Viva Peñafrancia, Sisenta! -- 60 years of Ministry

I really enjoyed every single moment of our Homecoming last week-end (Oct. 15-16, 2005) Same time last week, we were all parading proudly, robustly and regally within the Sorsogon City proper…batchmates in tow with all our flashy “trampoline” banners and Maelstrom shirts…

After that, we went around our alma mater…dorm to dorm…classroom to classroom… kitchen, refectory and Chapel…like a “band of brothers” we were inseparable…united in all our sked, activities and itinerary…

I’m sure, we all wished it could have been forever…But the truth of the matter is, “life must go on…”

However, the next question would be, How? Why?

Allow me to share my mind as to “why.” Well, we all witnessed the OLPS 60th Alumni Homecoming…Viva Peñafrancia, Sisenta!...Sixty years of Ministry…that’s sixty years of molding, forming, and training “stout-hearted boys to become stout-hearted men” (no pun intended…hehehe). As our OLPS Seminary Hymn has put it, we were all being prepared to have hearts full of love in the service of the Lord thru our families, neighborhood, parish and community…

For all the Sorsogon Clergy, this is their calling…this is their clear commitment…For all the rest of us who were called but were “frozen”, I mean not chosen, this is also our Ministry…our life-time vocation in the outside world by virtue of our OLPS history and in honor of our Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, ad majorem Dei gloriam!

The “HOW” part is very much the way we live our lives right now. Just looking at every single alumnus proved God’s faithfulness all over the years for all the gifts of protection, good-health, love, graces, blessings and material abundance…What remains questionable would only be our faithfulness to God in return…

This is what I would like to invite all of you, my brothers, to reflect upon…Because 19 years ago, when my biological family migrated to Manila, I know I left an important part of myself behind in the person of my Maelstrom batchmates…After different seminary communities & classmates all throughout my philosophy years will never come close to the years of fun and learning we had…in all the ups (kisame) and downs (coprahan)…

I really missed a lot in all those years…and I’m sure the same goes to most of us who were not able to touch-base for a long time…I admit to not being able to share my time and my self with the bunch I consider as my brothers…to be not at your service in my own little ways…as a shoulder to lean on…a hand in times of struggles and distress…

While in hindsight I consider our batch to be unified by so many individual and separate anecdotal experiences, collectively we celebrate and cherish all of them as a group…we practically shared the ownership of these memories to every Maelstrom in the batch…this is what we went though…this is how we felt then…this is what binds US together…an “irresistible force” because we are all for one…and one for all…

Let’s now move forward, my brothers…never to let anything come between us…let’s make a difference in this world…in our community…in our parishes…in our family…For we are after all, Maelstrom…All the Best and God bless to all! I love you 3 x a day!!!

May God bless us all!...

Bro Rino