MY LOLO FATHER

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor..."

Luke 4:18

My grand-uncle Cering was a mischievous young boy. Like the legendary Robin Hood, he'd steal from his Inang (mother) to buy toys and food to give to the farmer's children. One day, out of sheer exasperation at her son's misdeeds, she got an iron rod from the granary and whipped his hand hard enough to leave scars. 

Cering asked permission to enter the seminary. Inang would not hear of it, fearful that he would just bring trouble and shame to the Jesuits. He enetered anyway. On the day of his ordination to the priesthood, he went up to Inang after the rites, showed his hands and said, "Inang, these hands will be the same hands that will now serve the Lord." She cried profusely realizing her son's true calling. Fr. Cering, or Lolo Father to us, lived to become a well-loved and dedicated servant of the Lord. All his sisters - Angelita, Lily, Virginia, and Elizabeth - likewise embraced the religious life. 

Not all of us are called to be priests and nuns. But we can still spread God's Word and bring goodness as His Spirit is upon us. 

By: Marie Franco, Philippines (mariefranco_pie@yahoo.com)

REFLECTION: One member of the family in the religious life is a blessing. What more to have five! How can you emulate them?