austraLasia #2744 "You raise me up" - "you broke my heart"
Manila: 22 October 2010 -- If it takes two to tango, then the
dance at Don Bosco's Street Children Village in Alabang was exquisite -
but uneven; 500 street kids singing "You raise Me Up" in four voices,
and one visibly moved successor of Don Bosco replying, later in the
day, "You broke my heart". Alabang is a bustling suburb south of Metro
Manila, and on 21 October when the Rector Major visited and was
welcomed by more than 500 boys and girls in the gym, it was a fitting
end to what has been a whirlwind, but well-contemplated and precisely
managed visit to both north and south Philippines.
The day had begun with Mass for the Missions at the
theologate in Parañaque, another suburb of Manila. The Rector
Major was greeted by the Rectors of the 25 houses of the FIN,
formators, professors, and the sixty-plus students of theology coming
from 10 nationalities all over Asia and two from Africa (one from
Ethiopia and another from Rwanda). Most of the hymns for the Mass
were in Latin, with a couple of parts sung in a local language, the
confreres from Timor-Indonesia singing the offertory hymn and the
confreres from Vietnam singing a post-communion hymn. During the
prayers of the faithful, one from Indonesia-Timor prayed in Pilipino,
another from ITM in Mongolian, a Vietnamese in Chinese, a Filipino in
Urdu, and an Indian in Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea). During the Mass,
the Rector Major chose as the Gospel reading the parable of Lazarus and
the rich man, and in his homily he challenged missionaries to search
out those in worse conditions than the one of Lazarus. That gave
particular resonance, then, to events later in the day as he concluded
his visit to the Philippines in the midst of young people whose
experiences in life could well be worse than those of Lazarus.
In the course of the morning the RM met the Rectors
in the Philippines North Province, sharing the discussion with Fr
Adrian Bregolin, his vicar, on the animation and governance of the
Rector in the light of GC 25 and GC 26. The floor was then opened for a
sharing from the Rectors present on the lights and shadows of their
role as father, teacher, and guide of the communities. Before lunch,
the Rector Major blessed the new well-equipped three-floor library of
the Don Bosco Centre of Studies, a sleek structure providing a sense of
serenity conducive for reading and research. The students of theology
serenaded the Rector Major with a couple of choir pieces during lunch.
But back to Alabang, where evening saw dinner being
served in the new two-story culinary arts centre of the street children
village. The appetizers were prepared by the street kids studying under
a French chef, with the same kids serving the guests in their
well-groomed chef’s uniform, confidently talking in English to the
guests. Around 50 of the centre’s well-heeled benefactors were present
during dinner with the Rector Major. After thanking the benefactors, he
and his party left for the airport to return to Rome. _________________ AustraLasia is an
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