Lenten Recollection: “The Gift of God for Us”

Cagayan de Oro City – Lenten season is a forty-day season in the Church’s liturgical calendar which invites the faithful to wholeheartedly prepare themselves in repentance and conversion for the upcoming solemnity of the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In view of the spirit of lent, the Calabrian Religious in Cagayan de Oro City gathered together today, 4^th of March 2026, for a Lenten recollection. Sr. Rosella Chiavegatto, PSDP, the recollection facilitator, guided her colleagues to reflect on the theme: ‘The Gift of God for us.’

In her presentation, she highlighted that conversion is primarily God’s gift to us. By our own initiative, we can never fully and totally change ourselves for the better and go back to the Lord. It is first and foremost God’s initiative, His grace so to say. Though it is God’s initiative, however, conversion is also a process which demands our cooperation. Without our participation, God’s grace will be futile. As a process, conversion does not happen overnight. For some, it may take even a lifetime.

Fr. Randy Lingo, PSDP presided over the eucharistic celebration which served as the culmination of this afternoon’s recollection.