VIRIDITAS2: SOUL GREENING
In the center of Chinatown in Manila is a church administered by the Blessed Sacrament Fathers. It is the Santa Cruz Church, also known as Our Lady of the Pillar. The church has the Blessed Sacrament exposed daily from morning to evening. I used to go there for confession in my youth. I appreciated knowing that I could go there any time for the sacrament.
There was also a pre dieu (kneeler) by the altar. Seeing the priest praying there, I thought, “If I were to become a priest, I could stay there and pray.” I thought that was how I wanted to live the rest of my life. For although I was rising in my career as an accountant, nearly reaching the management level where I could earn so much more money, I had the kind of feeling that something was amiss. I felt like I was in a vacuum. Perhaps it was God’s way of calling and preparing, leading me for the way of life I am now living. It was through the quiet space where I found God.
It has been 31 years since my ordination as a priest. I made my religious profession as a Blessed Sacrament Father in 1986. To be able to pray before the Lord is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received and hold very close to my heart. It is a privilege and a gift I wish to share with everyone. It is the Lord Himself, calling to each of us, “Come to Me.”
I have been at St. Joseph Church in Hilo since 2016. At St. Joseph, we expose the Blessed Sacrament from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for adoration. This place has been blessed to have this kind of opportunity with the daily exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Anyone can come to spend time in prayer before the Lord. Many, including visitors to the parish, are filled with awe at this opportunity.
We all are searching for something, some kind of fulfillment in life. I am not a psychologist, but why do young people spend so much time captivated by electronics? When we allow ourselves to be captivated by something, especially by our hearts, we become the best promoters of such. For example, if others see the joy that you have, you are sowing the seed. How can this person be content with the way he is living the life he is living?
That is the kind of witness I can share, to go through my daily life, because I know what I am doing, growing that seed from the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Be it in adoration, or in celebration of the Eucharist, I just want to be there for the people. I am not a front-liner fighting for this or that; I don’t have that kind of gift to share. But, just by how the Lord has captivated me in the sacrament and in the prayer, that is what I want to share with others.
Blessed Sacrament Father Apolinario Ty is pastor of St. Joseph Church in Hilo.
