I have been going through my old appointment notebooks and this has helped me plot out another year in a parish setting. Here is what I got...
| Month | Activity |
| January | Bible Week, Feast of Sto. Niño. My birthday. |
| February | Some friar event. This year it is going to be the Provincial chapter. Last year it was some awarding ceremony at the University of San Agustin. This year, Lent begins early. |
| March | When graduation time arrives, there will be additional masses to be celebrated. Holy Week will fall in this period. |
| April | Feast of the Mother of Good Counsel falls on the last Sunday of the month. Four years ago, I reported to the parish as a newly assigned friar fresh from a stint at the Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod around this time. |
| May | My summer vacation normally falls in this period. For fifteen days I stay at my parents' place. It is also the time when I get to visit former classmates. At the parish we normally have the "Flores de Mayo." |
| June | Beginning of classes throughout the Philippines. This is also the time when we lose some of the altar boys who have volunteered to work during the summer. For friars working the schools, this month is a time for headaches. |
| July | Not much happening during this month. In our schools, preparation for the St. Augustine Quiz Bee goes full swing. |
| August | Feasts of St. Augustine and Monica on the last week of the month. |
| September | The feasts of St. Nicholas of Tolentino and Alfonso de Orozco and Our Lady of Consolation are celebrated during this month. The yearly retreat of the friars normally falls here too. It is normally a five-day event. |
| October | Month of the Holy Rosary. Sts. Thomas of Villanova and John Stone are celebrated during the month. A special day is also set aside for the Order's deceased benefactors on the 13th |
| November | Vocation Month. This is the time when in our schools (not so much in this parish) representatives from different religious congregations and lay groups are invited to talk about the different ways by which the baptized can respond to a particular call to holiness. In our parish, November 1 and 2 are busy days, for obvious reasons. |
| December | Preparations for the Christmas activities normally begin during the first week of the month. On the 16th we begin the dawn masses. In parishes, this month is not only busy, it is hectic. But it is also a time of great consolations. December 25th for us friars is not only Christmas day but also the anniversary of the founding of the Province of Sto. Niño, or in layman's terms, the "birthday" of our particular section of the Order.. |
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