SAUCIER — Fare and fowl

At 16, he joined a religious community. 

He came from a rural area in the Philippines. He loved people, loved animals, and was looking for a simple way to help. 

He had no aspirations for Priesthood. Instead, he asked to become a brother, because these were the men he saw working directly with the people.

He was assigned to the small farm the community kept for its sustenance. He gardened, tended the livestock, and cared for the chickens he quickly adopted as his own.

Native breeds of Filipino chickens are a sturdy bunch, excellent foragers that need little additional feed. My friend was herding free-range chickens long it became a thing.

The novice master was an Italian. A philosophy professor, he became fascinated with the varieties of Filipino bananas. As a hobby, and then a passion, he began planting banana trees on the property.

There came the day when the priest’s expanding banana orchard encroached upon the chickens’ spacious dining room.

The chickens were the winners. Who knew that the young banana seedlings were just as tasty to chickens as their fruit was to humans?

Encountering the plunder of his babies, the novice master went bananas. He found the young brother and laid into him, blaming him for the loss of his trees. He demanded that the offending chickens either be fenced or fried.

The young man was raised to respect his elders, certainly his superiors, but threatening his chickens was a bridge too far.

He defended his flock, explaining that it was their God-given nature to forage, that their taste for banana seedings was instinctual, not malevolent. They were complying with the order of creation, simply being chickens.

As the novice master listened, his rage calmed, and an insight quickened. He told the brother, “You have a good mind. You should be in my philosophy class.”

The chicken advocate laughed at this suggestion, saying he wasn’t qualified, wasn’t interested, didn’t want to study for Priesthood, just work as a brother.

This time, it was the novice master who refuted and persisted. Finally, the brother surrendered and agreed to try the class.

He thrived in that class, accepted the invitation to take others, and was eventually ordained to the Priesthood — all without giving up his love for the poor.

I am reminded to pay attention to the little things in life. 

After all, the reason he is a priest today is because his chickens ate some banana trees.