DEUTSCH-PHILIPPINISCHE BEZIEHUNGEN (XIV) - German-Philippine Relations (XIV): German SVD missionaries in the Philippines

The second batch of German missionaries to request to the urgent appeal of Pope Leo XIII to rescue the Philippines from religious turmoil were the German SVD missionaries, popular known in Germany as the Steyler Missionaries.

From Abra the Divine World missionaries spread out into Zambales, Manila and Mindoro.

I will never forget my fist column in TINIG NG BAYAN published in Abra in 1986 with the help of my mentor Hermogenes E. Bacareza - during that time under the Chief Editor Brother Mike San Juan and Father Bel San Luis, SVD. 

In the Philippines, the Divine Word Missionaries arrived in Bangued, Abra in 1909. Today, it is evident that the missionary grains planted by Saint Arnold on the Philippine soil are now bearing hundreds of fruits. Now, there are more than 500 Filipino SVDs and around 140 of them are doing missionary works abroad.

In the Philippines, the SVD has three ecclesiastical provinces: The Philippine North (PHN) that comprises mission from Pangasinan to Aparri, The Philippine Central (PHC) that covers Tarlac, Metro Manila, Mindoro, Bicol Region and Palawan, and The Philippine South (PHS) which is present in the Visayas and Mindanao islands.

The Southern Philippine Province, came into existence with the re-division of the Philippine SVD in 1982 and is dedicated to Bl. Joseph Freinademetz. It covers the regions of the Visayas and Mindanao.

In the Visayas, we are active on the islands of Cebu (University of San Carlos, Divine Word Formation Center, Blessed Freinademetz Formation House, Bl. Arnold Janssen Parish, Radio Stations DYRF AM and DYDW FM, and Divine Word Social Communications Center in Cebu City), Bohol (Divine Word College in Tagbilaran City), and Leyte (Divine Word University). In Mindanao, we are present in the Diocese of Surigao in northeastern Mindanao (Surigao District), the Diocese of Butuan in central Mindanao (Agusan District), and the Archdiocese of Davao in south eastern Mindanao (Regional Major Seminary and DW Formation Center in Davao City).

(To be continued!)

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Die zweite Gruppe deutscher Missionare, die dem dringenden Appell von Papst Leo

Von Abra aus breiteten sich die Missionare der Göttlichen Welt nach Zambales, Manila und Mindoro aus.

Ich werde meine erste Kolumne in TINIG NG BAYAN nie vergessen, die 1986 mit Hilfe meines Mentors Hermogenes E. Bacareza in Abra veröffentlicht wurde – damals unter dem Chefredakteur Bruder Mike San Juan und Pater Bel San Luis, SVD.

Auf den Philippinen kamen die „Divine Word Missionare“ 1909 in Bangued, Abra an. Heute ist es offensichtlich, dass die von Saint Arnold auf dem philippinischen Boden gepflanzten Missionskörner inzwischen Hunderte von Früchten tragen. Mittlerweile gibt es mehr als 500 philippinische SVDs und rund 140 von ihnen leisten Missionsarbeit im Ausland.

Auf den Philippinen hat die SVD drei Kirchenprovinzen: den Philippinischen Norden (PHN), der die Mission von Pangasinan bis Aparri umfasst, den Philippinischen Zentralbezirk (PHC), der Tarlac, Metro Manila, Mindoro, die Bicol-Region und Palawan umfasst, und den Philippinischen Süden ( PHS), das auf den Visayas- und Mindanao-Inseln vorkommt.

Die Südphilippinische Provinz entstand 1982 mit der Neuaufteilung der philippinischen SVD und ist Bl. gewidmet. Joseph Freinademetz. Es umfasst die Regionen Visayas und Mindanao.

In den Visayas sind wir auf den Inseln von Cebu aktiv (Universität San Carlos, Divine Word Formation Center, Blessed Freinademetz Formation House, Bl. Arnold Janssen Parish, Radiosender DYRF AM und DYDW FM sowie Divine Word Social Communications Center in Cebu). City), Bohol (Divine Word College in Tagbilaran City) und Leyte (Divine Word University). In Mindanao sind wir in der Diözese Surigao im Nordosten von Mindanao (Bezirk Surigao), in der Diözese Butuan im Zentrum von Mindanao (Bezirk Agusan) und in der Erzdiözese Davao im Südosten von Mindanao (Regionales Großes Seminar und DW-Ausbildungszentrum in Davao) vertreten Stadt).

(Fortsetzung folgt!)

Philippine Fairy Tales (XXIV) - Philippinische Märchen (XXIV):THE CARABAO AND THE SHELL

 

One very hot day, when a carabao went into the river to bathe, he met a shell and they began talking together.

“You are very slow,” said the carabao to the shell.

“Oh, no,” replied the shell. “I can beat you in a race.”

“Then let us try and see,” said the carabao.

So they went out on the bank and started to run.

After the carabao had gone a long distance he stopped and called, “Shell!”

And another shell lying by the river answered, “Here I am!”

Then the carabao, thinking that it was the same shell with which he was racing, ran on.

By and by he stopped again and called, “Shell!”

Again another shell answered, “Here I am!”

The carabao was surprised that the shell could keep up with him. But he ran on and on, and every time he stopped to call, another shell answered him. But he was determined that the shell should not beat him, so he ran until he dropped dead.

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Als ein Carabao an einem sehr heißen Tag in den Fluss ging, um zu baden, traf er auf eine Muschel und sie begannen miteinander zu reden.

„Du bist sehr langsam“, sagte der Carabao zur Muschel.

„Oh nein“, antwortete die Muschel. „Ich kann dich in einem Rennen schlagen.“

„Dann lasst es uns versuchen und sehen“, sagte der Carabao.

Also gingen sie ans Ufer und begannen zu rennen.

Nachdem der Carabao eine lange Strecke zurückgelegt hatte, blieb er stehen und rief: „Shell!“

Und eine andere Muschel, die am Fluss lag, antwortete: „Hier bin ich!“

Dann rannte der Carabao weiter, da er dachte, es sei dieselbe Granate, mit der er raste.

Nach und nach blieb er wieder stehen und rief: „Shell!“

Wieder antwortete eine andere Muschel: „Hier bin ich!“

Der Carabao war überrascht, dass die Muschel mit ihm mithalten konnte. Aber er rannte weiter und weiter, und jedes Mal, wenn er anhielt, um zu rufen, antwortete ihm eine andere Muschel. Aber er war fest entschlossen, dass die Granate ihn nicht treffen sollte, also rannte er, bis er tot umfiel.

Be always merciful and not judgmental

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S what Christ told his disciples. (cfr. Lk 6,36-38) “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.”

This does not mean that we are not meant to make some judgements and some condemnation. We are actually designed by God himself to judge things because that is how we begin to know. Together with those judgements is the possibility of some condemnation, since we really need to reject what we know is truly wrong and evil.

We just have to realize that our judgments and condemnations can never be final, since only God can do that. And that’s because only God knows everything thoroughly, while our knowledge of things, the basis for our judgements and possible condemnations, can only go so far.

In other words, while we try to be as clear as black and white in our worldview, we should never forget that there are many grey areas also that we need to handle with utmost care, delicacy and discernment. And because of that, we have to withhold our final judgements.

This is indeed a most tricky thing to carry out, because while we have to make judgements, we have to know also up to where our judgements can go. And we are told by Christ himself that given this condition of ours we should just have to be merciful the way God in Christ showed mercy to all of us.

And how was Christ merciful to all of us? First of all, being the son of God, he emptied himself to become man. That way, he already adapted himself to our wounded, sinful condition. He identified himself with us so that we would have a way to identify ourselves with him. He preached the truth about God and about ourselves. 

He gave preferential attention to the sick, that is, the sinners. He was always ready to forgive, his mercy and compassion having no limits—“not only seven times, but seventy times seven times,” he said. (Mt 18,22) He taught about loving the enemy and lived it. He did not mind all the insults and mockeries that were poured on him just to accomplish his mission of saving us.

And in the end, he assumed all our sins without committing sin by dying on the cross. In that way, he dealt death to all our sins, and with his resurrection he offered us a way for our own salvation and reconciliation with our Father God. He was thoroughly magnanimous.

This is the ideal we should try our best, with God’s grace, to aim at. This, of course, will be a lifelong, let alone overwhelming, effort and process. But it can be done. And it would be good if we can start it as soon as we can. God waits for us to learn this virtue. And to be sure, he provides us with all that is needed in this regard.

On our part, we have to exert the effort to widen our heart so as to resemble it with the merciful heart of Christ. Everyday, we have to practice to detach our heart from the clutches of our own likes and dislikes, the very earth-and-flesh-bound condition of our physical, emotional and intellectual dynamics, so that it can conform itself to the universal heart of Christ, full of mercy and compassion. 

We have to be wary of the danger of being pharisaical in our judgements.

Ced Domingo brings maturity, composure from Thailand stint

Akari Chargers’ Ced Domingo she rejoins the PVL in the All-Filipino Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

By: Lance Agcaoili - @inquirerdotnet

MANILA, Philippines —Maturity and composure were among the things that Ced Domingo developed most in her first overseas stint where she helped Nakhon Ratchasima accomplish a successful title defense in the Volleyball Thailand League.

“One thing that I really learned coming home from Thailand is my maturity and my composure as an individual because of different kinds of instances in games,” said Domingo in Filipino after her Akari debut ended up with a  25-21, 25-18, 25-12, 25-18 loss to Cignal in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I learned a lot from my teammates like Onuma Sittirak and other legends in Thailand. It’s super nice playing alongside them. I really just can’t wait to apply all the learnings from Thailand here at Akari.”

Domingo, who decided to sign with the Thai team last year, was instrumental in her first overseas stint as the Cat Devil finished the elimination round with a 10-2 record as the No. 2 seed behind Diamond Food, which her team beat in the semifinals round and final.

The 24-year-old middle blocker said she’s lucky to be part of Nakhon Ratchasima as she became the latest Filipino to win a title overseas after Jaja Santiago, who won the Japan V.Cup championship with her former club Ageo Medics in 2021, and Bryan Bagunas who he led Win Streak to a dominant title run last year in the Top Volleyball League in Taiwan.

“I got lucky. It’s a ‘who could have thought’ moment for me because I had no expectations coming there. I just wanted to experience playing in Thailand and come out of my comfort zone to unlock my potential as a player,” Domingo said.

“My teammates are strong and they have the same level of competitiveness and mentality as my former team,  Creamline. I felt that I was in the right team.”

Domingo, who found her new home at Akari, admitted that it’s overwhelming to the changes and transitions but she’s taking the challenge in stride.

“My mindset going back here is adapting Akari’s system and then from there, I will apply my learnings from Thailand,” she said.