April 2012 Highlights

Rogate: Rising with Jesus in Easter. It’s April 2012. We celebrate the kind of death that leads to life. This is the point of Easter which invites us to realize that life is dynamically rich. It takes new shapes as it flows. But some things remain constant, one of which is the fact that life is an ongoing carrying of the cross and crucifixions in many forms. Poor people experience the sting of the cross in their destitution. This situation moved the heart of Jesus to practice compassion—that sort which can make one passionate to provide food for the hungry, cure to the sick, liberation to the oppressed...in short, good news to the poor. Practically the same situation moved St. Hannibal to take the heart of Jesus and live a compassionate life among the poor of his time. Doing so is not easy—in fact a way of the cross to Calvary. The month of April reminds us of the aforementioned message of the cross. But it also consoles us about the sweet promises of Easter. The way of the cross leads to Calvary, but it ultimately rests in God’s gift of eternal life. This reality constitutes SHEC’s challenge, and fuels its hope and faith as it journeys with the poor towards the Kingdom of God where the deathless love and life promised in Easter await the faithful believer and doer of Kingdom values.

Sing, Serenade, Educate. Focusing on this theme, the Essential’s Choir of the Rogate Youth Ministry Shec Chapter (RYMSC), together with other members of the RYSMC and some parents of the performers, staged a Holy Week concert at Balai Isabel, Talisay, Batangas last April 7, 2012. Not only did they express their experience of God through songs and dances, but also they raised funds for the scholars of SHEC. Indeed, true to their Rogate spirituality, they have sacrificed time in order to bring life to others.

Free Circumcision. Essential to Kingdom work is the promotion of and care for people’s health. The free circumcision project dubbed as operation tuli (circumcise) is one way of doing so. To ensure the smooth and peaceful conduct of the project, the leaders and members of SHEC under the leadership of George Espin assisted the students and doctors of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. This life-giving project was done at the SHEC training center last April 14, 2012.

Consultation Meeting Held. To evaluate the partnership between the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and the Local Community Mortgage Program (LCMP) members to which SHEC belongs, the two bodies had a consultation meeting last April 26, 2012. In preparation for this, the LCMP members conducted a preliminary talk at the Foundation for the Development of the Urban Poor (FDUP) office, Quezon City last April 24, 2012. Healthy dialogues such as these may be painstaking and entail a lot of sacrifice, a taste of the cross, indeed, but the end result so desired is worth the sacrifice, and the values upheld keep the stakeholders hopeful and untiring.

Phase 2 celebrates the World Day Prayer for Vocations. The St. Hannibal Subdivision Phase 2 leaders and committee members under the leadership of Fr. Orville Cajigal, RCJ facilitated the orderly and meaningful celebration of the World Day Prayer for Vocations last April 29, 2012. Truly, the harvest is rich, but zealous laborers are few, and we need to storm heaven for more holy laborers.