All Souls Day is a significant day in the Roman Catholic Calendar. It is a day of prayer and remembrance for the departed souls of our dear families and relatives and is usually observed with shared meals and visits to the cemeteries.
FORMATION ARTICLES
During a Columban seminary formation, the study of philosophy is followed by a spiritual year program. It is different. This is a non-academic year where there are no exams, and all throughout the period, the seminarian is especially guided by prayer. Mosese Yacalevu from Labasa, Fiji, shares his personal reflection of the thirty-day retreat that is considered the highlight in this part of seminary formation.
"In my journey of dialogue with other religions, I have embodied the insight that dialogue entails listening but I could only understand deeply by using my heart."
A few of our Columban seminarians provide a glimpse to their respective ministries.
Praying, fasting and almsgiving: three words that gave me meaningful and substantial insights in my missionary journey here in Khipro, Pakistan. These have always been the three pillars of Lent.
People often think of hospitals as a place where only pain and suffering occur. Most people, including myself, would probably say that the hospital is the last place they want to be in. However, it is also a place where genuine love exists, as I discovered while working in the hospital apostolate.
Aisha, a two-year-old Muslim girl, arrived at the Catholic Clinic in Badin one Friday morning. She was admitted to the clinic for tuberculosis treatment. On another occasion, 71-year old Mansingh arrived at the clinic in scorching hot weather with his grandson.
By Columban Hkun Myat Aung...The author is a Columban seminarian from Myitkina, Myanmar who joined the Columban formation program here in the Philippines in 2015. At present he is studying Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas.
The Columban Formation Program in the Philippines started the new academic year 2017-2018 with the students’ annual retreat at St. Scholastica’s Center of Spirituality, Tagaytay City from July 30 till August 5. The students were privileged to have Fr. Patrick O ’Donoghue, the former Director of the Philippine region, presently assigned to Myanmar, as the retreat director. The opening mass for the academic year was held at the Singalong chapel on August 6. The students began their classes for the first semester on August 7.
Nowadays, the world has gotten so competitive that being innovative and task-oriented are a must in finding a good job. Although I do believe that people should study hard in order to land in a good job, live a comfortable life and secure a good future, but my journey through life has taught me that there are things beyond comfort, convenience and security that we need to aim for.