Typhoon
Pepeng ravages ICST
At around 1:15
pm on Saturday, October 3, 2009, Typhoon Pepeng began pummeling the Vigan
seminary with strong winds and heavy downpour of rain. Electricity was
cut off shortly after. To prevent any untoward incidents, the apostolate
assignment was cancelled by the formators. By 9 pm., strong winds shattered
many window panes of the seminary.
Fr. Andy
celebrates Traditional Latin Mass
For the first
time in over forty years, the Eucharist in the traditional form was celebrated
in the Vigan Seminary. The presider was Rev. Fr. Andy Cosalan from the
Diocese of Baguio. Since summer of this year, he has been celebrating the
Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Baguio. During the celebration,
since the traditional form was used for the first time and since it was
celebrated in Latin, most of the seminarians and formators did not know
when to kneel, to stand, and to respond. In the homily, Fr. Andy said that
both the ordinary form and the extraordinary form of celebrating the Eucharist
supplement and influence one another. He also corrected the wrong interpretation
of most of the theologians of Vatican II regarding the restriction of the
traditional form by using the words of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
and canon lawyers. The mass started at 6:15 pm and ended at 7:34
pm. Though they found it difficult to follow in the celebration, the seminary
community was grateful for experiencing the extraordinary form of celebrating
the Eucharist. They found the rite full of meaning and symbolism.
Seminar
on Traditional Latin Mass
For over forty
years, the ICST community has not celebrated the Holy mass in the traditional
form Missale Romanum. In order to prepare for its celebration, Rev. Fr.
Andres Cosalan Jr. gave a seminar/conference to the seminarians regarding
the overview and the background of this Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) on
September 22, 2009 at 6 pm. Fr. Andy said: “the Latin Mass was not abrogated
by the Church; it was only restricted by the late Pope VI." The resource
speaker mentioned that the Traditional Latin Mass was an extraordinary
form of Eucharistic celebration. He also informed the community about the
richness of this liturgical celebration in symbolism. The different parts
of the TLM have significance. For example, the turning of the back of the
priest to people meant that he and the people are together in conversing
with God in prayer. The physical arrangement also highlighted the priest’s
and the congregation’s journey with Jesus to Calvary. After the conference,
the seminarians and the seminary formators were enlightened about the significance
and richness of celebrating the Eucharist in the traditional form.
Ilocandia
Formation Community sponsors Bible Study
The Ilocandia
Formation Community sponsored the 3rd Bible Service last September 17.
Bible Services are held once a month in the seminary to highlight the need
for seminarians to be formed around the Word of God. Moreover, as a response
to the Word, the community also monthly engages in offering their resources
for the needy during the said celebrations. Fr. Renato de Guzman, the Director
of the Spiritual Formation Year program of ICST, presided over the Bible
Service. Before the love offering during that celebration, the Ilocandia
Seminarians presented a short musical play.
Educational
Tour by Region
Last September
11, the Ilocandia, Montañosa, Pangasinan, and Cavisa Formation Communities
went on their respective educational tours. The tour ended on September
13, 2009.
The Ilocandia
Formation Community (Our Lady of Charity) departed from the seminary going
to La Union at around 1 'o clock pm. They arrived at the Parish of Bacnotan
at around 4:00 pm and a talk was given by Rev. Fr. Bobby Collado. After
which, they had dinner with Bishop Rillera, SVD, at the Bishop’s Residence
and took rest at the Pastoral Center. The focus of their educational tour
was on BEC as the new way of being church today. They also visited the
Diocesan Sacred Heart Seminary, Botanical Garden, Basilica Minore of Our
Lady of Charity in Agoo, Parish of Bauang, St. William the Hermit Cathedral
in San Fernando, La Union, Parish of Bangar, and finally the Our Lady of
Namacpacan Parish in Luna.
The Montañosa
Formation Community (Immaculate Heart of Mary) with two seminary personnel
began their travel to Ambongdolan in Tublay, Benguet after lunch. This
was their main location for their educational tour and research. Their
purpose was to broaden their ecological awareness by visiting and exploring
the newly discovered caves of Bingawngaw and Paterno at Ambongdolan.
The Pangasinan
Formation Community (Our Lady of Manaoag) together with some of their friends
set off for Hundred Islands in Alaminos City, Pangasinan at 1 in the afternoon.
Since it was too far, they decided to stay overnight at the Lay Formation
Center in Bonuan Gueset, Dagupan City. They continued their journey the
next day. They arrived at around 11 am and stayed in Quezon Island. They
centered their research on ecology particularly on the preservation of
the Islands and the cultured giant clams. They were also able to visit
the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag in whose honor they dedicated their formation
community.
The Cavisa
Formation Community (Our Lady of Piat) left the seminary at around 12:00
noon. They were the earliest to depart from the seminary because of the
long hours of travel they had to endure to reach their destination. True,
it was about 10:30 pm in the evening when they arrived at St. Dominic Seminary
in Nueva Vizcaya, the Citrus Capital of the Philippines. They centered
their educational tour on the Provincial Program of Nueva Vizcaya to Persons
With Disability (PWD). Also, they made a visit to one of the three Philippine
Heritage Churches of Northern Luzon, the St.Vincent Ferrer Parish of Dupax
del Sur which was built in the 18th century. In Dupax, they visited one
of the original families who settled in the province of Nueva Vizcaya,
the Isinays. Despite the bad weather, they still managed to visit some
institutions like Saint Mary’s University and other churches in Nueva Vizcaya.
Mama Mary's
Birthday
As the seminary
is named after the Blessed Mother Mary, the ICST community took time off
from their regular schedule to celebrate the Blessed Mother Mary’s birthday
on September 8. The celebration started with a solemn Eucharistic celebration
at the grotto located in front of the seminary. Rev. Fr. Lain Mayo presided
over the Holy Eucharist. He delivered a very meaningful homily centering
on the significance of Mary in the life of the Church as elaborated and
documented in the dogmas of the Church. Two visiting priests, Fr. Rex Singson
from the Diocese of Ilagan and Fr. Perry from the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao,
and the formation team concelebrated in the mass. The celebration continued
with various sports events such as basketball, volleyball, and indoor games
during the day.
ICST Community
in Social Graces Seminar
Sister Dolores
Dolor, a religious sister from St. Paul College of Vigan, facilitated the
Social Graces Seminar which was held last September 7. She gave an orientation
about cocktail parties, proper gestures, and etiquettes on fine dining.
After the seminar, the community was treated to a formal dinner at the
Aula Magna of ICST. The formators, seminarians and seminary personnel came
in their formal attire. The HRM students of St. Paul College of Vigan City,
together with Ms. Anna Marie, their lady instructor, served during the
occasion. Ms. Anna Marie gave information on what will be done, on how
the food will be served, and how to use the set of utensils on the table.
The formal dinner took almost three hours. After the last course had been
served, very Rev. Fr. Nick Vaquilar gave tokens of gratitude to the organizers
of the event.
Academic
Pastoral Function features Atty. Alex Lacson
Every semester,
the Immaculate Conception School of Theology holds an Academic-Pastoral
Function. This is a forum which endeavors to provide information on varied
topics. The Academic-Pastoral Function is also a venue for deepening our
awareness of the need to respond to the signs of the times as Catholics.
This semester, the Academic Commission headed by the Dean of Studies, Fr.
Lain Mayo MA SThD, and the General Secretary, Sem. Dexter Z. Cariño,
invited Atty. Alexander Lacson as the Guest Speaker. He is the author of
the book Twelve Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country.
The theme for this symposium, held on September 5, was: “Builders of the
Greatness of Filipino.”
During this
event, Atty. Lacson challenged the participants to take pride in their
identity as Filipinos. He dared the participants to be courageous in expressing
the dignity that is in every Filipino. Among the participants were the
seminary community, St. Paul students, the Saint Benedict Institute students,
the sisters of the Benedictine Nuns of the Eucharistic King, the University
of Northern Philippines students, the Youth and Social Action Ministry
as well as priests of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, Ilocos Sur
National High School delegates, and the Divine Word College students.
Tennis Clinic
One of the
programs that the formators urged the seminary community to take part in
is the Tennis Clinic. The series of tennis lessons began last August 30
and is still being held every Sunday at 10 AM. During the past lessons,
the tennis clinic coach taught the community the proper way of handling
the racket, serving the ball as well as the proper manner of playing the
game.
Big Community
Recollection
The August
Big Community Recollection began last August 28 with the powerpoint presentation
Another Black Day. The said presentation reminded seminarians to spend
some time for reflection. The facilitator for this recollection was Bro.
Hans. The second day of the recollection was spent in the chapel with Bro.
Hans calling the community to engage in moments of communing with God.
After the culminating mass, Bro. Hans received the seminary community's
token of gratitude from Fr. Nick Vaquilar and Fr. Berlynden Dao-anis.
Liturgical
Seminar
A Liturgical
Seminar was facilitated by the SVD priest Fr. Fisher. Fr. Fisher was once
a professor and formator at the ICST seminary. During the said seminar,
he reiterated the importance of liturgy in the life of the Church. He mentioned
that: “Liturgy demands doing what you are saying and not saying what you
are doing.” The seminar was attended by ICST formators, seminarians, religious
sisters, and some students of Saint Benedict Institute.
SVD Centennial
The SVD missionaries
celebrated their centennial of doing mission work in the Philippines last
August 23 in the Diocese of Abra. Two SVD priests, Fr. Luis Beckert and
Fr. Juan Scheiermann, began the Abra mission in the year 1909. It is in
their honor that the SVD missionaries celebrate this centennial. The ICST
community participated in the SVD Centennial through their presence and
participation in the liturgical events. During the August 23 celebration,
cultural presentations from the people of Abra showed their deep-felt gratitude
to the SVD missionaries.
Tree Planting
The GLOW (Guard
and Love Our World) advocacy is in its 2nd year. For the second straight
year, the seminary community planted mahogany seedlings in the Mahogany
Park of the seminary to express their commitment to the GLOW program. Seminarians
and formators willingly and passionately planted their seedlings last August
5.
Fr. Tutus
celebrates his birthday
Fr. Augustus
Calubaquib celebrated his birthday last August 2. He treated the whole
community to a sumptuous meal after the Sunday solemn vespers. He also
treated the Cavisa seminarians in a separate dinner with his fellow formators.
During that dinner celebration, the Cavisa seminarians serenaded him with
songs. It was an evening of fun and laughter— a fitting way to celebrate
another year of life.
