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The Influence of the Coffee, the Songwriters, and the Book

A Reflection Paper on the Orientation Seminar for New Seminarians at the

Mary Help of Christians College Seminary last May 22-25, 2014

By Rowel Allan A. Rocaberte

Can you be as influential as Pope Francis? Or maybe the president of the United States of America? This

year, TIME Magazine had declared a Filipino, a Filipino-American to be exact, as among Worlds 100

Most Influential People. This list includes not the Filipino President but a songwriter of Filipino descent.

Robert Lopez had so much moved the world when he composed the song Let It Go and Disney used it

as a soundtrack of the modern-day fairy tale movie Frozen. Was Robert really that influential? Could the

song he wrote even influence the way I think about my vocation?

It was the eve of May 22, 2014, when I was on my way back to Dagupan City for an orientation seminar

inside the Mary Help of Christians College Seminary in Dagupan City. We would be oriented on the

seminary life that lay ahead of us. On the bus, I was all scared, afraid, and full of fear. I would be a priest

someday, I thought. And my formation would start the next day. How shall I live there? Whom shall I

meet to be friends with? Or enemies with? What shall I do? How shall I study? How shall I relate with my

future classmates and co-seminarians who seem to be my students already? Will they be the same

people I met in the past? Will they be as good as my good friends? I had a lot of things in my mind. I had

a lot of questions that need to be answered. I looked outside the bus window, as these thoughts

continued to linger in my mind. I did not know what will happen. I had no idea.

The day came. The first day of the orientation seminar arrived. Little did I know that, on that day, my life

was about to begin. Inside the seminary, for a couple of days, we practiced a rule of life. Everything was

timed. Everyone was to practice discipline. There is a designated time to eat and a time to rest. A time to

play and a time to pray. This would be a complete conversion from a life I had, a life that was not

bounded by time, food, recreation, and prayer. In my pre-seminary life, I could do everything I want at

the time I want. I could eat any food I want, rest and play every time I want to, and pray only at times I

want to, except during work. And now, I see that there is discipline inside the seminary. And I thought I

needed that.

I was used to drinking coffee at breakfast, but in the seminary, no one was, I observed. And no one

drank coffee. And so I recognized I would need to give up my desires, and start to live a simple life. Every

time I passed by the corridor of Father Dexters room and saw the complete set of coffee, mug, and

percolator, I was so tempted to mix a cup of coffee, but I chose not to. In my mind, I would give up my

desires, and start to live a simple life. This is what I want in the seminary. This is what I want to put into

practice. Simplicity. Poverty. Discipline. And I thought I needed that. A rule of life, I needed that. All

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people do. It is just that most people do not notice they do. And surprisingly, a rule of life, was

demonstrated to us by FullValueContract.

FullValueContract was in charge of the events team building activities, which, unexpectedly, involved a

contract! But the contract was good. It not only allowed for the smooth, swift, and successful operation

of the activities, but it also gave us, new seminarians, an idea of the disciplined way of life, especiallywhen it comes to punctuality. Both the participants and the organizers had an agreement that anyone

who would be late for an activity would be rendering a surprise. If it was already time, Ate Gi, Kuya

Phen, and Kuya Martin, would play the song Today My Life Beginsby a popular singer Bruno Mars. And

that, in my opinion, would be a perfectly enjoyable way of practicing the virtue of being on time.

We enjoyed very much as we practiced punctuality, performed the team building activities, and learned

from the group reflections. The activities and the reflections were very good part of the event. Fruitfully,

they gave meaning to all the things we did. Effectively, they prepared us for the seminary life. And

unpredictably, they were starting to change my fearful views before entering the priesthood.

Fear was on everyone, especially during the activity when we had to climb up the lofty coconut tree,

transfer to another tree by walking through a rope, and let go of all fear and jump no matter what. Yes,

the activity was fearsome. Father Matt, doing it for the second time, would say, The feeling is still the

same. The activity sent fear to everybody, but it allowed everybody to let go of all that fearthat held

them. Personally, it allowed me to let goof my fear.

To encourage the person atop the tree to move on, the group would sing that song by Robert Lopez,

entitled Let It Go. The tune was so familiar, that when you heard it, you would definitely sing along with

the group:

Let it go, let it goCant hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

(The seminarians would stop here because they do not know the lyrics)

The song had such a huge impact on me. Last summer, I had my final teaching stint at the University of

Santo Tomas. I would be leaving the beloved pontifical and royal university, the Catholic University of

the Philippines, a school so dear and close to my fragile heart because of the role it played in the history

and present story of Philippine education. I said my good-bye to my co-faculty and friends whom I

greatly cherished. I chose to admit my faults and mistakes, and I said Sorry. I also said, Thank You.

And most importantly, I said, I Love You. But some of them misinterpreted the words I spoke. They

have, in a way, shown me rejection. I must have hurt them in one way or the other, but they, in return,

hurt me. It was so devastating for me that I could not sleep of the harsh words I received. It was so

disturbing that I felt I was hopeless and could no longer build good relationships with anyone. It was so

demoralizing that I thought I would not be a good seminarian or a good priest anymore. I was wounded.

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I was miserably wounded. These were the depressing things I thought when I was in that bus. But I still

love them.

After the team building activities, I had decided to completely let go and move on.The childrens fairy

tale soundtrack started to have meaning to a 28-year old teacher. Here I stand / In the light of day

/ Let the storm rage on / The cold never bothered me anyway. Themiserable things I had inthe past should not hinder my vocation. Nothing should. But they would be learning experiences for me.

I would learn from them, and I would do all I can to improve. And I still love them.

Now, I would call that a transformation. I did not expect that a few days inside the seminary could heal

me. They were so beneficial for me that before departure, I had the grace of being optimistic, that I

could get through all the challenges that might come in the future. And I thought, my priestly formation

began, within these walls of the seminary. In his song, Bruno Mars would resonate the same sentiments

I just had:

I will break these chains that bind me. Happiness will find me.

Leave the past behind me. Today my life begins.

A whole new world is waiting. It's mine for the taking.

I know I can make it. Today my life begins.

It was really surprising for me to know that two secular songs affected me to a great extent to pursue

my vocation positively. But in whatever way I was shaped for this vocation, I know God had been

working because He had been calling. He called me here to be formed, and He also called me here to

pray.

At designated times, I experienced praying with my co-seminarians-to-bethe Divine Office. We would

wake up early in the morning for the Lauds, gather together after our daily activities to recite the

Vespers, and remember the day that passed and look forward to the coming of the new day at

Compline. The Christian Prayerwas so helpful in the recital of our prayers, and I was excited, and still am

excited, to learn how to use the book of prayer.

The entire orientation seminar/team building activities had been very holistic and effective. They

prepared me socially with the people in the seminary. They gave me a preview of the discipline and rule

of life I have to follow. They healed me emotionally from the burdens I carried. They trained me

mentally to be optimistic about whatever the seminary life has to offer. And they established in me

spiritually, the prayer and interior life I should have inside the seminary, as I stay focused preparing for

the priesthood.

Do you want to be so influential? When I become a priest, if God really wants me to become a priest, I

wish to be influential, so influential that I would be able to transform the life of even one person. Not so

much as to be as influential as Pope Francis, but as influential as to save a single soul, or be an

instrument of God in transforming His Church. I wish to be influential, and I wish to work with you. Let

us work together for it, so we can transform more lives.