Our transfigurations after 25 years
This is the homily delivered on the occasion of the Thanksgiving mass of the Silver Jubilarians of UST Engineering, Batch 85 last February 27, 2010 at the UST Chapel.
Fr. Franklin Beltran, regent of the UST Faculty of Engineering, the dean and professors of the UST faculty of Engineering,
My batchmates, the Engineering Class of 1985, all alumni of UST Faculty of Engineering, dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
Let me begin my sharing with the gospel for this Sunday of the 2nd week of Lent. Jesus was transfigured. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ From then on, the apostles knew that the man whom they were following was no ordinary man; rather, he was God’s only begotten son; the Messiah who would lead the people back to God.
The message of the transfiguration is this: that Jesus in his ordinariness is capable of revealing his divinity as the Son of God and that he would be true to his mission to save us from sin.
After 25 years, we found ourselves returning to a place where we once regarded as our home for five years or more. After 25 years, we have the pleasure of seeing one another and see how much some of classmates changed or remained the same. Look at one another and ask: has each one been transfigured? I have to admit, by looking at the reunion pictures in the internet, I couldn’t reconcile all the familiar faces I’ve seen 25 years ago. And now as we greet one another, we utter, “My God, you’ve changed! Was it the hair? Was it the weight or the height? Ano ba talaga?” But then, we were just too glad to see each other, and we are most willing to rekindle the glorious past; that once upon a time when we regarded each other, not just as batchmates, nor simply as classmates, but something much deeper; we were buddies, barkadas, partners in crime, confidants – and yes, best friends. We were brothers and sisters. Mga kapatid, welcome home to our alma mater! Palakpakan natin ang UST at ang mga alumni ng Engineering!
We are in for more surprises in this alumni homecoming, waiting to eagerly erupt inside of us and around us. We have to make up for lost times when we’re apart. Together with the message of the transfiguration, let us recall and relish the transfigurations happening inside of us and share them to one another.
First, we’ve transfigured in maturity and personal growth. After 25 years, it is undeniable that we have grown in the way we look at life and in the way we look at ourselves. We’ve learned to be simpler, to take a more realistic look of life. Some of us were humbled by life’s trials and tribulations, and we were wounded along the way. We realize that life is not a bed of roses. But despite all these, we dare say that life is indeed beautiful. Life is beautiful because God continues to bless us and strengthen us. If we are tested in fire, now we rejoice. They gave us a reason not to stray away from the Divine Master. If there is something constant in us 25 years ago and we still hold on to it, I would say, it is hope. We were transfigured because of the hope that is in us that life would still be blessed despite all odds. We thank UST for giving us a solid religious background. She gave us a reason to hope for the best in all things. Palakpakan muli ang UST!
We have transfigured in relationships and affirmations. Of course, classmates and batchmates, professors and students will always have a special place in our hearts. In our silver anniversary, we seek to recover lost friendships and strengthen those we have maintained till today. We laugh at the good old days, our pamamasyal sa campus hanggang sa field trips sa Baguio, ang pagsayaw at paglaro sa intrams, at pag-awit sa mga songfests and pagsali sa mga pautakan. We recognize that by joining organizations like the Pax Romana we were formed in the art of relating and getting along with one another and how we get things done. Our experiences in school are microcosms of the bigger world of challenges; it’s a training ground for life. Ika nga ng isang batchmate, “These are the people we would walk together going to our desired career to be engineers.”
Not only here do we find ourselves connected in an unbreakable bond of friendship and comaraderie. Other Thomasians worldwide are also celebrating this momentous event. There are groups in the US like the USTECE85 group and in Canada. Efforts were made to hold mini-reunions like that at Magnet Café and in Ratzky.
If there is something that is transfigured our relationships, I would say it is love. We are all transfigured in love. And love never dies. Dear batchmates, please recognize the presence of one another and say, after all these years, I love you!
Finally, we are transfigured in our destiny, our mission in this world, the essence of our being in this world, our vocation in God. When we left the portals of this university, we carried the idealism the university planted in our hearts. After 25 years, we can be proud of this, in one way or another, we have blossomed. We have done something beautiful for God. We haven’t lost sight of our goal. We were given the most-treasured gift of education. It has brought us to where we are today – from raising families and being effective at work to actually contributing something to make this world a better place to live in. But more than all these accomplishments, the real accomplishment in life that we can declare with pride is that we have remained faithful to God. We are doing His will the best way that we can. So, if there is anything transfigured inside of us, it is our faith; it is the only thing that connects us with life itself – our relationship with God and how we are doing everything to love, adore, and serve him in our chosen vocations. Palakpakan po natin ang Diyos sa ating buhay!
Thus, we are transfigured because of these three theological virtues inside us – faith, hope and love. And in this alumni homecoming, we are glad to the light of Christ to others.
On behalf of all alumni and silver jubilarians here present, let me express our profound thanks to our Alma Mater for making all these transfigurations possible – salamat po, mahal naming USTE!
Also, I would not let this pass, that our batchmates who tirelessly worked to make this reunion a success would remain unrecognized. You truly deserve a round of applause.
Our profound thanks to our working committee, knowing the pains and sacrifices everyone had to put up, but with God’s divine blessings we were able to hurdle these challenges. People like Jude Famor, Agnes Pabillo, Nimfa Tantioco, Eric Bostre, and Hans Christian Lopez, and of course Erwin Fortuno, palakpakan po natin silang lahat.
And most of all, to our Blessed Lord who guided us through the years, and to our Blessed Mother who constantly leads us all to her Son, utang namin sa inyo kung nasaan na kami ngayon. Maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po!
Fr. Lito Jopson (ECE85)
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