THE SHEPHERD CLAD IN BENEDICTINE HABIT
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
When there are nine children and two adults in the family with hardly some food to satisfy everyone, school education would be a secondary or tertiary concern. And when one is number eight in the family, a chance for this person to go to school is very slim. Yet God has always surprises. Beyond human understanding, there is a divine power manifested even in a tiny corner of the earth, a mighty hand working small miracles in the life of an insignificant family.
I may be biased towards Benedictines but I can’t help it. You see, the Benedictine nuns admitted all nine of us as ‘working students’ in a parochial school run by them, which is the St. Mary’s Academy in Bacolor, Pampanga. It may sound unrealistic and unthinkable how one at the age of six upon entry in pre-school would work to have a free education. At six, I didn’t know much about hard work. Well, that’s again Divine Providence at work! It was also due to the benevolence of the Benedictines why like my brothers and sisters, I was admitted a ‘working student’.
I would like to think of the discipline of work that Benedictines inculcated in my young mind as they allowed me to do something to earn my education. What could a six-year old pupil do? I remember that at the end of class, my teacher, Miss Romero would let me stay behind. My classmates would all be out of the room to either play or go home right away. Oh how I hungered to play and to make friends! But I had to stay behind and remain faithful to my ‘work’. My teacher taught me how to sweep the floor. That’s all I did during pre-school. And to my delight, at the end of the school year, I received a “Best in Work Education” medal!
When I was in Grade One, I ran errands for my teacher, Mrs. Pineda. I would fetch drinking water from the water pump nearby. At the end of my classes, I would clean our classroom. And so this went on in my Grade Two and Grade Three years. When I was in Grade Four, I already learned to wax the wide antique floors of our school. Then, when I was strong enough in my Intermediary school years, I could scrub the floor with a coconut husk and turned the floor so shiny.
During all these years, Sr. Remedios Noche, O.S.B. lovingly took care of me. She treated me kindly and sometimes brought me to places that she visited.
I was also given due academic recognition. At the end of each school year, I would either bring home a medal for “Best in Conduct” or “Best in Religion” or “Academic Excellence”.
I was transferred to a Benedictine school in San Fernando when I was in First Year High school, but due to unavoidable circumstances, I was brought back to St. Mary’s the following school year. As a little grown-up girl now, I was given higher responsibilities. Sr. Diethilde, O.S.B., the nun assigned in the canteen would ask me to assist her during recess when I would serve the schoolboys and girls buying snacks. In return, I had a free merienda. In the afternoon after my classes, I would help in the Library. And this went on till I graduated from High School. During graduation day, as the class Valedictorian I was the most fulfilled student. My life had been shaped by the Benedictine motto: ORA ET LABORA (Pray and Work) and U.I.O.G.D. (That in All Things God May be Glorified). All the important values were molded in my person: God-fearing, prayerful, honest, hardworking and studious. God’s hand was at work in me throughout my life. He was there providing all the strength and knowledge I needed as a working student. The Lord is truly my shepherd and he came to me in the person of the Benedictines.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
When there are nine children and two adults in the family with hardly some food to satisfy everyone, school education would be a secondary or tertiary concern. And when one is number eight in the family, a chance for this person to go to school is very slim. Yet God has always surprises. Beyond human understanding, there is a divine power manifested even in a tiny corner of the earth, a mighty hand working small miracles in the life of an insignificant family.
I may be biased towards Benedictines but I can’t help it. You see, the Benedictine nuns admitted all nine of us as ‘working students’ in a parochial school run by them, which is the St. Mary’s Academy in Bacolor, Pampanga. It may sound unrealistic and unthinkable how one at the age of six upon entry in pre-school would work to have a free education. At six, I didn’t know much about hard work. Well, that’s again Divine Providence at work! It was also due to the benevolence of the Benedictines why like my brothers and sisters, I was admitted a ‘working student’.
I would like to think of the discipline of work that Benedictines inculcated in my young mind as they allowed me to do something to earn my education. What could a six-year old pupil do? I remember that at the end of class, my teacher, Miss Romero would let me stay behind. My classmates would all be out of the room to either play or go home right away. Oh how I hungered to play and to make friends! But I had to stay behind and remain faithful to my ‘work’. My teacher taught me how to sweep the floor. That’s all I did during pre-school. And to my delight, at the end of the school year, I received a “Best in Work Education” medal!
When I was in Grade One, I ran errands for my teacher, Mrs. Pineda. I would fetch drinking water from the water pump nearby. At the end of my classes, I would clean our classroom. And so this went on in my Grade Two and Grade Three years. When I was in Grade Four, I already learned to wax the wide antique floors of our school. Then, when I was strong enough in my Intermediary school years, I could scrub the floor with a coconut husk and turned the floor so shiny.
During all these years, Sr. Remedios Noche, O.S.B. lovingly took care of me. She treated me kindly and sometimes brought me to places that she visited.
I was also given due academic recognition. At the end of each school year, I would either bring home a medal for “Best in Conduct” or “Best in Religion” or “Academic Excellence”.
I was transferred to a Benedictine school in San Fernando when I was in First Year High school, but due to unavoidable circumstances, I was brought back to St. Mary’s the following school year. As a little grown-up girl now, I was given higher responsibilities. Sr. Diethilde, O.S.B., the nun assigned in the canteen would ask me to assist her during recess when I would serve the schoolboys and girls buying snacks. In return, I had a free merienda. In the afternoon after my classes, I would help in the Library. And this went on till I graduated from High School. During graduation day, as the class Valedictorian I was the most fulfilled student. My life had been shaped by the Benedictine motto: ORA ET LABORA (Pray and Work) and U.I.O.G.D. (That in All Things God May be Glorified). All the important values were molded in my person: God-fearing, prayerful, honest, hardworking and studious. God’s hand was at work in me throughout my life. He was there providing all the strength and knowledge I needed as a working student. The Lord is truly my shepherd and he came to me in the person of the Benedictines.
