Giving Thanks Like Mary

Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri, nagpupuri sa Panginoon; nagagalak ang aking espiritu sa ‘king Tagapagligtas

These were the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary when she expressed her thanksgiving to God for all the wonderful things He has done for her.

Today, we echo those words as we thank God for the grace to have reached our first year anniversary as a community devoted to the Rosary of Our Lady.

It has been said that “Gratitude is the heart’s memory”. Like Mary, we too recall the previous year when we began our devotion. We unveiled our devotion in this very house 12 months ago with 10 families agreeing to welcome the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary into their homes where we could pray the rosary together on certain evenings.

Through those prayer gatherings, our bond as a group got stronger and stronger. Through those prayer gatherings, we continued what we have been taught when we were in our home country and by doing so, became ‘missionaries’ of the Rosary in the UK!

This year, we are glad that from 10 families, we have grown into 15! From the Bestwood and Daybrook Areas, we have included Old Basford which is why we now call our group as Filipino Rosary Crusade – Nottingham North. We thank the ‘Original 10’ for once again taking part in this year’s devotion. We welcome our 5 new member families into our fold. We look forward to working with you all to make this project a success.

And we also now have a comprehensive prayer booklet which includes songs, reflections on the various mysteries of the Rosary, etc.

As we celebrate our First Foundation Anniversary, let us keep ourselves humble and rooted in God like Mama Mary. Let us always bear in mind that it was by His grace and His grace alone that we are able to achieve these and many more blessings that would come our way.

Full of hope, let us keep our hearts open to the inspiration of God so we could continue this beautiful devotion and become a light for a world that is in need of it.

Finally, let us always be united under the maternal protection of Mary so that like her, we may also be instruments of the Lord’s mercy for all.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

(The above article was the message I delivered during the Filipino Rosary Crusade - Nottingham North's 1st anniversary celebration held on 1st October 2010.)