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:  

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• 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:

Here are some photos of the event:

How do we approach a person who rejects any and every claim that God or the Divine exists? Since according to Gaudium et Spes, no. 20, "Atheism is not present in people's minds from the beginning", what are the causes of this change of mind and heart? What are its consequences? How do we respond to it? These are some of the thought provoking questions that we were challenged to answer, and situations that we tried to immerse and understand more deeply during the formation on, "Atheism and Belief In God", given by Sister Grace Gonzales, FMVD on October 6, 2019 at the Verbum Dei Apostolate Center Pasig. 

The participants actively engaged in the group discussions and sharing. The formation culminated by watching an equally moving and thought-provoking movie entitled, " God Is Not Dead". We could not ask for more; it was truly fun, lively, enlightening and helpful. What a good way to spend a Sunday with the company of kind-hearted missionaries and disciples, constantly learning and enriching our faith. 
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As Verbum Dei missionaries and disciples, this formation is very relevant and helpful as we take on the challenges of today's modern world; confronted with distorted principles and values, consumed with materialism, modernization, rapid advancement in technology that makes possible human achievement without limits; thereby making God irrelevant, neglected... even forgotten. Looking forward to Part 2 of the Formation.

​Verbum Dei Cebu Singles Reality organized an overnight recotreat (recollection/retreat) last September 28~29 in St. Francis Seraph Retreat House in Talisay City, Cebu with the theme "Born for Love".
 
The recotreat aimed to make the participants realize and experience that Christ's love is the only Love that can fully satisfy the human search for true love and happiness. 
 
Although the recotreat was meant for single people, the whole VD Family collaborated in giving the talks/guidelines, testimonies and dynamics. Adriana from the misioneras, Ate Mau and Kuya Jess from the couples and Jay Anne and Jane from the singles reality inspired and make the participants question what they are searching for in life through the talks and testimonies they have given.
 
Through the activities which consisted of talks, guidelines, testimonies, dynamics and a film showing, the participants were able to discover that it is only God who can truly satisfy the longings and void one feels inside. Material wealth, fame and success, human relationships can bring happiness in one's life but nothing compares to the happiness and fulfillment one can have when they have Christ in his/her life.
 
"My first recotreat experience. It was a wonderful and an unforgettable experience. The VD members were kind and approachable. The talks were inspiring and it helped me examine myself and life." - said one of the participants afterwards.
 
“I had an amazing encounter with Jesus during our Recotreat last week and this is my remarkable experience this 2019. I had peace of mind and was able to receive the grace of Jesus and I am so grateful about it. I realized in the recotreat that I have to put Jesus in everything that I do every day and be a living well to others.” - from Anna, another participant.

See some photos of the event:

As the book of Sirach announces ““A man's conscience can tell him his situation better than seven watchmen in a lofty tower. Most important of all, pray to God to set your feet in the path of truth” (Sirach 37:14-15). “The care for the formation of the conscience clearly emerges as the fundamental ethical responsibility of every person.” So wrote Fr Sabatino Majorano, CSsR, a Redemptorist moral theologian and expert on Conscience.

Last Sunday, 22 September 2019, saw our very own Verbum Dei missionary priest, James McTavish, give us a wholesome session on the formation of conscience and its challenges. He reminded us of the definition of conscience found in Gaudium et spes, which describes the conscience as “the most secret core and sanctuary of a person. There he/she is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his/her depths.” The formation was part of the ACRH (Apostolate Center Retreat House) series of talks. The participants were reminded of the urgency to form the conscience well as “we are living in an information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data – all treated as being of equal importance – and which leads to remarkable superficiality in the area of moral discernment” (Pope Francis).

Some practical cases of conscience were given including the latest Catholic Church teaching on the death penalty, which was promulgated recently. The Catechism of the Catholic Church now states, “Therefore the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is attentive to the inviolability and dignity of the person, and is committed with determination to its abolition throughout the world” (CCC, no. 2267). If more Catholics were aware of this perhaps there would be less support for all the killings around us.

The final part of the session included a reflection on the means for forming a well-formed conscience - prayer and interiority, exam of conscience, confession, dialog and contrast, Church teaching and our preaching to help enlighten the conscience. The Catechism also underlines that “it is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection” (CCC 1779).

As followers of Christ, we went home conscious that as Fr Jaime Bonet, the Verbum Dei founder taught, “it would be impossible to live, feel, think and love like Jesus without a keen sensitivity and right formation of conscience.”
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One participant said “I loved my morning! It was exactly what I needed which I considered such a surprise gift on a Sunday. Formation talks like this are very helpful and may I say necessary because in order to be more effective in our sharing the word, we need to be properly informed.”

​The Sunday was a joyful and heart-warming September morning despite the cold and rainy weather! The rains did not dampen the spirit and excitement of the Verbum Dei-Tagaytay Teens and Youth group with the collaboration of the Adult Single and Married couples, as well as the VD-Tagaytay Missionaries. Everyone played a role in bringing delightful music, dancing, skit/role-playing and even a touching couple’s life experience and testimony to the audience.
 
The talents exhibited by the Teens and Youth group did not only show their heartfelt cooperation and unity, but also inspired the community to draw closer to God, to one another and to bring joy to everyone. Their opening song said it all, as they sang, “Young Man, Get Up.” It displayed their resolve to get up, amidst life’s challenges. It also expressed their hopes and dreams for a brighter future, with God as their inspiration and guide.
 
Some revealed their hidden skills and talents in surprising ways – a young boy, Russel who has not reached his teen years yet, showed his talent in singing and dancing to the delight of the crowd. In addition, there was also Jacob, an 11-year-old child with special needs who became a channel of peace to his family’s reconciliation and harmony; he also displayed his talent by “singing in tune” a praise song to the Lord!
 
For their part, the Adult Single and Married couples gathered together to sing a song of praise and thanksgiving to God who has always been present in their life’s journey through thick or thin.
 
Finally, the VD-Tagaytay Missionaries delighted the audience with a Spanish song that spoke about how an awesome God can make a difference in our lives. By being with Him and in Him, man’s journey becomes less difficult and contributes to his own growth.
 
The day was truly delightful and beautiful! To cap it, all participants, including the audience were treated to free snacks and lunch courtesy of Ms. Kathy who opted to celebrate her birthday during the Music Festival.
 
Yes, Lord, we will continue to sing praises and thanksgiving to You, for as St. Augustine said, “singing is twice praying.”  Amen.

The Verbum Dei Missionary Family in Cagayan de Oro has recently launched “Couples Talk” last September 13, 2019 at Centrio Ayala Mall Conference Room with the theme “I DO”(see John 2,5 – “Do whatever he tells you”). This initiative, a collective effort of the members of the Couples reality, is a yearlong program with talks centered on the Theme Set. The talk titles were modified to make it leitmotifs striking e.g. Life & Love was given the title, “I’ve found a love…” , Your life is for loving was retitled,  “I love you more today than yesterday…”, Unawareness and Sin  is renamed “I didn’t see, I didn’t listen, I didn’t do…”(Catchy isn’t it!).   All talks which offer everyone an exclusive encounter of the uniqueness of the charism, are designed to nurture marriages by progressing and developing their spiritual life at the onset.
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The venue for this event will be at the Conference Room of Centrio Ayala Mall every 2nd Friday of each month, 7-8pm to start and end on time.  Everyone is encouraged to invite married couple friends or relatives who are living in Cagayan de Oro and nearby cities or municipalities to join in this series of encounter with the one who instituted the marriage vocation.  Daghang salamat and see you all.

​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.
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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.