Piyesta sa PICC

Alone among thousands of attendees standing up for one God.

I just got home from attending The Feast at PICC for the first time. ‘The Feast’ is a catholic prayer meeting of the Light of Jesus Family headed by its founder, Bro. Bo Sanchez. The Feast also welcomes non-members like me who simply wants to attend a mass, praise and sing for God and listen to testimonies and practical advice on becoming a holistically-better son of man and of God.

Fr. Tituz  Mananzan, SVD celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Before he asked us to sit down, he mentioned we were there- I was there- because God planned for us to be there. He wanted us to partake in the celebration. And then there came the first wave of my suppressed tears. I could not believe the feeling. I have been attending Feast at SM Manila for almost a year now and I am sincerely distressed by doing such, however, the PICC experience gave me an overwhelming sense of blessings and comfort.

YOUNIQUE

The title of the four-part series for the month of August is YOUNIQUE. In simple terms, it aims to help attendees identify the facets that make them unique; a standout; without having to neither conform nor imitate; uniquely created in the liking of the Father.
Part one is about my personality. I found out that mine is mainly Sanguine which is characterized by a great sense of humor, cheerful bearings, trustworthiness and loyalty. I totally affirm that. Part two talks about my birth order. Being a second child, I possess the ‘de-identify’ mentality. That is, not to take the same path that my older sister took. Again, I affirm to that. Part three is my childhood. In here Bro. Bo said that nothing just happens. Indeed, my past was not perfect, but it was perfect for my purpose. Now I am three times affirmative.


PART FOUR

The part four talks about my mission. In here, Bro. Bo identified the means of achieving my mission similar to that needed when playing a bow and arrow- it requires alignment. The bow is my passion, the arrow as potentials, and the apple (an ancient symbol for target in archery) is my purpose or mission in life. 

Here is how it works:

The bow is the passion. As humans, we possess this ceaseless desire to be good at something, may it be at work, in sports, in parenting, or in business-, among others.  However felt, it will not work if it will not be put into actions. A man need to fuel his passion, he needs motivation, the driving force. So much so that it is not enough to simply hold a bow, but to stretch it as tight as I can to achieve a powerful catapult. 

The arrow is the symbol for our potentials. I may have the abilities or intelligence to excel in one thing yet if I do not practice nor hone it, nothing will happen too. Like when using an arrow, an archer may have the perfect projectile, but considering that the arrow is bent or blunt, it will not hit the target.

The apple is the purpose. It is what we strive to achieve in life. When we stretch the bow hardly, achieve the perfect angle, fixate a sharp, strong arrow, we will hit our target. 


SUPERSTAR ME

Another notable point from Bro. Bo- he believes, and so do I- that God has given us a unique gift that make us a Superstar in our own world. He admitted that he is not the world’s best preacher, but to his own world, he is. He is the best when you look for a preacher who is (1) Lay, (2) Catholic, (3) Married, (4) Practical, (5) both Funny and Corny, (6) Storytellers, (7) English- speaking; he actually explained why he is poor in Tagalog, and (8) who have mole on the left cheek.

I realized that I can be a superstar, too. I may not be the best guy there is, but I am a superstar in the world of guys who are (1) bookworms, (2) honor graduates, (3) has many girl friends, (4) eligible bachelors, (5) with great sense of humor and entertainment, (6) life of a party, (7) writers, (8) sincere, (9) with edgy jaw lines, (10) not so tall at all. That is my niche! I am such a star!


CORE STRENGTH

Just a quick review of Bro. Bo’s talk regarding core strength; one must identify his strengths and weaknesses. In order to be a superstar in your own knighted rights, focus on your strength and forget your weaknesses. When one tries to develop his weaknesses, he can only be as good as C or C+. However, when one nurtures his strengths, he becomes an A or A+. 

I would have to say that while I agree that we should focus on our strength, it is also valuable not to forget your weaknesses because they make us more humane and vulnerable. They remind us of a gap that we are forever in search of. And whatever they may be that we lack in the physical world, God can provide.

He cited further that the problem with the education system is that students are trained to be a jack of all trades, but master of none. In this sense, students are being taught to be good at all subjects offered in the curriculum and they grow up being mediocre in all of them. With this, I instantly thought of thanking TESDA for providing technical and vocational skills to the underprivileged. Yes, it may be weird, but come to think of it, TESDA is very much appreciated by millions because it gives its students a chance to be skilful in something others are not. Given that most of them have feared the academe, they are being offered a detour on the way to a livelihood, hence stability. They could be superstars in their own world, too.


I AM FULL

Prior to going to the Feast, I have never felt so full (busog)- spiritually speaking. I was in a feast where everybody is invited. We were offered a buffet of faith, love, and thanksgiving. We said a lot of prayer during the three-hour meals. I chit-chatted with new found acquaintances.  And you know what’s forever good about this Feast- I will never get stomach ache because I know who the Cook is.