By Bipin John Vaghela
Manila, Feb 6, 2020: I am from the Archdiocese of Ahmadabad, Gujarat state, western India. I would like to share my priestly experience in the Philippines.
After my priestly ordination in 2003, I went on doing my pastoral ministry in the archdiocese.
It is a missionary archdiocese; therefore, I enjoyed my work. The archdiocese grants priests to have one month of annual vacation. I never took my annual holidays, because I thought this was the time to run for the Lord and work hard in the vineyard of God.
On January 23, 2019, I came to the Philippines for my sabbatical year at East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI), in Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University Campus, only for four months. This would enable me to have a broader Church experience.
At the outset, I struggled a lot with the admission process for EAPI, because I did not have my email. I am not so proficient in commuter and media.
With much difficulty, I finished my admission process and got admission to EAPI.
The next difficulty was to get a visa to the Philippines. To apply for it, I need to travel eight to ten hours by train to the Embassy. When I was struggling to get the visa, my father passed away at the age of 84.
Twice I traveled without a train reservation to get my visa. It was painful but I got the visa. I accepted all the troubles—the admission process, my father’s death, and running for the visa. I wanted to come to the Philippines for the sabbatical, so I worked hard.
In the beginning, my archbishop told me that archdiocese will partially shoulder the financial expenses for my overseas course. Thus, I borrowed some money from my friends and relatives to cover the rest of the course fees. Finally, I was happy to come to the Philippines.
Once I arrived at EAPI, I started attending classes. Everybody was having laptops, tablets and cellphones. I used to take notes on my hand in the class. Lifestyle at EAPI was digital but surely not mine.
We were 98 students (priests, nuns and laypeople) from different countries. The first time, I had such experience. I like to study and took a lot of interest.
I was friendly with everyone. When they get sick, I was recommending them with some simple alternative medicine such as herbal. All appreciated my simple lifestyle and presence, and friendly nature.
Life in EAPI was a good experience and exposure. I felt like once again I was in the seminary.
I got a lot of insights into the wider cultural context because I was open to the class.
We had several religious activities like Holy Mass, holy hour, spiritual direction, personal prayers and group activities, which personally helped me for the growth of my spiritual life.
Sometimes I was invited outside for the blessings of houses and celebrate Holy Mass. That was a new and different experience for me.
After the course at EAPI over, I wanted to stay further, as I had a one-year visa. While rendering my priestly ministry, I would get additional exposure in any of the dioceses in the Philippines.
With that in mind, first I applied to Cubao diocese, within which EAPI is situated. Since there was no vacancy in any parish at that time, my application to be a guest priest in Cubao was uncertain.
Such experience made me to be strong and accept God’s will. Later I applied to the Archdiocese of Manila.
To process my application, I met Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Soncuaco Pabillo of Manila. After a few weeks, he assigned me to a parish.
On June 29, 2019, I left EAPI and came to the parish in Manila Archdiocese. I am happy and enjoying my ministry. I go to the streets and homes for blessings, celebrating Holy Mass and baptizing children.
This gives me so much happiness as a guest priest. People here are simple and some are poor, but they are happy, generous and hospitable. They always want to support church, priests and share food with others. It is a beautiful experience to notice and witness.
People have strong faith in God and religion.
Some people believe in evil spirits. They have a lot of fear of ghosts. I encourage them and pray for them and tell them that the Holy Spirit is given to us in Baptism and Confirmation, so evil spirits are not stronger than the Holy Spirit.
Some of the religious practices/devotions in the Philippines impress me. Among them are “Simbang Gabi” (nine-day dawn Masses before Christmas), Santo Nino (Child Jesus), and Easter Sunday, Mother Mary meeting of Risen Lord. Other religious practices are a unique and new experience for me.
Being there for more than one year, I experienced that for every occasion and every Mass, the churches are full. That shows that I am in a Catholic country.
Though the country is a secular state, officially, Christianity is the prevalent religion. Over 80% of Filipinos are Roman Catholics. This is followed by Islam, with most of the Muslims residing in the provinces of Mindanao, the southern part of the country.
The Philippines is an archipelago with 7,641 islands. It has a population of more than 100 million, with about 10 major ethnolinguistic groups and more than 100 tribal groups or indigenous peoples.
Whenever I travel many times, I do not know how to reach my destination. The jeepney drivers are humble to show me the way and give direction on how to reach my point of travel.
I am also impressed with the lay people’s involvement with religious activities; such many lay men and women are active in various organizations of churches, which are often staffed by laypersons.
Many things about people and places in the Philippines continue to inspire me. I do value these experiences and exposures as a person and priest.