IN A WAY, my experience here in the Philippines gravitated on two things: choice and chance. While coming to Manila was a personal choice, studying at UST happened by chance.
It all started with one simple dream – to become a missionary. During our seminary training back then, I have heard and read a lot about priests and nuns who were engaged in missionary work either from India, my homeland or overseas. But that dream slowly disappeared after I was formally ordained as a priest in 2000.
Least of my expectation, that dream somehow assumed a different form. Seeing my interest in journalism, my superiors then asked me to pursue communication studies in 2005 which opened the possibility of me traveling abroad either in Rome or any Asian country. Studying in India was also explored.
The journey
Buoyed by my seminary teachers and fellow priests’ experience in the Philippines where they obtained their masteral or doctorate degrees, I thought it would be a good idea to study in Asia’s largest Catholic country with English as one of its lingua franca.
I immediately went to the Philippines in October upon securing permission from my superiors. To be a “missionary” while studying at the same was how I foretold my life here in this beautiful country.
Before I left India, my archbishop, Fr. Raphael Cheenath, SVD, repeatedly told me that despite my studies, I still have to continue spreading the Word either as a parish priest or a chaplain in a certain institution, which I agreed to.
However, finding a place to stay in the Philippines while pursuing my master’s degree in Development Communication at the University of the Philippines (UP), Los Banos, Laguna was no bed of roses, so to speak. Initially upon my arrival, I stayed in an SVD study house for about a fortnight before looking for a parish that could generously take my in its fold. Despite repeated efforts, there was no vacancy in any parish to accommodate me at that time. I found one parish which was ready to welcome me, but it was far from UP Los Baños and traveling daily would be hard. I then informed my superiors about my predicament and told them that I’ve decided call off my previous plan to study in Laguna.
Meanwhile, my superiors notified me that the church-based organization where I applied for a scholarship grant, before coming to the Philippines, could not fund me. In the wake of those setbacks, Archbishop Cheenath, advised me to seek admission at the UP-Diliman instead and find a place to reside near the university area. Suggestions from different perspectives flashed one-by-one which all the more made decision-making harder form me.
As a temporary arrangement, I stayed at the SVD-run Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City while processing my enrolment at UP-Diliman which again did not materialize because the second semester has already began and I have to wait until 2006 in order to be admitted.
Far from being disheartened, I approached several parishes in Cubao, Novaliches and Manila dioceses. But the waiting game lasted for six months to no avail. Disappointment got the better of me once more.
During those first six months of stay at Christ the King Seminary, about 350 college students from Columban, Olongapo invited me to preside over their graduation retreat in Zambales. One day I happened to chance upon the UP-Diliman chaplain, who expressed his willingness to take me in, provided I pass the university’s entrance test first.
With just two days left for the enrollment, I informed him that I passed the entrance test, but to my dismay, he told me that he preferred a Filipino priest than a foreigner to serve the parish. It was a painful experience hearing him utter those words with just two days left for the enrollment. I questioned myself why did he have to give me a last-minute excuse which he could have told me earlier? If only he was in my place, he would certainly feel the gush of nagging uncertainty that continues to hound me since my arrival in the Philippines.
Time was running out. Every decision was crucial. The question “what to do next?” kept on pounding my head that I even dabbled with the thought of returning to India. But my superiors held me back and encouraged me to fulfill my mission for the Almighty’s name.
I then moved from the Christ the King Seminary to the Santa Clara Parish in Libertad, Manila where the priest in-charge of guest priests like informed me that I would be assigned at the UST Hospital provided I also study either in UST or any school within the Manila diocese.
At the cost of fulfilling my mission, I tearfully abandoned my dream of studying at the Philippine’s premier state university as soon as I’ve decided, against my will though, to withdraw my application from UP-Diliman.
Life at UST Hospital
Being a hospital chaplain is not easy. After arriving at the UST Hospital in June 2006, I immediately plunged into my first assignment – to bless a departed soul at 9 p.m.
That night I could not sleep, not I was frightened while blessing the dead, but because I began anticipating the number of instances that I would be doing this during my stay at the hospital.
The next constant struggle I felt was the cumbersome experience of consoling the relatives of the dead. No amount of consolation can ease their grief, but I have to do it no matter what.
One time last year, I got to a little misunderstanding with the relative of a patient who was being revived by a group of intern doctors. It began when the nurse of the ward where the patient was staying called me to administer the anointing of the sick. As I started performing the sacrament, a relative pulled me out of the room, and scolded me. She may have misinterpreted the sacrament, which was commonly mistaken by many as the “last sacrament” en route to the Final Destination, which is not.
The nurses and I explained the importance of the sacrament to her, but she would not listen. I did not say much and left the room immediately. Later I was told that the patient regained his health and was discharged after a couple of days.
UST’s legacy
I like the learning ambiance here in UST, even if I had just entered its portals merely by chance. Delighted to know UST’s undying legacy in history as evidenced by the many great men it has produced like Jose Rizal, Claro M. Recto and others, makes me proud to be a Thomasian student and a man of mission. S. K. Digal
