Joy

is our preaching

A JOY-FILLED JOURNEY
IN RUMAH FORMASI ST. TOMAS AQUINAS SURABAYA
Joy is our preaching EDITORIAL TEAM

Patron
Dear brothers and sisters, Fr. Nilo A. Lardizabal, OP

The formation house of St. Thomas Aquinas, Surabaya, is one of Editor-in-Chief

the stages for the candidates to be formed into a priest of the Rupinus Kehi
Dominican Order. Each member of the Order will surely go
through this formation house. Writers
Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP
Since the formation house was moved from Pontianak to Fr. Nilo A. Lardizabal, OP
Surabaya in 2010, it now has twelve priest candidates. There are Johnny Luntungan
two professed members, one in Novitiate, and another one in Lukas Sabdaningrat
Robertus Adi Nugroho
Postulancy, they all went through the stage of formation as an
Rupinus Kehi
aspirant in this formation house. Now, in the formation house
there are five first-year aspirants, and three second-year aspirants. Photographers
Robertus Adi Nugroho
This mini-magazine is our little project to give you a glimpse of the
Rupinus Kehi
things we do inside the formation house. As you browse through
the pages, you will find some articles and photos about our Layout Designer
activities in 2013-2014. We hope this magazine can give some Harry Purnomo S.
information for you, but especially to show you the joy were
experiencing inside the formation house, and to inspire you to live Website
as a Dominican, with joy in heart to preach the Truth for the http://dominikanid.org

salvation of souls. Facebook Page

May the peace of the Lord be with you. Sahabat Dominikan

Vocation Promoter
Fr. Nilo A,. Lardizabal, OP
In Christ,
RUMAH FORMASI ORDO PEWARTA
The Editorial Team. Dukuh Kupang Barat XXVI/61-65
Surabaya, Jawa Timur
MOBILE: +62 819 3867 3701
EMAIL: nilopusa@yahoo.com

The painting used as this mini-magazines cover is entitled The Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas, which
is an altarpiece painted by Francisco de Zurbarn. It is Zurbarns largest work and one of his most famous
masterpieces. He was commissioned on January 21, 1631 by the Dominican College of Santo Tomas de
Aquino to create an altarpiece that followed as closely as possible to the guidelines of the rector of the
college. As a devotional image, the painting serves several purposes. The first is to honor the Dominican
saint, Thomas Aquinas, and his contributions to learning by arranging him in between the four fathers of
the Latin Church while being protected by the Holy Spirit. The second is to inspire viewers to live a
religious and peaceful life, and the third is to celebrate the founding of the College of Santo Tomas de
Aquino in 1517 by the Dominican Cardinal, Diego de Deza.
Taken and translated from ARUE Magazine, Issue #44 | Year IV | March 2014
There was one important event for the Dominicans
in Surabaya: a Holy Mass and the inauguration of
Rumah Formasi Santo Tomas Aquinas on January 23.
The inauguration of the formation house was done
by Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, prior
provincial of the Dominican Province of the
Phillipines which mission also covers Sri Lanka and
Indonesia. Fr. Andreas Kurniawan, OP, Fr. Nilo A.
Lardizabal, OP, Fr. Edmund C. Nantes, OP, Fr.
Arthur B. Dingel, OP, and Fr. Rodel Cansancio, OP
were also present in the inauguration.
In his homily, Fr. Gerard, expressed his gratitude to
Fr. Edmund whos the initiator and promoter for
the Order to enter Indonesia. Furthermore, Fr.
Gerard also expressed his joy for the establishment
of Rumah Formasi in Indonesia which is the second
formation house, after the formation house of St.
Monica in Caleruega.
The reasons for the establishment, as explained by
Fr. Gerard, is to share the experience and the
charism of St. Dominic to the people of God and to
serve the Church.
Joy is our preaching 1
 By Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP prior provincial
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The inauguration and blessing of the Rumah
Formasi Santo Tomas is an affirmation of our
commitment to share the charism of St. Dominic to
young men who wish to dedicate their lives, as
Dominicans, to the service of the Church in
Indonesia.
How would the Dominican Order here in Indonesia
look like 20 or 40 years from now? I could not
foresee how such future would exactly take shape,
but this one thing I am certain: the future
Dominican Indonesian priests and brothers will
pass through this Rumah Formasi. This will be their
"Nazareth", the place where, with God's grace,
they will hopefully grow "in age and wisdom", and
be prepared for the ministry of preaching God's
Kingdom. Their formation experience here would
largely determine the kind of Dominican life and
ministry we will see in the future.
Future shepherds of Christ's flock must first be
formed into a community of disciples. Discipleship
or being a student or learner is the first stage
before one becomes an apostle. Before Jesus sent
the twelve to preach the Gospel to all nations, He
first invited them "to come follow me". Before one
can receive Holy Order, the sacrament of apostolic
ministry, one must first become a disciple.
Discipulus means a student. One ought to be a stu-
dent who sits at the feet of the Master: learn from
me for I am gentle and humble of heart. It is only
2 Joy is our preaching
then that the Church can see the fulfillment of
God's promise in Jeremiah: I will give you
shepherds after my own heart (Jer. 3:15). Forming
shepherds after the heart of Jesus appears to be a
formidable task. The first community of disciples
in Acts offers us a simple yet solid formation
program, they were faithful to the teaching of the
Apostles (didache), to the community (koinonia), the
breaking of the bread (eucharistia) and the prayers
(proscuke) (Acts 2:42). Each activity in the seminary
horarium falls into one of those four: formator and
formands begin their day with Lauds and
Eucharist, they share meals as a community, a big
part of each day is devoted to study, to how the
Gospel and the teachings of the apostles apply to
them here and now; sports and common activities
bring them closer together as a community; some
form of apostolate, makes them see and serve the
bigger community of the local Church; and finally,
they complete their day in prayer. Seminary
formation is an intense period of discipleship, of
learning from the heart of the Good Shepherd. A
seminarian must be formed within this community
of disciples before he becomes ready to assume the
apostolic mandate to preach the Gospel of Jesus to
all nations.
We pray that with God's grace and the support of
the Christian community, this Rumah Formasi
would truly become a domus praedicatorum, a house
of preachers.
 Inauguration of Rumah Formasi
Santo Tomas Aquinas followed with
Holy Mass

Joy is our preaching 3

 By Bro. Rupinus Kehi

The aspirant stage is finished. As prior provincial, happiness; and up until now I still feel that here
Fr. Gerard, said: the future Dominican Indonesian lies my happiness. I hope that this feeling never
priests and brothers will pass through this fades away, because this happiness doesnt come
formation house. Right now, I have passed that from men, but God Himself who grant it to me.
stage. There were various dynamics of life I have I believe that the Lord will always lead me. :-)
experienced in this house. Whether if its happy or
sad, it all happened in this house.
I never thought that I would ever reach this stage. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
Even though the journey is still long, I believe that
the Lord definitely will be with me. Because since
for thou art the God of my salvation;
the beginning, I know that this journey of life is for thee I wait all the day long.
guided by Him. A wise man once said: the purpose
of human life seems to always be directed towards

4 Joy is our preaching

By Bro. Johnny Luntungan

to make those decisions because we know that

Do not be conformed to this world they will give a good outcome. Waking up in the
but be transformed by the renewal morning would help us to be on time to start our
daily work. Adjusting our diet would help us to
of your mind, that you may prove make our body healthier. A reflection would help
us to enter into a contemplation, nourishing our
what is the will of God, what is good spiritual side.
and acceptable and perfect. One year has passed since I decided to leave my
job, community, and family to join the Dominican
Order. Its a painful and difficult decision for me,
but the Lord never stopped showing His goodness
One year has passed since I decided to leave my
and perfection to me since then. And up to now, as
job, community, and family to join the Dominican
my mother have said, everything is okay.
Order. It still so fresh in my mind how hard to tell
that decision to my father, who put so much hope
in my future. How hard to look at my mothers
eyes, while shes crying and saying that everything
would be okay.
As humans, we will always be faced with painful
decisions. When we wake up in the morning, we
should already make a decision to leave the
comfort of bed and bedroom. When we have our
meal, we should pass some yummy dishes for the
sake of our own health. To write this short
reflection, I should spare some of my precious
break time.
Aforementioned decisions for most people, at least
for me, are difficult. It feels difficult because we
have to deny a part of our nature which is a part of
this world, namely: our body. However, we are able

Joy is our preaching 5

 By Bro. Robertus Adi Nugroho

Suatu hari ku sendiri

Menahan beban berat di hati
Rasa hampa menghantui
Dan jiwaku lari tak pasti

Saat itu ku sadari

Kau jadi curahan hatiku
Dalam rasa galau ini
Kau berikan canda tawamu

Bridge:
Kau bangkitkan ceria dalam hidupku
Kau mampukan semangat dalam jiwaku

Reff:
Kau sahabat sejatiku
Ajarku mengerti arti hadirmu
Sebab dikaulah tumpuanku
Tempat ku hadapi kesendirianku

Suatu hari kau sendiri

Hadapi beban berat di hati
Saat itu ku berjanji
Kan jadi malaikat kecilmu

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down

in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
6 Joy is our preaching
By Bro. Lukas Sabdaningrat
One morning, I woke up at four, preparing
breakfast for the community. What shocked me
was that when I turned the lights on, the image of
a rat appeared before my eyes. Noticing that I got
shocked, that rat panicked and ran away immedi-
ately. In my still-in-shock condition, I started to
think about my life. What made me want to enter
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
the seminary? If I had live outside, I dont have to
wake up very early to cook, etc. This question led
me into a reflection of life in the seminary which
may also be experienced by other seminarians.
Before, I was thinking that entering the formation
house means that I will be together with people
who always pray and meditate. This kind of thing
would definitely be such a boring thing for me. But
after entering the seminary, I realized that my
point of view then was wrong. There are so many
things that I have to go through: study, and other
aspects of life, especially community life. There are
so many things I realized that cannot be solved by
prayers only, but requiring other efforts, as for
example: study to be able to get a good
result. I saw these efforts are important for the life
of someone who will eventually become a priest,
because a priest should also have other capabilities
that can nurture the community of the people of
God. I learned and still am learning these efforts
during the time of my formation. So now I see that
the formation house is the right place, because
through it Im not only learning how to pray, but
also how to live, specifically as a Dominican.
Joy is our preaching 7
 Our togetherness . . .

8 Joy is our preaching

By Fr. Nilo A. Lardizabal, OP formator
I once told the aspirants in one of our meetings
that in the house of formation, as true to
experience, many people simply come and go. It
means that this person will leave the formation to
journey in another way of life, which by no means
is less difficult. I have known some people, batch-
mates and friends, who left the seminary because
they realized that the religious life was not their
calling. And for that I really salute them. I salute
them for their honesty and their trust in the Lord.
For sure there will be some talks around,
eventually mutating into gossips sometimes as to
why this or that person left, but this reaction is
normal. I applaud all those young men who
decided to leave with a firm and gentle disposition.
But some people come and go in a different way.
They leave because they are ready to go to the next
level of their formation. Meaning, after two years
of being in formation, after much prayer and
study, some if not many are still being called to the
journey of religious life. For that we thank God. We
praise God for continually inspiring them to
pursue their call. Be that as it may, it is still a kind
of departure.
In both situations, the people aforementioned are
in a transition. They are midway between what
was done and what is to come. Both are excitingly
disturbing. A person is happy for finishing this
level, and also scared of what is to come. And such
a path must really be taken. Well, that is life. Now
the hard part is the waiting the agonizing
moments of having to be patient and even slow as
the process unfolds. A next level simply means a
next baby step towards another dream, another
adjustment, new sets of friends, (and maybe
enemies). I just wonder how it is to be journeyed
with ease? It cannot. But at least we are assured of
Gods calling. We are assured of Gods presence,
care and love, which made us pursue the dream in
the first place.
Since all have to pass this transit, we pray to God
to have the patience to sit, pray and maybe relax
and enjoy the time maximizing time in the
process, so nothing goes to waste. And thus this
little product of our dreams can be a proof of
maximizing time for God. This magazine reflects
how it is to be in transit, yet enjoying every minute
of it. This is good preparation though, for a time
will come when the transit is over, and we have
reached our destination, hopefully with eternal
bliss.
Joy is our preaching 9
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PS. Dont stare at this poster for too long, it may cause hallucination, nausea, and other health complications.
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 The fantastic 5
We thank God for His loving kindness, bestowing Rumah Formasi St. Tomas Aquinas with five new
aspirants this year. The increase of number of the new aspirants indicates that the light of St. Dominics
star illumines the youths to follow his footsteps as a preacher of the word of salvation.
These five new candidates will start their new life in Rumah Formasi St. Tomas Aquinas for the next two
years as aspirants, before leaving Indonesia to Manila where they will go into the next formation stage.
We sincerely hope that while being formed in the formation house, they continue to be inspired by the
charism of the Order, growing in faith and charity, and persevere in their vocation.
Without any further delay, lets have a little inspection in order to know them a bit better. Check it out!

Full Name : Dominico Xaverio Budoyo Setiawan

Nickname : Dominic

Birthplace and Date : Balikpapan, September 17, 1981

Parents Name : Agustinus Bando and L.S.W. Aniek

Howetown : Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur

Parish : St. Theresia, Balikpapan

Motto : Comtemplare et contemplata aliis tradere.

Full Name : Leonard Julius

Nickname : Leo

Birthplace and Date : Jakarta, November 12, 1985

Parents Name : Delima

Hometown : Jakarta

Parish : St. Thomas Rasul, Jakarta

Motto : Whether you think you can or cant. Youre

right.

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Full Name : Oktavianus Geor

Nickname : Ophin

Birthplace and Date : Maumere, October 20, 1990

Parents Name : Petrus Piter Geor and Sophia Nona Mia

Hometown : Maumere, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur

Parish : St. Thomas Morus, Maumere

Motto : Failure only happens when we give up.

Full Name : Robertus Silveriano

Nickname : Veri

Birthplace and Date : Surakarta, June 17, 1994

Parents Name : Yoseph Hajar Bantolo and Christina Dewi

Nawangwulan

Hometown : Bandung, Jawa Barat

Parish : St. Odilia, Bandung

Motto : I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to

me according to your word. (Lk. 1:38)

Full Name : Romy Boy Rante Allo

Nickname : Romy

Birthplace and Date : Makale, November 12, 1995

Parents Name : Thomas Boy Rante Allo and Bulean Ranggina

Hometown : Tana Toraja, Sulawesi Selatan

Parish : Hati Tersuci Santa Perawan Maria, Makale

Motto : Learn from what appears to you.

Joy is our preaching 19

 Lord Jesus Christ, your love for St. Dominic inspires us now to implore your help and seek your
intercession for all the Dominicans in Indonesia, in the Province of the Phillipines, and the whole world.
In confidence, we ask you to strengthen them with the virtues of chastity, poverty, and obedience that
they may live with one mind and heart. Instruct them in holiness with your Good News and the mysteries
of the Holy Rosary and sanctify them in truth and love througah the Holy Eucharist and penance. Give
them the grace of faith, sweet hope in the midst of lifes bitterness, burning charity and the precious gift
of final perseverance. Lead to this Order, men and women willing to live and preach the truth of the
Gospel after the example of St. Dominic, and mercifully grant that we may all be moved with the zeal for
your glory in saving souls and become partakers of your crown in heaven. Amen.

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 th
13 Century Dominican Blessing
RUMAH FORMASI ST. TOMAS AQUINAS SURABAYA
2013-2014