Good Shepherd News

No. 204 October 2007

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd

What’s inside?

Memories: Beatification

of Fr. Basil-Marie Moreau page 2

Italy: An atmosphere of social change

page 3 150 years of Good Shepherd

presence in Malta page 6

Peru: Agustina Rivas, woman of solidarity

pages 7-8 Sisters celebrate 50 years of profession in Colombia,

Venezuela page 9

Japanese Mission pages 10-12

Philippines: A double jubilee page 13

Singapore/Malaysia: Pitas, an unforgotten people of Sabah

page 14-16

The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and a majority of other signatories. United Nations’ Day is cele-brated on October 24 each year.

“Our commitment to reconcilia-tion demands that we promote

justice and peace.” S

The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd became affiliated with the United Nations as a Nongovernmental Organiza-

tion (NGO) in consultative status with ECOSOC on No-vember 19, 1996.

The purpose of this affiliation is to further our mission of recon-ciliation, particularly in its orien-tation toward girls and women. Through this means of collabo-ration we work to bring about change in whatever conditions condemn others to a marginal-ized life. Through our affiliation with the goals of the UN, we seek to extend mercy to the poor and to the oppressed, awakening our world to the dig-nity and value of each person.

United Nations building and flag, New York

Province Leadership team with Sr. Elaine Basinger, link councillor for the Province of Great Britain. From left to right: Sr. Julia Crowley, Sr. Helen Warburton, Sr. Anne Josephine Carr (provincial), Sr. Elaine Bas-inger, Sr. Mary Callaghan, Sr. Rose Neilson. (Read more on page 12)

Provincial Chapter of Great Britain

United Nations & Good Shepherd NGOUnited Nations & Good Shepherd NGO

Sr. Clare Nolan is our Good Shepherd NGO representative to the United Nations.

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In this issue x Words of St. Mary Euphrasia: “The spread of our Institute”

REGINA KUIZON, Communications Coordinator Casa Generalizia, Suore del Buon Pastore, Via Raffaello Sardiello 20- 00165 Roma, Italia Email: ginargs@buonpastoreint.org

Good Shepherd News

A closely united family.

“Blessed are you who see what you see; blessed those who hear what you hear.”

Doesn’t it seem to you, dear daughters, that these words are addressed to you as you experience the various good works of our Institute? Surely, God will, indeed, bless our feeble efforts abundantly.

In the circulars we receive, a delightful panorama unfolds: a family whose members scattered over many different countries, are closely united in the bonds of true love; and who are all aiming at the same object—the spiritual regeneration of sheep who were wandering far from the Good Shepherd’s fold.

... The tiny grain of mustard seed, first sown in French soil, and which sprouted only in a few cor-ners of the earth suddenly developed rapidly and now the little shrub has become a great tree, stretching its branches to the four quarters of the globe, welcoming the thousands of souls looking for a place of safety in its protective shade.

From: Conferences, Chapter 35

During SME’s lifetime, 121 communities were founded (there were 110 communities at the time of her death). Today, we are approximately 4,300 apostolic and contemplative sisters in 532 communities in 70 countries. Many committed lay women and men worldwide collaborate with us in our mission.

Memories: Beatification of Fr. Moreau My first reaction at the news of the imminent Beatification of Fr. Basil-Marie Moreau, (1799-1873), scheduled September 15, 2007 at the Cathedral of Le Mans, France, was, I must con-fess, rather spoiled by mixed feelings. However, only after an instant, I could picture Mary Eu-phrasia rejoicing gladly in heaven with “M. Moreau” with whom she must have been rec-onciled ages ago. It is enough to glean through the eight Volumes of “LETTERS”, hand-written by Mary Euphrasia, to understand the reaction at the name of Fr. Basil Moreau being beatified. This new Blessed, founder of two Congregations, “Fathers of the Holy Cross” and “Sisters of the Holy Cross”, has been defined by the media as “a great figure of French history of the 19th century,… unjustly for-gotten” and exalted for his great confidence in Providence and his contribution to the Church in America in his time. “Le Mans” rings a bell in our his-tory . It was the first city to ask

of Mary Euphrasia a foundation of the “Good Shepherd” as soon as she started out in An-gers. We know what ensued and, as a result of much suffer-ings and misunderstandings, that foundation was abandoned and entrusted by Fr. Moreau to the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, even though, up to the present day, the House is still called “House of the Good Shepherd”. My memories are embellished

by some lovely personalities, members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, founded by Fr. Moreau. I am sure that some of us who lived in Rome in the 1960’s, remember dear Fr. Heston, CHC, Consultant at the Sacred Congregation for Reli-gious and Secular Institutes. He was a holy man, a great friend and very faithful to the “Good Shepherd”. Unfortunately he died prematurely on the plane while flying from New York to South America where he was expected to preach a series of retreats, as he did every sum-mer. And what about our dear French friends, members of the same Congregation? At the Mother House in Angers they are always most welcome and we know their availability when called upon, particularly at International meet-ings. Indeed, as Sr. Odile Laugier, our historian, loves to remind us: we are not to idolise anybody…..the glory and honour go only to God in whom our Saints are glorified. Sr. Annunciata Gatt, RGS Genoa, Italy

Fr. Basil-Marie Moreau

Province of Italyx c Domus Bernadette: An atmosphere of social change

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An atmosphere of social change was generally felt in Italy during the 70s and the 80s, all to the benefit of the socially marginal-ised. Good Shepherd Sisters or “Suore del Buon Pastore” used to run religious houses specialis-ing in education, providing refuge for victims of family and social problems. Methodology used at that time were strongly ques-tioned, even by us, nuns, and that contributed to their closure. The obsolete rules and educa-tional methods still practised in the centres called “houses”, af-fected the lives of the assisted in a negative way, both at a private and social level, and that urged us to ask for change. The memory of the past calls for the preparation of a future pro-ject, enriched by personal experi-ence and our congregational his-tory. It helped us to correctly and adequately read the signs of the times. Listening to the messages re-ceived, along with our own in-creasing experience with the people assisted led us finally to a decision to found an appropriate centre where old fashioned pa-ternalistic view of “assisting merely for the sake of the spirit of assistance...” could be substi-tuted with the ideal of aiding the individual, in a manner he or she feels free, whether to accept or not the help offered. The pro-gram would allow the assisted to consciously assume one’s re-sponsibility, necessary to im-prove and live one’s life. On October 16, 1979 we founded the “Domus Berna-dette”, starting a path that still guides us to this day. But, why did we choose the name Domus Bernadette? Domus in Latin means place of

protection; where one is, and feels cared for, able to grow and learn how to take care of oneself, to love others and be loved...a place where one starts to build up one’s life, aware of being free to return, feeling the certainty that he or she has someone in the world who cares… and protects him or her... Bernadette is a name we al-most felt obliged to choose, in order to avoid those feelings of social marginalisation and se-clusion among the assisted girls, a thing that unfortunately happened before, during the “Buon Pastore” days We, furthermore chose this name because of its special-meaning to us, highlighting our sense of gratitude towards Sr. Bernadette Fox, the superior general who had helped us overcome endless obstacles before we were finally able to realise this project. We had previously asked permission to share our lives with the poor, but this was granted us only after several lengthy misunder-standings with the provincial authorities.

On March 7, 1980, Domus Ber-nadette officially became a non-profit association, free to operate effectively with the help of lay persons. This association takes its inspira-tion from Christ’s main Com-mandment: “Love thy neighbour as thyself”, acknowledging the our trust in God recognizing that he is the First Educator. Here is a summary of the single steps undertaken by our associa-tion: After having initially set up a cen-tre for girls (that has already celebrated its 25th anniversary), we founded two other centres for the male assisted. In 1993 we were asked by an-other organization to give further assistance to male adolescents. It took us by surprise because the nuns of “Buon Pastore” had no previous experience of run-ning a centre for the male gen-der. We then asked for a few days to reflect on the matter, but soon a voice within kept on ringing in

(Continued on page 4)

Association Domus Bernadette

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ITALY... (Continued from page 4)

our ears, echoing: “each single soul is worth the whole world”,... “spirits know no gender”... so we agreed to accept the task. We had already opened our spe-cial centres for boys in Rome, when we founded another in Latina for male adolescents in 1998. Apart from our centres (we call “houses”), we founded quasi, or semi-autonomy centres as well, for adolescents, who, de-spite their individual differences are generally victims of the very same sort of fear and apprehen-sion, sharing the same sort of need for attention and care, al-ways needy of being followed through by the community where they are, in their process of growth towards adulthood. 1996 On the 2nd bicentenary of St. Mary Euphrasia’s birthday (July 31, 1796- July 31, 1996), Sister Giuliana Carollo, provincial of Italy, and her council gave us an opportunity to found another cen-tre to care for women coming from all over the world and not only those from Italy. Our internationality The “Virginia” house (centre) is financially sustained by the provincialate in Rome. “Roma caput mumdi”; “all roads lead to Rome”. “We belong to all the world for as long as there are souls to save”. One no longer just hears the melody of the Italian language at our centre. We welcome women from all the continents, from Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Ro-mania, Albania, Macedonia and The Russian Federation, South American, such as Nicaragua, Chile, Columbia. There are women, too, from African coun-tries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone... many of whom have decided to remain in Italy after

our meetings. Women come to us seeking shelter, with their heavy load of painful past, both as adults and minors, from Asia; China, the Middle East; Afghanistan, the Philippines, some stayed with us temporarily and headed for other parts of the world, while other women decided to live permanently in Italy after find-ing a job. In both cases we help them find their place in the world. As for the minors, we have a long term program including period of studies, teaching them craftsmanship or helping them with a profession and leading them up to a stage of full autonomy. The year 2000 The Association has sub-scribed a “TEA” (Temporary Enterprise Association) along with the “Magliana 80” coop-erative to aid the so called “white slaves” through a project funded by the Communal Head Office in Rome. The Cooperative (The “Magliana 80”) helps victims of female prostitution (soon after they denounce their exploiters), and welcomes them in an ap-propriate centre called “House of the fugitive”, with a secret address. Once in the centre, women are sheltered for a period of six months, after which we take them in one of our centres named “The Euphrasia House”, where we either help them to return to their own countries in case they so wish, or to stay in Italy by helping them obtain a

permit to stay for “Humanitarian Reasons.” Women are assisted to find a job or take a profes-sional course. Some 90% of these women apply for jobs as hairdressers. Each assisted makes her own project, both pro-fessional and therapeutic. They go regularly for medical check- up (most of the assisted reveal severe health problems). Our psychotherapeutic project Specialists form our personnel, qualified to give psychotherapeu-tic assistance, employed to heal victims of prostitution to help them regain their autonomy and inner balance. The women as-sisted at the Eufrasia House generally remain for approxi-mately two years, a period that could be extended in order to allow them obtain autonomy once of age. We’ve had different cases in which the minor ex-presses the desire to take leave before the term foreseen expires, especially in case she has found a companion to live with. Many are the cases in which the assisted even marries, hence living a peaceful life. There are women who keep in touch with us, who are glad to have people who care for them, while others simply turn their backs and never show up again. It is interesting to recall cases, such as our Nigerian Juliet’s marriage, celebrated twice and distinctly by separate rites, once at the Campidoglio (a civil matri-mony) in the morning, dressed in splendid white western clothing, and another in the afternoon, celebrated in an exquisitely typi-

(Continued on page 5)

“We belong to all the world for as long as there are souls to save”. One no longer just hears the melody of the Italian language at our centre. We welcome women from all the continents, from Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Albania… from African countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon…”

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ITALY... (Continued from page 4)

cal African style. This matrimony took a whole week’s time to or-ganise, including the sacrifice of a goat, due to the African tradi-tion. The meal (local dishes served to eat with hands) lasted several hours till night-time, inter-rupted by ritual dances and the traditional changing of the bride’s clothes, all in elegant coloured clothing (bought from Florence, at our expense, obviously!).

What do we say of Sergio’s bap-tism, celebrated in Orthodox rite at the Russian Orthodox Church in Rome? Or still, of Nicoletta’s rather luxurious matrimony or-ganised and financed entirely by her father and mother-in-law, “because she’d brought happi-ness to their beloved son”, with ourselves invited as well, due to the fact that, as the young bride exclaimed: “Here in Italy, you are my only family members!”

Many of those who inquired about the exact number of the assisted we’ve cared for under our roofs— women, girls and boys— were surprised to find out that we are not accustomed to counting them!

2003

The birthdate of the “Cerniera” project (literally: “The Fastener Project”), with the aim of re-sponding practically to the needs of the young, by meeting their needs individually through a much more flexible and person-alised approach.

This project consists of sending single educators directly to the young’s family core, in order to mediate the educational project between the parents and the young persons assisted. The minor is moved away from his or her family core only in urgent cases (such as abuses, aban-donment, ill-treatment, etc.).

This type of intervention has al-lowed several cases to be solved (for example the gypsies’), cases in which children should follow their parents and family mem-bers closely through their studies

or work.

Our aims and objectives

Our community has the objec-tive of guiding the individual gradually towards achieving his/her full autonomy, through a process enabling the latter to realize his/her individual poten-tial, by: consciously elaborating one’s

emotional development process, acquiring the ca-pacity of acknowledging, expressing and controlling one’s feelings and emo-tions.

Expressing one’s aggressive-ness in a non-destructive manner, channeling one’s energy towards practical positive objectives, increas-ing one’s self-esteem.

The methodology we adopt Ours is an educational method capable of adapting to change and to the specific needs of each person assisted, allowing the educational project to effec-tively adapt to the individual’s personal growth.

It is the duty of the personnel working with us to adapt the educational project technically and realistically to each single case and circumstance. Our personnel The members of our staff, as pre-scribed by law, have university degrees, and are composed of: Professional Educators Psychologists Psychotherapists Family-therapists

Our formation

All the workers mentioned undergo a practical formative course and regu-lar supervisions. The staff works in groups, because only by working together could a single worker acquire the knacks, methods, instruments and necessary tools to operate effectively at this relational level.

To summarise briefly:

Needless to say that it was the mem-ory of the past that allowed us to begin this project, a project inspired by the commandment: “Love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mt/verses 22,39-40).

We operate in the wake of Saint Maria Eufrasia’s example, following her steps closely; she who lived all her life by constantly paying atten-tion to the poor in an innovative way, to the same people and society who exploited, and even punished her...

For the mere reason that she loved her neighbour! This was the topic of our annual meeting this year, as we are accus-tomed to gather all the members of our association together once a year.

Memory is a source of faith to us we define “creative”, for mere memory lacking creativity is bound to turn into a barren lifeless mechanical prac-tice. At this our latest meeting, by recall-ing our Holy Mother’s memory, we are especially fascinated by our young female-educators.

One of them sent us a note after-wards, stating: “You pass on the testimony to us, and we acknowl-edge how important each witness is. It would be difficult to carry on with-out the ties binding us to our Saint Mary Euphrasia, the pioneer of this very path we’re willing to follow along with you in the future”.

Our young educator concluded her note with these words: “... The girls with whom I pass my days have now become a part of myself. I sincerely hope that they could one day spread their own wings and fly for their own sake...!”

Sr. Emanuela Nigro

(Sr. Emanuela, who was diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago, passed away on October 17, 2007. )

Provincial Chapter of Italy/Malta

Nov.

17-26, 2007 Italy

Celebrating 150 years in Malta

On Sunday, October 14, we be-gan our 150th year of Good Shepherd presence in Malta. We are so glad and thankful to the Lord for giving us all these years to be able to help those who are most needy.

The celebration began with a Mass at 5.30 p.m. celebrated by Archbishop Paul Cremona OP. His homily was very moving, and all those present were very at-tentive to listen to it. All the fami-lies of Balzan were invited for the Mass.

A good number of parishioners and lay associates took part in the readings, the prayers, offer-ings etc. Our two sisters from Angola made the celebration very festive through the dancing, singing and the colorful costumes of their country, as they danced towards the altar during the offertory pro-cession.

We are grateful to the pioneer sisters who prepared the way and made it possible for us to continue what they began 150 years ago when Mother Foun-dress sent five sisters to begin the mission in Malta.

Our first superior was Sr. Marie Dosithee Joseph and among the five founding sisters was a Mal-tese, Sr. Mary of he Holy Name of Jesus Sammut. Her baptismal name was "Grazzia" and we all say that she was a real grace for Malta and for.the congregation.

Sr. Margaret Gonzi, district leader

Archbishop Paul Cremona OP presides the Mass

Good Shepherd family and friends gather for the celebration

A group photo

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During the celebration, Sr. Bri-gid Lawlor, congregational leader was represented by Sr. Alexandra Eisenkratzer, procu-rator general.

- Sr. Rosalinda Seychell

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The 17th Anniversary of her martyrdom

1990, 27 September, 2007

Three aspects of her life prayed from the context of our people

Day 1 - Aguchita – martyr … the victims of the earthquakes of August 15 in South Chico

“We have been persecuted but never deserted, knocked down but never killed; always we carry in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:8-10) “We are encouraged by the wit-ness of so many missionaries and martyrs of the past and the present who have shared the cross of Christ till the giving up of his life.” (Doc. Aparecida 140) Aguchita has reminded us with great clarity of this call to witness to Christ. In our land devastated by the earthquake of Aug. 15, these are the other torments suffered today in Ica, Chincha, Huancavelica…Today, more than ever, we are aware that to remember Agu-chita signifies being present to those who suffer the anguish of an uncertain future – where and how to live in the following weeks, months, or years. And coupled with this is the fear, sometimes almost a panic, that the earth will shake again. Compassion that saves us. In the suffering towns, there is something that attracts and sum-mons, something we can get from ourselves, and here is the

origin of solidarity: the feeling of closeness among human beings. Thus happens the miracle of a shared meal, the joy of belonging to a human family. The quake has destroyed a number of churches. “We re-main without a temple but not without a church. We are the church and it depends on us to keep it alive.” COMMITMENT The sisters and the youth of our programs, the lay people who continue the mission in brigades to the devastated ar-eas or who have committed themselves in one way or an-other, said to us: “The seeds of life have been sown, we will try to reciprocate by discovering and caring for them.” May the homage we render Aguchita and our injured brothers and sisters today signify a new commitment to a new thrust to be in close solidarity. Our mar-tyrs teach us thus. We are called to “return love for love, life for life, weaving a global solidarity…” Thank you, Aguchita! Thank you for the example of heroism and your trust in the force of the Spirit. Through your inter-cession, may the church and religious life in Peru be blessed and strengthened in its task of

evangelization and service. May this nation we love never fail in its faith and its struggle. Day 2 - Aguchita, Woman of Peace … in the context of the International Day of Peace “Walk like the children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness, jus-tice and truth.” (Eph. 5:8-9) “I desire to consume my heart and all my faculties in the work of my apostolate.” (Aguchita)

From the Final Document of the 5th Episcopal Conference ADL of Latin America: We hope… To maintain with renewed strength our preferential and evangelical option for the poor. To make this continent a model of reconciliation, justice and peace. May this continent of hope be also the continent of love, life and peace. To care for creation, the home of all, in fidelity to the project of God. To collaborate in the integration of the Latin American countries and the Caribbean.

Province of Peru s Agustina Rivas: Woman of solidarity

(Continued on page 8)

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Day 3 - Aguchita, Woman of Ecol-ogy … defense of the environ-ment and the problem of mines in Peru and Latin America Nature has been and continues to be attacked. Water is treated like a negotiable commodity for business enterprise and for the super powers. Such is the case of the Amazon and the mines in Peru. In the face of threatened nature, Jesus calls us to care for the earth… THE NEW UNIVERSAL DES-TINY OF ECOLOGY and THE EARTH’S GOODS The Lord has given the world for all, for the present and future generations. Since resources are continuing to be more limited, their use should be regulated by the prin-ciple of distributive justice that respects sustainable develop-ment.

What is my/our contribution to the defense of the ecol-

ogy? WE ARE SENT TO PROCLAIM

THE GOSPEL OF THE REIGN OF LIFE!

Sr. Delia Rodriguez and Good Shepherd Sisters Peru

AGUSTINA RIVAS... (Continued on page 7)

October 17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Stand up and speak against poverty

The world day was begun Oct. 17, 1987, by Father Joseph Wresinski (1917-1988), founder of the ATD Fourth World

movement. On this day he placed a commemorative stone in the Trocadero Plaza (renamed the Plaza of Human Rights

and Liberties) in Paris "for the victims of poverty."

Contemplative Corner

Home in Italy. x Sr. Cynthia Bone, (second from left) a contemplative sister from the Province of Ecuador, is welcomed by the contemplatives in Portici, Naples. The Italian sisters are, from left, Sr. Immacolata, Rosa Virginia and Gabriella. Sr. Cynthia attends a six month formators’ course in Rome and goes to Naples when her schedule allows it. Sr. Cynthia and two apostolic sisters, Srs. Gladys Saiquita of Argentina (missionary to Mozambique) and Aparecida Ribas of the Province of Recife live at the Good Shepherd Generalate while attending the intercongregational formators’ course. 5 Sr. Cynthia was also a part of the international contemplative study group that lived together for a month in Angers last year and wrote a document, “Towards Transformation: A Study on Community Life for our Contemplative Communities.” The document is available at the congregational website’s Library section. s Visit: www.buonpastoreint.org

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Six Sisters Celebrate 50 years of Religious Consecration in Colombia and Venezuela

Sisters Alicia Londoño, Berta Villegas, Sara Vargas, Genoveva Angulo, Isabelina Restrepo (in Bogota – Colombia) and Marta Uriela Villegas (in Venezuela) thank Jesus the Good Shepherd for the 50 years of their religious consecration “What return can I make to the Lord for all his goodness to me?” (Ps. 116) A song of thanksgiving for the call of Jesus Good Shepherd to follow Him in this congre-gation. Thanks to our families who supported us and gave us what is best – their example. Thanks for all the opportunities the Lord has given us through these 50 years to love him and serve him in the poor – the most needy. Thanks to the Blessed Virgin Mary who has walked with us, animating us to say “yes” al-ways. Thanks to those who unite with us on this 8th of September to tell the Lord anew: “Here I am Lord, to accomplish your will.”

-Sr. Isabelina Restrepo

Liturgical dance during the celebration

The altar

Five of the six jubilarians

Let us pray for the

Provincial Chapter of

Venezuela

November 21-28, 2007

Visit the website Province of Medellin, Colombia

http://www.fundacionelbuenpastor.org.co/

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Japanese Mission

By Sr. Marilyn Kahl Last March I was anticipating a busy spring here in Atlanta, plan-ning spring and summer events for the seniors at a local parish, planning a Seder meal with our Good Shepherd Associates, tidy-ing up our gardens, raking leaves, etc. etc. Surprise! Sr. Brigid Lawlor and Sr. Barbara Beasley asked me to spend three months in Japan teaching English to our Good Shepherd Sisters! Ah so!!

The next few months were very busy with all of the above, plus gathering teaching materials to take with me or to send ahead. Fortunately I still had some ma-terials from the days when I had taught English to Vietnamese and Spanish folks. In addition, Sr. Anita had some materials that she had used for similar projects. Sr. Agnes Yamamoto, the prov-ince leader of Japan knows enough English that we were able to e-mail each other.

I arrived July 1 and was warmly welcomed by Sr. Agnes and all the sisters in Toyonaka City, which is near Osaka. Three Viet-namese candidates arrived a week later to join the Japanese candidate. The Vietnamese

Sr. Marilyn and her students

women are in formation for the province of Japan. The forma-tion house is a separate two story building on the property. Three professed sisters also live there, making a community of seven.

The Japan province was founded in 1935. The Cana-dian Good Shepherd Sisters were the early missionaries. Today there are Good Shep-herd Sisters in Toyonaka City, Sendai, Nagano and Enzen. This latest foundation in Enzen began in April 2007. Currently

there are 25 professed sisters and four candidates in the Japan province.

Our Japanese sisters minister in several areas; a kindergarten for 100-150 children from 3-5 years of age, work with migrant Filipina workers, who come to Japan ex-pecting good opportunities and end up in unfortunate circum-stances. Some of the older sis-ters provide religious instruction to those who wish to become Catholic. Two sisters teach the kindergarten children the tradi-tional Tea Ceremony. There is a communal living arrangement for young women who need a place to live while attending college or working. Two sisters, who are in their 90’s, need assisted living care. They are cared for in the Toyonaka community. The English classroom was in a separate small house on the property, so it really felt like “going to school”. The beginning class and the intermediate class met three times a week. The candidates class met four times a week. Those who wished (eight sisters) also had an indi-

(Continued on page 11)

“The challenge for me was to assess the level of knowledge, and with good sense, flexibility and God’s gracious guidance, adapt to the needs of the students.”

TEACHING THE LINK LANGUAGE. Sr. Marilyn Kahl and the sisters of the Province of Japan

JAPAN... (Continued from page 10)

“Gratitude is the memory of the heart!” From the Good Shepherd Sisters of Japan We were privileged to have with us here in Japan Sr. Marilyn Kahl of the Mid North America province to give us three months of English lessons. Many sisters and candidates attended her English course held from July to September. An 80- year old sister joined the class, too. We had two groups-- the beginners’ class and the intermediate class – besides the individual lessons she gave to certain sisters every day.

We tried to study as best as we could as a community. We set our-selves as if we were in an English-speaking country. Each day, we tried to cooperate and discipline ourselves to speak to one another only in English, especially during our meals together. We enjoyed chatting even if we were talking with our poor English. I hope our teacher also enjoyed being with us through the heat of summer.

Through the gift of Sr. Marilyn, we get accustomed to speak in Eng-lish with one another and to communicate without hesitation in a community atmosphere.

I hope that we can keep our practice of speaking English among our-selves and experience the internationality in our congregation.

I also would like to express my sincere thanks to Sr. Brigid Lawlor, Sr. Barbara Beasley and the sisters in the Mid North America prov-ince for giving us this opportunity.

We always welcome English speaking Sisters to be with us.

With much gratitude and love,

Sr. Agnes Yamamoto, provincial Oct.1st, 2007

vidual class once a week. All were eager learners! The challenge for me was to as-sess the level of knowledge, and with good sense, flexibility and God’s gracious guidance, adapt to the needs of the students. My days were busy, fun, hot and exhausting. The sisters were a delight to work with, and we had many a good laugh together. People ask me if I know Japa-nese. I don’t. But I have learned that there are ways of communi-cating without words. When I got stuck, I pulled out a trusty Japa-nese dictionary, which had the “Romanization” (Japanese words translated into English letters according to sound – example: konichi wah = good morning). This little volume came to me by way of Skip, who is known to sisters who have been in Guam! Sr. Terry, a Filipina Good Shep-herd Sister, provided the Viet-namese candidates and me with a wonderful booklet which con-tained the ordinary parts of the Mass in Japanese characters, a Romanized version, and English and Filipino versions. With the help of the Romanized Japanese version, I learned the spoken Japanese for the Mass parts. The Japanese sermons were another story! My link to the U.S. was, of course, e-mail and the nightly news with Charles Gibson. So at 7:30 a.m. on weekdays the news of the night before was broadcast on TV. Wonders of satellite TV. The greatest thing was that there were no interrup-tions for advertisements, just straight news. However, without the ads, it boiled down to 15 min-utes worth of news! I also dis-covered a newspaper in English, The Japan Times, which covered international news as well as Japanese national news. Japan is a very ancient and beautiful country. Its origins go back centuries before North

America was inhabited and/or before much of Europe was settled. Its religious roots are very deep in Shinto (the official state religion) and Buddhism. Christianity is relatively late,

coming only in the 1500’s and enduring centuries of being banned by various emperors and

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(Continued on page 12)

“… the sisters dressed me (literally) in a beautiful kimono. ”

leaders. Probably less than 1% of the people are Christian/Catholic. However, there is a very profound spiritual sensibility in the people. Shrines and tem-ples abound, many are centuries old.

Among my cultural experiences were visits to temples and cas-tles which are historical treas-ures as well as places where people go to pray. I was im-pressed by one particular temple where women came to pray for peace of soul following the death of a child, sometimes through abortion.

A visit to Hiroshima was a very moving experience for me. We

visited on August 6, the anni-versary of the bombing. All day there were ceremonies and prayers and speeches, at-tended by thousands of people. A strong desire for world peace was very evident. The visit to the Peace Museum was a so-bering experience. Room after room of photographs and rem-nants of objects recovered from the rubble, brought home the utter devastation, and suffering inflicted on this city. It made me wish that all those urging war and nuclear weapons could visit this museum

A trip to the historical city of Kyoto included a visit to a busi-ness which demonstrated the making of silk cloth used in ki-monos. There was a kimono

JAPAN... (Continued from page 11)

Highlights from the Provincial Chapter of Great Britain

“These days of Chapter provide a sacred space where we listen to God speaking to us through His Word and through others; a space for the spirit who will in-spire our actions and keep our hearts open to the continued “call” of God; a space that nour-ishes togetherness and enables us to plan for the fu-ture.” (Provincial Leader’s Re-port)

In Oct 2000 we were 108 sisters in the province. Today we are 72. (67 rgs, 5 cgs) 32 Sisters were present at the Chapter at Loyola Hall a Jesuit Retreat centre. Those sisters who were unable to be with us because of age or health were included in visual form as a constant reminder of their “praying presence”. The celebration of the lives of our sisters who have gone to their eternal home since the pre-vious Chapter had a special place during the Chapter and they too were united with us as

we prayed with them.

Go, silent friend, forgive us if we grieved you; Safe now in heaven, kindly say our name. Your life has touched us, that is why we mourn you, our lives without you cannot be the same.

(Hymn sang to the “Londonderry air”)

- Good Shepherd Sisters Great Brtiain

show, in which some lovely Japanese young women mod-eled the kimono. Back at home the sisters dressed me (literally) in a beautiful kimono. Of course, lots of photos! < There are so many things that I would like to share, but I would have to write a small book! I am very grateful to all the Japanese sisters, especially Sr. Agnes, for their willingness to share their lives and for taking such good care of me. It was a marvellous opportunity to learn about another culture, which has expanded my horizons more than I can say. Arigato gozai-mashita!

12

The delegates to the Provincial Chapter.

September 8, 2007 was a festive day at the Good Shepherd Con-vent in Quezon City, Philippines as two Sisters celebrated their Golden Jubilee, one in the morn-ing, and another in the afternoon.

Sr. Mary Felicitas Nisperos, RGS, long-time missionary to Hongkong celebrated the 50th anniversary of her First Profes-sion at the 8 a.m. mass presided by Fr. Lino Nicasio, SVD., a friend and colleague who also ministers to the Filipino migrant workers in Hongkong. Sr. Felici-tas made her first profession at the Good Shepherd Convent in Los Angeles, California on Sep-tember 8, 1957 and after several years in the apostolate in the Philippines, she was missioned to Hongkong where she still ex-ercises her ministry.

In the afternoon, another jubilee mass at 3 pm commemorated the 50th anniversary of entrance to the novitiate of Sr. Mary James Wilson , RGS. The Eucharist was concelebrated by Fr. Manuel V. Francisco, SJ, and three Eudists: Fr. Ron Bagley, Fr. Pierre Marchand, and Fr. Alirio Raigozo. It was a happy family celebration with the formal rcception within the mass of the first Filipino Eudist candidate, Cirio Kabamalan.

The Good Shepherd Lay Affiliates had invited a choir of young profes-sionals to present a short musicale right after the mass. The New Har-vest Ministry choir presented “A Breath of Heaven” a musicale with original songs and dances. What made it particularly special was the participation of seven children from the Headstart class in Bagong Silan-gan, Quezon City. The Headstart program was initiated by Sr. James two years ago to provide a school-readiness program for children aged 3 to 6 years in the area where our pre –novices stay during their im-mersion experience with the urban poor. The Lay Affiliates have also been supporting the daily feeding program of the children attending the headstart classes. Sr. Mary James Wilson Philippines

(Besides involvement in various projects in the Philippines, Sr. Mary James Wilson is also the communications person in the Phil-ippines; she helps translate French and Spanish articles to English for

A DOUBLE JUBILEE

Sr. Mary Felicitas Nisperos with SVD (Society of Divine Word) priests

Good Shepherd News. From 1987-1991, 1998-2001, she was mis-sioned at the Spirituality Center in Angers.)

Sr. Mary James Wilson with members of her family.

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Sr. Mary James and Cirio Kabamalan, Eudist candidate

14

Reflection by Theresa Symons “Nothing is more relevant than this gospel message – the Good Shepherd seeks the suffering, heals the sick and carries the weak in his arms” - St. Mary Euphrasia How it all began… It all began in Singapore on Oc-tober 1, 2007 when Sr. Susan Chia, the provincial coordinator of Singapore/Malaysia asked Janet Chee, a mission link part-ner from Sabah, “Show me where the poor are in Sabah!” This request was made most aptly to Janet who is the Deputy Permanent State Secretary of Community Development and Consumer Affairs Sabah. This ‘simple’ request set in mo-tion the wheels of Good Shep-herd Partnership with the focus of reaching out to the poorest of the poor in Malaysia. Upon her return to office in Kota Kinabalu the next day, Janet made a few phone calls and voila… arrange-ments were made for an official ministry visit by Janet to the vil-lage of Nibang in Pitas, District of Kudat, Sabah on 10 October 2007. Janet arranged for six of us (Sr. Susan Chia, Sr. Joan Lo-pez, Sr. Angelina Peter, Sr. Maria Dipal, Sr. Imelda Sikul and Theresa Symons) to accompany her on this trip, which was facili-tated by Mr. Mujin Durin, the re-gional welfare officer for Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu and Matung-gong. We were told that people from six villages i.e. Nibang, So-

Province of Singapore-Malaysia x Pitas – The Forgotten People of Sabah

niton Laut, Soniton Ulu, Sam-parita Laut, Mongkobusu and Lokos would gather at the pri-mary school in Kampung Ni-bang for this visit. The journey to Pitas… Pitas is a town and a district in the Kudat Division of Sabah, East Malaysia. Its estimated population in 2006 is 38,600. The ethnic composition is mainly ethnic Rungus. Pitas is reported to be one of the poor-est places in Sabah and hence Malaysia. Kampung Nibang in Pitas is situated about 4.5 hours from Kota Kinabalu. The only way to reach the village is by 4 wheel drive through some very rough

terrain during the last 20kms of the journey. The road conditions progressively became worse, evolving from grade two gravel roads to grade five mud tracks as we neared the village. We crossed nine rivers, of which four were major ones. The last river, the Bengkoka River, the third largest in Sabah, is reported to swell its banks during a down-pour, cutting off Kampung Ni-bang for days until the water subsides. Unknown to us, Janet was anxiously eyeing the dark clouds which had gathered in the sky as we crossed the Bengkoka River for the final five minute drive to Kampung Nibang. Our God experience with the forgotten poor of Sabah… The meeting was to be held at the SK Nibang, the only primary school for the six villages. We are told that Pusat Seri Murni is the first non government organi-zation (NGO) to visit Kampung Nibang. The school teacher ran down the hill to meet us. We looked up and saw about 100 people waiting to greet us. They had left their homes from the outlying villages before sunrise

(Continued on page 14)

Pitas

SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA... (Continued from page 14)

to gather at Nibang. As we greeted the villagers, a lady in red came forward and gave two 10 cent coins to Sr. Angelina. Dumbfounded, she accepted the two coins with great difficulty and humility, realizing that these coins may be the lady’s only pos-session… a poor widow’s mite.

The villagers came in their best clothes, a myriad of colors and fashion which have seen better days. The dialogue commenced with Janet giving an official open-ing address and introducing us to the villagers, after which the vil-lagers were invited to speak. The conversation began with the re-spective village elders presenting their views on behalf of the com-munity. Their collective cry was for the opportunity for education at all levels starting with basic school education for their children to micro enterprise skills for the women and better agricultural skills for the men.

With one voice, the villagers pleaded for a primary school hostel for their children. Currently school attendance is a mere two or three days a week due to long walking distances. During bad weather, when the Bengkoka River overflows its banks and Kampung Nibang is no longer accessible, the attendance drops even further.

We noticed that the primary school children were all over-aged as they only start school when they reached nine or 10 years old due to the long walking distances from their villages, sometimes as far as four to five kms one way. Teenagers aged 15 were only in Primary 5 when they should already be in Secondary 3. They have no al-ternative but wait to be physically stronger to take on the walk of four to five hours one way each day over rough terrain to get to school.

The villagers also requested for the repair of a dilapidated hang-

ing bridge spanning the Beng-koka River. This hanging bridge is currently in a bad state of disrepair and precari-ous for the children especially in bad weather. There was also a request for a boat with an engine to cross the rivers when they overflowed their banks.

As they spoke we noticed that the women were hovering in the background whilst the men took centrestage. They continued to be silent de-spite our repeated requests to hear their views. Mindful of our Good Shepherd charism of reaching out to women and children in need, we invited the women for a dialogue after the official meeting ended.

50 women of various ages gathered around us… all looked weather beaten, victims of a harsh way of life, dictated by the cycle of poverty and illit-eracy. As we spoke, young children ran up to their mothers and fed from their breasts. Chil-dren had scabies and poor dental hygiene.

The women shared stories of abuse - sexual, physical and verbal, especially when their husbands came home drunk. There were tears in their eyes when they shared how they sometimes went without food so that their children could have whatever little sweet po-tato they managed to harvest for the day. With 5 to 6 children to feed on a monthly income of less than RM50, the struggle to survive had taken its toll on them.

When asked, most women did not know their age or the time of day. Mother Nature set the rhythm of life… young girls

marry at puberty. The day would start with every sunrise and end with every sunset.

The women spoke of their hope for a better future, of the ability to give their children much needed food, of their desire to improve their cooking skills and learn how to sew. They shared their dreams of one day being able to speak English.

For the first time in their lives, some women had the opportu-nity to share their views and know that they too have a voice. We could sense their hunger to be heard and seen.

We were later advised by Janet and Mujin that incest was highly prevalent in the villages, and Pi-tas has the highest rate of tha-lassemia in Malaysia.

With a burden in our hearts to do

something for this group of peo-ple forgotten by progress, we promised the villagers that we would take with us their requests and we will be back.

Reflection…

That evening we gathered to break the Word of God taken from Luke 11:1-4 - “The Lord’s Prayer”. What meaning did we make of our experiences in the light of the gospel message for the day?

Each of us shared our God ex-periences as we came face to face with the poorest of the poor. The Gospel passage “Give us today our daily bread” chal-lenged us to bend our ears to the cry of the people of Pitas for food, clothing, shelter, and edu-cation… a people left behind by the perceived progress of a na-

15

(Continued on page 16)

2007

Good Shepherd News

While each unit is encouraged to send articles anytime during the year, we have planned that there

are specific issues when each unit is asked to submit an article so

that at the end of the year all the units have been part of Good

Shepherd News. Please send articles on or

before the 5th of each month.

Here is the suggested schedule:

January Commissions, CLT. Other news

February China District, Argentina/Uruguay,

France/Belgium, Kenya

March Mid North, Belo Horizonte, Bogota

April

East Asia, Bolivia, Germany

May Chile, Great Britain, Lebanon/Syria

June

Austria/Switzerland/ Czech Repub-lic, Egypt/Sudan, Ecuador, Japan

July

India/Nepal, New York, Central America, Hungary

August

Indonesia, Medellin, Senegal, Ire-land/Ethiopia

September

Philippines, Mexico, The Nether-lands, South Africa

October

Singapore/Malaysia, Peru, Italy/Malta, Portugal/ Angola, Canada

November Sri Lanka/Pakistan, Recife, Para-

guay, Spain, The Isles

December CLT, Australia/Aotearoa/New Zea-

land, Mozambique, Venezuela

Invitation Please send articles, photos with

captions for Good Shepherd News to:

REGINA KUIZON Casa Generalizia,

Suore del Buon Pastore Via Raffaello Sardiello 20

00165 Roma, Italia Email: regina.kuizon@gssweb.org

Good Shepherd News

Special thanks to the following for the translation:

Srs. Magdalena Franciscus, Gisèle Lalonde, Rosario Ortiz, Adriana Perez, Mary James Wilson, Ms. Claire Alessandri,

Ms. Valentina Galluzzi and Mr. Michel Ferrer

16

SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA... (Continued from page 15)

tion celebrating its 50 years of nationhood in 2007.

We reflected and pondered upon the two 10 cent coins given to Sr. Angelina, the date of the visit – 10 Oct (10/10), our contingent of 10 persons who visited Pitas and the Good Shepherd’s gospel promise from John 10:10 that “he has come to give us life, life to the full”. We felt the voice of our Good Shepherd affirming the direction of our mission to seek the suffering, heal the sick and carry the weak in our arms. This was further affirmed by the Gospel passage for the next day, taken from Luke 11:9-13 “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened”, a confirmation that as we start ask-ing, seeking and knocking on doors to help the poor in Pitas, doors of opportunity, resources and hope will be opened.

Our Response…

We have begun negotiations with the Ministry of Human Develop-ment and Consumer Affairs Sa-bah, on how we can answer the cry of the people from these 6 vil-lages in Pitas. The Ministry has agreed to oversee the infrastruc-ture needed to carry out the vari-ous joint venture initiatives whilst Pusat Seri Murni will commit to raise funds for some immediate priority needs.

The immediate priority needs would be to support the efforts of the villagers to help themselves in the following areas:

- The Ministry will seek funding for a rural library in Kampung Nibang to overcome the current poor learning resource materials. We will do a collection of used English learning materials for the primary school.

- To facilitate children going to school in rainy weather, Pusat Seri Murni will supply a motor boat.

- The hanging bridge that links the villages to the primary school is in a dilapidated state. We will source funding for the villagers to repair the existing hanging bridge or if neces-sary, build a new one.

- The daily food consumption is mainly rice and tapioca. The Ministry of Agriculture will undertake to train the farmers to grow vegetables and rear livestock. Pusat Seri Murni has just been offered an acre piece of land in Papar which will be used to provide agricultural training.

- The Ministry of Human Develop-ment and Consumer Affairs in col-laboration with the Ministry of Education will facilitate the construction of a primary school hostel in 2008 which will be built by the villagers themselves. Pusat Seri Murni will source for funding to provide the building materials.

Together in Mission…

On 12 October 2007, the next day at the break of dawn, as we were going for mass in Kota Kinabalu, we saw two rainbows directly across our convent. One was very distinct and colourful whilst the other was faint.

The rainbow, a symbol of hope and the covenantal relationship of God with his people, gives us the courage to forge ahead, to crossover and stand on the side of the poor – may they experience the hope that God has promised – “Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door will be opened”. “Love leads us to follow in the foot-steps of the Good Shepherd; To search out the wounded, those left behind by the world” -St Mary Eu-phrasia Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd e-bulletin, October 2007