit: onenews.ph)

Verbum Dei is a Catholic missionary community that brings together individuals and groups of every state of life, age, culture and social condition to live and spread the Word of God.

There are several missionaries from Verbum Dei, a Catholic community that we have come to know and love. These men and women live their lives serving our Lord through their charism of prayer, ministry of the Word and testimony of life that brings immeasurable comfort and joy to many.

Some have left their native countries, their homes and families to help others right here in the Philippines. For Verbum Dei, a group of grateful souls led by generous couple Boy and Corito de Claro –together with their family, and Friends of Verbum Dei Inc. headed by Gerry Dumancas, Judy Tan and Marichelle Infante – banded together to organize an extraordinary fundraising event called “Share the Love” carefully designed to delight and inspire. This took place at the Valle Verde 6 Clubhouse in Pasig City on Feb. 18.

The evening began with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by five Verbum Dei missionary priests. The sumptuous gourmet dinner prepared by Maia de Claro Fonacier of White Linen complimented the amazing entertainment.

Singer-comedienne Mitch Valdes opened the show with her own unique blend of wit and humor. This extremely talented one-woman band who performed song, dance and comedy in spontaneous combustion left us all roaring with laughter.

Jose Mari Chan generously shared his love songs. The singer-songwriter said, “We must give and use our blessings. God has blessed me with the gift of music all these years and I am very happy that my songs have brought joy to our countrymen.”

He began with a song called “Thank You, Love.” He told the audience that he wrote this “on our 25th wedding anniversary to thank my wife Mary Ann for loving me and bringing up our five children.” His duet with lovely daughter Lisa Chan Parpan thrilled the lively crowd.​

Photo shows Fr. Michael Cheong, Jose Mari and Mary Ann Chan, Corito and Boy de Claro and Judy Tan during the ‘Share the Love’ fundraising event. (Credit: onenews.ph)

Superstars of the night were Verbum Dei missionary priests who gamely performed renditions of their favorite music idols to the extreme delight of the benefactors. Fr. Filipe Vaz Pardal as Stevie Wonder, Fr. JoJo David as Bruce Springsteen, Fr. Michael Cheong as Axl Rose and Fr. Bong Guinoo as Slash of Guns N’ Roses brought the house down, complete with their instruments, choreography and funky costumes.

For their dance number, the younger missionaries chose the popular OPM hit song “Dahil sa ‘Yo” by Iñigo Pascual, which got everyone on their feet smiling and dancing along to the beat. The female misioneras regaled us with a colorful Latin dance. The Verbum Dei missionary team then all came together to sing the finale, “Heal the World,” written by Michael Jackson.

The most touching part of the night were two testimonies. The first testimony entitled Beloved, Chosen and Sent, was delivered by 19-year-old John Luiz Valencia, a Verbum Dei youth missionary disciple. He broke the ice by introducing himself as a second year college student of Criminology saying,” I am hoping to be a policeman, not a criminal.”

“I want to share with you how Verbum Dei affected my life and those people around me,” he said. “My life was a mess, I was living a life covered in darkness and had no love. Na-adik ako sa paglaro ng computer and cellphone games (I was addicted to computer and cellphone games). My life was like a machine. Wake up – games all day – sleep – and repeat,” John said.

“My friends were living the same as me. There is this one kid na lagi na lang napapasubo sa gulo. He was always in trouble. There’s this kid na hindi mo talaga makakausap. You could not even speak to him. There’s this kid na mas malala pa ‘yung addiction. He was worse than me, “ John added. “Each had darkness on their own. Pero alam niyo? You know what? God had a better plan for us. He never planned for us to be stuck in a life like that.”

On March 7, 2021, John was invited to attend a Verbum Dei spiritual recollection. Verbum Dei taught him how to pray, practice and preach the word of God. One by one his friends joined the Community too. “Through prayer and the Verbum Dei family, we experienced being loved by God, chosen and sent to help others too,” John noted. “We have experienced a love capable of satisfying our thirst. In a sense, it made us all a better version of ourselves. God transformed our lives.”

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John Luiz Valencia shares his story during the ‘Share the Love’ fundraising event for Verbum Dei. (Credit: onenews.ph)

“May kasabihan nga na kami ay mga dating lulong, ngayon tumutulong. Dating kunsumisyon, ngayon ay nag-mi- mission.” John and his friends are now serving the Lord, having found purpose and meaning in their lives. They have become the “Voice of the Word” proclaiming the Word of God. They organize prayer activities, recollections and retreats. They share their testimonies and give talks to different groups of youth like students of Balara high school, CICL (Children in Conflict with the Law) in Molave Youth Home Payatas and many more.

​John gratefully concludes, “We were stuck in our circle full of broken people, yet with the Lord’s help we were saved and now we are helping the Lord to save others. We are blessed, chosen and sent by God. On behalf of the Verbum Dei youth, thank you for making all of these possible.”

The second testimony was delivered by Rosmarie Andol, 41. She and her husband, Ronilo, received the sacrament of Holy Matrimony through the Verbum Dei Community where they got to know God intimately. Then the entire family experienced a peaceful transformation. From a life full of deep despair, they now live a fruitful life of faith, prayer, service and gratitude.

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Here are some videos taken from the event:

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This article is originally posted from the Life and Culture section of onenews.ph. Credits to Michelle Dayrit Soliven and onenews.ph for writing the article. Credits to onenews.ph for the photos. Videos taken by the guests and credits to their respective owners.

You can read the original article at: https://www.onenews.ph/articles/sharing-love-the-verbum-dei-way.