Anggulo 101

Regalo...

This is one of the gifts I got, rendered by good hearts...

Salamat, St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, Antipolo City!

Salamat, Radio Veritas!

I will never forget the line...

"Mula sa bulwagan ng Radio Veritas 846 sa Quezon City, philippines. Ito po sina Fr. Gerald Metal at BRO. JULIUS DE SAGUN... Mga kapanalig, kami po ay nagpupugay sa inyo: SUMAINYO ANG KATOTOHANAN!"

It's now over... Salamat... Salamat...

"KADIWA"

I would like sum up the things I learned during my apostolate with the Ephesus Ministry by borrowing its very name... “KADIWA”

My few months of apostolate with Ephesus Ministry is rather short but filled with reflections. As a seminarian, Ephesus Ministry reminds me that priesthood is a lifetime commitment. Meanwhile, as a human being, I am also reminded that getting old is a privilege which not everybody can experience.

THE APOSTOLATE

It all started with a dream. I was dreaming of having a place where the old and retired priests of our diocese (Diocese of Imus) will stay after their service to the local church of Cavite. When I had a processing with the help of my formators and co-seminarians, they made me understand how concerned I was with my own welfare if ever God will make me His priest. I realized that my dream was actually self-directed. Such concern ruled over my mind all throughout my seminary days until I was recommended to spend the 1st phase of my Pastoral Year with Ephesus Ministry. The idea was to mould my heart as a real “kadiwa” by letting me take a first-hand experience of being with the old priests in order to develop a compassionate heart.

My apostolate started by getting to know all the retired Filipino priests – not in person but through their records in the Ephesus office. Believe me - I met both the living and the dead retired priests. Every weekend, I was also given numerous chances to visit some of the priests from different arch/dioceses - as far as Lingayen-Dagupan and as near as Manila. The visit was called “dalaw-pari”. The significant part of the visit was not the long travel but listening to the stories of the priests. Many of them are now slaves of numerous illnesses and diseases. Some of those priests were no longer hopeful that the Lord will heal them, instead they just enjoy the remaining days of their lives in solitude and prayer. I remember in one occasion when a priest with a spleen cancer told me upon learning that I am a seminarian: “I am sure that I will not be around during your ordination. I might be dead by then. But, I’ll promise you that if ever I’ll see the Lord, I tell him to make you a priest... a holy priest.” Upon hearing his piece, I admired that priest. Unlike other priests that I visited, this one neither spoke about how he suffers from pain nor about his accomplishments in the ministry. His concern was how he could be of service to his brethren despite his situation. That priest taught me that a “kadiwa” lends his hands even beyond his own well-being.

Of course, there were also priests who were not so accommodating. I remember an instance when after a long travel while bringing along a heavy load of “pasalubong”, a priest told us: “Aanhin ko yang kaunting matamis na dala ninyo at kaunting gamot na yan?” Another one told us: “Kidney donor ang kailangan ko hindi diaper at gatas” Instead of garnering a hard-feeling towards those priests, I was called by the circumstance to reflect on how much suffering that priest might have had.

EPHESUS ANGELS

My apostolate also allowed me to encounter some people of good heart. Ephesus has some circles of volunteers composed of seminarians, lay workers from different parishes, and NGO’s.

The “Dalaw-pari” is neither a joke nor an easy task. It requires another level of being a “kadiwa” - by having a generous heart and a committed spirit. Many of the Ephesus volunteers are working on weekdays and some are even engaged to different commitments in the Church and at home. Perhaps, giving up their Saturday rest for the dalaw-pari is a sacrifice but they still offer their time, efforts and sometimes even their financial resources to such a noble ministry. Indeed, these people are worthy of being called “angels”.

AN APOSTOLATE OF PRESENCE

My limited time with Ephesus Ministry taught me a lot. Sometimes the best thing that we can offer our aged priests is our presence – something which could not be bought in the marketplace or in the drugstore.

There was a moment when the people had nobody to talk to, to rely on, and to seek counsel from except form these priests who have dedicated themselves to their mission. Now that they are the ones in need of people for the same reason, I guess we have to give them none other than our abiding presence.

My apostolate with Ephesus ministry is over but everything that I learned will forever be treasured in my heart. Through this article, I would like to put into terms my gratitude to Msgr. Sabino Vengco, STD for inspiring me to consider the aged clerics as my own apostolate ground over other equally important fields. I also thank the office staff and the angels/ volunteers of Ephesus for patiently journeying with me in a short while. Through this noble ministry, I met a lot of God’s people whose mission is to make themselves real “KADIWA SA PAGKAPARI”.