Who else came to celebrate with me? Look!

Fr. Ernie Garcia, C.Ss.R., represented the Redemptorists. He is currently the Superior of the Lipa Community. The Novices were also there, together with their Novice Master. Unfortunately, our "old" Redemptorist professors and friends, like Fr. Ed Ryan, who recruited me, Fr. Regs Ahearn, to whom I was assistant in our Juvenate days, and others could not come -- they are all in Australia! Ernie is a close buddy, even during our Antipolo days.


Mr. Cayetano Gonzales, better known as "Coach Tanny", is the Secretary general of the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP), an organization of well-known amateur and professional coaches in the country. He came together with BCAP president, Coach Chito Narvasa, and presented me with an appointment letter from BCAP. Aside from congratulating me for this jubilee, I was told that BCAP is appointing me as Coordinator of BCAP in the province of Batangas. Gosh, this is another challenge. However, I am deep into sports as I see it as also a way to evangelize people, especially young kids.

My friends in the sporting world were not able to make it due to their hectic schedules of practices in the PBA. Coach Binky Favis phoned me that morning asking for apologies as they were deep into preparation for their next crucial games. Coach Eric Gonzales, his assistant at Coke Tigers' camp, naturally could make it as well. Coach Bong Ramos and Coach Nash Racela gave the same excuse. However, they promised to come and celebrate with me! It is only Coach Francis Rodriguez and his wife who was able to show up.



Of course, the Star for All Seasons, my friend, the Mayor of Lipa, Vilma Santos Recto. The evening before she called up saying she could not make it because of emergency meetings with her department heads that following Monday. Early Monday morning, she called up again profuse with apologies for having to skip this occasion which she had already previously committed to attend. But surprise, surprised, she just walked into the Sentrum when the Archbishop was giving the homily. She quietly sat down at the back and then later, after the homily, moved to a better place in the congregation.

People started to mill around her after the Mass, all asking for a photo-op. Vilma went to where Inay was and talked to her. She was introduced to my siblings and cousins. IN her short message, she mentioned of our personal friendship, not born of politics but indeed a genuine personal friendship which goes even during her The Sensation days.

Thank you, Ate Vi!

Deed of Benefaction from FSC

This one took me by surprised and I was teary-eyed when the De La Salle Brothers, through the Visitor, Br. Dodo Fernandez, FSC, presented me with a "Deed of Benefaction" (a certificate and a medallion) for the services I have been rendering De La Salle Lipa for the past ten (10) years and the district, as well, as chaplain. I thought it would just be a simple "thank you for being chaplain for the past ten years", but this was not so.

I was all the more touched when Br. Dodo told me that it was Br. Rafael "Rafe" Donato who "engineered" all this. Br. Rafe was the one who personally lobbied for me to be assigned full-time chaplain from the Archbishop of Lipa, now Archbishop of Manila, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, in 1996. It was he who challenged me that "we will change the face of Lipa". To date, I have blessed more than 15 new edifices starting with the Sentrum in 1995 (and I was not yet the chaplain during that year)! Br. Rafe worked on this Deed of Benefaction early this year as he was aware that this is my silver jubilee year -- and his golden jubilee year, as well! I need not point out that he died a few weeks after October 16, Nov. 2 to be exact, of mysterious circumstances, which we can only accpet in faith. God bless Br. Rafe. God bless the Brothers of the Christian Schools!

The citation in the certificate is in French, the official language of the FSC. Br. Mawel Pajarillo, FSC, president of DLSL, and a multi-linguist scholar, read the text in the original, while Br. Ricky Laguda, FSC, Director of Novices, read the English translation.

I will treasure this forever!

Msgr. Fred made a "public confession"

Msgr. Alfredo A. Madlangbayan, then simply Fr. Fred, was the one who invited me to help him start the radio station of the Archdiocese. It was my birthday -- April 15, 1972 -- when I joined him. I was already a budding radio announcer at another radio station (where I was recruited to join in December 1969). On hindsight, this is God's way of keeping track of me as I was downhearted by my Novitiate "rejection" in May 1969. In other words, Fr. Fred "pirated" me! My first reading during that silver jubilee Mass talks of Isaiah telling the Lord that He duped him and he allowed himself to be duped! Exactly!
I became his assistant director, station manager, janitor and secretary all rolled into one as we started from scratch! I used to joke around that at the time we started, I thought that the station's signal only reaches the mango tree that was locatred right in front of the station's gate. This is to show how antiquated the equipment was. I think Msgr. Fred was also duped into buying this. and he allowed himself to be duped also!
Gee, Msgr. Fred made the public confession of how "it was Nonie, who did all these for the radio station. It was he who is the culprit why people thought that DWAM stands for Alfredo Madlangbayan. It was he who initiated the establishment of our FM station, which people also said stands for Fred Madlangbayan!" The audience were delighted at his quips, of course! Of course, I was doing all the paper works and the follow-ups for the radio station. I applied for a change of call sign -- the original call sign was DZYQ, when we bought it from its former owner. When we transferred to the Basilica Site (again, at my behest), we not only changed the transmitter but also the call sign. The last one Fr. Fred had no inkling -- he just signs papers I present to him! I applied (and was approved by NTC) for the call sign: DWAM! I reckoned several things: Daily Works of Alfredo Madlangbayan, a fitting tribute to the man who has a vision to use media for evangelization! AM also stands for "morning". Inasmuch as we were practically beginning a new station, I thought that this is a "new hope, a new beginning, a new AM (morning) for the local church".
I did not mind (and still does not mind) playing second-fiddle to anyone, most especially Msgr. Fred. I don't seek for glory in this world. I did, and still do, things given me as God's will for me. But just the same, many thanks to Msgr. Fred Madlangbayan for the opportunity to serve God as a communicator!

"Tatang" Jim make my day!

Fr. Jim Reuter, SJ, my mentor in Communications, spoke of the priest as a communicator. Amazing is this nonagenarian workhorse of the National Office of Mass Media. Since 1972, I have always looked up to him as my mentor. He has known me as a budding broadcaster and he has involved my in a lot of projects of the NOMM --- training seminars, translation of materials, not to mention our regular semi-annual meetings of the then Phil. Federation of Catholic Broadcasters (PFCB), the fore-runner of now Catholic Media Network (CMN). In many a meetings, I used to be his assistant and I love when he would ask, "Where's the body of Nonie? Nonie, my duck, there you are!" And he would start a litany of what he wants me to do, etc. During my 15th anniversary as priest, I asked him to give the homily. He told me then not to forget to invite him for my silver. That's why he was here! Though he was not the homilist this time around -- I asked the Archbishop, as our father here in the Archdiocese to be the one -- he, together with some other VIPs (very important persons to me!, gave a short message not only to me but to the congregation present.

Photos of my La Salle Celebration

This is me during my silver jubilee celebration at De La Salle Lipa last December 4, 2006. I had with me at the altar (on stage) Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, Bishop Salvador Quizon, Msgr. Alfredo Madlangbayan, Frs. Mandy Panganiban (shown in picture), Ading Adan, Chito Andal, Richard Panganiban, Jun Quiambao and Edd Pagcaliuangan (master of ceremonies). All other priest-concelebrants were seated below the altar as we could not accomodate the more than 70 priests (diocesan and religious) that came.
The PSALTERION CHOIR of the UST Central Seminary (of which I am an alumnus) sang during the Mass. I requested that they sing the Latin Mass. The Centralites were accompanied by their new Rector, Fr. Gerard.
The seminarian-theologians of St. Francis de Sales Theological Seminary (where I teach Media for Evangelization) were altar servers. The Campus Ministers of the school -- mostly ex-seminarians -- assisted them. They were the "foot-soldiers" doing the dirty work during that event: altar decor, etc.
I could not thanks these people enough for making my celebration a-once-in-a-lifetime experience! They are God's blessing to me!

My "Stateside" Nephew

Yes, you read it right. That No. 68 is VICENT IVAN M. DOLOR now in Virginia with her Mom Cora. And according to the mom, as he grows older, his mannerism, physical make up, are becoming more and more like his father . . . Danny, my brother, which makes VINCE (that's what we call him) my nephew.

We are all proud of Vince as he is not only good-looking but brillant as well. Cora would send us reports of his grades and accomplishments, which I normally print and put in display at home for everyone to see. I also wanted this to motivate my other nephews and nieces in their studies and activities in the school.

I have pictures of Vince when he was a kid. He would sing at our Christmas re-unions. How I wish he takes another vacation here and be with us.

This is VINCENT IVAN M. DOLOR!

More Photos of My San Roque SJ Celebration

These are pictures taken from the celebration of my silver jubilee at San Roque.

It became a virtual reunion of the Dolor Family. We used to have thes re-unions since 1976 but they stopped sometime in the mid-80s. My cousins really wanted to resume this. My silver jubilee provided the occasion.

Of course, the Castillo side would not be left out. Somewhere here is a picture of Tita Sabel, the only other surviving Castillo-Hernandez sibling, aside from my mother. she is shown talking to Azucena, the wife of my brother El. Incidentally, one grace (gift) of the Biblical jubilee is reconciliation. This became very, very true with my Silver Jubilee. Promiment among the reconciliations effected was between Cena and Inay and my sisters Ate Coring and Ermie. I hope this is a lasting gift.

Fr. Lou, my brother, was also there to lend a hand. He arrived in the afternoon as he had other ministerial tasks to fulfill in his parish that Saturday morning till noon. Later in the evening, Fr. Larry Abante and Fr. Ariel Gonzales, two of his closest friends and classmates, came. These two are in the habit to just drop by the house . . . in other words, they belong to the family, really! I intentionally did not invite any other priests because I wanted them to be at De La Salle Lipa on Monday, December 4. That is supposed to be their day with me.

December 2, My Real Jubilee

I decided to celebrate my silver jubilee as priest on Dec. 4 for two reasons: Dec. 2 was a Saturday, making it inconvenient for my fellow diocesan priests to be present; and secondly, the Christian Brothers had their district assembly and chapter from Dec. 1-3 at Greenhills, and i wanted the Brothers, not only of Lipa but of the District, to be there.

But my siblings, including Inay, would not hear of this. so, we had a celebration at San Roque. I celebrated a Mass at the barangay chapel. My "faithful" community from Bolo West were among the first to be present in the chapel. The Young Men's Choir of Aplaya, Bauan, sang during the Mass. Danny was responsible for inviting the group, handled by Bobet Manalo of STC. Bobet was a former choir-member of Ms. Angelina Conti in Bauan High School.

After the Mass, we headed home to entertain guests, mainly our relatives from my mother and my late father's side.

Thanks to our family friend, the sister-and-brother tandem of Joseph and Fe Aguila of Bayanan, San Pascual, who gifted me with two -- yes, two -- pigs! We had an overflow of food, from lunch to merienda to supper in the evening. Tita Sabel and Tio Rodrigo insisted that we take the goat they were offering. Danny had this killed and cooked the night before the big day itself. A cousin brought a lechon; another a big basket of tilapia. Others came with various gifts of rice cake, bread, sweets and other food.

I have this picture taken with my first cousin, Maryson, whom I seldom meet as she stays in Pasig most of the time. This is Eric Cristal's auntie, the sister of his Mom Tessie. Eric's blog is :kiwinoy.blogspot.com!

The Dec. 2 affair was a virtual family reunion of the Castillos and the Dolors. My nephews and nieces were able to re-acquiant themselves with their cousins. I also had the change to re-bond with our cousins. they were very, very happy! Even my estranged sister-in-law, Cena, was reconciled with Inay and Ate Coring, and with everybody! This was her first time to set foot in the house after the falling out with Inay and company. This, for me, is one of the greatest gift that God gave me - and the family - during this silver jubilee of my priesthood. It was really a time of grace!

Dec. 4, A special day for me!

That's me with Fr. Edd Pagcaliuangan assisting me at my thanksgiving Mass at the Sentrum of De La Salle Lipa last Dec. 4, Monday. The occasion was my Silver Sacerdotal Jubilee. Actually, I was ordained priest in Bauan Parish church on Dec. 2, 1981; however, since this year's Dec. 2 fell on a Saturday (a busy day for parish priests and beside the Brothers are in their District Retreat), I settled for Dec. 4 which was a Monday. Of course, not all of the diocesan priests could come, but majority of them did.

The Archbishop, Most Rev. Ramon Arguelles, was there and gave a very long homily, almost a lecture on the theology of the Eucharist, centering on the theme I chose for my celebration: Blessed, Broken and Shared!

The people who mattered to me most were there. Of course, my own family led by my still beautiful and strong 85-year-old mother was there. Also present were my sisters Ate Coring, Ermie and Mayet with her hubby Boss Didi, my brothers Danny and Fr. Lou who was among the concelbrants in the Eucharist. My nephews George, Lonlon and CJ, my nieces May and Camille. George and Lonlon did the reading, while May did the prayers of the faithful. I will write a separate posting about my family's celebration of my silver jubilee at home during that Saturday. That in itself is another story!

My godfather, Monsignor Elias Poblete, travelled from his retirement in Pansol, Calamba to narrate how I got to be his godson. Again that is a story by itself. Fr. Jim Reuter, S.J., my mentor in Social communication and my idol and my spiritual father, gave a beautiful piece that only he could give. However, the people at the back complained they could not hear this over-ninety year old Jesuit communicator. Fr. Ernie Garcia, C.Ss.R., spoke on behalf of the Redemptorists -- present and past (as in the Juvenate in Antipolo). Msgr. Fred Madlangbayan, my long time boss at the Commission on Social Communication, finally declared in public that it was me who was mainly responsible for what the media in the Archdiocese is. He recounted how we struggled, especially during the Martial Law days to keep this afloat. He professed his innocence and pointed to me at what people thought was a self-serving name of DWAM (Daily Work of Alfredo Madlangbayan).

UST was also there. I requested the Psalterion choir to remind the people of the original language of the Church and the beauty of the Gregorian chant -- they sang in Latin (with one Responsorial psalm in Tagalog and two English songs for Communion). They were accompanied to Lipa by their yet-to-be-installed rector, Fr. Gerard Timoner, O.P. Sem. Noel Abalajon, our seminarian-coordinator to UST Alumni Priests Association (ALPA), was also there as with the other coordinators. Of the Board Members of ALPA, it was only Fr. Rene Vigilia of Cabanatuan who travelled to Lipa to concelebrate.

My colleagues in the local media, headed by our Dyaryo Veritas editor-in-chief, Joenald Rayos, who is also Batangas Press Club head, were among the crowd of around one thousand during the Mass. However, most of my basketball friends were not able to make it due to their practices. Bingky Favis called me early in the morning saying they could not re-schedule their morning practice to the afternoon as the venue has been reserved. He said he needed his assistant Eric Gonzales in the practice. Eddie Laure, now of Alaska, called up citing the same reason. Even Charlie Dy begged to be excused. Chino Trinidad called to say he was just given an assignment (to interview Boom Boom's family for GMA) and so he could not make it to Lasalipa. However, Coach Francis Rodriguez with his wife came. I introduced him to Br. Dodo Fernandez, president of Benilde, as Francis was applying to be head coach of the men's varsity team of that school. The big bosses of the Basketball Coaches of the Philippines Association (BCAP) -- President Chito Narvasa and Secretary-General Cayetano "Tanny" Gonzales -- announced my appointment as BCAP's Coordinator for Batangas Province. My appointment takes effect immediately till December 30, 2007. I am being tasked to organize the coaches in this province.

They were there -- the people whom I became friends because I ministered to them and their communities: my Hilltop family, led by the Mendoza sisters, of the Mission Area VI of Batangas City; my DWAM family, my Sunday TV Mass family, my ex-Juvenist family, my Ulat Batangan Family, and other individuals whom I had been associated with for one reason or another: former students at SBC High School, former students at St. Theresa's Academy, former teachers in elementary and college, and present co-workers at De La Salle Lipa.

The star-for-all-seasons, my friend, Mayor Vilma Santos-Recto, who had already asked to be excused because she had to preside over a meeting of her department heads to assess the damaged done by thypoon Reming during the week-end. But in the middle of Archbishop's Arguelles, she walked in. I had her called up to say something to the congregation. After the Mass, they had a heyday taking pictures of and with her. Happy na si Mother!

Of course, the biggest surprise and the greatest gift I recieved that day is the conferment of the Deed of Benefaction to me by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (FSC) in the Philippines. Br. Dodo Fernandez, FSC, Visitor, spoke on behalf of the Brothers; Br. Mawel read the original citation in French with Br. Ricky Laguda, FSC, translating it to English! I shed a tear when Br. Dodo whispered to me that this was mainly Br. Rafael "Rafe" Donato, FSC, who had this materialized. I cried at the thought of him passing away weeks after he celebrated his golden jubilee as religious (Oct. 16) and turned 69 (Oct. 12). It was Br. Rafe who personally asked Archbishop (now Cardinal) Dency for me to be the resident chaplain of the Brothers and the school here at Lipa. Indeed, he became my best friend, confidant, and older brother. I was his confessor!

I am 55 years old: 40 years as coach, 33 years as teacher, 37 as media person, and 25 years as priest. and let me be clear about this. I am a priest who is a coach, teacher, media person at the same time. I don't think it is right to take those from me and say that I am just a priest period. My being coach, teacher, media person is integral to my being priest. BELIEVE IT ... or DON'T!!!