By Sr. Corazon Demetillo, Hong Kong (Province of Northeast Asia)
Le Journée internationale des femmes, Sr. Corazon Demetillo, Directress of the Diocesan Pastoral Center for Filipinos (DPCF), hosted and facilitated sessions with several communities of Migrant Workers at the DPCF and at the Philippine Consulate General (PCG-HK) – with over 1000 women joining the sessions.
Since it was also a Lenten Season, the sessions focused on Jesus’ call for all women to rise up from the gender discrimination still prevailing in the world, society, community, church, school, and in the home, and to reclaim their God-given dignity as they were created in the image and likeness of God, and loved as they are by God.
As distressed, overburdened women with family, work-related, and personal problems and issues, they were able to relate easily with the cross that Jesus carried as they reflected on images of the Stations of the Cross and on specific events in Jesus’ life.
With the grace of the Holy Spirit, they humbly and trustingly entered into the healing and freeing encounters of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman (John 4:5-42) and the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8:1-11). As women, they too deeply felt Jesus listened to them and accepted them without judgment.
In the healing of the Blind Man (John 9:1-41), they felt their eyes and hearts were opened to the negative effects of the gender discrimination since their childhood. The healing of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) gave them hope as they helped themselves and one another unbind the wounds caused by gender discrimination.
Like Mary Magdalene, after experiencing the merciful love of Jesus and witnessing Jesus’ resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10 and John 20:11-18), they gratefully accepted and committed themselves to their new mission as empowered women to journey with and help liberate other women, especially their co-migrants.
As they shared in small groups and listened to others’ burdens, they felt somehow relieved, for among themselves they had encountered a group of co-migrants who understood them and with whom they could trust. Hopefully, these small groups will continue to become their support group while working in Hong Kong.
As the Migrant Workers’ Office (MWO) of the Philippine Consulate poster says: “We Sail for Equality and Inclusive Society” together from today onward….
