Cebu, Philippines, at 3:00 pm, we started the 1st Philippine Delegation Assembly. All the sisters gathered inside the chapel to begin the journey. Sr. Anabela Carneiro, General Superior lighted a candle and spread the light to every sister. Then, we proceeded to the procession as a sign of a pilgrim Church going to the conference hall while singing “Come Holy Spirit”. After, Sr. Gresalie Eliseo, vicar and secretary of the Delegation read the Gospel of the Good Samaritan, followed by the invocations to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Sr. Mary Joy Peňuela, 2nd councilor of the Delegation.
Then, the Mother General, Sr. Anabela, delivered her welcoming message for the group. She gave thanks to God for the hospitality lived for 25 years in the Philippines and challenges each one to take the responsibility towards the future of the Philippine Delegation. She invited also the group to live the assembly as an encounter of sisters in a fraternal way as matured women, and to increase our commitment in the service of the sick. She also emphasized in each one that the celebration of the 25 years of Hospitaller presence in the Philippines and the 1st Delegation Assembly is a time to project the future with the courage of the prophet.
After the welcoming message of the General Superior, Sr. Ana Fely Dinalo, Delegate Superior of the Delegation delivered also her opening message, sighting first hand Mary, Our Mother in the Visitation, who is worth imitating for. She stressed also that the 1st Asian gathering and the Assembly are a moment of grace and blessings from God. She concluded her message by quoting the letter of Fr. Menni #587, “This love which sprang from the heart of Jesus knows no limit, it cannot say enough. It would like to fly from one place to another to inflame the whole face of the earth with this Divine fire…”
Sr. Asuncion Riopedre is the coordinator of the group, while Sr. Juliana Pedro is the secretary for the Assembly and Sr. Remedios Padecio is the communicator for the whole congregation.
After the short break, Sr. Asuncion presented the program for the Assembly; followed by the report of Sr. Ana Fely on the life and mission of the Philippine Delegation. Then the group was asked to share one’s opinions and reactions about the report, then everybody was invited to continue with her personal reflections about the positive aspects of the Delegation and to discover its challenges too.
We finished this day with the Eucharistic celebration, thanking the Lord for all the graces and blessings received, the gift and presence of each one, and asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to accompany us in the Assembly.
