The Turning Point

One of the greatest rewards one can have,

is the joy to become worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.

Acts 5:41

Niño --- Just simply Niño I was named by my parents after my mother gave birth to me on a very festive day, for it was the feast day of Santo Niño that time, 18th of January year 1996. I got my name from our very own patron saint of our Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC), Señor Santo Niño.

Growing up as a child, I was too sickly back then. The hospital became a usual place for me to visit. At a young age, I was already admitted to the hospital because of Pneumonia. Because of this, I remembered my mother used to remind me of this story, that they would always pray to God for my healing and even made an agreement to Him that they would offer my life in the service for Him if He will grant me the full recovery from my sickness. Truly indeed, God seemed positive in His response, because although I was still sickly at least I was healed of my Pneumonia.

Earlier in my life up until my high school days, I have always had this kind of feeling I am special. I was born for something bigger. And this drove me to strive hard to be always on top of my class. Although sometimes, this became also a reason for my frustrations if things will not go the way I expected them. As a little child, I would play around and make the best out of the things around me with that mentality---that I am special. I may not utter the words for this, but deep inside me, the flame continues to burn, not even become too curious to question the thing inside.

Spiritually, I was first exposed to my Catholic faith through my parent. They were the first to influence me to pray. Before, my parents are affiliated with Couples for Christ and I remembered that I used to go with them whenever there is a fellowship meeting among its members. The song, ‘Give Thanks’was the first Catholic Christian song that I became familiar with as a result of going always with my parents in every fellowship that they do because they use to sing songs along with their gathering. Besides this, as a child in my elementary years, I used to join Flores De Mayo in our chapel every month of May, a month dedicated to Mary. It was at that time I first learn to pray the Holy Rosary.

I have had this one strange dream during my high school days: I was tired from school at that time, so I directly went into my bed to rest when I reached home. As I dream along in my sleep, I saw a huge image of Mother Mary’s face projected on a wide evening sky. Mother Mary in my dream was uttering something incomprehensible to me but she seemed muted at that time. Waking up from my dream, I remembered rushing outside to check if the image of the Virgin Mary was still there up in the evening sky. I received a wide grin from my father after witnessing what I have done. And until now, Mama Mary’s image and my father’s grin are still vivid in my memory.

As I entered college, I had nothing in mind but the goal to finish college, maintain my good academic standing, and take good care of my scholarship, that is, to be fully engrossed in my studies so as not to lose it. Fast forward, in June 2017, I was able to finish my studies for my academic degree and satisfactorily graduated only to feel another longing inside of me of something inexpressible, an empty space that needs to be filled up. And that’s the start of me having to randomly wake up in the middle of the night with no reason at all. It’s the stage of my life when I started questioning my purpose.

Then came the August of 2017, Rosary Month. Our chapel had a schedule of a Community Rosary every day for the entire month of August at 4:30 in the morning. So as someone who seemed lost at that time seeking the help God through Mary, I decided to join. As the month was approaching to its end, someone came to me and asked if it would be okay for me to become a lector in our BEC for at that time, they had scarcity of readers in the Mass. Being confident enough of my ability to read, so I said yes. It was my first ‘Yes’ to God, the ‘Yes’ to commit myself in the service for Him as a Liturgical reader. It was at that time that I slowly found myself, the thing that I was looking for; the sense of ‘home’ in what I am doing.

As I continue to serve the Lord as a lector, it occurred to me that what if I am called? What if God’s way of inviting me was through this ministry? That this is just the preparation of something bigger ahead of me? This made me recalled the feeling that I used to have when I was still a child, the feeling that I was born for something bigger. What if this is it? From then on, I started asking God for signs and always including it in my daily prayers.

Then came the day,a seemingly ordinary day of which I experienced that I can somehow described as something ‘divine’.

Then came the day, a seemingly ordinary day of which I experienced that I can somehow described as something ‘divine’.ly Communion. As usual, after receiving the body of Christ I went back to my seat and knelt down to pray, of course it includes what I usually ask from Him, that is, the sign of His plan for me. Right after I uttered those words in my mind, I felt a sudden poke in my heart, a heavy yet satisfying feeling enveloped my whole body. I felt like there is someone hugging me from my back, and then my tears started to trickle down. I found myself crying hard, so hard that I cannot keep my tears from flowing. It was an endless flow of tears.

Then, before the priest made his final blessing, certain seminarian made an announcement, calling all interested youngsters or young professionals to take a certain IQ test for admission in the seminary. It occurred then to me that maybe this it; the sign that I was looking for. That experience became the turning point of my decision to join or enter the seminary to pursue a religious vocation. Several happenings took shape after that experience. Happenings that tremendously challenged my decision regarding the journey that I was about to embark. But through the grace of God, I am still here doing the things that I chose to do, perhaps what God wants me to do.

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