Meeting old Classmates & Friends

I ran down this weekend from my "hermitage" to meet my classmate Fr. Claro Conde who arrived from England a few days ago. We started our priestly formation together in 1968 in St. Alphonsus' Minor Seminary and were ordained in 1981. After over a decade as missionary and vocation director here in the Philippines he went to England for a Sabbatical. He returned there a few years later working among migrant Filipinos and other Asians. He has been parish priest for Isle of Wight and has recently been assigned to a new parish in Southampton. He will soon be incardinated in the diocese in England. Although no longer a Redemptorist, he remains a Redemptorist at heart.

So last night, twelve of us - seminary classmates and those belonging to other batches - gathered in the home of Emy (a classmate) for dinner, drink and conversation. We spent most of our time reminiscing about our seminary experiences and sharing about the present. We also had great fun looking at the photographs that I compiled into a photo-movie, especially when we noticed a lot of changes in our appearances (we no longer look as handsome as we were before - and many of us have lost our hair).

Here's what I showed them:

I have been trying to review and reflect on my life's journey. Part of the process is going through the photographs and putting them together as a photo-movie using the Windows Movie-Makre. So I far I have finished the first part: the first 27 years (from childhood to ordination). Going over these pictures I notice the friends and companions I met along the way. They are part of my life and although we no longer travel the same road together now I remember them fondly and thank God for the times we had together. Meeting them occasionally, like last night, was heart-warming.