I TOOK my choir on a concert pilgrimage of Naga City — we were hosted by Adan Botor, my classmate in Maryhurst Seminary, who is now a successful lawyer and the father of lovely children, two of whom are lawyers, Agnes and Dominic. With Adan, they helped organize the concert we presented in honor of Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia. The next month, September, is special to her.

Adan and I were students at Maryhurst Seminary, and we both agreed that except for a few CICM priests who dared to be affectionate and caring, the rest were as cold and as depressing as a Flemish winter. One though was particularly fond of us, and we hold his memory dearly — and he was not a priest but a lay brother, Armand Laminneur.