His Eminence Cardenal Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila
Br. Joseph Smith, Regional Delegate of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God
Sr. Agata Villadoro, Provincial Superior of the Italian Province of our Congregation
Br. Pietro Cicinelli, Superior of Roman Province
Sisters Hospitallers of the Philippines and other Countries
Brothers in the mission of Hospitality
Collaborators, volunteers and benefactors
In this joyful and festive atmosphere we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Hospitaller presence in the Philippines.
Today the Congregation looks at the Hospitaller presence in this Country of 7,107 Islands with gratitude and hope. And, on behalf of the General Government we want to share with all of you this great event of “grateful memory” in the practice of Hospitality and creative hope towards our mission of Hospitality in this Country.
On behalf of the Congregation and of the whole Hospitaller Family we are grateful to God our Father who is rich in mercy for the gift of Hospitality deposited into our hearts and by which we participate in the mission of Jesus who passed through the world doing good and healing everyone.
We are grateful to God for the gift of our Founders, St. John of God, St. Benito Menni, María Josefa and María Angustias because they have been Prophects of Hospitality by responding to the needs of the sick and the needy brothers and sisters in their time.
We are also grateful to God because through the Hospitaller Order and our Congregation, the Church is present in the world of suffering and pain as the Good Samaritan that “sees, shows compassion and bring healing” to the sick who has fallen on the ways of the world today.
We are grateful because led by the Holy Spirit and encouraged with the desire of bringing the compassionate and merciful love of God to the sick, our Sisters from the English Province at the beginning, and mainly our sisters of the Italian Province together with the Brothers of St. John of God of the Roman Province from Italy they responded to the call of God 25 years ago leaving behind their land in order to come to the Philippines to plant in these beautiful Islands the seed of hospitality in the service of those who suffer.
We are grateful for the dedication and Hospitaller service, for the joys and difficulties they went through, for the mission projects carried out, for the young vocations of this Country that are receiving in their hearts and minds the responsibility to live the charism of Hospitality to the full, like that “love that doesn’t know how to say enough” (St. Benedict Menni) and the desire to expand the Apostolic Mission given service to the sick who are “real images of Jesus”.
We are grateful with the same joy and gratitude of Mary, our lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the great things that God has done through the Brothers and the Sisters throughout these 25 years of service with total commitment and dedication to Hospitality in this Country.
We are grateful for the experience of Hospitality so far and for the Hospitality that we want to live and practice in the future…We see the future with hope and creativity with the assurance and conviction that it is God’s mission and that He continues calling more people to respond to the needs of those who suffer and need our compassionate and liberating service.
The future is near, full of life and challenges…We, the sisters are prepared to celebrate these days the first meeting of all the sisters in Assia, sisters from different Countries in Assia. We will also celebrate these days the first Delegation Assembly with the objective of analyzing the life and mission of the Congregation in the Philippines and apply the Document of the 20th General Chapter to this reality.
The future is near and we are very much aware of the many challenges ahead of us in communion with the whole Congregation which is going through the restructuring and revitalizing process in order to recreate Hospitality. On this note, I invite all the sisters of the Delegation to live this time as a time of grace and an opportunity to recreate also the Hospitality in this Country.
HOW TO RECREATE HOSPITALITY IN THE PHILIPPINES TODAY?:
- By being passionate women for Jesus, configured with the sentiments of His heart following the example of Jesus.
- By fostering communion and a welcoming attitude towards everyone and every culture.
- By being compassionate towards humanity and always available to serve the Kingdom of God in the service to the sick and the needy.
This is the time to project the future with the confidence and the courage of the profects…Our Founders guide us in the way forward in the decisions we are to take in order that our consecrated life be meaningful in giving answers to the needs of our sick brothers and sisters.
In the projection of the future will certainly experience some changes that will help us to revitalize our lives….changes of structures, moving of sisters, changes in the way we do things today, moving to other Countries, new apostolic services will appear………The vigor of the Hospitaller charism must be an encouragement to be open and available for any service we must be required so that, all together, we will recreate Hospitality.
To all of you who participate in this celebration of Hospitality in the Philippines today, I want to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH (SALAMAT PO) for sharing this celebration with us and with the Brothers of St. John of God, to whom I want to express my most sincere and profound gratitude for the communion in the same charism and for your help and support throughout these years of life and Hospitality in the Philippines.
Special thanks too, to our benefactors, volunteers, friends and collaborators for your participation in the mission of love and service to those who suffer.
We want to continue in the Philippines doing good to all and making present the Samaritan love of God towards those who suffer.
I pray that this celebration will be an encouragement for all of us to live our vocation of charity to the full.
Sr. Anabela Carneiro, Superior General.
