Twenty-one years ago, a young man was cleaning muck out of a drainage gutter when he heard a co-worker call out, “Hey, a priest is here to see you.” With a pounding heart he ran to meet the priest and standing before him covered in grime, mud and sweat, heard him say, “The seminary is willing to give you a go.”

And so, hinged in this ‘little’ moment, a life unfolded. A moment which Fr Junjun Amaya remembers as if it were yesterday and, through a series of further unfoldings, has led to his recent incardination as a priest of Sandhurst after seventeen years in Australia.

“I realised, in that moment, that God really is in control,” said Fr Junjun. “I feel God has always put good people near me, to help me see God’s path for me. Every day I’m grateful for those people and I’m assured that I am where I am meant to be,” affirmed Fr Junjun.

On the day Fr Junjun was cleaning the gutter, he had almost given up on his long-held dream of becoming a priest because he hadn’t completed high school. He was just seventeen years old but had been supporting his family for eighteen months. When Fr Junjun was sixteen his father became too ill to work. As the oldest son of eleven children, Fr Junjun felt responsible for supporting his family, so, he left school and started working full time. When his father died, he felt his chances of becoming a priest were even more diminished but still prayed and hoped in earnest.

To keep his flame for ministry burning, Fr Junjun continued as a catechist at a local school which must have caught the attention of those around him, particularly his parish priest. As fate would have it, someone told him of a government test for out-of-school youth. In Fr Junjun’s mind he struck a bargain with the Lord. “I said to him: ‘Lord, if you let me pass this test, I will enter the seminary.’ He never let me down. I passed the test which allowed me entry to college, it was one of the happiest days of my life.” Armed with this news, Fr Junjun’s parish priest worked in the background advocating for Fr Junjun’s entry to the seminary. He entered the seminary for a one-year trial before he commenced formal studies.

“It was a struggle for me, knowing I wouldn’t be able to support my family, especially since my oldest sister was worried it would put a lot of financial pressure on my mother. But I was compelled to follow my calling. I struck another bargain – I’ll give it one year, and if nobody dies from famine, I’ll take that as a further sign that God wants me to be a priest,” said Fr Junjun, amused at his young logic.

Many good people entered Fr Junjun’s life to support his journey to the priesthood. Each one he believes was the Holy Spirit working. In his trial year at the Seminary his parish priest paid for his fees, and occasional work in the parish allowed Fr Junjun to help his family. Then, something almost miraculous happened. “A person unknown to me visited my parish for the May Fiesta. They asked for me and said, ‘A benefactor is going to pay for your seminary fees’. Again, I knew God was in control.”

This anonymous benefactor supported Fr Junjun financially for the for six years of seminary training in Cebu prior to his moving to Australia. Every month, Fr Junjun would write to his benefactor to express his gratitude sending the letters via the seminary office. To this day, he still doesn’t know who this supporter was.

Fr Junjun said his move to Australia was less of a decision and more of a movement of the Spirit. He said he didn’t think much of it when his fellow seminarian and friend, Eugene, asked him, “There’s an Australian Bishop looking for seminarians, would you go to Australia?”

“I didn’t really know much about Australia; back then I thought all foreigners were American,” joked Fr Junjun. “I replied to Eugene, ‘Maybe’. I wasn’t so keen, because I only had three years of training ahead to become a priest in the Philippines. Eugene said, ‘Ok, I’ll put your name down then.’ “

Fr Junjun said he thought nothing would come of it. Especially because, due to circumstances, he didn’t meet Bishop Joe when he visited the Philippines. Then, out of the blue, he received a phone call from Bishop Joe which stopped him in his tracks. “When I got on the phone, Bishop Joe greeted me, ‘How are you, my friend?’ That single phrase really drew me to Australia,” reflects Fr Junjun adding that he had never spoken directly to a Bishop like that before.

Of the three seminarians from the Philippines who ventured to Corpus Christi College, Carlton as Sandhurst seminarians in 2007, only Fr Junjun remains. Eugene, who was keen for Fr Junjun to join on the Australian sojourn, returned to the Philippines after the first semester and Fr Bernie returned home after five years of serving in the Diocese as a priest.  (That being said, Fr Eugene later fufilled the original agreement by serving in the Diocese for five years).

“Our agreement with Bishop Joe was that we would complete our vocational training in Melbourne, then serve as priests in Sandhurst for five years, after which we would be free to return home.”

Fr Junjun completed his seminary training at Corpus Christi College, Carlton. He was ordained a Deacon in October 2010 at Sacred Heart Cathedral by Bishop Joe Grech. After eleven years as a seminarian, he was ordained a priest in his home parish, San Isidro Labrador- Mantalongon, in September 2011 by Bishop Julito Cortes.

“My ordination was a celebratory occasion, a contingent of some forty people from Sandhurst came to my home parish for the occasion; I felt so much love, it was wonderful.”

Fr Junjun has now served as a priest in Sandhurst for thirteen years, which was never his initial intention. “I could see there is a need for priests here so I thought I would stay. The Sandhurst Diocese has been very supportive of me, and I know my presence and ministry here is appreciated. It’s where I am meant to be.”

When Bishop Shane met with Archbishop José Palma of Cebu, during his visit to the Philippines last year, the subject of Fr Junjun’s incardination to the Diocese of Sandhurst arose. In Yarrawonga in June this year, Fr Junjun was excardinated from the Diocese of Cebu and incardinated to the Diocese of Sandhurst, to the great joy of friends and parishioners.

Over seventeen years in the Diocese Fr Junjun has enjoyed the full support of three Bishops; the late Bishop Joe Grech; Bishop Emeritus Leslie Tomlinson; and Bishop Shane Mackinlay. “If I was a priest in the Philippines, I wonder if I would have such a beautiful supportive relationship with my Bishop,” said Fr Junjun. “All of the Sandhurst Bishops have been very supportive and understanding of me personally. They’ve all shown a genuine interest and care for their seminarians and priests as people – who we are, the things we do … I’m grateful for this.”

For Fr Junjun’s family, his move to Australia wasn’t easy. “Initially my mother was devastated,” he said. “My family are now reconciled to the fact that I am living in Australia. The internet has been a great gift; we facetime each other and the distance doesn’t seem so great. My youngest brother is now keen to migrate here.”

Fr Junjun believes his experience as a migrant has helped him to relate to many of his parishioners, particularly for his fellow Filipinos. “Wherever I am, I celebrate the Filipino Fiestas, for example, it helps us in our adjustment to life here and eases our homesickness. Sometimes just being together is a great help,” said Fr Junjun. “So, no matter how many or how few, we can organise events to celebrate together and create that sense of community. I hope this extends to everyone in our parish and communities.”

Now, as Parish Priest of Sacred Heart, Yarrawonga and St Joseph’s, Cobram, Fr Junjun is settling into a “new kind of busy”. He says he has the ‘Serenity Prayer’ in an old frame, which he takes with him from parish to parish, a reminder that he can only give as much as he can give. “I would like to think that I inspire others; I can only hope that people can see that God is real and present in everything that I do.”

Fr Junjun recalls his first parish placement at St Therese’s, Kennington on a winter’s day many years ago. “Everyone welcomed us so warmly, except for one – the winter weather. everyone welcomed me so warmly.” This warmth from the people of Sandhurst has sustained Fr Junjun over the thirteen years of his priesthood.

“I am incredibly grateful to all of the people who have supported me and I give thanks to God for all that has been and all that will be.”

In the next edition of Sandpiper we talk further with Fr Junjun about all the ‘little things’ that keep the big machine going. So, stay tuned.

Images from top:  Fr Junjun Amaya on the day of his ordination as a priest of the Diocese of Sandhurst (taking the selfie) with Bishop Shane Mackinlay,  Fr Mick Morley and Mason Crosier. 

Middle: Fr Junjun on the day of his Incardination to the Diaconate with Fr Rom Hayes and Bishop Joe Grech (2011).