In the Church’s
Mission in the Cotabato Archdiocese, the return of the OMI Missionaries to
their former mission places is no longer simply a remote possibility.
Almost two years
ago, the first return came about after the appeal from the local community and
the diocese to take responsibility once again of the Mission School in Kulaman;
otherwise, the school faced the sad possibility of closure. Fr. Mon BERNABE,
OMI, then Provincial, heeded the appeal and accepted again the care for the
school.
The school is
considered poor and most abandoned, thus falling within the priority of the
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. There is also a special feature in the
school that makes it a special ministry to the Oblates. The uniqueness of the
school is the fact that it serves the Indigenous Peoples of the Daguma mountain
ranges in Sultan Kudarat Province. It is for this reason that the Oblate
Provincial could not refuse the appeal to take responsibility over the school
again.
This year, a
similar return of the Oblates occurred. Archbishop Orlando QUEVEDO asked the Oblates
to take charge of the parish of Timanan, South Upi. The Marist Fathers, who had
asked the bishop some years ago to be given the mountain parish to work among
the Indigenous Peoples, were leaving the diocese for good and the bishop
appealed to the Oblates to come back to their former mission station.
Fr. Lauro DE
GUIA, the new Provincial, accepted the exchange on May 30, 2012, in a ceremony
presided by Archbishop Quevedo, with Rev. Fr. Larry Sabud, SM, Delegation
Superior of the Marist Fathers in the Philippines. There were five Marist
Fathers and twelve Oblate priests and brothers present at the ceremony.
The Timanan of years
gone by is different from today. First, the road from Cotabato City to the parish
church in Timanan is fully paved. Second, there is electric power in the town
with the possibilities of getting all of modern life amenities –electric fans,
coolers, and cable TV. Third, there are communication sites that make possible
the use of cell phones and internet. And to top it all, there is a new concrete
convent and a kindergarten center in the church grounds.
Fr. Lauro, in
accepting the parish once again, could not help but reminisce about his early
missionary experiences years ago when as a postulant he lived in Timanan for
three months. They were seven postulants who were there for a mission exposure
and they stayed in a small room in 1986. The late Fr. Yves CAROFF was parish
priest. He introduced the postulants to the tough mission in the mountains of
South Upi.
Fr. Lauro
shared, “It was there that I got the taste of what it was to be a missionary --
praying in community, cooking and eating together, drinking together and being
sent to chapels by twos. It was here also that I experienced hiking for many
hours, rode on horseback, or by motorcycle to reach the far-flung Christian
communities in the mountains. But what was consoling was the hospitality and
generosity of the simple folks who in their poverty openly welcomed us. They
shared with us their homes to rest; and they offered us their best food at
their tables.”
Fr. Raul Biasbas, OMI makes his public solemn profession of faith
prior to his assumption of the office of Pastor
There are now
three Oblate missionaries assigned to Timanan: Fr. Raul BIASBAS, pastor; Fr.
Jurambel SACIL, associate pastor; and Bro. Matt BERTIS, who is there to
experience the mission as he awaits his presbyteral ordination. (www.omiphil.org)
