THAT MONSI ROMY opened the seminar proper with the regulation first talk, “The Road to Emmaus,” reassured me that the overdue sequel to the PREX Refresh in July 2018 was going to be worth every heartache and crisis the pandemic exacted from this addict.
Unlike the forums he conducted for the 7Ps at the cavernous St. Paul the Apostle Parish Shrine in Casa Milan, Fairview, his audience with us this time was up close and personal. Add to that his authoritative voice, the participants had no choice but to listen up or suffer losing the essence of his epistle.
Knowledge of self is crucial, he said, for us to realize that we’re abundantly blessed or else we don’t know it and, therefore, lose it. Whereas if we are aware of the grace and submit to its Giver, we are all things to everyone and can be an effective evangelizer. Like the two apostles who walked with Jesus but didn’t recognize Him (until He disappeared), a journey needs company and conversation and the necessity to know who one travels and talks with. Or one is reduced to traveling with Waize but still loses his way. Because PREX is family and about relationships, we have to count on Christ as its head and His will to lead us on the right road – not to Emmaus, but back to Jerusalem.
When the time came to answer the questions and form into small groups, I thanked my notes for making me conscious that the answers should always relate to the prayer intentions of the Talk. This will come very helpful when we conduct class hopefully sooner than expected.
The tandem speakers of Talk Number 2 were preceded by their reputation. Ate Mila is the Nanay (Lola, she corrected later) of PREX and Ate Cristy a veteran when it comes to conducting ceremonies. Ate Mila’s impaired vision and gout were never a hindrance to the former because her discerning sensitivity made up for her handicapped sight. If she cannot identify a person, all the person has to do is speak and he is recognized. Thus, albeit stationary, her foundational introductory spiel supported Ate Cristy’s summation of Jesus’ disappointment that, except for Peter, His disciples didn’t know Him.
I did not intend to share my insight but was thankful Kuya Rey volunteered me because I got to acknowledge the significance of Kuya Noel, which Ate Cristy underscored in her summary.
Talk Number 3, “The Little Church – The Family,” was delivered by Kuya Nestor and Ate Au. It was the same talk I used to handle, paired off with Kuya Rey, and recalled my eternal humility, openness, and prayer that, in His time, my family will join my journey.
Talks Number 4 and 5 tackled external barriers and internal obstacles, respectively, to being a good Catholic. I appreciated the new Ates and Kuyas that were in the small groups whose testimonies boosted my decision to keep walking the talk.
Talk Number 7 will always bring me back to the days when I was proud and selfish and materialistic, like the prodigal son, because it transformed me into a forgiving father. Buoyed by the returning pair of Ates Mila and Cristy, and greatly boosted by the healing ceremony of the latter, it made me renew my apology to the people I hurt in the past and confirmed that the Refresh was truly timely.
Lighter by a timely confession earlier, we dispersed looking forward to a better, more rewarding, concluding second day.
Ate Lisa put us in a proper light and perspective by asking two Ates to lead and respond to a collective Rosary. Then, Kuya Cesar and Ate Gina set off on the Sixth Talk, “God’s Plan for the Church.” Their treatise reminded me of my involvement in the synodal consultations and made me resolve to push through with it.
Talk Number 8 established that, even in his absence, Kuya Noel will remain an inextricable part of all and any PREX encounters. The speakers were Ate Arlene and Kuya Joey and the latter was an abbreviated version of my significant Catholic. I was so taken by his testimony which was uncannily similar and different from Kuya Noel’s. He talked about his horrific bout with Covid while Kuya Noel shared Ate Malou’s near-death experience. It wasn’t an accident that I earlier praised and thanked God that Ate Malou survived her second struggle for life, propped by prayers from the multitude that loves them. Both Kuyas unabashedly professed their visible faith in God and the accompanying, astonishing love for their spouses. I could not contain my goosies and told Kuya Joey about it and, again, volunteered to share it with the large group.
Kuya Roland and Ate Toots took on Talk Number 9, “Church Spirituality,” and prompted me to write down the five-finger prayer to keep it for posterity. Then Kuya Cesar beckoned us to write down the single biggest change we intend to do and keep the note later for burning.
Father Chong, whom I initially christened as giggly, aptly concluded the seminar with Talk Number Ten, “Evangelization,” which was the overall purpose of the exercise. He grew on me in spite of my unwarranted misgiving. Especially when he said that Paul had to go blind in order to see Christ; shared that he met in PREX a lawyer who cleaned the toilet and a lady doctor who cooked their meals; and superbly suggested BEC as a threshold to the next step to PREX. After all, PREX and BEC share the same vision: building the Kingdom of God in the community!
He and Monsi were the perfect slices of bread that sandwiched all the talks between them. Both poo-poohed the pandemic as no match to the power of God. That, with the proper protocolar measures, the program can be relaunched, as indeed it has been a major long while, and with an awesomely measurable margin of success, like the one that all 38 joyful 8-parish participants exulted on with the organizers of the two-day faith-renewing encounter.
Amen.
Postscript:
Ate Malou has had 3 brushes with death: cancer, heart attack and bypass in 2017, and seizure and TAVR this year. The seizure gave her 10 minutes without a heart beat! And a 12-minute CPR that mangled her body from which she continues to ache until now. But, being the Marian and PREX faithful that she is, Ate is happy to be alive, thanks to a family that extends beyond the Kingdom of God.
