Silent prayer advocate shares to GS, HS Faculty

Sr. Perry Inso, RC, a Silent Prayer advocate from Cebu, shares the strategy to the GS and HS Faculty in a short session at the school's retreat house, the St. Paul Spiritual Oasis, on July 24.

In saying it, we take responsibility for what we want.

Thus, with outburst and zeal, Sr. Perry Inso, RC declared in her short talk about Stillness in Schools to the Grade School and High School Faculty on July 24, 2014 at the St. Paul Spiritual Oasis, the retreat house inside St. Paul College of Bocaue campus.

Sr. Perry, a Cebuana, finished her Bachelor of Science in Education at Cebu Normal University and her Master of Arts in English at the University of San Jose Recoletos, Cebu.

She worked as a grade school teacher for nine years at a De La Salle-supervised School in Cebu and a high school teacher for three years at Ateneo de Cebu before joining the congregation of Our Lady of the Cenacle in 1997.

She has been involved in giving retreats and recollections in some religious and lay men and women in Cebu and other parts of the Philippines. Considered as the suki  of St. Paul of Chartres for 30-day silent retreat, she also helps in the on-going formation of some scholars and domestic helpers, including mothers in Inayawan dumpsite and volunteers as catechist to the parish where she is presently assigned.

Part of her outreach is to teach children from Grades 1 to VI to focus on silent prayer.

“We experience God when we pray. Anyone who is in prayer is always a response to God’s invitation,” she said after reading a short symbolic story, entitled, Table for Two  which is about a man, who, for consecutive nights, waited for a girl he loves so much in a restaurant. At the end of the story, Sr. Perry likened the man to God who is consistent and patiently waiting for everyone to respond to His call through silent prayer. “How many of us had kept God waiting?  Prayer is giving God access to our hearts,” she probed. She also said that God is a loving God, thus, everyone may keep Him waiting, yet He still waits for each to respond to His call, for love is a commitment for the well-being of others; moreover, that’s how God shows His compassion to people.

In her sharing she underscored important points about silence: (a) Silence is a lost art in a society made of noise (b) Silence brings people face to face with themselves (c) Silence is life’s greatest teacher for it shows what people have yet to become and how much they lack to become it (d) Silence is the place just before the voice of God.

She also shared activities she conducts in her classes such as games, story telling from the Bible or stories with values infused), guided meditation, make-believe activities and playing songs.

In an interview, she shared about her joys of being an advocate of silence and meditation. She said that the graders she handled, specifically the Grade 1 pupils, could stay still and quiet for seven minutes; and her secret, according to her, is consistency, thus, not creating pressure and threat in the classroom. “What I am conducting originally came from Australia, and now, it has spread in some parts of the globe,” she said.

She let the faculty experience silence through a ten-minute guided meditation and suggested to have time for silence during their vacant time.

She also said that once a person develops focus through silence and meditation, he improves his memory, becomes more aware and less critical to others, and that through silence, a person becomes more aware of his well-being.

The talk was initiated by the Religious Education led by Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC, Christian Formation Head.

Simultaneously, a Bible Quiz Bee was conducted at the Father Louis Chauvet Gymnasium. Grade School and High School students participated in the activity and some sections especially in the Grade School Department won numerous prizes such as mugs and rosaries.

News Feature

by Miss Maricar Bargado

Sr. Gemma conducts 1st Regular Catechesis for Faculty Members, forms BECs

Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC, the Christian Formation and Community Extension Services Head, addresses the GS and HS Faculty during the 1st Regular Catechesis at the Iluminada R. Mendoza Little Theater yesterday, July 18.

Orienting the GS and HS Faculty on the Year of the Laity, Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC, the Christian Formation Head and Community Extension Services Head, conducted the 1st Regular Catechesis for the Faculty yesterday, July 18, at the Iluminada R. Mendoza Little Theater at St. Paul College of Bocaue.

"There are two fundamental aspects of the vocation of the laity," she said. "These are the full belonging of the lay faithful to the Church and its mystery, and its secular character where the world is the milieu and means for the lay faithful to fulfill their vocation," she mentioned.

Sr. Gemma led the faculty into the many ways where the lay people could get involved in the Church, particularly in the parishes.

She explained that the whole Church is missionary, and that the work of evangelization is a basic duty of the people of God.

"All the lay faithful are called to heal and transform society," she quoted the four aspects of the laity's role and life, "whether rich or poor, employed or unemployed, professional or non-professional to prepare the temporal order for the final establishment of the Kingdom of God."

This entails that the faithful have to depend on one another and that they must carry one another's burdens, she deepened.

The challenge of New Evangelization is to do it with "new ardor, new expressions, and new forms," she emphasized.

When asked to share their thoughts on the Year of the Laity and its challenges to the faculty, Mrs. Luzviminda Estrella, on of the HS Religious Education teachers shared that there are a lot of ways where one could get involved in the parishes. She mentioned of the different ministries and commissions where one could join and get involved.

Mr. Ernesto Guillermo, Jr., the HS Academic Chair expressed that there is joy in serving the Lord, especially here in the Philippines where it is not so bothered by what other countries are experiencing. Despite the stories of graft and corruption and the other problems that beset the country, "they are incomparable to what other countries are facing," he shared. He went on to mention the celebrated case of a young girl named Malala Yousufzai, who was shot by the Taliban in her fight for the rights of the girls in Pakistan for education. "Such was a courageous act of this girl who stood for the rights of others," he said. "But how many among us could be like Malala who could fight for the sake of others, speaking of the rights of children?" he asked.

He mentioned of Syria where the people are beset with deaths due to armed conflict almost everyday. He cited also the latest terrorist attack on yet another Malaysian Airlines when passing by the Ukraine. "And so, there are a lot of reasons to thank God for for the Philippines," he reflected. And one of the best ways to thank Him is to get involved in the Church in the Year of the Laity, he added.

"This is a challenge for Catholic teachers like us who are from St. Paul College of Bocaue because we come from a Catholic school," he said.

Miss Imelda Baltazar, the GS Academic Chair shared a similar thought as with Mr. Guillermo. She narrated that it is ironical that when she eventually came to a Catholic school, she eventually lost touch with her involvement in her parish. "It is not enough to just simply attend the Sunday Masses," she realized. "We must get involved," she exhorted.

Mr. Alejandro Manuel, the HS MAPEH Team Leader, also shared how difficult it could be to serve in the Parish. He said it even reached that point where he missed important family commitments just to be able to serve. He is thankful, though, that "the Lord had never abandoned us with our needs."

Miss Maricar Bargado, the English STL expressed thanks that she is able to serve as one of the choir members through the invitation of Mr. Manuel. She said she is happy that she is in the parish.

Mr. John Christopher Gutuman, a HS Mathematics teacher and also a Lay Minister of the Holy Communion in his parish, also shared the joy of serving the Church, even as he is also a member of a choir.

Sr. Gemma expressed her desire that more faculty should be involved in the different parishes as a response to the missionary character of the laity.

She went on to ask, "What now, Laity of the Church in the world?"

After talking about the Year of the Laity, she presented the concept of Basic Ecclesial Community which eventually led to the formation of the different cells among the faculty.

The BEC will take the place of the DEPTHS, she bared, and that it will be taken care of by the Religious Education teachers during their meetings with their students.

Meanwhile, it was decided that the afternoon of the first day of Summative Tests will be the general sharing for the BEC among the faculty, while the afternoon of the first day of Periodic Tests will be devoted to catechesis.

With regard to the BEC reflection guide, Mr. Guillermo suggested that the Mass Reflection Guide found at the Tagalog Missal published monthly by the Diocese of Malolos be used.

Sr. Gemma expressed hope that the BEC that will be formed in school, which are quasi-BEC, will heighten the love of the Word of God and will form caring communities among the members of the academic community.

SPCB gives warm reception to BOT Members

Sr. Lilia Therese Tolentino, SPC, the Provincial Superior, is flanked by Sr. Nilda Masirag, SPC, the Provincial Assistant for Education, Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, Directress-HS Principal, and Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC, the Christian Formation and Community Extension Services, as she was received by the SPCB Academic Community.

St. Paul College of Bocaue accorded the members of the Board of Trustees headed by the new Provincial Superior, Sr. Lilia Therese Tolentino, SPC, a very rousing and warm reception when they arrived yesterday after lunch, July 14, for the Annual Board Meeting.

Sr. Lilia was accompanied by Sr. Maria Nilda Masirag, SPC, the new Assistant Provincial for Education, and Sr. Francesca of the Sacred heart San Diego, SPC.

The warm reception was spearheaded by Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, the School Directress and High School Principal, together with Mr. Ernesto U. Guillermo, Jr., the HS Academic Chair and members of the GS and HS Academic Council.

Student officers show their gesture of warm reception to the members of the Board of Trustees.

The Public Relations Unit officers and members line up for the welcome.

Student officers of the Public Relations Unit, High School Board of Students, Grade School Student Council,  and the CAT lined up, welcomed, and greeted the Sisters who arrived from the Board Meeting at St. Paul School of Sta. Maria.

Mr. Alejandro Manuel conducts the Anklung Ensemble as the members of the Board of Trustees arrive for the Board Meeting.

The Anklung Ensemble under Mr. Alejandro M. Manuel, the HS MAPEH Team Leader, played "Mabuhay March" as the Sisters alighted from their vehicle and entered the Our Lady of Chartres Building.

Sr. Marie Celine P. Santos, SPC, the Local Community Superior and Grade School Principal was also with the Council members who came from SPSSM.

Sr. Remedios poses with some of the GS and HS Faculty Members and the PFC HS President while waiting for the Members of the Board of Trustees to arrive.

Together with Sr. Remedios was Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC, the Christian Formation and Community Extension Services Head.

The list of Sisters who were welcomed for the Board Meeting was prepared by the HS Department.

All the Sisters in the Local Community joined the Board of Trustees Meeting, where the Directress Report was presented, including proposals for the current school year and the future.

Several days before the Board Meeting, Sr. Remedios gathered data and reports from the different area heads, offices, and administrators which she consolidated for her Directress Report. The report focused more on SY 2013-2014, but also included proposals for SY 2014-2015.

Below are some pictures of the warm reception: