Ambo and Bobet

MAKES me seem real old. Two of my juniors at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, circa 1970, are – within the span of three short months – princes of Mother Church. God be praised!
More than the element of time, what makes this event truly astounding is that Auxiliary Bishop Roberto Mallari and Auxiliary Bishop-Elect Pablo David were classmates. I don’t know how many in their batch survived the five years from Infima to Rhetorics at MGCS, but I do know that theirs was one class that produced at least four priests – Ambo and Bobet, Ted Valencia and Eric de Guzman. My apologies if I missed one or two more who made it. Familiar as I am only with the four, crossing paths from time to time with me never failing to kiss their blessed hands.
My batch – the “souls” that entered the gates in 1967 – set the record of entrants that has to this day remained unbroken – 67. Only 14 finished high school, four of whom did not belong to the originals. And only one made it all the way to ordination – Fr. Lorenzo Sarmiento, current pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in Apalit. With Among Larry we were luckier than some other batches that produced none.
Lucky with one priest out of a batch of 67! What with four in one batch that is not even half of ours? And two bishops to boot! God’s hand shows in this one. Only atheists will be blind to that. As they are to just about anything else.
Ambo and Bobet make a study in divergence as I know them, err as I perceive them. The public intellectual, Ambo makes a Thomas Aquinas to Bobet’s John Mary Vianney, the private, quiet worker in the Lord’s vineyard.
Ambo is into evangelization – as deputy head of the appropriately named AMANU (Capampangan for word) that is the Archdiocesan Media Apostolate Networks Unlimited, and co-host of Fr. Raul de los Santos and Fr. Deo Galang in the popular cable TV program Men of Light which takes the liturgy of the Word down to the daily grind of life.
Bobet is into pastoral ministry – as archdiocesan chaplain of the marriage encounter program that include, among a host of others, the Couples for Christ and its offsprings, the Singles for Christ, Handmaids of the Lord and the Youth for Christ
Both are much requested retreat and recollection masters and speakers. Where Ambo scorches the intellect, Bobet inflames the heart. Listening to them, one can not help but be touched, be moved, be closer – even be converted, if ye be a man of little or no faith – to Christ.
Ambo and Bobet. Mind and heart. A God-sent combination that will most surely produce a most bountiful harvest for the Church.
St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians read last Sunday – May 28, the day Ambo’s episcopal appointment was published – proved truly providential: “…And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.” Three years back, Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto was agonizing over the crisis that swept the Pampanga clergy, spawned by all those scandalous allegations of infidelity to their vows. We were in San Francisco, California in his biennial pastoral visit that time.
“Just think Among how much more trouble the Church would have been in had I become a priest,” I told him, only-half joking.
The Good Apu Ceto’s face so brightened that I thought he had an epiphany.
Ambo and Bobet. With them as auxiliaries, Apu Ceto would have no cause for agony. God is good!
(Pampanga News, June 1-7, 2006)