Missionary Journeys of Paul and learnings

June 12, Thursday 

In these days, we are listening to the experience of Paul, the apostle, during his missionary journeys. 

Today’s letter to 2 Corinthians was written during Paul's third missionary journey. The missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul offer many valuable lessons for our journey of Delegation.

1. Forming disciples is the primary work of the early church: 

• First Council of Jerusalem, one of the main tasks is to form/produce the disciples. 
• Paul was convinced that to achieve the best long-term results, ministry includes training leaders and building sustainable churches. 
• Paul formed collaborators around him; never a soloist in his mission, Timothy and Titus, Barnabas, Silas, and Apollos. male and female collaborators; he preferred to call them coworkers.
• For Paul, Evangelisation is not just about conversion alone, but about forming communities of faith or individual persons.
• Paul appointed elders and revisited churches to strengthen them (Acts 14:23).
• Criteria to be his disciples; most of them were non-Jews, Timothy had a Greek father. Priscilla and Aquila from Rome: all of them should be rooted in scripture. 
• Passion for vocation promotion, the soul of our mission, the reason for our hope, 

2.   Paul’s formation is giving Training Through Suffering and Perseverance

• Paul modelled Christ-like living through his actions. Disciples learn more by watching a life well-lived by the apostle in his life and preaching. Paul prepared disciples to face hardship as part of their ministry.
• The prison doors opened during an earthquake, and all the prisoners' chains were loosed, but Paul and Silas, despite the opportunity to escape, chose to remain in the prison. Paul and Silas's stay in the prison. Teaching the disciples to learn from our sufferings
• 2 Timothy 2:3 – “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
• Pruning is vitally important for the plant to grow high and bear fruit. John 15:2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit. We cannot think of an easy life. 

3.Disputes, disagreements and controversies are possible in our life of mission. We need to be Collaborators for the common mission.

Peter and Paul had a hot discussion on the issue of circumcision during the Council of Jerusalem. 

• Paul and Peter
• Paul and James had different theologies around the issue of salvation. Paul emphasized salvation by faith alone, while James would say faith without works is dead. 
• Paul and Barnabas on John Mark

Study: Paul did not get along with the other apostles because of his nature. 

The differences of opinions and , disagreements and controversies are all things possible among saints. The saints have not "fallen from Heaven". They are people like us, who also have complicated problems; these are things that make us human and realistic. 

What makes us holy is not the absence of fights. Holiness lies in the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again and, especially, for reconciliation and forgiveness.

Everyone has a different task in the field of the Lord: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.... we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building" (I Cor 3: 6-9).

We need to go out of the assembly with this spirit; one for all and all for one, common goal- common passion- Gospel- Paul and Peter, different ministers of activity, director, formator.

Feast of the Visitation of BVM

First religious Profession, Carmelite Missionary Sisters, 31 May 2025

1. Your Congregation in Spain should be familiar with the famous pilgrimage site, the Way of St. James, Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Sino sa inyo ang nakagawa nito? A long pilgrimage to the site where the tomb of St. James, the apostle of Jesus, is kept. 
2. Today’s Feast of Visitation can also be called Camino di Mamma Mary. Her Journey from Bethlehem to Ayin Karim is more than 100 km, a very long and tiresome camino by a young pregnant girl, Mary. 
3. Today, Bianca and Christine, two young and beautiful girls, are beginning a camino through this religious profession, as you incorporate yourselves into the Congregation. 

The Visitation journey marks the beginning of the mother's journey. Her journey that begins now will continue to Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Cana, and Calvary. Lifelong camino until the Stabat Mater, the feet of the cross. 

Mark in your calendar, this day of first religious profession, you are professing the evangelical counsels in the presence of the Church after a few years of temporary profession, Juniorate years, and after that, you will make life a lifelong journey of love.  

In the name of your community, priests, family and brothers, what are our wishes for your Camino?

1.     Joyful Camino of being a Carmelite in the Church:

I follow your Carmelite vocation page on Facebook, smiling faces. Some Congregations choose a beautiful sister and a handsome deacon to be the vocation promoters. Your smile makes you beautiful and makes someone hopeful. 

Being joyful, there should be a reason. You have it. “I am no longer belong to myself, but I am yours”. 

Joy of being a Carmelite. You are professing in the presence of the Church, where there are a variety of charisms and vocations in the Church. You are beginning a Camino as a Carmelite. Joy of having this specific Carmelite vocation, you are not a generic, Christian vocation; all are, other people want to walk with Pope Leo. You are walking as the missionary Carmel. 

Creative fidelity to your roots and tradition: knowing both of you, use your creativity and fidelity to your spiritual heritage to enrich your identity, do not compromise with your inner life. Mary kept her heart pure, it is a heavy work. Take care of your prayer life. My Novice master suggested two books for the initial journey: The Little Way of Teresa of the Child Jesus and Interior Castle. 

You are intelligent, creative and adventurous nuns, how can you be more prayerful and contemplative? The solid foundation of prayer life will make your camino interesting and hindi na pagod. Contemplative attitude is a gift to the Church. Embrace the asceticism which is the fundamental nature of your life, moved by the Spirit every day by the Word of God and the Eucharist. 

Mary does not pass by the house of Elizabeth. “She remained with Elizabeth for about three months; then she returned home”. Every journey must end; everyone must return home. Jesus said, John 15:4 “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you”. Visitation insists you the aspect of staying inside your home, being nailed in your chapels of the community, blessed Sacrament. 

If an egg is broken by outside force, Life ends. The same is broken by inner force, the life begins. The great things begin from the inside. The years of temporary profession you needed to mature your inner life; be generous with your prayer life, Eucharistic devotion, the gospel and Marian piety.   

Mary was the first one who make the Eucharistic procession. She carries the blessed sacrament to the world. Maybe Mary would become more tired and sad if she was not pregnant. The person inside her is the reason for joy and success for Camino. Do not go empty. Outer beauty attracts, the inner beauty captivates. Inner beauty develops when your inner life is strong in prayer. 

2. Synodal Camino: 

You are professing in the Jubilee Year. You have a new Pope. The New Pope is giving some clues about how he is going to guide the Church. He prefers to continue the synodal initiatives his predecessor has begun. His Papal emphasis is on the unity of the Church; he believes strongly in collegiality and synodality. Your camino with others gives more meaning to your consecration.

Mary does not remain isolated in her personal grace; she reaches out to share, support, and journey with another. This is the model of todays Church, Pope Leo is proposing to your age, the Church’s mission to accompany other vocations, especially the suffering members of the body of Christ; marginalized and vulnerable.

The Visitation challenges a self-centered spirituality. Mary’s journey is a model for a Church that listens, walks with others, and bears Christ in action. We listened, she went in haste, she hurried down. 

The Philippines constitution states that even the foetus has life. The gospel goes a step further and asserts that the child in the womb also has emotions and feelings. John in the womb rejoiced, leapt in the womb with joy. This is a reminder that the life should be protected, whom the congregation entrusts you, may be sick people, children in the ministry for education, the elderly and children, especially giving preference ot the suffering members of the body of Christ. consider them like brothers and sisters. 

3. Camino of dialogue and discernment: 

The sudden decline in the number of religious in the Church, not only in the West but also in Asian countries. 

Discernment is essentially important in the lives of today’s youth because they are in a critical stage of growth, identity formation, and are exposed to today’s world, where there are many challenges. Dear sisters, You are 2k kids, not like all of us, Some of us are born even before Vatican II, but you are of this world, you can understand today’s church and mission in a better way than others. But remember also you have many challenges and distractions. 

We need to help each other: the age difference between Mary and Elizabeth is interpreted as a model for intergenerational dialogue in faith. Mary respects the wisdom, remains with her and give her service.  Elizabeth, an elder, encourages, affirms and blesses Mary’s youthful faith. 

• Do not be overconfident and risk walking alone. Needed the journey of dialogue and discernment. 
• Pain, misunderstanding, and fatigue are part of the Camino. The Gospel does not talk more about the challenges of the visitation of Mary. The Jewish women were not that much free to walk alone, courageously. 
• The Gospel of visitation and the Church invites us to foster faith-filled dialogue across ages, respecting wisdom and encouraging youthful vision.

We help you and have hope in you, the youthful vision of the Congregation and you also accept us. 

Camino keeps you to respect their wisdom and another encouraging youth vision. 

Wish you all the best for a joyful, fraternal and challenging camino.

Saturday of the Fifth week Lent

As we prepare to enter Holy Week, today’s Gospel (John 11:45–57) marks a turning point: the debates disappear, and now they are ready to kill Him.

The high priest Caiaphas makes a chilling statement: “It is better for you that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation should perish.” John says this was spoken not just as a political opinion but as a prophetic word.

It disturbs but is true. Life seems to work this way: the majority enjoys the sacrifice of the individual. Caiaphas “individual may be sacrificed for the common good.

It is called Utilitarianism; the greatest good for the greatest number, might be justified. Sacrificing one to save many is morally right - or even necessary. 

• A small chick may be sacrificed for the sins of a great man.

• “To save a family, one may sacrifice an individual.

• To save a village, one may sacrifice a family. To save a nation, one may sacrifice a village. To save a soul, one may sacrifice the whole world.” (Mahabharata II.55.10)

This idea—that the small must suffer for the sake of the great—has been written into our cultural and moral logic. Jesus willingly becomes the one who suffers for all.

Is this ethical right? Scriptures often affirm: “What is needed is what is righteous.”

From the moment it is said, “Better for one man to die than the whole nation,” Jesus begins to withdraw. He no longer walks openly.

God is uniting but humans divide themselves; divine will transcends borders, races, languages, and ideologies, calling humanity to unity. 

But then, as you said, humans divide themselves—by race, religion, nationality, politics, class, even petty disagreements. But here’s the catch: diversity is not the same as division. It’s okay for people to have different cultures, beliefs, and ways of life—as long as they respect and value each other. those differences become walls instead of bridges. question is: How can we embrace our differences without letting them divide us?

Today’s readings challenge us: We may be the ones who are sacrificed—the small ones suffering for the sake of the big.