Stories teaching humility, charity, forgiveness and making sacrifices for loved ones were the focus of the post-Easter Inquirer Read-Along session on Saturday at the Inquirer office in Makati City.

Guest storytellers were Bro. Kenneth Rey Parsad, reigning Inquirer Read-Along Festival storytelling champion Eine Vuycankiat, Festival storytelling contest finalist Ralph Villafuerte and Sophia School principal Ann Abacan.

First-time reader Parsad was the theology student from the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary who became a trending topic on social media after he served as a responsorial psalm reader at one of the Masses celebrated by Pope Francis during his visit to the country in January.

“It is my first time to read to kids. While I used to teach songs to children, storytelling is a totally new experience,” Parsad said.

He capped the session by reading “Ang Tagasilbing Hindi Marunong Magpatawad,” as retold by Boots Pastor, the story of a servant whose debt was forgiven by his master but who did not extend the same forgiveness to a fellow servant who owed him.

Younger audience

“I realized that Jesus is indeed a very good preacher. He preached to people from all walks of life and all kinds of people. In a way, I am happy I was able to experience preaching to kids this time. Usually I talk to people around my age but this time it was a younger audience,” he said.

Abacan kicked off the read-along with Rene Villanueva’s “Ang Batang Natutong Magpakumbaba,” the story of an arrogant young car that learned the value of humility after meeting an accident due to his excessive pride.

Villafuerte read Mary Ann Ordinario-Floresta’s “The Crying Trees,” a moving story about a great-grandfather tree that sacrificed its life to protect little trees, while Vuycankiat read Virgilio Almario’s “Si Pagong at si Matsing,” the classic story of how a turtle outsmarted a selfish monkey.

Villafuerte and Vuycankiat have been nominated to represent the Philippines in the coming Asean Plus Three Storytelling Competition in Brunei.

With the pressure of competition no longer on their shoulders, both Vuycankiat and Villafuerte said this session was “more fun.”

“It is nice because this time there was no competition so I felt more relaxed. The only thing on my mind was to tell the story,” Villafuerte said.

“Everything went well, though I still felt nervous. But it was more fun,” Vuycankiat added.

Months after the Festival competition, the two said they still read a lot on their own and practiced storytelling in their respective schools.

Courage, love, hope

“I had fun storytelling again. I hope the children learned the value of not being selfish and being considerate of others through the story I read,” said Vuycankiat, a fifth grader at School of St. Anthony in Quezon City.

“Reading helps us learn new things and important moral lessons. Through the story I read, I hope the children learned about courage, love and hope,” said Villafuerte, a Grade 6 student at Optimus Center for Development in Rizal.

Show selflessness

Grade 5 student Kate of Optimus said she liked Parsad’s story as it taught her to forgive those who had sinned against her. “Just like Papa Jesus, we should show selflessness to the people we love,” she said.

Aside from forgiving, 12-year-old Marjorie from Virlanie Foundation said that we should “never inflict harm on others as well.”

Around 50 children from Optimus, Virlanie Foundation and F. Benitez Elementary School attended the session hosted by Inquirer Read-Along team members Kate Pedroso and Rafael Antonio.