ANGELS AND SOLDIERS

I ran through my baptismal certificate and saw the name of a Jesuit priest that did the rite for my entry to Christianity – proudly a Catholic (and crucified everyday hehehehhehe not easy ha…).

Let me trace a little of history. My parents, were wedded by a Jesuit. I was baptized by one of them, too. I studied in a Catholic high school founded by a Jesuit. I continued my tertiary education in a university run by them. While studying Psychology, I invaded another Jesuit, Fr. Pasquale Giordano, SJ and, begged him to accept me in Theology program while I finish my course in college.

I worked, in the same university where I graduated, for 10 years and befriended some of them (Fathers - Lester and Xavier, etc... closest ones),. I also experienced such torrid, sizzling hot, passionate and intimate formation (huuuuuuuuuuh) with and by them through their kind of retreats including 8-day retreat.

And even as I went out of the university to travel abroad, I met some of them, too which I feel I am being haunted by Ignatius este …by Jesus. When I came back here and as I was no longer working with them, I was brought back to a Jesuit priest Fr. Norlan Julia on a one-on- one formation in spiritual direction referred by another Jesuit friend, Fr. Asandas Balchand.

My first spiritual director, forwarded and referred me to another one Fr. Frank Savadera since he went out of the country for further studies. And so I was grilled to “death” (wahahahahaha) in my formation through the 19^th annotation retreat.

Now tell me if these are accidents. For the past years some of them volunteered to celebrate my wedding but to no avail. It was like throwing a dice and whoever gets the highest number gets to celebrate my wedding hahahhaa ... joke lang.

But really, if there was no Ignatius in history, there would have been no Jesuit community spread all over the world for the mission. Well sorry…we don’t know… someone would still be chosen (me? whahahah big NO...adlib: i remember my crazy friends in college that suggested that we would start our own religious congregation ...hmmm polka dot sisters with boots and mini skirts plus the counterpart - order of the black sotana men hahahha a great flash of lightning bolt from the heavens)… God will haunt anyone He needs for His mission. ...

But then… tracing my roots on spirituality, I was given by God a group of men to accompany me in my journey. I was given mighty angels guarding me… I feel a lot of times God's double time effort through them. I do miss a lot of them, lately. Yet, I feel there will be a great reunion with them one day. You know why I am confident with this? I feel like I am one of them… great soldiers of Ignatius …of Jesus… whehehehe:-)