The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Philippines

(In The Messenger of Divine Love, Volume III, #3, an article about the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and the works of St. Frances Cabrini appeared, written by Cecilia Valmonte. What follows is a sequel on the life and presence of the Missionary Sisters here in the Philippines.)

“Not to the East, but to the West.” These words uttered by Pope Leo XIII to Francesca Cabrini in the late nineteenth century, changed the path of her missionary outreach. She surrendered her dream to go to China, and instead embarked for New York and the United States of America, obedient to God’s plan, not hers.

Throughout her life, Mother Cabrini, now St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, traveled to distant shores and many different countries. She never arrived, however, on the continent of Asia. After her death, the first Missionary Sisters fulfilled her dream and left for China to work among the people there until they were all expelled by the Communist government. It was only towards the end of the twentieth century that one Missionary Sister, Sr. Josephine Tseui, MSC, a native Chinese Sister, went to the University of Taiwan and opened a School of Nursing there. At the same time, two Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Sr. Amada Liboro, MSC and Sr. Veronica Piccone, MSC came to the Republic of the Philippines to explore the possibility of mission presence in this country.

Bishop Salgado invited them to work with a newly formed organization in Baguio City that was concerned with the street children of that city. In 1993 a collaborative effort began between the Missionary Sisters and a small group of civic minded individuals who initiated this important outreach. For the past sixteen years this mission work has expanded into an NGO, Save Our Street Children Foundation, Inc. (SOSCFI).

What began as a program that provided a soup kitchen to address the nutrition problem of the city's working children at the public market, soon grew into a weekly effort to teach these children wherever they could be gathered and with whatever resources were made available. With the primary purpose of preventing high-risk children from becoming street peddlers, SOSCFI began to offer non-formal education, tutorial and educational assistance. The generosity of local individuals supplied the means to enable such a program to develop.

Through the consistent efforts of the MSCs, the organization then began to initiate programs for parents including spiritual enhancement, skills training, health and parenting with the hope of expanding the focus of SOSCFI from children to families.

Little by little, these outreach efforts attracted other individuals in and near Baguio who wanted to help. Many donors from the United States and Australia who were connected with the Missionary Sisters, leant their support, and now a steady stream of funds ensures that the work of SOSCFI can reach yet more youngsters and their families.

Today, SOSCFI caters to about two hundred members that include parents, student-scholars, minors and youth who are imprisoned. It has become a family oriented organization with programs that have grown and expanded to meet the needs of working and indigent children, as well as low-income families. After almost twenty years of moving from one place to another, SOSCFI has finally found a place it can call its home at 22 Tandang Sora St. Camdas, Baguio City. (To learn more about this mission, visit the web site at: www.soscfi.tripod.com )

Over the years there has been a steady presence of Missionary Sisters (MSCs), Cabrini Lay Missioners and Cabrini Mission Corps Volunteers. Currently we are three MSCs who work side by side with SOSCFI. We live in two communities nearby. The main house is Casa Cabrini where two of us live with five young Cordillera women who study at various universities in Baguio. Each of these women has left her family and home in the mountain provinces to pursue a career. While they study and work, they also form community with us, sharing prayer, meals, cooking, shopping and cleaning responsibilities as well as time for fun and relaxation. It is a period in their lives for each to grow in her personhood and spirituality as well as learn skills for leadership and community building.

The third MSC lives with one other young woman in the Camdas subdivision of Baguio, at Corazon Community, the same location where the SOSCFI Center is. The offices and meeting areas are located on the first floor and the community is housed on the second floor. In late February we were proud to learn that this young woman, who completed her nursing training, passed her board exams and was Topnotcher for the RP. In May, 2009 she began her work at Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad.

What does a day in our lives look like? Each morning we go in various directions. There are classes at the different universities, review classes for Board exams, work, Mass at the local parish or the Cathedral, involvement with SOSCFI, meetings, preparation for retreats, presentations, and the normal routine of food shopping, cooking, cleaning, gardening, and leading prayer each evening when we return home. No two days are alike. While the young women speak Tagalog and Ilocano as well as native dialects from their provinces, they have elected to speak only English when we are at home. In this way they hope to improve their mastery of the language. We have established a “slush fund”; whenever anyone slips into the native language, someone is quick to remind her that will cost her one peso. We look forward to buying an ice cream treat with this accumulated money.

Our community prayer follows the liturgical cycle of the Church year, and so we take time to prepare for Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and, of course, the feasts of the Sacred Heart and St. Frances Cabrini. Each month we also have adoration before the Blessed Sacrament with a special focus or theme. All of us incorporate the many special intentions and petitions for the needs of others, whether that be for world peace, city or neighborhood concerns, family or personal needs.

It is common for us to share reflections on the gospel of the day and/or the experiences we have had that day. We like to hear stories too, so any adventures are shared at the evening meal, usually accompanied with much laughter. At the same time, one person’s sorrow is cause for all of us to lend our support and encouragement. When a young uncle of one of the women died suddenly, for example, we offered whatever help was needed by way of accompaniment, prayer, concern or a listening ear.

Keeping a promise we had made, in early May we took a day to go to the shore in La Union. The day was picture perfect as we relaxed, swam, ate good food and took a boat ride. The climax of our outing was dining al fresco as we watched the sunset over the South China Sea. The pictures and memories we have from that occasion will be treasured for quite some time.

All of us are also involved in Circles of Discernment (COD), a group that meets monthly, usually at Casa Cabrini. When we have an all day event, such as a retreat or assembly, we reserve another venue for this purpose. This program started five years ago, under the leadership of Sr. Patricia Spillane, MSC, who in 2008 was elected as our Superior General of the extended Cabrini Community worldwide. Due to this new responsibility, she now resides in Rome and travels extensively. In November of this year, she will return to Baguio for the celebration of St. Frances Cabrini’s feast. At that time we will also dedicate the new stained glass window in honor of our foundress at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Atonement in Baguio.

Circles of Discernment is a unique group of Christian women and men of all ages. As students, professional people, mothers, fathers, parishioners, and religious Sisters, we come together to nurture our spiritual life, to grow in companionship and to live a more courageous, grace-filled and loving life. It is a formation program for those of us who want to discern the will of God and how we can live out God’s purpose for us in our daily lives.

In 2005, for the 125th Founding Anniversary of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, some of the COD members committed themselves to becoming Cabrini Companions, making COD a way of life within the international Cabrinian community and charism. Since then, many more COD members have become Cabrini Companions.

So here we are in Baguio City, Philippines: MSCs, Casa Cabrini and Corazon Community members, COD and Cabrini Companions. Each year we welcome new members into our shared faith life as we also help continuing members to deepen and grow in our understanding of discernment, relationships and habits of the heart. The Lord has blessed us and our journey continues.

by Sr. Bernadette Anello, MSC