“To be devout is to be deeply devoted to one’s religion or to another belief, cause, or way of life. If you’re reading this, you’re probably a devout believer that you can still improve your remaining life.” The Author

By J. Irving

(The Cavalier Magazine, Oct-Dec 2022 Issue)

Being a senior citizen these days, sending sympathy messages are becoming more and more frequent to bereaved families of upper and contemporary classes. Having someone who died very dear to us, whom we truly know, we tend to pause and meditate on our own mortality and ask, “Why are we still alive?”

PMA is the only school in the country whose graduates, upon completing their courses, are sent to their way to gamble with death. Our fate starts with the selection of Branches-of-Service. It may be by choice, luck or draw lots. All classes have their share of dying in less than a year upon graduation. I do not have the data, but you have the feeling in what I said is true.

For class ’80, I could have been the first casualty of the class if I died in the Pata Island Massacre of February 1981; or, in a nighttime vehicular ambush at the outskirt of Jolo town with my Battalion Commander, the late Colonel Ed Pangan ’68; or perhaps in the many encounters and harassments at my detachment in Indanan, Sulu. I could have become an early statistic on killed-in-action (KIA) and now forgotten – like upperclassmen and underclassmen whom I know died there in Sulu, mostly as fresh graduates: Pasiliao ‘75, Tolentino ‘75, Grafil ’78, Majini ’78, Pacheco ’78, Naparan ’79, Pagunsan ’79, Esplana ‘80, Villanueva ’86, Salvador ‘05, Indammog ’06, Loperaz ‘06, Pinera ‘06, Solorin ‘06, Sumera ‘06 and Flores ’09. I’m sure there are many more KIAs at other places, beside in Sulu.

Why did the Good Lord spare me? My mistah, Boy Bolo ’80, who was rejected to receive the “Medal for Valor” for the successful operation in saving Bishop Escaler without any casualties from the hostages and his men, has an answer. He said to me: “BOK, no anting anting has saved you. It is the sovereign will of God that you still live and survive that massacre and ambush. Maybe because He really wants you to find Him and His truth.”

In my book entitled, “A Time to Heal, Bloodbath at Pata Island, Sulu” (Btw, the book is still available at the AFP Museum, Camp Aguinaldo), I reflected on the prayer of Private Ryan, of the movie entitled: Saving Private Ryan. At the end of the film, there was an eerie scene of the old and retired Pvt. Ryan together with his entire family at Arlington Cemetery, praying before the tomb of Lieutenant Miller (the role Tom Hanks played). He beseeched:

“Dear Lord, my children and grandchildren are here with me today because of You. To be honest with You, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel remembering that day. Every day I think about it, I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in Your eyes, I’ve earned what You have done for me. Tell me I have led a good life according to your will. Tell me I’m a good man. Amen.”

However, I still feel it is not enough to just be a good man. We must all have a true devotion to become devout. True devotion tells us that the love of God is the highest form of adoration, when CHARITY reaches that point of not only doing good but also of doing it earnestly, frequently, and readily carrying out God’s heavenly inspirations, like Mother Theresa.

In this belief, I went to discern of becoming a permanent deacon, who will serve the poor, the aged, the sick, or the imprisoned.

At the parish of Saint Francis de Sales at the neck of my woods in Canada, I met Deacon Pat and I was surprised that he is married. He invited me to attend and listen to the talk of Fr. Richard Soo, a Jesuit from the Byzantine Catholic Church, on Discerning the Permanent Diaconate.

Deacon comes from the Greek word “Diakonos”, which means “Servant”. The origin of the diaconate is traced in the Holy Bible in the Acts of the Apostles where the apostles laid hands on seven selected men to take care of their material needs while they were concerned in preaching the Gospel. One of the seven was Saint Stephen, who died as martyr; and the rest were: Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus.

After flourishing for 400 years, the diaconate declined and became little more than a transitional step to priesthood. However, the Second Vatican Council, 1962-65, restored this ministry of service to its original purpose. The Bishops of Canada reactivated the order of permanent deacons in 1969. In February 2011, Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver officially restored the permanent diaconate in his Archdiocese. The deacons assist the priest at Mass. He may administer the sacrament of Baptism, witness and bless marriages, officiate at funerals and burial services, minister at the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and preside at Communion liturgies, where a priest is not present. This service at the altar is a sign and symbol of the Church’s commitment to those in the parish and the community. Likewise, the deacon proclaims the Gospel, the Good News; and may receive from his bishop the faculty or authority to preach.

In the Philippines, there are no permanent deacons, only transitional ones. Its institution was raised during the second Plenary Council of the Philippines, but it did not receive the necessary support in the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) because the country has enough priests and there are more than enough and willing lay ministers.

Pope Francis, as he addressed the permanent deacons of Rome, said he expects three things from his deacons: “They should be humble, without showing off like a peacock or putting themselves at the center. Secondly, by being good spouses and fathers or grandfathers, they will give hope and consolation to couples in difficulties who will find in their ‘genuine simplicity an outstretched hand.’ Lastly, to be sentinels who know not only to spot those far away and the poor but also help the Christian community spot Jesus in the poor and the distant.”

In the history of the Academy, there are few who entered the religious life in exchange of pursuing their promising military careers.

We have Reverent Father Greg Ramos ’81, a Catholic priest who celebrated his silver sacerdotal anniversary last year; and who needs our prayers and financial support to help him survive the cancer of the bone marrow – for him to continue his ministry.

There is Pastor Erwin Luga ’82, the son of General Emilio Luga ’54 and the brother of General Alan Luga ’81, who heeded the call of God for him to become a full-time vocational minister. He is now pastoring the Philippine Military Academy Christian Fellowship (PMACF) at Fort Del Pilar, Baguio City.

Pastor Dennis Isleta ’88, the son of General Honesto Isleta ‘58 and brother of Chad Isleta ‘85, a Senior Pastor of Victory Makati of Victory Christian Fellowship Inc.

Dr. (PhD) Mike Morales USGA ‘83, the younger brother of Dick Morales ‘77, is with International Graduate School for Leadership (IGSL) at Novaliches, Quezon City. He is a full-time faculty, a coordinator of Military Life serving a ministry to the uniformed services, to help leaders maximize their impact to transform society for the glory of God.

There are other Cavaliers who send snippets of biblical passages and inspirational quotations in the social media, to mention: Ariel Quirubin ’79, a Medal for Valor awardee and the most decorated soldier, who posts his motivational messages in Telegram’s “Batang Gorio”; Oliver Almonares ’95, the rescuer of Gracia Burnham and the author of the book, “The Rescue” (now available online in Amazon); Hermie Colina ’80, the class Baron who sends daily quips from Fr. Art Ledesma; and the rest that I noticed imploring in Facebook, Messenger, Viber, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram the goodness of the Lord are: Nes Eloja ’80 (a DCS recipient), Ver Hernandez ’83, Sir Greg Camiling ’69, Fred Mison USMA ’87, Jojo Cenabre ’83, Willy Bactad ’75, Neri Caunte ’83, Ric Brillantes ’72, Dennis Acop USMA ’83, Romeo Roderos ’77, Dan Desuasido ’77, Bien Casis ’82, Romy Ranay ’74; and then, a couple bugos created their Facebook groups: Alex Quirante ’72 the admin for “Cavalier Cyber Prayer Warriors” and Abe Purugganan ’78, the admin for the “Father’s Train”.

In Islam, we have Tomas Decena ’78, a muslim convert who goes by the name: Essa Abdulmalik. He is now a Revert Hadji, as reflected in his Facebook account. He shares in Facebook his knowledge of Koran. He proclaims, “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great!)

The Academy already has a Permanent Deacon. He is Adelio Javier Abrugena ’95 from the parish of Our Mother of Sorrows in Tucson, Arizona. He was ordained on 05 June 2021 by the Bishop of Tucson, the Most Reverend Edward J. Weisenburger, at Saint Augustine Cathedral, Tucson. He was accompanied during the ordination by his mistah, Jovito Palo ’95, who is my only schoolmate at Holy Rosary Minor Seminary of Naga City who also entered the Academy.

My batch in the minor seminary produced 12 priests out of 24 seminarians. One became a bishop, Bishop Jose Rojas of Libmanan; and another one is a gifted miracle healer, Father Gerard Deveza, the founder of the Divine Healer Academy of Sorsogon (offering free education for the poor and deserving students in his Diocese of Sorsogon).

Some of my seminary classmates are now retired as priests and leading towards retirement. So, my wife wondered and ask me one day, why am I joining the clergy (people ordained for religious duties: deacons, priests and bishops) at this point in time when my classmates at the seminary are retiring? My only answer was, “I am now in the ‘homestretch’ of my life, and I must prepare to meet the Lord! My classmates are ready for their afterlife.”

On 16 October this year, I received an email regarding my application for the diaconate:

Dear Mr. ______ ,

I was pleased to meet you at the gathering at the Pastoral Centre. Since then, I have received a glowing letter of reference about you from your pastor. Fr. McGuckin makes it clear that you would make a wonderful deacon.

Sadly, after careful evaluation of our policies a couple of years ago, it was decided that we needed to stick closely to the age limits established by the Archbishop when the program was started. On top of that, you are five years over the limit.

I did discuss you and your excellent qualifications with the Archbishop, but he agreed with me that it’s just not possible to ordain you at 71 or 72, since the retirement age for deacons is 75. I’m very sorry that we can’t welcome you to the program.

Yours sincerely,

• Msgr. Gregory N. Smith
• Episcopal Vicar
• Director, Permanent Diaconate Office
• Archdiocese of Vancouver

My application was denied! I realized that I am old and getting closer to reach the life expectancy! I could have been a good soldier of Christ. I can go anywhere the Archbishop dictates me – even at a maximum security cells of hardened criminals or at the palliative care ward of cancer patients – I will go! I will be serving only one master because I am already receiving a pension and I do not need any more to balance my ministry with my income-generating job and earn a living to feed a family. I can offer my life fulltime for the diaconate ministry. I have the unwavering support of my dear wife, of 41 years and counting; and also of my three children who are all grownups and have their own family and separate lives. But perhaps, I was rejected for a heavenly reason . . .

The age requirement for diaconate mandates that the candidate must be 35 to 65 years old by the time of ordination, after completing the 4-year course in Theology at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia, to be financed by the diocese, on human, spiritual, theological, and pastoral formation. So, for those who are in a place where the program exists and wants to be a deacon, please take note . . .              

For now, I continue to read and listen to the book of Saint Francis de Sales, “Introduction to the Devout Life”, that my parish priest, Fr. Mark McGuckin, recommended. I follow closely the instructions of Saint Francis on how to pray and meditate (you can find an e-copy and audio book at https://ccel.org/ccel/desales/devout_life/devout_life. I listen to the soundbites while I go on road runs, feeling physically and spiritually refreshed after every workouts and thankful for all the blessings that the Good Lord has bestowed me!