From an ordinary mass goer of 930am mass, I was invited by friends and cousins (Ren-Ren, PJ and Noel) to join the Legion of Mary in 1996. I was 11 years old then and our presidium is Vessel of Joy under the guidance of Sis. Tina and Marlon “Jojo” Dio. Legion of Mary had taught me the importance of prayer. It all started as a responsibility by counting in week on how many 3 o’clock habit and Angelus I’ve prayed, how many times I say the rosary, how many times I pray the catena and the like until all of this “responsibility” becomes a habit which until now is practiced by me.
When my friends and cousins started to become Knights of the Altar, I am left without any companion to go with in attending the Legion’s meeting and so I stop for sometime until Manuel Labro and his friends invited me to join their Legion whose presidium is Mother of Savior under the guidance of Sis. Nimfa (wife of Bro. Marlon). I am also invited by them to join Junior Lectors and Commentators. We are the first batch to do such things under the guidance of Tita Pat and the rest of the Parish Cathecists.
On October 27, 2000, Manuel invited me to join the Parish Youth Ministry (PYM). We attend their meeting and I found out that the coordinator then is Kuya Jojo and so I am encourage more to attend its meetings and activities. Joining PYM is not a smooth journey. I need to deal with different kinds of people that give me the ups and downs. I remember one time of quitting in the ministry because I told myself: “Mabuti pa noong ordinaryong nagsisimba ako simple lang ang lahat. Nagsisimba ako, nagdadasal – wala akong iniisip na mga taong nagninibak sa’ken.” But then Ate Rose pays a visit in our house and told me a very inspiring advice that I hold onto until now: “Baket ka ba umaattend ng PYM? Para saan ba ang pag-attend mo? Kung para naman pala kay Lord eh bakit mo iniisip ang sinasabi nilang masasama sa’yo? Kung nag-seserve ka talaga para kay Lord, kahet ano pang paninira at pang-aaway ang gawin nila sa’yo, makakayanan mo yan dahil hindi ka nman sa kanila nag-seserve kungdi kay Lord.” And do I attend again and was given a chance to act for the Senakulo during the time of Kuya Jojo.
I continue my service with the Legion of Mary, Junior Lectors and Commentators and PYM until Msgr. Pastor de Guzman came in the Parish in 2001 as our new Parish Priest and appointed me as the new PYM Coordinator. To be Youth Coordinator at the very young age of 17 and to handle a much diversified group with ages 11-28 years old with a total population of 60+ members, I know that this is a very huge responsibility. With this, I filed leave of absence in Junior LC and Legion of Mary to enable me to do my tasks well. Being a PYM Coordinator had taught me a lot of life lessons which came in hand until now. It’s been three (3) years of officership and friendship struggles, “political” dealings inside and outside the church, exposure to different hardships in dealing with indifferent people, dealing with youth critics etc. All of these I have survived in my young teen years of leadership. Bago lang ako nagsisimula ay tila ba ipinaranas na saken ang lahat ng pwedeng maranasan na hirap ng isang lider. Ngunit hindi ako nagpatalo at patuloy na hindi nagpapatalo. After being the SRP PYM Coordinator, I become the Vicariate Youth Coordinator of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva in 2004 and later as Media and Communication Head of Pasig Diocesan Youth Ministry (PDYM) in 2005. Now, I hold the position of Internal Vice Coordinator of PDYM and would like to keep rooted in my home parish as I join once again the Lectors and Commentators Ministry (SALAMAT SA SUPORTA nila Tita Onie, Tita May, Tita Lalaine at Tita Lynette).
Tunay ngang makulay ang 13 taon ko bilang tagapaglingkod ng Diyos. Maraming masasaya at malulungkot na alaala. Maraming paninira, maraming “indifferent” na tao - maraming nanunubok ng aking paglilingkod. It is a fact that I can’t never let go off in the eyes of judgemental people but I will never give up! – mapapagod lang sila sa paninira at pang-huhusga nila ngunit patuloy akong nakatayo, naglilingkod ng buong puso sa ating Panginoon, patuloy na ipinaglalaban ang karapatan ng bawat kabataan sa simbahan at patuloy sa pagpapauunlad sa aking sarili upang ibahagi ito sa mga susunod na youth lider ng simbahan.
No comments:
Post a Comment