There Were Gems in the City of Gold
by Fr. Gene Gilos, OMI

"In each person is a gem! This cliché summarizes/defines the four-day (March 1-4, 2004) togetherness among eight Oblates from 6-10 years in the ministry. This gathering at the Carmelite Retreat House in Cagayan de Oro City (the City of Gold) had provided them a venue of deeper disclosures about what had transpired in their personal as well as ministerial lives over the years of active pastoral involvement.

This recent ongoing formation was originally booked at the Benedictine Monastery in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. It had supposedly for its theme, "The Monastic Spirituality," but because of some unavoidable circumstances, it did not materialize as planned and scheduled.

And yet, what was thought a disaster turned out to be a bag of gold. The group's convenor, Fr. Ed Santoyo, gave each member instead some reading materials focused on "Spirituality of the Priesthood." That was supplemented by other reading materials like "Priest, Power and Sexual Abuse," "The Addictions of Clergy and Religious" and "Sexual Dynamics in Ministry Relationships" all culled from Human Development.

The articles unlocked a lot of reflections among members of the groups. That led them into honest-to-goodness assessment about how they fared in their religious and priestly life in the past years. And because it disposed them well, their sharing was a no-holds-barred session. It was okay to come to grips with one's strengths and limitations. There were scores of acceptance, support, affirmation and resolution as they acknowledged the multi-faceted side of their community.

As they were done in 'excavating' the deepest and vulnerable core of their very being, they were unanimous discovering that despite what they are, "in each person is a gem" rooted in the image and likeness of God. Too bad, the group missed both Fr. Zaldy and Bro. Noel who are in France for the De Mazenod Experience. They could have added radiance to the group's newly found treasure. Indeed, in that moment of togetherness (with Ed, Dennis, Jun, Ox, Jimmy, Celoi, Joe and Gene) there were gems glittering in the city of gold!