More than 80 religious women from contemplative congregations across the country gathered at the St. Francis Seraph Retreat Center in Maghaway, Talisay City, Cebu, for the annual Conference of Women Contemplative Communities of the Philippines, held from February 16 to 23, 2026.
This year’s gathering is rooted in the theme, “Journeying Together: Embracing Wholeness in Mind, Heart, and Spirit as Contemplatives of Hope.”
The week-long gathering concluded with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Cebu Archbishop Alberto “Abet” Uy, joined by Fr. Ernesto Montuerto, OCD, and other visiting priests.
In his homily, the Archbishop offered a compelling reflection on the heart of consecrated life, reminding the Sisters that holiness is never detached from human experience.
“Holiness is not first about what we avoid; holiness is about how we love,” Archbishop Uy said, underscoring that sanctity is revealed not in withdrawal from the world, but in mercy, honesty, compassion, and justice lived each day.
He also addressed a common misconception about contemplative communities — that they are distant from the realities of the world. On the contrary, he explained, their hidden lives are profoundly united with humanity’s struggles and hopes.
Though physically set apart, their hearts remain open to the joys and sufferings of the world. In the quiet of the cloister, they carry humanity’s cries before God. Their silence is not emptiness, but intercession; not absence, but presence.
Speaking directly to the Sisters, the Archbishop affirmed their indispensable role in the life of the Church: “My dear contemplative Sisters, the Church and the world need you, perhaps now more than ever. In a noisy world, you choose silence. In an anxious world, you choose stillness. In a divided world, you choose communion. You remind us that the world does not survive by activity alone, but by fidelity; not by visibility alone, but by love. Your lives proclaim a quiet but powerful truth — that Christ is alive and that holiness is possible.”
As the Church now enters the sacred season of Lent, the gathering ends not as a conclusion, but as a sending forth, echoing the Lord’s enduring call — “Be holy, for I am holy.”