ASSUMPTIONISTS IN CALIFORNIA: A WEEKEND RETREAT INSPIRES DEEP REFLECTION
Introduction by Monette Gonzales Carranceja and Linette Ignacio Rebosura
Reflection by Jessica “Goldie” Tecson Khattar
Prologue by Linette Ignacio-Rebosura
Yesterday, August 19, was a special day. We had a retreat facilitated by our Assumption High School nuns, Sr. Gertrude and Sr. Lory, Religious of the Assumption, who flew in from Philadelphia.
So proud of my Assumption high school classmates who have been planning this for 32 weeks now. A Retreat Weekend: Journeying together with St. Marie Eugenie Today, at the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center Sierra Madre, California.
The retreat provoked much thought and reflection. The reflection below is by Jessica Tecson Khattar, HS82. The teachings of SME are very much alive among the alumnae in the United States.
From The Same Roots We Grow
By: Goldie Tecson Khattar
When I was nineteen years old, I had just finished my first year of college and was still unsure where I was headed. Back track to the year 1836, and this was hardly the case for another 19-year-old girl named Ann Eugenie Milleret. She discerned, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that her calling in life was to inspire others to pursue the building of the kingdom of God through education.
Because of her love for Jesus Christ, it was with joyful detachment that she surrendered her all to His Lordship and dedicated her life to the service she was called to do.
She later changed her name to Marie Eugenie and at the age of twenty-two, started the first Assumption Congregation in Rue Ferou, Paris . She was determined that her mission be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Her conviction that “All comes from Jesus Christ, All belongs to Jesus Christ, All must be for Jesus Christ”, embodies the Spirit of Assumption and has kept its mission and message alive and relevant through the years.
Today, the Assumption Congregation operates in 34 countries spanning four continents. On August 19, 2023, I was among the eighty women who converged from across the globe at the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in California, USA to journey with our Mother Foundress, Saint Marie Eugenie. Under the guidance of Sr. Gertrude Borres, r.a. and Sr. Loretto Mapa, r.a., it was a time of sweet fellowship and prayerful contemplation.
Though we have all grown in different ways, we grew out of the same roots, grateful for the transformative education that we received. Just as St. Marie Eugenie looked to Jesus Christ to accomplish what was started, likewise we look onward and upward to the future, knowing that in Christ Jesus, God can finish the work that He has begun in us.
Prologue
by Linette Rebosura
Quid Retribuam Domino (What Thanks Can I Render Thee) was our class motto. As we reflect on the weekend that passed, that simple phrase holds more meaning and relevance now, a continent away from San Lorenzo. Beautiful memories still linger on.
We may have been voluntold by Sr. Gertrude but it was truly a gift to be able to work together as a team once again and to strengthen our bonds of sisterhood. We were privileged to work with the dedicated, committed, self-less and hardworking girls of ACHS ‘82 who always managed to bring fun in all that we did.
The ACHS ‘82 retreat team thanks each and every one of you – from 26 high school batches, 17 college batches, 4 campuses, 5 US states and the Philippines; mother and daughter, aunts and nieces, cousins, sisters and sisters by heart – for choosing to join this weekend retreat and be with each other. No matter how much we prepared, this event would not have been what it was, without YOU! We hope that whatever your reasons for participating were realized and that the retreat was rewarding and memorable for you too.
As Mimil expressed, “Our retreat journey was incredible, spiritually uplifting, and joyful.”
Maraming Salamat!
Salamat Guid!
