 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| St. James COPA Foundation, Inc. CHURCH OF THE POOR APOSTOLATE PARISH OF ST JAMES THE GREAT AYALA ALABANG VILLAGE |
| COPYRIGHT 2007. ST JAMES - COPA FOUNDATION, INC. AYALA ALABANG VILLAGE, MUNTINLUPA CITY PHILIPPINES |
| WISH KO LANG! By: Fr. Venancio ‘Jun’ Balansag, Jr., visiting student-priest at the Parish of St. James the Great |
One unforgettable experience I had as a young parish priest was
when I was assigned in the Immaculate Conception Parish, in
Guinuyoran, Valencia City, Bukidnon - now an SJ-COPA-adopted
parish that is situated at the foot of the Kalatungan ranges. It
happened during one rainy season when I made my regular once-a-
month Mass in one of the chapels there. With my sacristan,
Dondon, as a back rider, I navigated my motorbike through a three
kilometer slippery and mossy foot trail to Sitio Cawasan. After
skidding and falling down for the umpteenth time, totally getting
messy, dirty and sweaty, I had a little conversation with Dondon, the
sacristan who was a lumad and convert to Catholicism from the
Sabadista sect. I muttered this rhetorical question in jest: “Nganong
mag-antus man ta ana nila, Don, nga unta dili man nato na sila
paryenti ba!” (Why do we have to sacrifice for these people
(parishioners), for, in fact, they are not our relatives, aren’t they?”)
With a sad look in his eyes, he shot back, “They are your family now,
Padre!” I got cured from my momentary blindness; I just got my
“spiritual fix” from an unschooled sacristan. Ashamed, I apologized
for my moment of weakness.
when I was assigned in the Immaculate Conception Parish, in
Guinuyoran, Valencia City, Bukidnon - now an SJ-COPA-adopted
parish that is situated at the foot of the Kalatungan ranges. It
happened during one rainy season when I made my regular once-a-
month Mass in one of the chapels there. With my sacristan,
Dondon, as a back rider, I navigated my motorbike through a three
kilometer slippery and mossy foot trail to Sitio Cawasan. After
skidding and falling down for the umpteenth time, totally getting
messy, dirty and sweaty, I had a little conversation with Dondon, the
sacristan who was a lumad and convert to Catholicism from the
Sabadista sect. I muttered this rhetorical question in jest: “Nganong
mag-antus man ta ana nila, Don, nga unta dili man nato na sila
paryenti ba!” (Why do we have to sacrifice for these people
(parishioners), for, in fact, they are not our relatives, aren’t they?”)
With a sad look in his eyes, he shot back, “They are your family now,
Padre!” I got cured from my momentary blindness; I just got my
“spiritual fix” from an unschooled sacristan. Ashamed, I apologized
for my moment of weakness.
I was afraid that they could easily get burned out and possibly
leave the ministry. Surprisingly, I was happy to be wrong. The
many years in the formation seminary have equipped these young
priests for such challenges. One valuable gift a newly ordained
diocesan priest receives from his bishop is a brand-new
motorcycle, designed for the rough mountainous terrain, and
which the diocese pays in installment to the local motor dealer.
What the diocese needs to do is to make “alalay” or to assist and
guide these young priests constantly. I guess, what SJ COPA has
done to these mission parishes is exactly that – to make “alalay”
the parish priests on their wonderful ideas to empower the poor,
as they perceive them in their grounds.
A case in point regarding a wonderful idea is what Fr. Conrado
“Bombom” Casas, in his early 30’s, did in Xavier de Kibanggay
Parish in Lantapan, Bukidnon. A COPA-adopted parish,
Kibanggay lies at the foot of the Kitanglad mountain ranges. His
parishioners are mostly lumads (indigenous people) of the
Talaandig provenance. In his PowerPoint presentation, Fr.
Bombom presented his vision of non-formal education for his
lumad constituents. He said that the age bracket of those
participating in his non-formal education program ranges from 7
to 75 years old. One day, he said, in his makeshift classroom, he
overheard a conversation between a father and his son who were
both pupils of his non-formal education program while they were
doing their assignments. The son asked his father what the
answer could be to one of the seat works given to them but the
father, shaking his head, countered, “Son, I also do not know.
Don’t you know that we are classmates?” That conversation left a
deep impression on the young priest: “Our culture has always
looked up to parents as educators. Maybe through such a non-
formal education program, this father can regain his rightful place
as an authority in his child’s education in this place where public
educatioNn has not yet reached them.
leave the ministry. Surprisingly, I was happy to be wrong. The
many years in the formation seminary have equipped these young
priests for such challenges. One valuable gift a newly ordained
diocesan priest receives from his bishop is a brand-new
motorcycle, designed for the rough mountainous terrain, and
which the diocese pays in installment to the local motor dealer.
What the diocese needs to do is to make “alalay” or to assist and
guide these young priests constantly. I guess, what SJ COPA has
done to these mission parishes is exactly that – to make “alalay”
the parish priests on their wonderful ideas to empower the poor,
as they perceive them in their grounds.
A case in point regarding a wonderful idea is what Fr. Conrado
“Bombom” Casas, in his early 30’s, did in Xavier de Kibanggay
Parish in Lantapan, Bukidnon. A COPA-adopted parish,
Kibanggay lies at the foot of the Kitanglad mountain ranges. His
parishioners are mostly lumads (indigenous people) of the
Talaandig provenance. In his PowerPoint presentation, Fr.
Bombom presented his vision of non-formal education for his
lumad constituents. He said that the age bracket of those
participating in his non-formal education program ranges from 7
to 75 years old. One day, he said, in his makeshift classroom, he
overheard a conversation between a father and his son who were
both pupils of his non-formal education program while they were
doing their assignments. The son asked his father what the
answer could be to one of the seat works given to them but the
father, shaking his head, countered, “Son, I also do not know.
Don’t you know that we are classmates?” That conversation left a
deep impression on the young priest: “Our culture has always
looked up to parents as educators. Maybe through such a non-
formal education program, this father can regain his rightful place
as an authority in his child’s education in this place where public
educatioNn has not yet reached them.
Our reaching Sitio Cawasan was a great jubilation, I sensed. The
Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) was well organized. After
washing up, I celebrated Mass with the people and shared lunch
which consisted of something contributed by each ‘selda’, a BEC
cell. For the first time, I felt how meaningful my priestly ministry
was - realizing that I am doing this for my new “family” who hunger
for the Eucharist which only an ordained priest, no matter how
weak, could offer. They were grateful that a priest was willing to
risk his life to bring them spiritual food. After all, the priest is the
father of the parish, and the parishioners, his children.
This similar feeling is what I got when I returned to Bukidnon last
April 19-21, 2010, when I joined SJ COPA volunteers in visiting the
Foundation’s adopted parishes there. I felt like a father, bringing
home the “goodies” after a long absence from working in a foreign
land. I knew I was going back to the places that I associated with
“home” and “family”. I was cognizant of the terrain and the issues,
including the fact that I knew the priests there very well. I was also
aware that we were visiting mission parishes which were started
by religious missionaries and now have been turned over to the
diocesan clergy.
Mission parishes are considered the poorest parishes in the
diocese for they heavily depend on subsidies from the chancery to
survive. They are mostly manned now by young clergy - fresh from
their ordinations, full of idealism and well-versed in modern
gadgetry. I remember that I was initially a bit critical about this idea
of assigning young priests to these mission parishes for their
“baptism of fire”.
Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) was well organized. After
washing up, I celebrated Mass with the people and shared lunch
which consisted of something contributed by each ‘selda’, a BEC
cell. For the first time, I felt how meaningful my priestly ministry
was - realizing that I am doing this for my new “family” who hunger
for the Eucharist which only an ordained priest, no matter how
weak, could offer. They were grateful that a priest was willing to
risk his life to bring them spiritual food. After all, the priest is the
father of the parish, and the parishioners, his children.
This similar feeling is what I got when I returned to Bukidnon last
April 19-21, 2010, when I joined SJ COPA volunteers in visiting the
Foundation’s adopted parishes there. I felt like a father, bringing
home the “goodies” after a long absence from working in a foreign
land. I knew I was going back to the places that I associated with
“home” and “family”. I was cognizant of the terrain and the issues,
including the fact that I knew the priests there very well. I was also
aware that we were visiting mission parishes which were started
by religious missionaries and now have been turned over to the
diocesan clergy.
Mission parishes are considered the poorest parishes in the
diocese for they heavily depend on subsidies from the chancery to
survive. They are mostly manned now by young clergy - fresh from
their ordinations, full of idealism and well-versed in modern
gadgetry. I remember that I was initially a bit critical about this idea
of assigning young priests to these mission parishes for their
“baptism of fire”.
| Fr. Jun earns his Canon Law degree at the UST thanks to the Assoc. of St. John Marie Vianney |
| Fr. Jun joins the COPA visitng group in their parish visit to the mountains of Bukidnon. |
| Bike or no bike, it feels good to be recognized back home in Bukidnon |