My journey with Blessed Pedro

Over a week ago, news came out that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints had already received the official report of Blessed Pedro Calungsod’s miracles for a long process of verification from theologians, medical doctors, cardinals, and the finally, the pope, en route to his eventual canonization as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

 And almost a year ago, my personal miracle with Blessed Pedro’s assistance, one that is probably devoid of any supernatural fireworks or otherworldly manifestations, also started to take shape.

 It was July 18, 2010, and my friends and I were trying to catch the last mass at the Sacred Heart Parish after a trip to Talima for my belated birthday celebration. The parking area was filled to the brim and some cars already encroached on the sidewalks of D. Jakosalem St. In a hurry to find space, I made a quick left turn to the Archbishop’s Palace, situated right beside Sacred Heart Parish, so I can make a U-turn there. As we drove to the Cardinal’s residence, we noticed a small procession slowly marching its way toward the chapel I later learned was called the Shrine of Blessed Pedro Calungsod. A mass was about to start—we were in luck!

 The mass was intimate and very solemn; some parts at the beginning were even chanted in Latin. I was attracted to the pomp and ceremony, having always had the affinity for traditional Catholic ways of worship, growing up in a Sarado-Katoliko family.

 And so ever since, we would always hear Sunday mass at the Shrine of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, and each time would be an earnest and intense experience shared with a handful of fellow faithful gathered in that gilded and exquisite chapel inside the Archbishop’s Palace compound. 

 People who know me well enough know how stubborn I can be when it comes to things I believe, especially those I’ve invested much time and effort in. My headstrong personality is almost impossible to penetrate especially when it comes to truths and topics I consider to be non-negotiables.

 I was always passionate about Reproductive Health—particularly Adolescence Reproductive Health (ARH). For close to three years, while serving as National Youth Commissioner in the Office of the President, I concurrently served as supervising commissioner and project management unit head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)- NYC 6th Country Program. In such capacity, I managed a multi-million UN fund for the implementation of a comprehensive ARH and life skills program for youths in UN-identified pilot areas throughout the country. I was convinced of the practical benefits of the said program, alongside the solutions it offered in addressing the increasing rates of STD and HIV infection among young people.

 I could not be budged; I was sure it was the right thing for our youth and our country, and there was no changing my mind. Even after I left government and relinquished management of said program, I continued advocating for ARH and the passage of an RH law, albeit in a personal capacity.

 And so it came as a huge surprise—to my family, friends, and even to myself—when somewhere along the way, while hearing masses at the Shrine of Blessed Pedro, I had a change of heart. Those masses with Blessed Pedro became a spiritual journey that’s resulted in a 180-degree turn—I am now what you could call ‘Anti RH.’

 Every Sunday, I would always try to offer to God, with Blessed Pedro’s intercession, my intentions, apprehensions, shortcomings, decisions, never failing to ask Him to ‘teach me to trust in Him with all of my heart, and to lean not on my own understanding.’

 And my ‘own understanding,’ fiercely linked to the truths of this world, has been what I depended on all those years advocating for RH. The truths of this temporal world, after all, are said to be inconsistent with the eternal truths of God. And this, for me, makes logical sense, as the body and soul are always in a constant struggle for dominance, caught most of the time in a deadlock, each offering the total opposite from the other.

 I’ve become quite vocal about my aversion towards the RH Bill to the disappointment and frustration of some of my friends and passionate advocates. I don’t judge those who support the bill, some of them have the noblest of intentions; but some of them have not been very kind to me. I have been criticized, judged, and ridiculed for the position I’ve taken. Do I mind? God has been very good to me, and maybe this is one way I could give back in my own little way.

 The Church has been severely maligned for taking a brave stand, swimming against the tide of ‘popular’ opinion (read: loud opinion) and billions of contraceptive lobby funds. I thank Blessed Pedro for his guidance and inspiration, for the grace to see the bigger picture and strengthen my resolve to stand by my Church at this most difficult time, never mind what other people say, come hell or high water. My journey with Blessed Pedro, the great Cebuano martyr, every Sunday in his home in Cebu, has become a personal miracle I will always be thankful for. 

 “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” –St. Augustine

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