the bell rings...

The Bell Rings

Many are called, but few are chosen…

Six years ago, he decided to enter the house, “to answer His calling,” he reasoned out. However, after two years of “discerning his vocation,” he went outside and called it quits.

Label entering a seminary the “most unpractical and unwise decision ever made,” but Glenn had many reasons to enter the seminary. “It was a self-made decision,” he said. When one really wanted something, he is ready to give up all the worldly pleasures and just go with what the heart desires.

It was summer of 2002, when he met Cha. The attraction grew stronger and turned into a romantic relationship. However, the voice of his calling seemed to be louder than the expression of their affection. The two broke up.

“Nag-break kami noong 2006, kasi nga magpapari na siya,” said Cha, “so kailangan kong lumayo sa kanya.” (We broke up in 2006, because he wanted priesthood. So I needed to be away from him).

Away from the busy city of Bulusang is the Seminary. The façade of the building was white. The structure was big enough to house a number of aspiring God- disciples.
“I only visit the seminary every holly week… there are a lot of trees inside, and the ambiance is very relaxing,” Bia, 19, Glenn’s cousin and a constant visitor, said.

The boy grew up exposed to church activities. When he was in his elementary days, he used to be an altar-server. Moreover, his kuya Mel was also a seminarian. His exposure to worship activities inspired him to enter the seminary.

With bags towed on both hands, Glenn bid good-bye to the people close to his heart. He entered the door of the heavens, a gateway that only opened once every month. “It (to enter the seminary) was a self-made decision,” he said, nobody imposed him what path to take.

“Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong!”

The sound of the bell awakened Glenn and his other brothers, it was time for breakfast…

“Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong!” – Now, time for the daily prayers, which was the center of the daily routines.

“Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong!” – Another bell was heard, which signified the start for the classroom studies.

Another ring would be heard again all over the seminary, it was time to call it a day.

Again and again, the bell would ring. Every day, buzzes would be heard all over the corners of the silent sanctuary. Each sound broke the sameness of the already repetitive existence of the seminarians. But Glenn did not mind.

“The life inside the seminary is very monotonous…nabubuhay kami sa tunog ng bell (we live on the sound of the bell),” he said.
Despite the recurring living inside the institution, “life is a lot easier inside,” he said, “the classrooms, canteens, library and gymnasium are all right down after your bedrooms.”

Life inside the seminarian is just like any other ordinary home—there are rules to abide, rooms for adoration and recreation, and everyone treats each other like a family—only seminarians are confined inside for ten years.
Once a month, when the door of the seminarian opened, and seminarians were allowed to go out, and he would allot time attending and serving the mass as an altar attendant.

Back to the confinements in the seminary, every now and then, he would be in charge of managing some programs in the institution. “Actually, I was an assistant director in one of the concerts in the seminary.” He also conducted some of the seminars and recollections inside. He was excelling both in academics and extra-curricular.

He seemed to enjoy his stay inside the sacred sanctuary.
Until one day when Glenn was an incoming third year, he opted not to enter again the door of the heavens that opened only once a month.

JUNIOR YEAR

“It was a personal decision (on why he left the seminarian),” Glenn said. He can’t distinguished if he felt fed up and burnt down with the situation, or he sensed that maybe priesthood was not meant to be. He seemed like he did not want to disclose the issue on why he left the seminarian. “Na-feel ko lang na pwede din akong maglingkod sa labas.” (I just felt that it’s still possible to serve the Lord outside (the seminarian).
His family and relatives, of course were shocked of the news. But eventually accepted his decision.

Any seminary does not expect one to heed and fulfill His “calling.” Instead, the stay inside the sanctuary will let one fathom the voice and will of God. Seminaries do not oblige anyone to accomplish priesthood.

God has different plans for Glenn. The boy thought that his true “calling” was to become a messenger of the Lord, or so he believed. He went out of the sacred sanctuary and answered to what he thought was what God wanted him to become. He was to become a messenger of God, a courier in a different way—to be a high school teacher of Christian Living in Bulusang.

NEW LIFE

“I realized that you can still fulfill God’s plan even if you did not continue priesthood.”

“Madaldal kasi ako, (I’m very talkative) at the same time, I’m into production and writing scripts,” the ex-seminarian reasoned out on why he chose CA.
The new environment somehow shocked and surprised Glenn. Suddenly, the rings of the bell gave new meaning to his brand new calling. The horns of jeepneys, the buzzes of cell phones, the sounds of the marketplace, suddenly he felt like he was just born yesterday.

“Before, akala ko mahirap ang buhay sa loob dahil sa structured environment ng seminary,” said Glenn, “pero mas mahirap pala sa labas—mahirap bumiyahe, makisama, at masyadong liberal sa labas.” (I thought life inside the seminary would be difficult because of the structured environment. But life outside is harder—it’s hard to commute, to get along with people, and it’s too liberal outside).
Some of his subjects when he took Classical Philosophy, were credited in school, so he was administered as an irregular sophomore when he entered the college.

“Parang kandidato ‘yan, maraming kakilala,” his cousin, Bianca said, “kahit nung nasa seminary (pa) siya, kahit lower and higher batch kakilala siya. Ganun din sa school.” (He’s like running for candidacy for his popularity, even when he was inside the seminary, lower and higher batches know him. So is when he was in school).


“Glenn is out of the seminary.”

His decision of “self-eviction,” spread among his family and friends. The news reached Cha.

“It (departure) was through common friends that I knew of his decision,” Cha, his former girlfriend, said.

The old flame was rekindled, and the two became official on March 8, 2008. The two are still very much in love.

Now, 30 years old, Glenn is taking up for a higher degree in Communication Arts, he is currently enrolled in University.

Education is lifetime. “I feel like there are more things to learn.”
While juggling his schedule as a student, Glenn is spreading the light of education by teaching Christian Living. Teacher Glenn is the youngest of the family, his heart is really close to children.

“Riiing! Riiing! Riiing!,” the alarm clock woke Teacher Glenn up.

It was seven in the morning, the students were waiting for him. He taught Christian Living San Pascual Baylon in Bulacan for five days a week. Teaching is something he really wanted.

“Mahirap na enjoy, (Difficult yet enjoyable)” Teacher Glenn described his experience. “Masarap yung pakiramdam na nagiging parte ka ng buhay ng mga bata.” (The feeling that you are part of the lives of the students is pleasing).

Glenn may not be an official priest, but in the eyes of his students, and all the people around him, he is more than a cleric—he is a lover, a friend, and a brother.
* names of people and places were changed*