The bulletin board

THIS may just be trivia, but mind you, I find this experience exhilarating.

I’ve just been bitten by the bulletin-board bug. I mean, there’s a small announcement board outside my office in school, on the way to the oratory, to which I very seldom paid any attention.

I don’t even know who put those notices there, once yellowing with neglect. The management never called my attention, maybe because it really was not my business. Some good soul placed a number of ‘stampitas’ to cover the extra space.

Then one day, I don’t know exactly what happened, I gave a close look at that dusty board, and I was suddenly fired up. I have to do something here, I told myself. It was not because I pitied it, but rather because I saw the challenge and the potential. I felt provoked to grab the bull by the horns.

The other day, someone close to me, who owns a number of department stores, sort of gave me a lecture about the ways and gimmicks of catching the attention of the people and of moving them to buy.

In one portion of the store, I saw items with signs that read, “Hi, I’m new,” or “Hi, I can be fun,” or “This is cool!,” and come-ons like those. I know we’re now in the age of aggressively letting people know what we are selling. Just look at those billboards along the highways!

And indeed, I do have a very important, precious merchandise to sell. It’s not an easy item to sell though, because I’m in the business of the spiritual and the doctrinal.

And yet, I have no doubt that these goods also need to be publicized. I just have to find a way to window-dress them too, not to create a false image, of course, but simply to attract notice. Nowadays, with the people bombarded with so many images, we priests have to learn to compete also for attention.

Popes and other Church leaders have egged everybody to make the faith part of culture, to materialize what is spiritual, to act out what is doctrinal, etc. With our present level of development, this goal is both complicated and easy, thanks to the plethora of materials available.

Again I have no doubt that part of this effort is to engage in some publicity stunt for our faith and our spiritual services, not in the commercial sense, of course, but rather in the pastoral sense.

This effort, I know, should not replace the indispensable personal attention I have to give to each student and staffer, by way of hearing his confessions, having spiritual direction, etc. This should never be an obstacle to saying Mass and performing other liturgical acts. This should rather complement them.

And so I started moving. Besides, this gave me a chance to exercise my dormant liking for artistry and to work with a team. Many times I found myself working alone, at least physically. This one was going to be a welcome break, I thought.

And I discovered many interesting things in the process. I learned, for example, that the young ones always like new things. So I have to change the things that I post almost everyday. I have to constantly rearrange, put color and even frills.

I have to be creative and quick in finding a variety of things that can be interesting to them. The kids have a short span of attention. And as if that’s not enough, they are often capricious in their taste too. So, I have to learn to meet them halfway. I even have to put some cartoons.

Thanks to God, there are many materials available, and my chats with them yield me a rich harvest of insights, perceptions and observations that I later on integrate and put into writing, ending up in the “From your Chaplain” corner of the board.

It’s also amazing that many kids are willing to help. In fact, I think they feel honored when I ask them to do something for me. My “Please” to them falls like a general’s order to their ears.

Since I’ve started doing this, I’ve seen my bulletin board becoming a favorite hangout of students and staffers. Besides, it seems I’m getting more clients who come to my room for a chat.

It’s amazing what drama and pull the tapestry of a bulletin board can have on kids!