Take Me

Take, O take me as I am
Summon out what I shall be
Set Your seal upon my heart
And live in me.

I watched and listened intently as my daughter and her fellow first Holy Communicants sang this song to the delight of everyone in church.  I was one proud dad - my daughter has received the Body of Christ for the first time on that sunny 14th day of May!

My mind brought me back to early December last year, when we parents met in school with Fr Gerry Murphy (our parish priest at that time), Ms Reilly (head teacher), and teachers to prepare for our children's first Holy Communion. An Enrolment Mass was held at the Infant of Prague Church (where the first Holy Communion Mass will be held) on 21 January 2017 to formally present the children to the parish. This was followed by a series of meetings once a month from February to May.

Children were also provided with two books: "Love and Forgiven" which focused on the celebration of their first Sacrament of Reconciliation and "Meet Christ with Joy" which focused on the celebration of their first Holy Communion. We were encouraged to guide our children in completing these books.  For Nidz and I, it felt like going back 30 odd years ago when we made our first Holy Communion.  While I helped Chiara with the text that needs to go into these books, Nidz assisted with the pictures and drawings. Teachers regularly monitor children's progress.

Apart from these, we were also invited to become involved in the Vigil Masses in church from January to May.  Parents took turns in facilitating a "Children's Liturgy" wherein the candidates for first Holy Communion have their own celebration in the sacristy. Part of this celebration is to read the Gospel, make a brief reflection on what was read, and do an activity related to the reflection. (The "Children's Liturgy" runs parallel to the Liturgy of the Word.) After the "Children's Liturgy", the children go back to the sanctuary to present their work. Nidz and I facilitated two liturgies. In one of those, we taught the children to sing "Let it shine" which was met with a round of applause from the congregation.

Fast forward now. Nidz and I sat next to each other, happy to see our daughter reaching another milestone in her journey of faith. We were blessed to have my father Mario and youngest sister Kristina coming from New York to also witness Chiara's special day. 

After the Mass, lots of clicking sounds could be heard from cameras and mobile phones as first Holy Communicants and their families posed for photo opportunities in or near the sanctuary. Later on, we made our way to the Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Community Centre for a sumptuous meal of Filipino dishes, a joint effort we shared with three other Filipino families. But before that, we were asked to see the Poor Clare sisters. In the monastery, Chiara, Mia, Reyna, and Megan made a repeat performance of their song. The sisters were elated!

During the reception, guests gave short messages to the first Holy Communicants. Papa gave an impromptu speech. Chiara later thanked everyone in behalf of her friends.

If there is one word that sums up this first Holy Communion celebration, it is take. Our children take the Lord's Body and eat it. We parents, as well as other members of the family, the parish, the school, etc. take once again that calling to nurture our children's faith.  Above all, the Lord Himself takes these children - takes us all actually - in spite of our imperfections so that we may have life to the full (John 10:10).

To Chiara and her fellow first Holy Communicants, congratulations. Jesus takes your hearts and has found a new home in them. Make Him feel welcome so that He would live there at all times.

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.

***

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.

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!