SCJ Philippine District

Be born in us
Incarnate Love
Take our flesh and blood and
give us Your humanity;
take our eyes and
give us Your vision,
take our minds and
give us Your pure thought;
take our feet and
set them in Your path,
take our hands and
fold them in Your prayer;
take our hearts and
give them Your will
to Love.

Caryll Houselander

Dear Lord, calmness can be mine in the "busy-ness" of this Christmas season if I set aside time to be with You. Peace can be mine in my heart when I truly trust You, and joy can be mine when I share Your love with others. ... Even though darkness surrounds me, let me remember to walk in Your Light, secure in Your faithfulness. Help me to truly sense this in my spirit.

In Jesus' Wonderful Name, Amen.

The Vocation Director together with his team is organizing a Vocation Search-in. It will take place from December 27 - 30, 2004 at the Formation House in Cagayan de Oro City. The seminar is intended for graduating students from College and High School. For more information please contact Fr. Indra Pamungkas, SCJ at indralaurent@yahoo.com or via text message (0920) 6032436.

"...A new year is about to begin, a year that the Church wants us to live with a eucharistic spirit. The invitation is to come to a richer appreciation of this most important gift for the life of the Church, but particularly to contemplate it and allow ourselves to be as “broken bread”. As SCJs we welcome, in this appeal aimed at every Christian, a plea to allow ourselves to be penetrated by a eucharistic dimension such that to speak of Dehonian spirituality without it would be meaningless. In our daily celebration of the Eucharist and our daily adoration of the Eucharist we find a source that enriches our lives, our communities, our apostolic service, and our love.
In the next few months we have to have the grace of celebrating the beatification of Fr. Leo Dehon. This is a grace that requires our hearts to open to a personal acquiescence of God’s plan for the Congregation, a plan that will certainly take it onwards and that will discover new motives and energies in the forthcoming General Conference on the Missions and in the work done in preparation for it.

The God who comes to “visit us from on high like the rising sun” (Lk 1:78b) is the One who will bring to pass the wishes for peace and fullness of life that we have for you and for every man and woman on this earth."

Merry Christmas

Fr. José Ornelas Carvalho, SCJ
Superior General
and his council

Full message

Since 5 days ago Fr. Rino's father, who is almost 100 years old, is hospitalized. Let us pray for his soon recovery.

We wish all the best to Fr. Rino Venturin, SCJ who on December 20th, 2004 celebrates his 35th anniversary of ordination to the Priesthood. May God bless and guide you always!

Another Christmas Party was held on December 19, 2004 at the center of Kasanag Daughters Foundation in Cagayan de Oro City. It was a family type celebration with some invited friends and benefactors. Simple, but joyous. Full of life and inspiration. Encouraging and spontaneous. And this is what the girls at KDF really need - understanding and support... Good word and warm heart... Merry Christmas to all of you! God bless and guide you!

To see the pictures, please see the KDF Photo Album

The time before Christmas in the Philippines is a time of different gatherings and parties. Also, the Dehonian Family composed of SCJ priests, seminarians, lay professionals and dehonian youth in Cagayan de Oro City celebrated their own Christmas Party. The celebration took place on December 17, 2004 at the Sacred Heart Formation Center in Aluba, Macasandig. It started at 6:45 pm with the common dinner and was followed by the second part composed of different presentations and numbers. The theme of this celebration was "Journeying Together in Love and Reconciliation", which is also a part of the motto of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. It was not only a very nice party, but also an occassion to be together and to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas which is God's Love revealed in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, who came to save us.

Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say, "Come Lord Jesus!"
Amen.
Henri J.M. Nouwen

On December 1, 2004, Fr. Franciszek Pupkowski, currently assigned in Cagayan de Oro community, celebrated his birthday. Wishing him all the best we would like to invite you to see some more details of this celebration in our photo album.