Cl. Rodil Lladones gives his YES to God for ever with Mary

in Nazareth (MOR - Middle East province)

By Our Own Correspondent

Nazareth, Israel, 9 September 2018 -- The new school year in Jerusalem formation house 'Ratisbonne' (Rector Fr. Stanislaus Swammikanu, 4 year theology course, international community from all continents, medium - English) started just last September 3. Few days later on September 9 was celebrated the perpetual profession of two missionaries - theology students - Cl. Miguel Angel Condo Soto (originally from Bolivia) and Cl. Rodil Lladones (originally from the Philippines) in the Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent in Nazareth. The outgoing provincial of Middle East province (MOR - Holy Land, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Iran) Fr. Munir Al Rai presided the Eucharistic celebration participated by the SDB community of Ratisbonne and many MOR province confreres with other well whishers.

We take advantage of the perpetual profession for an interview with our Filipino missionary, Cl. Rodil Lladones:

After few years in the Middle East what is your source of Salesian - Gospel joy and happiness?

I’ve been here in MOR (Middle East Province) for almost three years since I entered the province in 2015. As a young missionary here in this very complex province, I firmly believe that the source of my Salesian missionary vocation is my intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Living in this place where Jesus walked, lived, preached, performed miracles, and offered His life for the salvation of all definitely a gift and grace from God. This is always a source of joy and happiness for me. The other powerful fount that sustains me in this missionary vocation is the brotherhood in every Salesian community I am part of. There is real strength in living together for one common mission and vision - that is the salvation of the young especially the poor – in spite of our different backgrounds, cultures, education and even religious rite. These are the source of my happiness as Salesian missionary, simple yet very real.

As young missionary what are your challenges? And how do you sustain your vocation day by day?

In this province the number one challenge for me: language. A missionary in this province must learn Arabic and Italian. Here, a new missionary must first learn the spoken Arabic (local dialect), then the classical Arabic. If that is not challenging enough, the language of the province is Italian! Before a missionary enters MOR, he must know Italian in order to communicate with the confreres who are majority Italians. Just for the language, a missionary should spend about three to four years of study.

The second challenge for me is the complexity of religion and liturgical rites, i.e. Christians, Muslims and Jews. It is not easy deal with the fact that the persons you would encounter maybe of different religion or if Catholic, practicing another rite. The knowledge and skills towards interreligious and ecumenical dialogue is a must in this province.

Another challenging fact is the political situation of every country that belongs to the province. The presence of war and the increase of migration of Christians also add to the difficulties on the life of the missionaries here.

In these difficult moments, regular community life and bonding activities sustained my Salesian missionary vocation. The non-negotiable are the everyday celebration of the Holy Mass, meditation, personal prayer, visits to the Blessed Sacraments, community recollection and retreat, spiritual direction and rendiconto with my superior. These are the non-negotiables which, I believed helps and continues to sustain my Salesian missionary vocation.

What does it mean for you to give yourself totally to God in Nazareth?

Indeed, my perpetual profession is among the most important events of my Salesian life. I prepared for this stage of my formation by following the directives of superior. During my second year of theology, in Ratisbonne Salesian Monastery, I recieved a monthly conference for perpetual profession. In this conference, the Rector and some members of the community gave inputs on different topics that allowed me to focus on my preparation for perpetual profession. I joined the third phase of retreat and conference for perpetual profession in Italy. After which, I had a three-day personal recollection in Nazareth. During these days of intense preparation, I am very happy and fortunate because of the grace of God. I am also grateful for the presence of several confreres who in one way or another helped to prepare well my perpetual profession. Among the confreres who guided me and really helped me were my confessor and spiritual director. These two persons provided their time, energy and skills so that my preparation and my profession itself became fruitful and successful.

Saying a perpetual profession in Nazareth is like taking part in the experience of our Lady in the Scripture when the Angel Gabriel announces to her that she will be the mother of the Son of God. Her response to Angel Gabriel “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word” was indeed a resounding ‘yes’ to will of God. That ‘yes’ of Mary was indeed FOREVER. Three days before my perpetual profession, every afternoon, I visited the grotto of the Annunciation where I spent an hour of meditation. I meditated on the response of Mary to the Angel and how I wish that will also my response to God. Mary for me is true model of discipleship for all of us. Her willingness, generosity and full obedience to the will of the Father is worthy of our imitation. Indeed, I am blessed to celebrate my perpetual profession in Nazareth. I prayed during the celebrations that like Mary may my YES to God become a YES until eternity.

How do you listen to the young in the Holy Land (apostolate experience)?

The language is the number one barrier against listening to the cries, worries, aspirations, dreams and troubles of the young people in the Holy Land. But, I believe there is another way of listening to them. That’s where the system of our father and founder Don Bosco will enter: Being present with them, even without speaking any Arabic word with them - The Salesian Assistance with the young. For me, that’s very powerful way of understanding and knowing their aspiration in their respective life. Being with the young means sharing their joy and sorrows, uplifting their lives especially in moments of conflicts. For me, just being with them especially when they needed you most is a beautiful gesture of true missionary spirit. In the Middles East, a region torn by war and political conflict, words are not enough to console their weary hearts and soul. And so, just being present in their midst, being present in the families broken by these situations is in itself a beautiful act of charity and love towards my neighbors.

This school year in Ratisbonne started in sign of 'record' numbers of EAO confreres - with arrival of three 1st year theology students from Thailand (THA) Cl. Warrayut and from Vietnam (VIE) Cl. Joseph and Cl. Dominic there are now 5 EAO Salesians preparing for the Salesian priesthood, including Cl. Clement Htun (MYM) and Cl. Rodil Lladones (FIN). We wish all Jerusalem based Salesians daily joyful YES like Mary and with Mary!

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