The bishop's email was spot-on... the bus dropped us off right across the road from the cathedral and in front of the statue of a big white caribao.
Love begets love. How these words were to unfold this Christmas season...
Such was our dawn arrival in Tabuk. The five of us (Chanh, Alis, Johan, Suyt & I - the valiant ten tertians now divided into two groups for our Christmas ministries - we in Tabuk & the others in Bontoc/Lagawe) were all a bit weary from the nine-hour bus ride from Baguio, kept sleepless by such sparkling cinematic fare as Blood Shot ("HEY! that's the guy who played the robot in Aliens!") screened on the bus with volume on LOUD.
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| St. William's Cathedral, Tabuk. |
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| Bishop Prudencio "Jun" Andaya, Vicar Apostolic of Tabuk |
Were it not for the pectoral cross & episcopal ring, none of us would have guessed that the man greeting us upon our arrival at the pastoral center for the Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk was none other than Bishop Prudencio "Jun" Andaya himself. Casually dressed (how I love the Philippines!), Bishop Jun was (quite literally) all smiles and open-arms as we arrived, immediately ushering us into his modest but comfortable home (yes, home - not merely residence) for an awaiting breakfast.
Our Christmas ministries commenced & concluded in Tabuk proper, as the guests of Bishop Jun. During our brief days with him, Bishop Jun revealed himself to be a remarkably down-to-earth, pragmatic man. Born in nearby Lubuagan, Bishop Jun's deep-rooted love of family & friends spills over in his role as Bishop of Tabuk. Hospitable, funny, exceptionally candid & a natural raconteur, Bishop Jun shared countless tales of family, friends, joys & challenges as we sat around the dinner table, while grocery shopping at the local market, or watching the National Geographical channel during our brief evenings together.
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| Tabuk or Milledgeville? Bishop Jun's garden. Flannery O'Connor would be most at home... except for the wild dog that ate the peahen. |
As a member of the CICMs, Bishop Jun was novice director in Rizal when in 2003 he received a call from the nuncio in Manila to come down at his earliest convenience for a conversation. The gist: pray over the possibility of becoming the next bishop in Tabuk. All delivered in a lighthearted tone but revealing a man of great depth & prayer, Bishop Jun shared with us his experience praying in a chapel (before a painting of Christ's agony in the garden, no less!) over a possibility he didn't necessarily want... but recognized a greater call to serve was being asked of him.
From these anecdotes emerges a man who lives the virtues of a shepherd & of a peacemaker.
The day before his episcopal ordination in July, 2003, Bishop Jun slipped into St. William's Cathedral in Tabuk to attend mass unnoticed. As mass began, he noticed a small crying child lost in the back of the cathedral. Picking the child up to console him, he kept the child with him through the liturgy, even carrying the child in his arms as he went up for communion. It was then the child's mother saw her lost son with Bishop (to be) Jun and gratefully received her lost child. "And that," Bishop Jun told us, "confirmed and revealed for me who I was to be as a bishop." The one lost sheep...
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| Bishop Jun (center) with family, Christmas night, 2013. |
A common practice in Northern Luzon is to place offerings upon the altar before the preparation of the gifts - notes with parishioners' intentions written. The presider might then read off the intentions - offerings made in thanksgiving, for a sick family member, for a friend or family member's birthday. Bishop Jun shared the tale of a time recently when an older woman placed a small note upon the altar along with the others. As he read aloud through the intentions, he reached her note, paused, and then read her intention aloud to the congregation - she was asking that the mass be offered for the individual who murdered her son.
Like all of us, Bishop Jun's personal experiences have formed who he is. Out of such experiences - a lost child, a mother displaying the desired grace of forgiveness - Bishop Jun shepherds the people of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk in a spirit of love, compassion, and a desire for peace & forgiveness. Next month, on February 13, Bishop Jun will be hosting "Night of 1000 Gongs", bringing together the many tribes throughout his vicariate (covering the provinces of Kalinga & Apayao). Tribal conflict & violence are still very real obstacles to peace in the provinces of Kalinga & Apayao. It is Bishop Jun's hope that this gathering will bring together the various tribes as one people, fostering unity in a spirit of peace by an evening of playing the traditional gangsa.
Love begets love.
Bishop Jun filled us in with a few details on what each place was like. So, what can you tell me about Conner?
"You're heading for the creche," he responded.
What does that mean?
"You'll see when you get there," he said with a smile. "Perfect place to meet the Holy Family."
And so I would. On both counts.
