The Journey with Teddy

Many years ago, I read a Paulo Coelho book entitled “ By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept. ” At the moment, I don’t recall much of the details of the book except for two things: first, it tells the story of a young woman named Pilar and her childhood friend: a young, charismatic, and handsome man who, in the story, travels with Pilar as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery as they cross over the Spanish border into France. The plot thickens: there is a lot of passionate, romantic chemistry between Pilar and her friend. In fact, he is in love with Pilar and she likewise loves him; but then the thing is, he’s a seminarian. The second detail, and perhaps the more important one: the title of the book alludes to Psalm 137, which begins with the verse: “ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat weeping when we remembered Zion. ”              Psalm 137 expresses the yearning of the Jewish people during the Babylonian exile: ho...

Photo taken at Mt. Pulag in 2015, back when I was into trekking and mountain climbing.   ON CREATION Last September 23, 2019, Fr. Arnel Aquino SJ presided over mass at Arvisu House – Jesuit Candidacy. He was also our guest for the Meet-the-Jesuits (MTJ) program after dinner, where Jesuit candidates and directees under the Jesuit Vocation Direction Program (VDP) listen to guest Jesuits talk about their own vocation stories, their ministry, and the sources of their consolations and desolations as they work their way through their vocations, their community, and their relationship with God. Fr. Arnel’s talk during the MTJ session focused more on how music and his enduring religious songs spring forth as fruits of his prayer life. During the question-and-answer portion, a question was asked on how Fr. Arnel feels about his songs which are misappropriated: songs which are being used for purposes other than what it was originally composed for, and to a certain extent, so...