This is the third article in this series about SMA Seminarians that was first published in the recent edition of the Family Vocations Community Newsletter 2024. This one concerns a Filipino student called Niño Iligan. Since writing this article has has completed his International Year in the Bresillac Centre in Calavi, Benin and has taken his first Oath, thereby becoming a temporary member of the SMA.
My name is Niño Iligan. The fact that I am now here in Calavi, Benin, doing my International Spiritual Year and preparing for my Oath as a temporary member of the Society of African Missions, is solely due to grace – God’s grace has sustained me through the highs and lows of my journey so far.
Gratitude is owed to all who played a role in making this meaningful voyage possible. Now that I am preparing to commit to the Society, I look back to the beginning. It all started from the day I was born – on the feast of Santo Niño (the Holy Child, deeply revered in the Philippines). My parents considered this a blessing. As a child, I was sickly and at the age of three, I was already confined to hospital with pneumonia. Going in and out of hospital was part of my childhood. My mother once jokingly said pneumonia was my twin brother because it never left me until my first year in college.
My parents constantly prayed for my good health and healing and they offered my life to God if their prayer would be granted. At elementary school I was involved with various activities in our local chapel, especially the devotions attached to the Flores de Mayo to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. When at high school I recall a vivid dream I had where Mary was speaking to me, though I could not decipher her words. During my college years I started to feel empty inside, unsure of the future yet with a longing for something unknown.
In 2017, after I finished my college degree in Education, I took part in a Novena in our chapel in Rosary Month. During the Novena one of the Lectors asked me if I was willing to become a Lector at the church. I said ‘Yes’. My first ‘Yes’ to God. Serving the Lord as a Lector helped
to fight the emptiness inside of me. I found my consolation in my service to Him. Daily reading and proclaiming His Word at Mass became my happiness. I began to feel happier and more at peace as I deepened my relationship with Him. Many people in our parish would say that being a priest would really suit me well. And it occurred to me ‘What if?’ – what if I am called? I asked the Lord to guide my paths and affect every decision that I would make. I prayed for discernment because deep in my heart, it was slowly growing. And then I tried to ask for signs.
Once at Mass, a young seminarian together with our parish priest, was promoting vocations to the priesthood. After I received Holy Communion, I knelt and prayed for my vocation. A strange, warm feeling came over me and my tears flowed. I saw this as a sign to pursue my ‘What if?’ I made up my mind to enter the seminary. I consulted my parents about my desire. While they were happy with it, they suggested I could postpone my plan for a while to assist them in the day-to-day needs of our family. This was a sincere appeal from my parents to the first of their five children to finish schooling and earn a degree. I found a job to help my family and became a Public Secondary School teacher. As time went on I felt guilty for not responding to God’s call. I felt like I had turned him down and I continued to pray for his guidance. After two years in service as a teacher, a friend asked if I was still interested in the priesthood and introduced me to the SMA. I was happy. I once more 
sought the approval of my parents and fortunately they consented to my plan. I entered the Society of African Missions as a preparatory student on the 9th of September 2020 in SMA Silang Formation House, Philippines.
Currently, I am preparing myself for the next step of my SMA formation with high hopes and faithful anticipation for what lies ahead. It is God who has given. It is He who will sustain.
Niño has now taken this step – on completing his fifth year of training he has, as can be seen in the photo above taken his first Oath and is now a member of the SMA. In September he will take up his first missionary appointment – a one-year internship in Egypt where he will live and work alongside experienced SMA priests. He will then, God willing continue with theology studies.
For details on how to contribute to the support and education of SMA Students like Niño please contact the FVC Director nearest to where you live.
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