Pandemic lessons: Compassion, service

“No man is an island,” a well-known adage that people use to describe how we are all interconnected with one another. But the pandemic lockdowns posed a challenge to everyone’s sense of community.

Yet, the pandemic has also been the best time to extend a helping hand to others in the practice of compassion and service in the same way that Saint Loyola did. It also taught us to be closer to God through prayers and gave us a new purpose in life.

Discipleship is not an easy task; however, it is my responsibility and our responsibility to embody the values that God taught us. Life is limited and short, and every day we are taught to do better. I do believe that we are the catalyst of change and that we need to push through to make things happen. As an Atenean, being a man or woman for others is more than helping others; it may also mean changing a person’s life, sacrificing for the sake of a bigger purpose, and being selfless.

Angela P. Regondola, Ateneo de Naga University