2023.11.06 Messages from Sr.MarJo

Last Saturday, we had our Charity Day – the goal of this activity at its origins in the Assumption (more than 100 years ago) was to enlarge the hearts and minds of all Assumption Educators and Learners to think beyond themselves and their levels and departments and remember that we are ONE – all part of a much larger whole. 

In the concert, that day, there was the final song – I think it was entitled COSMOS.  It was sung beautifully… and this is why I love music. Music is about harmony of differences – different voices, different instruments – and in their unique differences they come together to become a beautiful whole.  That is why someone once said “music will save the world…”  But what was moving in that last song – was the choir was a mixed one, made up of learners who were not only male and female but also from the Primary School, Middle, Senior High School, and Graduates.  It was a beautiful image of ONENESS – COMMUNION – in a world that is ravaged by division and brokenness.

Assumption in Japan – and in particular, in Minoo, will turn 70 years old next year.  70 years is a milestone and its essence is captured in a precious chemical metal element known as PLATINUM – that connotes prestige, value, usually two times the price of Gold and power.

In the HUMAN and SPIRTUAL realm, anyone or anything that reaches 70 years is always regarded as long-lasting and enduring.  And this warrants some kind of celebration. 

At the same time it is a chance for us to REMEMBER and REFLECT upon what enabled Assumption to last, and try to capture the meaning and the reason for its endurance.

Thus, it is an occasion for us to look back at the reason why the Assumption came to Japan and why it is still here. 

You know that Assumption came to respond to an appeal, a request, to take part in rebuilding Japan after World War II – through EDUCATION.

Through the years the Assumption tried to be faithful to the Assumption Spirit, that is its uniqueness.

Today – let me just speak of one important element of our Assumption Spirit without which there is no reason for the Assumption to be here.  And that is that the Assumption is CATHOLIC.  But what does it really mean to be catholic.

Very often we think of the Catholic Church and it is true.  Assumption belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.  But this is just one aspect of what it means to be CATHOLIC.

A more encompassing understanding of the word, CATHOLIC is that is is an adjective that comes from a combination of a late Latin word (catholicus) and an ancient Greek word (καθολικός – meaning universal or whole). 

So, when we say CATHOLIC – it will be good to remember its root meaning, and that is – all-embracing, inclusive, broad, wide, large – as opposed to rigid, narrow, exclusive, selective.  Today we say ONENESS.  To be CATHOLIC is to be ONE. And here lies the Assumption Spirit of being Catholic.  When the Assumption was invited to come to Japan – it welcomed it as an opportunity to embrace another culture, another reality.  Today we finally recovered who we are with our name – Assumption Kokusai where we want to include everyone who is willing to receive the kind of education that we have to offer – what we call – ASSUMPTION TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION – an education that contributes to bringing about change for the better – ONENESS.

The GOAL of Assumption Transformative Education is to continue to strengthen the SPIRIT of ONENESS – of being an active part of a whole. 

The success of Assumption Transformative Education is when our educators and learners all embrace this spirit and is changed, transformed, from being selfish to becoming caring and other-oriented, from being exclusive to becoming inclusive, from being narrow-minded to becoming broad-minded, from being just a rigid Japanese or Filipino to becoming a universal citizen of the world – with a commitment to making this world ONE.

Today, we suffer from a fragmented and a divided world.  Israel – Palestine; Ukraine – Russia; but let us not look too far – we also have Kindergarten – Primary School – Middle and High School; we also have Japanese – and non-Japanese educators; we have Teacher Educators – Houjin Educators; we have mid-career educators – fresh graduate educators…  the list can go on and on.  But these are not very different from what is happening globally. Thank God we don’t kill each other.

We need to make a choice.  What will we contribute to – is it to division, separation – or to oneness and communion.  Our choice will determine whether there is still a reason for Assumption to be here.

We need to begin with ourselves before we can hope to transmit this spirit to others. We need to choose between – ONENESS or DIVISION.  And this choice needs to be made every day, perhaps even every moment.

To end, may I suggest to each one of you to start each day by telling yourself, today I have the chance to be new and better than I was yesterday. Today I choose… in my thoughts, my words and my actions.

Let us try to be faithful to this spirit and offer our humble contribution for a better world.