Monastery for contemplative nuns rises in Pangasinan

Sunday, January 22, 2012

MALASIQUI -- A monastery for contemplative nuns now stands at the hilly part of Barangay Nancapian, this town.
 
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas on Saturday led the blessing of the Poor Clare Monastery of Saint James the Apostle after administering a mass in the chapel.

The monastery is located in the middle of the hilly Arenas Farm owned by the family of philanthropist Rosemarie Arenas. The Arenas family donated the lot, which is surrounded by mango trees, to the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

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The monastery is located more than a hundred meters away from the residence of the Arenases. The Arenas matriarch said it will have its own gate. 

After Saturday's blessing, four pioneer sisters from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Balanga, Bataan will stay at the monastery.

"The blessing of the monastery will be the only opportunity for you to see the interior of the monastery, which our Catholic faithful in Pangasinan so kindly helped to build. After the blessing, the monastery will be closed perpetually and the life of sacrifice of the nuns will hence begin inside the cloister," Villegas said.
 
He said the building is secured with iron grills to keep people from coming in. "Those grills are not intended for the sisters to stay in, the grills are there so that you will stay out. Let them stay spend their nights in hidden prayers and sacrifice," he added.

Villegas is happy with the realization of his dream for the archdiocese to have a monastery. While delivering his homily, he paused three times to contain his emotions.
 
"We open a new chapter of Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese. Thank you my dear sisters, thank you for coming. I am passionate about this. I am convinced about. I have staked my all to make this happen. Thank you sisters, pray for us priests, raise your hands to God in prayer for us," he said.
 
"The monastery is the powerhouse of the archdiocese, in our lifetime and in the generations to come," he added.
 
Villegas said he chose January 21 as the date of the blessing of the monastery as said date is very significant to him.
 
"In January 21, 1974, Jaime Sin was appointed Archbishop of Manila. I hope you understand that I will not give up thanking him. That's why we are here, January 21, 38 years later. That appointment of Jaime Sin to the Archdiocese of Manila changed Philippine history; changed us; and changed me," he said, adding that he was only in first year high school then.
 
He said the one of the first things he asked the people when he was appointed as archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan was "where is the monastery?"
 
"To my shock, I was told that the Archdiocese has none. For the past years of my life as a priest, I have not done a thing without the submission of the contemplative sisters, Poor Clares, Carmelites, Pink Sisters. Even if it would be as small as giving a clergy retreat to an archdiocese, I would not start the retreat without first begging the sisters to pray for what I would do. And here I was in Pangasinan where I have no sisters to pray for me. I was worried, I was anxious and I was very hesitant to make any decision because I was not assured of the arms of sisters raised to heaven in prayer for me," he narrated.
 
Villegas said he learned this from Cardinal Sin.
 
"Not known, not told, but there was not one rally called for by Cardinal Sin without sisters praying at the background; and  before he called on the people to go to Edsa on February 22, 1986, he told me to call the Poor Saint Clares, the Pink Sisters, the Carmelites, call them to the chapel right now and don’t sleep. And before the Blessed Sacrament, pray because we are in battle. If we lose this battle, I will blame them," he added.
 
Meanwhile, Representative Ma. Rachel Arenas said she offered to the Archbishop that part of the farm for the monastery when the latter mentioned to her his plan to construct a monastery.
 
"I said we have a farm, and it's so big. Why not construct it there. In that instance, Archbishop Villegas profoundly expressed his thanks. I said having the monastery in Nancapian is not only a blessing for the people of Malasiqui and the third district, but for our beloved province of Pangasinan," she Representative Arenas, who represents the third district of the province to the House of Representatives.