“THE crowd, all peoples, the community of the Church, everyone must put in common all they have, insignificant as they may be, in order that the ‘miracle’ of feeding may take place and food may be available for all. Only when people accept to put in common their abilities and their time, their own five loaves and two fish, will the great problems of mankind stand a chance of being solved. And as long as everyone acts on their own and selfishly, taking into account only their personal interest and welfare, we shall always have in the world, situations of immense riches right next to situations of utter poverty.” - Fr. Roland Astudillo, 2011.
The current debt ceiling negotiations brought out various self-interests: from the super-rich billionaires and mega corporations, who sought that their tax breaks be preserved and those who want to preserve the safety net for the most vulnerable -- the sick, the disabled, the elderly, children and working students. If the policymakers in the White House, House of Congress and the Senate heard the homily of Fr. Roland Astudillo, would they have been persuaded to feed them with their own five loaves and two fish?
Perhaps not quite yet, until they know how Fr. Roland has invested his own “inner mountain of gold” in all that he has done.
When he was barely 9 years old, Fr. Roland became morally aware. His grandparents, Tomasa Saguing Bulong and Clemente Bulong, asked him what he wanted to become. “I want to be a priest,” was his response.
He was raised in a spiritual home, where it was mandatory for all to be home at 6pm, to pray and to eat together. He got to see his parents on weekends, as his mother taught elementary grades in public schools in the barrios.
Growing up in the Cordilleras
On muddy, dirt roads, wearing only flip flops, he carried 25 lbs. of rice on his shoulder and walked to where his parents lived. He is an Ifugao and lived close to nature -- the verdant green mountains of the Cordilleras, the lush rice fields, the crows of the rooster and no electricity. When he told his father about becoming a priest, he was challenged to prove himself by being on the top 5 of his elementary class.
He became one of the top 3 and graduated from St. Joseph’s Elem., Kiangan, Ifugao. But his father broke his promise. He insisted that Fr. Rolly finish high school and he did.
By the second year, he quietly applied to St. Francis Xavier high school/seminary in Baguio. He got accepted. He showed the letter of acceptance to his father. His father finally honored his promise to his son. He studied for 3 years, until the high school/seminary shut down, due to dwindling enrollment. He went back to St. Joseph’s in Kiangan and graduated in high school. He took his BA in Philosophy and a minor in sociology in San Pablo College Seminary in Baguio. He then went to Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and after 4 years, he became a deacon.
He was ordained as a priest on Nov. 8, 1989 by the Most Rev. Ernesto Salgado, then the Vicar Apostolic of the Mt. Provinces and now the Archbishop of Vigan. His first assignment was to minister to the diocesan youth of the Mountain Province: from Baguio, Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao. He became fluent in six languages: English, Tagalog, Kankanaey (Igorot native language, Northern Benguet), Ilocano, Ifugao, and Ibaloy (Igorot native language, Southern Benguet). He used a three pillar-strategy -- formation, organization and mobilization -- when it came to reaching out to high school students, out-of-school youth, non-sectarian colleges and universities.
He helped in the formation of 20,000+ youths, working with different parishes and high schools through education, spiritual retreats and ongoing seminars. He calls it “The Golden age of teeming youth, thousands and thousands of them, who were excited, and who were animated by the spirit of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines.”
“It helped in forming them into core groups, interlinking these core groups into a malaking network, called Montanosa Youth Ministry, with more than 60 parishes and schools scattered all over the Mountain Province. We zeroed in on the core leaders and their team priests. In mobilization, they helped in clearing the roads and they developed self-sustaining projects. It was about the young, jorneying with the young, to become their ministers,” he shared.
They were taught organizational skills in pastoral planning and management. They knew their situations and acted on them. They looked at situational challenges and became aware of their own weaknesses and were taught to focus on their strengths.
“They are like the Sarao Jeepneys, inside and outside, you will see different colors, different lights, different shades. When applied together, they got stronger. They stopped asking for funding from the diocese and they became self-sufficient. They organized sports leagues competed against teams of various parishes. They were also involved in buttressing walls on the mountains, clearing roads in far flung areas, and some of them helped in caring for their own rice paddies. It would take me 13 -20 hours driving to reach Kalinga and Apayao, Ifugao, to Bontoc, another 8 hours; and back to Baguio, my base.”
In the evenings, he went to St. Louis University College of Law to study, but his bishop pre-empted his studies and assigned him as the pastor of Immaculate Conception in Sablan, Benguet. He ministered to 2,000 families and crossed mountains 2-3 times per month. He would start walking at 4pm to get to their homes at night.
On his trip to Balbalan for a seminar in Kalinga, he had to make stops at checkpoints of the New People’s Army and the Philippine Army. His journey got delayed because a car was held at gunpoint and roads had to be cleared. But he was fearless. “As long as I am serving God, I feel safe,” he said.
He then became the pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Itogon in Benguet, where he started building a church in a short span of two years. He got as far as replacing the front edifices, but got pulled by the Bishop to minister to San Jose Parish, in La Trinidad, Benguet for 2 years. While there, he got involved with the farmers, whose biggest challenge was the construction of the San Roque Dam which flooded their rice fields.
For three years, he was the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Lepanto Mines, Mankayan, Benguet. He ministered to thousands of families who were miners of gold and copper in Lepanto Mines. Workers went on 100-day strike to seek just wages for their labor. A council of church ministers from Anglican, Episcopalian and Catholic Church became a source of support for the miners, and after the strike, their demands were met. The strikers, however, were dismissed with a severance package. Fr. Roland’s involvement led to a much-needed sabbatical. Upon the completion of his sabbatical leave, he served as the editor of the Baguio Diocesan Newsletter and a member of the Diocesan Episcopal Commission on Media.
He got assigned as Associate Pastor for Our Lady of the Miraculous Parish, and enjoyed the trust of his pastor, who assigned him to work with the lay ministers and the religious education department. He initiated a formation program for all lay liturgical ministers and brought the mass to the sick and the disabled in Montebello Care Center, including the Simbang Gabi Faith Community as lead singers, in senior resident centers on special occasions.
He credits his uncle, Fr. Tony Astudillo for helping his transition from Baguio to Los Angeles, serving first with him in Holy Innocents Parish, then, San Lorenzo Ruiz in Walnut, to Our Lady of Miraculous Parish, and now his current position as associate pastor in St. Mary’s.
“My uncle, Fr. Tony showed me lots of love and concern. My Bishop, Carlito Cenzon gave me his recommendation and support to come to the United States. Lots of folks welcomed me to their churches. My dreams are just a shadow of God’s dreams for me. I look forward to serving more in whatever capacity [God chooses]. It is so appropriate that you would ask me about the Woodcarver, as I grew up as an Ifugao, working closely with woodcarvers, who can look at a tree and knows what it will become, who taught me that you become what you are committed into doing. As long as you are committed to the ministry, it is your whole body and soul already.”
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
