My Holy Week in Tagaytay!

by Therese Choong
“Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Holy Week in the Philippines is a Holy week like no other.

As a community, we adjourned to our parish, 'Our Lady of Lourdes' here in Tagaytay, Philippines for the Holy week celebrations.

Right from Maundy Thursday's liturgy to Easter Sunday, the parish was filled to the brim with people. In fact many were left standing for the entire duration of the mass/service.

The altar had already been prepared with 12 empty chairs for 12 men representing the apostles to allow their feet to be washed. Who are the people who will fill these vacant chairs left by the apostles? As I pondered, I felt we are all called to lead exemplary lives, called to be quality disciples, and to go boldly, just as we are, limited in understanding, sinners, to take up our positions and allow God to love us and send us forth like the early disciples.

Good Friday service was a very reverent experience. Every parishioner stood throughout the long readings and participated fully. In the Philippines, there is also a procession after the mass to commemorate the death of Jesus. This procession, call

ed the Mater Dolorosa (the Sorrowful Mother), took place on the main street of Tagaytay, where the normal peak hour traffic went alongside the procession.

The Easter Vigil was very well attended and in fact many parishioners stood throughout the 3 hour mass because there just wasn't enough room. As the church dimmed its lights, there was a hush, an awaiting. The 'Hallelujah's have not been sung in a long while. 40 days to be exact. And now, each one lighting their candle, each little light being passed on, the church now, once again lit with hope. And all the different versions of Hallelujahs are now sung,

And Finally on Easter Sunday. As the priest preached, Easter is like God's Valentine's day for us, showing us His immense love on that cross and letting us rise with him.

Though the masses were in Tagalog, we intensely felt the unity of the church as it worships together- many languages, many countries, many people, but one holy and apostolic church.

A day with Fr Frankie Cini, MSSP

Last Monday 15 March 2010, we had the privilege of having Fr Frankie Cini, MSSP, from Malta, share about issues in group facilitation. It was a short but impactful session as we looked at the different stages of group formation and the different roles played by different group members. Bringing with him his experience and observations, Fr Frankie’s session was filled with anecdotes of his own encounters. It was also a timely session as his insights threw light into the current changes experienced by our smaller community following our relocation to Tagaytay.

Before we knew it, the day drew to a close and we could not allow Fr Frankie to leave without tasting our famous buko pie (crusty pie filled with fresh coconut slices) made by the Good Shepherd Sisters!

We thank Fr Frankie for his time and for his invaluable insights!

We have moved....

to our new mission centre in the Philippines!!

located at Barangay Maitim II Central, Tagaytay City, Cavite...














join us for a quick tour of the place...

our little garden












our chapel









our dining area









the living area









our office









the library cum study room

We are moving house!

Our mission centre in the Philippines is currently relocating from Pasig, Metro Manila, to Tagaytay, Cavite. The move comes as our current house in Pasig is no longer suitable for our needs given our developing ministries to the poor and our role as the formation centre for new ICPE missionaries. We will be renting a house in Tagaytay, located approximately an hour and a half from Manila.
As we relocate to a much smaller house, we’ve also started selling our extra furniture through 3 days of intensive garage sales. It started with the mind boggling sorting out of furniture and different items in the house, followed by the pricing of the items. Our brothers in community supplied the muscle power as they carried beds, cabinets and shelves down four flights of stairs to display the items for sale. Other community members put on their “business minds” and plunged into the price haggling melee, typical of all local garage sales. Yet others, helped to clean, wipe, recycle and group different items for sale.





The tiring but fulfilling sales marked another step for us as we continue to relocate to the new place that God has in store for us. It is in the letting go that enables new beginnings to take place!

FUN STORY TIME ~ learning English the fun way!

“I wiggle like that, I jiggle like that, I wiggle like that, my tummy is fat!” sang 23 children with gusto as they pretended to be the caterpillar from Eric Carle’s much loved book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. The children listened wide eyed as the story unfolded with each page bursting with colours. Once they understood the story, they took turns to name the items and sequence the different objects from the story. Each child then made a caterpillar and watched as their caterpillars were stuffed into a bag representing a cocoon. From the cocoon, a butterfly was pulled out and the children were then taught the different stages of metamorphosis from of the caterpillar from egg to butterfly. Various body actions corresponding to each stage of development helped reinforce the concepts.
When it all had to finally end, we were thrilled to see the children leave whilst humming their caterpillar song and clutching their caterpillars. We certainly had fun wiggling and jiggling together. We pray that through this session, the spark of interest in learning English will be enkindled in their hearts.

Fun Story Time began as an initiative under the Children Educational Sponsorship ministry, which aims to empower children through education. Apart from providing financial assistance for their educational needs, the ministry also runs programmes to help children improve their academic skills through English tutorials and Fun Story Time.

Balikatan Ministry- commitment ceremony!

contributed by Andrina Tan

It was indeed a very joyous occasions for all the ICPE missionaries who had been journeying with the Balikatan members. On 23 January 2009, 34 Balikatan members expressed their public commitment to deepen their walk of faith with Christ through prayer and living out the gospel values in their daily life. As a community, they also committed to deepen in relationships and support for one another- truly expressing their call to be Balikatan – shoulder to shoulder in Filipino.
Many of the members expressed their joy and excitement in taking this step. Issac Melmida, a member since 2009, shared his feelings of excitement as taking this commitment means he is even more ready to serve in Balikatan and to be a good Christian.

Fourteen of the Balikatan members have also been selected to serve as leaders in the group. They are currently under-going leadership training which would equip them with skills to lead cell-groups and Bible reflections. The leadership training emphasizes servant leadership, taking Christ as role-model. The training reinforced the concept of a leader as one who not only tells others what to do but leads by example and lives out Christian values so that other members can model after them.
Balikatan started out as a weekly meeting for adults in Montalban. From the humble beginnings of a handful of members, it has now expanded to a group of about 40 committed members with some taking up leadership roles. The commitment to spiritual growth of our members as well as their eagerness to invite their friends to join our meetings has enabled this group to grow steadily in numbers and has also become a place where friendships are built and where faith stories are shared.

Celebrating 25 years of the ICPE Mission!

17th January 2010 marked the silver anniversary of the ICPE Mission. Here in the Philippines, we started our celebration with mass at our mission centre. Joining us in our celebration was Rev. Fr Chris Kowalzsyc sds and a few invited guests. As we thanked God for His many blessing and faithfulness throughout the 25 years of the ICPE Mission, we recalled the greatness of God with heartfelt joy.

After mass, we adjourned for a lunch and together, we listened to a specially recorded message from Mario and Anna Capello, our founders.

As this day kick starts the beginning of our year long celebrations, we continue to rejoice in the Lord’s goodness and His call!

So ... watch this space and join us in thanking God as we remember and celebrate His faithfulness throughout this year!

Experiencing God as a volunteer...

My name is Karen Emmanuel. I am from Pakistan. Being here in the ICPE Mission, Philippines, is really an honour and blessing for me because I never thought or imagined that I could do this. It is GOD who brought me here.
During my stay, I experienced a strengthening of my faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. I grew in confidence in vocalizing my prayers during prayer sessions and I fulfilled my great desire to attend daily morning mass.
Two events really stand out in my time here thus far. The first was during a prayer session on New Year ’s Eve where we gathered as a community to thank God for his blessings throughout 2009. At that moment, I realized how the Holy Spirit had been working in my life and the many different things that happened to me in 2009. When the community prayed for me, I felt the

love of GOD pouring into me through his people and a sense of God saying “You are my beloved one. I love you. Believe in me and my spirit will be your light in the darkness of your life. Rejoice in me and my Holy Spirit in you shall be granted.”
The other significant moment was during a community praise and worship session. During that prayer session, I experienced very tangibly the presence of God. I felt God reminding me that He was holding my hand and His assurance for me not to be afraid.
This year, I believe that Jesus is really born in my heart. I have received Him as joy in my life together with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Through the ministries to the children and adults in Montalban, I experienced what it means to bring Christ to another person. The ICPE missionaries helped me see how you can serve God and His people.

I end with this message to the ICPE community:-
Sometimes your existence gives hope to one person
Your smile can be a star for one person
Your presence might be the desire for many who
love you and believe in you.
So value yourselves. Bear in mind that you all are the source of happiness
of many lives from GOD.

Medical mission- Hepatitis B Vaccination

On 9 January 2010, 40 children from Montalban received the first of their three rounds of vaccination against Hepatitis B. This was carried out with the help of Tulay Lingap ni Padre Pio who sent Dr Joan Miana and Evelyn to administer the vaccinations.

Over the course of the next 6 months, the children will receive the remaining 2 doses of the vaccine.

We thank our generous sponsors for the contributions towards the purchase of the vaccines! God bless you all!

living my dreams as a volunteer

I’ve always wanted to do volunteer work but somehow I never found a suitable volunteer opportunity in Pakistan. Thus, I was very excited when the possibility arose to serve as a volunteer with the ICPE Mission in the Philippines. I encountered so many new things here.

One highlight was the Puso sa Puso Christmas party for 5000 street children on 5 December 2009, organized by the Salvatorian priests. Together with members of the ICPE Mission, I joined the group of 1000 volunteers and helped to chaperone the children throughout the party. I was amazed to be able to communicate with them even though I could not speak Tagalog. Most of all, I realized at the party, that I was finally living out my dream to volunteer. It was even more exciting to make new friends, especially with like-minded people who share the same passion to serve as volunteers. I thank God for this chance to live out my dream here!

Anica Ghouri, who hails from Pakistan, is currently serving with us as a volunteer since November.

Christmas in the Philippines...

A carolling we go...

Reverse Carolling 2009 in pictures..

Birthing Christ

I just spent the last week singing carols (yes, even in Tagalog) and delivering Christmas hampers to the poor living in Montalban, Philippines.


ICPE Philippines, a Catholic lay missionary organization, organizes a reverse carolling outreach to the people living near the dumpsite in Montalban every year.

In its third year, the reverse carolling intiative sees teams of volunteers fanning the area, visiting the poor families living there to sing Christmas carols, praying with them and giving each family a Christmas hamper filled with goodies that will enable them to have a special meal during Christmas as well as provide them with some basic necessities.

This year, ICPE organized three outreaches on December 16th, 17th and 19th with the latter involving their Balikatan Ministry which comprises members of the community living in that area. Some 400 hampers were given out over the three-day period.
While there were many takeaways from the entire experience - the resilience of the people, joy that can exist even in the grimmest of circumstances, the hunger for love that can be satisfied in giving to others, how beauty is a universal language, the importance of good health and what a gift from God children are - the thing that struck me most was the power of a smile.

The profound gratitude of the families I visited really moved me for despite the inability to communicate with them, just by smiling at them and trying my best to exude empathy and compassion evoked a response that said, "Welcome and thank you for visiting me. I am so happy you are here, listening to me and acknowledging my existence".

I was humbled and awed in turn by the ability to recognize Christ's presence in the other, who in turn recognized Christ in me.

It was as Mother Teresa said, "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing".

In the act of a smile given, and a smile received and returned, each moment was a blessing for both the giver and the recipient. Sacred. Priceless.

While the poverty I saw made me weep, I was reminded to do what I can and to offer the rest up to God.

He who takes care of every living creature will take care of those I met over the three days of outreach.

I return home grateful for all that I have, the opportunity to make this Advent meaningful and allow Emmanuel to be born again in the world.

This article is contributed by Jackie Pau, a member of the Woman to Woman ministry of ICPE Mission, Singapore. Eight members of the Woman to Woman ministry served as volunteers throughout the 3 days of carolling. We thank you for your cheerful singing and your generosity in reaching out to the poor in Montalban!

Merry Christmas from ICPE Philippines!

Make a Smilebox photobook