The Campus Ministry and Social Involvement (CMSI) Program focuses on the spiritual and social aspects of formation. It seeks to form students and a school community that is Christ-centered and socially responsible through the Ignatian paradigm.
The CMSI Program objectives are as follows:
• to form the school community to be Christ-centered by facilitating the religious and apostolic activities of the students as well as of the faculty and staff, such as retreats, recollections, school masses, confessions, prayer services;
• to raise the social awareness of the school community and provide venues for all members to exercise their social responsibility by organizing exposure, immersion, and social involvement activities; and
• to act as overall moderator of the social involvement activities of the school and all other special campaigns and drives for advocacy or in times of
calamities;
To meet these objectives, the CMSI Office facilitates the following services and activities:
Sacraments and Prayer Services
Eucharist
The Eucharist is the heart of Christian life. Here, the Lord offers Himself as a sacrifice for the atonement of our sins and thereby make us all share in the
glory of God. In the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle, He is the Sacrament of Presence in this “generation of absence.” Ateneans are then encouraged to receive the Lord in this sacrament and visit Him in the school chapel as often as possible. Those who practice other faith are also invited to join in the Eucharistic celebrations with their classmates and friends and allow themselves to be moved by this loving and generous God who offered His life for all regardless of beliefs, sexual orientation and moral choices. Everyone participating in the Eucharistic Celebration or in front of the Blessed Sacrament is expected to be at his/her best as it is the Lord, the giver of all, that is present.
Confessions
Opportunities for individual sacramental confession are provided at a designated schedule by the CMSI Office.
Prayer Services
Devotional prayers, novenas, living rosary, and prayer sessions are facilitated depending on the need and occasion.
Road Trip (Reach Out And Discover – Think, Reflect, Interiorize and Pray)
ROAD TRIP is the term used by Ateneans for their formation program facilitated by the CMSI which consists of an exposure trip/immersion to a marginalized sector and a retreat component. When students start their immersion, they enter as well into a retreat experience, the two being closely integrated in one program. For an Atenean, ROAD TRIP means: Reach Out And Discover, Think, Reflect, Interiorize and Pray.
The name of the program points us into happenings common in the Scriptures—people walking together in a journey to know God more and to follow his will. Many of the Lord’s preaching about his Father happened also during his many journeys with his followers and friends whether by land or by sea.
Every class is assigned a designated schedule and module for ROAD TRIP. The activity aims to provide students with experiential learning and the opportunities to better understand people and their situation. It also aims to bring students to a more profound awareness of the causes of poverty and social ills for them to reflect on, to develop a deeper concern for others, and to realize that their talents and gifts are to be developed not only for self-gain but for them to share for the good of the community and for the service and welfare of others.
Blue Alert and Blue Spoon Programs
Blue Alert is a name for ADI-SMCS’ services and activities related to emergency preparedness and response during calamities, as well as ecological and health concerns that need immediate attention. These services include supplementary feeding for impoverished and nutritionally deficient pupils in the public schools called Blue Spoon, and Care for our Common Home, which is an ecological advocacy on issues related to environmental degradation. The Iggy Bank is an important component of the fund raising efforts to sustain the Blue Spoon. Every time it is pass around, every student is encouraged to drop in it any amount as an expression of love, support and solidarity for the malnourished and hungry children in the country. Ateneans cannot feed them all but we can surely lessen their number if only we are mindful that any amount we contribute, if put together with other donations, can go along way to feed them. All these activities are done to help raise the level of awareness of all members of ADI-SMCS community about social realities and provide them venues to make manifest their concrete faith-based responses to these pressing social concerns. By so doing, we hope to strengthen the sociospiritual resolve of students, and help improve the quality of life of those who are most needy and contribute to the welfare of the society.
Note that the CMSI Program is headed by the CMSI Coordinator with three (3) full-time personnel and assisted by the School Chaplain. The Academic Programs—most especially CLE—also closely coordinate with CMSI for integration and collaboration.