Claretians launch Hope Center

CLARETIAN Missionaries opened today its first Hope Center at Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City in a simple but meaningful ceremony led by Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams.

The Hope Center, a communication center that caters to various spiritual and pastoral needs of people through spiritual books and other means, has a specific thrust—to be a place where hope is nurtured and shared.

Fr. Benedict Dilag, CMF, CHCFI Executive Director explained the Center’s mission, saying it aims to be a place where young people can come together and feel accepted and cared for.

“We desire to make it possible for them to feel that they belong in our center’s community, which does all things at all times in a loving, dignified, Christ-like manner,” said Fr. Dilag.

According to Fr. Dilag, people today especially the youth have this desire to deepen their spirituality, strengthen their relationship with God, and find solutions to their problems.

“Our heart is for the center to be a blessing on the secular marketplace, to infuse the lives of young people and their generation with hope, and to help them realize that our love-in-action approach is a reflection of God’s life-changing love,” he added.

In the Hope Center, young people both Catholic and non-Catholic can have the opportunities to explore various means available for receiving and communicating the Word of God. Spiritual books, magazines, periodicals, audio-visual materials, software and the internet are available to satisfy one’s quest for wisdom and knowledge.

The Center also has an audio-visual display, coffee lounge, an internet café, e-loading counter, and religious giftshop. It has a private corner for counseling and a prayer room where one can pray and meditate.

With the launching of the Hope Center, the Claretians are not merely opening a new bookstore but going beyond the usual way of proclaiming the Good News, Fr. Dilag said.

Present during the launching were the CMF Provincial, Fr. Renato Manubag, the Provincial Council, the Board of Directors of Claretian Communication Foundation Inc. (CCFI) and Claretian Hope Center Foundation Inc. (CHCFI), and Religious Men and Women, friends and collaborators of Claretian Missionaries.