22 October 2021
Dear collaborators in the mission, good afternoon.
Today, we gather as a community to celebrate with gratitude the mission that the Lord has shared with us. As we remind ourselves constantly with the ideals and charism of St. Anthony Mary Claret, we remain zealous in accompanying one another with academic excellence and fidelity to the ministry of the Word towards the building of God’s Kingdom.
We are all missionaries. With the different tasks and responsibilities that we have for the growth of the community and with the many years that we have lived in mission, we are all marked with the zeal of Jesus Christ, the Son sent by the Father to proclaim love, justice, truth, and the other values of God’s reign that manifest His presence in our world.
Every year, we recognize and thank the members of our school community as they mark their years of missionary journey in Claret School of Quezon City. The awardees themselves and their contribution to the community are signs of hope that the Claretian Mission remains ablaze. This year’s Gawad Parangal is remarkable as we celebrate the 75th year of the Claretian missionary presence in the Philippines and the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines. With the awardees and the entire Claret School community, we are all called to go forth, afire with mission in the service of the Gospel.
The act of going forth means greater collaboration in the spirit of communio. Each one may find life burdensome, complicated and highly challenging; but with one another as a companion and collaborator, we find strength to go on. We share the burdens together; we live the mission together; and together we go forth with Christ.
When we go forth, the missionary call brings us to embrace the future with audacity. The recently concluded 26th General Chapter of the Claretian Missionaries held in Rome called us to have that fire that remains blazing even when the days ahead may not bring us expected results. Sealed with the missionary identity of every Claretian, we say “Nothing daunts us.” We never give up for the sake of the mission and the Gospel of Christ. We never give up—we smile at slander, we welcome work, we embrace sacrifice. With the strength that comes from the Lord and the many blessings that He offers beyond our expectations, we go forth as we do our work well.
Sa lahat ng mga gagawaran ng parangal, isang kagalakan ng puso at karangalan ng diwa ang aming ipinapaabot sa inyo. Maraming maraming salamat sa inyong pakikipag-isa sa misyon ng Claret.
We are all missionaries. Let us go forth with the Congregation and with the Church afire with mission in the service of the Gospel.
Maraming maraming salamat sa inyong lahat!
Scientia Maxime Cum Virtute
