a soulful remembering

below is my insideout column for the month of october...

We’ve spent our lives together for so long
And each day it seems we’re growin’ strong...

These are lines from the song “Together” written by Al Neri.

With my writing of this, I give everyone a sneak preview of what my batch will perform in tonight’s program entitled Soulful Remembering…
a term-ender special.

The program of course breathes a new dimension to what has been a little practice in the seminary to commemorate All Soul’s Day. In the past, we would dress into our most horrifyingly creative outfit. The night would be capped off by selecting the most horrible creature in our midst.

Just last year, an innovation was introduced to give the Saints their rightful highlight by transforming us into them. The seminarians would choose a saint and try to imitate him by putting on appearance that will make them approximately similar with the saint.

The event tonight will ask us to put aside masks and shun costumes for this event invites each of us to cast a glance back to the semester that was.

The first four months of this school year was indeed a blast and I guess, it deserves to be remembered.

For one, I personally witnessed how skills of my companions developed. I know of a batch mate who always had difficulties in hitting a note for he always was flat; now, he can sing in harmony with the rest of the community.

Those who considered doing laundry the meanest task have transformed themselves into accommodating, if not loving, the task more. In fact, they would even follow a daily schedule in cleaning their linen. The last time I heard, they are always present.

But what strikes me most is from mere seminary companionship it flourished into a beautiful friendship. My heart melts when a companion shows a great sense of concern over a community member who is in dire need. When Chino, a second year seminarian, met an accident, our companions rushed to provide him support.

It may be nothing for some, but for us who left our loved ones, a gentle expression of concern is tremendous. St. Therese of Lisiuex confided in her autobiography that there are affairs of the heart which cannot be expressed by the tongue or even by the mind. It is beyond words.

***

We remember people because we don’t want tPublisho lose them despite the fact that we have parted ways. Let this piece be a loving assurance to our companions who left. The friendship remains as our journey goes on.