Verbum Dei Philippines
  • Home
  • Watch + Listen
  • Read
    • News
    • Feature Stories
    • Community Updates
  • Events
  • Communities
    • Pasig City
    • Quezon City
    • Pandacan, Manila
    • Tagaytay City
    • Cebu City
    • Cagayan de Oro City
  • Centers
    • Verbum Dei Center (Tagaytay City)
    • Verbum Dei Apostolate Center (Pasig City)
    • Verbum Dei Apostolate Center (Cebu City)
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Spirituality
    • Our Founder
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Watch + Listen
  • Read
    • News
    • Feature Stories
    • Community Updates
  • Events
  • Communities
    • Pasig City
    • Quezon City
    • Pandacan, Manila
    • Tagaytay City
    • Cebu City
    • Cagayan de Oro City
  • Centers
    • Verbum Dei Center (Tagaytay City)
    • Verbum Dei Apostolate Center (Pasig City)
    • Verbum Dei Apostolate Center (Cebu City)
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Spirituality
    • Our Founder
  • Contact
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

News

Read the news from events, activities and other updates on the different communities here in the Philippines

10/31/2019 Comments

Baptized and Sent: Missionary Journey in Bohol (October 20, 2019)

Picture

"You are a mission, always. I am a mission always"
Missionary Journey in Bohol

​These words from Pope Francis remained in our hearts and fueled us as we were sent to the different places to share to the people the grace of this extraordinary month of mission with the theme: "Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World". The community here in Cebu have decided as one family to go to Bohol, Boljoon, Olango and Toledo on what we normally call a 'missionary journey'. It has been a long time since we had our last missionary journey here in Cebu and I can sense a feeling of excitement from the disciples who volunteered to share their love and life to their chosen places of mission.
 
This experience that I am about to share is from the team of disciples who went to Bohol. It's quite exciting because we have teamed up with the people from our existing apostolate in Bohol. To start with, we went there on October 19 and 20. We had two venues to give recollections. One is in the humble Sto. Nino chapel near the residence of one of the attendees in Bohol apostolate in Dauis, Panglao and the other is in ACE hospital located in Tagbilaran City. There were 18 coming from Cebu who joined the missionary journey while there were 30-40 participants from both venues.
 
The first day was quite challenging as we started late from the planned schedule yet the recollection started and ended very well. It started with a welcome talk given by one of our disciples in singles reality, Joanna Uy, followed by the talk about God the Father, by Kim Travero, a member of the youth reality. Participants were immersed as they read the letter of God the Father and as they listened to a heartwarming testimony from one of the youth reality, Kent Artajo. In the afternoon, the lives of the saints were also presented by Sue Vergara, KD Artajo, Restie Oripaypay and Joseph Micutuan, showing how the saints have lived their lives as concrete examples of people living their identity as baptized. It was then followed by a talk about mission given by one of our disciples from the couples reality, Sarah Artajo. There were dynamics given in which they were asked to identify their mission in life in the different places they have chosen. It ended with a general sharing and the team rested with contentment as we prepare for the next day.
 
The location of our second recollection was the conference room in a hospital. We were also quite excited and privileged to have Sr. Antonieta Vargas, the General responsible of the misioneras branch, who joined us throughout the day. The same flow of activities happened with a few twists. The welcome talk was given by Sarah Artajo and followed by the talk about God the Father from Tonette Yncierto. We had a group sharing, dividing the teens, singles and married couples. In the afternoon, a booth of the saints was done facilitated by the team and a testimony on how your work place can be your mission field given by one of our disciples in singles reality, Jane Jacel and the talk on mission was given by Joann Gustilo. The recollection ended with a celebration of the Eucharist and a photo opportunity from all the team and participants.
 
Thanks be to God for giving us the gift of the charism of Verbum Dei which allowed us to share the life of God through our own very lives. May Mother Mary continue to capacitate us and enable us to always go forth and make disciples of all nations. To end this, let me share an excerpt from Pope Francis's message for World Mission Sunday:
 
"As far as God’s love is concerned, no one is useless or insignificant. Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love."
Here are some photos of the event:

With thanks to Kim Travero of Verbum Dei Cebu and the WordNews team
Comments

10/29/2019 Comments

Baptized and Sent: Missionary Journey in Matab-ang, Toledo Cebu (October 20, 2019)

Picture

Baptized and Sent
​​Missionary Journey in Matab-ang, Toledo Cebu

Being one with the whole Catholic church as we celebrated World Mission Sunday, a group of Verbum Dei Missionaries and Disciples of Cebu were also sent out to Matab-ang, Toledo Cebu to live out the call of God though our World Mission Sunday theme: "Baptized and sent: the Church of Christ on Mission in the World." 
  
It's out of God's mercy when one is called to participate in the mission but it's an even more overwhelming mercy of God when you are called to participate in the mission together with your family. 
  
I would have wanted to leave our kids to my husband's parents here in the city for us to focus more on the recollection. 
However, the Holy Spirit blew differently to my husband Richard. He told me: "Since we are in charge of the music, we will bring the kids with us. Let Ate Lex sing and Zaki our 5 year old son to play the beatbox.” My heart was full seeing my 2 boys giving their lives for God through music. It was indeed a family missionary journey for us because my Mom Tessie also gave a testimony about her experience of God the Father! 
  
What truly marked my experience is that the call of God is not for us to do the mission alone but as a family. Who would have thought I will be giving a recollection together with my whole family? God is amazing! 
  
There were also other families there who shared their lives: 
  
  1. Thanks to the family of Patrick, Debbie Boone, Debbie Green and Debbie Mae Tesorio who arranged the place of the recollection. They were so generous to welcome us with a bountiful lunch and a supper yummy biko dessert 
  2. To the family of Kris & Elena Ty which was also complete. Kris gave the talk of God the Father and Elena spearheaded the Rosary of the Word. 
  3. To the Family of Joy and Lilibeth Romero who sponsored the rosaries that we gave out as souvenirs. Though they were not physically present in Toledo but they brought roughly around 40 people as participants who completed our 138 recollection participants. 
  4. And lastly thanks to the family Verbum Dei Missionaries and Disciples who gave out their lives, time, spirit and joy that day:  
​
  • Aida Carpela who gave the Mission Talk 
  • Cynthia Tinoko, Bebot Caballero, Beth Sawal and Mars Pacita - who were in charge of the registration 
  • Ma Elena Coliao and Gilna Asejo and son - were in charge of the kids 
  • Victor who drove us safely back and forth 
  • Sr. Mico Radan  
  
When the Father sent us, Mother Mary accompanied us.  
  
I thought we were there to evangelize but we were the ones evangelized seeing those little kids as young as 2 or 3 years old who are already very good at praying the rosary! They told us that they pray the rosary every day at 6 o’clock. I was mesmerized by their love for our Mother Mary.  
  
It was indeed a family missionary journey for all of us! Tired but very joyful! Lord, send us again wherever your Spirit blows … 
Here are some photos of the event:

With thanks to Shiela Lapinid and the WordNews team
Comments

10/27/2019 Comments

Baptized & Sent: Missionary Journey in Olango, Cebu (October 20, 2019)

Picture

Baptized and Sent
Missionary Journey in Olango, Cebu

The whole Catholic Church celebrated the extraordinary World Mission Sunday last October 20, 2019 with the theme: “Baptized and Sent”. Thus, as one Verbum Dei community in Cebu, we decided to have missionary journeys in the different places where God called us to go through giving recollections. Disciples from different walks of life were sent to Toledo, Boljoon, Olango and Bohol.

​Now, I am beyond grateful to share with you our missionary journey experience in the island of Cebu, Olango. There were about 18 disciples who volunteered to help and organize the recollection in two different barangays: Brgy. Sta. Rosa and Brgy. Tingo. The same flow of activities was done in both places with an estimated number of 120 participants - teens, lay people, catechists, and parents. The activities included singing songs, dancing animation, games, giving of talks, listening to testimonies and sharing of the fruits of the recollection.

​The first talk was God the Father, which was given by one of our new missionary couples here in Cebu, Eryle Payos, and followed by an inspiring testimony by my husband, Manuel Manceli. The talk was indeed an eye opener for everyone and I myself was even reminded about my real identity as a child of God. It taught us that the unconditional love of the father is such that no matter how sinful I am, God still loves me. The passage that struck me was in Genesis 1:26 where God said that He created us in His own image and likeness, that even when I was still in my mother’s womb, he already knew me. This talk made me realize that God created me for a great purpose and through the virtue of baptism, I am sealed to be with Him forever. In addition, the testimony given by Manuel concretized the powerful and living love of God to his children. He shared how Christ changed his life and how he was accompanied throughout his sufferings. Manuel's experience showed that no matter how hard you work for your dreams, if God is not in it, it would still be unsatisfying.

​I gave the second talk about Mission – how we, as children of God, can live out our purpose and goal in life as baptized and sent disciples of Christ. Being the person who gave the talk, I was the first one who was blessed to receive the fruit! I realized that my life is a gift from God, and I was “baptized” and “sent” by God. My life is for mission, not just any kind of mission but the same mission that Christ has lived – to bring God to the very lives of the people. Being a missionary is not only for religious people, priests, nuns and missionaries, but all of us, we are a missionary. The talk rekindled in the listeners once again the urgency to respond to the call of God to give life to others.
​

​The recollection was very memorable and successful. Seeing the joy in the faces of the participants and hearing their thoughts as they shared their fruits were beyond worth, despite the strenuous preparations and activities that we’ve been through. Everyone experienced God’s love and were eager to do the mission God has entrusted to us. As Pope Francis reminded us that “I am a Mission and You are a Mission ALWAYS”.
Here are some photos of the event:

With thanks to Imelda Manceli and the WordNews team
Comments

9/25/2019 Comments

Testimony from a member on the Spanish Verbum Dei group in Valencia

Picture

“We came, we saw, we share to you with JOY” (cf. 1 John 1:1-4)

- Pasig, Manila. Testimony from a Valencia Verbum Dei’s member (Isabel Benlloch)
​First of all, we would like to thank all the missionaries and people related to the Verbum Dei’s community in Pasig for absolutely everything; their help, their welcoming, their dedication, their time...this experience wouldn’t have been possible without them.

It’s been a great and an amazing experience, and I talk on behalf of all the youth in the Spanish Verbum Dei group from Valencia. While I’m writing this article, it’s not necessary to look at my travel diary; I have my first impression of the Philippines stored in my mind. I remember how we got into the missionary’s van and we started looking out through the window all the different images as if we were spectators in a movie. In the beginning, all the skyscrapers and lights in the night. After a few minutes, all the poverty and darkness. I was shocked. There were a lot of people in the streets, even though it was late (3 am). There were kids, a lot of animals, people working in the market and even selling things on the sidewalks. You could appreciate how people was staring at you, with a lot of intensity; that touched me. The contrast between these two contrasting situations of poverty and wealth was very notable and, during the mission, we’ve experienced both of them. This was the first time I had a direct contact with poverty on a large scale (and i think I can speak for almost everyone in the group), and, as I said before, it felt as if it was not real.

During the mission trip in Pasig, we’ve done many different activities. On one hand, we’ve visited important sites in the city that are clear testimonies of the Filipino culture, like the city market or José Rizal’s museum, but the best lesson for all of us has been living as like the Filipino people. Walking through the streets trying to do it on the sidewalk, breathing in the pollution, trying not to be killed by a jeepney and doing the stop sign with the hand, feeling the hot air in your skin, bumping into a funeral and watching how it is natural to have the dead body exposed to all the people, worrying about dengue, trying to count how many cables were from electricity post to electricity post and so on.
​
On the other hand, we were in touched by the children and Filipino families that showed us the toughest realities of living in this country, and the lack of equality between the rich and the poor. Despite all this, and that’s one of the things that most impacted me, they don’t lose hope, they don’t stop believing, and they are little treasures which are blind for the society; and not only to the high status society in the Philippines, but to the rest of the world. They maybe have lacks in first need things, like food, education or hygiene but I admire them so much, because  they don’t have lacks in faith; you clearly can see with your own eyes how, despite living in these situations, there’s no excuse for them for being sad: they feel happiness in every smile that you give them. Even if it’s just a hug, a visit to a family, or swinging the child in the air; you can see how grateful and happy they are.

As a group, we had everything but a routine. Lots of different situations and experiences, including going to the hospital (not exactly in order to visit sick people). Thanks to God, the check up from the Doctors there, and a lot of prayers it was nothing at all. The only kind of routine that we had was the guidelines in the morning and a prayer time to close the day with the Lord. The prayer time really helped us to deal with all the situations that we were living, and to share the experiences as well. We come back to Spain full of love and with many stories to tell; we can be a strong testimony for many people about the reality of the Philippines but, I think that the main thing that we take from this beautiful country is the way of living; I’ve realized how many things we have to learn about you. Maybe Spain is not as developed as we think: we really have to take example of what we’ve seen and share it as far as we can.


In conclusion, it’s been an amazing and great experience. I wish I could tell the pilot of the plane to turn around 180º. We are so grateful for everything and believe us when we say that we’ve learnt much more than you could ever imagine. We come back with our suitcases full of love, experiences and, the most important thing, faith. Hope to come back soon friends. With much love and peace.

Picture
Isabel Benlloch, Valencia Verbum Dei’s community member

Comments

9/15/2019 Comments

Verbum Dei Spanish Mission Trip Group (Aug. 20-26, 2019)

Picture

Welcoming the Verbum Dei Spanish Mission Group

The Verbum Dei-Tagaytay community welcomed the visit of the VD Spanish Mission trip group
beginning August 20 until August 26, 2019.

One of the first highlights of their trip was their visit at the Tagaytay Teachers’ Housing Project or Pabahay community nearby.

The Pabahay area houses a diverse groups of people, composed of professional workers, housewives, skilled and small business owners with their respective families and relatives.

During their visit, the Spanish mission group went around the area and gathered the children living there, from ages five to ten.They were delighted to see and meet the Spanish missionaries and disciples. The children’s active participation and big smiles during the games they played and other activities amused and inspired the group to continue bringing Jesus in their midst, so to speak.

At first, some of the little kids were hesitant to join in the fun games, but when they saw that all the other kids were enjoying and having fun imitating the actions, dancing and cheering of the Spanish group, the other children eventually joined in the fun. They were then given light snacks
at the end of the activities.

All in all, the Spanish mission group together with the VD Tagaytay Missionaries and some Adult disciples, made the children very happy and elated as they experienced the joy of being one with the community. On this first day of the Spanish mission trip, the children felt how to have fun with people they have met for the first time, and sharing the simple joys of just being with others.

With other activities of the Spanish mission group lined up we are looking forward to more joyful experiences with them.
Picture
Comments

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All Advent Articles Bohol CDO Cebu Christmas Couples Ctk Disciples Retreat Easter Encounter Event Family Bonding Fmvd FMVD President Formation Friends Of Verbum Dei Fundraising General Congress 2018 Gift Giving Hiking Holy Week International Kids Leadership Camp Lenten Local Assembly Luzon Manila Manila/Pasig Marrried Couple Missionaries Mission Trip Music Festival Musuan National Family Encounter 2015 National Family Encounter 2017 Newsletter NFE2020 Olango Online Retreat Outreach Pansol Pasig Pentecost Philippines Pilgrimage Prayer Camp Quezon City Recollection Retreat School Of Apostles School Of The Word Semi-silent Retreat Senior High School Siete Aguas Silent Retreat Singapore Singles Song Forum Spiritual Exercises Tagaytay Teens Testimony TGIS Toledo Valentines Valentines Celebration Vietnam Visit To The Archbishop Working Group Workshop Youth Youth Days

    RSS Feed

Picture
Vertical Divider

Subscribe for updates

© 2023.  Verbum Dei Philippines.