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Celebrating the Lord's Mighty Work
BLD Manila at 25 - to God be the Glory!
The Evolution of the Newsletter
A New Path for St. Catharines
Update on the Singles Ministry
A Sense of Mission
Update on the Mark 10 Ministry
Toronto's Loss - Our Gain!
Taking Their First Steps as Teachers
Branching Out
A New Level of Leadership Formed
Planning and Growing in Christ
Youth Corner
News Archive
Celebrating the Lord’s Mighty Work
On Friday, June 25, BLD St. Catharines joined the global community of BLD in celebrating the 25th Anniversary of its foundation with a special thanksgiving mass. The mass was well attended by both parishioners and a large number of BLD members. The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, benediction and prayers followed. Our Spiritual Director, Fr. Manny Serranilla, was assisted by Fr. Lizzoti and Fr. Polotan in the celebration of the mass and in the laying of hands over the faithful. The night culminated in a reception to which everyone was invited.
Fr. Manny delivered the homily, which on this night was the gospel reading on the healing of the leper. In his homily, Fr. Manny stated that a community can only begin to truly appreciate how far it has come by remembering from whence it first started. BLD Manila was founded 25 years ago through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This entailed a lot of hard work, perseverance through trials and testing, and trusting implicitly that the Lord Himself would guide and grow the community.
“By its fruits you will know them.” [Mt. 7:16] Since that day, the covenant community of BLD has borne much fruit and grown beyond expectations. Fr. Manny expressed that we are witnessing the fruits right here in our own community of St. Catharines. As we remember where the Community was not too long ago and today see how St. Catharines will soon achieve the fulfillment of its dreams and aspirations, it is only right for us to celebrate and properly give thanks to the Lord for His mighty work! As the Community moves forward towards becoming “independent”, let us all challenge ourselves on how we can make our covenant truly meaningful by the way we show the depth of our convictions and by the way we love one another. As we do so, let us never forget that we are obliged to share the gifts we have been given with others - including the “lepers” who we find in our society, in our workplaces, in our schools, even perhaps in our own homes. Let us be for them Christ’s instrument of healing.
Praise the Lord! Alleluia!
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BLD Manila at 25 – to God be the Glory!
2010 is a banner year for the global Covenant Community of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos (BLD) for it was twenty-five years ago, on June 19, 1985, when our mother community in Manila was founded by Fr. Pascual Adorable and Sonny and Bai delos Reyes. Manila plans to mark this milestone with a year-long celebration, from June 19, 2010 to June 18, 2011. Our Global Spiritual Director, Archbishop Lagdameo, has enjoined all BLD to set aside a day during the week of June 19 to 26 to celebrate a mass of thanksgiving to allow all its members to offer as one body praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for 25 years of His guidance.
Here at St. Catharines, the thanksgiving mass will take place on June 25th, to be celebrated by our own Spiritual Director, Fr. Manny. Fr. Lizzoti and Fr. Polotan will concelebrate with Fr. Manny. Reception and fellowship will follow.
Brothers and sisters, let us rejoice and celebrate together as one Community the Lord’s unceasing faithfulness. And may He be praised and glorified by the work of our hands and the witness of our lives.
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The Evolution of the Newsletter
(As presented by Rey Perlas at the June 4th General Assembly)
The “Easter Edition” of our Newsletter marked its 3rd year anniversary. Looking back at its humble beginnings three years ago, it is worthwhile pointing out the evolution which it has undergone.
From an 8-page Newsletter when it was first published, our Easter issue contained 28 pages. It contains not only the news and events in the community but also personal reflections and testimonies. The Newsletter is a living witness of our journey to God, and the pain, struggle as well as joy that accompany that journey. It has become the “HEARTBEAT” of our community.
Why “heartbeat”? All the contributions by our members speak from the heart on how God has touched their lives. The reflections submitted by the graduates of our weekend encounter programs on their journey towards God are written from their hearts. These are all captured in the Newsletter. Yes, the Newsletter is a recorded history of our community and the individual lives of its members.
Upon hearing Jess’ & Marilen’s exhortation about the path that is upon us - becoming a Full Fledged District - many of us will ask the question “Are we ready?” Perhaps going back to the last three years since the publication of the Newsletter will give us the answer to this question. Let us find the answer in the journals of our Newsletter.
Within a month after Mabel and I were installed as Word Ministry Coordinators in February 2007, we published our first Newsletter in March 2007. The second issue came out in August. With the December 2007 issue, it was published under a new name, “Living The Word”. It had become evident to us at that point that what had started as a newsletter was fast evolving into something of a spiritual digest, not just to merely inform but to uplift our members spiritually.
From then on, we published quarterly issues covering the seasons of our faith such as Advent, Lent and Easter. And together with the seasons, we witnessed, through the written reflections and testimonies submitted by our members – the adults as well as the youth - how the events and programs of our community, such as the weekend encounters and the LSS, touched and enriched their lives. In every issue of “Living The Word”, we witnessed the journey taken by the community, such as the selection of a new set of DCS, the birth of different ministries, the development of home grown sharers and teachers, the creation of our new website, our participation in the North America Inter-District Conferences, the global emergence process, and our community’s 15th anniversary celebration, to name a few.
And still the newsletter kept on evolving. By its very name, “Living the Word” is a call for us to live out our faith. And so a new section called “Living the Word” was created in the December 2009 issue to illustrate how we truly translate the “Word” in our lives. And at our last DLC meeting, I challenged each ministry to contribute an article about living the Word.
As for the rest of us, I encourage everyone to go beyond our Encounter experience and to live the Word. If you have or know of any stories about this “call”, please have it published in our Newsletter. You will never know whose life you will touch!
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A New Path for St. Catharines -
Our DIP is Ready to Become a Full-Fledged District!
“There is a time for everything and a season under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to search and a time to give up....” [Eccl 3:1 – 3, 6]
 At the June 4th General Assembly, our Toronto Stewards for Mission, Jess and Marilen Angeles, said that the time has come for St. Catharines DIP to “start the preparations to being a Full-Fledged District soon”. It has met all the eligibility criteria with respect to minimum numbers required to become one – eg; active covenanted disciples (22); LSS sharers (4 couples), teachers (4), and whose DCS are all worship leaders.
As a Full Fledged District, the DIP will no longer be under the guidance of District Shepherds Olie and Menchu Ealdama and the Toronto DCS. It will report directly to the Executive Council of Servant Leaders (ECSL) in Manila through the Toronto District Servant Leader (DSL), currently Robert and Cely Kitane. The Kitanes will provide whatever pastoral and administrative guidance the DIP may require.
Jess and Marilen exhorted the Community not to be fearful, but to believe in themselves and to do their best. And, above all, to trust in the Lord. Clearly, the transition should not be difficult for the DIP has already been doing things that other full-fledged districts do! The Lord has equipped the Community with the gifts, talents and tools to be able to function as a Full Fledged District. Toward this end, Olie and Menchu will still be in place to help complete the transition and make this into a reality, at the latest, by next year.
Brothers and sisters, let us give thanks and praise to the Lord for truly He has been so gracious to us. As we continue to serve Him with one mind and one heart, let us give Him our full cooperation and obedience so that His plan for our beloved DIP will be carried out in the fullness of time and the work we do in His name will redound to His greater glory!
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Update on the Singles Ministry
(As presented by Irene Gumolda, Singles Ministry Coordinator at the June 4th General Assembly)
The Singles Ministry has been very busy with a lot of activities.
Singles Encounter (SE) #2
We are busy recruiting for our SE #2, which will be held at Mount Mary Immaculate, at Ancaster on August 6-8. We have 38 prospective candidates and 12 are confirmed. We will closely follow up on the others. Father Tito Ignacio, who is with BLD Trenton, will be our presiding Priest. Once again, the Toronto Singles Ministry will facilitate during the weekend but this time, our own Singles will have a more active and expanded role . In addition, this year, one more sharer from St. Catharines is being developed.
Several members served as auxies at Toronto’s SE #13 held last May 14-16. Toronto assigned us to various teams to help and observe. Our experience during that weekend will help us a lot during our own sponsorship of SE #2.
SE Orientation
Meanwhile, we held a Singles’ orientation last April for our confirmed candidates for SE #2. Our Pastoral DCS, Kuya Cip, supported us with his presence. Following praise and worship, we discussed what belonging to the BLD can do for them, what the Singles’ Ministry and its Vision is all about. We also discussed their involvement in the Ministry once they become a part of it. All in all, it was quite a successful gathering.
Singles’ Interdistrict Conference (SIC)
The SIC is a weekend gathering of Single Ministry members from various BLD North American districts and outreaches. The event is being sponsored by the BLD Toronto Singles. It will take place on September 3 – 5 at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel right in downtown Toronto. It is open to any singles who have participated in a BLD weekend program such as the SE and LSS. Various local priests have been invited to speak about a wide range of interesting topics.
The cost of the registration fee ($60) covers venue rental, supplies, snacks and a souvenir shirt. But it does not cover the cost of meals, transportation and accommodation. Because the overall cost will be a hardship for some of our singles who are presently unemployed, we are currently devising ways of raising funds.
Please keep the Singles in your prayers so that we can be successful in our endeavours to bring our members closer to the Lord. Thank you, brothers and sisters.
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A Sense of Mission
(As presented at the June 4th General Assembly By Carmen Mitra on behalf of Art and Fe Edralin)
St. Aloysius Church
· The Praise Ministry continues to provide music throughout the year during the 11 am Sunday Eucharistic celebration. We have noticed an increase in the attendance. Most parishioners are thankful and appreciative of our presence and support.
Food Drive
· Many of our members continue to give generously to help those most affected during these hard economic times.
· Special efforts have been directed toward supporting the Women’s Shelter for whom we have taken a special collection following 2 corporate worship we had in May.
Versa Care Seniors Home
· Visitations were made in April and May.
· Our Mark 10 children may participate this summer in entertaining our seniors.
Gardening at the Cathedral
· A number of members turned out last May 22 to help in what has now become an annual tradition of the community to clean up and plant flowers around the Cathedral grounds. As usual, a local greenhouse has generously donated the plants.
World Vision Sponsorship
· Our sponsorship of an Israeli child, Rawan, continues to have the support of our members. As part of their activity, our Mark 10 children write to Rawan once a month. They, in turn, get such a kick when they receive a letter from their friend.
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Update on the Mark 10 Ministry
(As presented by Grace Gumolda, Mark 10 Ministry Coordinator at the June 4th General Assembly)
 Summer Camp
The Mark 10 and Single ministries had a joint meeting with Youth members to plan what activities we can all have as a group. It was unanimous we will have a summer camp on July 16 – 18 at Bissell’s Hideaway, which is located in Font hill along Highway 20. To cover expenses (food, games, prizes), it was proposed to charge $20.00 per person. To encourage families to join, we’re giving families a package deal of $60.00 for 2 adults and 2 kids. We are sure this will be a fun weekend for everyone and definitely a Christian learning activity for our ministries.
We Get by With the Help of our Youth
Beginning last month, we involved the Youth members in our Friday liturgy for them to help the teachers manage the Mark 10. As we do with the Singles, these Youth will be assigned every Friday on a rotation basis. The Youth members will assist in getting the attendance of the kids and facilitating games. They will also be the ones to observe the kids who should receive the awards we will hand out at our Christmas Party, just as we did last year, which brought much joy to the kids.
This involvement of the youth in Mark 10 will help make them know our Christian liturgy more and also help them get credit in their public or volunteer service in school.
Since high school students here need to have 40 hours in community service, instead of making our youth earn their credits somewhere else, working in our ministry will help them earn those 40 hours.
Mssion
- The Mark 10 kids are involved in our mission program by having them write a letter to Rawan every month. Rawan is a kid from Israel who our community has sponsored through World Vision
- The Mark 10 kids hope to participate this summer in the visitation of seniors in nursing homes and by entertaining them through dance and song.
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Toronto’s Loss – Our Gain!
 When retirement became a reality for Val and Lina Ayroso, it was not difficult for them to decide where they would retire. They would go back to Niagara Falls, the place where they first settled upon arriving in Canada in 1978. It was where their first daughter was born and where they formed friendships which have lasted to this day.
Yes, it was time to get away from the harried pace of the bustling cities of Toronto and Mississauga and to smell the roses again in the more relaxed lifestyle of Niagara Falls. After all, their two daughters are already successful career professionals. Their first daughter, Valerie, now lives in Milton with her family while their second daughter, Crissandra, resides in Toronto where she works. One thing they would miss though would be seeing their granddaughter, Teaira Lynn, as often as they would like.
In April of this year, Val and Lina moved into their dream home – a bungalow in a community far from the maddening, touristy section of the city. And because BLD runs deep in their veins, before long, they sought out our Community and started attending Friday worship.
Val and Lina are 1996 graduates of Toronto’s ME Class #10 and LSS #8. They have been covenanted disciples for the past 12 years since they sealed their personal covenant with the Lord. They were members of several ministries before being appointed as DLCs of the Community Life Apostolate for three years.
In 2002, they joined BLD Toronto’s roster of LSS sharers; and in 2005, they were assigned as LSS #20 Coordinators. Their last assignment was the most challenging – as Class Shepherds of ME Class #29 in 2007 - where they showed their dedication, as they led their class in their own walk to discipleship. In 2009, Lina became an accredited teacher.
Val and Lina have expressed a desire to serve in our Community to which the Lord has led them and, for our part, we praise and thank the Lord for the blessing Val and Lina will no doubt be to BLD St. Catharines.
Welcome, Val and Lina!
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Taking Their First Steps as Teachers
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations .... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28: 19-20)
After closely liaising with Angelo and Ditas Reyes, Toronto’s Teaching Ministry Coordinators, on May 8, 2010 they, as well as a number of Toronto accredited teachers, came to St. Catharines to impart to our recent ME and LSS graduates the value, riches, and power of the Bible. But the teaching of “Basic Bible Seminar (“BBS”) took on a deeper significance for us because on this day, we witnessed the initiation of Rey/Mabel Perlas and Avic Robles in their new and challenging role as District Instructors.
Their first efforts were truly impressive as they confidently handled their assigned activities. Rey and Mabel gave an overview of the day’s teachings and led those present in the reverent enthronement of the Bible. Through the activities on scanning, locating text and acronyms, Rey, Mabel and Avic gave their audience a physical familiarity with the Bible’s various books.
Four talks were given to introduce the Bible and explain its contents: “The Bible as a Book” (Willie Cantos); “Approaches to the Bible” (Olie Ealdama); “The Bible as the Word of God” (Tony Ng), and “Response to the Word of God” (Willie Cantos). Ely Misa and Angie Ng facilitated “Bible Sharing I” and “Bible Sharing II” respectively.
Truly we were blessed and inspired by the efforts of our brothers and sisters, both those who travelled from Toronto, and our own local teachers, for having given of their time and talent to bring and instill in our members a love and deeper understanding of this priceless gift, the Word of God.
And for Rey, Mabel and Avic, who have been set apart as teachers, may they be motivated by our Lord’s promise that He will be with them always and as they become more and more involved in teaching, may they be inspired by the model, manner, methods and message of Jesus, the Master Teacher.
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Branching Out
“I have seen the Lord.” (John 20:18)
On Easter Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene did not at first recognize the risen Lord. She was right there sitting in front of an empty tomb when Jesus approached her. She talked to Him, asking Him where they had taken her Lord. After everything Jesus did for her, forgiving her sins, walking with Him, eating with Him, one would think that she would remember and recognize Him right away. But it was only when Jesus called her by name did her eyes open and she saw that it was the Lord, alive and well. Mary was so happy she didn’t want to let Him go but Jesus told her she could not cling to Him. Full of joy, she ran to the other disciples to tell them, “I have seen the Lord!”
 And so it was on that Sunday of March 21, 2010 when Romy and Minda Panday shared on the topic of “Transformation” at Our Lady of the Assumption in Toronto for its first parish LSS. They testified on how having been called by God to the BLD Community, their eyes opened to the abiding presence of God and how it had been a life-changing experience for them. Their powerful testimony before some 138 lambs showed how the Lord rewards perseverance in His service.
Together with Romy and Minda, we give thanks to the Lord, the True Vine, for calling them to branch out of our BLD home community to minister to His flock in Toronto. This indeed is another milestone for BLD St. Catharines. As we encounter the Risen Lord again and again in our lives, may we praise Him and joyfully share our joy with others as we tell them, “I have seen the Lord!”
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A New Level of Leadership Formed
At its first DLC Assembly held on February 27, Olie Ealdama announced the creation of an additional level of leadership in our organizational structure. Creating the position of “Assistant DLC” was the DCS’ way of spreading the work of building our Community by the most efficient use of our limited people resources. This position will give some members more responsibility to perform specific tasks for which they have clearly shown the ability to do the job. As Assistant DLCs, they will form part of the DLC body and will likewise be invited to all DLC Assemblies.
As Olie and Menchu led the assembly in the installation prayers, the following appointees were prayed over by their respective DCS: Lumen Soltes - Assistant DLC, Treasury; Jocelyn Rayos del Sol - Assistant DLC, Singles; Norielyn Santos (absent) – Assistant DLC, Mark 10, and Richard/Lani Lirio – Assistant DLCs, Secretariat.
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Olie also announced that effective immediately, Gerry and Zeny Ongcangco who, over the last 3 years have concurrently held the position of DLCs for the LSA and MLA, will now be responsible solely for the MLA. Danny and Myrna Zapata have graciously accepted to take over the function of DLCs for LSA.
We praise and thank the Lord for the blessing of these sisters and brothers who have generously responded to share their gifts in the service of the Lord.
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Planning and Growing in Christ
On November 21 and 22, 2009, St. Catharines DIP Shepherds, Olie and Menchu Ealdama, joined the rest of the Toronto leadership for their annual Planning Assembly. This is the forum in which every ministry head, (or DLC), gets to map out with their respective DCS their plans and objectives for the following year and how to accomplish these stated goals.
As they did last year, St. Catharines DCS - Romy & Minda Panday, Roy & Carmen Mitra, Avic Robles and Cip Tabios - were invited to join Olie and Menchu to give their invaluable contribution in planning the objectives and action plans for the Community in 2010.
On Saturday, the participants were blessed by the presence of Fr. Ben Ebcas, Toronto’s dynamic Spiritual Director. Fr. Ben said that if we “fail to plan, we plan to fail”. He gave 4 talks which touched on “Where Are We Right Now?”, “Where Are We Going?”, “How Do We Get There?” and “How Do We Know We are Already There?”. These questions served as a lead-in to the reflections on which the DCS shared as they gathered with Olie and Menchu to evaluate how St. Catharines is doing in light of these questions.
The DCS agreed that our St. Catharines DIP has grown by leaps and bounds and borne so much fruit. In just the last year alone, new teachers and sharers have been developed. Moving forward, we will continue to identify and develop the gifts of our members. The Mark 10, Singles, Solo Parents, Word, Teaching and Mission, while just relatively new ministries, have been quite dynamic. Our large number of Singles and Solo Parent members has been responsible for giving our Community its very unique charism and special appeal. Further, a number of our youth have participated in all of Toronto’s weekend programs and it is hoped that this year, our fledgling Youth group will become an honest-to-goodness Youth Ministry.
It is evident that the members who attend our corporate worship are very committed and are enthusiastic and want to serve. This is especially true for the Singles and Solo Parents. As soon as they graduate from the LSS, they remain active. But the other side of the coin is that so many of them cannot attend Friday’s worship unless other members can give them rides. It is critical that we continue to support them in their needs and we have clearly been blessed in this area by the generosity extended to them by both our leaders and other members.
Our recent crop of ME graduates have largely been active and we should endeavour to develop them, as well. We should give them the teachings and training which will enable them to assume greater responsibility.
Retention of members remains a continuing challenge. While a number of our recent LSS, ME, SE and SPE graduates are actively serving, we have not had as much success in rekindling the interest of those “older” graduates who have attended earlier LSS and MEs. Clearly some of them have life situations which prevent them from participating. And as we continue to embrace them and invite them to serve in our programs, this year, the full thrust of our efforts and energy should be directed toward attracting and recruiting more married couples to our ME weekends because married couples remain the backbone of our Community.
But our best laid plans will amount to nothing if we depend only on our own strength to see them through. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit because without me you can do nothing.”(John 15:5)
Let us therefore lay before God the objectives and plans that we have this year. If they are in accordance with His will, we pray that our gracious Lord will bless our efforts and plans. Let us pray unceasingly that He will continue to grow our numbers by giving us more dedicated members to join us in our joy for the privilege of serving Him.
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