"Children, come and eat my flesh"

"I am the living Bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this Bread will live forever." - John 6:51

Today, I had the immense honor of becoming the organist of the SPCIS Grade 3 pupils during their First Communion at the St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral of Vigan City. The event went pretty well, owing to the very active participation of the children during the celebration. You should have seen them when they sang their thanksgiving song, "With Joyful Thanksgiving." It was simply heartwarming. Though their high notes, they bellowed; their fast passages, they screeched, their joyful spirit filled the Cathedral with the hopeful resonance of Christ's promised salvation, that everybody overlooked these measly shortcomings. It more than made up for it, I promise.

My playing also went well, in spite of hitting a lot of clunkers and missing out on a few notes. It feels great to be able to serve God in one way or another, and it feels doubly amazing to help serve the Lord by contributing my talent to an activity that will enable children to partake of Jesus' flesh and blood for the first time.

This the first "First Communion" mass I have attended since my own, as I was unfortunate enough not to have been able to attend that of my younger siblings'. I remember being very happy when I first received the Body of Christ, for it was during that time that I felt closest to Jesus; a mortal and the Divine in one temple affirming the sacredness of my whole being. Now, it is the turn of these young people to receive the Body of Christ. I hope they also felt the same way when they received their First Communion, and with this impetus, I further hope they will become "good Catholics" when they grow up.

The world needs more "good Catholics", after all. 

Anyway, this day almost turned into a fiasco, haven't it been managed well by my colleagues in the Christian Formation and my parents. First, I wasn't able to request for a ride to transport Johann Yamaha (yes, that's what I decided to call the Yamaha DGX-530 of our school; and yes, I know it's weird) from the school to the Cathedral. A thousand apologies to Sir Edzel Pablico and Sr. Jesusa for disturbing you last night just to fix this problem. Otherwise, the children would have had to sing A Capella and I would have to hide my face from the world forever.

Second, I forgot my piano sheets at home when I went for church this morning. It's a good thing my dad delivered them minutes before the ceremony started. Otherwise, same as above.  Me and my forgetfulness! I really have a bad memory problem, and it is to my greatest irritation that I have the tendency to forget some important stuff. Good thing I've got people to cover up for everything. However, I acknowledge the fact that people will not cover up for me all of the time, and that I need to improve on this flaw if I want to become a more credible professional in the future.

(P.S. While I am writing this, my scooter's still back at the Cathedral parking lot. I forgot that I took it to church awhile ago. Damn.)

Fr. Reynaldo Rebebes, parish priest of Sugpon, Ilocos Sur,
was the mass celebrant.

Miraculously, the children were as meek as lambs during the Eucharistic
celebration. 

Naku! The kids are getting their swag on!

And I shall name thee, Johann Yamaha! (Our school's Yamaha DGX-530)
What a beaut!

Ah, kids and the perennial "pogi" pose. I will surely miss these kids.
They were a fun to teach. Watch out for them when they sing!

My nephew, Angelo, as he receives his certificate

Me with my boss in the CF: our beloved Sr. Jesusa Taccad, SPC

Parents and First communicants flock around Fr. Rebebes

Yes, I'm one of her "FANS". Mom's the word in the
house ya'll!