Coming Close Through the Heart of Mary

Last weekend, our parish celebrated the feast of our patroness, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.  The celebration coincided with the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. As such, the liturgy was that of the Lord's feast.  However, there was an opportunity for all worshippers to pay tribute to Our Lady by offering flowers to her icon.  In his homily, Fr Gerry (our Parish Priest) was able to fuse together the two feasts by calling our attention to two treasures of our church: the Last Supper mosaic at the main altar and the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.  What was catching between the image of Jesus in the former and that of the Blessed Mother in the latter were their eyes. Beholders, wherever they are located in church, won't fail to be 'caught' in the gaze of these pairs of eyes. For 10 years now, I have always been 'touched' by that gaze of Jesus' eyes every time I go to that church.  Apart from the gaze, the Lord's hands are outstretched as though inviting everyone to the feast, encouraging those afraid to come and have that conversation with Him. Fr Gerry invited us to think of Mary as being in that Last Supper mosaic.  With her in that celebration, how can we refuse to take heed of Jesus' call?

June 27, the traditional feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, happens to be the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this year.  Just like that Corpus Christi event in our parish, the liturgy for Friday will be that of the feast of Our Lord.  And yet, you would hear that the Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran, is due to observe its patroness' feast on the same day. I guess Jesus won't mind if devotees pay tribute to His Mother and ours on His feast day.  As St Louis Marie de Montfort, a French priest known for his devotion to Mary, once said "We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus, her Son".

Coming from a culture known for being makaina (pro-mom), we approach Mary so that through her we can come close to Jesus. Catholics, and Pinoys in particular, are convinced that the best way to know and be near the Heart of Jesus is through the Heart of Mary.  The first few lines of the Apostleship of Prayer's Morning Offering say: O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day...

Mary has been known to be of help to others even when she was in need herself.  As of this writing, the Church celebrates the Birth of St John the Baptist. Mary, upon learning that her elder cousin Elizabeth was pregnant (with John the Baptist), travelled to Judea to visit her, to come to her aid.  Mary did this in spite being pregnant herself.  Then again at Calvary, in spite of being sorrowful Mary wholeheartedly accepted her new role as our mother.  Jesus Himself came to the aid of others even to the point of scandalizing some of his self-righteous contemporaries, even to the point of emptying Himself so that others could have their fill.

As we celebrate these feasts, let us ask for the grace to have a heart ready to help others.  There is another celebration happening on the 27th - World Day of Priests. One of the 12 promises made by the Lord to St Margaret Mary Alacoque was that He will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts. Touching the most hardened of hearts seems to be an uphill battle nowadays, not only for priests, but for parents and other concerned people. Let's entrust our priests to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary that they may remain open, humble, and caring to the flock entrusted to them. Only if their hearts are like that of Jesus would they be able to touch others' hearts.  Our diocese currently has no bishop. May the good Lord send us a new shepherd whose heart is after the heart of God Himself.

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June 29 marks the sacerdotal anniversary of two priests I know of in the Diocese of Nottingham.  

Fr Gerry Murphy, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and Delegate to the Diocese's College of Consultors, will be celebrating his 40th anniversary. Through Fr Gerry's support, our rosary group has been able to hold the monthly Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the church every last Saturday of the month. Our group was also given the opportunity to contribute further to the life of the parish through assistance at Mass, visit to the elderly, and gardening at the monastery and parish hall.

Fr Geoffrey Hunton, Dean and Parish Priest of St Barnabas Cathedral, will be commemorating his 12th.  He's one of the first priests I have known since migrating to the UK.One of the first 'ministries' I got involved with in church was to assist Fr Geoff in the cathedral bulletin. Although I don't do that any more, I feel welcomed at the Cathedral every time I go there, especially during Thursday noon time for the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Fr Geoff's warmness made that possible.  I am truly blessed to have him as a friend!

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus inspire and animate you in your ministry! May the Immaculate Heart of Mary be your refuge! May the Apostles Peter and Paul intercede for you.Thank you.

My Priest Friend

One of the first Britons I made friends with happened to be a priest. Having no barkada in the UK, my only outlets were serving the parish and being with other ex-patriates during occasions like birthdays, etc.

I first met Fr Geoffrey Hunton when I attended Mass at the Nottingham Cathedral 6 years ago. It was the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul and my late aunt’s death anniversary. Fr Geoff, as he is fondly called, at that time was celebrating his first anniversary as a priest.

It was only in late October when I had the chance to greet him “Good evening” while making my way to one of the pews. He replied back “Good evening and welcome!” It was such a short and unexpected greeting. For me it would be impossible for priests to interact with as many people they meet during Mass, let alone welcome them. Yet this priest made the effort to do so.

He did it again when, before the start of the Christmas Vigil Mass, he went to the lectern and explained to everyone – most especially to visitors/newcomers to the Cathedral including those from other faiths – that they would be most welcome to ask for the priest’s blessing when they queue for Communion.

I finally had the chance to really interact and work with him when the Cathedral was looking for volunteers to help him in organising the Cathedral Bulletin. Having been part of a parish newsletter before, I thought this might be a good idea. He arranged a meeting and then we agreed to work on the bulletin every Thursday afternoon. During that time, my work finishes at 3:30pm so by 4:00pm I was already knocking at the Cathedral House. I also had the chance then to meet other priests and volunteers.

During one of our conversations, I recalled to him that Christmas Vigil Mass experience. He told me that as a priest, he intended to make people feel being welcomed in the community. True enough, Fr Geoff was such an accommodating man who valued my inputs during my short stint of assisting him.

In spite his move to the Bishop’s House some years ago, we still continue to get in touch (and sometimes bump into each other in the City Centre!). Even if we have not seen each other for quite a while, I know that I have a friend out there who will welcome me.

A Blessed 7th Anniversary of your priestly ordination, my dear friend! May Jesus continue to fill you with His Spirit as you reach out and welcome more souls into the fold.