GREEN ODE to IT

Ceremonial Act of Sowing the Seeds: IT's 100 Years

23 January 2011

Introduction:

We gather in fellowship to sow the seeds of 100 fruitful years.  We praise, glorify and thank God and Mother Earth for the roots of our Teresian existence, with each tree signifying an emblematic representation of a decade in our Teresian life and mission.  Each seedling corresponds to the 10 groupings and localities we are present in, both ACIT and Primary Associations: Pedro Poveda, Josefa Segovia, Victoria Diez and Sta. Teresa Groupings in Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon and Davao.

 

We begin the ceremonial act of planting:

1^st decade: We sow the seed of the 1^st 10 years of the Teresian Association, our foundational years and Marian Devotion and where IT all began,…Covadonga 1911. Inspired by the teaching and life of St. Teresa of Jesus, Poveda named the association Institución Teresiana. The first tree.

 

2^nd decade: The second tree.  We sow the seed of vocation and our committed lay presence. As salt of the earth, the Academias grew and the associations flourished (asociación primaria, cooperadoras técnicas, juventud misionera, antiguas alumnas) under the direction of its 1^st President, Josefa Segovia the embodiment of that Teresian spirit.

 

3^rd decade: The third tree. We sow the seed of fortitude, love and martyrdom. We suffered the loss of our founder and one member. Notwithstanding, Victoria Diez and Poveda’s death and martyrdom paved the way for greater strength, fortitude and love.

 

4^th decade: The fourth tree. We sow the seed of renewed life and propagation to new destinations. The Teresian Association expands and shares its charism to the different continents.

 5^th decade: The fifth tree. We sow the seed of welcoming a new era. We pray our goodbyes to our dear director in perpetuity, Josefa Segovia; and with her dream we looked at a newer horizon and set foot in the Philippines, the first presence in Asia.

6^th decade: The sixth tree. We sow the seed of rebirthing. ACIT is born anew.

7^th decade: The seventh tree. We sow the seed the individual presences in public posts - our mission of being the salt of the earth, of seasoning the tasteless and transforming taste to the lives of the people.  .

8^th decade: The eighth tree.  We sow the seed of creating a new culture: faith-justice and inter-religious dialogue and a culture of peace…in the family, in our community and in the world.

 

9^th decade: The ninth tree. We sow the seed of going back to our roots as an association of the faithful. We embarked on walking together with a common mission project which has begun to fortify our associative unity.

10^th decade: The Last tree. Pedro Poveda’s sainthood is a constant call to holiness more than ever.  Finally, we sow the seed of our holy mission. We look towards a more blessed future, the beginning of the next 100 years. It all began in Covadonga and wherever it may flourish again, may the Povedan charism live forever.