“I LEARNED to balance pastoral, spiritual, social and physical care from my spiritual gurus, and from my practical experiences. I leave many things to God and by ministering to folks from diverse ethnic origins and in different settings, I learned to be God’s co-worker, bringing out the gifts he gave to me and using them with joy, passion and enthusiasm.” - Fr. Joy Lawrence Liwag Santos
His last name (Santos) means of the Saints. Fr. Joy Lawrence Liwag Santos was born to Manuel Santos, Sr. and Jesusa Liwag (whom I met in person, when she visited her son).
I am currently reading “Life with the Saints” by James Martin -- a Jesuit, who worked for years in the business world and whose life was inspired by the lives of the saints. Saints led lives of service with obedience to God and joy of service to others, with humility. Fr. Joy’s surname and his personal demeanor reminded me of the saints’ lives that I am reading about.
Fr. Joy went to high school at St. Louis School in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. There, he played varsity basketball for ten years. It helped formed his personality, preparing him for inter-seminary competitions against colleges in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Baguio.
After high school, he decided to enter the San Pablo seminary and earned an AB degree in Philosophy, with a minor in sociology.
He took his graduate studies in St. Louis and was appointed as Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Bayombong.
On October 26, 1991, he was ordained by Bishop Miguel Purugunan, a representative of Bishop Ramon Villena. He will be celebrating his 20th year as a priest next month.
He was first appointed to St. Joseph -- an upland parish where hiking for hours and a day got him to some of the parishioners. He celebrated mass in their villages, conducted catechism and studied the Bible. He made these trips once every 3 months.
At St. Mark’s, he focused on building Basic Christian Communities for six years. He was the Episcopal vicar of the bishop to the communities in Quirino.
He took on increasing responsibilities as Chancellor Economus -- a treasurer for 4 years, directly working for the Diocesan Bishop Ramon Villena. He became aware of the diocesan needs in supporting different parishes and exposure to the financial aspects of a diocese.
He acted as the Secretary to the Bishop, overseeing a staff of five and was in charge of correspondence, minutes and representing the Bishop as the Episcopal Vicar for 6 years (in confirmations, weddings, leadership summits, provincial meetings ), including becoming the Bishop’s appointments secretary. In this leadership position, he met the local town leaders and national political and faith leaders visiting the diocese.
He then became the Diocesan vocation director for 6 years. He was in charge of promoting vocations, overseeing the ordination of recruit priests, and working with 150 active vocation promoters to host national conventions of vocation directors throughout the Philippines, attracting 700 folks. It was an organized way of forming a culture of vocations in the Philippines.
At each level of his assignments, his responsibilities increased and so did his exposure to people of various backgrounds. It enlarged his spheres of influence.
When his term was about to end, he applied for a 3-year leave, which got approved.
A priest friend introduced him to Fr. Alden Sison, pastor at Our Lady of Valley Church, while in the US. He helped in organizing the Filipino community and started the parish’s San Lorenzo Ruiz celebration. For a year, he assisted Fr. Alden in St. Genevieve, where he was warmly accepted.
He is now the associate pastor at St. Raphael in Goleta, CA. Recently, he conducted a seminar about Christianity in the Philippines and led the singing. He credits his current pastor’s support for his active participation in the Filipino Priests sa America musical, where he stood out with his confident performance, deftly singing, acting, and even doing a few dance steps.
Fr. Joy’s roots may seem humble, but his illustrious service reveal depths of leadership at various capacities.
“I always try to do my work and ministry with enthusiasm and joy. So in everything that we do, let there be joy and love in it. There is certainly joy in serving the Lord. We take part in God’s plan to build His kingdom and contribute humbly our capacities and giftedness,” he said.
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