On June 19, 2005, I arrived at the Resurrection of Our Lord
Parish, BF Homes Parañaque. I was assigned as a guest priest there. There were three scheduled
daily masses then -5 AM, 6 AM and 5:30 PM. Being the youngest among the three
priests at that time, I was assigned to take the 5 AM mass.
On my first week in the parish, a lector would invite me to
have our breakfast at the Tropical Hut after the 5 AM mass. I refused. I was warned
by the parish priest not to accept any invitation from anybody. But after
sometime, the lector was able to convince me to have our breakfast at Tropical
Hut upon knowing that she was the head of the Ministry of Lectors and
Commentators –she is no other than the beloved lector or commentator, Ms. Letty
Elayda. I learned from her that there were various breakfast clubs in the parish
with which the previous priests used to join. After our breakfast, she would go
back to the parish to serve again either as lector or commentator. The 2nd
mass was better because kuya Raffy was there with his choir and sometimes the
nuns would also sing during the mass. There was no choir assisting during the 1st
mass, perhaps, because it was the only Tagalog Mass in the parish. (At times,
the nuns of St. Francis of the 12 Circles joined me in singing during the 1st
mass)
It was my daily routine after my mass to have my breakfast at
Tropical Hut with Ms. Letty until Tita Freda (owner of the bookstore at the PEA)
and Ranny joined us. Tita Freda and Ranny were members of the Apostleship of
Prayer. I met them when I prayed at PEA. They were regular daily mass goers (2nd
Mass). Sometimes, they invited me to eat breakfast with them after the 2nd
mass. Most often then, I had two breakfast meals in one day. One was with Ms.
Letty after the 1st mass and the other was with Tita Freda after the
2nd mass.
On February 2, 2006, Tita Freda told me to attend a birthday
party. I refused at first. But Tita Freda insisted that as a priest I should know
my parishioners and it is not good to reject an invitation of the birthday celebrator.
So I went to attend the birthday celebration of Ms. Baby Frias. It was my first
time to get out of the parish just to be with the parishioners. The visitors
were all surprised to see me because they did not know I was a guest priest
since 2005. In fact, it was my first time to meet them too. I was introduced to
the well-known breakfast club –Ms. Baby Bernabe, Ms. Baby Frias, Madam Auring, Ester
Luna, Tita Matu, Tita Resie, Tita Bella, Tita Rosie, Tita Remy and Ms. Edi
Posadas. I said “well-known” because though there were other breakfast clubs during
those times, only with Ms. Bernabe’s club that we had our breakfast not only
within the premises of BF Homes. We went as far as Tagaytay, Cavite, and other famous
places or landmarks just to have our breakfast.
I could say with pride that when other parishioners learned that
I was a guest priest, there was a formation of one or joint breakfast club. So Ms.
Bernabe’s club became bigger as Tita Freda, Ranny, Tita Norma, Tita Betty, Ms.
Tess Lopez and sometimes Ms. Brenda, Ms. Minie and Ms. Connie joined us in our
breakfast. Name all the best restaurants in BF Homes which were opened for
breakfast –we were there. Restaurants which were newly opened at that time as
well as those which were declared close –we were there. Unfortunately, our
cellphones did not have a built-in camera then. Yet, madam Auring had her own
camera and she would give us pictures for the sake of remembrance.
People come and go. Perhaps this is part of the process of evolution.
This is also true to the “Breakfast Club”. Sometime in 2007,
the Breakfast Club had some new members –Ms. Polly, Tita Linda and Ms. Tess
Diokno while some of its old members formed their own group. Ms. Bel Ferraren joined
the club lately though not consistently present in our daily breakfast
activities. This was the Breakfast Club I left when I went back to the Diocese
of Kalibo.
In 2015, I went back to ROLP for my Bar review. There were only
two breakfast clubs left –one was that of Ms. Bernabe and the other was that of
Tita Betty. This time, both clubs chose to eat either in Café France or in Jollibee.
I alternately joined them in their breakfast. The members of Tita Betty’s club
were Tita Norma, Tita Rosie and Ate Mely while of Ms. Bernabe were Ms. Baby F.,
Ms. Bel, Madam Auring, Ms. Polly, Tita Linda, and the new ones were Tita Belen,
Tita Analyn and Ms. Monette Santos. Café France and Jollibee were my most
comfortable zones to review for the Bar Exam from breakfast time to lunchtime
and at dinner time until midnight, I was at Starbucks. I loved noises while
studying. Ms. Sol Algarra would ask me how would I pass the bar exam if all I was
doing was to study in those places. On the later part of my stay (2016), I was
introduced to their gorgeous new member –Ms. Mhaila, then to the youngest
member Sheila at Tim Hortons.
On July 22, 2022, I came to visit friends in ROLP. I learned
that the once well-known and the most famous breakfast club that I used to join
with is presently known as the Jollibee Breakfast Club in the parish. Maybe
this happened because there is no more Café France in BF Homes. They are the
oldest surviving Breakfast Club or the only and one Breakfast Club left as Tita
Betty, Tita Rosie and Tita Norma died before the Pandemic era. Parishioners who
knew me thought that I would be having my daily breakfast with the club. But NO.
Not this time. I may call this as the evolution of the Breakfast Club to a
lunch date because we ate lunch together at Aroi Original Thai Dishes instead
of having a breakfast. Upon conversing with them, I felt how the pandemic changed
their life. Most of them could not go out being senior citizens. Madam Auring
suffers from her knee injury. Tita Linda was afraid of COVID-19. All of them
are not getting younger. Many of them were not able to join our lunch date yet
they sent me some gifts to remind me of our friendship. When we finished our
lunch, I bade goodbye.
I do not know when shall I come back again to visit ROLP. I am
not getting younger so do are my friends in ROLP particularly the Breakfast
Club. The only reason why I keep visiting the place is the friendship which the
parishioners of ROLP offered me and the Breakfast Club was the first one to
make me feel that I AM NOT A STRANGER in ROLP. Yes, I still have many friends in
ROLP aside from the Breakfast Club. I could also memorize their names and faces
though I left the said parish in 2007. But the Breakfast Club is unique for
they have been with me since 2005 and no intrigues against my honor and
reputation has been entertained because they know me, yet they love me. Nevertheless,
aging is a game changer for all of us. We cannot do anymore what we used to do
before. The Breakfast Club could not escape such a reality; not even any of us could
do so. But what matters most –I will be forever grateful to know that in a
strange land like ROLP, I used to have a home in my friends’ hearts starting
from the Breakfast Club and extending to those who call me their friend. Amen.
