The Childhood Experiences of Fr. Fiel Pareja | The Life of a Priest Podcast

This is an excerpt from the full interview on The Life of a Priest, a podcast available in the Tabella Catholic App.

Father Fiel Pareja is a priest serving in the area of Pampanga, in the north of the Philipines. He is also known for his strong presence in social media. Below is the transcript of this segment:

Going back and tracing all my  experiences, the strength that I had as a child; the fulfillment, my motivation to achieve my dream is in itself the hand of God leading me to where I am at this moment. And all of those experiences I consider as religious experiences even if I do not know, as a child, that God is already there. But you know, that child of me, the younger Fiel, the version of me, is filled with dreams and aspirations. Coming from a poor family, a child, it is normal to aspire: “One day I will see myself helping my family. One day we will go out of this place and have a life that we deserve.” And because I am ambitious as a child, I can see that the fire in me is the fire that God has already implanted. And God used that fire to achieve my dreams, and to lead me to the dream that he has for me at this moment. So, not giving up just because you are poor. You cannot go places just because you are poor. You’re not gonna achieve your dreams just because you don’t have materially or financially; that doesn’t mean that it is already the end of your life, but actually, you can use that to fuel your desire to achieve your dreams.

Listen to the entire interview with Father Fiel Pareja on the Tabella Catholic App.