By Fr. Felice Furlan, SDB
Italian Missionary in the Philippines

Bacolod, the Philippines, 10 November 2016 -- Immediately after my novitiate in Missaglia (Italy) in 1962, I and another companion were sent to the, then, newly established Philippine Province. But first we were sent to do our postnovitiate in Hong Kong in the, then, international studentate of philosophy for East Asia.

I arrived when everything was at its beginning and we were just starting to have the first local vocations. Today we have two vibrant Provinces which have given birth already to two other new Provinces!

When the new missionary presence in Papua New Guinea was opened and entrusted to the Philippines I made myself available. I worked there for 16 years until I was called back. Parkinson disease entered my life only 4 years ago without much notice, just a few weeks after celebrating my 50 years of very active Salesian and missionary life dedicated to the youth of the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

Now I’m trying to discover what our good Lord wants from me! I was always in a hurry and never had time to rest, always trying to develop some pastoral activities for I had never time for myself: my life was totally spent for the young. Today I depend on others even the most ordinary things of daily life. My wheelchair is a symbol of my non-activity. It is hard to accept this situation but I try as much as I can to be of help to my community, to our youth in Confession and with my presence in different activities of my community.

As is my habit, I look at my life with the eyes of God and this makes my days full of the smile of God. In Italian my name is Felice (meaning ‘happy’). Indeed, I am happy to serve the Lord especially in this specific moment of my life as I approach its final stage. I think that my situation is actually a special invitation of the Lord to serve Him, his Church, our Congregation and the young through my prayer and sufferings as a means of salvation and purification from my sins.

It seems that the good Lord wants to entrust me with this special mission which is fitting to my age and my situation! With your prayers help me to make my life a felice (happy) gift to the Lord by offering my sufferings for His Church, our Congregation and for the young!

The full text of the Cagliero11 with other useful materials for elderly and sick confreres is available on the BOSCOLINK

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