From August 8-10, the Redemptorists of the Vice-Province of Manila, along with our esteemed lay mission partners and representatives from the Province of Cebu, convened for a mission colloquium. This significant event, attended by over 100 participants, served as a platform for us to deeply reflect on and evaluate our current missionary efforts while remaining attuned to the signs of the times. It also rekindled the missionary fervor within us, in response to the call for mission. Under the guiding theme of “MISSIONaries of Courageous Hope in the Footsteps of the Redeemer,” this year’s mission colloquium drew us back to our mission’s roots and unique identity as Redemptorist missionaries.
Fr. Piotr Chyla, CSsR, indeed a master of Redemptorist Spirituality, was instrumental in leading the colloquium into the spring of our ‘raison d’etre’ with his presentation entitled “Drinking from the Founding Source: St. Alphonsus and Mission.” Fr. Chyla gave flesh, blood, and face of who should be a Redemptorist missionary. He gave more meaning to our missionary vocation as he reminded us of and explained that once the bread is consecrated in the mass, it becomes genuinely and substantially transformed into Christ’s body. It will never return to being ordinary bread, nor will the blood, which will never return to wine. It’s the same with being a missionary; there is no way back. Once consecrated, we shall always be. He reminded everyone of the vow of perseverance observed in this apostolic Congregation. It is perseverance in the mission of following Jesus and the vocation of abundant redemption. While he acknowledged that the mission is not easy, it is a beautiful life to give the message of plentiful redemption, forgiveness, and love. Above all, the mission is not about what we do but who we are.
Building on the foundation laid by Fr. Chyla, the colloquium prompted us to deeply contemplate our roles as missionaries. The Vice Province of Manila has shown remarkable courage in tackling numerous mission frontiers and challenges. Yet, the urgent needs of our time and the call of a new epoch in the Church and society were met with open arms by the participants. This is a testament to the fact that hope is indeed synonymous with courage. As Fr. Rogerio Gomez, the Superior General of the Redemptorist, aptly put it in his message to the gathering, ‘courage is a fundamental human quality that involves the ability to face fears, dangers, and challenges with firmness and determination.’
In the Philippines, among the millennials’ lingo is this phrase: “malayo na pero malayo pa,” which could be translated into ‘we have gone far, but still, we have to go further,’ which could fittingly describe our missionary commitment to Christ, our Redeemer. Our commitment to Christ is a dynamic relationship. It is not stagnant. It is always filled with new vigor, and we are constantly being formed into the person that the world needs today, wherever God sent us to be His missionary.
Ronald Balase, CSsR.
