​The Verbum Dei recollection was held on June 12, 2019 at CTK Parish. It was aptly entitled "Receive the Power" (see Acts 1:8).
 
Who is the Holy Spirit? This was the question Fr. James McTavish used for openers at the day's talk. Because the Holy Spirit is probably the least understood person of the Trinity.  It is important for us to know the Spirit, learn to relate to Him, and understand how He manifests Himself.
 
The Holy Spirit can come as a dove, fire, wind, water; but most importantly ...  He is a Person! He has intentions. He shows willfulness and discretion. He loves, intercedes, teaches, advocates, consoles, and prays. He is the Principal Agent of the Mission.
 
We receive the Spirit when we believe in Him, and we build a relationship through prayers and faith. Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who seek Him. We know the Spirit is working through us when we are drawn to Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of His presence in our lives. In Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
 
The Celebration of the Holy Eucharist followed after an hour of prayer and sharing. 
The mass was presided by Fr. Bong Guinoo and Fr. James McTavish. Readings were taken from Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 and John 29:19-23.
 
Fr. Bong gave an enlightening homily on the Spirit's role in molding us into the image of Christ, so that we may live in His likeness. Just as the Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we too can enjoy the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, enhancing our relationship with God.
 
I.          Afternoon activities were the 'the Spirit and Mother Mary'.
 
Testimonials of the Fruit of the Spirit: Sr. Cecilia shared her experience on fortitude. The gift that helped her overcome fears and gave her courage to take risks for Christ. Enabled her to stand up for what is right even if it meant rejection.
 
Ms. Judy Tan talked about the fruit of generosity by giving time, talent, and treasure selflessly to glorify God and make a difference.
 
Dr. Resti Bautista spoke on the fruit of faithfulness. It is the result of the Spirit working in us. For the Spirit is our seal of faithfulness, our witness to God's promise of salvation.
 
II.         Recitation of the Rosary of the Spirit was led by Sr. Cecilia and Sr. Iria (a German Verbum Dei missionary working in Budapest) in different languages symbolizes friendship and solidarity. It was a beautiful moment of collaboration and harmony. We were also blessed to have the presence of Sr Pearl and Brother Jojo, two Verbum Dei missionaries in formation.
 
What a spirit-filled day it was! Nothing can fill more our hearts with peace and contentment, than the certitude that the Holy Spirit loves us and lives in us. Awareness of His presence in us lead us to renew ourselves and to respect and care for one another. It gives us courage, wisdom, and strength to communicate the Word of God to others.
 
Let us call on the Holy Spirit to awaken and unleash in us His love and power, so that we may be renewed, empowered, and encouraged to become Apostles of Jesus Christ.
 
Let us ask the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that we too can be faithful to the promptings of the Spirit. As Fr Jaime Bonet, FMVD, the Verbum Dei founder prayed “Grant me, dear Mama, a detailed and meticulous fidelity, delicate, attentive and grateful to the Holy Spirit. Help me to respond promptly, immediately and sharply to his insinuations.”

Here are some photos of the event:

Last June 9, 2019, the Verbum Dei Missionary Family Cebu celebrated the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, or Pentecost, with the theme “Holy Spirit, be with us!” at Verbum Dei Apostolate Center in Banawa, Good Shepherd Road, Cebu City.

The event started with an animation dance, “Live by the Spirit” led by the vibrant VDei teens and youth. The people were warmly welcomed by Jean Pulmones in her Welcome Talk. Then, they learned more of who is the Holy Spirit in their lives with the talk on ‘Who the Holy Spirit is? The Fire from Above’ which was given by Ann Payos. After which they were led to pray with the Holy Spirit, the Faithful Companion of our soul. Then, to deepen on the ‘Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit’, the participants were assigned to seven booths of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit wherein each gift was explained, elaborated and there was a sharing of experiences of living out that particular gift of the Spirit. Thereafter, the group made a collage that expressed their understanding of that particular gift of the Holy Spirit.

The VDei Kids had their separate talks and activities handled by two Couple Missionaries in the Formation Course: Elena and Kristoffer Ty, Emily and Owen Rapirap.

 In the afternoon, the group was on fire as they played some games. A talk on ‘Holy Spirit, the Fire of the VD Mission’ was then given by Lucio Pulmones. It was followed by a time of prayerful reflection of the call of the urgency of doing the VDei Mission. Right after that, the group joyfully shared about the concrete call of Mission that each one received in prayer. The Pentecost celebration culminated with the Holy Mass presided by Father Felix.  

During the mass, the VDei Missionary Family warmly welcomed the new member of the VDMFa-Cebu, a missionary couple and family assigned in Cebu. They were Regner and Mae Paguia with their four children. Souvenirs of the Gifts the Holy Spirit were given to the participants. We were more than a hundred.
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As a VD Missionary Family, we are challenged by our founder, Jaime Bonet, “Our flesh and blood, vivified by the Holy Spirit, become fruitful throughout the Church. Faithful to the Spirit, our life opens up like Jesus’ side so that many may be born to the Life of God. Marked by the rhythm of the Spirit of love, owner and spouse of our being, this tent of ours in this world will extend for generations without end, for the vitalization of the whole Body of Christ.” (see Verbum Dei Constitutions, no. 71).  And our prayer is “Come, Holy Spirit, be with us!

Here are some photos of the event:

A leadership camp for the youth with the theme “Empowered” was conducted by the Verbum Dei Missionary Family, at the Center of Evangelization in Tagaytay City, last June 6-9. Each day was filled with activities like formations, prayer guidelines, Holy mass, games, movie screening, and star gazing.

Everyone was welcomed by a session from Joy stating the necessity of healthy self-esteem. Following this, Youth Camp Olympics started with the pledge of sportsmanship led by Fr. Bong. Each day, games like trust fall, blindfold guide, centipede walk, and acid river were played to strengthen everyone’s skills.

Next day started with Carmela’s guidelines about God’s communication to all of us, in every way. Then, Sr. Cecilia gave a formation which focused on the importance of listening and dialogue in our relationship with God. This was followed by Fr. Iwao’s formation that emphasizes traits as Good Shepherd.

The third day began with the reminder of loving despite the pain from Christel followed by Sr. Cecilia’s formation about conflict management. After that it was Abel’s guideline that left a question, “Who’s your mission?” Then everyone formed into groups for a workshop about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, Sr. Adriana conducted a formation about the evangelization of digital natives that left a question, “Am I being truthful in what I share?”
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The camp ended with the hope that the youth who experienced these will lead and spread the Word of God now and in the future. After all, youth are the hope of our motherland and our God. And we are called to be fully alive. Pope Francis said the words “I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” (Christus vivit, no. 1)

Here are some photos of the event:

It was an empowering day, June 9, 2019 after the Pentecost Sunday Mass at Verbum Dei Chapel in Tagaytay when participants of the on-going VD Youth Leadership Camp gathered together to attend the seminar on "Evangelizing the Digital Natives" conducted by Sr. Adriana Haro, FMVD in collaboration with the VD Missionaries and VD Retreat House-Tagaytay. The group was also joined by some members of the VD-Tagaytay Adult S.O.W. group.
 
The call to evangelize is not only a call for the religious, but for all people, especially the "digital natives." The young people are now being sent to be witnesses to the "digital continent," now considered as the 6th continent representing the biblical place, called the "ends of the Earth."
 
But who are the "digital natives?" It was interesting to note that there are different "citizens" in the Digital Continent:

• Baby boomers (1940-1959)
  
• Generation X (1960-1979)

Both known as the "Digital Immigrants" 

• Millennials (1980-1994)
• Generation Z (1995-2005)

Also known as the "Digital Natives." So, where do you belong? 
 
Hence the Digital Natives are being called to do the work of "inculturation" which is a necessary pathway toward Gospel evangelization of cultures in the Digital World.
 
This new world can offer a lot of distractions, both good and bad. Every "citizen" in this 6th continent can become addicted to many digital activities which expose them to negative behaviors and problems. That is why, there is truly a need to listen to the voice of the Lord as in Isaiah 6:8 "Whom shall I send?" Can, you, the Digital Native reply: "Here I am, send me!"
 
Sr. Adriana told us that God has always counted on young people to transform reality. Even our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal said: "The youth is the hope of our motherland."
 
Finally, how and where do the Digital Natives begin? First, by knowing what they are looking for. It is obvious that they are looking for themselves, for other people and their place in the world. They need to know who they really are and to project this image into the world. Honesty and sincerity in what one posts can be a good start to real reaching out. Occasional breaks from digital connection and from social media can also be a good way of recharging and finding oneself, even others, in the real world! 
Holy Spirit, guide us! 

​The merry month of May was indeed joyful for the Verbum Dei-Tagaytay Adult School of the Word (SOW) group. Apart from our regular Friday afternoon SOW gatherings, we also come together to do various activities, like:
​

• Going on mission trips to nearby places of interest, like, the home for battered and abused children and youth.
  
• Facilitate recollections for high school students of Tagaytay City National High School (TCNHS) and Lucsuhin National High School (LNHS). 
  
• Participate in planning and implementation of the year—incorporating Mama Mary visits and Block Rosary to nearby "Pabahay Housing" area and other neighboring places. 
  
• Collaborate with other VD-Tagaytay groups (teens/youth/couples) to enliven the Sunday Eucharistic Mass through active participation in the Sunday Choir, Altar Servers' formation and regular participation as Lectors and Commentators. 

 
The month of May also saw us bonding together for a refreshing Summer Outing at Rio Villa Spring Resort, Indang, Cavite. The fresh spring water quenched our thirst for coolness and refreshment, not only for our physical bodies, but the spirit as well remembering that the Spirit is “grateful coolness in the heat” (Sequence of the Holy Spirit).
 
For the coming months, we look forward to strengthening more our Adult SOW group by inviting additional members, targeting at least one new member per current member. 
 
So we invite you to come, "taste and see the goodness of the Lord" (Psalm 34:8) at the Verbum Dei - Tagaytay for a refreshing experience of the Word of God. 
 
We hope to see you soon!

Jesus held the children in high esteem. In his public life he announced “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). He also warned, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea...” (Matthew 18:6). Our Lord himself loved the children and condemned any maltreatment.

It is with profound regret that Pope Francis had to call our attention as Church to the issue of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. He announced that “The protection of minors and vulnerable persons is an integral part of the Gospel message that the Church and all its members are called to proclaim throughout the world.” (Apostolic letter On the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable persons, 26 March 2019). The Pope repeated his teaching again in his most recent apostolic letter entitled “Vos estis lux mundi” (You are the light of the world) which came into force on 1 June 2019. “The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful. In order that these phenomena, in all their forms, never happen again, a continuous and profound conversion of hearts is needed, attested by concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church.”

The “Child Safeguarding Institute” of the Emmaus Center, Ateneo de Manila, seeking to respond to this urgent call of the Church, has been running a “Basic Orientation Workshop on Safeguarding of Minors.” This is a 5-day course which overviews basic aspects of child safeguarding, and emphasizes safe self, safe community and safe ministry.

One of the Verbum Dei missionaries, James McTavish, participated in the course and the subsequent 3 day “Write shop” for policy writing for his community. He said “this was an excellent course. I was impressed by the overall content and the new emphasis on care of victims first. The inputs by Dr Gabby Dy-Liacco, (a current member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors), Msgr “Nonoy” Maculino and Dra “Titay” La Vina were both helpful and thought provoking. I realized we all need to work together to make a new culture of safeguarding towards minors and vulnerable adults.”