The Bayaras family in Cainta, Rizal is a household with three children. The youngest of the siblings, 23-year old Marion Noel, will never get the chance to live with the entire family for the rest of his life.

Not that he’s been imprisoned for life or exiled. But yes, he may be to some degree an exile – a spiritual one at that.

“Bong,” as his family and friends call him, is on his way to becoming a priest for the Roman Catholic Church. His desire to serve the Church started out in 1995, after he persistently asked his mother to allow him to become an altar server at the EDSA shrine. His mother agreed, being a parent who has always encouraged her children to join Church activities. Both Bong’s sisters were part of the Youth of the EDSA Shrine, a group of young individuals who volunteer in Church services and activities.

Agreeing that their young son be an altar server is one thing, but he wanting to be a priest upon growing up is another one. When Bong told his parents that he’s interested in entering a seminary, they were a bit hesitant about it.

“They preferred I go to college first,” the seventh-year seminarian said. His parents wanted him to have an experience first of what it is like in the outside world, but he seemed already decided. It would be a waste of time and money, considering he’s already made up his mind, Bong added.

And so, right after he graduated high school in La Salle Greenhills, he decided to take up philosophy at the San Carlos seminary in Makati City. It would be the start of a totally different life.

Having no mobile phones at the start and limited time to go out, Bong initially took some time in adjusting to the life he chose for himself.

“I wondered if I could live it on my own,” he said.

Every day, he has to wake up at 5:30 am to pray and meditate. An hour after, he hears Mass and eats breakfast. At 7:30 am he has to prepare for his class, a four-hour session ending at 12 pm. He then eats lunch and spends the rest of the time until 1:45 pm idling.

“We call it (12:45 pm to 1:45 pm) the siesta break,” he said, referring to the time most of them spend by sleeping.

After which, he prepares for another class at 2 pm which ends at around 5 pm. Whenever his afternoon class ends early, he and the rest of his fellow seminarians spend the time playing sports; most of the time they enjoy basketball and badminton.

Then at 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm they dedicate time to studying and their daily prayers. They have dinner afterwards and free time until 9 pm, when they say their evening prayers and head to their beds.

It has been his daily routine, but overall he found it easy to adjust. After all, he was the one who wanted his life to be configured in such way. There were moments when he asked questions to himself, discerning if entering the seminary really was the right decision for him.

There was even an instance when he decided to have his own silent retreat to aid him in contemplating about his decision. He went to Baguio all by himself just to reflect on he really wants.

It was all made clear when after graduating from his bachelor’s degree in philosophy, he decided to take on the higher level of becoming a theologian. It was the most decisive moment of his life, he said. He only needs to finish theology before being ordained as a new member of the clergy.

As an active seminarian, he writes for the seminary paper, helps in the seminary’s alumni association and joins different liturgical services of the Church aimed at spreading the word of God to the people. This is of course beside the fact that he spends most of his time studying theology and praying.

“The common stereotype is that a seminarian is holy, always a man of prayer,” he said. “You have to give credibility to that stand of the people.”

But studying and praying aren’t everything. Once a month, they also have what they call “home weekends,” where they can, needless to say, go to their homes to relax and unwind. Bong usually spends his home weekend watching movies or meeting up with his sisters over dinner or a cup of coffee.

Upon ordination, he dreams of becoming either a parish priest or a seminary formator, a priest who teaches would-be priests about the path to holiness. But for the meantime he busies himself with books and studying.

His parents and sisters would surely be happy if he would have the capacity to be with their company as a typical individual, but his being a priest is a decision Bong gladly made, and his family has been supportive of him all throughout.

“It’s a mix of happiness and difficulty,” he said, but it seemed all too well for him. “You find fulfillment.”