Father, Father

Thanks to my little sister (told you she was a godsend), as well as help from her friends and a priest at our church, I was able to meet the Big Celebrant, "Father JB", from now on.

What a privilege and honor to spend time with that man. He called me this morning, and we were able to meet shortly thereafter. For a moment, I was reminded of the movie "10 Questions for the Dalai Lama". Great movie, by the way. What was I going to talk to Father JB about?

Luckily, I had a few ideas. First, some personal stuff. Next, the Philippines. And finally, health. Okay, so it's only 3 questions, I didn't want to monopolize Father JB's time.

The personal stuff is, uh, personal. Enough of that.

On the Philippines, I simply asked, "What is life like in the Philippines?" And we went on from there. Life in the Philippines is different in the big cities vs. the more rural, and poor areas. Father JB mentioned "I wonder sometimes how the people in the provinces (poor rural areas) make it. But, they do. They live a very simple life, and really don't know what they're missing. And to think of it, I often wonder who's more fortunate, them or the richer big city folks." Very interesting. I learned that Pilipinos in his region eat lots of fresh vegetables, usually grown themselves and lots of fish. Rarely, they eat chicken and pork. They don't really drink cow's milk or eat beef. Most people are healthy and happy, and kids there have the same issues and problems as kids here. American fast food has worked it's way into the Philippines, with bigger cities having the usual chains. And probably the most interesting point, every kid in the Philippines has a cell phone and texts all the time. They have a ridiculous unlimited text plan, so kids will literally text each other, instead of talk to each other ... face to face, uh, like they're sitting right next to each other and they CHOOSE TO TEXT. :) Geez, that's crazy. And in the rural areas, you'll see kids on caribou (water buffalo) with cell phones, texting each other! He has a huge following at his Parish, some 40,000 parishioners! They have a 100 year-old church, with a basilica in need of constant repair, and their masses (only twice a week) are so packed that people line up outside to attend mass. Amazing stuff... For him, he talked about the festivals in the Philippines, and how everyone fed and overfed him, and how it was an insult to people if you didn't eat. I totally understand, and I'll detail it in a later post about Pilipino-Americans and food.

Then we move to health. My question simply was, "What about your health?" as we were talking about the health of Pilipinos in general. I brought my only copy of T. Colin Campbell's "The China Study" and I presented it to Father JB as a gift, careful not to offend. I wasn't making any statements or assumptions, I just wanted Father JB to read and learn what Dr. Campbell had discovered. I explained some of the theories presented, including the theory that heredity has a very small influence on cancer, which went against what he (and I previously) had known. Diet, not your genetics or heredity, has a greater impact. He was very cool about it, and very thankful as well. He even mentioned several times that he was going on a plan to exercise and lose weight regularly. And I told him that I'd bug him via email occasionally to see how he was doing. Lastly, I invited him to lunch and we enjoyed a nice bowl of Shoyu (soy-based) Ramen at a close-by Ramen Shop. Mine minus the animal proteins, of course. :) I told him about the movie "The Ramen Girl" starring Brittany Murphy and how it shows how Ramen is revered in Japan. He said he would check it out.

I feel very blessed to have talked to Father JB for the very short time I had. He has a warmth and optimistic compassion about him that I admire and it shows in his presence and his impromptu Homilies. He says "30% Me, 70% Holy Spirit". I laugh about that, but know it's true. If I get a chance to home to the Philippines, I will make it a point to visit Father JB at his church.