Spiritual Year in Manila: Reflections from Our Students

“Spiritual Year in Manila”

Reflections from Our Students

By: Lydio S. Mangao, Jr.

          Lydio is my name. I was born in the year 1994 and raised in Kabankalan Diocese, Negros Island, Philippines. I finished my secondary education in 2011 at a school run previously by Columban Fathers. The Columbans had a palpable presence in my home parish long before I was born; so, not only myself but also my friends and family have been acquainted with the Columban missionaries in Negros. Forever will I be thankful to God for being one of this present generation of young people who have found inspiration from the Columbans. Columbans proclaim the Gospel through their way of life, commitment, and work with the poor, advocating Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation.

          As I look back, I can see how ordained Columbans and laypersons working with them honed, in a profound way, part of my faith experience and identity as a follower of Christ. In particular, Columbans with the Negros Nine influenced my passion for advocating active non-violence and caring for creation. This was all instrumental in my response to God's initiative.

          After receiving a university psychology degree in 2015, I had my first job as a college instructor while volunteering with an NGO advocating women's rights and empowerment. Then, in May 2017, I started working as a banker, and within two years, I finally decided to respond to the yearning of my heart, to further discern what I believe God's plan is for me.

          In 2019, I joined the Columban Formation in Manila. Subsequently, I finished two years of pre-theology studies at the Loyola School of Theology. Presently, I am in my Spiritual Year - a year to integrate my whole life experience through growth in the love of God and to facilitate authentic discernment about aggregation to Columban Society. I am ever-grateful to continuously respond and discern God's plan in my life with the Columban Missionaries.

          I pray for the grace of openness to the Holy Spirit's initiative, grace to strengthen my relationship with Jesus, and grace to deepen my knowledge of the Triune God. I pray to obtain and practice a way of life that reflects Columban Spirituality in my ongoing encounter with Columban Missionaries and their mission within the Church. Thus, I hope to fully surrender to the Loving God who takes the initiative of calling me and waits for me to respond.

          It is inspiring, enriching, and life-giving to realize day by day that as I discern God's plan, people have been praying for my brother-seminarians and me. So let us continue to pray for each other. May God be praised!

By: Mark Joseph Magat

            I am Mark Joseph from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, Pangasinan, Philippines. I was born on the feast day of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1991. If you will ask why I wasn’t named after St. John (since I was born during his feast day), it is because my mother chose to name me after Jesus’ parents, who are Mary and Joseph. And according to my mother, since I am a boy, she turned Mary into Mark, that’s why I am now Mark Joseph.

Before joining the Columbans, I was a seminarian for our archdiocese. After my second year in philosophy in our archdiocese I joined the Columban Society since I felt and realized that I want to be a missionary priest. My brother was the one who introduced me to the Columbans, because he also joined the Columban accompaniment program before joining the Franciscans.

After my two years of Pre-theology at Loyola Schools of Theology (LST), now I am moving forward to another stepping stone of this formation journey; which is the Spiritual Year. To be part of the Columban formation program is a great opportunity to discern more deeply about God’s call to me to a priestly vocation.

As we start this Spiritual Year, we are asked to reflect and share about what are our hopes and expectations during this one-year spiritual formation program. My hopes for this Spiritual formation year are to be guided and to form a deeper relationship, first, with my inner self, next with the community and then, and most of all, with God. I expect to discover a lot of things, starting from my inner self and relating it to the outside. My hope is that each of us be like a piece of bread, that will nourish and sustain each one as we journey together here in our formation house.

We live our lives differently from each other. We have differences in culture, traditions, beliefs and personalities, but above all these, I am thankful and reminded to let the will of God be done – to expect the unexpected. I desire to grow from where I am planted and bear fruit as I grow. And I pray for openness, and conversion as I go through and pilgrim with the Lord.

By: Marvin Salarda

As I have already plunged myself into the initial month of the Spiritual Year Formation Program, I am so much in awe to realize how God works and directs my path; to where I am now. Although I am still beginning in this special and important stage in Columban Formation, I may not be fully certain of the coming years as I continue responding to this call to missionary life. Every day I can sense the unfolding of God's plan which I am willingly and openly responding to; entrusting myself to the process of the formation, to the guidance of the Society through our formation staff, Fr. Taemoon Kwon and Fr. Chris Kaamiño and, more importantly, to the formation led by the Spirit. I see this year as a period of journeying “To the Core” – my home, my root and resting place. As we now go further on with our modular classes, which teach and guide us on how to get more deeply in touch with our Humanness and our Spiritual Life, I find that this all helps me to discover further the reasons for being here, not just merely because of my own will, but, firstly, by the Grace of God. I am excited and hopeful for significant growth and transformation, so that I will become a more integrated person. As God and the Columban Society discern with and for me, I expect from myself the commitment, honesty to trust the formation process, as it focuses on training and helping us to develop the skills of listening to the voices within. 1 Cor 3:16 speaks so much to me when it says: “the Spirit of God dwells in me”. I am reflecting on and understanding myself to be the “Temple of the Holy Spirit”, the Temple of God.

As one of the very first occupants of our new Spiritual Year House, I feel blessed and thankful for the positive vibes it's giving. I feel this house is conducive to making us all work together well and for silence and inner work. I feel so happy to recognize that God is working and is present in me and helping me in this faith journey. I know that there will be tough and surely painful times in this process of being shaped by God. I will always be going back “To the Core” that I am loved by God, with the hope that I am changing for the better and with the courage that I will become the stronger person He wants me to be; for the service to which He calls me; and to which I am now humbly trying to respond. This journey to my “Core” is my journey to be closer to Him – Who is and was with me all this time.