A Close Encounter with the Columbans in the Third World, Part 2

By Fr Jovito Dales

Fr Jovito Dales, who was born in Marawi City and grew up in Ozamiz City, tells the second part of his vocation story. After serving in Peru he is now Columban Vocation Director in the Philippines.

Becoming a Columban

I joined the Columbans in June 1997. The following year, with the opening of our International Theologate in Chicago, I was sent to the United States for theological studies. In 2002 I left for Bolivia for five months for an intensive course in Spanish language and then proceeded to Peru for my First Missionary Assignment (FMA). I had a meaningful experience in Peru with an interruption in 2003 when my father died.

Fr Jovito with Fijian Columban Fr William Lee and Filipino Columban Lay Missionaries Irma Cantago and John Din in Lima, Peru

The Columbans are family-orientated. The fact that I was able to come home for my Dad’s funeral made me even more appreciative of them. I finished my theology in 2005. The following years until my priestly ordination were spent in the Columban parish of Our Lady of Remedies, Malate, Manila. I was ordained deacon there in 2006. It was there that I learned more about poverty in my own country.

One day I asked Fr John Leydon, the parish priest, to allow me to immerse myself for a few days with some sidewalk vendors around the church. I accompanied the family of Ate Evelyn in selling cigarettes, candies, and coffee at nighttime. She was the mother of four children. Her husband was a tricycle driver. Ate Evelyn had to sell from 8pm to 4am the following day. Arriving home she still had to do some household chores before taking a few hours sleep and begin her daily routine as a mother. The first night with them in the street was exciting. However, when I had my sleep from 4am to 8am, I wasn’t able to get up because of dizziness. I could imagine the lack of rest that Ate Evelyn had to go through. Sadly, her earnings sometimes weren’t even enough for her family’s daily needs. It was through her and the other street vendors that the line in the Our Father truly came alive: ‘Give us this day our daily bread!’ They struggled to put food on the table every day. Now, every time I pray those words I remember Ate Evelyn, her family and others who have to struggle every day to find food.

Fr Jovito, kneeling, right, with Filipino Columban priests

I was ordained as a priest on 4 January 2007 at Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Ozamiz City, by Archbishop Jesus A. Dosado CM and worked in Agusan Parish in Cagayan de Oro City for one year with Fr Dick Pankratz, the parish priest. I was back in Peru from 2008 until 2011. I found the Peruvians still warm, friendly and vibrant as they engaged in mission with sincerity, dedication, and profound faith. I surely experienced the highs and lows in mission life in Peru. However, I left there with so much gratitude in my heart, as expressed wonderfully in the famous line from a Spanish song: ‘Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto’ (Thanks for the life, which has given me so much!).
Being into different places broadened my perspective of ‘me and others’. I become more appreciative of my own culture as I learned to be more accepting of others. A common thing among Columbans is that we work with the underprivileged to somehow bring to them the Christ that each one knows; and much of what I know of Christ has been through my dealings with the people. A give-and-take process, indeed.

Vocation Director

Now I am working with the Vocation Ministry in the Philippines since June 2012. It is challenging as I feel like a fisherman without knowing where to fish. I have to depend on the previous coordinators’ insights. I try to listen to their experiences and at the same time evaluate them from my own experience. The interesting part of the job is that it reorients me to my own culture as I go to parts of the Philippines I’ve never been before. I am learning to appreciate the diversity of Filipino dialects and languages, and learning more deeply the struggles of the people, particularly of the ‘Ate Evelyns’ in my country. I am glad of the opportunities to talk with groups about the Columbans and our missions. I have become hopeful for there are young men who inquire about the possibility of joining us. As they express their interest in what makes up their lives, I am reminded of my own vocation story.

Fr Jovito, center, at a meeting in St Colubman’s, Singalong St, Manila

Now more than ever I find the prayer of Fr Des Hartford even more appealing. I pray for those two gifts especially as a vocation director. The gift of the Spirit of Discernment: to help each inquirer listen to and respond to his own calling. And the gift of the Spirit of Mission: submission to the work itself.

I see my role the way I see mission. This is not my mission but God’s mission, one that is full of frustrations for it is bound by its limitations. But it is also filled with joy for it provides me with the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life whose faith is, at times, stronger than mine. I believe that with the two beautiful gifts I’m praying for, I am also growing in faith and trust in the One who calls.