3rd International Congress of the Josephite-Marellian Laity in the Philippines
We point up the need  for social commitment

by Luz Erika Limachi Mejía

On Sunday,  January 25, all our delegates reached the Manila airport. They travelled from different points of the globe, and their average duration of flight was some 28 hours (range 20 - 36 hours). The Filipino hospitality, and friendship and kindness were excellent, so that we feel well, we feel as we were at home: that was the perception  which animated us for all time, and strengthened in us the charism of the Oblates, to serve the Church and give our support to the pastoral ministry in our different Countries.
In Tagaytay we begun our experience taking our lunch together. Then we received in the conference room our kit: a green bag printed  by the logo of the Congress, the guide for prayers, our book for liturgical orientation, some block notes, a pen, a useful pin and, what it was essential, we all helped  to establish a climate of confidence  in which we celebrated  our Congress. We felt we were loved, and we went back to our homes we have been able to be faithful to the compromises worked out in Congress  in the Philippines.
Monday, January 26, was the official opening-day of Congress: the Eucharist concelebration was presided over by our Father general Michele Piscopo. During the offertorial procession, the delegates of every country brought  the images of Saint Joseph and some typical objects they took from their Countries

The Opening Ceremony
Everything was ready.  All the participants were in Tagaytay.  Our guests were very motivated and they did everything for the best. The presence  of many  parishioners  of the Oblates of St. Joseph, including youth, children, students, families and mothers of many Filipino Oblate priests, was consistent. No one wanted to miss the opening of the conference. Students and seminarians of the Oblates played a dramatization of the Passion of Christ.
After that, all the members were invited to sing their national hymns. We feel to be gathered by the same special charism coming from the Gospel. The provincial superior of the Philippines Fr. Ronulfo Alkonga, osj, welcomed all participants of the Congress.  The General Councilor with responsibility for the laity, Fr. Gabriel Kamus greeted all participants on behalf of General Council. He introduced all the delegations and explained the dynamics of the Congress and other specific issues.
Our Father General Michele Piscopo in his speech called into mind the first  Congress of the Laity in 2001, which was held after  the canonization of St. Joseph Marello and on the basis of his paths of holiness;  and the second congress,  held in Barletta, where all of us were gathered in one family. “Our dream is, he said, that our Josephite Marellian Lay will be engaged in a next future, whether in politics and management -  i.e. mayors ,members of the Congress,  managers-  and  in the field of education. Many Josephite Marellian Laity  are already working in this special area, they are already taking their responsibilities in society, and are realizing the interests of Jesus."
The President of the Congress, Dr. Asuncion Kalalo, addressed his greetings to all participants speaking  Tagalog, the Filipino language, saying Mabuhay! Welcome!  - It was an honor for them, she said, to host in the Philippines  the first congress which has been celebrated outside of Italy; she gave expression to the happiness of all those who worked for the organization of the Congress, saying that, as there was already true  for the previous congress, "Our congress will also be able to change the history of the OSJ Laity."
The Josephite Marellian Laity make reference to the values and purposes by which St. Joseph Marello was inspired. Our organization intends, step by step  to prepare our  laity to assume the social work of our Congregation, "in search of human resources, looking to the political and social conditions of those most in need, according to the true spirit of the Gospel, making reality the option for the poor, we are always looking to the dignity of every person, so that they might have life and life in abundance ...".

The lectures on the general themes and specific topics of the Congress
Thanks to the assistance of our translators - who were some Filipino Laity - we listen to the panels. The methodology was as follows: first of all we listen to the lectures, then we were gathered  in our working groups – each one of them supported by a facilitator, a rapporteur and a secretary, to exchange our ideas and plan coherently with the different reality and pastoral ministry of our countries; then we expressed our conclusions in the general assembly. The different experiences of our laity living in the different countries  were presented during  the sessions of the General  Assembly.
The first lecture on  Vocation of the Laity for youth education in schools and parishes, was held by Erminia del Prete.  He faced our responsibilities as youth educators  in our society and in the parishes, as catechists,  teachers, or parents.  Some issues to consider, in order reach maturity and serve human life in our local churches, are concerning the meaning of life, joy, freedom and responsibly, the meaning of being witness of faith and life, and how to increase our participation into the church: that’s all we took seriously into consideration. Although we live in a world fearful, are we able to offer to the youth respect, love, fidelity, authenticity? Some experiences of educational work in schools, were described by the laity of the Philippines and Brazil.
The second lecture  on Laity towards the Poor in our Society, was held by Asuncion Kalalo. Social work means to look to the theological truth and to take into account what really happens in each country. If I consider the existence of the poor where I am living, I am asking to myself who are really the poor in my society? What I am doing  for them? Some practical experiences of social work were reported by the laity  from Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and India.
The third lecture faced the title: The ministry of the Josephite Marellian Laity for the integrity of Christian Family, was offered by Thomas and Michelle Marie Spencer. They are a married couple who discovered the charism of the Oblates of St. Joseph, as a special aid for their spiritual growth, in their daily family life:  praying  together the rosary or sharing their spiritual experiences, or to decide that all their family will move to another rural area of California, for example. They have 4 children and 11 grandchildren, their son is a deacon and soon he will be an Oblate priest. Are we seriously taking into account the needs of the families living in our parishes? The experiences of Laity from Pennsylvania, Nigeria and Poland described the service they are giving to the families in their countries.

The Laity of each country introduced themselves.  
We had the time to introduce ourselves  explaining, by audio-visual support, our pastoral ministry in every country where we are at work  in four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. And we took also the opportunity to exchange our gifts we brought from each country, not only for laity but also for the priests participants, as the Chasubles from Nigeria given to all the Oblate Priests who came to our  congress.

Visiting the Oblates’ Parishes and Communities
We spent a day,  Thursday, January 29, to visit the parishes, schools, seminaries, houses of the Oblates of St. Joseph. We startg from the “ San José the Patriarch Parish", in San Jose, Batangas. The holy mass was presided over by Bishop Gerald Holohan from Bunbury, Australia;  after that, we visited the minor seminary.
We visited the OSJ seminary  and  the Philosophical Institute at Lipa. Our seminarians gave us a warm welcome singing for us, and a cold one by coconut juice to alleviate our thirst. Then, a typical Filipino vehicle took us to the house of the Oblate Sisters and we had our tea with them.
In Batangas, Alupay we visited the "Sagrada Familia" school which belongs to the parish of Holy Rosary, and the tomb of the Italian missionary Fr. Fanchini.
In San Juan we visited the San José Nepomuceno Parish.  In the parish hall we had our lunch. For the dinner we were guests of the family of the former Mayor of Batangas, Mr. Artemio Chua, who is a collaborator of the Oblates of St. Joseph in the Philippines. There we appreciated the performance of a team of singers and dancers, coming from one of the schools of the Oblates. There we met the Archbishop of Lipa, Rev. Ramon Arguelles, and the Australian bishop of Bumbury, Rev. Hololan.

Our conclusions  
Finally the General Assembly of the Congress decided to deliver all the issues and considerations on our  international statutes, produced by our working groups and during the sessions of our General Assembly, to the Father General and his Council, so that they might be approved and implemented. We took our responsibility to share with the laity living in our countries, the experience done in the Philippines. We will continue our service in all our nations, in coherence with the spirituality of St. Joseph Marello.
We decided also the venue of our next Fourth International Congress of the Laity, which  will be held in Brazil in the Our Lady of Rocio Province.
Ending , Our Father General expressed  his dedication to the Laity: "I love all the laity, because I worked with them and I have to learn, more and more, to listen them. I say thanks to all our Oblate of St. Joseph’s Family from Philippines, thanks for your hospitality open to all. Heartedly, God bless you all. God bring to you all, happiness and enthousiasm for the pastoral ministry of the Oblates . 

On Monday, February 2, we gathered together in the St. Joseph's Shrine, Greenhills, Manila. We had the opportunity to celebrate a great missionary feast: the ordination of six new Oblate priests by the hands of the Bishop Rev. Gerald Holohan,who presided over the concelebration, together with the Father General Michele Piscopo, the Provincial of the Philippines Fr. Ronulfo Alkonga, and many Oblate priests and other priests from different religious communities.

.