Mission Ad Gentes
On June 12th, Br. Sean Sammon, Superior General, missioned the last group of Brothers in the Mission Ad Gentes program to be sent out during his present term as Superior General. These ten brothers from Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Malaysia, Germany and Italy were missioned to 4 countries, strengthening the presence that we?ve established in these countries with previous groups of Mission Ad Gentes Brothers.
In addition to the Orientation program team, Brothers Luis Garcia Sobrado, VG, Mike de Waas (Sector Superior) and Michael Flanigan were present to lend their support and encouragement.
One of the many positive aspects to having the program in Davao is the close connection we?ve been able to have with the Brothers in the Philippines as well as the Marist Sisters, Missionary Sisters, and Fathers who are close by in Davao and cities near there. Our house at the CB Sisters Retreat Center has been a good place for people to ?drop in?. And so we had all 4 Branches there at the missioning to support our brothers and wish them well as they begin their new lives as missionaries. A special treat was to have the presence of the novices of the Marist Sisters, Brothers, and Fathers. Twelve of the novices for the Brothers formed the choir and was in charge of the planning of the music for the Mass, which was presided over by Marist Father Joe Rooney, SM.
That night, the CB Sisters hosted a celebration for the Brothers. Sr. Amy expressed her thanks for our presence there for 3 years and good wishes for our future. The next two days were spent in tearful goodbyes as these ten Brothers packed and went back to their provinces to say goodbye to their brothers and prepare for their new mission countries.
At the same time as we are ending one aspect of the semi annual missioning of Brothers for MAG, Bro. Santos Garcia is preparing one of the fraternities of MAPAC to welcome 4 Brothers who will begin their learning of English in Manila to prepare for their Orientation Program for mission in Davao in June 2010. They will be joined by two Brothers who already speak English.
We wish our ten most recent Brothers all the best and we assure them of our prayerful support.
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Homily for Missioning – Br. Seán