Media Credit: Jesse Manibusan Peforms in the Salve Regina University Chapel
By Kaitlyn Boisvert –
The Salve Regina University Chapel welcomed a rather unique visitor on the Saturday evening of Oct. 15. With a welcoming smile, a friendly optimistic attitude, and a wooden guitar strapped to his shoulder, Jesse Manibusan sat in the chapel’s center, and performed a faithful, light-hearted concert for all of the gathered attendees. From 6 to 8 p.m. he strummed his guitar, sang in a powerful voice, and got all of his audiences involved in his performance by delving into the mantra of story-telling and cracking jokes. The night ensued in a lot of laughs, smiles, and marked a very successful performance of a talented man of great faith and talent.
As a self-proclaimed “Catholic Ninja,” Manibusan is a motivational speaker renowned for his musical abilities, devotion to God, and his love for humor. In his performance for Salve Regina, Manibusan spoke to his audience about the grace of God, and about the importance of living out a life of faith and mercy. He also encouraged the audience to reach a state of peace of compassion with both themselves and their fellow peers.
“God has a plan for each of us,” he said, beaming happily above his guitar. “He hopes for us to be the best we can possibly be, and for us to reach that, we must open ourselves to mercy. Once we do that, only good awaits us.”
As well as sharing his words of wisdom and motivational stories, Manibusan also got his audience involved through the experience of singing along to optimistic and faithful songs. Some of the tunes were light-hearted songs, and enabled everyone to be a part of his story-telling, while others were more pious and serious. One of the songs chanted was “Open My Eyes,” which filled the chapel with an aura of riveting voices that expressed devotion and faith.
At first, many members were hesitant in joining Manibusan in song, yet he encouraged all of his attendees to push aside their doubts and let themselves be moved and guided by the music. “Who cares if you think you don’t have the best voice?” he asked his audience. “Just sing along anyway–no one is listening or judging. We are all in this together.”
Manibusan’s concert had a good number of attendees, with Salve and non-salve visitors alike, and each person shared a laugh and enjoyed themselves while being a part of such an optimistic performance. As well as singing and participating in Manibusan’s story-telling, the audience was also prompted to dance. Manibusan’s wife, Jodie, gathered a few attendees who joined her onstage and happily moved along to the beat, much to the amusement of their peers.
Following the performance, almost everyone present proceeded downstairs to the Mercy Center to join Manibusan in a small after-reception. Attendees were open to refreshments as well as getting to socialize with Manibusan and purchasing one of his T shirts or CDs.
The response to the concert was very positive and enthusiastic. “I thought it was amazing,” said Andrea Perry, a Salve senior. “I was able to meet him before the concert, and he is very kind and personable. As for the concert, I loved its emphasis of mercy. It was very different, and it showed the many ways that we can live and achieve it.”
Dominick Costa, a sophomore, was also able to meet Manibusan previously, and expressed similar joy for the concert. “The Mercy Center chose Jesse to visit the university because his concert can appeal to many faiths,” he said. “I am very happy with the result, and I feel that I have grown from being a part of this experience.”
For Manibusan himself, the concert was also an enlightening and pleasant experience. Although he admitted that being a motivational speaker requires him to travel away from home a lot, he still loves all the gifts and joys that it brings. “It gives me the wonderful opportunity to connect with people,” he said. “With this job, I live with faith right in front of me, and it inspires me to grow into the person I am meant to be.”
