To all Columban Lay Missionaries,
It has been a privilege to be part of the journey of the Columban Lay Missionaries (CLM) for five years. I am truly grateful to the Philippine region, especially the lay missionaries, for the opportunity to be part of the Lay Mission Leadership Team (LMLT) as priest representative. Looking back, I learned a lot from you and these are the three main things I want to mention.
As Columban lay missionaries, you bring to the mission your own giftedness. I have been very impressed by the way you connect with  people – not coming from formal role but through genuine friendship and connection with the individuals and community you encounter. While you bring to the mission your own talents, expertise and competencies, and the richness of your own cultures, you also model a kind of discipleship lived out in simplicity of lifestyle, humility, and self-giving. Thus, you bring a different kind of leadership – one that walks alongside people, gently empowers them, builds their confidence, and gives them a greater sense of their own human dignity.
During my time with the LMLT, I was often part of the review of life, and I learned a lot from your strong commitment to the Columban mission, especially in working with those  at the margins of society. It is a commitment that is coming from the depth  of your heart, mind, and spirit, which makes possible your daily accompaniment with the people as one of the best expressions of altruism – of being human for others. From you, I learned the meaning and importance of presence – of ‘being there’ for people, whether in their joys and celebrations, challenges and difficulties, grief and sorrow, or in the most ordinary events of their life.
I also appreciate the support that you give to one another and to everyone within the Columban Missionary community. The bond that you share as a community is both strong and profound. In many ways, I too, have received a lot of support, affirmation and appreciation from you. As a Columban, you hold  a significant  part of my missionary life and journey.
To all these and many more, I give thanks to God! May the compassionate God always bless and keep you in your pilgrimage on earth with the Holy people of God.
Dodong
Feb 10, 2024: CLM outing with Father Dodong (left) and Fr. Leo Distor (2nd from right)
