Hello and welcome to our website! I am Fr. Carmelo O.
Diola, spiritual director of Pundok ni Pedro
Calungsod - Cebu ("Group of Pedro Calungsod" or Pundok - Cebu). www.friendsofpedro.org
(formerly www.pedrocalungsod.org) is nine months in the making. It is a labor
of love from all of us here at Pundok - Cebu and from all our collaborators
around the world linked to us through the information highway.
The group's mission is "to evangelize the modern world: in
the footsteps of and in support for Beato Pedro
Calungsod." Dodong Pedro (as we fondly refer to
this martyr in Cebu) was a young man, a Bisayang Dako (and a Filipino, of course), an OFW, a catechist, and
a missionary. His short, but meaningful, life has something to say to us,
contemporary Filipinos.
Our motto, therefore, is "to tell the world of God's love
with Beato Pedro" As the ancient network of
Roman highways facilitated the missionary work of a St. Paul, so the
information highway offers today's Christians opportunities and challenges to
reach out to the whole world.
Through this website, we are engaged in an
"e-apostolate" while we call ourselves "e-missionaries."
This is our concrete contribution to the hopes expressed during
the "First National Mission Congress of the Philippines" held in Cebu
from September 27 to October 1, year 2000.
Of course, the "e-presence,"
at best, can only supplement the personal encounter. Our website cannot
administer the sacraments; the real presence takes precedence over the virtual
presence.
Be that as it may,
a website can be the next best thing. The "virtual" is better than no
presence at all. In a world where people are constantly being uprooted from
their cultures and communities, no effort must be spared to communicate and
create communities of support. In the internet, one talks about "virtual
communities."
The features of
our website are all linked to the person of Dodong
Pedro. The services, i.e. "e-counseling," "e-catechism,"
"e-prayer," and "e-Word" are all related to the needs of OFWs and the youth (and anyone who has access to the
internet). E-catechism hopes to make its humble contribution towards
alleviating the sad fact that 90% of Filipino Roman Catholics are said to be
uninformed about the faith. E-Word, on the other hand, will deal with the Bible:
reflections, bible study, trivia, etc.
You will also
notice a section on Pedro Calungsod: a life summary, updates, testimonies, and gozos (a song that "rejoices" in a particular
saint, recounting incidents/highlights from the latter's life). It will be pure
joy to have our beato proclaimed a saint, one of
these days. Meanwhile, we actively promote him.
Our main-page
section features: the vision-mission statement, a directory (linking different
Filipino groups), a sub-section on all the material and human support received
by Pundok-Cebu (the Pahinungod or
"offering").
Finally, our
newsletter Tambal sa Kamingaw ("Antidote for Loneliness/Homesickness")
will continue. This will be in Cebuano while the
other sections will be in English. It is our dream, of course, to be
trilingual: English, Cebuano, and Tagalog.
Explore our
website. You will be pleasantly surprised and, hopefully, moved by the virtual,
but palpable, love and compassion our volunteers and collaborators have put
into such an effort. This is nothing short of the miraculous.
Yes, indeed,
the website is nothing short of the miraculous. Obstacles have come our way,
and continue to do so, yet we are unfazed and we are here to stay - with
you. Virtually and really!
Our severe
material limitations are slowly being overcome. Our renovated office is slowly
taking shape, though only God knows where our next payment would come from.
Donations have allowed us to purchase a computer. Somebody has donated a
refrigerator. A water dispenser helps our volunteers to quench their thirst. A
few monthly pledges are allowing us to offer some support for our volunteers.
Still the needs
are great.
However, it is
in the area of brave, generous, and committed hearts that God's providence is
mostly felt. It is amazing how the Lord has inspired people - the right people
- to join us. Many have worked long hours leading up to this launching.
There are
counselors from local colleges and universities, catechists and religious
educators, prayer-group members, volunteers from existing renewal movements,
those working in private and government firms, students and teachers, web
designers and engineers. One of our contributors resides in Vienna; a copy
editor is from Saginaw, Michigan. Some retirees spend their spare time with us.
Every person
who joins us is a gift from the Almighty. There is room for one more person,
whatever his or her gifts are, in our pundok.
Join us and
experience God's blessings for you and through you.
Last
I was in my
room when "Toyang" started to unleash its
fury. Weather forecasters estimated that the tropical storm would leave Cebu at
4 am of November 30, its 120 kph winds promising to
mercilessly wallop Cebu.
At 1 am, the
storm just suddenly left the island, its fury not yet fully spent but already
leaving a trail of destruction and death. Colossus just suddenly packed up and
left!
In front of the
seminary where I reside is a small wooded area. In it is a white statue of a
seated Christ the King, his right hand raised in a form of a blessing. Around
the statue were strewn the debris of uprooted trees and broken branches,
tell-tale signs of "Toyang."
Yet, the statue
remained unscathed! This is now the second time this has happened. The first
one was nearly 10 years ago, when the terrific howler and earth shaker, "Ruping" pounded Cebu. The damage then was much
greater.
Still, the
statue remained standing, placid in a sea of turmoil.
The
destruction of the
God's love will see us through all the crisis that confront us.
In the end, it will be God's love alone - incarnated in the person of Jesus
Christ - that remains.
It is this love that we hope to communicate through our website.
Please spread the word around.
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