Bishop Jaime Soto shares second dispatch from the Philippines

Bishop Jaime Soto is currently on pilgrimage in the Philippine Islands with a group of clergy and laity from the Diocese of Sacramento. They continue their pilgrimage through Jan. 12.

Here is Bishop Soto's second dispatch from the pilgrimage:

We did not linger in congested megalopolis of Manila. The following day we flew up to the Northern region of Iloco Norte, the City of Laoag. As the tour bus took us through the City, we passed by an extraordinary monument honoring the emigrants of the region. They stood as solemn, silent witnesses to countless sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers who left their homeland: a waiter, a maid, a cook, a farmworker, and others. The nobility of their poses defied their unassuming positions. These demanding humble lives are invisible to many of the societies wherein they toil. Here in Iloco Norte they are the heroes. Their perseverance is praised. Their sacrifice is saluted. Their fidelity to family and faith is cherished.

Driving through the regions of Iloco Norte and Iloco Sur the presence of the absent loved ones was seen in wide, often two-story homes whose material and architecture reflected the impact of “remittances”, funds coming in from the emigrants all over the world. These homes seemed to have fallen from the sky, so out-of-place from the more rustic, indigenous styles. They are the curiously reverse side of the immigration issue: Emigrants are building homes in their ancestral lands according to the consumer styles of the countries where they labor. They have an enduring affection for their homeland while savoring an attachment to symbols of their new lives.

At the time of the dedication of the monument it was reported that 60+% of Ilocano families receive remittances from abroad. A large portion of the Ilocano emigrants work in Hawaii. This relationship goes way back.

At a later point during our pilgrimage, one of our guides was a young woman, “Lory”. She was vivacious and engaging. While visiting on the churches, she was conversing informally with one of the parish priest. This provoked me to ask if the church was her parish. She then proceeded to relate her work with youth ministry on a local and diocesan level. She explained the structures for consultation and collaboration at parish and diocesan levels. Impressive as was the work she related to us; more impressive was her own personal commitment to the work, her love for the Church, and her zealous hope that other young people would come to know the joy of Jesus.

I asked her the painfully obvious question: What about the youth who leave? She paused then said, “We plant a seed. We hope they take it with them.”

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Click here for a Facebook photo album that follows Bishop Soto's journey in the Philippines.

Did you miss a dispatch? Find them all here: First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh