Identify with Jesus Christ and grow gradually and faithfully in the likeness of him

Dear Brothers, greetings from the Philippines!  This past July 15-19 has proven to be a great blessing to our Order.  Formators from our various delegations traveled to our seminary in Vinzons to attend a workshop in response to the call of the Church to update and restructure our present formation manual according to the more current and modern challenges of formation which priests and religious face.  Our priest friend, who is an expert in formation, Father Augusto Angeles III, engaged our formators to focus upon preparing our CRM religious, in all stages of formation, to be Missionary Disciples of Christ according to our charism.

One of the main points that came out of the workshop was that when it comes to forming a Missionary Disciple, there are important principles which need to be underlined.  Discipleship shows that we are not only living for Christ, but allowing Christ to live in us.  In other words, following the wisdom of the Church, do we form people whose lives are imbued with Christ and is the light of Christ in them?  You become an effective religious by becoming a faithful disciple.  May our faithfulness to Christ mirror that same faithfulness which was in the hearts of Our Founders, Saint Francis Caracciolo, Venerable Augustine Adorno and Father Fabrizio Caracciolo.

The role of our formators are of paramount importance.  We are called to accompany our young men to identify with Jesus Christ and to grow gradually and faithfully in the likeness of him.  For this reason, our updated itinerary is an important tool to accompany those on the formation itinerary, from the earliest stages of formation until ongoing formation.  In this way, Christ will be all in all in our hearts.  

Another great event that has taken place is the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the presence of the Clerics Regular Minor in the Philippines.  The celebration included a Triduum of Masses where we gave thanks to God as we reflected upon our joys and sacrifices.  

During this time, Brother Michael Inovero, CRM and Brothers Michael George Mercado, CRM professed their solemn vows and subsequently, they were ordained to the Order of Deacon.  I am happy to announce that these two confrere will be immersed in their pastoral exposure as deacons in two different places.  Since Rev. Deacon Michael Inovero has not experienced the missionary communities yet, I am sending him to Tanzania, Africa to spend some months with our communities there.  .  I wish to express my gratitude to our African Fathers and brothers for their spirit of welcoming our brothers in their midst.

On the other hand, Rev. Michael George Mercado already had his three months stay in Congo during his pastoral year.  He will be assisting at the nearby National Shrine of Padre Pio in Sto. Tomas Batangas, Philippines under the care of the parish priest and rector who is a very close friend of the Order

My blessings and greetings during this time of August.   May we focus our prayers for the renewal of the priesthood and religious life in the Church and in our Order.  I bless you and ask you to pray for me as I unworthily serve our Order as your Father Servant.  

Fr. Ted Kalaw, CRM