“Praise God, let His Love remind us of the power of His name “. It is God‘s love that moves us to remain here from
Day 1 until now… It is God’s love that impels our community to participate wholeheartedly in our synodal process of sharing and listening. Truly, it is His love for us that will continue to inspire us to be women of relationship who widen our tent to reach the “more” of our Foundress. These were the opening words in the Thanksgiving Mass officiated by Bishop Rey Evangelista on the last day of the Provincial Chapter of Application. In his homily, he gave us an inspiring message of God’s love urging us to take the challenge to live and implement fully the Provincial Chapter Resolutions of becoming women of the word loving without measure.
Sr. Lilia Nuesca, Provincial Leader, officially declared the close of the Provincial Chapter before the final blessing and we sang joyfully, \”O give thanks to the Lord.\” A tribute song to our Mother Foundress, St. Magdalene of Canossa, was heartily sung (“Let us thank the Father Almighty”) in gratitude to her guidance and intercession all throughout the Chapter sessions.
Right after the Eucharistic Celebration, we had a picture taking of all the delegates with the Bishop Rey.
The refectory at breakfast was filled with excitement of going to a pilgrimage and spending the last day of the Chapter together. By 9:30 am all were set to go in convoy for the pilgrimage to the Archdiocesan Shrine of our Lady of Caysasay and to St. Martin of Tours in
Taal Batangas. It was indeed a special and grace-filled day to conclude the chapter with this sacred journey to visit these two historical Shrines. In our first stop over, we were gladly welcomed by Fr. Raul Martinez, Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay. This shrine is being renovated by the National Historical commission to preserve its antiquity. Hence we cannot gather inside the Church. Fr. Raul, led us instead at an adjacent and newly built chapel where we prayed invoking Our Lady to accompany us in implementing our Chapter resolutions. He shared with us the history of the devotion to Our Lady of Caysasay which dates back to 1603. It was an awe inspiring story about the origin and image of our Lady of Caysasay after which he accompanied us to a tour of the old Church. It was a coral hewn structure located at Baranggay Labac, Taal Batangas which was built in 1639 by the Augustinian Missionaries.
The next stopover was the Basilica of St. Martin of Tours. At the entrance door we started reciting the “Pilgrims Prayer”. Fr. Dakila \’Daks\’ Ramos, Asst. Parish Priest welcomed us with his blessing and prayers. He gave us a very concise historical background and informative sharing about the Basilica which was built in 1575 in the present day San Nicholas, Batangas, by the Augustinian Missionaries and is also considered as one of the oldest churches in the continent. Standing 96 metres long and 45 metres wide, St. Martin de Tours Basilica is considered the largest Church in the Philippines and in Asia.
It was past noon. A well-catered lunch was waiting for us at the second floor of the old convent’s rectory. Again we were accompanied and entertained by Fr. “Daks” and a newly ordained Priest, Fr. Paul Hermano. At lunch time, (sa saliw ng masiglang awitin / at tugtugan ) some talented Sisters were inspired to dance with the music. Excitement, laughter and joy were felt by almost everyone. Special thanks to Sr. Amelia Manlusoc and Sr. Elsa Asentista of Lipa community for coordinating the smooth flow of this pilgrimage.
Soon after lunch we parted ways … to our respective communities … still taking to heart all that have taken place during the Chapter days -the dreams, the vision and the hopes for the Province in the coming years.
We felt united with all our Sisters and with our Lay Mission Partners who have journeyed with us to pursue our dreams. In our prayers we shall continue to entrust all our future plans through the powerful intercession of Our Lady. That through her maternal protection and guidance we will be able to live more fully our identity and calling as “WOMEN OF LOVING RELATIONSHIPS: Widening their \’Tent\’ in fulfilling the dream of St. Magdalene of Canossa\”.