”Sister, could you come and give us a Lenten Retreat?”?I was asked this question by migrant leaders of Filipino communities where we, the Hijas de Jesus, used to be - Ibaraki and Gunma Prefectures. “Since the Sisters left, we never had one.” “Our last retreat was before COVID struck”. “What we had was only one hour after Mass, and it was in Japanese!” I answered, “Let’s see….” I could not do it on a Saturday and Sunday because of my work in St. Ignatius Church. It has to be a holiday. I offered them two possible choices, February 23 and March 20. They snapped the dates and immediately prepared posters to inform other Filipino communities. (Actually, many migrants are asked to work even on holidays. Others choose to work to earn much-needed income for the family.)

February 23, fifteen came for the Lenten Recollection in Toride Catholic Church, Ibaraki. Participants came from five parishes, half of them familiar faces and the other, new ones. “How is your WI-FI connection with the Lord?”, I asked. “No signal?”, “Poor connection?”, “Sporadic?”, “Good?”. “Sister, they have heavy burdens, some real heavy crosses! They need to be listened to!”, said Fr. Michael Coleman, the 91-year-old parish priest who served as host of our venue.

I invited them to enter their “inner room”, quoting Pope Francis. I explained that the season of Lent is an opportunity to reflect on their relationship with the Lord, share with him what is truly going on in their lives and experience once again the unconditional love of God the Father.  We had an Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after lunch.  Nobody dosed off. When asked how was the experience, one summed it all up, “I feel reconnected to the “SOURCE”, the real Router” of our lives.  

Looking back, I realized how much influence the formation we gave the past ten years we were in Ibaraki had impacted some retreatants. They shared they met the Lord or came back to the church through the Sisters in Joso Church and how it started a spiritual journey for them. They said, “We miss the Sisters’ presence! It was different when you were there!”  Two leaders asked for help as now are in charge of the preparation of the Sunday liturgy, the formation of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and even Pre-Cana Seminar. They continue to manifest energy and perseverance to serve the Lord despite many challenges. They continue to go and support activities of Joso church. While some have moved to other places, new faces have come to join, with eagerness to serve.

Going to Ibaraki and meeting them all was a great consolation. The Lord continues to take care of his sheepfold. On March 20, I will go to Gunma, where we used to take care of eleven communities, and give another Lenten Retreat…

by Sr. Flor Florece, F.I.