Launching of the Pre-Formation Course for Missionary Married Couples

Valentine’s Day this year marked another milestone for the Fraternidad Misionera Verbum Dei in the Philippines, with the Launching of the Pre-Formation Course for Missionary Married Couples. After completing their one-year Discernment Course last November 2021, two married couples now enter a period of even more deepening of their YES to God’s call to mission.  Manuel and Imelda Manceli are part of the Verbum Dei Family in Cebu, while Resti and Cecilia Bautista hail from the community in Quezon City.

The Launching kicked off with the celebration of the Holy Mass, officiated by our dear missioneros Fr. Michael Cheong and Fr. Iwao Ikegami at the home of Resti and Cecilia in Antipolo City.  They were joined via Zoom by Manuel and Imelda as well as their formators Antonio and Marisol from Madrid Spain, Bimbo and Cookie from Cagayan De Oro City, and Eryle and Ann from Cebu City.  The ecclesiality of the Verbum Dei Fraternity was very palpable as the Mass was also attended by the student-missioneros from the Batasan Hills Formation House, our dear missioneras from Pasig and Manila, and the missionary couples from CDO and Cebu.

In his homily, Fr. Michael exhorted the couples to take on the attitudes in James 1:1-11: to pray for perseverance, to ask for wisdom and to walk in faith.  He reminded those present of their consecration, which is to be a sign of God’s presence in the world today.  We continue to pray fervently for these two married couples, their families and their formators as they embark on another journey of discovery in God’s everlasting love.

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Article by Resti Bautista