How are the Kapatirans?

Through e-mail, one can know how are they doing:

hello!just want to tell you that we're online in skypeplease log on to your skpeo magstart sa yahoo messengerget my name josephdream ty!Oscar Cadayona wrote:
Hello, mga Kapatid! This is your brother from Long Island, N.Y. I'm okay here, but it's only rare that I could be on line because I'm so immersed in my pastoral ministry, especially visits to the hospital and attending wakes, not to mention wonderful visits to Filipino homes around the parish. Heheheh! So zealous huh! There is a parish car here, but it's too big for me to drive - I need to stand up while driving to see the street ahead. It's funny! So, forget driving car here. Where can we find SSS office here? How is Melchor now? Hope to hear from him soon! and from all of you. God bless Kapatiran!

Best regards,

OAC "Fr. Lito Jopson" wrote:
hoy, ano ba to? saan galing yung chikkababes? kamag-anak ba ito ng chikkaboys? heheanyway, William, ikaw nga ang may kotse diyan diba? sino ba tong tinutukoy mong ibang tao? pero, balitaan mo ako kung kailan tayo pupunta ng DMV, handa na ako! heheat venus, feel ko yung sinasabi mo, kasi ako lang din ang nandito noong 4th of july (hikbi!!) bilib ako sa yo kasi nag-AARAL ka pa! Wow, heavy!teka, para sa lahat, first thing you do is to go to SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION and apply for a number. it's very important for you to receive your salaries, open bank accounts, apply for driver's lisence, etc. kung luma na itong news ko, sorry!!At pwede bang magreport naman lahat, baka naman namumutla na kayo sa convent e hindi pa kayo nagrereport! lalo na si Melchor! kumusta na ba talaga ang parish priest mo? baga naman nagsisimula na ang boxing match!truthfully, i've been trying to contact all our KAPATID, but their phone's always an answering machine and always asking for the party's extension number. basta tandaan niyo, andito lang kami!another agendum:if you know your monthly schedule already i will ask you all to write your free nights or preferred night (mukhang pwede naman) so we can start going to "pinsan's" house (di ba William), sa totoo lang, inaantay na nila tayo. they have a swimming pool, they can cook barbeque, at masarap mag-inuman sa labas ng bahay nila.but a factor to consider is the transportation. kailangan magkaroon muna ng kotse ang ilan sa atin para masundo ang mga kaklase.HELLO NEMER, nasa retreat mode ka pa ba? hehe baka naman pwede mo na kami mamiss, at magkwentuhan na tayo! heheI shall put up another poll asking for the best date, meanwhile, sulat lang kayo, for me, any night is fine (tutal gabi naman, escapo na lang ako hehe).best nights would be week 3 of July, sa august andito na si raul.by the way, kailan ba yung PCF reunion, at saan?o sige, kwentuhan na lang uli! tuluy--tuluy lang ito.fr . lito William Santiago wrote:
Hehehehehe! Kasi naman walang kaimik imik ang ibang tao dyan. Kapag may New Jersey License na anytime! Sarado pa ang MV Deaprtment ng New Jersey kaya di pa maka pag apply ng license. Musta na lang sa lahat.vsuarez@admu.edu.ph wrote:
musta po?palabas na ang pirates of the carribean!kasi naman ang iba diyan nanuod na ng superman di man lang nagsama heheheang saya sa parokya ditoluto breakfastmisa lang sa umagathen aral ka na o kaya nuod tvthen luto ulit,aliw nasasanay na ko tumira sa malaking bahay na ito ng mag isa

Visiting Manhattan

July 6, 2006

Visiting the city which is the symbol of the United States of America is very amazing. I went with the Fr. Adrian MacHugh, an Irish priest helping Farmingdale every summer. We left Farmingdale by 11:15 a.m. The train had passed through a lot of stations and then crossed from Long Island to Manhattan through a tunnel in a very short time. By 12:00 noon, we got off Penn Station. The first landmark I saw was the famous Madison Square Garden, the home court of the New York Nicks for how many years. We got inside to see the schedule of activities which might interest us. None at this time, not even the WNBA All-Star Game, this following week. I then saw the Empire State Building. Then, we walked and walked until we reached Times Square, passing by the NY Public Library. Tired of walking and seeing skyscrapers which before I saw only in movies and magazines, we went inside a building whose interior - at the fourth floor - one is free to sit like one is in a big sala or wander and wonder at the magnificent interior design of the building – very spacious up the transparent ceiling. It’s very nice to see the tubes up and down (elevators) attached around the center huge column. We took coffee and some bread to give us strength to march down and up until we found ourselves at the Rockefeller Center. St. Patrick Cathedral is amazingly huge an beautiful. We prayed inside, before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, before the satatue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and before the tombs of past Cardinals of the Archdiocese of New York. Before visiting the site of WTC, we got inside first the Protestant Church very near the site which was not destroyed surprisingly by the attack. It's very moving to see and reflect on what happened that day, September 11, 2001. I was told that there was a young priest of the Archdiocese of New York who went inside and died with firefigfhters as the building collapsed and pinned them to death.

First Encounter with Filipinos

July 4, 2006

I was left alone in the Parish since today was Independence Day. My pastor and other priests went home to their families. But by 4:30 p.m., somebody picked me up to join the party of BLD Charismatic group a few blocks from our parish. I met many Filipinos there. Most of them were Cebuano speaking. But they were living far from Farmingdale. The ones living in Farmingdale are mostly Tagalog.

First Mass in the U.S.

July 1, 2006

My first mass in the land of the United States of America took place at 7:30 in the evening. The permanent deacon named George Owen preached the homily, since every first Sunday of the month is assigned for permanent deacons to preach. The Church was filled with people, mostly older people. After the mass, people asked me from where I come. I was proud to say that I’m from the Philippines. The reply was: Oh! We love Filipino priests! They are amazing!

Buon Viaggio!

June 29, 2006

It’s very moving to see our pcf administrators keeping the trouble of bringing by car or van the student- priests to the airport to send them off and welcome them back from their summer pastoral ministry in the U.S. I think there is no other collegio in Rome doing that to their residents. Thank you Msgr. Stude, Fr. Rico and Fr. Rey.

Today, the last batch of pcf priests went off : Fr. Greg Uanan, Fr. Oscar Cadayona, Fr. Albert Flores (back to Manila to reside and teach at San Carlos Seminary), Fr. Nonoy Billanes, Fr. Jimel Varela, and Fr. Tony Ricarte. Yesterday (June 28), Frs. Oliver Yalung, Benny Calsado, and Dong Billones left pcf for the U.S. The last to leave pcf would be Fr. Richard Tan because he would be the tourist guide of the group of people accompanying Archbishop Palma who would receive the pallium from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29. Only Fr. Marvin Mejia and Fr. Edison were left because their Permesso de Soggiorno has not yet been released.

Lufthansa flight 3857 left Rome Airport at 12:35pm and arrived Munich at 2:15pm. The connecting flight to JFK Airport was supposed to leave at 3:15 p.m. The terrible thunderstorm in Munich delayed the take off for more than one hour. That’s why I arrived at the JFK Airport at 7: 45 p.m. Having examined my papers, the Immigration Officer asked me whether I am a priest and what is the shortest verse in the bible. With confidence, I answered “ Jesus began to weep” ( Jn 11:35). As I went out of the main entrance, I saw two Filipinos carrying placard bearing my name. And so to them I went. Their names were Jimmy and Rey Nicdao (whose younger brother is a priest in Pampanga, Philipppines ). Father Michael Flynn, the Pastor of St. Kilian Church, told me beforehand that people from BLD Charismtic community would pick me up at the airport. Jimmy invited me to drop by their house to take supper. Rey Nicdao and his wife brought me to the St. Kilian Rectory at Farmingdale at 10:00pm. The Associate Pastor, Fr. Todd, opened the main door for me. He led me to my room where I collapsed immediately into my bed because of the long journey.