A Beautiful Ending, A New Beginning

by Resti Ma. M. Bautista

We recently wrapped up our five-week School of the Word (SOW) series, "Your Life is for Loving," which served as a beautiful season of reflection before a major transition. For the past eight months, CTK Parish and the Opus chapel have generously hosted our Friday night gatherings. On June 26, our prayer family said a grateful goodbye to the space as we prepared to move the SOW to our new venue starting this July. Looking back, this entire journey has been a powerful reminder of how clearly God guides our steps: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩. (Psalm 119:105). 

The series offered a vibrant reminder of our charism as Verbum Dei, which centers on allowing the Word to deeply transform us so that God's love naturally overflows to a hurting world. As the Apostle John wrote, 𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴. (1 John 4:19).

Gerard kicked off the series by grounding everyone in this baseline reality, reminding us that love is our absolute identity. "Because we have been loved without measure," Gerard shared, "God invites our total response of love." Chris then challenged the community to realize that true fulfillment comes from what a person gives away, especially to those who are difficult to love, echoing Christ’s call: "𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶." (Matthew 5:44).

The following week, Cecilia took us straight to the Upper Room and reminded us that we possess the exact same capacity to love like Christ. Sharing a quote from St. Carlo Acutis, Cecilia noted that standing before Jesus in the Eucharist makes us saints, and echoed our founder, Fr. Jaime Bonet: "I want to be your mouth, your feet and hands." It’s a powerful call for us to practically serve as Jesus' presence today, embodying His words: "𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵." (John 13:14). 

Then, Mel brought us back to the very core of our mission: the Word itself. Diving into the parable of the Good Samaritan, he reminded us that "to love is to give life through the Word." Loving others means introducing them to a life-changing encounter with God so they can discover their own capacity to love through evangelization, fulfilling the text: “‘𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵…’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥, ‘𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.’” (Luke 10:27). 

Finally, Resti shared the guidelines for the last night at the Opus chapel, focusing on John 15 and Matthew 9. The prayer centered on how Jesus calls His followers friends and commands them to lay down their lives for one another. Seeing the crowds, Jesus had deep compassion because they were harassed and helpless. Today, believers are called to step directly onto the frontlines as living messengers of that same love, as Jesus commanded: "𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴." (John 15:13).

While our venue changes, our mission remains the same. As families praying together, we move forward under His constant promise: "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦." (Matthew 28:20). Join us as we continue our Friday gatherings from 7:30 to 9:00 PM at our temporary home: the Verbum Dei Center of Formation, #53 E. Santos St. corner Market Ave., Palatiw, Pasig City. Come and see!