...beyond our seeing.
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by Philipina A. Marcelo
"As the father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21)
February 22-24, 2012 marked another important event in a Thomasian educator's life. The University held its "Neo-Centennial Retreat" at the newly blessed UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. The first day of the Retreat was aptly held on Ash Wednesday - the beginning of the Lenten Season in the Catholic 
High... on God!calendar... the Season for spiritual renewal and re-affirmation of every Christian's commitment to follow the way of Jesus and live a holy life to become pleasing to God.
High... on God!calendar... the Season for spiritual renewal and re-affirmation of every Christian's commitment to follow the way of Jesus and live a holy life to become pleasing to God.
The yearly Thomasian community spiritual renewal event is one of the hallmarks of our Royal and Pontifical University's mission as a Catholic University. Through this exercise, servants of the Church - mostly Thomasians, too - served as paths through which the charism of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the University's administrators, faculty, and professional support staff so that they would be inspired and be guided by Him who is all Holy to perform their duties... for God's greater glory. Our Retreat Masters encouraged us to invoke God's help throughout the three-day Retreat to empty our hearts with spiritual trash, because it is only through emptiness that God's grace can come and fill our hearts with His love and grace.
Each day, the Retreat proceedings was inspired by a theme... and we swam joyfully in the warmth of God's love in our midst.
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Day 1: "Remembering and Gratitude"
"We are defined by our memories."With such a powerful message from our Retreat Masters, we all embarked to yet another spiritual renewal and reconciliation with God. We, as one community, endeavoured to re-calibrate our spiritual gears as we set out to follow Him who is Holy. As the hilarious Dominican scholar, Fr. Enrico Gonzales, O. P., said in his spiritual talk, wonderful memories unfold and stay forever when we stop trying to create them with the limitations of the world, but when we instead let the infinity of God
The Thomasian Neo-Centennial Retreat at the
UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.create them through us by opening our souls to Him... and that these memories remain in our hearts and in our souls when they are created together with our community, and not alone. And so, as one community that is united by our common passion to serve God, we laughed, cried and fell in love deeper with God through the wonderful spiritual steering of Fr. Gonzales.
When Bishop Teodoro Bacani, D. D. led us to our first Solemn Eucharistic Celebration in the Retreat, our spirits have become more receptive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to become one with Christ in proclaiming the Glory of the Father... the same Glory that floods in our midst through grace and love. The continuous flow of grace is meaningless, however, unless each drop is appreciated and celebrated - as one community. And so, as we worshipped together, we gave thanks to God for our dear University of Santo Tomas (UST)... for the grace that abounds in its womb, where scholars, scientists and technologists, thinkers, doctors, teachers, architects, businessmen, public servants and martyrs are nurtured, and from which, they all emerged as gems of the nation, the world, and the Church. More importantly, these gems - children of our dear Alma Mater - are the very jewels that make the crown of the Father luster in awesome glory! And they gave us more meaningful reasons to celebrate God's love!
Yes, we remember the graces that we receive every single day, through our beloved USTe... and we are eternally grateful!
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Day 2: "Conversion and Healing"
"It is God who heals."The Most Rev. Pablo David, D. D. stressed that our spiritual growth is diminished by sins, and the guilt that fills our hearts from sinning are our worst penalty. In order for us to live a "life of grace", we have to endeavor to ungrow the "life of sin" through the Sacrament of Penance...
Spiritual transformation... filling our lives with
memories - of God's Grace.and as we pray, we open ourselves to God, we let His love fill our hearts, and allow ourselves to live a "life of grace". This is the basis of reconciliation with God... and the very essence of spiritual renewal.
"Healing" hastens the process of spiritual renewal, according to Fr. Joey Faller. A new life springs when "wounds" are healed... and it is our faith in God - believing that only God can heal us - that opens the door to spiritual, physical and emotional healing. We get healed when we rid our hearts and souls with unforgiveness and deep-seated bitterness... when we believe in our hearts that God loves us... and that He has beautiful plans for us. Our healing is permanent if we endeavored to live a life of transformation, renew our lives by turning from sins, and let the Holy Spirit steer us towards the Father.
In the Healing Eucharist, Fr. Faller stressed that after receiving healing from God, we have the responsibility to spread His message of healing and renewal... because the fruit of healing is evangelization. It is through evangelization that we can best express our gratefulness to God.
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Day 3: "Renewal and Mission"
"May God grant us a portion of our holy Thomasian martyrs' spirit, their steadfastness and sanctity, that we may emulate them, learn from them, and live like them."As the Retreat came to its final day, the Archbishop of Manila, the Most Reverend Luis Antonio G. Tagle, D. D., challenged the Thomasians "to mirror to the wider society the picture of renewed humanity". Renewal, in any form, the Archbishop stressed, will not be successful unless it was hinged on God - on His love and His will. UST's longevity is a testament of her faithfulness to God's will and her commitment to spreading God's love through the teaching of Christ, under the inspiration of one of God's most faithful servants, the University's Patron Saint, St. Thomas Aquinas. The faithfulness of Thomasians to God, as remembered in the "Commemoration of the Thomasian Martyrs" on the last day of the Retreat, amidst incredibly tormenting distractions and
"As the Father has sent me, so I send you."temptations these days can be considered unprecedented... and it is on this faithfulness that Archbishop Tagle rests his confidence in the ability of the Thomasian community to bring about a more sustainable societal renewal in our beloved country.
The Rector of UST, Rev. Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O. P., heeded Archbishop Tagle's call... and encouraged us "to strive to be faithful to the (UST Quadricentennial) jubilee's call for renewal and conversion, to ponder in our hearts the countless manifestations of God's unending grace, and to make the journey towards the dream beyond our seeing with faith, hope and love." And as a symbol of our commitment to Christ's mission of spreading the Good News of the Father's love, we imposed the Thomasian Neo-Centennial Mission Cross on each other with the Fr. Rector encouraging us "to tell the story of Jesus and bear witness to the holiness and sacrifices of our UST martyrs through lives imbued with faith, hope and love." The Rector pointed out that our daily lives are, in themselves, an offering to God... especially if we viewed each day as an opportunity for spiritual renewal. Our mission as Thomasians, the Fr. Rector emphasized, was to change and to inspire change - for the better - everyday!
After the Solemn Eucharistic Celebration, we all marched through the Arch of the Centuries, as we accompanied our dear USTe traverse a new century, and... into the dream beyond our seeing!
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| With faith, hope and love... on to the dream beyond our seeing! |
GO, USTe!!
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