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 Leaves that have fallen from trees last autumn have been replaced by new, verdant ones.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!

Poor Yet Rich in God's Sight

When we were moving from the Sherwood area to the Bestwood area in Nottingham almost 10 years ago, one of the first things I thought of was where is the church located.  By doing some Google-search, I found where the church is located.  Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Parish has its own website and I surfed through it, enjoying the pictures of the church on display in the web. I left a message on the web's guest book.  

We moved eventually to Bestwood, started to worship at Our Lady's, and got to know more the people there.  Out of the blue, someone sent me an e-mail welcoming me to the parish.  No, it wasn't the parish priest. Nor was it someone from the parish pastoral council.  It was one Sr Margaret, a nun from the Poor Clare Monastery which just next door to the parish church.  I was surprised and, at the same time, touched by Sister's gesture. Surprised because, based on what I was told in the Philippines, Poor Clare nuns don't interact with people outside their convent. Touched because, in spite of that 'border' between those inside the monastery and outside, I felt being one with her community.  That oneness continues till this day.

My family sees the sisters as a part of our support system. We contact them every time we need prayers, for ourselves or for others. So much is our closeness to them that we named our daughter Chiara Francesca, after Saints Clare and Francis, the founder of the Poor Clares and the Franciscans respectively. When Chiara was baptised, the sisters at that time (Mother Mary Francis and Sr Margaret) were unable to attend the ceremony, but they gave her numerous gifts.  

On another occasion, while visiting the sisters at Christmastime in 2009, Mother Mary Francis gave her rosary to Chiara - she saw that the little girl was getting uneasy then.  I thought she just gave it to her to play with so I returned it to her before going home. She told me to keep it, for my daughter.  Little did I know that that would be our last meeting - both sisters moved to another monastery south of England early the following year.  We still continue to keep in touch through letters.

Even though there was a change in leadership and composition of the monastery, the sisters have continued to show the same kindness and warmth to us.  Mother Mercy, the present Abbess, is very complimentary to the Filipino Rosary Crusade-Nottingham North.  She once took Chiara by the hand and brought her to their chapel to show her a statue of St Clare. Both of them knelt and prayed in front of the  woman's statue.  Last Christmas, the sisters gave our group a box of cakes and, a doll for Chiara!

St Clare's rule for her order is "to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience,without possessing anything as my own and in chastity". "Without possessing anything as my own". For the materialistic this is unthinkable.  For the selfish this is suicide. For the power-hungry this is madness.

Strangely, St Clare and her daughters (mind you, they have been in existence for the last 801 years!) shame those whose notion of happiness is to acquire or worse hoard material things.  I suddenly remembered Msgr David Forde's punchline in his homily last Sunday: "Enjoy your wealth, but don't let it control you".

Gifts, a rosary, a box of cakes, a doll, prayers. Whatever the nuns gave, they gave cheerfully. St Clare and her daughters through the ages mirror Jesus who "though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Thank you, Poor Clare sisters (be it in Bulwell, Arundel, or elsewhere) for your generosity of heart, simplicity of spirit, humble service, and joyful friendship.  May our faithful Lord bless you always through the intercession of St Clare!

Happy feast day this 11th of August!