I started with a paid job with the Oblates; worked with other institutions and now back with the Oblates. Have I come full circle so I can call myself retired? I'd like to think that way but who am I to say.
I had two dads. Two Oblate Dads. One was Fr Monching and the other one was Fr Al. Both have strong characters. In fact very strong. They molded my views on communicating with the poor. Fr Monching transformed my adventurous energies for radio the way Fr Al directed it to print. One worked on rules, the other one worked with rules. Or at least that was how I saw it.
Like any dad, they did not scrimp on corrections or appreciation for whatever I did. Fr Monching hated the fact that I sneaked to play jazz. Fr Al grunted his disapproval when my column did not pass fifth grade criteria. I must have had freedom of expression and focus mixed up.
I knew something powerful when I see it. I saw that power during the Golden Jubilee with the crowd that gathered in Cotabato City in 1989. We produced radio plugs containing info bits about the Oblates. There wasn't so much competition then -- internet was still five years away and social media a decade further. It was just radio that sort of directed people's lives.
Fast forward 2014. For those who can, it is easy to see the Oblate mark on everything, albeit getting obliterated. It was the Oblate influence before the peace process brought the foreign donors in together with their aid-centered influence. Not to compare the two, I am just stating things as they are.
The Oblate Mark is still there this Diamond Year; but felt in an evolving form. I just wish it all the best in doing God's work on Earth like -- as what Commandos are known for -- breaking ground for others to build on.
Godspeed!
Cotabato City
23 September 2014
(This post is a work in progress. I don't know if I may add to this from time to time).
Like any dad, they did not scrimp on corrections or appreciation for whatever I did. Fr Monching hated the fact that I sneaked to play jazz. Fr Al grunted his disapproval when my column did not pass fifth grade criteria. I must have had freedom of expression and focus mixed up.
I knew something powerful when I see it. I saw that power during the Golden Jubilee with the crowd that gathered in Cotabato City in 1989. We produced radio plugs containing info bits about the Oblates. There wasn't so much competition then -- internet was still five years away and social media a decade further. It was just radio that sort of directed people's lives.
Fast forward 2014. For those who can, it is easy to see the Oblate mark on everything, albeit getting obliterated. It was the Oblate influence before the peace process brought the foreign donors in together with their aid-centered influence. Not to compare the two, I am just stating things as they are.
The Oblate Mark is still there this Diamond Year; but felt in an evolving form. I just wish it all the best in doing God's work on Earth like -- as what Commandos are known for -- breaking ground for others to build on.
Godspeed!
Cotabato City
23 September 2014
(This post is a work in progress. I don't know if I may add to this from time to time).
