Reposting for Chuchi Padua

And for all other formerly normal...
The video clip is more than two years old. Created Friday, ‎May ‎22, ‎2009, ‏‎10:37:51 AM. Philippine Normal University now. It started as a normal school, then a normal college and then there were us.

Jesus Christ is Not a Swear Word Church

I swear I still go to church. When I was younger and a lot more needy, I prayed a lot. There also was a time when I was in high school that as students, we recorded our church visit on Sundays. I went to a Catholic school by the way because Catholic education was supposed to make a world of difference.


I swear I still really go to church. I went to church of the Good Shepherd with Karlee one day, when communion time came, she told me that KG gave her a taste of the body of Christ.


"You know what, I can get one for you right now." I told Karlee and got in the communion line.
I just lined up and get the compact body of Christ from the priest.

"The body of Christ?"

"Amen."

The way of receiving communion must be the same everywhere.Get in line and wait for your turn. Isn't that what Catholic means? Universal?

I carried the body of Christ to the pew where Karlee was sitting. I was not aware the priest followed me. I was almost in the pew where Karlee was waiting for me when the priest called my attention. He said something like he had to see me receive the body of Christ.

I stuffed the body of Christ into my mouth and left the church as soon as I recovered from my embarrassment.

RN happened to drive by the church of the Good Shepherd with Karlee recently and Karlee would still pause from her texting and quips: "There's the church where Mom tried to steal the body of Christ."

It happened four years ago.

Collapsed Glory

Many are cold and few are frozen.

Sister Mary Faith Magdalene hugged  me without saying a word. Sister Mary Faith Magdalene is a long name for a nun so I am calling her SMFM. SMFM was a social worker previously working with an international adoption agency in Mandaluyong. She had no priveleges to be called a sister yet. I have a sister with the same name. I like SMFM a lot so I am not calling her my sister's name.

"Please invite me when you have your final vows", I told SMFM because I have this feeling that she will really be a nun someday.

"I am so happy for your enlightenment."

I chuckled. I could not help it. My enlightenment did not come from my less than six months of discernment as an aspirant of the Religious of the Good Shepherd. The enlightenment came from a comic strip dialogue: "Who are you kidding?"

It was a point of no return instead of there's no turning back. I had to admit I was pha khin bored. Praying for divine intervention or for God to answer my prayers was pointless

With no job and no affiliations and not even a boyfriend, I went back to Scouter Fernandez. One of my brothers was laughing out loud.

I could not go back to Northern Mindanao. They were not surprised at my departure but not my stunt for a vocation with the Religious of the Good Shepherd.

Shortly thereafter, I found myself a job at the Department of Social Welfare and Development. I left Scouter Fernandez for the last time. I moved to Pasay City to share a room with a vegan spinster. I opted not to do any masters program in nutrition because I was beginning to get tired of the statistics of  moderately and slightly malnourished children which I was dealing with in my work at the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

I found myself at the Asian Social Institute and became a social worker like SMFM. I had a chance to ask about the six aspirants I left behind when I bumped into somebody who knew an RGS nun.

SMFM made it to postulancy but was the last to leave.