By Myrna S. Bermudo
Amid negativities and difficulties in religious life, consecratedpersons must not be bogged down; instead (they should) seek life, value life and be witness to what St. Ireneus said: ‘the glory of God is man fully alive.’ This was the reminder of Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, DD, Archbishop of Caceres to the Association of the Communities of Consecrated Life in Caceres (ACCLIC). He said that living out the religious vows must not be static. It has to be dynamic and enthusiastic.“Is there still life in our consecrated life? If there is no more life in our ‘Vita Consecrata’, there will be no joy and no excitement. Just dull compliance of the vows and dull performance of our mission,” the Archbishop warned.
“We must remind ourselves that religious life is not easy. It is not also impossible. But it is not easy. If religious life were easy, there is no need to make the vows. A vow is valuable because we undertake something that is not very easy. Embracing the vow means dying to oneself, “ Alarcon said.The Archbishop reminded the members of ACCLIC that being alive also means embracing the religious vows. “When we embrace the vows it is an exercise of freedom. It is not a restriction. We made that choice. That is a continuous exercise of freedom,” he added.
In conclusion, Alarcon said: “Vows are expressions of love. They are not just to discipline us. To follow the Lord in chastity, poverty and obedience is to freely follow Christ and to love the Lord. It is to follow freely the Lord’s command to love: to love God and love our neighbor.”ACCLIC gathered for a holy mass on August 3 at Mary Coredemptrix Church, San Felipe, Naga City for an advance birthday celebration of Archbishop Alarcon.ACCLIC’s Central, Rinconada and Partido Clusters rendered intermission numbers to greet the Archbishop whose 54th birthday was on August 6. Representatives from each community got their chance to meet and greet him.They also elected their new officers whose term of office will from August 2024 to January 2025.The new officers are: Sr. Agnes Cardino, OP, Chairman; Fr. Jose Maria Bombita, SOLT, Vice Chairman for Men Religious; Sr. Blanca Ortiz, SDeM, Vice Chairperson for Women Religious; Sr. Ely Nasol, DM, Secretary; Fr. Martin Licup, SJ, Treasurer. The ACCLIC family congratulated the new cluster coordinators namely: Br. Ricardo Guevarra for Central District, Sr. Eleanor Amante, SPC for Partido District and Sr. Vanise Mariel Ocera, DSA, for Rinconada District.Alarcon thanked the consecrated men and women in the Archdiocese for their presence and their service. “Thank you for your charisms and for your witnessing. It is a proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church.”Mentioning that one of the struggles of living as a consecrated person is living in a community, he also added that gathering a community of communities is more challenging. “This goes to show that we are a synodal church. We are trying to respond to the call of the Holy Father for a Synodal Church,” he said.ACCLIC is an association of 7 men religious congregations and 23 women religious in the Archdiocese of Caceres.
“To be a Synodal Church is a loaded invitation, if we take it to heart,” Alarcon said. “The Holy Father said that it is not only the individual that needs conversion but the Church needs conversion. The papacy needs conversion, the curia needs conversion, the episcopal conference needs conversion, thereligious congregations need conversion. We need conversion. There is much in the things that we do, in the ways we behave that need to be changed. We need to change those things and ways that do not encourage and does not attract the people of today to the Lord. “The archbishop made these statements in his homily in a thanksgiving mass during his birthday celebration organized by ACCLIC.
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