The Fourth K

What could have prevented the two disciples from recognizing the Lord on their way to Emmaus? Perhaps the experience of Jesus' shameful death on the cross was still fresh in their minds. Perhaps the loss of such a good friend and Master was still painful deep inside. 

The experience of these disciples was similar to that of Mary Magdalene when she thought of the Risen Lord as a gardener (John 20:11-18). As Mary Magdalene recognized the Lord when He called her name, the disciples would later recognize their travel companion in the breaking of bread.

The month of May is a time when fiestas occur in many parts of the Philippines. And when we talk about fiestas, the first thing that comes to our minds is sharing a meal with others.  Here in the UK, our group of friends gather for a meal every now and then, especially after our monthly Mass and Novena in the parish. Sharing a meal is an opportune time to the endless three Ks: kumustahan (greeting), kuwentuhan (storytelling), and katuwaan (banter). Sharing a meal breaks loose our stifled spirits, our stressed out minds, our restless hearts. I guess those three Ks were present during that evening meal in Emmaus. And it was made more special, more meaningful because of the fourth K: Kristo (Christ)!

As we share a meal with family, friends, and even strangers, as we share that great meal in church called the Mass, may we recognize the Risen Jesus' presence in our midst and bear witness to that presence wherever we may go.

Talking about the Mass, Pope Francis tells us "There is always a Word of God that gives us guidance when we slip; and through our weariness and disappointments there is always a Bread that is broken that keeps us going on the journey." 

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May brings to mind two of my heavenly patrons: the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph. May is Mary's month and so we bring her flowers to express our love and gratitude. Interestingly, the first day of this merry month is dedicated to her husband.  For me, it tells us one thing: if we would like to know more about Mary, if we would like to love her, if we would like to follow her footsteps, we have to go to Joseph! If anyone (apart from Jesus) would have known, loved, and followed her it would be St Joe. This year is really special because we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary when Mary appeared in Fatima. In one of those apparitions, St Joseph appeared with the Child Jesus blessing the world. So let's ask St Joseph to help us in becoming good children of Mary, of becoming doers of "whatever Jesus tells us" (cf. John 2:5).

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!