“Be prayerful and if you can, go to mass everyday online.”
That is the advice of singer-songwriter Jose Marie Chan to people suffering from cabin fever because of COVID-19.
“Get inspiration from homilies…it is very important that we are connected with our God,” he said, in “An afternoon to Remember with Jose Marie Chan”, a Zoom gathering of media practitioners from around the country organized by Selrahco led by Charles Lim on Saturday, September 25.
Chan, an adopted son of Bacolod City, said the three important tenets are faith, hope and charity.
“Faith that we believe that Jesus is God’s only begotten son who was born to this earth to save us from our sins so there will be eternal life for all of us after this journey, hope that we will reach our destination as true Christians, and charity through kindness towards others,” he said.
“For those of us who have been blessed sufficiently we should reach out o those who are in need, “he said.
Meanwhile, Chan said his advice to inspiring singers is: “You cannot depend on singing as a livelihood.”
“In this country you cannot live on music alone, learn the business of your parents, go into a career, whether its medicine, law or engineering, and use your music as your hobby,” he said.
Singers should not smoke because it is very bad for them, he also said.
Chan spent Saturday afternoon with the media dishing out advise, giving history lessons, teaching them Chinese words, and regaling them with stories on how he gained inspiration for songs he composed.*