IT'S GRADUATION WEEK FOR MANY schools. I have the joy of graduating again on Saturday under the MBA program for priests at the Ateneo de Naga University. Doña Chito Madrigal of happy memory offered a scholarship for priests of Bikol through the Madrigal Foundation, to take up an MBA program on Socio-Pastoral Entrepreneurship in order to equip priests with necessary know-how for revitalizing the evangelization programs of parishes through an integral development plan. Seventeen priests from Bikol (2 from Virac, 1 from Masbate and 11 from Caceres-Naga) have finished the graduate program. Thank you Doña Chito. Congratulations Fathers!
I think the real challenge for us priest-graduates of this program is to translate our learning into concrete projects that will benefit our communities. I believe that it has been a rewarding experience to change our mind-sets from a doleout mentality of helping the poor to an authentic solidarity with the poor that empowers them to find their dignity by assisting them to discover and use their gifts in transforming their situation. It has been interesting to see the enthusiasm of some women from the parish in Guijalo, Caramoan and some members of the Caceres Lay Institute for Mission (CLAIM) during the livelihood training program that the mission office organized as part of a home-based industries project for mothers inspired by the MBA. Every good idea is a responsibility. The immediacy to realize a good idea can make a difference in our world that has been marked by a lot of greed and pessimism. I am convinced that we don’t need to begin with big things but with small initiatives that have the power to make a difference.
A friend sent me the usual forwarded email. I seldom give much attention to forwarded emails but this story which I have already read before has a particular significance for all those who have graduated and who are graduating. It’s the story about a breakfast at McDonald’s. A mother narrates the story: “I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called, ‘Smile.’
The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally. Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible ‘dirty body’ smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was ‘smiling’ His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God’s Light as he searched for acceptance He said, ‘Good day’ as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, ‘Coffee is all Miss’ because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm). Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, ‘Thank you.’ I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, ‘I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope’ I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, ‘That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope..’ We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God’s sweet love. I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in ‘my project’ and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, ‘Can I share this?’ I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s, my son, the instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student. I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
Life’s lessons are never learned in the classrooms. It is learned from situations that bring out the best or the worst in us. Many graduates hope to find a job immediately after graduation and to make a lot of money in the future. However, the more demanding task for us graduates is to make a difference in the lives of our families, and in our society.