To those of you who want to attend the mass at Quiapo during the feast of the Black Nazarene, here are some of my tips and advice. I go to mass here every 9th of January.
1. Masses are held every hour from eve and so if you plan to attend at a specified time, be there an hour before (before 5am) or more (after 6am) if you want to get inside the church.
This year, I was already at Carriedo at around 6:30 am but was able to get inside only by 7:40 enough time before the 8am mass. It's tough squeezing your way in especially when mass is ongoing. The time allowance will give you hopefully ample time to catch the wave of people going in to replace the wave going out. Going out of the church is faster - you don't even have to walk. Just catch the exit current.
2. Don't be fooled by an opening you see in the crowd. Chances are there are steel railings or candle vendors in the open area. Same is true inside the church. There are steel railings there to manage crowd control. But me, I opt to go towards it because there'll be more breathing space for me.
3. Commute going there because parking will be impossible. You may get lucky though to park a few blocks away if you go at around 1am to 3am, which I did about three years ago.
4. Be prepared to get soaked if its raining as it's not advisable to bring umbrellas if you don't want to irk the crowd. I'm lucky the drizzles stopped but the road became so muddy. So,
5. Don't use new shoes. Be prepared to get stepped on or ruin your shoes especially if it's raining.
6. Don't bring big bags or knapsacks, wallets or expensive cell phones.
7. Bring a towel. A hankie is not enough.
8. Do not bring children especially small ones. I plan to bring mine when they turn sixteen at least.
9. During communion, crowds are directed to the exit area. So if you still want to finish the mass (like I do) and wait for the final blessing, time your way to the communion area so that you are still inside the church even when you are already caught in the wave of people exiting the church.
10. Enjoy the pilgrimage. It is after all why you are there. Don't mind those who curses the pushing and the shoving even after just attending the mass. Focus on God, pray and be thankful for all your blessings.
This year the image for procession was staged in Luneta. This is different from the one inside the church. They use a different replica for purposes of the procession. I can classify devotees into two: Those who attend and join the procession barefoot and all, and those who attend the mass during feast day. Neither is a lesser devotion but a show of faith to Nuestro Senor Padre Nazareno.
God bless everyone!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
12 New Things To Do This Christmas '08
Although this year's Christmas holidays have the longest non working days ever, our family hardly had the time to schedule a long vacation. Some friends even invited us to go to Ilocos but we had to respectfully decline due to conflict in schedules.
We had an opening on the 29th so we decided to leave for Baguio for an overnight stay. This time around however, we tried to do things that we haven't done in this summer capital. So I'm listing some new things that we did this holiday season.
1. First on the list would be visit Baguio this Christmas season. Yep, we don't usually go out during the holidays, but this time we did -- even for just two days.
2. Eat breakfast at Star Cafe. I haven't had the chance to bring my family here where my father would bring us when we were young. We left home early at around 4am and went straight there to have breakfast. We are lucky to visit it first because the next day it was close while we were hoping to bring home some of those yummy cinnamon bread as pasalubongs.
3. Hmmm... Burnham park, Wright Park, been there, done that, so why not check out Crosby Park? It's one of the lesser known and least visited parks because of it's proximity from the city. But for me the lesser the crowd, the better. The surrounding's also still pretty much green and clean and the air also cooler. It's more of a campsite though with it's obstacle course and we did find some campers up on that mountain.
4. Do the Balatoc Mines tour - Benguet Mining Corporation opened this first and only actual mining site tour in the Philippines. We learned about it only now considering it was opened in 1997. The tour guide said that foreigners claim it rivals if not top most the the mining tours in the few other countries that offer it because you can try and really experience some actual things you do inside the mines. I've put a little teaser here...
5. Ride a train inside an actual gold mining tunnel - imagine Indiana Jones!
6. Hold an actual dynamite then hear and feel it's blast within the tunnel. The blast demo used just half a stick. Imagine all 30+ full size dynamites blasting a hole all at one time. ABAAH! BOH!!! (sound effect ala Combat TV series during the 70s)
7. Visit the Baguio Cathedral at night time. Nice shot huh!
8. Buy sweet Camote from a lola along Session road at night. She panicked over the flash when I took her pic.
9. Visit Tam-Awan village. See artworks from local artists where
Ben Cabrera now retires. The artworks are great and you can also have your own portrait or caricature made by the artists here. Ifugao huts are also available for rent so you may try to experience living the highlanders way.
10. First time ever great lunch/dinner combo at Isdaan resto along Gerona, Tarlac. We just pass this place everytime we go north but this time we decided to stop over and had lunch (at 4pm?) Suzette treated everybody and we had a great time with the great food here notably the Tinupig na Manok and marinated inihaw na liempo. The all-veggie kare kare and Hototay soup
were also superb! From the national road the frontage is inviting but somehow you just pass thru it because you want to get home soon. But once inside, you would want to stay longer. We did stay for nearly two hours here but it's not a waste of time.
11. Had fun things at the Isdaan resto - Marvel at the sculptures all around and the floating dinner tables. The kids tried the Tacsiyapo wall. This is where you shout Tacsiyapo and hurl procelain (or buy an old TV set) against the wall. Guaranteed to release tension. Kids can also feed large Kois that looks like hungry Piranhas coming at you.
There's even the San Kilo bridge challenge where you can bring home a kilo of fish for free if you cross the narrow footstep without falling on the pond of Piranhas, er Kois.
12. Use the SCTEX highway going home. This new highway is a breeze !!! Glad we took it because we saw the traffic jam on the old highway and it took us only about 30 minutes to link to the NLEX again.
We had an opening on the 29th so we decided to leave for Baguio for an overnight stay. This time around however, we tried to do things that we haven't done in this summer capital. So I'm listing some new things that we did this holiday season.
1. First on the list would be visit Baguio this Christmas season. Yep, we don't usually go out during the holidays, but this time we did -- even for just two days.
2. Eat breakfast at Star Cafe. I haven't had the chance to bring my family here where my father would bring us when we were young. We left home early at around 4am and went straight there to have breakfast. We are lucky to visit it first because the next day it was close while we were hoping to bring home some of those yummy cinnamon bread as pasalubongs.
3. Hmmm... Burnham park, Wright Park, been there, done that, so why not check out Crosby Park? It's one of the lesser known and least visited parks because of it's proximity from the city. But for me the lesser the crowd, the better. The surrounding's also still pretty much green and clean and the air also cooler. It's more of a campsite though with it's obstacle course and we did find some campers up on that mountain.4. Do the Balatoc Mines tour - Benguet Mining Corporation opened this first and only actual mining site tour in the Philippines. We learned about it only now considering it was opened in 1997. The tour guide said that foreigners claim it rivals if not top most the the mining tours in the few other countries that offer it because you can try and really experience some actual things you do inside the mines. I've put a little teaser here...
5. Ride a train inside an actual gold mining tunnel - imagine Indiana Jones!
6. Hold an actual dynamite then hear and feel it's blast within the tunnel. The blast demo used just half a stick. Imagine all 30+ full size dynamites blasting a hole all at one time. ABAAH! BOH!!! (sound effect ala Combat TV series during the 70s)
7. Visit the Baguio Cathedral at night time. Nice shot huh!
8. Buy sweet Camote from a lola along Session road at night. She panicked over the flash when I took her pic.
9. Visit Tam-Awan village. See artworks from local artists where
Ben Cabrera now retires. The artworks are great and you can also have your own portrait or caricature made by the artists here. Ifugao huts are also available for rent so you may try to experience living the highlanders way.10. First time ever great lunch/dinner combo at Isdaan resto along Gerona, Tarlac. We just pass this place everytime we go north but this time we decided to stop over and had lunch (at 4pm?) Suzette treated everybody and we had a great time with the great food here notably the Tinupig na Manok and marinated inihaw na liempo. The all-veggie kare kare and Hototay soup
were also superb! From the national road the frontage is inviting but somehow you just pass thru it because you want to get home soon. But once inside, you would want to stay longer. We did stay for nearly two hours here but it's not a waste of time.11. Had fun things at the Isdaan resto - Marvel at the sculptures all around and the floating dinner tables. The kids tried the Tacsiyapo wall. This is where you shout Tacsiyapo and hurl procelain (or buy an old TV set) against the wall. Guaranteed to release tension. Kids can also feed large Kois that looks like hungry Piranhas coming at you.
There's even the San Kilo bridge challenge where you can bring home a kilo of fish for free if you cross the narrow footstep without falling on the pond of Piranhas, er Kois.
12. Use the SCTEX highway going home. This new highway is a breeze !!! Glad we took it because we saw the traffic jam on the old highway and it took us only about 30 minutes to link to the NLEX again.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Home-made Holiday Treats
Don't know what to give your relatives, friends and loved ones this Christmas season?
Why not try Zette's goodies !!! Home-made yummy holiday treats guaranteed to cheer and satisfy your tastebuds.
visit: http://www.freewebs.com/barangay/zettegoodies.htm
Friday, November 7, 2008
why a three year old don't dream of being a priest
Last Wednesday we invited Fr. Ramon Atanacio, our parish priest to officiate a blessing rite for our Sibol school and as well as our GK houses in our Gawad Kalinga site. After my wife and I fixed the things in the school, I went to pick up my three year old son Pio at home and on we went to the church where fr. Mon is waiting. I prepared Pio prior to meeting the priest by telling him that we will be fetching a friend, our local priest, while also telling something about him and what to expect.
And so when we finally get to the church, I asked the good priest to sit in front with Pio in between us, since the front right passenger seat of the van is good for two. I introduced him to Pio and told him how he got his name. Fr. Mon greeted him with warm hellos and tried to ask questions from him but my son refused to answer and is in fact frowning a bit. Fr. Mon is already wearing his long, clean, off white vestment which I admire because of the intricate embroidery all over. That's when I asked Pio, "Would you like to be a priest someday? Look at the nice clothes that father is wearing." Pio answered in a disgusted tone, "Eh pang girl naman yan eh!" (that is for girls!). We both laugh our hearts out at him while fr. Mon continues, "Oo nga, pang girl ba ito?" (yes, is this for girls?)
After the rites, I told my wife the incident at home and she was quick to add, "so that's why, when father was blessing and touring the houses, Fr. Mon kept on sprinkling holy water over Pio while murmuring 'Pio, Pio,...'"
And so when we finally get to the church, I asked the good priest to sit in front with Pio in between us, since the front right passenger seat of the van is good for two. I introduced him to Pio and told him how he got his name. Fr. Mon greeted him with warm hellos and tried to ask questions from him but my son refused to answer and is in fact frowning a bit. Fr. Mon is already wearing his long, clean, off white vestment which I admire because of the intricate embroidery all over. That's when I asked Pio, "Would you like to be a priest someday? Look at the nice clothes that father is wearing." Pio answered in a disgusted tone, "Eh pang girl naman yan eh!" (that is for girls!). We both laugh our hearts out at him while fr. Mon continues, "Oo nga, pang girl ba ito?" (yes, is this for girls?)
After the rites, I told my wife the incident at home and she was quick to add, "so that's why, when father was blessing and touring the houses, Fr. Mon kept on sprinkling holy water over Pio while murmuring 'Pio, Pio,...'"
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A Merry Marian Month
The start of September really had me conditioning myself for the busy schedule ahead for the celebration of Mama Mary's birthday on September 8. You see, Suzette and I were assigned as the new PPC representative for CFC in our parish last July and of course the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes has its programs to celebrate this Marian month.
One of the activities is the 'Harana Kay Maria', where the different organizations of the parish will render a song or dance number for this musical concert. Sacrifices were really had to be made to attend the practices on September 2, 4 and 6. Most of my co members in CFC had to skip dinner, leave work early, and braved the rains and floods just to be there during the rehearsals. Their full support has made our job in the PPC worthwhile.
Our presentation is an acoustic rendition of 'Mariang Ina Ko' and we thought of showing to the audience our CFC community as Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth, which is precisely the Mission and Vision of Couples for Christ. So we also involved our children in the production who incidentally are also members of the Kids for Christ and Youth for Christ.
Next, I made a short slide show presentation that greets Mama Mary and show to the public what the CFC community is all about. The plan is to play the clip as we do our presentation. It amazes me how this clip was produced. It's as if God had a hand in helping me put it all together. The timing was perfect as the clip was synchronized to the whole length of our performance. Although I really had no basis on how to time the whole clip except for using the MP3 file of Carol Banawa's version as a guide that I had in my iTunes which has a totally different arrangement and play length to that of our own version of the song.
And given the limited time we had after it was announced by the organizers that we can submit our logo or show something about our organization on the video wall, I started working on it after coming home from work on the 5th and finished it 2:30am the next day just in time for the final submission during last rehearsals later that day.
I've always been a devotee of our blessed Mother and she has always come to the aid of my family every time I asked for her intercession. This first Sunday of the month was no exception. With two days before her birthday, I was hoping that I could have the sacrament of reconciliation during the mass because it's been a month already that I have not confessed to a priest and I want to celebrate in the Eucharist during that Sunday. For the past Sundays that we attended mass, we did not see the green light on the confessional. And when it happens to be lit, the lines would normally have formed already making you think twice of going in because you'll definitely miss the homily.
We arrived just after the entrance hymn for the 5pm mass and upon entering the church, we knew the priest is already there waiting for us. It is not so often that we see the confessional open before the mass starts but this day is going to be special. We saw the green light and would you believe there was no line on both sides of the confessional? Suzette and I did not talk about going to confession but at that instant, we made eye contact and entered the two doors waiting for us. Our kids would be waiting in line outside. And if that is not enough, our confessor would happen to be Fr. Tonet who is one of the priests that Suzette and I look forward to hearing homily every mass.
We finished confession with enough time to start listening to the gospel. Fr. Rolly was the celebrant but a deacon gave the homily. The Lord's message that day was about brotherly correction. The sermon was delivered in a way that it reminds us about how we handle delicate personal relationships in line with correction. On how things could be handled in private and not in public while still giving and showing love and respect to the persons involved. In a way I think it is related to reconciliation in the sense that sometimes after trying to correct a point, disagreements occur and you may end up also losing valuable love and friendships.
This very incident happened to us about a year ago and after we've said our peace be with yous to the people around us, I was surprised to see a teary eyed friend who approached me from my blind side and held my hand and offered her peace while also giving me a buzz on the cheek. The same was offered to my wife who by now was was taken aback and with much surprise and then asked our friend if the peace she's offering is now for real. Tears flowed while both of them hugged and speak to each other again for the first time since that fateful incident last year. It didn't matter that we were causing a scene as we were positioned inside the church standing up just beside the right front side entrance while the people around us watched. I have learned our Lord's reconciliation in so many ways that day.
Early the next day, I brought Dang at our school bus station then proceeded to bring Suzette and Pio to Tita Rose's house in Sanville after which I went back home to get my other two kids and bring them to their respective schools. It was a hectic day and Suzette is going on a three day retreat in Makiling with our friend, Rose. They will be dropping off Pio to my in-laws along the way in Paranaque. This is the start of my Natay day - where I'd be both Dad and Mom to the kids while Zette is not around. Our eldest daughter Isay is also sick this day and so from time to time I have to monitor her by phone from the office.
I had to leave the office around 4pm to fetch Jiego from school as I needed to be in church by 5pm. When I arrived in the church, the organizers of the holy Rosary and lighting of candles were already there talking about the details. Our community is assigned to lead the fourth mystery and I am tasked to represent CFC. I would like to thank Marvin who graciously offered to be there to help lead the Rosary should I am not able to be there on time.
The Rosary was immediately followed by a high mass which was affected by a brownout that started during the offertory until the end. Outside the church it was raining hard and the streets outside were experiencing heavy traffic due to some flooding also. I immediately went home after the mass to fetch my kids for the concert and rushed back to the church because I was worried that the road conditions may cause me to be late in returning back to church. Anyway, all my worries subsided when the electricity just went back up after we arrived in church.
The show ran delays due to the power outage but it was enough for all our participants in the presentation to be there just in time. Our group would go to one corner and practice our song and final bow. Everybody was fired up and ready to go. We were careful in not leaving any minor details and so we also checked on the organizers regarding our video clip and gave instructions to the audio video people on how to sync the clip with our performance. Everything is a go.
We entered the stage and proceeded to our positions just as we rehearsed it. Before Danny would strum his first note, I looked to the video wall and could see the starting frame of our clip. So off we sang our hearts out but then something did not went right. The clip failed to play! This is what the av people explained to us after our performance. Awwww! They told us before that they have reviewed our clip and it was working fine. Perhaps they failed to test it in the other laptop they would be using that night. Oh well!
While waiting backstage for the grand finale, I sensed the frustrations and disappointments of my comrades. Sure, we were all more than ready for our performance but we also wanted to share that clip with our parishioners. It could have had more impact. But more than being sad for what had happened, I felt happy because I now know that this group deserves to carry the name of Couples for Christ. Every night we attended for practice and even during the program itself, everybody sacrificed and show their love for Mama Mary. We did not only give our all but we also showed to everyone what our group is all about. It's about friendship, commitment and standing tall together for a cause. We face challenges together and help each other in times of need. I felt proud doing our final bow together that night.
A day after the concert, I tried to put our performance which my daughter Isay took a video of and the slide show I made earlier together in one video. I couldn't believed it that everything was in sync! It's as if God made all the timing perfect. Not a second over or under. And so now I am sharing to you all how the performance should have been and to you Mama Mary, we love you!
YouTube : CFC WB3A Harana Kay Maria 2008
One of the activities is the 'Harana Kay Maria', where the different organizations of the parish will render a song or dance number for this musical concert. Sacrifices were really had to be made to attend the practices on September 2, 4 and 6. Most of my co members in CFC had to skip dinner, leave work early, and braved the rains and floods just to be there during the rehearsals. Their full support has made our job in the PPC worthwhile.
Our presentation is an acoustic rendition of 'Mariang Ina Ko' and we thought of showing to the audience our CFC community as Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth, which is precisely the Mission and Vision of Couples for Christ. So we also involved our children in the production who incidentally are also members of the Kids for Christ and Youth for Christ.
Next, I made a short slide show presentation that greets Mama Mary and show to the public what the CFC community is all about. The plan is to play the clip as we do our presentation. It amazes me how this clip was produced. It's as if God had a hand in helping me put it all together. The timing was perfect as the clip was synchronized to the whole length of our performance. Although I really had no basis on how to time the whole clip except for using the MP3 file of Carol Banawa's version as a guide that I had in my iTunes which has a totally different arrangement and play length to that of our own version of the song.
And given the limited time we had after it was announced by the organizers that we can submit our logo or show something about our organization on the video wall, I started working on it after coming home from work on the 5th and finished it 2:30am the next day just in time for the final submission during last rehearsals later that day.
I've always been a devotee of our blessed Mother and she has always come to the aid of my family every time I asked for her intercession. This first Sunday of the month was no exception. With two days before her birthday, I was hoping that I could have the sacrament of reconciliation during the mass because it's been a month already that I have not confessed to a priest and I want to celebrate in the Eucharist during that Sunday. For the past Sundays that we attended mass, we did not see the green light on the confessional. And when it happens to be lit, the lines would normally have formed already making you think twice of going in because you'll definitely miss the homily.
We arrived just after the entrance hymn for the 5pm mass and upon entering the church, we knew the priest is already there waiting for us. It is not so often that we see the confessional open before the mass starts but this day is going to be special. We saw the green light and would you believe there was no line on both sides of the confessional? Suzette and I did not talk about going to confession but at that instant, we made eye contact and entered the two doors waiting for us. Our kids would be waiting in line outside. And if that is not enough, our confessor would happen to be Fr. Tonet who is one of the priests that Suzette and I look forward to hearing homily every mass.
We finished confession with enough time to start listening to the gospel. Fr. Rolly was the celebrant but a deacon gave the homily. The Lord's message that day was about brotherly correction. The sermon was delivered in a way that it reminds us about how we handle delicate personal relationships in line with correction. On how things could be handled in private and not in public while still giving and showing love and respect to the persons involved. In a way I think it is related to reconciliation in the sense that sometimes after trying to correct a point, disagreements occur and you may end up also losing valuable love and friendships.
This very incident happened to us about a year ago and after we've said our peace be with yous to the people around us, I was surprised to see a teary eyed friend who approached me from my blind side and held my hand and offered her peace while also giving me a buzz on the cheek. The same was offered to my wife who by now was was taken aback and with much surprise and then asked our friend if the peace she's offering is now for real. Tears flowed while both of them hugged and speak to each other again for the first time since that fateful incident last year. It didn't matter that we were causing a scene as we were positioned inside the church standing up just beside the right front side entrance while the people around us watched. I have learned our Lord's reconciliation in so many ways that day.
Early the next day, I brought Dang at our school bus station then proceeded to bring Suzette and Pio to Tita Rose's house in Sanville after which I went back home to get my other two kids and bring them to their respective schools. It was a hectic day and Suzette is going on a three day retreat in Makiling with our friend, Rose. They will be dropping off Pio to my in-laws along the way in Paranaque. This is the start of my Natay day - where I'd be both Dad and Mom to the kids while Zette is not around. Our eldest daughter Isay is also sick this day and so from time to time I have to monitor her by phone from the office.
I had to leave the office around 4pm to fetch Jiego from school as I needed to be in church by 5pm. When I arrived in the church, the organizers of the holy Rosary and lighting of candles were already there talking about the details. Our community is assigned to lead the fourth mystery and I am tasked to represent CFC. I would like to thank Marvin who graciously offered to be there to help lead the Rosary should I am not able to be there on time.
The Rosary was immediately followed by a high mass which was affected by a brownout that started during the offertory until the end. Outside the church it was raining hard and the streets outside were experiencing heavy traffic due to some flooding also. I immediately went home after the mass to fetch my kids for the concert and rushed back to the church because I was worried that the road conditions may cause me to be late in returning back to church. Anyway, all my worries subsided when the electricity just went back up after we arrived in church.
The show ran delays due to the power outage but it was enough for all our participants in the presentation to be there just in time. Our group would go to one corner and practice our song and final bow. Everybody was fired up and ready to go. We were careful in not leaving any minor details and so we also checked on the organizers regarding our video clip and gave instructions to the audio video people on how to sync the clip with our performance. Everything is a go.
We entered the stage and proceeded to our positions just as we rehearsed it. Before Danny would strum his first note, I looked to the video wall and could see the starting frame of our clip. So off we sang our hearts out but then something did not went right. The clip failed to play! This is what the av people explained to us after our performance. Awwww! They told us before that they have reviewed our clip and it was working fine. Perhaps they failed to test it in the other laptop they would be using that night. Oh well!
While waiting backstage for the grand finale, I sensed the frustrations and disappointments of my comrades. Sure, we were all more than ready for our performance but we also wanted to share that clip with our parishioners. It could have had more impact. But more than being sad for what had happened, I felt happy because I now know that this group deserves to carry the name of Couples for Christ. Every night we attended for practice and even during the program itself, everybody sacrificed and show their love for Mama Mary. We did not only give our all but we also showed to everyone what our group is all about. It's about friendship, commitment and standing tall together for a cause. We face challenges together and help each other in times of need. I felt proud doing our final bow together that night.
A day after the concert, I tried to put our performance which my daughter Isay took a video of and the slide show I made earlier together in one video. I couldn't believed it that everything was in sync! It's as if God made all the timing perfect. Not a second over or under. And so now I am sharing to you all how the performance should have been and to you Mama Mary, we love you!
YouTube : CFC WB3A Harana Kay Maria 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Smile! Mama Mary Loves You!
The following is my letter to my chapter mates in our Catholic community, Couples for Christ. We had a song number presentation for Mama Mary's birthday and were high up in spirits during our performance. It includes the link to our presentation on YouTube.
Smile! Mama Mary Loves You!
Thank you dear all for your efforts and sacrifices to make our presentation a success and a memorable one.
You have all shown your heart and love for Mama Mary and this is so much more than our presentation itself.
I felt all your disappointments and frustrations regarding the 'technical difficulty' that occurred that left our video clip presentation blank. But I also felt happy and proud because we were all there ready to show to everybody what our community is all about and how this family of ours prides itself in carrying the name of Couples for Christ. You have given all your precious time, skipping dinner, braving rains and floods just to be in the practices and have shown your love for our beloved Mother. Though our group may be small now, time and again we have shown our commitment and dedication to things that matter most. We don't chide and kid ourselves but rather help each other take those little steps towards our goal of holiness. I am very proud to be with you all.
I have made my HKM Reloaded version - of what our presentation should have been last night. Just picture yourself again performing but this time with our props. I'm sure Mama Mary is proud of your hearts and your performances. With my right fist I pound my chest twice and stand proudly saluting you with the love of our God. Enjoy!
Viit YouTube and search for: CFC WB3A Harana Kay Maria 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Prayer of Commendation
This morning we were alarmed by the continuous ringing of our doorbell. I went towards our gate to see who it was and saw ate Virgie, our neighbor across our house, crying and asking for assistance. Her brother, kuya Rudy, as we fondly calls him is trapped in the bathroom. Apparently, he was there for a long time and his sisters got worried that he wasn't answering.
With the help of other neighbors, we put him in my revo and rushed him to the hospital. No amount of CPR and other devices were enough to revive him. He was already DOA.
Kuya Rudy is one of the respected elders in our neighborhood. Everyday he would wake up early in the morning to sweep our street. He would also notice every people that pass by and helps visitors locate the house they are looking for and as well as take note of suspicious strangers. During fiestas he would organize the setting up of festive banners and decorations and make sure that the kids will play the "palayok" (hitting a claypot blindfolded with a stick) and other games.
To my children, he is Mang Rudy. He helps watch over my kids when they are playing bikes or running around. Every morning before I bring them to school he is already there, sweeping our street. But this morning we did not see him nor did we notice him there at all. My kids will be shocked when they get home and hear the news.
In the hospital, I was also thinking of what to do for kuya. I rushed to the canteen to buy a bottle of water for ate Virgie who is now also being administered with oxygen and a pill to lower her blood pressure.
I called my wife and told her what was happening. Before we were about to put our phones down, I remember and asked her to get our Handbook of Prayers by Charles Belmonte and James Socias. I asked Suzette to look for the Prayer of Commendation and to dictate it to me to pray over kuya Rudy.
I realized that kuya perhaps was not able to have his last confession or communion. As Catholics we can also give our blessings and pray to our brothers and sisters who are in need. If a priest is not available immediately, we can help pray for an unfortunate brethren specially when he is dying.
Prayer of Commendation
(when the moment of death seems near, the following prayer may be said:)
I commend you, my dear brother/sister, to almighty God,
and entrust you to your Creator.
May you return to him
who formed you from the dust of the earth.
May holy Mary, the angels, and the saints
come to meet you as you go forth from this life.
May Christ who was crucified for you
bring you freedom and peace.
May Christ who died for you
admit you into his garden of paradise.
May Christ who died for you
admit you into his garden of paradise.
May Christ, the true Shepherd,
acknowledge you as one of his flock.
May he forgive all your sins,
and set you among those he has chosen.
May you see your Redeemer face to face,
and enjoy the vision of God for ever.
Amen.
Hail Holy Queen may be said.
With the help of other neighbors, we put him in my revo and rushed him to the hospital. No amount of CPR and other devices were enough to revive him. He was already DOA.
Kuya Rudy is one of the respected elders in our neighborhood. Everyday he would wake up early in the morning to sweep our street. He would also notice every people that pass by and helps visitors locate the house they are looking for and as well as take note of suspicious strangers. During fiestas he would organize the setting up of festive banners and decorations and make sure that the kids will play the "palayok" (hitting a claypot blindfolded with a stick) and other games.
To my children, he is Mang Rudy. He helps watch over my kids when they are playing bikes or running around. Every morning before I bring them to school he is already there, sweeping our street. But this morning we did not see him nor did we notice him there at all. My kids will be shocked when they get home and hear the news.
In the hospital, I was also thinking of what to do for kuya. I rushed to the canteen to buy a bottle of water for ate Virgie who is now also being administered with oxygen and a pill to lower her blood pressure.
I called my wife and told her what was happening. Before we were about to put our phones down, I remember and asked her to get our Handbook of Prayers by Charles Belmonte and James Socias. I asked Suzette to look for the Prayer of Commendation and to dictate it to me to pray over kuya Rudy.
I realized that kuya perhaps was not able to have his last confession or communion. As Catholics we can also give our blessings and pray to our brothers and sisters who are in need. If a priest is not available immediately, we can help pray for an unfortunate brethren specially when he is dying.
Prayer of Commendation
(when the moment of death seems near, the following prayer may be said:)
I commend you, my dear brother/sister, to almighty God,
and entrust you to your Creator.
May you return to him
who formed you from the dust of the earth.
May holy Mary, the angels, and the saints
come to meet you as you go forth from this life.
May Christ who was crucified for you
bring you freedom and peace.
May Christ who died for you
admit you into his garden of paradise.
May Christ who died for you
admit you into his garden of paradise.
May Christ, the true Shepherd,
acknowledge you as one of his flock.
May he forgive all your sins,
and set you among those he has chosen.
May you see your Redeemer face to face,
and enjoy the vision of God for ever.
Amen.
Hail Holy Queen may be said.
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