What began as a simple “yes” to a marriage seminar has grown into a vibrant prayer community that now serves parishes and marginalized sectors across Oriental Mindoro, Philippines.
The group traces its roots to September 1999, when its founders, Rodrigo “Odi” Cajanding and his wife Olga Quizon-Cajanding, attended a Marriage Encounter Weekend (MEW)—an experience that deeply renewed both their faith and marriage.
Moved by the grace they received, the couple began inviting relatives and friends to experience the same renewal. With the guidance of priests who had also undergone the MEW, they started gathering weekly for Bible study and faith sharing. In 2006, LGSPG was officially recognized as the 16th prayer group of PDCC - Pag-ibig sa Diyos Catholic Community - a nationwide Catholic Movement, based in Manila.
A Name Born from a Vision
The name Lambs of the Good Shepherd emerged during the founders’ participation in the Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS). During the Baptism in the Spirit, Odi recalled receiving a vivid interior vision of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, inviting him to help tend His flock. Providentially, the experience took place on the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, affirming the name that would later define the group’s mission and identity.
A Mission Lived in Community
LGSPG’s mission is rooted in discipleship: leading people to Jesus, forming them in Christ-like living, helping them recognize and use their gifts in service of the Church, and glorifying the name of Jesus.
This mission is lived out through weekly Tuesday prayer meetings, each with a distinct spiritual focus—ranging from Eucharistic celebrations and praise and worship to formation talks, faith sharing, and Holy Hours with priests.
Beyond these gatherings, members are organized into 23 households, small faith communities that meet regularly for Bible study and Scripture-based reflection. These household groups foster deeper relationships, mutual support, and a more intentional integration of faith into family and community life.
Growing in Faith, Serving with Love
For its members, LGSPG is not merely an organization but an ongoing journey of conversion. While acknowledging that no community is perfect, members say the group offers sustained spiritual formation for those who freely choose renewal and openness to the Holy Spirit.
The prayer group actively partners with parishes in pastoral and liturgical ministries, with many parish coordinators and workers drawn from its membership. Its music ministry regularly serves as choir for Sunday liturgies in parishes across Calapan and Baco.
LGSPG also expresses faith through concrete works of mercy, including medical missions, feeding programs, prison visits, and outreach activities. Education remains a priority, with the group distributing school supplies, particularly in Mangyan and other indigenous communities in Mindoro.
The Marriage Encounter Weekend Seminar is now held annually in Calapan and Baco, while the Life in the Spirit Seminar continues to open pathways of spiritual renewal for widows, widowers, and single individuals.
A Life Transformed
Among those whose lives have been profoundly changed by the community is Alquin R. Rayos, 54, a medical distributor who describes LGSPG as a turning point in his life.
“LGSPG is like a hospital for me—this is where God healed me, bound up my wounds, and gave me new life,” Rayos shared.
Before joining the prayer group, Rayos said he grew up experiencing material, emotional, and spiritual deprivation, leading him to seek happiness in destructive ways. His life of infidelity deeply wounded his marriage and distanced him from God.
His path to healing began with a simple invitation from a customer to attend an MEW seminar. “I never imagined that a simple invitation would save me,” he said.
Rayos recalls feeling immediate peace and acceptance during his first prayer meeting, which encouraged him to allow God to reshape his life. Through shepherding, formation seminars, and regular prayer gatherings, he said he was gradually transformed into “a better person, husband, and servant of God.”
Today, he lives a renewed prayer life grounded in daily Scripture reading and active service in parish and vicariate ministries. To those hesitant to join a prayer community, his message is simple: “You do not need perfect faith—only a heart willing to listen.”
A Message of Hope
More than two decades after that first invitation in 1999, the Lambs of the Good Shepherd Prayer Group continues to bear witness to a quiet yet enduring truth: when couples and families place their lives in God’s hands, ordinary faithfulness becomes a powerful force for renewal—within marriages, communities, and the wider Church.
