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history of Jesus of nazareth (JON)

Jesus of Nazareth Prayer Group (JONPG) traces its origin to the Jesus of Nazareth Catholic Community (JONCC), an affiliate of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Prayer Community (HJMPC).  Sometime in the early 1990’s, thirteen (13) couple-graduates of the Marriage Encounter Weekend Seminars (MEWS) of the Pag-Ibig sa Diyos Catholic Community (PDCC), after having experienced the power of God’s love and the joy, peace and fulfillment that transformed and enriched their lives, were imbued with the burning desire to belong to Jesus Christ and to serve Him by proclaiming His Words to others so that they too might feel the miracle of God’s love in their lives.  The need to proclaim God’s love led these 13 couples to gather as a group in prayer at Valle Verde to share their experiences, and soon the bonds of friendship and community were formed.

 

In May 1995, the group, led by Tito Thenny and Tita Norma Dar, organized themselves as the JONCC.  They applied for affiliation with HJMPC and requested Tito Naning/Tita Mila Alinea to be their Elder and Shepherd Couple. Through the assistance of two (2) of their members who were officers of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), JONCC was given the privilege of using the Sto. Niño Chapel located inside the PSG Compound in Malacañang as venue of their regular prayer meetings.

 

HJMPC, in the true spirit of Christian love and generosity, responded positively to the application for affiliation.  This enabled JONCC members to conduct MEWS and to grow in spiritually through their attendance in the Life in the Spirit Seminars and Growth on the Spirit Seminars of HJMPC.

 

During the period July 1995 to November 1996, JONCC conducted ten (10) MEWS at two months intervals.  The first MEWS was held on July 14-16, 1995 at Divino Amor (Redemptorists) at Lipa City, where MEWS Classes 3, 5 and 6 were also held.  MEWS Classes 2 and 4 were conducted at the PSG Compound with PSG personnel as candidates.  Venue of MEWS Class 7 was the Las Brisas Hotel and Conference Center at Antipolo City, while the Loyola Retreat House in Angono, Rizal was the venue for MEWS Classes 8, 9 and 10.

In December 1997, the Pastoral Team scouted for another venue in Tagaytay City. The Pastoral Team was then composed of Pastoral Head Tito Deo/Tita Shirley Acupan, PT1 Tito Chito/Tita Cecil Gomez, PT2 Tito Jolly/Tita Cora Cristobal, PT3 Tito Fil/Tita Lou Ramos and PT4 Tito Raffy/Tita Des Setosta.  Shepherd Couple was Tito Ben/Tita Luz Gadi.  They found the Sta. Monica Retreat House and were able to convince Mother Jesusa and the Augustinian nuns to allow them to use the Retreat House as venue of the MEWS.  They offered to construct partitions in the basement of the retreat house in order to provide additional rooms to the couple-candidates.  MEWS Class 11 was held at Sta. Monica Retreat House in February 1997, followed by all other MEWS until the early years of 2000.

 

Meanwhile, having met the required number of covenanted members to become a regular prayer group, JONCC was recognized as the 8th regular prayer group of HJMPC in July 1997.  It was renamed Jesus of Nazareth Prayer Group.  JONPG participated in the election of the BSL in the February 1998 elections, and in the election of its first Pastoral Team as JONPG chose to be headed and led by the same Pastoral Team until the year 2000.  Shepherd Couple for 1998-1999 was Tito Jojie/Tita Rose Beltran and for 1999-2000, Tito Mel/Tita Norma Fajardo.

 

Until the onset of the pandemic, JONPG has been holding regular prayer meetings at the Sto. Niño Chapel every Wednesday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm.  and providing music service during the Sunday Mass.  Weekly prayer meetings are now being conducted on-line.  JONPG will be celebrating its 24th Anniversary this year 2021.