Panatang Manatili

Dahil pag-ibig ang alay sa ‘yo, mananatili ako.
H’wag nang naising tayo’y mawalay,
H’wag nang isiping
Magwawakas ang paglalakbay.

This is one of the stanzas of “Pananatili,” my "panatang manatili".

One moral I’ve learned in all my coming and going, to and from the hearts of the people whom I’ve touched and have loved dearly is that, they are some choices that I’ve made; the choice to love them and be part of them.

I believe that the seminary walls are not high barracks which distinct the world of the holy and that of the unworthy, but rather bridges where we meet truth and vessels where God’s grace towards our hearts is realized.

Dahil nga pag-ibig ang alay ko sa’yo, ano pa man, saan man, kailan man, nand’yan lang ako sa puso mo, nananatili. – I can’t explain how love remains even if the corpus is not seen, contact for a long time has gone, and memories have put beneath the reach of mind. You never stop loving someone you’ve loved. Love endures.

H’wag nang naising tayo’y mawalay, h’wag nang isiping magwawakas ang paglalakbay. – For your life and mine is a journey, and if ever catastrophe comes to our way, look inside your heart, there you’ll see that love never tires. Continue the journey.