THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY

Thanksgiving Message of FIDES Class

(Vicariate of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Delivered by Joselito Santos

Most Reverend Bishop Bernardino Cortez, D.D., Rev. Fr. Amado “Bong” Gino, Rev. Fr. Benjamin Jugueta Jr., Rev. Fr. John Jayoma,, Rev. Fr. Richard Magararu, Rev. Fr. Jose Alan Dialogo, Rev. Fr. Johnix Barro, Rev. Fr. Roderick Castro, all the Parish Pastoral Council heads and coordinators of the different Parishes of the Vicariate of Our Lady of Guadalupe, fellow Catechists – allow me to greet you all with peace, love and fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ, today as we are gathered here on this wonderful occasion of our graduation.

For almost a year, we have shared and spent our Saturdays together as we learned and gained knowledge on Catholic Church teachings that for so long we thought we already knew. And all of this knowledge will no doubt be valuable as we move forward in life. But my dear batch mates of the FIDES Class – all of these would not have become a reality had it not been through the patience and hard work of our formators, Parish Priests and not the least to mention, our Vicar Forane, Fr. John Barro.

I only recently learned that actually, this Basic Faith Formation, otherwise called “Ang Katolisismo” was initially offered to be held at a different Vicariate. But when for God’s grace and will, they had to decline, Fr. John readily accepted without hesitation and so the Vicariate of Our Lady of Guadalupe became the pioneer batch of this BFF. To somehow recall, I remember Fr. John noticed on the first day that the venue (originally at St. John Mary Vianney Parish) would not be conducive enough to accommodate all 60 plus of us! When we came to the Mary Mirror of Justice Parish the following Saturday (we were advised that we were moving to a new venue) we learned that even the chairs were newly purchased for our use! He made sure that we were really looked after as we attend our classes. Thus MMJP became our home during those Saturdays for almost a year. And for all of these, we are extremely grateful to you, Fr. John!

To all our Parish Priests, we would not be here if not for your guidance and generosity. You saw in us that we can be formed to be your Catechists and we thank you for that trust. We would like to return the favor, as we can now say we have “Chosen to be Brave, called to be saints, and are willing to be sent forth as heroes”. We are aware that you all have been monitoring our activities and probably our grades, when you get to huddle during the Vicariate meetings, which all the more encouraged and motivated us to keep us going and study even more. I admit, that there were times, I myself and my wife (we are one of two couples on this formation) would have quit already, as do some of our classmates. But through your prayers and intercessions by our Holy Mother, we pushed on and here we are!

Next I’d like to take a moment on behalf of myself and my FIDES classmates to thank the people that have brought us here. Mr. Art Barbadillo, Mr. Ed Frando, Ms. Malou Celada, Mr. Jesus Angelo dela Cruz, Ms. Josephine Javier, Ms. Annette Angeles, Ms. Peachie Yap, Sis. Noe Surmieda, Mr. Leo Asuncion, Fr. Bobby Titco, Fr. Clyde Cabuenas, Fr. Mon Pedroso. You are the people who took us on this journey. You who kept us frantic and nervous on our quizzes and exams! You also made us reflect on our lessons and encouraged us to share these with one another and through our Facebook page, got them to be read and liked as much as we want!

Truly, generosity is very contagious, as what you have unselfishly given, much of your time and effort for us. As what Fr. Bong enlightened us with during our Integration session. It is when we have nothing that generosity is at its best. When we see others giving, even their own set of clothes on them, or personal items (the famous pustisos and underwear), we feel compelled to do the same. Thank you Fr. Bong for your patience and wisdom. Being Paulinians  ourselves (me and my wife), I remembered our institution’s motto of “Caritas Christi Urget Nos” or the Charity of Christ Impels Us. It is the Holy Spirit at work when we share ourselves for others. It is the love of Christ Himself, as He commanded all of us to love one another as He had loved us. We offer our sincerest gratitude to God the Father for making you all instruments of His love. And so with the love of God, through His Only Begotten Son, and with the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, once again on behalf of the Basic Faith Formation “Ang Katolisismo” FIDES class – thank you all for your generosity and God Bless Us all! Magandang Umaga po sa inyong lahat!