|
At last year's launching of the 75th anniversary celebration. |
THE
Congregation of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP) in the Philippines marks a
milestone of its existence in the country with the celebration of its 75th
anniversary on October 13, 2013.
Themed
“Celebrating fidelity, counting blessings, reinvigorating service” the anniversary
celebration will be an occasion for the Philippine province to look back with
gratitude to God and to the many people who have been part of its life since
its foundation in the country in 1938.
Cebu
Archbishop Jose Palma, CBCP president, will be the officiating prelate of the
jubilee Thanksgiving Mass on October 13 at 9 a.m. at the Queen of Apostles
Sanctuary in Pasay City.
Other
highlights of the day’s events include a video showing of the journey of the
Daughters of St. Paul for the past 75 years, a Pauline concert and a telefest.
Telefest
Noting the
popularity of “telenovelas” among Filipino audiences, the FSP sisters launched
an initiative dubbed Paulines telefest 2013 to acknowledge and commend the
worth-watching “telenovela” and promote the advancement of stimulating and
formative broadcasting.
“[Our]
aim is to encourage our local scriptwriters and directors to come up with
wholesome ‘telenovelas’ which can uplift the moral standards of our Filipino
people,” said Sr. Cloth de las Llagas, in charge of Mobile Literacy program of
FSP’s Paulines Institute of Communication in Asia (PICA).
Two
awards will be given to winning “telenovelas” chosen by the group of jurors—the
Jury’s Choice Award and the Pauline Citation Award.
De
las Llagas said the Pauline Citation Award will be given based on Christian
values that are present in the “teleserye.”
To
come out with a winner of the most-watched “telenovela”, a survey in sample
population of 3,200 was conducted to find out the most watched telenovela by
adults and children between 10-11:30 a.m. and 2:30 – 11:00 p.m. on ABS-CBN, GMA
& TV5 in 2012-2013.
De las Llagas
said survey results were discussed, analyzed and evaluated by groups of parents
and teachers from selected schools in Luzon and group of media educators from PICA.
The FSP nun also said that a Commendation
Certificate will be given to the Cast and Production Crew of the 3 TV Networks with TV
serials that help strengthen family relationships, boost the morale of
children, promote search for truth and happiness unoccupied with material
pursuit and TV productions that are
value-laden and faith-enhancing.
Jubilee projects
Since
the opening of the jubilee celebration last year, the Pauline sisters have
launched various projects and intensified other media activities to commemorate
the occasion.
Among
the activities are the “Biblia sa Bawat Pamilya” project – biblical animation and
diffusion of subsidized Bible to poorest families; reach-out project to street
children/juvenile youth offenders/women inmates and poor children of Our Lady
of Sorrows Parish in Pasay area through teaching of catechism and film showing
on the bible; media animation to
families, professionals and youth; Bible catechism and seminars on personality
development to lay collaborators; and teaching catechism to youth and children,
and the elderly of Sta. Rita and Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Pasay.
Apostolic
initiatives
Numbering almost 200 hundred sisters
and 19 communities in various cities nationwide and abroad— in Malaysia,
Thailand and Papua New Guinea— the FSP Sisters carry out the work of
evangelization through various initiatives using the means of social
communications: publishing, media centers, pastoral involvement, media
animation and production of AV, radio and TV programs.
Vocations
Although still many young women today
continue to show interests in the life inside the convent, the congregation nonetheless
experiences a shortage of vocations—a phenomenon that seems to be afflicting
many religious institutes in the Church today.
“At the moment, our Congregation in
the Philippines is suffering a demographic winter due to the scarcity of
vocations and the ageing, sickness and death of members,” Sr. Evangelina Canag,
a member of the Jubilee executive committee said.
“Nevertheless, the apostolic passion
has not waned, it is still vibrant, even and especially among elder sisters who
have borne the heat of the day,” she declared.
With the media penetrating all aspects
of human life, she noted how the congregation’s charism has become ever more
relevant today.
She said, “For me, three major
challenges stand out for us: first, to be holy, because God does not need our work, he wants us to
be intimate with him and reveal his face as the God of love to our brothers and
sisters; second, to use all
the forms and means of communication, especially the social media, to bring the Word of God,
with special attention to the poor and the ‘far away’, with all the
ardour of our being ; third, to open our hearts to humility,
simplicity and compassion, so that in our evangelization we will not be
self-righteous Pharisees but wounded healers who need ourselves to be saved.”
Founded in 1915 in Alba, Italy, the
Daughters of St. Paul is the second of the 5 religious and 5 aggregated
institutes established by Blessed James Alberione that make up the Pauline
Family. These are the Society of St. Paul, Daughters of St. Paul, Sisters
Disciples of the Divine Master, Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd
(Pastorelle), Institute of Mary Queen of Apostles; Our Lady of the
Annunciation; St. Gabriel the Archangel; Jesus the Priest; Holy Family and the
Association of Pauline Cooperators.
The communities
of the Daughters of St. Paul are found in 52 nations across the continents of
Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.