In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
-Albert Schweitzer
This is the second time in a span of a week that I was able to personally meet two online friends. I’ve known Fr. Louie for about two years now through a friend who referred me to his videos of Batanes on YouTube. He is a student priest based in Rome but spending a two-week break by celebrating Holy Week here. We met finally last Holy Thursday.We regularly get in touch with each other via e-mails and private messages. He created a site at Facebook for the Catholic Community in Rome but made it open to all Filipinos here and abroad.
Back in September 2010, he asked me to be a temporary administrator of the site, then a month after, he made the appointment permanent. Looking back, I am so grateful for this online apostolate because there are lots of members based abroad who find joy visiting our site and reading our posts. I am learning a lot too interacting with more than 4,300 members of the site.
Noel is one of our very active members. He is one of the winners of our first trivia contest sometime last February, I think. Fr. Louie brought home rosaries for the winners and Noel claimed his prize this morning when we finally met. We had a long chat about life, about my illness, how I coped with the treatment and his activities in their parish.
Who says one can’t form a friendship using social media? True, when you are hiding behind the wall of your monitor, it feels so easy to share but it’s kind of different though when you are sharing face to face. There is something so touching about the fact that they accept you as you are – no pretense, no hiding behind a computer screen but just three souls finally meeting and like what they see. Another grace from God, another way of telling me that life is beautiful. New friends are blessings too in our lives. And it is always a joy to see a new friendship blooms.
I was so touched when Fr. Louie toured us at Bahay Dominiko (their convent). He even went out of his way to bless the whole family and to pray over my healing. We are indeed lucky to have a friend in him. Noel texted me this. I won’t change nor translate the text from its original Tagalog because it would lose its essence. Suffice to say, I am also glad to have found another friend.
Na uplift po ako kanina. Actually nga po kayo po yung pumapasok sa meditation po kanina habang nagrorosaryo po ako pauwi . Yung stories of joy, trials, and triumph and how you encounter the Lord. Nasabi ko sa sarili ko po na God uses others to inspire us and trust Him more. Talaga pong I was blessed by our conversation. Kaya nakinig po akong mabuti, because the Lord spoke to me through your stories of faith. Kaya po natutuwa talaga ako.
Dreams And Escapes 
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