Brothers and Sisters, what I would like to share with you tonight is what Fr. Boboy meant to me.

First of all, in my room there are two tiny gadgets for music enjoyment. They are gifts from Fr. Boboy. Evidently, he was thinking of what he could do for me. He asked me for my favorite music. I wrote them down and soon he had recorded them and he included some Perry Como and Mantovani songs which he thought I would enjoy. And so for many a day I had music for relaxation.

That was Fr. Boboy, he was always thinking of what he could do for others. And so, when he was principal of the Junior High School and others asked for a Mass aside from the scheduled combined class Masses at the grade school (which they couldn’t attend), he happily obliged with a Mass before classes began. To foster unity and openness in the school he started the Holy Hour on the last Friday of the month, where people reflected and openly shared insights. When he felt the budget was running low he sought alternate venues for school recollections and days of prayers. His favorite was Sonrisa Farm, with its open space and close to nature environment.

There were other ways of doing things, a simpler way, a local way, a way to Jesus. He was ready with alternatives even if they were more ordinary.
When he was in charge of the church, and it was felt that Mass goers should come close to the altar, he made a side altar where people got as close as you could get there. He felt that candles were too expensive and so he installed oil lamps instead. And at exposure of the Blessed Sacrament on First Fridays, he had a simple pot instead of the thurible or censer where the incense rose thick like a prayer. He continued this practice at the Junior High School. It was his trade mark.

Young Fr. Boboy taught an old man like me that there is really no one way of coming close to Jesus. There are alternatives, but the best is to understand what people really need, and to learn to know Jesus the way they know how.

Thank you, Father, and pray for me and for all to whom you meant a lot.

– Fr. Sammy Dizon SJ, 4 May 2019