Like The Beads Of The Rosary

(I'd like to share with you the Closing Message I delivered during the Closing Event of our community's Rosary devotion here in Nottingham on 31st October)

October is almost over, yet our hearts are full of happiness because it was truly a month where we gathered together to pray. From Ate Precy and Jackie’s house, we brought Our Lady’s image to 14 other homes invoking Christ’s peace be on each of them and reflecting the mysteries of the Rosary.

From Bestwood Park to Bestwood; from Bestwood to Old Basford; and from Bestwood again to Daybrook, the homes visited seem to have been like scattered beads joined together like the beads of the Rosary singing “Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri sa Panginoon…” or saying “Hail Mary, full of grace…”

Indeed, this union of hearts and minds through Mary’s Rosary has inspired us to further strengthen and promote our devotion. This unity we have, brought by God’s Spirit, has made us look after each as brothers and sisters. God has touched us all to form a community!

Let us continue to live the message that our Rosary devotion has imparted to us even if it’s not October.

I personally would like to thank all our 15 families for their support in this annual celebration and would like to give them a small token of appreciation.

I’d like to thank too our other kababayans whose homes may not have been visited, but have still joined us in our devotion: Jona Estioso and Vangie Lagazo.

Finally, I’d like to recognize two members for their active participation in this year’s project: Jackie Rapada – “Perfect Attendance” and Jason Sulit – “Most Promising Youth Member”.

Many thanks everyone for taking part in our Closing Event especially to the Sulit Family for hosting tonight’s Rosary. I look forward to working with you all next year, God willing.

Giving Thanks Like Mary

Ang puso ko’y nagpupuri, nagpupuri sa Panginoon; nagagalak ang aking espiritu sa ‘king Tagapagligtas

These were the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary when she expressed her thanksgiving to God for all the wonderful things He has done for her.

Today, we echo those words as we thank God for the grace to have reached our first year anniversary as a community devoted to the Rosary of Our Lady.

It has been said that “Gratitude is the heart’s memory”. Like Mary, we too recall the previous year when we began our devotion. We unveiled our devotion in this very house 12 months ago with 10 families agreeing to welcome the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary into their homes where we could pray the rosary together on certain evenings.

Through those prayer gatherings, our bond as a group got stronger and stronger. Through those prayer gatherings, we continued what we have been taught when we were in our home country and by doing so, became ‘missionaries’ of the Rosary in the UK!

This year, we are glad that from 10 families, we have grown into 15! From the Bestwood and Daybrook Areas, we have included Old Basford which is why we now call our group as Filipino Rosary Crusade – Nottingham North. We thank the ‘Original 10’ for once again taking part in this year’s devotion. We welcome our 5 new member families into our fold. We look forward to working with you all to make this project a success.

And we also now have a comprehensive prayer booklet which includes songs, reflections on the various mysteries of the Rosary, etc.

As we celebrate our First Foundation Anniversary, let us keep ourselves humble and rooted in God like Mama Mary. Let us always bear in mind that it was by His grace and His grace alone that we are able to achieve these and many more blessings that would come our way.

Full of hope, let us keep our hearts open to the inspiration of God so we could continue this beautiful devotion and become a light for a world that is in need of it.

Finally, let us always be united under the maternal protection of Mary so that like her, we may also be instruments of the Lord’s mercy for all.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

(The above article was the message I delivered during the Filipino Rosary Crusade - Nottingham North's 1st anniversary celebration held on 1st October 2010.)

Dream Come True

I once told my wife of my dream of organizing the Rosary devotion among Filipinos in Nottingham, similar to the Block Rosary we had at home. She shared in my aspiration. That dream took two years to be realized though.

27th June 2009, feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, I had a chat with my friend and kumpare Ronald Abrera about my plan which he showed interest in. I began to do some brainstorming, some reflection, and some prayers.

One summer afternoon in July, as we paid Jackie Rapada a visit, I intimated my dream to Precy Lagman, an experienced organiser of our annual Christmas party and other events. Ate Precy liked the idea and assured me of her support by starting to contact other Pinoys. Originally we planned to have the Rosary across the whole of Nottingham, but felt it was too ambitious. We had another meeting with other interested kababayans and, looking at the interest we have gathered, found that we could have the devotion in the Bestwood and Daybrook Areas of the city. Participating families’ availabilities were ironed out and towards the end of the same month the timetable was finalized.

An image of the Immaculate Heart Mary that will be brought from one home to another was purchased from the Poor Clare Sisters Repository in Bulwell along with rosaries, a candle, and prayer leaflets. Luckily I (and other parishioners) managed to track down Fr Paul, who was having tea that time, and asked him to bless the religious articles bought.

1st October came and that dream started to unravel before my eyes. People gathered to pray at the Lagman and Rapada Residence. At a 3 or 4 night-intervals the image of Our Lady (along with a Crucifix from the Lagmans) was transferred to another house. As of this writing, we are already on our 7th house! As you can see, each home and the happenings thereof have been featured as news items in our web of which we are receiving a number of positive feedbacks on the group’s devotion. Our parish newsletter has also included this as part of its announcements for two weeks in a row.

October is nearly complete. We still have 2 homes left before we have our Closing Event on the 31st. Yet as early as now I am very, very grateful to the Lord for blessing this dream. Thanks too to Mama Mary whose unrelenting guidance was there from Day 1.

Credit also goes to my own family for their support and for the 9 families and other kababayans whose faith, resiliency, patience, understanding, cooperation, and zeal have contributed in more ways than one to make this devotion vibrant and successful. I look forward to next year working with these wonderful people, attracting more members, and propagating much better this devotion to Our Lady.

Kristina, my youngest sister, once commented how touched she was to see how we Pinoys have been supportive of one another. Through the Rosary devotion, we have made ourselves rooted in prayer. And having that foundation, I believe, we would be more able to reach out to others - the way the Lord would want it to be. In the process, others would truly recognize us as Mary’s sons and daughters.

Ave Maria!