It was the word and it is the Word, the beginning of all things. In the book of Genesis God used his Word to create man and women, Heaven and Earth, and all things dwell in it. And then again the Word was the promises to Abraham, to Moses, to our forefathers and finally to mother Mary and…

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn. 1; 14).

Yes. It was the Word and it is the Word, the beginning of all things, the source of life, of hope and happiness. The Word was the reason why Jesus gathered his chosen disciples into his company; and then his disciples gathered to form the Church. And almost two thousand years later father Jordan founded “Salvatorian family” for the same purpose to proclaim the Word to the World. And now, once again we have witnessed how the Word was made flesh and is living among us. Because of the Word “FATHER JORDAN YOUTH” was established on July 20, 2008.

It started on February 9, 2008 when his Excellency Bishop Tagle in his talk in the “Annual Lenten Recollection of Religious of the Diocese of Imus ” was calling the religious people to “make the young people be closer to God.” Burning with this spirit, Salvatorian fathers and brothers were trying to find the best ministry for the young people here. But at that time the idea was still uncertain, for the young people may not only interest in sharing the Word of God but they also need a model to follow, they need someone who can help them to transform their lives. And who that great man could be was still a big question.

The Salvatorians are the people who came to this place in 2001, when the first missionaries Fr. Wojciech Juraszek and the others found their way to this little quiet village of Talon, and were so impressed by the devotion, generosity and hospitality of the people here. And soon after that on January 2002 under the supervision of Fr. Hubert Kranz the construction was started, and on December 23, 2003 he and six other brothers transferred to this place. It started with a handful of people but was always trying their best to serve the Catholic community here by various activities like celebrating Mass, youth ministry, summer classes…

And the surprise came on June 16, 2008. We received a letter from the leaders of Salvatorian family which proclaimed the “Year of Father Jordan 2008 – 2009.” It was a great inspiration, a chance to review again the life of Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, the founder of Salvatorian family. And all of us came to realize that there is no other man can be a greater model for the young people than Father Jordan, he was the one we were looking for. He was not a saint or a superhuman from heaven above but in fact he was just an ordinary young guy like any of the young people. He was born and grew up in a poor family in a small village like Talon; he has encountered many problems and living in a great poverty just like many of the young people here. But what made him become extraordinary was his love and trust in God which helped him to overcome all the trials, hardship and finally, achieved success in his life. It can only be him to lead these young people to God, only he can help them to overcome the obstacles in their life.

So it is how “Father Jordan Youth” (FJY) came into existence on July 20, 2008. In the beginning the purpose of the group was just to share the Word of God in the spirit of Fr. Jordan every Saturday. But soon after that “the Word was made flesh” with us and in us, we realized that it was not enough to share the Word in the group but to all the people as well. We started to serve for the Mass in the community, to bring the Word to each of the houses of the members and to the house of the less fortunate people. Further than that we started our apostolic works like visiting the disabled children, helping in summer classes so that all may know the Word…And to make the Word always “dwell among us” we have committed ourselves to “live with the Word and live by the Word” in this motto:

“Young men and women fallow father Jordan, living by the Gospel and being witnesses of Christ on earth”

To live by the Gospel as a teenager, we have kept ourselves away from the negative practices in the society like many others would do, instead of spending time to wander around try new things like drinking, smoking… we use it to learn new things in the Word of God and discover new kind of experiences in helping and serving other people. And in this way we have found the new meanings of our lives.

By the work of the Holy Spirit and through the intercession of Father Jordan together with the efforts and cooperation of all the members our group was really bearing plenty of good fruits after one year of foundation. Reviewing the past one year we can say that this young organization has met the goals were set out in the beginning, it provides us JOY, LIFE, FAITH, LOVE, and HOPE. It helps us to know and live out the Word of God and the spirit of father Jordan, it helps us to be better sons and daughters in the family, better students in the school, better Christian in the Church and it makes us ready to go on with our lives.

Most of us would call “FJY” as the “second family” where we stay together as brothers and sisters under the guidance of our spiritual Father Francis Jordan.  Please pray for us so that the Holy Spirit will always be with us and make the Word of God live within us and we can achieve more and more success in the years to come and may our members increase in both quantity and quality. May our young people love God more so they can share this love in their family, schools…and give a hand in making the Savior be known and loved.

We also want to thank each member for all the efforts and contribution they have given for the sake of the group, we thank all the members of the community of Salvatorians in Talon and to all who were accompanying us, who were helping and supporting us physically and spiritually. Through the intercession of our spiritual Father Jordan we pray that God will repay each one of us according to his deeds.

FJY.