The celebration of the feast of
the Assumption in CDO today was eclipsed by the preparation of the investiture
of the incoming president of Xavier University, REV. FR. ROBERTO “Bobby” C.
YAP, SJ. And so, we had a very quiet mass at 6:30am today in our tiny chapel
with Most Rev. Msgr. Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, as
celebrant. Friends brought flowers, “kakanin” for breakfast and warm greetings
to spruce our day.
Archbishop
Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ presiding at mass
This was followed by the formal
blessing of the MAGIS STUDENT CENTER by the former president, REV. FR. JOSE
RAMON T. VILLARIN, SJ at 8:30 am. This center houses the university canteen,
bookcenter and the offices for student services and organizations.
Fr. Jet Villarin, SJ, blessing the Magis Center
The new XU
Canteen
Lunchtime was a very private
moment among the five of us with a lone special guest, MARIDEL TAMPARONG (an
old girl from Herran, who married and settled in CDO) who brought food. We had
a festive lunch straight from the kitchen of Gran Caprice!
CDO Community with Maridel Tamparong
We had an hour to rest before
dressing up for the final engagement of the day, the INVESTITURE! The four of
us wore our finest attire, the formal habit, dressed to the formality of the
occasion. We had our second mass with the Archbishop again presiding at 3pm.
Around 17 Jesuits came for this occasion headed by the Provincial Superior, Fr.
Jojo Magadia, SJ, Fr. Danny Huang, the four former XU Presidents and all the
other heads of Jesuit schools. After the mass, there was a 30min interval
before the formal ceremony. The investiture ended by 7pm. There was a large
banquet prepared for a thousand people at the covered courts.
The red carpet investiture at XU
Chapel
Fr. Bobby Yap being given the XU Mace
This was how Assumption feast was celebrated this day.
According to Fr. Bobby Yap, he chose August 15 so that he can ride on the feast
of the RAs and charge the bill to them. So, we wait until the bill comes…
The CDO Community spent a week-end (March 17-19, 2011) in Bohol with Fr. Ramilo Mapaye, SVD of the Holy Name University as host, part of our formation in JPCC-S as well as bonding moment in two years.
This was in the garden of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Dauis, Panglao Island
The CDO Community spent a week-end (March 17-19, 2011) in Bohol with Fr. Ramilo Mapaye, SVD of the Holy Name University as host, part of our formation in JPCC-S as well as bonding moment in two years.
This was in the garden of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Dauis, Panglao Island
The interior of the church with the original pulpit since the church was built. This is the church famous for its deep well at the foot of the sanctuary. Until now, the people still draw water, which is fresh, potable and believed to have healing
One of the African collections in the Tarsier Botanika Museum
Sunset at Tarsier Botanika in Panglao, the newest haven to see for its well-planned labyrinth of gardens and animals in captivity, ending with at the museum of the owner with a French bakeshop
The SVD Community Chapel at the Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City, Bohol
We had mass here upon our arrival with Fr. Ramilo, SVD as presider.
RA-Mindanao had a privileged chance to listen to the outgoing President of Xavier University, Fr. Jose Ramon (Fr. Jett) Villarin, SJ, share his ideas on climate change. Kauswagan community sent 25 delegates composed of teachers, students and the Sisters themselves. Sr. Mar Cecilia stayed behind due to asthma complications. Kibangay was not able to come down due to other commitments. CDO had only 6, 2 lay and 4 Sisters. Sr. Chit was confined to the hospital for allergic reactions the night before.
We thought this was not possible anymore since at first Fr. Jett did not have the time. But when Sr. Josefa made a follow up 3 weeks ago, he gave a date. We were glad that he was able to insert this engagement in his busy schedule considering that he just arrived from Germany for the UN monitoring committee on climate change, of which he is a member. Yesterday, he asked to change the time and move it an hour earlier for there was going to be an emergency meeting of the BOT for the election of the new XU president. So, at 9:00 am today, Fr. Jett came and spoke for an hour before rushing to the board room for the election of his replacement.
This was a rare occasion for us to have him speak on the topic closest to his heart - atmospheric physics. This is going to be the first and last chance we have of him since he will be transferring to AdMU by April 2011.
Fr. Jett was able to give a very concise and practical knowledge on climate change. He was able to speak to the level of the students and to simple folks like us. He was an effective teacher, speaking in simple terms but bringing across the basic idea that we must think “carbon” and make decisive actions so as to mitigate as well as adapt to climate change. Climate change is a serious concern and we have to act now so that the young generation will still have a future to look forward to for time is running out.
This was the second time RA Mindanao got together for a week-end formation trip up in Dahilayan where the famous Asian longest zipline is located. But we did not lodge there. We stayed instead in the farm house of Esper Neri Dacudao, fronting the now famous (and very expensive, of course!) Opus Dei retreat house, Mountain Pines. CDO and Kauswagan communities left the city together, hoping to meet up with Kibangay somewhere in Manolo Fortich. But unfortunately Kiba had some delays and so the group decided to proceed and wait for Kiba at the venue. Getting down from the van, we were greeted with the typical Bukidnon climate of gentle cold breezes, a balm to the aching and aging bodies. We had the rest of the morning to just bask in the sun without fear of getting burned, thanks to the cool wind wafting in all directions.
We had two objectives for this trip: 1) to evaluate the journey to Dapitan for Rizal’s birthday last June and 2) to decide on the regional Mission Statement aside from the bonding that is nurtured by such an undertaking. Since our venue is a vegetable farm, we had the chance not only to eat green salads, freshly picked from the garden, but most excitedly to prepare the Ceasar’s salad ourselves upon the supervision of Esper’s husband, Tony, a self-confess gourmet. What a delight indeed to eat of the greens of the earth complete with generous servings of healthful salad dressing! You bet we finished the dressing first before the salad. After lunch we were treated to a two-hour siesta! Everybody scampered away, finding her own nook and mattress for the much-needed rest. We occupied all the spaces available, at the mezzanine as well as the sala, leaving the dining area for all the things we hauled in from the city. Meals where served at the view deck hanging beside the cliff, overlooking the plateau and the valley down below and the strawberry terraces on the on right side. At 3pm, we came together for the meeting down at the lawn beside the farm house. We were all in jackets since the afternoon turned gray and the clouds hang low on the mountains. Everybody was so rejuvenated that we finished our agenda on time. Each one seemed to have held on to their hang-over of the Dapitan experience that evaluating it was such a breeze. We had a piece of paper for the evaluation and each one diligently answered and read from it. The Dapitan trip was a significant formative undertaking which was more than inspiring. The region recommended that we do it regularly. Before sundown, we had 1 hour meditation in lieu of the adoration, in total silence so as to here God speak through our surrounding. At 6pm we prayed vespers and celebrated the darkness of the evening eating sinugbang tilapia and bangus complete with bones. We did not stay long outside since the cold was quietly seeping into our very bones. Some of the sisters had cough and colds and it was not good for them to be exposed to the “hamog.” The house had a singular fluorescent bulb in the kitchen area ran by car battery. We relied on our flashlights for mobility. The house also had rechargeable lamps to keep us from stumbling around. The darkness was so absolute that one could think of God at the beginning of creation. Our second day started early at 4am to catch the glimpse of sunrise at 5am. Each of us had to look for our own space to await the breaking of day. There were not enough clouds to act as prism for the light to spread its magnificent colors across the sky. But what we had was a faint ray of pink light, shooting up into the zenith as it disappeared with the coming of day. How mute the morning was and how splendid to behold God’s creation wrapped in the shadows of the fleeting night! Surely anybody would not easily forget such a unique and rare chance to pray oraison in that manner.
After breakfast, we headed to the other side of the mountain and see what the place had to offer us. We went straight to the newly developed residential area on top of the mountain across where we were, near the Opus Dei retreat house. The area reminded us all of Baguio with pine trees jotting the landscape. We passed by the retreat house to have an ocular visit but we were refused entry due to an on-going formation session. We proceeded instead to the vacation house of the owners of the luxurious Plantation Bay resort in Mactan. What was unique about this house was the material used in the construction. The structure was made of giant bamboos put together like a log cabin. On the exterior, the house looked unassuming but the interiors gave an impression of taste and class befitting a royalty. The whole structure is a tribute to the local giant bamboo and the lowly banig done by the indigenous peoples. What a way to harmonize natural elements with its surroundings!
We trooped next to the property of Delsa Mortola (vacant lot with 2 tall trees but well-trimmed carabao grass) to get a good view of the rolling hills spanning a vast horizon. From there we went to the Asian longest zipline at 840 m a few blocks away. We sat there to wait and look at the people lining up and zipping back to base. Shortly after, we returned to Delsa’s place and ate lunch al fresco. Delsa brought all the leftovers of her fiesta celebration (Aug 28 was St. Augustine’s feastday and fiesta of CDO) and we had a hearty meal under the trees, squatting on cardboards spread on grassy lawn. Our lunch was not the usual “eat and run” scheme we are all used to. We had a pleasant surprise of meeting the family of Marina Chan who came down to Mindanao for a family vacation from London. She was with her sister, husband and two children. She knew Sr. Rita way back in 1981 as a JVP in Kadingilan and had since then kept tab with her. What a joy to welcome her back to Bukidnon and to know how her JVP life formed her the way she is now. We left the place after lunch and moved back to the city. Kibangay Community stayed in CDO for the night while Kauswagan went straight home. All went home happy, looking forward to another adventure with God and with the Sisters.
Part of the outcome of our regional assembly in Cagayan de Oro, was our advent practice as a region. One of the significant acts we committed ourselves to do during advent was tree planting as a concrete step in caring for the environment.
We organized a trip to the farm of Delsa Mortola, one of the members of Namaste. She has a mini forest and a corn field in Maambong, Libona, Bukidnon, an hour drive from CDO. So there we spent a day communing with nature, with the view of Mt. Kitanglad at the horizon and sighting an eagle flying in the air by chance. What a rare moment! Here is the CDO community planting 17 eucalyptus seedlings. Hope they will all grow up to maturity.
Have a fruitful and joyful year! --Sr. Elnora Perez
