From: Bro. Gene Llenos, SDB A “Dacudao” Experience A Reflection of My Summer Apostolate (April – May) You might be wondering that I was not able to update my blog for two months. It is because I had for two months what we call “summer apostolate.” Although we do not have summer season in the Philippines, summer is that two-month period from April to May. We call it summer because, it is then that the climate of our country is very hot. At the same time, it is also a two-month vacation from school. Since, we have practically nothing to do, our superiors would send us to different Salesian houses to help other confreres and to gain a “little” experience from various Salesian works as part of our formation of becoming priests one day. Last summer, I have been moving around but the bulk of my summer was spent in Mary Help of Christians Parish, Dacudao, Calinan, Davao City. There is nothing special about the place except that it is surrounded by banana farms. Since there is a piggery nearby, time to time one could smell the foul odor of pigs. The town has also many poultry hence flies are everywhere! What makes it so special are the people who stayed there: the youth, the parishioners, and the Salesians. The Youth in Dacudao To the many places that I had already visited, the youth are gifted with the abundance of talents. They sing well, they dance well, they play well, they draw well, they lead well, they organize well, etc.. These are just but a few things that the young people can contribute to their community, to their nation, to the world. The future of the world is bright because of the plenty young talented people. The Mary Help of Christian Parish in Dacudao is not exempted from it for its young people has also a lot of talents. Like all other places, the young people needs guidance on how to use these talents well and for the better of the community. They need to channel these gifts properly. If we stop guiding the young people, they would lose their way and put these gifts to waste. The world now offers a lot of choices and without proper guidance, these gifts will be put into a wrong use. So do not blame the young if they are not able to use their talents correctly, but blame the elders who did not guide the young people properly. The Parishioners A great number of these people are farmers. They depend much on the weather for their living. If it does not rain, they might get a few harvest; and if it does rain hard, their crops can get destroyed. Indeed, they depend much on God for the fruits of their labor. I saw it on how some of them are eager to attend the celebration of the Eucharist. They are going to walk long distances just to receive Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and in order to pray with the community. The danger of having everything is that we can provide ourselves. In the eyes of many, it is a good thing. But when it becomes a habit, we tend to forget that we are just mere human beings, that God has made us to be inter-dependent with one another, and that we should be dependent on God. We should remember that no one is so poor that one is not able to give; and no one is so rich that one is not able to receive. For even the rich people is still in need of something, it might not be money like friendship, relationship, love, etc… The Salesians The 4 priest Salesians in Dacudao are not simply priest Salesians but rather at one time, one of them is a certified public accountant;one is a mechanical engineer; another was a former principal of a prominent school in Cebu; and lastly, one of them had a licentiate in teaching theology. What is the reason of such a description? Well, it could mean that these Salesians could say that they do not want to be assigned in such a place and that it was their choice to obey their superiors. Going to far-flung barrios every week to celebrate Mass is no easy task. In fact, the roads are so terrible that most of them has experienced falling from the back of horses and motorbikes! Yet, they didn’t give up! Indeed, a true expression of their love for God. They are so eager to go to these isolated places as frequent as they can that the people charged to them may hear the Good News as often as they can… so that these people may hear that God loves them that is why these priests are going to them because God wants to save them. Conclusion The place Dacudao may not be a remarkable place, but the faith, the hope, and the love in the people in Dacudao are. The experience I had in that place wasn’t “daku daw” (the phrase is pronouned like Dacudao, which means in Cebuano, “they say that it is big.”) but rather my experience in Dacudao is indeed “daku” because this time I say it is big, indeed a wonderful experience
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:55:02 +0000
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