It is difficult to start the new year in a chirpy happy tone if one starts the year by reading economic prognoses stating that “economic activity may weaken in 2023” and pointing to “a persistently high inflation and an uncertain business environment.”  It does not help either if one reads about Putin’s ongoing war against Ukraine or Kim Jong-un’s missile tests and the surge of COVID cases in China as travel has resumed. 

But being grateful for what we have as an institution and in our personal lives while trusting in the Almighty to provide for what we need should give us peace of mind as we face 2023. And we should continue to believe that God does give a special kind of separate peace, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives…. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:25-27) 

As we welcome 2023 as a Community focused on our God-given mission, there are many matters we are deeply grateful for, as an institution. Among these are: 

• Good enrollment in all academic units with an average increase of 5% over the 2021-2022 enrollment level 
• The start of construction at MC Alviera and the on-going recruitment for the first batch of MC Alviera students for SY 2023-2024 
• The Supreme Court’s upholding the findings of the National Labor Relations Commission and declaring the 2015 retrenchment of MC HEU faculty under the Early Separation Package as lawful and done in good faith and not intended to circumvent the employees’ right to security of tenure. 
• A successful PAASCU visit and re-accreditation of MC Loyola Heights’ Junior High School 
• Accreditation of additional tertiary level programs (Level I), namely: BS in Accounting Information System, BS in Leisure and Tourism Management, Bachelor of Design 
• Faculty getting awards for excellence in teaching: Gurong Veritas (5 awardees: P15,000 each), Global Teacher’s Award (1 awardee: P15,000), and Amazing Alumna Teacher (1 awardee: a scholarship for Harvard Certificate Program in Leadership Education) 
• MC receiving the Gawad Kalinga award from the Philippine Business for Education and USAID for its role in developing inclusive education 
• Receiving the Philippine Commission on Women’s certification of five WAGI’s Gender and Development training programs 
• CHED’s partnering with MC through ILAW (Integrative Lifestyle and Well-being) in the roll out of the school community well-being and mental health care protocol in all tertiary institutions across the country 
• DSWD - National Council on Children’s doing a joint project with MC’s Child Rights Advocacy Center (CRAC) in setting up a Nationwide Helpline for Children’s Protection (Makabata Helpline) 
• DOST- PCIEERD partnering with MC to help women innovate their social enterprises.  
• DOST choosing MC to help support micro, small, and medium enterprises through innovation in another endeavor 
• DTI making MC one of the core members in developing the Regional Inclusive Innovation Council for the National Capital Region.  
• And lastly, the QC Local Government making MC one of its academic partners in implementing the QC Startup Program for the city. 

As we offer our thanks, we also bid “Hail and Farewell” to those we love and lost: one former MC employee and 27 family members of MC faculty and staff. 

And thus, our work in helping build the Kingdom of God on earth through teaching continues to grow. “This is what the Kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how” (Mark 4: 26-29).   

In such a manner do God’s grace and plans for us grow though we do not know how. We just need to trust the Almighty and constantly thank Him.

-Lullah