Frt. Ignacio V. Degocena, Jr. SVD
“If anything is to come out of this house, we wish to be thankful for the grace of God and if nothing comes from it, we will humbly beat our breasts and acknowledge, ‘We are not worthy of the grace.’” St.Arnold Jassen
On September 8, 2025, the Divine Word missionaries joyfully commenced the year-long celebration of a great testimony of God’s faithfulness and grace—our one hundred and fifty years of witnessing to the ever-growing light from everywhere for everyone. It feels like only yesterday when our founder, St. Arnold Janssen, opened the first mission house in Steyl, Holland. And today, filled with grace, we are humbled to cross a sacred doorway to our sesquicentennial existence as an international religious missionary congregation.
Each community in all the provinces took part in celebrating this milestone. The Tagaytay community commenced the solemn celebration with a triduum prayer, where significant writings of St. Arnold Janssen were read, one of which is The Qualities of a Missionary, a document from the folder “Statutes of the Mission House of the Holy Archangel Michael in Steyl”. As part of the celebration, a para-liturgy was done before the mass at the SVD Farm last Sunday narrated by SVD Scholastics. It recounted the humble beginnings of the Society of the Divine Word from Steyl to the unwavering radiance of the Light that continues to consume the world.
On the day itself, the community began the celebration with a Harana Kay Maria, where scholastics serenaded the Blessed Virgin Mary, in different languages to honor her in her nativity. After which, Laro ng Lahi was organized by the Forum Officers that promoted camaraderie among members of the community. In the afternoon, Fr. Samuel Agcaracar, the rector, together with some members of the council, met the SVD Tagaytay friends, benefactors and collaborators for a short yet productive gathering. The event emphasized the significant role of our mission partners and co-missionaries in fulfilling our mission. Also, on the occasion of our foundation day, the newly refurbished Arnold Janssen Formation Center Mission Museum was relaunched by Fr. Alexander Muaña just before the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
Gathered in great joy, the community celebrated the Holy Eucharist, which was presided by the Most Reverend Oscar Jaime Florencio, DD of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines. The good bishop shared a profound reflection about the Blessed Virgin Mary as the first witness to the Light among all people, given that she bore Jesus, our light and our savior. According to him, Mary’s humble and obedient acceptance of God’s will is a perfect example of witnessing to the light. As missionaries of the Divine Word, we must bear in mind that we carry the Light, who is Jesus, the Word made flesh. The day concluded with a festive dinner, where the scholastics from different parts of the world creatively showcased how Light shines brightly in diverse ages, races and cultures.
One hundred fifty years ago, the saint who was called a fool for the sake of Christ dared to open a mission house that would send missionaries to far-reaching places where the Gospel had not been proclaimed. Father Arnold knew in his heart, through his prayer and discernment, that it was the Light of the Word that led him to courageously ignite a fire that would spread across the world even today. Unworthy as we are of this profound grace of religious missionary vocation, we still beat our breasts—not because we are unworthy, but out of humble witnessing to the goodness and graciousness of the Light.
