On July 28, at the International House of Formation in Manila, we celebrated the First Profession of Br Anthony from Vietnam, Br Augusteen from Pakistan, and Br Ryan from Malta. As it was already announced, this comes at the end of one year of Novitiate formation, during which the brothers were introduced in a deeper way to the charism and spirituality of the Missionary Society of St Paul.
As a community, we were praying hard for good weather, as our plan was to celabrate it in our patio, the only space big enough to accommodate the 100+ guests we had invited. However, the good Lord thought otherwise and so we had to come up with an emergency measure in which we put most of our guests in our common room, with the remaining guests overflowing in the hallway and adjacent chapel, following the celebration through a video link.
It still proved to be a meaningful and beautiful celebration.
Fr Hector, as regional superior, presided the celebration and accepted the First Profession of these three brothers on behalf of the Superior General. Concelebrating with him were the other MSSP priests in the Philippines together with some priests friends of the brothers.
Present for the celebration were the members of our lay community as well as close friends of the MSSP in the Philippines. Also present were fellow novices from other congregations with whom our brothers shared their formation in an inter-congregational program called Exodus.
We also did our best to help the families of the brothers participate in the celebration through live streaming but the results were not very good. You can still have a look at the celebration by clicking here.
Now the newly-professed will be travelling back to their home countries to visit their families. Then, in September, they will come together again in Malta where they will continue their formation for the coming three years.
While thanking the Lord for giving them as a gift to us and to Church, we pray that He may continue to bless them and keep them close to him.
