by Father Seán Coyle

At 1am on Sunday, 30 July 2000, I was dancing with thousands of others in the streets of Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. It was the culmination of the National Day, the feast of St Olav. We were doing the Faroese Circle Dance. This began with a singer leading a song that recounted the history of the people and seemed to have about 100 verses. Most knew the words. The circles of dancers formed all over the place until everyone was involved. It was quite impossible not to join in. The steps are very simple, two double steps left and one right. The dance to that first song lasted probably twenty minutes and was followed by another. No instruments are ever used.

By Rheena Babanto 

Former Columban lay missionary Rheena Babanto now works as a college counselor at St Scholastica’s College, Manila.

We arrived in Korea in April 1997, springtime. I can still remember how bulky we looked because of our three or four layers of clothing to battle the cold Siberian wind. We spent nine months learning the language. During that period I went once a week after class to a kind of day care center in a poor area in Seoul. Children with both parents working are sent there for the day. I taught them English nursery songs. I remember the first time we met, they stared at me with amazement, telling me how big my eyes were. They often looked confused when I struggled to speak Korean. The fun the children shared with me made the stress of learning the language more bearable.

By Sister Anne Carbon SSC

Columban Sister Anne Carbon of Cagayan de Oro took her final vows in 2003. She ministers to those suffering from the psychological effects of Peru’s years of political violence.

When I entered religious life in the mid-’90s, it was certainly different from the life the older Sisters had lived for years and years. Gone, in some congregations, were the days of superiors, the formality of wearing a religious habit and serving in institutions such as schools and hospitals.

by Marjorie Militar

Marjorie is a third-level student at the University of St La Salle, Bacolod City.

Serving as a lector at St John the Baptist Parish, Bago City, it never crossed my mind that I’d be part of a great event that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.  In December 2003, our parochial vicar, Father Jonas Sumagaysay, told us about an event to be hosted by the Diocese of Bacolod the following November.  Soon, we found ourselves busily preparing to welcome the Pilgrim Cross. It went from parish to parish, staying in each for two to three days, from Hinigaran in the south of the diocese, toSilay City in the north, visiting schools along the way, before returning to San Sebastian Cathedral for the start of …NATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2004.