THE SALESIAN Sisters of FMA (Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice) will gather around on a night devoted to thanksgiving and offering but it’s not going to be a quiet night, no. There will a blast of “nun-stop” music.
The Salesian Sisters proudly present N.O.T.A. (D’Nuns Of The Above) BENE where they will fill the night with gleeful singing, melody of musical instruments, dancing, and if you’re feeling frisky, you may snap your fingers to their tune. Step into some real Sister Act feels at Mary Help of Christian School in Minglanilla on 23rd July, and at Don Bosco Technical Institute on 24th July.
The Salesian Sisters and the Association of the Past Pupils of the FMA pushed this concert in the aim to raise funds for the “Bahay na Pangarap” or Dream Home for elderly Salesian Sisters. The FMA Sisters from different communities in Manila, Laguna, and Palawan will come over to Cebu as the main performers.
The past pupils of the FMA saw how age turned the elderly nuns vulnerable to ailments, thus, needing medical assistnace and a home condusive for their health conditions. For the past six decades, the number of elderly sisters in their senior years has increased. It is high time they stay in a separate place where they can be looked after and their conditions monitored closely. An FMA house inside a school where the Salesian Sisters are staying cannot fully address their needs since, naturally, a school environment is designed for the young students. There ought to be a separate place suitable for a good rest and fast recovery of the old.
It is apparent that the former students of the FMA owe their success to the Salesian Sisters for their noble and selfless deeds to the excellent formative years of their education. One day, they asked the sisters if they could be the performers to which they received a resounding yes. With the added support from friends and families, they prepared the logistics, budget plans, and
began the task delegations.
According to Sr. Maria Socorro Bacani, an ideal “Bahay na Pangarap” is a home where the elderly and sick Salesian Sisters can find a peaceful and green environment away from the pollution and the busy hummings of the city. It is also a “power house of prayer” where they surrender their sickness and pain to God and at the same time pray for the salvation of the young people. It should be a home of care and healing.
Sr. Bacani said it took three to four months to prepare for their upcoming N.O.T.A Bene Concert. They practiced duirng their free schedules at the Provincial House in Manila as all of them had a role to play in the mission of different communities that time. They had to maximize their spare time by rehearsing in between meetings. They also had individual practices within the community they were assigned to. They taught themselves new songs for the concert, master the lyrics, vocalization, choreography, and some intense choir practice whenever all of them had a chance to group together.
The first organized benefit concert was in October 2014 at Don Bosco School Sta. Mesa Manila, followed by the second concert in February 2015 at MHCS Canlubang Laguna, and the third at MHCS Pampanga in March 2015. The two consecutive N.O.T.A Bene Concerts in Cebu City this 23 and 24 July will be two hours long from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are sold at P1,000, P500, P300, and P150 at the entrance during the concerts.
According to Sr. Bacani they’re eyeing Victorias City in Negros Occidental N.O.T.A Bene Concert. It is the cradle of the FMA congregation of the Philippines where the first Salesian Sisters arrived to open their first school 61 years ago.
For inquiries and reservations, contact [email protected] or call on (032) 272 7617 / 09204172040 / 09153762890 / 09154219031
