I volunteered in the relief operation sponsored by my alma mater two days ago. Since the campus was still inaccessible because of the heavy flood, Santo Domingo Church served as the headquarters of the relief ops.
I arrived there around 10am equipped only with my bags, one behind me which held all my things and one below each eye, and the altruistic intention to help out. I went there by myself and upon entering the doors of the church, I immediately saw the saddening situation. People sleeping on the floor. Long line in the food distribution area. Children with dirty or no clothes at all. It really was a depressing sight to see.
After asking around on what I can do to help, Fr. Jeff (one of the Dominican priests who was in charge of the operations) asked us to stay put since they were going to send us to the GMA 7 warehouse since they needed more volunteers in that area.
While waiting, I was approached by one of the promoters of Dominican Vocation Philippines. He invited me to come and visit them on the last day of the month for an orientation, should I be interested in joining. Before anything else, I would like you to know that I do not, in any way, belong to the personality profile of a typical priest-to-be. I question my religion most of the time. Haven't read the Bible from cover to cover. Does live a life far from being saintly. I am ultra liberal, argumentative and to some extent, quite hedonistic.
But still the thought lingered onto me. And I don't even know why I am considering it. (What the heck am I thinking?!) So I posted this as my status on Facebook...para makuha ang pulso ng madlang people:
After four days, my account is flooding with notifications for that post: 55 likes and 29 comments. Most them came from friends and professors. I was expecting comments like "Weh?" or "Di nga?" but it turned out that most of them are supportive ones. And that surely bothered me.
Here are some of them:
Seriously I don't even know what "the calling" is supposed to sound or feel like. Will a holy spirit come down and nag you until you reach the realization that your life must be dedicated for priesthood? Is it a sign that may be seen through reflection or some deep meditation? What if I don't see the sign at first glance? Will it recur and haunt me in another form? What if I just subconsciously refuse to acknowledge the sign? Somehow, I believe that when a thought stays with you for more than a day or two there must be need for you to acknowledge it, if not act on it. So I choose to keep my options open, just in case. Just in case.
So after talking with the promoter, we (the volunteers) were transported to the GMA warehouse where we repacked the clothes that were donated. I was teamed up with some UST students and three members of Angel Locsin's Fan Club. "If you're Angel's fans then why did you volunteer for GMA and not for ABSCBN instead?," I asked one of them. "We didn't know that we will be brought here," one of them replied. Well, I guess that's forgivable. After all, Angel Locsin used to be part of the Kapuso network anyway. And in the end, what really mattered were their efforts, regardless of who sponsored the operation.
I arrived there around 10am equipped only with my bags, one behind me which held all my things and one below each eye, and the altruistic intention to help out. I went there by myself and upon entering the doors of the church, I immediately saw the saddening situation. People sleeping on the floor. Long line in the food distribution area. Children with dirty or no clothes at all. It really was a depressing sight to see.
After asking around on what I can do to help, Fr. Jeff (one of the Dominican priests who was in charge of the operations) asked us to stay put since they were going to send us to the GMA 7 warehouse since they needed more volunteers in that area.
While waiting, I was approached by one of the promoters of Dominican Vocation Philippines. He invited me to come and visit them on the last day of the month for an orientation, should I be interested in joining. Before anything else, I would like you to know that I do not, in any way, belong to the personality profile of a typical priest-to-be. I question my religion most of the time. Haven't read the Bible from cover to cover. Does live a life far from being saintly. I am ultra liberal, argumentative and to some extent, quite hedonistic.
But still the thought lingered onto me. And I don't even know why I am considering it. (What the heck am I thinking?!) So I posted this as my status on Facebook...para makuha ang pulso ng madlang people:
After four days, my account is flooding with notifications for that post: 55 likes and 29 comments. Most them came from friends and professors. I was expecting comments like "Weh?" or "Di nga?" but it turned out that most of them are supportive ones. And that surely bothered me.
Here are some of them:
Seriously I don't even know what "the calling" is supposed to sound or feel like. Will a holy spirit come down and nag you until you reach the realization that your life must be dedicated for priesthood? Is it a sign that may be seen through reflection or some deep meditation? What if I don't see the sign at first glance? Will it recur and haunt me in another form? What if I just subconsciously refuse to acknowledge the sign? Somehow, I believe that when a thought stays with you for more than a day or two there must be need for you to acknowledge it, if not act on it. So I choose to keep my options open, just in case. Just in case.
So after talking with the promoter, we (the volunteers) were transported to the GMA warehouse where we repacked the clothes that were donated. I was teamed up with some UST students and three members of Angel Locsin's Fan Club. "If you're Angel's fans then why did you volunteer for GMA and not for ABSCBN instead?," I asked one of them. "We didn't know that we will be brought here," one of them replied. Well, I guess that's forgivable. After all, Angel Locsin used to be part of the Kapuso network anyway. And in the end, what really mattered were their efforts, regardless of who sponsored the operation.
