Yesterday today

I THINK it’s a great privilege to be able from time to time to visit the past, to view yesterday today, to see the child that a man once was or grew from.

I had that chance recently when I was asked to visit what used to be a little rural, fishing barangay of Cogtong, in the once sleepy town of Candijay, in the still pristine island of Bohol.

The place is now quite transformed, but I could still recognize it. It’s the place of my father, where I used to spend my summer vacations ever since I could remember, which could go back when I was still 3, roaming around with my fellow age-mates, and we were all….pantless.

I went there till I graduated from high school. Since then, I hardly went back, because many other things intervened. But I still hold vivid, beautiful memories of the place and especially of the people.

Without exception, they were all nice. Even the trouble-makers who got drunk at night and made some noise treated me like a prince. But that was all because of my father. I think they loved my father with their lives. He was their first lawyer.

I could enter any house, and even if no one was around, I could help myself to anything they had in their little kitchen, and they would not mind. In fact, they’d be happy when they learned I went to their house with my friends.

That’s how it was. All this never led me to getting spoiled. They were simply nice, and I could not help but be nice myself. I learned to be grateful early in life. The negative things in life, I knew them outside that beautiful place.

There was no running water, so we had to fetch it from a well. There was no electricity, so we slept early and woke up with the roosters. The roads were unpaved and dusty. I could count with the fingers of my hand the times I saw cars coming in to that place.

It was only the radio that connected us to what seemed to me then as the outside world. I spent my day doing chores, and they were endless, and playing with friends, going around, getting firewood, making nipa roofing materials, mending fishing nets, etc.

The sea became my favorite playground, while the spring, a bit inland, was where we rinsed ourselves and did our laundry. The carabao accompanied us in our hikes to offer momentary relief from our tiredness.

The only big building then was the church. But it was hardly used. There was no priest. Yes, the people had their basic expressions of piety, but it was one mixed with superstitions.

Thanks to my schooling with the nuns and priests in the city, and my parents’ attention, I managed to distinguish the true from the false beliefs. That sometimes was not easy, since the environment could be quite confusing.

Fast forward to now, the barangay now has a parish priest. They have just built a new church, unbelievably designed along modern lines. When I celebrated one of the novena Masses for the fiesta, I was teary eyed to see people filling up the church.

I could recognize some, but I could not anymore recognize many others. The faces have changed. There looked like an improvement of the stock, since I already saw many ‘mestizos’ where I used to see only indigenous-looking people.

In fact, among the altar servers were kids with fair skins and long noses. Then I realize the place already has some foreigners married to the locals. How time flies and what surprises it brings!

I was told that a religious congregation of Spanish nuns with their Filipino counterpart will soon set up a school there. Wow! I could not believe that they could find their way there. But, thank you, Lord, just the same. That will truly make a big difference to the place and to the people.

So far, I’ve been the only priest of the place. I’m praying for more priestly vocations, and it seems the possibilities are emerging. I was happy to note that there seems to be a strong community spirit supporting the church.

It goes without saying that there are still many things to be done, problems to be solved, challenges to be faced and tackled. It’s a day-to-day affair, a work-in-progress that needs to be given abiding attention and care.

I have to continue praying and hoping!