UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS

Tuguegarao City

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, ARTS and SCIENCES

Second Semester
A.Y. 2021-2022

CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

CFED 1043- CICM MISSIONARY IDENTITY

Prepared by:
HAYDEN GONZALES
MICA TALAY
SEVERO WASHINGTON
ESPERANZA ZABLAN
PRINCE WILSON MACARUBBO
FR. ARISTOTLE MAGGAY
FR. ERNEST RAYMOND SIMEON
FR. GLENDEO PATTAGUAN

Reviewed by:

WILSON J. TEMPORAL, LPT, MST

DPRI Department Head

Recommended by:

VENUS I. GUYOS, Ph.D.

Academic Dean

Approved by:

EMMANUEL JAMES PATTAGUAN, Ph.D.

Vice President for Academics
 This Week’s Time Table: (February 28– March 05, 2022)

For this week, the following shall be your guide for the different lessons and tasks that you need
to accomplish. Oops! Be patient, read them carefully before proceeding to the tasks expected of
you.

HAVE A FRUITFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE 😊

Date Topics Activities or Tasks

March 01-02, 2022 CICM Motto Read and Internalize Lessons
March 03-04, 2022 CICM Mission Statement Read and Internalize Lessons

March 05, 2022 Submission of learning tasks Submission of learning tasks

School of Education, Arts and Sciences

Department of Philosophy and Religious Instructions
Curriculum 2021-2022

CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

Christian Faith Education 1043: CICM Missionary Identity

Chapter 1: CICM Spirituality

Lesson 2. The Mission Statement

Topics: CICM Mission Statement

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Classify the foundational assumptions and approaches of CICM toward their mission;
2. Identify the practical implications of the CICM mission statement; and
3. Conceptualize various vocation commitments that you would like to carry out in your future
career and profession.

LEARNING CONTENT

Introduction:

Mission statement is one of the most defined ways to express a cultural identity
to others. The values, norms and beliefs of an organization create a unique cultural
environment, and mission statements provide an official method for expressing that culture.
The CICM mission statement has clearly reflected these values to guide the actions and
organizational initiatives of the missionaries. It has guided the missionaries to see the
meaning and purpose of their commitments.
 To broaden this understanding, let’s trace back the aspirations of the CICM
founders in forming an unanimity of purpose to the congregation and imbue a sense of
belonging and identity.

Lesson Proper:

“One Heart, One Soul”

In his book Sing a New Song (1999), Timothy Radcliffe, Magister of the
Dominican Order, writes about his Vocation: "When I joined the Order I was drawn
above all by the hunger to understand my faith. The motto of the Order Veritas attracted
me.8 Not so long ago, we visited a Benedictine monastery in Siena, Italy. We admired
the Order's motto Ora et labora chiseled in a large stone placed in the church choir.
These mottoes reveal something about the religious life project of the respective
Founders. They have been chosen to express concisely the essence of their vocation.

Our Founder Theophile Verbist, who died barely five years after founding the
CICM, did not bequeath a motto. C. Daems entrusted to us that task at a difficult
moment in the CICM history. Let us have a closer look at this motto taken from the Acts
of the Apostles: "The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul" (4:32). This
sentence expresses God's ideal about humankind, his creation. What does it mean?
Jesus came to reveal that God is our Father, that he wants to be everybody's Father.
This is the core of the Gospel message. In Jesus, we are God's children through the
Spirit's power. Consequently, we are brothers and sisters of the same family.

In the early nascent Church, this awareness of the revelation aroused joyful
enthusiasm. The Christians were aware of living God's life. They felt it as a source of
intense communion, a source of joy and peace. C. Daems chose this motto of
brotherhood and joy that would become a missionary motto.

A Missionary Motto

From the sixties onward, the motto introduced by C. Daems will be more and
more emphasized in CICM documents and its content will grow considerably.

In fact, the motto One Heart, One Soul appears in the provisional Constitutions of
1968 (Art. 4). Later on, when referring to our missionary commitment, the 1974 Chapter
declares: "we want to be signs and instruments of universal brotherhood" (Kindling the
Fire, 45). Still later, the 1978 General Conference pays special attention to our vocation
to universal brotherhood in Jesus Christ. The report of this Conference is published
under the title One Heart, One Soul. Finally, the 1988 Constitutions also refer to the
motto: "Religious missionaries of different races and cultures, we live and work together
as brothers. One heart and one soul, we witness to the Father's will that all men and
women be brothers and sisters in Christ. We are a sign of solidarity among the
particular Churches in their universal mission" (Art. 2).

It is remarkable that the motto is directly related to the words "witness to

universal brotherhood." The view is fairly well summarized in a paragraph of the CICM
Constitutions Commentary (1989: "The ideal of the first Christian community, one heart,
one soul (Acts 4:32), has also become our missionary motto" (17). This is how our
motto found its place in our Constitutions' missionary manifesto (Art. 2). It expresses a
fundamental aspect of our CICM vocation.

CICM Mission Statement

How does CICM understand its mission in the context of today's world?
How does it view its specific contribution to the realization of the mission
the Lord entrusted to his Church?

The CICM mission statement succinctly answers these questions.

What is a mission statement all about? One should be aware of the fact that it is
not a summary of the Constitutions, neither is it a synthesis of the individual
commitments of the confreres. A mission statement is always future-oriented and
sharply focuses on the corporate commitment of the members of the institute. It
does not elaborate on the conditions required for its implementation such as an
adequate formation or the indispensable mobility of the members. The Criteria for Our
Missionary Involvements deal with the practical implications of the mission
statement.

The specific commitment of CICM is in frontier situations, its basic approach is an

encounter that eventually develops in an in-depth interreligious dialogue and/or in first
evangelization. World solidarity is a logical consequence of this movement. CICM is not
a lone fighter, it belongs to a larger community, the Church which is at the service of the
mission. The same holds for the CICM community: it is first of all at the service of the
mission.

Mission Statement

At the initiative of the Father,

sent by the Son,
guided by the Spirit,

Inspired by Theophile Verbist our founder,

who heard the call of the Lord
 and left his country
to proclaim the Good News in China,

Enlightened by those who preceded us

and who-like our founder-
left their familiar surroundings
to follow Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word.
by integrating themselves into a foreign culture,
and by living in solidarity with other people,

Enriched by those we serve,

especially the poor who reveal to us the sin of the world
and who help us discover the true meaning
of God's plan of love,

We, CICM missionaries

of different races and cultures,
live and work together as brothers
to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ
wherever it is most needed.

We achieve our mission

when we facilitate
the encounter between Jesus Christ and the 'nations'.
Our mission includes
enabling people
to experience the coming of the Kingdom
proclaimed by Jesus Christ
in their God-given context.

The foundational assumptions with which we approach our mission are:

God's Plan of Love

We believe that God plans to reconcile the whole of Creation to Him, in Christ,
through the Spirit. He calls us to proclaim salvation as His great gift which liberates from
oppression and disruption. Salvation is not merely of human persons, individually or
communally, but the entire world. Mission therefore also comprises sharing in God's
care for the whole of creation. The goal of the mission is the Kingdom of God of which
the Church is the servant.

Our Commitment to Frontier Situations

We affirm that it is the specific charism of CICM to bring the Good News of Jesus
Christ wherever it is most needed, e.g., in frontier situations such as geographic areas
where the Gospel is not known or lived, isolated areas where people feel abandoned,
large cities where the feeling of anonymity prevails, marginalized groups, refugees and
displaced persons, people who live in extreme poverty, young people who feel there is
no future for them. Our direct involvement with these groups should be supported by a
prophetic presence in the world of communications, organizations that participate in the
struggle for liberation, justice and peace groups, organizations committed to
safeguarding the created world, associations which seek to influence international
decision-makers.

Our Commitment to Dialogue

We fully respect the freedom of people. "The Church proposes she imposes
nothing' (RM, 39). We are called to encounter people of all religions and convictions,
and to establish a dialogue of life with them. As part of this commitment, we acquire
adequate knowledge of the language and the culture of the people who welcome us and
make every effort to insert ourselves in their life situation. Some among us nourish and
enrich this common commitment by engaging in an in-depth interreligious dialogue.

Our Commitment to First Evangelization

We are particularly grateful when people, through the action of the Spirit, open
their hearts to the message of the Gospel and express the desire to join the Church of
Jesus Christ. We share with them the message of joy that transformed our own lives
and invite them to share with us their faith experience. We jointly convert ourselves to
God and form dynamic communities that live and proclaim the Gospel within the God-
given context of the people. When these communities, in communion with the universal
Church, reach maturity and become a local Church assuming full responsibility for her
mission in the world, we move on to other places where our presence is most needed.

Our Commitment to World Solidarity

We acknowledge with sorrow the growing gap between the Gospel vision of a
new humanity of freedom, fellowship, and justice, and the world where there is poverty,
oppression, lack of freedom, inequality, injustice, violence, and hatred. This is not a
mere accident; it is a situation created by a powerful minority. We, therefore, participate
in the struggle of the marginalized to restore their dignity as responsible persons
created in the image of God and called to fully participate in building a better world for
all. As part of this commitment, we seek to challenge the rich nations to adopt a more
austere lifestyle, to abandon the old economic order based on unlimited growth for the
benefit of a few, and to commit themselves to a new model of global development
based on global sharing.

Our Commitment to the Local Church

We affirm that the mission of Jesus Christ in which we share is entrusted to the
entire community of believers coming from all cultures, races, and nationalities. As a
missionary institute, we are a visible sign of the commitment of the whole Church to the
mission of Jesus Christ in the world, especially concerning those who do not belong to
the Church. In dialogue and cooperation with the leadership of the universal Church, we
discern where our presence is most needed. We loyally cooperate with the leadership of
the local Churches while remaining faithful to our commitment to frontier situations. In
doing so, we are a sign of solidarity among the local Churches in their universal
mission. As part of this commitment, we help the faithful of the Churches in which we
are present to develop a growing awareness of their missionary responsibility and
gratefully welcome young people who in their turn hear the call of the Lord and express
the desire to join the institute.

Our Commitment to Community

We believe that how we live and work together is important in fulfilling our
mission. It is our task to foster with the Spirit dynamic communities of praying and active
believers. Since we cannot give what we are not, we live and work as much as possible
in intercultural evangelizing communities that foster values such as mutuality,
interdependence, a simple lifestyle in solidarity with the poor, conscious and respectful
interaction with each other and the culture in which we live, common prayer nourished
by and oriented towards our mission.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten Season in the Catholic Liturgical Calendar (calendar of worship celebrations).
Lent is 40 days. As we discussed in CFED 1013, 40 days in the Old Testament symbolizes time for purification. It is time for us to purify
ourselves and undergo conversion and return to the Lord if we have not been doing good in our past days. It is time for repentance and
metanoia. Ash is a symbol of mortality, and people in the Old Testament used it when they ask for forgiveness from the Lord. Aside from
using ash, there are also two things that we (Catholics) do during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting and Abstinence. Fasting
does not mean you will not eat the whole day. It means take one full meal a day. Out of your three meals, you should get full only once,
and take little food for the other two meals. Aside from purification, fasting also means sacrifice, that we share in the sacrifice of Christ
who suffered for our sins. Abstinence. This means do not eat meat. Point to ponder: If you go to a so called “burol ng patay” and they will
offer you food with a meat as your “ulam”. How do you feel? In line with this, we also respect the body of Christ which suffered and died
for our sins. As Catholics, we are expected to practice these two. Anyway, we are only required to do these during Ash Wednesday and
Good Friday. Two days only, while other sects do not eat blood for the whole of their lives. Fasting and abstinence also means abstain
from doing other pleasurable things or from joyous moments during these days. “ Nagfasting ka nga ng food pero naglaro ka naman ng
favorite mong games the whole day, e nawala,na yung essence ng pagfasting mo! These two days are the official days for us to practice
fasting and abstinence. Other Fridays of the year is just recommended but not obligatory. Why Friday? Because Jesus died on a Friday.
For your assignment, research on the exemptions or who are exempted from doing fasting and abstinence.

EVALUATION
Bringing to mind the fundamental approaches of CICM toward a unified mission, give at least
two various vocation commitments you would like to carry out at the heart of a fruitful service
and dedication in your future career and profession. Explain each briefly. (10 points each)

1. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Criteria:
Content and relevance: 5 pts
Structure and
Organization of thoughts: 3 pts.
Mechanics: 2 pts.
Total: 10 pts.

REFERENCES
Books:

Sadullo, J. R., Bleeker, A. D., & L., T. M. (2012). CICM: Christ is calling me: 150 years of
service in God's mission, 1862-2012. Makati City, Philippines: St. Pauls.

CICM-membership. (1999). Rome: Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM).

Arquiza, Y. D. (2007). Carrying on the mission: 100 years of CICM in the Philippines.
Philippines: Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae.