Real Men Hurt

I woke up with my body aching all over. It seems the football game that we had with the aspirants yesterday was more than my body could handle. I have been out of the field for two weeks. The Baguio trip that we had certainly was fattening. I moaned to my fellow Brother Sami, "My whole body aches." And he delivered the line that made me think the whole morning: "It means you're alive."

Pain most of the time is not welcome but it reminds me that I am still alive and kicking. The thought of pain sends shivers down my spine. I would be the first to run away at the thought of undergoing pain. The series of unfortunate events that silently happened to me during the past weeks did change my paradigm. It made me understand pain better. In order to grow one must embrace the pain that comes once in a while.

There are many forms of pain. The easiest of which is physical pain. The hardest to face is emotional pain. One thing I've learned is that the more you run away, the greater the pain will be. But with a courage that could only come from inside, you do a 180 and face the pain head-on, you'd be surprised to find that pain is just an invitation to live and experience life more fully.

Real men do hurt. It is only in our pain that we experience our humanity. We all are vulnerable (and this brings to mind one emo song I also like). In my pain I feel I am alive and from it I draw strength to move on, to forgive, and to love better than I have.

Welcome to Canlubang

It's been a year and days more since I my last post! Congratulations to me! I have kept my word on abstaining from blogging for the whole novitiate year.

And now I find myself in Canlubang, a place sacred to all Filipino Salesians. Every Salesian Priest or Lay Brother you can find had spent years and years of study and formation here. When I was still in Lawaan, I have heard so many stories of this blessed place from Salesians who have grown up here. Now that I am here, sitting on a computer chair, my eyes glued to the laptop screen, and smelling the very essence of Canlubang, I fall into a trance and awe at the fortune of finding myself here.

I am simply awestruck at the turn of events in my life. The thought of Salesian formation was out of the question years ago, but I believe that God in his own wise ways have plucked out a Kitoy from his comforts and transplanted him to different places the latest of which is Canlubang. I can only ride the tide knowing all full well that it is God who blows the wind and directs the tide.

I do not know what is in store for me here. Two years can just pass by so swiftly. I have my hopes up for I know I am still at home as every Don Bosco house is a home. True, I miss Cebu where I grew up my whole life but I am also open to the adventures awaiting me in place called Canlubang.

Against Fanaticism

I'm currently in Mindanao, a land war-torn by forces that defy human logic. Talking with a new friend, an incoming pre-novice for the Salesians, Kuya Erwin, I have learned much more on the Mindanao situation than sensationalized national news.

We were discussing Abu Sayaff when I blurted out that Muslims aren't so peaceful in this country. He corrected me that not all of them are like the bandits. Like Christians, there are good and bad fruits among the harvest. It's just that they don't have a deeper grasp of their faith. Fanaticism, its universal among the world's religions.

A faith not understood in its original context can result in the worst atrocities in human history. Talk about Jihad and the Crusades, all were justified in the name of faith and God. It's as if we were created to annihilate each other simply because we don't share the same beliefs. But its true and is very evident in history, that men inflamed by zeal for their religion and not their God, have begun to do exactly what their religion is leading them from.

Fanaticism is our common enemy. Our only weapon is education and an openness to learning. Our baptism into Catholicism did not mark the completion of our Christian Life. We are called to live our faith. The same goes for Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and other religions. I believe it's not enough to profess by mouth the teachings of our spiritual leaders we must, so they say, "walk the talk".

This is the main reason why I admire so much our Catechists. They are a specie on the brink on extinction. Yet their calling remains a very fundamental part of the Church - the instruction on the Faith. With the onset of secularism and materialism, and all the other -isms out there, fewer and fewer have taken the initiative to volunteer in caring for the flock. Looking at the most persevering catechists I have met, I simply could not describe the awe I feel for their faithfulness. Notwithstanding the lack of financial gain in their apostolate they have pushed through teaching the thousands in schools in order to strengthen our knowledge and understanding of the Christian Faith.

Fanaticism spoils anybody's faith. Education and Instruction perfects it. Profession and Witnessing immortalizes it.