These Bank Holidays in May

The merry month of May in the UK always has 2 public holidays (commonly known as bank holidays) held on the first and last Mondays of this month. While the former is called 'May Day Bank Holiday', the latter is know as 'Spring Bank Holiday'.

May is the month when everything comes to life. Leaves that have fallen from trees last autumn have been replaced by new, verdant ones. Flowers start to bloom. Birds who may have migrated to safer areas during winter have returned chirping. More time for gardening indeed! More sunshine? Well, there were days this month that you would describe as 'glorious' rather than 'gloomy'. (It's back to the gloomy weather these past few days, but that's another story!)

For me, these 2 bank holidays were occasions when I got engaged with nature.  During the May Day Bank Holiday, we (Nidz, Chiara, and me) went to Floralands Garden Centre (http://www.floralands.co.uk/), a 15-20 minute drive from our home. Together with Bon Frio, one of our friends, his kids Miguel and Megan, and my god daughters Nadine Sulit and Julia Rapada, we walked through a huge parcel of land where there was a playground  we rode on a small train, to the kids' amazement. The route was full of greenery.  Afterwards, we walked to the farm where we found and fed animals such as pigs, calves, donkeys, sheep, ducks, rabbits, chicken, goats, etc. 

The pigs and calves were asleep when we went there in spite the kids shouting at them to wake them up. I enjoyed feeding the donkeys. At first, the kids were afraid to place food on their hand and offer it to the animals. But when they saw me feeding them, they were enthused. Pointing at one of the donkeys, I told Chiara "That's St Joseph's car" explaining to the little one that there were no other means of transport during his time except donkeys (or other similar animals such as horses and camels).

We later moved to another another area of the farm where plants and garden décor of various sizes and shapes were on sale.  We concluded the day with a meal courtesy of our friends Susan and Meng Sulit.

Fast forward now.  Just a few days ago, some members of our rosary group paid the Poor Clare Monastery (http://www.poorclaresnottingham.org.uk/)  a visit. As suggested by Fr Gerry Murphy, our Parish Priest, we went there help the sisters spruce up their 'guest wing' garden.  Days previous to our gardening outreach, the sun was in its glory.  However, the forecast for that Monday wasn't good. We prayed to St Clare for a good weather.  As I woke up that Monday, the sun has already appeared. I smiled and got myself ready.  After packing things up, we went to pick up a Julia and brought her and Chiara to the Sulits who kindly agreed to look after them. Other friends also brought their kids there. We picked up 3 friends Juliet Talanay, her daughter Maxille Anne, and Jona Estioso; collected food from another friend Rachelle Abrera, and then made our way to the monastery.  

We were welcomed by Sr Francis who has to dash off for the Mass. Geoff and Ana Caingcoy, Bon Frio, Chris and Mary Ann Provida, and Jude Amamio and kids Anton and Lulu came in succession. All in all, we were 13. After a short prayer in front of a statue of Our Lady, we buckled down to work. Both Fr Gerry and Mother Mercy came to see us later and thanked us for our assistance. Mother Mercy has previously told us that the area we'll be working on was the garden for guests (Fr Gerry called it "The Guest Wing").  Some of its former guests have donated benches or decorated a portion of it in memory of a deceased loved one. I saw a bench dedicated to Anne Lokes, an admired parishioner.

The work we did ranged from getting rid of weeds to trimming some plants; from cutting tree branches to tidying up the area.  By late afternoon, it started to rain. Yet, we all carried on, maintaining that lively Filipino way of working.  Mother Mercy came to see us again and she kept on thanking us, remarking that the area now "...looks like (a garden proper to a) monastery". She said "Salamat" and "God bless you". When I bade her goodbye, she assured me of the nuns' prayers for our group.

The story didn't end there though. After leaving the monastery, we headed to the parish hall where Fr Gerry asked us to weed out the wall connecting the hall and the monastery.  It was still drizzling, yet we kept our focus weeding out the wall and trimming some plants by the pavement.

Like in the previous bank holiday, we had a small salu-salo at the Sulits' residence. I slept that night thankful to the Lord for guiding us in our outreach and for the goodness of people who looked after our kids or prepared food.

These bank holidays in May have made me realize how good God is by creating such a wonderful world for us to behold and, more importantly, to look after.  Be it feeding animals or gardening, these activities allow us to be part of God's creative role - collectively or individually, rain or shine!

Full of Grace

(Here's a reflection I gave during the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Parish in Nottingham on 22 June 2013. The reflection is part of a series of reflections focusing on the "Hail Mary". This event coincided with the Parish Fiesta.)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

It's almost 10 years ago when my family and I started worshipping in this church. One of the parishioners I got acquainted with was Anne Lokes whom I consider to be "full of grace". An elderly woman who used to attend daily Mass, Anne always sits at the last pew and was the first person I would see in church every time I pass by before going to work in what used to be Henry Mellish School many years ago. I would often see her kneeling and praying the rosary. She would even greet me as I make my way to a pew and then as I go out of the church. Apart from daily Mass she was also a welcome during weekend Masses. In spite of her old age, she also looked after the flowers adorning the altar. "Where does she get that energy?" I once asked myself.

A soft-spoken lady, Anne smiles as though she was an angel as far as I am concerned. Years ago, I was under the weather and decided to go to confession one cold Saturday evening. As I opened the church door, I saw Anne sat in the porch, holding a rosary. She told me, in her gentle voice, that the rosary was being recited at that very moment. For some reason, her gesture gave me assurance that everything will be alright; that all I need to do was pray and have faith in God. I went to confession and later joined in the rosary. I went home at peace.

Anne continued to serve the parish until she retired due to illness. She passed away a few years later.

When the Archangel Gabriel addressed Mary as "full of grace" he recognized how God was pleased with Mary. The Lord was delighted with Mary so much that He preserved her from original sin at the moment of her conception, that she was chosen to be the new Eve (Christ being the new Adam), that she was to become the spiritual mother of all Christians, and that she was taken up to heaven body and soul. Mary received all these blessings, not because she deserved them, but because of God's grace. As the Church Fathers have taught, she received these blessings to make her more worthy to be God's mother and to be the perfect role model for all of Christ's followers.

We may not be as privileged as Mary, but each of us has received grace from God that we need to become more worthy as His stewards (e.g. as a parent, child, professional, community servant, etc.). We just need to:1. be aware of grace; 2. be open to it; 3. be willing to share it. Going back to Anne, I saw her awareness of and openness to grace through her prayerful life. She was also generous with the blessing she received by sharing her time, efforts, and talents with the parish and by touching the lives of those around her, mine included.

I'm sure Anne followed the example of Mary to whom she was devoted to. At the Annunciation, Mary told the archangel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word." I believe Mary said these words in her heart in the many events she shared with Jesus: at the stable in Bethlehem, the Temple of Jerusalem, the wedding feast in Cana, and even in Calvary.

The Year of Faith is a year of grace. Through Mary's help let's live and grow in God's grace so that others would also believe in Him; so that others would experience that the Lord is with us!

Happy fiesta!