CHBC-1314-17 INDIVISA MANENT
READING— MATTHEW 4:12- 23
Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.
REFLECTION
Today’s Gospel includes the familiar story of Jesus calling his first disciples – all fishermen.
There was Simon and his brother Andrew who were casting a net into the sea and there was James and his brother John who were in a boat mending their nets. The Gospel says that they left their nets and their boat and followed Jesus. This act of turning back and making a break with the past to embark on something new was in obedience to the example of Jesus, who himself, left his hometown of Nazareth to “live in Capernaum”.
These men who brought good news have one thing in common.
All of them left what was familiar and embraced the new way Jesus was inviting them to look at life.
If we are to bring Good News to those we minister to, we can do no less than to continually re-examine the way we are looking at our life and the lives of those we come into contact with. The Gospel has the power to renew us and make us breathe with new life. Today’s Gospel invites us to take courage to leave what stifles life in us and in others and to take on a new way of looking at life – a new way of looking at things. What old beliefs about myself, my work or others do I need to be liberated from? What
new way of seeing does Jesus’ love invite me to take on today?
RESPONSE
PRAYING WITH PETER, KEN GIRE
Dear Master,
Help me to be faithful in little things like cleaning nets, knowing that they could be your way of preparing me for greater things – like being a fisher of men.
Help me to obey simply and solely because you say so. Keep me from thinking that since I have fished a few waters that somehow I know better than you the course my life should take.
Call me, Lord, out from a shallow faith near the shore, which requires no risks and offers no rewards. Call me to a deeper commitment to you.
Take me to a place where I have worked hard by my own strength and yet ended up with empty nets.
Let my heart acknowledge the depths of your dominion and the fullness of your power at work in the world.
Keep me ever aware that you are the Lord who labors beside me.
At your bidding, O Master, I will let down my nets. And at your bidding, I will leave them forever behind.
For what you offer is infinitely more than all the seas of this world could ever contain. AMEN.
EVANGELII GAUDIUM, POPE FRANCIS I
#132 & 134
(Photo from www.photogallery.va/)
Proclaiming the Gospel message to different cultures involves proclaiming it to professional, scientific and academic circles.
This means an encounter between faith, reason and the sciences with a view to developing new approaches and arguments…
which would encourage greater openness to the Gospel on the part of all….
Universities are outstanding environments for articulating and developing this evangelizing commitment in an interdisciplinary and integrated way. Catholic schools, which always strive to join their work of education with the explicit proclamation of the Gospel, are a most valuable resource for the evangelization of culture, even in those countries and cities where hostile situations challenge us to greater creativity in our search for suitable methods.
CENTRAL HOUSE BULLETIN
Page 1 of 2 27 January - 09 February 2014
CHBC-1314-17 INDIVISA MANENT
Page 2 of 2 27 January - 09 February 2014
BIRTHDAYS
28 JAN Ms. Caroy Labrador (DLSPCHA-IMU)
31 JAN Br. Bong Servando FSC
08 FEB Br. Abet King Pia FSC Mr. Jay Gervasio (LPC)
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Mr. Sulpicio Melecio Mejias, the father of Br. Rey Mejias FSC passed away last 21 January at the age of 70 years old. Mrs. Vilma Tan Retome, mother of Sister Teresa Retome HGS passed away 26 January at the age of 78. Let us remember them and their loved ones in our prayers.
DLSP COMMITS CLASSROOMS TO YOLANDA REHABILITATION
As part of De La Salle Philippine’s (DLSP) on-going involvement with post-Yolanda rehabilitations, the Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission (LJPC) attended the Post Yolanda School Rebuilding: Gathering of
Partners and took part in the signing of the Pledge of Commitment with the Department of Education (DepEd) last 22 January. Representing all of the 16 La Salle schools, DLSP pledges to rebuild nine classrooms across Tacloban City, Eastern Samar, and Northern Negros Occidental. Donations received by DLSP, though the Central House Administration and schools, will be put to use in the rebuilding of said classrooms.
The signing was held at the Department of Education Central Office. Br. Kenneth Martinez FSC, president of De La Salle Lipa, stood as the signatory for DLSP and Br. Armin Luistro FSC, Secretary of the Philippine Department of Education, for DepEd. Other groups and corporate foundations were also present in the gathering: the Coca-Cola Foundation, Rotary Club, and BDO Foundation, to name a few.
DISCERNER’S RETREAT
The cold breeze of the foothills of Tagaytay welcomed the young men from different parts of the country as they arrived for the discerners’ retreat at Shambala, Municipality of Silang, Cavite last 17-19 January. The place was a quiet, serene getaway for the 15 discerners who consider joining the De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines in the near future.
A perfect balance of the East and the West were experienced by the discerners; the venue with its very eastern motif and the theme of the retreat which was of the west. As Shambala was named after a mythical eastern Himalayan kingdom of tranquility and happiness, it provided the discerners the peace and quiet vital to their reflection. The program was inspired by the story of the Hobbit where the lead character gained a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom when he accepted the challenge of leaving his comfort zone at the threshold of another life journey.
To promote the spirit of family and fun, the discerners were grouped to take turns in doing dining hall tasks. They were also distributed among the different authentic indigenous Cordilleran huts serving as their accommodation for the whole duration of the retreat where a blend of discerners coming from each community were taken into consideration to foster camaraderie. On their last night, the dinner was served in a boodle fight manner as a symbol of unity, brotherhood and equality. It was followed by a community gathering by the bonfire and a showcase of talent per hut was held where all dwellers were encouraged to derive their performances from the bible and to dress up like biblical characters as they entered the green house of Shambala.
Some noteworthy excerpts from the discerners’ journals as they discussed during the sharing were about life challenges, God’s providence and guidance, threshold and crossroads, letting go and, from the majority, the idea of surrender. To conclude the discerners’ retreat, the Brothers present during the last session gave their pieces of advice and invited all the participants to the next level: postulancy. —By Michael Nino Ramirez (Residencia ABCD)
