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MSP JUBILARIANS 2014 (A Moment of Thanksgiving, Celebration and Renewal)

To many, April may have just  been another month in the year that has come and gone but not for batch ‘89 (as what they’ve come to call themselves through the years), Fr Socrates Mesiona, Fr Carmelo Horlador, and Fr Catalino Miranda. That month brought them back twenty five years ago to the days and events when they were ordained to the priesthood and became members of the MSP.

The Celebrators had their Thanksgiving Masses in their respective towns. Fr Carmelo made his celebration more meaningful with talks on Mission, a 25 kilometer Fun-Run, and a Tree Planting Activity (25 trees) with the Parish Youth. The highlight was on April 10 with a Solemn Thanksgiving Mass at 10 A.M. at the St. John the Baptist Parish, Badiangan, IloIo. The affair was well attended by his family, relatives, former classmates, two lay representatives from Taiwan, local officials and parishioners. Fr Soc kicked off his celebration with a medical mission in his hometown in Sevilla, Bohol. It was spearheaded by his friends and relatives from the U.S. His Solemn Thanksgiving Mass was on April 14 at 10:30 am at the Historic Church of Sevilla. The celebration turned out to be “Fiesta“ as family and townsfolk gather  together for this one momentous event. Fr Linus, meanwhile, opted to celebrate his jubilee celebration in “simplicity and ordinariness” with his parishioners in the Good Shepherd Parish, Auckland, New Zealand.

The Jubilarians’ Common Thanksgiving Mass took place at the Blessed Sacrament Parish, Cebu City on April 23. Fr Carmelo shared how living through twenty-five years of MSP life felt and what celebrating the anniversary meant. It was a moment to celebrate, a moment of thanksgiving, and a moment of renewal for them and the society as a whole. As we eagerly listened to their stories as companions in the journey through the apostolic life, ”Teach us to count our days aright that we may gain wisdom of heart”, a prayer from Psalm 90, kept echoing in our hearts.

The Celebrative moment of the anniversary  offered  the  Jubilarians  an opportunity to reaffirm the brotherhood  and  friendship we shared in our initial years of formation. The Renewal moment  of the anniversary deepened  the  call and the challenge  of recommitment  to spend their lives in Perfect Continence. Yes, twenty five years ago, they lit their lamps and, by God’s grace and only by His grace, have they kept these lamps burning.

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