Fr. Al on Loving...

"To love is to live; to not love is to die a little inside, to suffer hell a little." ~ Fr. Al

READ: Homily by His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, D.D.

HOMILY BY HIS EMINENCE RICARDO CARDINAL VIDAL, D.D. 

Formal Opening of the Process for the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz
Metropolitan Cathedral, Manila, Philippines
December 10, 2003

Today, we sing the glory of God by taking the first step of raising Msgr. Aloysius to the honor of the altar. This is a joyful moment for all of us who have been witnesses to the spirit that was working in Msgr. Al when he was still with us. If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor. But Msgr. Al has built his labors upon the Word of the Lord, and today we see his work bear much fruit in the lives of thousands of young men and women who have found hope through the institutes he founded.

Looking at his work today, we cannot but be amazed and awed by the breadth of his vision and the nobility of his spirit. Visiting the Boys and Girls Towns today, one can say that the hand of God is truly upon this man who didn't go for half-measures or mediocre steps--the footprints of Msgr. Schwartz reveal a man who walked in giant strides.

A compassionate heart, a profound faith in God's providence, and a practical mind combine to make this giant of a man. Compassion, faith and common sense--these are the virtues which mark the greatest of modern saints. Compassion gave Msgr. Schwartz the sensitivity to see what people need. Compassion made him act to supply the need that he saw. Faith gave him the courage to pursue what he wanted to do. Finally, common sense brought his dreams to concretion.

The combination of compassion, faith and common sense is rare in people. But when they do come together in generous measures, they combine to make a saint. Compassion is rather common among us today. There are those who preach kindness but do no more than to sympathize and commiserate.

Others become so touched by others misery they begin to rant and rave against systemic evils. Still others descend into despair. Not Msgr. Schwartz. Where others could simply sigh and throw up their hands, he believed that God does not will the poor to remain in their misery. He believed in the power of God and in the goodness of men. Here was a man who did not see the world in ideological terms. He did not see the world in terms of a conflict between rich and poor, it is not class enmity, but the lack of mechanism for one to help the poor. He believed that if a channel could be made to make the rich help the poor, the money would come pouring in.

Solidarity is innate in the human being, and given the chance and the assurance  that all the resources would be put to good use, people would be more than willing to give.

It takes compassion to see the needs of the poor. It takes faith to see need of the rich. The poor lack resources to live a dignified life. The rich long for a way to live a life of dignity too, and all they need is a way to share their wealth with others. Msgr. Schwartz did not see persons as slaves to economic imperatives. Persons are spiritual beings whose basic moral intuition is "to do good and avoid evil". There is in every man a need to make life meaningful. Msgr. Schwartz was a weaver of meaning--he weaved together the hearts of the rich and the poor into a colorful tapestry of meaning.

There is another way in which Msgr. Schwartz can be said to have faith. He did not just believe in the goodness of persons, he believed in the absolute promise of God's providence. For entrepreneurs and capitalists, Msgr. Schwartz's methods would have been labeled as reckless. To spend so much money on something that had no assurance of immediate return, indeed, to build huge complexes for thousands of boys and girls without assurance of a steady means of support would have been irresponsible, to say the least. But Msgr. Schwartz made God responsible from the very beginning, and therein lies the difference between the merely reckless and the truly faithful.

Msgr. Schwartz did not only want his boys and girls to get good education; he wanted them to get the kind of education children of rich people are getting. He did not only plan for a handful of boys and girls to get the best education there is; he planned for thousands. They did not just come to school on school days; they were housed, clothed and fed for four years at a time in buildings bigger than most government institutions and grander than many private schools. And all for free. How Msgr. Schwartz conceived his sisters and brothers to sustain these institutions is truly a daily miracle that defies common sense.

Yet, if there was anyone more common sensical in all these endeavors, it could only be Msgr. Schwartz. Common sense is not only limited to an appreciation of the possible, it is above all the understanding of how something can be possible. If a little orphanage is sustainable by a handful of benefactors, why not an institution that cares for thousands? It is after all, the same compassion, the same generosity, the same God who provides. If God can provide for the birds and the flowers, why can he not provide for little boys and girls? Msgr. Schwartz stretched the limits of the possible because he combined common sense with faith.

The faith, which Msgr. Schwartz so abundantly possessed did not die with him. It continues to live in the Sisters of Mary of Banneux and the Brothers of Christ. In proposing Msgr. Schwartz to the honors of the altar, his sisters and brothers are offering to share with the universal Church the faith of their founder. If it pleases the Lord to glorify his servant, our joy will be shared by many others who will discover in the life of Msgr. Schwartz the inspiration to stretch the limits of their own possibilities.

May Mary of Banneux, Mother of the Poor and Consoler of the Afflicted, bless all our efforts and bring to completion the work we have begun. Amen.

Posted Online from The Sisters of Mary Newsletter: January 2004
Photo Credits: Fr. Al's Children Foundation, Inc. (FACFI) Office

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Fr. Aloysius Schwartz with His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, DD

Fr. Al's Sainthood is on Facebook. Like and Follow!

The Process for the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God, Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz has been officially opened by the Vatican. This is the historic first step toward Father Al one day being declared a Saint by the Catholic Church.
 
Have Your Prayers Been Answered? If you have prayed to God through the intercession of Fr. Al, and you believe a miracle has occurred in your life, please send an email describing your spiritual experience to:  

fatheralsainthood@facfi.org.ph

Visit our official website at: Fr. Al's Journey Toward Sainthood

Happy 55th Year of Ordination to Priesthood, Our dear Fr. Al.

Today, we celebrate Fr. Al's 55th Year of Ordination to the Priesthood....
For him, "Every foreign land is home, every home a foreign land."

We love and miss you our dear Papa!

CHECK-OUT: New Book About Fr. Al - Now Available!

Aloysius Schwartz, a missionary priest, was totally dedicated to serving the poor despite the struggles and sacrifices involved. In the process he was instrumental in bringing hope to thousands.

My Brother's Witness, Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz is the story of a missionary priest, raised in a poor neighborhood in Washington, D.C. who literally saved the lives of thousands of Korean orphans in the early 1960's by providing food, clothing ,shelter and his own fully-accredited school program. He simultaneously opened clinics, dispensaries and two hospitals offering free services to the poor. He founded two religious congregations to help bring his programs to thousands. He then established similar programs in the Philippines and Mexico just before his early death from a debilitating disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. His programs continue to flourish.

Dolores Vita, Author
Annapolis, Maryland

The author was quite content with her life as a wife, mother, and grandmother, with all of its joys and challenges. At the same time, from an early age, she was drawn into the life and work of her brother, Father Al, a missionary priest. After her first visit to his programs in Korea and the Philippines in 1989, she began writing about the overwhelming experience. She believes it is a story that will inspire, motivate and uplift all those who are searching for the good in life and who are striving to become part of it.

Click Here for a SNEAK PEEK of this book. Courtesy of Infinity Publishing.

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Reserve your copy now! E-mail us at info@facfi.org.ph 

Call us at  (046) 865-3097 or (+632) 529-8321 

You may inquire at our campuses in Cavite and Cebu on how to get your copy.

You can buy your copies on March 18, 2012 during our Grand Alumni Homecoming

in Cavite.

Thank you very much!

Fr. Al: On Saving Souls

20th Death Anniversary of Fr. Al! You're Invited!

In loving memory of his 20th death anniversary, you are all invited to the Eucharistic Celebration to be presided by His Excellency, Most Reverend Luis Antonio G. Tagle, D.D., Archbishop of Manila at the Sisters of Mary School, Girlstown Complex, Biga II, silang, Cavite on March 16, 2012 @ 10 AM.

A tribute concert follows in the afternoon at the Girlstown Auditorium. See you there!

If you happen to be in CEBU on those dates, feel free to visit our SMS Talisay campus and witness the historical unveiling of Fr. Al's memorable statue on March 18, 2012 (Sunday) at 9 AM.

Prior to that event, Fr. Al’s children from Korea and Philippines have joined their joyful spirits with grateful hearts through a showcase of their talents in singing, dancing and playing musical instruments in SM City Cebu Cinema 1, on March 14, 2012, at 7:00PM .

We cordially invite all our generous benefactors to witness the joy that comes from our ever-thankful hearts.

Join is in the celebration. Simultaneous Alumni Homecoming in Cavite (Biga) and Cebu (Talisay) on March 18, 2012! Thank you very much!

TESTIMONY: "Passionate dreamers never quit!"

Excerpt from the speech delivered by Ms. Darren Danielle Q. Delos Santos, valedictorian of the Class of 2012, Sisters of Mary Girlstown - Biga. Appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on February 5, 2012.

Our graduation is a dream come true for me, my fellow graduates and most especially our parents.

Finishing secondary education was a big dream, even an impossible dream for all of us. Big dreams are always accompanied by seemingly insurmountable challenges but the difficulties cannot stop us from reaching the finish line.

Passionate dreamers never quit! I never quit!

I was born poor—always worried about tomorrow, thinking God was so far, and no one cared. I got tired of hearing fights over money and other things.

I was the second child. My family had a happy and comfortable life that did not last long. The week I was born in 1995, Father lost his job, our only source of livelihood. He tried to look for another job, but failed.

My very good and religious father changed. Several times, I heard him say I was born a week before he lost his job. I was hurt because I thought I caused the family’s misfortune. I wished I had not been born.

When our life reached its lowest point, I started to hate my father. Anger filled my heart. I had to help put food on the table and earn money for school supplies and allowance by doing laundry for our neighbors.

I missed precious days in school. What I was happy about while washing clothes was I got enough time to dream. In one of my daydreams I would be operating a washing machine.

I took the examination for the Sisters of Mary School, which I passed, but I dreamt of going to the Regional Science High School in Isabela, where we lived after my parents separated. I also passed the entrance exam there.

Unfortunately, the uncle who promised to support my studies died in a car accident. I was left with no choice but to enroll at the Sisters of Mary School.

Now I realize that everything was planned.

This school changed me a lot, not just in the physical aspects but my whole being. It made me realize what I had been trying to figure out in life. The school provided me skills and abilities. It gave me the will to reach my goals no matter how difficult the road might be.

I was so insecure before, but now I have the confidence to do tasks even in front of many people. I felt so weak to face many trials before but now I can face them squarely and smartly find ways to overcome them.

I had lost hope that I could achieve my dreams but now I can stand firmly, determined to reach beyond my dreams. I discovered my capabilities and realized that, when I fall, I should pick myself up and just keep going.

Thus I can say, I am much better than yesterday. I am now ready for the future. I am not yet great … but someday I will be!

No words can express the gratitude I and my fellow graduates feel. All of our being we owe to the motherly touch of the Sisters of Mary family.

To our Heavenly Father, thank you for showing Your unconditional love and for nurturing us through your instruments.

To our beloved founder, Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz, thank you for being the author of this great story of miracle.

To Sr. Maria Cho, thank you for continuing the work of Mother Michaela; to Sr. Zeniola, our local superior; to our very dynamic principal, Sr. Amelia Luces; to our mothers, the sisters who patiently guide us; to our teachers, who painstakingly honed our knowledge, skills and attitude; to our spiritual friends—thank you for your guidance through your homilies; to Sr. Elena for bringing innovations in the school, to all our benefactors, thank you for your generosity.

And to everyone, who in one way or another contributed to our development, we pray for your good health so that you can continue being God’s instruments in showing His love.

To my fellow graduates, continue being the living witnesses of Fr. Al.

To our little sisters and brothers, may your presence here inspire you to study more seriously, grab every opportunity to learn, and always try to bring out the best in you.

Do not settle for mediocrity but aim for excellence. Take advantage of this paradise because everything you need to become good children of God and good citizens is here. Use them properly and take good care of all the facilities for the next generation.

TESTIMONY: "This school healed the paralysis in my soul"

Excerpt from the speech delivered by Mr. Jerald O. De la Cruz, valedictorian of the Class of 2012, Sisters of Mary Boystown - Adlas. Appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on February 5, 2012.

Triumph and anticipation fill our hearts and minds today. The fulfillment of a dream lifts our spirits.

We now rise, a thousand-strong new disciples of redemption in a world burdened by poverty, power and pride. We stand tall but humbled by the selfless dedication of compassionate hearts that raised our hopes over our desperation. And we have emerged like champions for we have the best coach on our side—our beloved alma mater!

We are also beginning to feel homesick that we will be leaving soon this home, this sanctuary, this paradise that has nursed the wounds of our misfortune and the pain of our sacrifice, and (celebrated) the victories of our struggles.

I feel my brothers’ and sisters’ eagerness to cherish their life stories that gave meaning to this event. And I cannot help but share my own. I was in Grade 4 when tragedy struck. My father met a terrible accident that (cost him his job as) a miner, that (lost him) his capacity to provide (and achieve) his dream for the family.

We had to admit a most paralyzing truth—a bedridden father. I realized life was tough as I and the rest of the family worked our fingers to the bones to survive.

Mother had to carry the burden of providing for the family. The oldest son worked in a bus terminal. My other brother stopped schooling. I, the youngest child, collected and sold bottles, plastics and other junk after school. I had to pass up most childhood adventures to do household chores and to earn a living and care for my father.

The Sisters of Mary came like a mother rescuing a fallen child. The day I came here seemed to show me a picture of my father smiling and walking again.

This school healed the paralysis in my soul, just has it has done for every boy and girl that have lived here and just as it will do for those still to come.

The school breathed new life to our desolate spirits through the loving Father Aloysius, Mother Mary and the mother-sisters.

She made us see the merciful God through the charity of our benefactors, the needs of our neighbors and the joyful rewards from serving one another. She showed us the richness of our persons, the beauty of life, and the truth of our existence. She showed that beyond the excellence of academic and vocational education we were meant to be men and women fully alive preaching the fullness of God’s glory in everything we did for ourselves, other people and our country.

My fellow graduates, with the motherly love and concern of the sisters, we were molded to beat the odds and make the most of every chance we got. We owe them the greatest part of our achievement.

I wonder how we would ever forget our beloved founder, Monsignor Aloysius Schwartz who chose to live in poverty so that the thousands of us may enjoy the riches of his love for the poorest of the poor. Would we ever miss in our prayers the sacrifice of Mother Michaela and Sister Maria in keeping alive Father Al’s mission and vision for our souls? The nourishing food of spiritual awareness shared by the beloved priests in confessions, holy Masses and homilies? The limitless patience of our teachers broadening our wisdom? The robust  hearts of our benefactors, who gave us a foretaste of the riches of God? The sacrifice of our parents when we are apart? The time of all the visitors who share their joy with us today?

And so we saved a special place in our hearts for each of you where we shall sing songs of gratitude our whole life through. Thank you very, very much.

Our younger brothers and sisters, you are the witnessing eyes, the listeners, and the followers of us, your Big Brothers and Sisters. May today provide you the inspiration and will to gain the prize of your perseverance and determination. Your success has started. You only need to reach the finish line.

Before we leave those gates, we should never, must never ever forget: We never were eagles in the comfort of our nests. We are eagles destined to ride the wind and rise to the heavenly joy of serving our neighbors with compassion.

TESTIMONY: "I am reaping better than I sowed..."

It was not so long ago when tomorrow didn't seem promising. I was not born with privilege, and my life was once a scary journey to nowhere. But if given a chance, I would not hesitate to travel the same road.

The fourth of six siblings, I did not enjoy my childhood as every child is supposed to do. At the early age of six I took on much responsibility, from waking up in the early hours to doing household chores, to taking care of my younger sisters and selling native delicacies to the neighbors to help augment what my parents earned. Plus, preparing for school which was five kilometers away.

School was not any better. I had one peso in my pocket, I was frequently late due to whatever difficulty there was along the road - an accident, or just the rainy season sending me back home because I was all wet. And there was a punishment for tardiness: sometimes sitting on air with books placed on my arms.

All this was to change when I learned about the Sisters of Mary and subsequently became one of the "daughters" of Fr. Al, who was my "father" and my hero. The institution completely molded, honed and developed me into a better person. Aside from the excellent education the school provided me, I was given the chance to belong to a so-called "family" away from home. This sense of belonging made me feel loved by the community around me, which I hadn't felt before because in elementary school, children used to tease or mock me for my dark complexion.

Enabling me to believe in my own capabilities and restoring my self-esteem were the most extraordinary things the school - Fr. Al and the Sisters of Mary - did for me. The change that I accomplished, plus the values-laden and service oriented formation the Sisters and my teachers inculcated in me, gave me the necessary strength and courage to face life's adversities. I shall be forever grateful.

After high school, I sought employment at once to help my family. I worked for more than a year as production planning assistant at NKC Manufacturing Philippines Corp., a Japanese-run company based in Cebu. However, Fr. Al's reminder to all his children that "you are not created to be fat little ducks waddling in the mud but to be eagles destined to rise above" kept flashing in my mind and this made me decide to pursue a college degree even if it meant stopping work temporarily.

With the strong foundation I had at the Sisters of Mary, hard work and strong faith in God, I graduated from college with honors, giving greater glory to Him. I can hardly believe I had gone this far. Who would have thought that this former ugly duckling could become a beautiful swan at least spiritually and emotionally? This I owe first to God, then to my family, and of course to the Sisters of Mary who guided me all throughout.

After college, God's grace did not stop flowing for me. I first worked as part-time instructor in college mathematics at Mindanao Polytechnic State College, and at the same time as internal auditor at Technomart in Cagayan de Oro City. At present, I am happy giving back all the graces I received by serving my younger brothers and sisters back "home" in the Silang Campus. I am now secretary of the Sisters of Mary Schools Research and Development Center.

Apart from Fr. Al's reminder for us to continue improving our lives, I keep recalling now a quote from the Bible which has become more meaningful for me: "And as I go along life's way, I'm reaping better than I sowed. I'm drinking from my saucer because my cup has overflowed."


Thanks be to God! Thanks to Fr. Al and thanks to the Sisters of Mary for completely transforming my life!



   RONA C. MANDAGWAY
   Batch 1999
   The Sisters of Mary Girlstown
   Talisay City, Cebu

TESTIMONY: "A Miracle of Love"

"A Miracle of Love"

ENGELBERT R. SUPAN 

Batch 1991, Sta. Mesa, Manila

The skinny 12 year old tried to recall what he had read the night before. Eyes in the classroom were all fixed on him as he tried to recollect the night’s previous lesson.   He heard somebody from behind snicker and panic started sinking in as the teacher coaxed him to answer. His empty stomach grumbled as he clutched the side of his threadbare short pants. Disappointed, the teacher called on another student who was raising his hand. The skinny boy sat on his chair, controlling his urge to cry.

Later that day, while sorting all the pieces of scrap he picked from the Little Smokey Mountain of Pasig, the skinny 12 year old bowed he would finish schooling no matter what happens. How his parents, who both never graduated from elementary, will send him to school, he does not know. His father was a mere factory worker cum tricycle driver, his mother a poor labandera. Countless were the times when self-pity was eating him. He was the first born in a brood of nine children (that would later be eleven).

Today, that skinny and oftentimes garbage-reeking boy is a lawyer at the peak of his dreams and ambitions, scanning the horizon armed with knowledge and conviction. I am that droopy, dreamy-eyed boy of 12 who was robbed of his childhood by poverty. I lived the life of a drifter for years until one man’s lifelong work which has touched countless of lives drastically changed the life that I knew and gave me the direction, the anchor to fully achieve the potential that I myself knew I have but couldn’t do anything about.

I am the man that I am today because there was a man who believed in the love of God and wanted the poorest of the poor to experience what it is like to be loved and cared for by God. In the bible Jesus was asked by the high priests what are the two greatest commandments and He answered “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” The life of Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz, to us his children known simply as Fr. Al, founder of the Religious Congregations of the Sisters of Mary and the Brothers of Christ, is the consummate embodiment of total obedience to these commandments.

During the days that I was in the Sisters of Mary, cared for by the kindest people I have ever met, I witnessed how Father Al loved God and how he wanted us, his children to emulate the way that he loved God. For him constant communication with God through prayer is a way of life. The constant theme of his Sunday homilies was the boundless love of God for all of mankind. His love for God knows no bounds and knows no condition. When he was already dying of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, I saw that even speaking is a painful feat, a difficult and excruciating task that would have taken the measure out of lesser men. But Fr Al, bound in a wheelchair, his neck supported by a brace, continued to speak to us in the Holy Mass, delivering homilies that speaks on the love of God and his desire for himself and his children to become saints. I have never seen a more courageous man.

Love your neighbor as yourself. I speak of Fr. Al to pay tribute to a man who gave his life, his dreams, his everything, to serve the poorest of the poor. If there was a Mother Theresa in the slums of Calcutta, India, there is a Fr. Al in Korea and in the Philippines. Today, Fr. Al’s mission has extended itself to other countries - a veritable testament to the intensity of the love that he lived. Visitors to any Sisters of Mary compound are always incredulous when told that the multitude of happy children they are seeing are living and studying in the compound for free. I myself used to wonder how Fr. Al was able to support all of us without asking any financial assistance from us or even from the government. Now I know better. I now know that all of Fr. Al’s seeming insurmountable accomplishments were made possible by the miracle of Love – love for God and love for his neighbor.

My stay at the Sisters of Mary will always be one of the happiest periods in my life. It will certainly be the most important phase in my effort to build my dreams. It was during this time that I fashioned a dream and one man showed me, with the way he lived, that nothing is impossible to one who sets his mind into achieving his dream. Poverty robbed me of my childhood but Fr. Al and his caring Sisters of Mary gave that childhood back to me.

More than the material things that Fr. Al and the Sisters of Mary provided me with for four years - relevant education, quality time (to play and be a child again), clothing, food – the Sisters of Mary proved to this doubting Thomas that there is a God. Were it not for the four years that I stayed at the Sisters of Mary, I might have been persuaded to believe in the promises of other religions or worse, I might be an atheist today. Fortunately, I was saved from the clutches of ignorance and into the light because of the teachings of Fr. AL and the Sisters of Mary. Fr. Al always spoke with clarity and conviction that knows no shaking. He was firm and steady about his wish to become a saint and equally, to live a life that we, his children, can emulate.

At the Sisters of Mary, Fr. Al’s life and his sacrifices was a constant reminder of the warmth of the love of God. He and the sisters unceasingly showed to all of us living in their care, an unconditional love that is akin to the love of God for mankind when he sent His begotten Son to redeem us from our sins.

Today, I am living my dream. In retrospect, I don’t think I would have been able to achieve this dream were it not for the wings that Fr. Al and the Sisters of Mary carefully, lovingly and patiently fashioned for me and for the countless of other unfortunate souls who were born into poverty. I shall forever be grateful to Fr. Al. everyday of my life.

I live my life each day proudly wearing the insignia of my alma mater, an institution that is a testament to one man’s commitment to love his neighbor as he loved himself. No, I think he did not merely loved us as he loved himself but loved us better than the way he loved himself.

I believe that Fr. Al wanted to change the world for the better one person at a time. His life and works is a miracle of love, a miracle that shows to this world and to this cynical age that the love of God can make a difference in the life of the ordinary man.

I should know.

TESTIMONY: “Capital Investment: Screwdriver”

Believing firmly that poverty is not a reason to become hopeless, as Fr. Al taught me, plus of course prayer and sacrifice, saw me through a life of ups and downs. My parents were widow and widower, each with children of their own, while my sister and I were of this third family. It would have been a good combination of sorts but they separated when I was twelve.

Mother brought us to Manila, not knowing what would happen to us. We lived in a squatters’ area in Novaliches, Quezon City. I sold fish balls, dyaryo’t bote, became a kargador at the Novaliches market, all to help us survive. I felt irritated and helpless at my situation, even contemplating suicide. I wanted to continue my studies but my busy mother showed no inclination to send me back to school.

Once she spanked me because I was too lazy to go out and sell fish ball. I told her my feelings. But there was a good neighbor who saw me and told me about the Sisters of Mary School and that her daughter was studying there. For free! With almost everything, from food and lodging to clothes and school supplies and much more. It seemed too good to be true. My mother needed no convincing and let me go with the neighbor. I was interviewed by Sr. Teresita Prudente and she gave me a small pamphlet to read aloud. Then she told me I had passed and was accepted.

For four years I learned so much. Boystown gave me a high quality education, from academics to vocational courses, such as automotive, electronics, refrigeration and air conditioning, repair and maintenance of industrial sewing machines. And the best teachers were hired for us, too.

It was just the training I needed for employment even immediately after high school. But then the Sisters of Mary Boystown was even more generous. After graduation, I was hired as an assistant electronics teacher. I had a job at once. But my rather independent disposition urged me to look elsewhere and to work on my own. Meanwhile, life was about the same. We were still in the squatter’s area and when it rained, our beds floated on the rising water. But I never complained to God. I believed he would never abandon me.

Then my prayers began to be answered. I began work washing empty bottles in a wine factory, with a daily wage of P50. After a month, I became a refrigeration and air-conditioning technician. I was using my training. Then I transferred to another company where they made a specialist in automatic door systems. In these two companies I learned a lot about the fabrication and installation of glass windows, automatic doors, gates, and many more skills related to building construction.

As I learned skills and handled responsibilities my personality developed but I retained the virtues I learned in school with Fr. Al: work hard, be honest, be humble. I learned, too, to deal with different people and professionals like architects, engineers, contractors, managers, and suppliers. My appreciative boss encouraged me to have self-confidence even if I was “only” a high school graduate. In time I became a sub-contractor for the installation of automatic door systems and glass windows. When I had enough funds I put up my own contracting business in Manila. For almost two years it was failure but I did not lose hope, I always prayed and worked hard.

I went back to Masbate where I met my wife, Maria Cristina. She is a very devout lady who is always there beside me in all my efforts. I worked odd jobs until we felt ready to revive the business that had been suspended. With a capital investment of a screwdriver and some small tools for installing window glasses, coupled with lots of perspiration and inspiration from my wife and three kids, we restarted. This is now my company, Green Glass and Aluminum Supply, with main office in Masbate City and a branch in Minglanilla, Cebu.

At home, we live the way I learned at the Sisters of Mary. I am the founder and my wife is my sister-in-charge. My little boy and my two girls are my Boystown and Girlstown respectively. We attend the Holy Mass every Sunday and are members of the Christian Community Couples for Christ. I will always remember one of Fr. Al’s homilies, which said, “The most powerful weapons to overcome fear, trials, obstacles, and temptations are prayer and sacrifice.”

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Erwin Cortes
Batch 1991 (2nd Batch), 1987-1991
Sta. Mesa, Manila

Fr. Al's Thoughts: On Action-Oriented Prayer

Fr. Al's Thoughts: On Helping the Poor