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Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Another Scare

One of our store secretaries tested positive of covid 19. This is the sequence of events.....

On November 16, Monday - Janet S. even when she wasn’t feeling all right, came to report for work. 

On November 17, she worked for half day. She only absent herself on Tuesday afternoon. 

By Thursday, she asked permission to come back to work, but our establishment told her to get tested first. She got herself tested on Saturday. 

On Sunday, she was confirmed positive.

By Monday and the whole week, we voluntarily closed the store for everybody’s safety. That would be from November 23 to 29.

On November 30, the City Health Office disinfecting personnel, through our request, came to disinfect the entire hardware store. 

On December 1st, the store was allowed to reopen. 

The reason of reopening the store was due to our employees. The employees could not go on without working for another week. The consolation that keep us at peace though when we reopened, was that everybody was okay. And also that all family members of Janet S., including her househelps tested negative. 

O Lord spare and protect us from the covid 19 virus and from all sickness and diseases. O Blessed Mother, please come to our rescue. My Guardian Angel, intercede for us. Amen.

Monday, December 7, 2020

Pandemic Weary

Since March 16 this year, when Cotabato City went into lockdown, I had not gone out from my house. I mostly ordered my grocery items from South Seas Trading with delivery. Staying at home most of the time though was wearisome. I get exasperated with my maids too often. I get frightened and anxious at the slightest bad news. I turn to prayers. But although prayers are helping me to calm down specially at night, yet sometimes it also adds up to my anxiety during the day. In my most disturbing time during this pandemic: when my sister Helen and her family caught the covid, when the househelp of my daughter got sick in Manila, and just recently when one of our office secretaries tested positive in Cotabato; I just keep on adding up more rosaries to my daily regiment. In all my desperation, I reach out fervently in prayers to God for help and intervention. Thank you Lord!!! For God in all his glory, hears and answers and helps me in all my distress. But I must have become crazy during all these times of anxiety, for now I begin to fear God, that if I lessen my rosaries or cut short my prayers, lest if I don’t do it right, I might offend him and he will stop helping and loving me. I must be getting crazy in my mind. I know God doesn’t act that way, yet I continue to worry about finishing all my rosaries and prayers in one day. I get frantic when I wake up in the morning. And I can not rest well during siesta because I have to do a couple of rosaries in the mid afternoon. O Lord, please give me tranquility and peace of mind and heart. Don’t ever lose me. 

Sometime in October, I started having ear ache, throat ache, gum pain, toothache, sometimes my jaws hurt too.  I could not pin point the exact location of the pain on the right side of my face. So I called an EENT doctor and she told me to see her in her clinic. I left my house for the first time to see my doctor on November 9. I was scared and stressed. I was such a paranoid that I even wore a shower cap and a hat to cover my hair. Knowing my condition, the doctor was kind enough to treat me as her first patient in line. Yet she did not find anything wrong with my ear. She suspected the ear ache maybe caused by some trigeminal nerve which she said is common when people gets older. Or it maybe due to acid reflux. She gave me a list of food to avoid and pain reliever too. I was just so glad, that it was nothing more. Then I read somewhere that there are maladies caused by pandemic stress. That there are pain manifestation on the face caused by too much tension, including ear ache. I guess tension was the culprit. I guess tension was it. 

Oh help me God to battle this pandemic stress and weariness. Please spare and protect me and my family and my love ones from the covid 19 virus and all sickness and diseases. May the Lord put an end to the spread of this virus and pandemic very soon. O Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Typhoon Ulysses

10 days after super typhoon Rolly hit the Philippines, bypassing its eye at Metro Manila, this time typhoon Ulysses came with a vengeance and did not spare the populous city. It came with bigger wind and rain, and caught many by surprise because the media did not give it as much a big a warning and coverage like the super typhoon Rolly. My friend Imelda described the howling wind as “nakakatakot”. My daughter described the storm as the fiercest she ever experienced. At night I messaged my friends and relatives to pray. I was also praying incessantly that the typhoon would weaken, but alas it did not, and it hit a bigger swarm of the Philippine population. Many houses in the low lying area like Marikina City were submerged. Possessions were washed away, people were drenched and went up to rooftops to ask for help, while covid 19 was still very much around. My heart cry out to God for mercy. Lord do not forget your people. Maybe we had not pray enough? O Lord have mercy!

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Super Typhoon Rolly

Category 5 Super Typhoon Rolly Hit Philippines on November 1st. It was predicted to enter the Bicol Region or Quezon Province. The violent wind and rain was also forecasted to pass through Metro Manila. Everybody was afraid. People started preparing before the onslaught, what with the covid pandemic still very much around. Everybody even those outside of the typhoon area of vicinity were praying for their love ones. Everybody in the Philippines somehow had kins and love ones living in populous Metro Manila. The brunt of the super typhoon hit Catanduanes severely, also Albay and southern part of Luzon. Miraculously, the eye of the typhoon spared populous Metro Manila and swirled towards the south. All the people in Manila must be praying fervently to God that day. The Catholic Church also asked it’s faithful to call on the saints to intercede, since it was the feast day of the saints called “All Saints Day.” 

May the Lord God have mercy on our country the Philippines. Please spare us from all calamities, sickness and diseases. We are already suffering so much Lord. Give us peace and tranquility. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Thank You Lord

 I want to thank my God, my Lord for performing a miracle this October. Thank you Lord for sparing and protecting my daughter Martha from the covid and other sickness. One of her maids got sick, it might be the flu or the dreaded virus. The day I heard Lynlyn got sick, I prayed fervently to St. Michael the Archangel to protect and defend my daughter and her household. Verily, I thank God that same day when they all tested negative. Martha and her household stayed and quarantined at home though, assuming it may still be the virus. I prayed to God Almighty, to our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Holy Spirit, to our Blessed Mother, to Saints Michael and Rafael the Archangels, to St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and many other saints in heaven. I also asked for the miraculous intervention of Blessed Carlo Acutis, to not let the rest of the household get contaminated. After a week, the maid got well. We continued to pray fervently. After two weeks, the rest of the household did not get sick, they were good and okay. I Thank God so much for this miracle. I attributed this miracle through the miraculous intervention of prayers. Thank God for your great love. I love you!!! The whole family loves you. We love you. Your love O Lord is our protecting shield. Be with us always, and keep us always safe in your love and safekeeping. Thank You so very very much!!!

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Miracles of Prayers, Part Four

11. Dra. Amelia Poblete did not give me an early Caesarian. (as advised by Dra. Alice Sy.)  Instead she waited for me to reach my full term. I counted the days till I knew my babies wouldn’t be born prematurely. On March 17, after my weekly check-up turned out all nicely, I was happy and confident that I could give birth anytime soon to full term babies. In the early morning of March 20, 1987, my water bag leaked. My brother Jun (aka William) and his wife Jean brought me to Cardinal Santos Hospital. At the hospital, I was immediately prepared for ceasarian operation. I was manifesting some kind of labor intervals. The doctor arrived very quickly. As the oxygen mask was put on my face, I thought of saying the rosary mentally. I began with the apostle‘s creed but I couldn’t seemed to finish the prayer. So I switched to “Hail Mary”, but I was falling in and out of consciousness, instead I reiterated on the phrase “pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death, amen.”
Coming in and out of consciousness, I could hear the doctors and nurses talking. “Parang plastic balloon.” They we were talking about how thin and transparent my uterus was. They could see through the babies inside. I kept on praying.....”Pray for us sinners, now.”, “Pray for us sinners, now.”
The first wail came, “It’s a baby girl!”
After a minute interval, another cry. “Another baby girl!
I was so very happy to hear both babies cried. I forced a smile on my lips to let the doctors and nurses know I was conscious. I could go back to sleep now. But I was still getting in and out of consciousness The next thing I knew, they were preparing me for blood transfusion. Then I heard Dra. Amelia Poblete talking to Jean, my sister-in-law, asking her consent to do a hysterectomy. They were having a hard time suturing me back to place because of massive adhesion and profuse bleeding. Jean stammered for an answer, but I was quick to answer for myself. “Yes, yes, yes!” I said loudly. Accordingly, the procedure took more than three hours to finish.
When I woke up in my private room, I was in so much pain. A private nurse was assigned to me because I requested for it before the operation. (Lucas and the children were still in Cotabato. The children were having their final exams.) Every time I woke up, I kept on asking for pain reliever. I didn’t even know as to when I bit on my teeth so hard, that my capped molar cracked. I tell you, the pain from the cracked tooth was as painful as my operational wound. My gums and cheek got terribly swollen too.
Martha was born 5.14 lbs and Marion at 5.10. Both babies were fine and healthy. After the examination in CCI, Lucas and my three boys quickly went to Manila to be with us. I slowly recovered from my delivery and hysterectomy. I stayed two months to fully recuperate in Manila, then went home to Cotabato City. I hired a midwife and a nursemaid to take care of my twins. I opted not to teach the next school year, but I was not worrying. God saw me through the ordeal and more. Thank you very much, my God!!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Miracles of Prayers, Part Three.....

10. My fourth pregnancy was difficult. I lost a lot of weight during my first trimester. I generally felt a heaviness on the left side of my abdomen. I kidded Lucas. “What if they were twins?” He replied in jest. “That would be absurb.”

After my first trimester, I went to Manila for a check up. This time around, I thought of looking for a Catholic doctor, hoping to be delivered in a Catholic hospital; for could anything ever happen to me, I wanted to be administered by a Catholic priest. Through the recommendation of my sister-in-law Jean, I consulted Dra. Amelia Poblete at Cardinal Santos Hospital. Upon examination, the doctors said ( Both Dr. Sy and Dr. Poblete, as I went to see both of them at different times.) that my abdomen was beyond three months. I was way on the fifth month according to them, but I could not be wrong. Instead I was told to do a sonogram to determine the fetal age. So I went to UST Hospital for the ultra sound procedure. Upon lying down, the technician first asked me “Mrs, may lahi ba kayong kambal?” Which means “Do you have twins in your genealogy?”
“ No, why?”
“Because the sonogram showed you’re carrying twins.”
“ Hah? Hah? Where? Where?” “How do you know?” I was apprehensive.
“Here......” The technician showed me pictures I could not even understand.
“Here, listen to the strong heart beat.” He said.
“Where is the other heart beat?” I quickly added.
“Here, they have both healthy heart beats.”
Thus I was comforted and assured that both babies were fine. I was happy, I was scared. I could not understand the mixture of feelings inside of me. I shed both happy and frightened tears. I did not know what to do.

People were however happy for me, not knowing the danger I was facing. Dra. Alice Sy wrote an advance notice to whoever my next doctor would be, to which I forwarded to Dra. Amelia Poblete. Her advice....“for early Ceasarian due to massive adhesion.”

In Cotabato, people were kind to me, specially my mother-in-law, the school principal and my co-teachers. I continued to teach at CCI and tutored my children at home. One day, my mother-in-law saw me tutoring Emil while lying down on the bed. She told me if I was feeling tired, maybe I need to hire a tutor instead; but I just wanted to tutor my own kids. It saved a lot of tutoring fees. Hahaha, besides Lucas was always helping me, specially in Math and Chinese subjects. I was also advised by doctors not to climb too many flights of stairs, and so my class was brought down from the second floor to the first floor even though I did not personally request for it.

When I was nearing my sixth month, Dr. Ignacio Yap, (my children’s pediatrician) saw me at South Seas Trading. He advised me to leave for Manila early and not wait for the full term. When I consulted Dra. Annabelle Buenaflor (local gynecologist) for prenatal care. She advised me the same thing. She said she was more concerned about the babies because twin births had tendency to premature and Cotabato City had only one incubator for two hospitals. The other incubator was out of order and had not been replaced yet. Infact two or three more babies at the moment were sharing one incubator.

So, even though I did not like to leave my three young boys, who were still schooling in Cotabato, but I heeded the advice of the two good doctors and enplaned for Manila, leaving the kids under the care of Lucas and my mother-in-law. My tummy was so big, the airline thought I was in full term, but I brought all the necessary papers showing that I was on the second trimester only. Indeed I was big, my abdomen was way up high near my chest, I had difficulty breathing lying down on my back. In Manila I stayed at Balete Drive with my maiden family. My father was still living and in good physical health then. I prayed everyday, for besides my own safety, I was also concerned about finances. How can Lucas and I cope with five children. I opened the Bible almost everyday, to read verses from St. Matthew:

”Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest and do not store food in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than them?”........

”Look at the flowers in the fields how they grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his wealth was clothed like one of these.”...............

“Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: what shall we wear?”...........

“Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Would any of you give a stone to your son when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish?As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask him! “

To be continued...........


Friday, September 11, 2020

Miracles of Prayers, Part Two....

7. In 1986, my husband Lucas wanted to go to USA and Canada to visit his brothers Antonio and Domingo. The planned visit would take about a month to travel and tour. I did not like to go that far nor that long, since the kids were still very young, Roy being 11 years old, Tom was 9 and Emil 7. But Lucas said, if I won’t go, he would go by himself. That settled the issue. And so I prepared, way ahead of time, on how to leave the children in good hands while we traveled to America. Lucas and I left for USA in May when the children were on school vacation. I left them in Manila with my brother William and sister-in-law Jean at Balete Drive, Quezon City. I assigned Naning Bolodo, their yaya, to take care of them. I hired a young student from the University of the Philippines to give them Math and Reading home service tutorials. While their cousins attended summer classes in Binondo, I gave instruction that my children were not to go that far for summer classes. I also gave instruction that the summer tutorial class at home was specially for my kids only, as per request by the UP tutor. He did not like outside disturbances while conducting his classes. Alas, because I wasn’t around that summer to bring them out, my three young boys had a long boring vacation. A blessing in disguise though, instead, they looked forward to their daily tutorials everyday. The young tutor was innovative, he brought comic books for them to read. I, on the other hand was full of worry during my trip, specially concerning Roy’s physical health condition. However, I donned on my hope and trust and faith in the Lord each day. I prayed my rosary on the bus, or on the plane, or at the hotel room. Furthermore, the one month tour was even extended for another half month. I held on to my rosary everyday and prayed for my children. Miraculously, even though my children had the most boring summer vacation ever, yet no incidents or illnesses transpired during the whole of that summer. Roy was asthma free and continued to be healthy for a duration of 8 months since we left Cotabato. Thank you O Lord! Thank you my God for taking care, and taking very good care of them while we were away. I love you my God!!! The rosary indeed was and is powerful. Thank you so very very much!!!

8. Lucas and I came home from our tour in June, from which the school year had already begun. We brought the kids home to Cotabato. I was overwhelmed with catching up with my school work at CCI, at the same time catching up with my own children school loads too. By July, I missed my period. It had been 7 years since my last pregnancy.

9. The following is the history of my children’s birth, before the arrival of my twins:
a. Roy was born in 1975 in Cotabato City. I underwent classical Caesarian section. He weighted 8.6 pounds. I had a most traumatic experience during the course of my delivery and recuperation because of the crude methods they practiced at the hospital. Because of my traumatic experience in Cotabato during the birth of Roy, I decided to have my second child delivered in Manila.
b. Tomas my second baby was delivered in Manila on November 7, 1977. My new very efficient obi-gynecologist  Dra. Alice Sy (God rest her soul) in Manila made a new incision. She deemed my previous classical operation and healing in Cotabato too crude. She delivered and gave me a low cervical Caesarian section instead. Tomas weighted 8.4 pounds. The doctor advised me that due to my very thin uterus and massive adhesion, I could only have one more baby henceforth.
b. Emil, my third son was born in Manila on September 5, 1979. I chose to be attended by the same efficient doctor, Dra. Alice Sy. It was supposed to be my third and last Caesarian delivery. I was advised for tubal ligation. Lucas and I were tasked to sign for the procedure. The doctor also prepared and readied the hospital for possible blood transfusions. But in the course of affixing my signature, I made a bargain with Dra. Sy. I said, maybe she could possible save me for another baby. Probably I would like to have another baby again in 5 years time. She dismissed me out rightly that I would be in grave danger to have another pregnancy, besides I would be too old already in five years time according to her. Astounded because I was only 28 years old then. But, okay; the doctor knew best, so my husband and I consented and signed. Yet, right after the Caesarian operation, when I was in semi consciousness, Dra. Alice Sy whispered in my ear...”It’s a baby boy, and I did not have you ligated.”

To be continued.......

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Miracles of Prayers

I am a firm believer of prayers. This is a story of my transformation.

1. When I was young, I was not religious. I just did what I thought was my minimum obligations. I prayed before going to sleep and attended mass on Sunday. As a young girl though, I was drawn to visit the Cathedral on Wednesday afternoon, tagging along side my sister Helen. I loved praying in front of the life sized crucifix of our Lord Jesus Christ which was placed prominently on one of the posts near the altar. There was also a kneeler for prayer in front of the crucifix. My sister Helen largely influenced me on my earlier beliefs and practices, also my cousin Nelly Go, because I just wanted to tag along-side them. Hehehe.

2. I learned how to recite my rosary when I went to Manila for my college education at the University of Santo Thomas. For three months, I lived at the Holy Family Dormitory, located at Governor Forbes Street, a walking distance away from the university. I was surprised that my roommates and most of the girls studying at UST were very religious. They prayed before meal, and they refrained from eating meat on Friday. My roommates woke up very early everyday to attend daily masses inside the dorm’s chapel at 5 o’clock in the morning. They also prayed the rosary with the sisters at 5:30 in the afternoon. Reluctantly, I joined them during the afternoon rosary prayer. Also in UST, during the month of October, the College of Pharmacy (My course BioChemistry was under the College of Pharmacy) had piped-in rosary recitation, one decade of rosary at the start of every class.

3. But what inspired and taught me most was my Theology teacher. I learned a great deal of catechism from a female lay professor. She was very influencing. It sparked my love for my Roman Catholic Religion. Sorry that I don’t remember her name.

3. Then there was a time when I was having difficulty with my Chemistry in school; somehow, together with the Cotabato group of girls living in Carola Street, I began going to St. Jude Church to attend its Thursday afternoon masses. Everybody was praying for an intention. I prayed to St. Jude to help me passed my Chemistry subject. As soon as I began attending my first Thursday mass, the next thing I knew, I began performing better in my laboratory works. Then I attended more masses at St. Jude with my sister Helen and cousins Nelly and Adele. I promised St. Jude that if I passed Chemistry, I will shift to another course. Yes, come next school year, I shifted to Education to become a teacher.

4. My mother died in 1991, I left Manila and came home to Cotabato and continued my schooling at Notre Dame University. I had very few friends in Cotabato City and I was feeling very lonely and unloved. I never had a suitor before the age of 21. So I prayed to God to not let me be a spinster. I said in my prayer that I will be a better person, married with husband and children, than being alone. Then Lucas came along and I got married at the age of 22.

5. My first born son Roy was extremely sickly. He was a severe asthmatic. He was oftenly confined at the hospital. During one of his confinements, despite the medications, he was still having another difficult attack inside the hospital room. He was crying because of chest and abdominal pain.  His lips and fingers were turning blue. I was thinking of the worst. I told Lucas to stay with me at the hospital that night, as I let Roy sleep on my shoulder, pacified him and watched him struggle. I became desperate. I prayed to God. I said.....if I was to lose my son tonight, I will still believe in You, God; but if he goes tonight, I will not  go to mass anymore..... Next morning, Roy recovered, he stopped coughing and whizzing. Early in the morning, he was able to lie down to sleep on the bed instead of my shoulder. He miraculously recovered from that harrowing attack, and I was repentant of my thoughts. I confided to Minda Go this my tug-of-war thoughts with my Lord, and she advised me to never, never let it happen again. “Lord, I am sorry.” Because of his many illnesses, my son Roy brought me closer to God. I prayed more constantly, I searched for my God and started praying the rosary on my own.

6. When I was pregnant with my third child, I had a couple of accidents and also fever. On the third month of my pregnancy, I had a fall on the slippery floor of my Auntie Pilar’s place in Manila. On my six month, I got sick with fever. On my 8th month, I fell three steps down the stairs on my buttocks at my brother’s Jun house. Because of these, I was worried. While I was in Cotabato, I visited the cathedral every Wednesday to pray for my baby to be all right and okay. Two months before my delivery, I went to Manila for my third Caesarian section. On September 5, 1979, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy in full term. I was so thankful of God’s grace and gift. In thanksgiving, I prayed the rosary for the whole month of September and subsequently every September for that matter. After September, I continued praying thru October for the month of the holy rosary, then I further continued into November. Hence, I began praying the rosary for all the birth months of all my children. Thank you Lord.

To be continued...........

Thursday, August 27, 2020

I Believe in Miracles......

August 8, 2020, Saturday - I didn’t know why, I suddenly had the urged to call up my sister Helen. I asked about her well being. She said she was fine. We talked mostly about our eldest sister Theng, who had Alzheimer and confined in a home. Our communications with Theng were through phone calls now, so Helen and I exchanged notes regarding our eldest sister’s  well being and lucidness. Then I happened to mention to Helen about a chinese medicine called Lian hua which had become a crazed item in Manila for treating covid fever. I asked her if she heard about it. Alas, she was clueless. She thought it was for treating stomach trouble. I mentioned to her about a certain Philippine General who took it and the Abalos family as testimony to its efficacy. I also mentioned that I had asked my daughter Martha to inquire on how to get the medicine. Then Helen said, to tell Martha that incase she was buying, to buy some for her too. I got a bit irritated that Helen had not been well informed in social media and was not resourceful. I told her that Martha as of present was still inquiring. That the best person for Helen to approach would be my sister-in-law Diane, the wife of my brother Wilson. That Wilson and Diane were more capable to know where to buy Lian hua since they had more connections and besides they had people to do errands for them too. From this topic of acquisition of Lian hua, thus we ended our telephone conversation. Anyhow, I messaged my daughter Martha that afternoon to include Helen whenever she had the chance to buy the Chinese medicine.

August 9, 2020, Sunday - After attending my online mass at 10:00 to 11:00 AM, my daughter Martha informed me through Messenger that my sister Helen and her children Bernard and Carlo were manifesting flu liked symptoms last Saturday night. “ Hah?! But I just talked to her yesterday and she was okay!“ Because I messaged Martha about buying Lian hua for Helen, she thought I knew it already. Anyway she said that Helen and her sons were able to get Lianhua that same day from my brother Wilson. That they had taken the Chinese medicine and were feeling better. My brother Wilson that same Sunday also texted me about Helen and her family’s condition. It eased my mind though that they were feeling better and had no fever. I attributed it to the taking of the medicine. I believed my guardian angel whispered to me on August 8, to call Helen and informed her about the Lianhua. It was no coincidence that things happened so fast, as she was able to ask my brother Wilson that very same day for the medicine and was delivered to her immediately. Thank you O Lord for helping. Thank you my Guardian Angel for guiding me.

August 11, 2020, Monday - Martha got her order of Lianhua and she sent two more boxes of the medicine to Helen through Grab Delivery. Bernard and Carlo were getting better but we were concern about Helen because she had other health issues. Luckily she was consulting an online doctor through the recommendation of Ben Siy, our cousin-in-law, the husband of my cousin Adele.

August 12, 2020, Tuesday - Helen’s covid test together with Carlo were confirmed positive. Bernard who was also having the same symptoms came out negative. They kept at home. My children advised the boys to monitor their mother’s oxygen level.

Succeeding days.......Although Helen had no fever but she was feeling generally tired. Then she began to have diarrhea. Ever since she got sick, I did not call her anymore because I wanted her to rest. Besides I was such a coward, I did not like to hear from her because I was scared. Instead, I waited for my siblings particularly Wilson to give me updates. I dreaded waiting for news. But I prayed for her fervently. I added one more rosary to my prayers everyday for her healing. I offered mass healing intentions for her and her sons at Queen of Peace Church. I mustered people to pray for her too. I used the social media like Facebook and messenger to ask people to pray for her and her children. I constantly pleaded to the Lord to help her. I searched for a particular saint to help her. I initially called on Pope John Paul II, but as of late I thought of Mother Theresa of Calcutta as more appropriate in her case. I requested my Lady Medriatrix Group of friends to pray for her, my Protestant friends too, most specially Aihua Co. Sadly I didn’t have too many friends, yet everybody seemed willing and sincerely concerned and prayed for her.

August 17, 2020, Monday - I missed a call from my brother Jun at night. I did not return his call. I tend to get hysterical over the phone. I texted him to send me text messages instead, but he didn’t reply. That night I was consigned for something worse. But something inside my head kept on repeating “Trust in the Lord.”, “Trust in the Lord.”. I don’t know but somehow the phrase came out to me like some kind of a music I heard before, something like “cast in wind”. Again, I messaged all my friends, urging them to keep on praying for Helen’s full and safe recovery.

August 18, 2020, Tuesday - I texted Carlo in the morning to inquire about his mom. He replied that his mother was alright, but her oxygen level was fluctuating and the online doctor advised Helen to have her lungs x-rayed. I began praying frantically again, asking the Lord, praying and hoping that nothing was wrong with her lungs. By late afternoon though, I received text message from Jun, that Helen’s x-ray showed she had covid pneumonia. Her doctor advised her to go to the hospital immediately or her condition might worsen. My cousin Adele also sent me the same message. Finally Carlo texted me that his mom would be brought to the hospital by Bernard. She would stay at the er until a room was available. Despite being frantic, I thought she was better off with professional medical assistance. I wrote a letter that night to our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Lourdes. I placed my healing petitions for Helen in my mini grotto, along side with my earlier letter of petition for my sister Imelda. “Trust in the Lord.”, “Trust in the Lord”, my brain kept repeating whole night through.

August 19, 2020, Wednesday - I waited for news. My brother Wilson appeased us. He was able to talk to Helen from the hospital. Helen was confined in an aircon tent with 6 other covid patients. Accordingly she was feeling better. But never to trust this covid sickness.  My family and I continued to pray for her fervently.

Succeeding days.....Helen was transferred to a private room. A 24 hour care giver was provided her. I kept on praying. I was sincerely waiting for Saturday, the feast day of the Queenship of Our Blessed Mother. I believed  Our Lady would surely make her well during this her feast day. Our Blessed Mother would intercede for her, Helen being a Marian devotee. I talked to God...consider how Helen had influenced  me in cathechism and prayers during my childhood years. That she had been faithfully lighting candles to Our Mother of Perpetual Help during her visitation to the Baclaran Church. She was also instrumental in my pilgrimages to designated churches in Manila during the Year of Mercy. She is a child of our Lady and of our Lord. God have mercy on her.

August 22, 2020, Saturday, the Feast of the Coronation of Our Blessed Mother - I woke up early to attend the Manila Cathedral online mass at 7:30 AM. But somehow due to my frantic nature, I misread an announcement and decided to attend instead a later mass at 9:30 AM at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Retiro Street, Quezon City, with the special occasion of the pontifical coronation of the blessed statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. I realized my misreading too late, I had but to attend the long long online high mass now. I was restless during the mass. But on the other hand, I was thinking that maybe my guardian angel wanted me to participate this event. For I do believe my guardian angel is guiding me. I believe God has mobilized all the angels and saints to help us humans in this time of pandemic. What was two hours of mass participation for the healing intentions of my sister Helen and her family. She had been suffering for two weeks already. With this thoughts in mind, I began to appreciate the special rites of the pontifical coronation. In the afternoon, I received reports that Helen was improving. Her oxygen level was normal and was taken off from the oxygen aiding her. She was now breathing normal room air. Her diarrhea was also improving. Her heart beat was also normal. She had yet to submit to lungs X-ray on Sunday. There was no trusting the covid disease. We earnestly kept on praying for her full recovery.

August 23, 2020, Sunday - Helen’s X-ray showed improvement. According to her, she may be released from the hospital sooner than expected, maybe on Monday. We continued to pray fervently for her full recovery.

August 24, 2020, Monday - I waited the whole day for news. I was so anxious. I was an emotional wreck. I dare not inquire from anybody else though. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, I texted Jeannette about some trifle matter. She pm me that Helen was already at home. O Thank God!!! Praise and bless the Lord!!! Prayers are indeed powerful! But Helen was still generally feeling weak and tired. The whole family had to still be quarantined for another 21 days. O Lord, thank you, but please bring her to full and complete recovery!

Today is August 27, 2020, Thursday....Last night my husband and I and our household continued our weekly Wednesday night participation of the healing rosary, live streamed through Manila Cathedral. Wednesday is the devotional day to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. I believe our Blessed Mother is helping Helen. With this confidence, I gathered courage this morning to inquire about her condition from her sons. I texted them. And this was the answer of her son Bernard..... “She is good. Looking better and also eating more. Carlo and me are also doing good. Ok. Thank you!“

O Lord, thank you. I will never stop loving you. Your love is our protecting shield. Thank you. Amen.

Prayers are all powerful!!! I do believe in miracles!!! Thank you everybody for praying for my sister Helen. Thank you God!!!







Saturday, August 1, 2020

July 2020

Today is August 1, 2020. This is a late posting because I was kind of busy and I was having a lot of emotions last July. But belatedly, I want to post some significant events and/or things that transpired despite being still cooped up at home.
1. This year July 12, my husband Lucas turned 80 years old. This year’s birthday was a stark contrast to last year’s, where in the celebration was held in Manila with all my children and their families, our siblings and kins and closed friends in attendance at Crowne Plaza Hotel. Even though we had previous plans to celebrate his birthday here in Cotabato this year, yet because of the pandemic, we had to simplify the ocassion. Instead of a party with our employees, we opted to share packed lunch with our workers at LCT Hardware during a busy working Saturday afternoon on July 11, the eve of his birthday. I ordered 85 individual snacks packs from Jollibee. Each bag contained 3 separate packages inside: chicken joy happy meal, spaghetti and hamburger. I also sent some snack packs to my sister Jeannette Yu, sister-in-law Rosita Chua and good friend Siolan Yap. Despite the simplicity, everybody was happy with the big merienda. We really do considered our workers and employees as part the family ever since. This time though, due to my paranoia of aerosol droplets, we specifically requested distancing and no singing of birthday song or blowing of candles inside the store. The next day July 12, I cooked for my husband, long life noodles and eggs for breakfast and shared them with my in-laws Luna and Tina. At 10:00 AM, we attended Sunday mass online together with our house helps. After the mass, Lucas and I had a family video chat with all our children, daughters-in-law and grandkids. Everybody greeted him a happy birthday. Despite having to spend this occasion quietly at home, I was mindful and thankful to God for his many blessings. Thank you O Lord.
2. The next Sunday after my husband’s birthday, I took the courage to request my hairdresser to come to the house for a home service haircut. Lucas, Tina, four helpers and myself availed of the house call. I did not have my hair dyed though, for I plan to wear my hair white naturally now. Saves me a lot of trouble. That Sunday was a feel-good-day for me, with my hair cut short.
3. But not everything was rosy in the home front. I was a overwhelmed with a lot of household concerns. Argh! breakdowns and wear and tear! The kitchen sink was leaking, the bathroom sink was clogged up, the air condition unit was leaking water inside the room, the water pressure pump wasn’t working well, and many many other things. I had to call a plumber to fix the water tank, the sinks, the faucet and the pipes. I had to call a serviceman too, to check and clean up my air conditioning unit. The fluorescent light and starter needed to be changed, etc, etc... On top of it, I was scared of the covid, of people coming to the house! Argh! You can imagine, I was a total wreck!!! O God help me! O Lord, please protect us!
4. I had many discomforts too. My throat hurt, my ear ached, my shoulders were sore. I had stiff neck, lumbar pain, gas, dry cough, itchiness, etc, etc. O help me Lord!
5. My husband too was having itchy back from prickly heat. Or fungal infection? I changed the beddings, searched for bed bugs, cleaned the room, applied medication, etc, etc.
5. Recently I found out that the newly hired housemaid was using too much detergent powder on our laundry. Triple the usual amount! We had to rinse all the clothes and underwear again. Argh!!!
6. Our home concerns are all pilling up and I have to worry about the covid. I earnestly pray for God to end the pandemic soonest. But Philippines is getting bad to worse reporting each day. I am frantic and in such panic. O Lord hear our prayers!
Maybe some years later, I will get back to see this post again. I hope everything will be okay by then. I am sure God hears all our prayers. Please mobilize all your angels and saints to help us, O Lord. I believe, I trust and I hope in You.

Monday, July 20, 2020

Remembering My Quarantine

Maybe, I like to look back at ourselves someday..........

My husband Lucas, sun bathing and strolling at the roof top during the lockdown. Thank God for the spacious space, rooftop garden, breezy air and sunshine.
I trimmed my husband‘s hair. I did a good job I think.. Hehehe.
My husband and my families congratulating my daughter Marion on her phd graduation as valedictorian of her graduating class at Massey University, New Zealand. I did the lay-outing for the congratulatory ads to be published on our local newspaper. So proud of her and happy for her. Thank God for this blessing.

This was how I looked on a given day at home during the lockdown. I was a mess, my hair was getting longer and turning white.
Roy’s self portrait during his stay home quarantine in USA. I was amazed how the painting looked so much like him and his mood.
On my husband 80th birthday on July 12, 2020. We attended Sunday mass online. A peaceful and quiet celebration. Happy birthday Lucas!!!
Family audio chat on Lucas’ birthday. I love you all! May God bless us all!!!
After four months, I had my hair dresser come to the house to cut my hair. I looked and felt much better after the hair cut, but I have decided to wear my hair naturally white now.

We continue to pray earnestly to God, to have mercy on us and the whole world by eradicating the covid 19, healing all the people, healing all our land, and healing the whole world. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. 

Monday, June 29, 2020

Food During the Quarantine

I want to remember some of the food that made me happy during the lockdown:
1. During the first few weeks of the lockdown, I was scared my food stockpile would not last me for a month. Because I did not know how to go about buying food without going out, I also though of foregoing my favorite comfort food. Then Nestor, the caretaker of my lot, brought me this abundant harvest of yellow mangoes. Yay! I was so delighted. They were a lot, I could not even consume them all. But I happily shared them with my in-laws Tina and Luna, my sister Jeannette who had her driver picked them up, my sister-in-law Rosita, my household helps, and the office secretaries who were reporting for random works. The rest we kept them to ourselves. My husband and I waited for the fruits to ripen slowly. We happily relished and enjoyed our own ripe mangoes that lasted us for about a week.


2. When there were no fresh fruits, and I did not like to send a runner to buy me some, afraid that he might get exposed, I used my stockpile canned fruits and whipped up this concoction, a favorite of my husband Lucas for desserts and snacks.


3. After two months, I decided to buy flour and baking powder and using my remaining dried blueberries from last year (hehe), I baked these oatmeal blueberry muffins. It was so good!!!



4. Then I had more mangoes of different variety harvested from my lot. They are called Indian mangoes. They are of the big giant variety kind. They are better eaten while still half ripe, as they are  sweet and are crunchy during that stage. Since the store had reopened, I distributed them to all the workers who had come back to work.

Big mango from the lot, small papaya from the market, regular pomelo from Tina.

5. I exchanged recipes with my kids online, so I baked this quiche from the recipe of my daughter Marion. The baked quiche was good, but it was just too much work. Hahaha.

6. On a Sunday, I made classic pancake for snacks. My first successful pancake from scratch. I shared  them with Tina and Luna too.



7. Then Nestor, my lot caretaker brought me my first harvest of avocados from my land. These were initially seeds, whom my sister-in-law Lolita brought all the way from LA. We germinated the seeds at home, then sent them to my lot to be planted. That was in 2016. Three seeds grew into three trees, and one of them are now bearing fruits. They are really first class avocados. They are called malagkit meaning creamy or sticky, the best kind. 

8. And the latest delights are these malagkit native corns, also from my lot. We had them yesterday. I asked the cook to approportion the corn into three households distribution, whom we cook for everyday in our common Tan family kitchen. They are really really yummy.

During this trying and uncertain time of pandemic, I thank the Lord sincerely for not withholding food from us. Thank you O Lord. But please do end this pandemic soon. Oh how I want to live a normal life again. O Lord have mercy.

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Flowers During the Quaratine


This pandemic sometimes put me in so much worry and anxiety over my concerns for my love ones, that often times I pray earnestly to God to quickly stop the spread of the virus and to end the pandemic very soon. But the end of the pandemic, as we all know, is not even close at hand yet. So I keep on with my prayers. To keep me from despair, I reflect on the goodness of the Lord. As I walk around looking at things, I thank God for giving me an abode with a roof top garden, I have plants and flowers to look at each day. I praise and thank the Lord, the air on the rooftop is nice and breezy. I have sunshine in the morning. The sky at dusk is wonderfully beautiful. Some of my flowering plants bloom alternately and I am able to pick them for my mini grotto. Some of my flowers are also very fragrant. When I have a wisp of their smell, my heart is truly delighted. I thank God for giving me these flowers. Below are few pictures of them:



                          
                                  

                     
 Flowers at the mini grotto and inside the house:








Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Dr. Marion Lara Ledesma Tan

My heart sings praises to the Lord, for He is good! Despite the pandemic, the Lord is kind to me and my family.......My daughter Marion graduated Ph.D as valedictorian of her 2020 graduating class (including the undergraduates) this May 28, 2020 at Massey University, Wellington City, New Zealand.

Marion, one of my twin daughters, this 2020 was on her fourth year finishing her doctorate degree in New Zealand. She was almost done except for the oral defense when the pandemic arrived. Thankfully she was able to successfully defend her thesis on March 20 (her birthday) before the total lockdown transpired. She did not even have a decent celebration, but the joy that her thesis was recommended for the dean’s list compensated the gloom of the dreaded pandemic atmosphere. The celebration of course could come later in better times. During her defense, she was already by then working as a researcher at the university. I was most thankful that she had work and could continue to work safely from home.

During such trying and uncertain times too, the government of New Zealand was also kind and gracious enough to approve her working visa. It was such a gift to her during this period of anxiety. Oh how thankful I am O Lord for this your care and gift of assurance to my daughter. It eased a lot of worry from my mind that she was in a far flung place by herself. Thank you also that she was not too lonesome, for she had a couple of housemates living with her too. Everything just came in place. Thank you so much.

Few days before Marion’s graduation, she got a call from the university informing her of the good news of her thesis citation and her recognition as valedictorian. She was not really expecting anything. Our trip to visit her in New Zealand was cancelled, so too was the graduation ceremony due to the pandemic. Marion was simply happy to graduate, but she was also joyful for such honor. The family was likewise very happy and proud. In reality and in honesty, I am so grateful and thankful, that Marion is in New Zealand than elsewhere in the world.

Thank you O God for everything!!! Keep us always in your love.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Disasters

I am 68 years old, and in the course of my life, I live through several disasters:

1. Fire - In 1949, (I was not even born yet) Cotabato City went through a big fire that razed the whole town. It changed the lives of many people. Because of the fire, my parents who used to live and do business at the town center, lost their dwelling places, and the family business called “Community Bazaar”.  Everything was razed down. After the fire, together with my maternal kins, they relocated near the river bank, and opened a small cafeteria com retail business at Villaeron corner Mabini Streets. It was there that I grew up. While I was growing up, fire was the foremost disaster in Cotabato City. Houses were mostly built from wood. Water supply was inadequate and fire department was inutil. After their experiences, my parents were quick to prepare for the disaster. Our home had fire extinguishers, flashlights and a stash of empty flour sacks with tying strings ready for packing incase of evacuation. The children were also prepped. We were given steps to follow.....
a. The first thing to do was to untie our own mosquito net, to fold it and lay it down properly. The logic there was because the mosquito nets like curtains catch on fire easily.
b. To wear our shoes immediately, as wearing slippers would be more risky, prone to tripping.
c. To go in twos. I was to partner with my elder sister Helen.
d. To leave home immediately. To let the elders and the maids take care of the packing of our belongings.
e. To go to an open safe place like the plaza and to stay there and keep safe until the fire was over.
There were several fires in the course of my growing up, there were a lot of rebuilding too, but many families were displaced likewise. When I was in senior high school, there were two big fires in the city. Many of my friends and classmates houses and establishments were gutted down. My friend Cu BeeLian and her family, who were victims of the fire came to live with us until the end of the school year. After our high school graduation, they did not reestablish their business in Cotabato anymore but left for Manila for good. The same thing happened to my close friend Anita Go and many others friends and families that followed suit.

2. Flood - Cotabato City was flooded sometimes in the early 60’s. My mother was in Manila for a check up, a vacation or something and was stranded in Manila for awhile. My eldest sister Imelda (Theng Theng) was in high school, and I was in the elementary. We lived near the river, hence our place was among the first to get flooded, yet I remember our sari-sari store continued to open everyday. My father elevated the store shelves and counters. We walked on wooden planks elevated by soft drink cases, then it got so bad that my father had to use the cafeteria tables as boardwalks for us to traverse. As kids, Helen and I were unafraid. We played with flood waters near the river banks, trying to catch gurami fishes and little shrimps in a jar for fun. When the water got higher and higher,  we were prohibited to wade in the flood because of the strong current. We measured the rise of the flood by the steps of the staircase going to our abode on the half floor. Helen told me that if the water reached up to the second last step of the stair, my father would be evacuating us. It almost did but thankfully it did not. Then the water began to recede slowly. After the flood, the government began to dredge the delta, the city government elevated the roads. Up to the present time, many stores in town are still lower than the level of the streets. Those places in town still get flooded once in awhile.

3. Earthquake - We had a big devastating earthquake on August 16, 1976. I was by then married and living with Lucas and my in-laws on the second floor of LCT Hardware at Corcuera Street. When the earthquake struck, my son Roy was exactly one year, one month and one day old (Rather two days old). Our house and store went down. The house was partially destroyed but the store was completely totaled. Thank God, nobody died from that household that night. Not only was the earthquake big in magnitude, but tsunami also struck along the coastal area. Thousands of people died along the coast line. O Lord have mercy.
Few days after the earthquake, Roy began to manifest his first asthma attacks and was getting sick oftenly, since then. He must have inhaled a lot of dust that fell down from the ceiling that night. Now a days, I henceforth advise my children, to prepare surgical masks for emergency use during earthquakes because of the amount of dust that is going to be released when walls and ceilings crack open.
Life was extremely hard after the earthquake. For awhile, there was no electricity nor water. We had to clean up our own earthquake debris and rebuild from what was left of our house, and restart what’s left from the business. The family camped at LCT bodega at Lucio and Conchita’s house for 6 months. The available rooms were given to the grandmother, the children and their yayas to sleep. The able bodied adults like Luna, Tina, Lucas and myself slept at the big living room. The task of rebuilding LCT #1 (We had two by the way: LCT #1 and LCT #2) and the downsizing our old house and store was laid upon the shoulders of my poor husband. I tried to make the best out of my miserable life during this period. I had two more children during the transition years in 1977 and 1979. We were finally relocated in 1980, in a new building at the new location at Magallanes Street, merging the two stores into one, until the present time.

4. War - As far as I can remember, there were sporadic skirmishes between the Ilaga (Christians) and the Black Shirts (Muslims), as early as the early years of the 70’s. The clamor for Muslim independence was supported by the oil rich countries in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world for the flourishing of their Islamic religion. Imelda Marcos had to concede and build a mosque in Quiapo, Manila to appease Libya in exchange for oil. There was an actual war in the 70’s where bombardments occurred in Cotabato City between the military and the Muslim rebels everyday. The military flew planes over Kakar, to bomb the hiding insurgents, while the rebels retaliated by bombing the military installation of the Philippine Constabulary at the Colina Hill which was really close-by. Every morning, we could actually hear the bombings on the hill site. Every so often during the day, we could also hear the flying of cognizant planes and the bombings of Kakar. Politically, President Ferdinand Marcos made peace by creating an Autonomous Region. But peace did not come anytime soon, for there were more rebel factions that surfaced, the MNLF, MILF, BIFF, all wanting a bigger part of the bargain. Skirmishes, ambushes, ied bombings, atrocities and more battles sporadically continued, and continue to this day in the city and its surrounding area. Sadly I have lived through all of these.

5. Kidnapping for ransom - This atrocity happened sporadically for a long time too. I think they started since the later part of the 70’s until the recent millennium. They targeted mostly the rich businessmen and their family members. But who was to say who were rich! Everybody was doing business, working hard and saving for his children and the future. I was not really scared at first, for there were plenty of people better that us. We were rebuilding our lives after the earthquake. We owed the banks and more. My husband and I were very low keyed, I was merely a high school teacher. We were not extravagant and flamboyant. We lived a simple life. Our children were very young and we did not even spoil them with material things. But the bad elements (and they were many) were getting brazen and we suspected that other groups (soldiers and/or politicians perhaps) might be in cahoots. Then situation got worse by 1988 to 1991. They were not choosing only the rich, but anybody could become a soft target. Kidnappings became aplenty. New kidnappings began to surface in a span of weeks. The frequency of which frightened us tremendously. The school children of CCI  stopped going to school by January 1991. In a terrifying abnormal scenario, the school year ended on March 10, 1991, with only a handful of students attending classes. After I submitted my grades and cleared myself as teacher for the school year, I left Cotabato and enrolled my children in Manila. I did not want their education to be disrupted by the scalawags. My children and I lived in Manila for one year from 1991 to 1992, while Lucas stayed in Cotabato to earn us a living. It was so difficult to be separated. But as the situation in Cotabato improved a little, the kids and I returned back in 1993. Many families however were displaced during these times, and many young and abled people left Cotabato for good.
After few years, things seemed to quiet down a bit in Cotabato City, then a worst resurgence came back in 2009 to 2010. The kidnappers (again, we had suspicion that there was some kind of a connivance.)  became even more brazen committing their crimes with impunity. They were so daring, kidnapping during peak hours and in broad day light. They waited for victims at their homes with mortal launchers and armies in front of their gates. They forcibly grabbed their targets from their stores. They even kidnapped two people of the same family and demanded an even bigger ransom. My sister-in-law Conchita was kidnapped on her way home on October 8, 2010, few meters away from the gate. They killed the driver and her security guard, who were following in another car. Lucio my brother-in-law was able to put some resistance and escaped the capture. The news of such evilness broke out nationwide. The government sent in the Marines to secure Cotabato City. That put a brake somehow to the apocalyptic darkness that was pervading the city. Before the marines arrived though, everybody was self quarantining in his own homes, afraid to go out. When the marines came, things slowly got better. The political situation turned for the better too. We were most thankful when Rodrigo Duterte became our president, and Cynthia Sayadi became our mayor. Relatively, we are enjoying certain amount of peace right now. God must have heard all our ernest supplications. O Lord hear our prayers.

6. Covid-19 pandemic - 2020, on going all over the world.

Lord God, life is not a bed of roses. But you are with us during all these times of trials, disasters, and crises; helping me, helping us, helping our families. For these I am most grateful and thankful. Do keep us always in your love and safe keeping. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.




Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Our Lady of Pillar

My sister Helen went to Europe several times. Upon coming home from her travels, I listened to her many stories. The foremost story that enthralled me was her going to Zaragoza, Spain where she got to see the image of Our Lady of Pillar and the miraculous pillar itself.

“I just learned that Pilar in English, means pillar, as in the column.” She said enthusiastically. And her interesting story was about the miraculous appearance of our Nuestra Senora del Pilar to St. James who went to Spain to spread the good news. Accordingly, St. James was not very successful in preaching the faith because he was not very eloquent, so he asked for the help of the Blessed Mother. The Blessed Mother who was at that time still alive appeared to him standing on a divine pillar near a river. Divine because the pillar was not made from human hands, but rather, it came down from heaven. The Blessed Mother promised to help St. James and to give him plentiful of converts. As it turned out St. James was able to evangelize Spain, and in return Spain was instrumental in converting many nations. Henceforth, St. James is the apostle with the most Catholic coverts all over the world, including the Philippines.

After my sister Helen’s story, I also heard from one of the sermons of Bishop Collin Bagaforo, that Our Lady of Pillar was the first apparition manifested by our Virgin Mother, and it happened while she was still alive living in Greece or Turkey. It just shows us how sympathetic the Lady is to the call of those who need her help.

I was also curious because Our Lady of Pilar is most venerated in Fort del Pilar, Zamboanga, Philippines. When I was a little girl, I heard a story about a big flood in Zamboanga City. The Infant Jesus accordingly was missing from the statue by the wall. The Boy was found playing with flood waters by his Mother. The Mother came down and took the Boy back and the water receded. Of course this was only a story, and many people must have long forgotten about this tale. But indeed there was once a big flood in Zamboanga City, as well as here in Cotabato City too. Sometimes my memory surprises me.

And wonder of wonders, few years back, my sons Roy, Tomas and Emil were able to go on a walking pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella to the burial site of St. James. It was an adventure, an expedition as well as a religious pilgrimage for them. But their going there, drew my heart even closer to St. James and our blessed mother. In my prayers, I ask St. James to intercede for them.

Last night, I participated my tenth healing rosary on air. The bishop of Imus Cathedral was leading the prayers with the venerated image of Nuestra Senora del Pilar. The commentator briefly narrated the story of St. James and Our Lady of Pillar. Even though I knew of the story already, I was still very much enthralled to hear it again. Our Lady of Pillar in Imus had come to the aid of the Cavite people many times; whether it be man made or natural calamity. One of the disasters happened to be the cholera epidemic in Imus. Henceforth we as one people, and one nation are appealing to her again, to aid us during this crisis. O Blessed Mother, help us and pray for us.


Sunday, May 17, 2020

Lockdown in Cotabato City

In the Philippines, because of the spread of the virus, president Rodrigo Duterte announced the lockdown of Metro Manila and the entire province of Luzon starting March 15, 2020; after which there would be no air, sea or land travel, coming or going to other parts of the Philippines. Cotabato City which is located in Mindanao gets most of our supply from Metro Manila, so people here began to panic. I bought medicines, food supply like noodles, canned goods, salted fish and other essentials, good for one month. But because of our shared building and existing shared kitchen policy with my in-laws, I became unwittingly responsible for our two households, namely the household of Luna and Tina Tan and their two maids, and the household of Lucas and Heddy Tan, our own two maids and one common cook, nine persons in all. (Our children are all dispersed in different places.)

Cotabato City began its lockdown on March 16, 2020. Three days later we closed our store and confined ourselves in our home. The first fear was getting the virus. We prohibited the maids to go out and we closed our homes to any callers. Nobody is allowed to enter our building. My second fear was, having not enough food supply to last us for a month. I tried to ration the use of our stockpile. My own personal biscuits, crackers, tea, chocolates, food supplements, I carefully approportioned them too. My sister-in-law Tina had a runner guy (who worked in her cellphone store), to buy her things. Sometimes I would request that same guy to buy me bread or fruits, but even then, I was afraid I might get him infected, so I did it as less often as possible. Our fresh food though like pork, fish and vegetables got depleted already during the first week of the lockdown, so I hesitantly allowed the maids to go to the market. Where as, the households used to market everyday, now we do it once a week, or even longer. I tried my best to stretch our food supply to last longer. We were not eating like paupers but we were not eating like kings either. Nobody was complaining (except maybe Luna, I heard him a few times.)

After few weeks, I found out that I could call for grocery and produce deliveries, henceforth I started calling and buying things. I was ordering more and better goods too. We began to eat better also. Still, I was most careful in using our stockpile to last us longer, for I was also giving aids to some of our former helpers.

After two months, I decided to buy flour and baking powder. Yesterday, with my remaining dried blueberries and with the recipe of my daughter-in-law Angel, I baked a batch of oatmeal blueberry muffins. Oh, it was so good for snacks and desserts, I tried refraining myself from eating it three times a day. Haha!

Thanks to the following persons who sent me food:
1. My sister Jeannette Yu - for sending me loaves of bread, fried chicken and raddish cake, and the suman today.
2. Margie Plando - for the big beautiful ripe mangoes.
3. Tina Tan - for the pomelos, pineapple and other fruits.
4. Nestor Alasalas - for bringing to me my own produce from my own lot, those sweet Manga Manila and coconuts.
5. Last but not the least, my household helps for sharing their banana-qs.

As of today, after almost a month, Cotabato City has a new positive case. Yesterday, my in-laws Lucio and Conchita came home from Davao after being held up for two months. The store is again open for business. I keep at home since I don’t work for the store. I am as scared as ever because of the new positive. O Lord, please put an end to the spread of the virus. Please put an end to this pandemic. Have mercy on us O Lord, have mercy.




Thursday, May 7, 2020

Healing Rosary

Last night, May 6 at nine in the evening, my husband, my household-helps and I  participated in the 8th Healing Rosary for the World; live-streamed from Manila Cathedral, Facebook. It all began when Pope Francis led his flock in praying.
1. Pope Francis led the first healing rosary in Rome on March 19, 2020 during the Feast Day of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus.
2. The Next Wednesday, March 25, on the Feast of Assumption, our very own Cardinal Luis Tagle in Rome, Italy, followed his footsteps by leading the healing rosary. Because of the big following among Filipinos, subsequently the healing rosary came to be recited in the Philippines every Wednesday at nine o’clock in the evening, covering different churches around the country. The following below are the sequences done by different churches: if my memory serves me right.
3. The third healing rosary was recited at the Sto. Nino Cathedral in Cebu City, with the original statue of the Infant Jesus.
4. Then at Antipolo Church with the miraculous statue of our Blessed Virgin Mary.
5. Followed by Dagupan Church led by Bishop Villegas with the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Manaoag.
6. Then at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Cubao, Quezon City with the replica statue of Our Lady of La Naval.
7. The 7th healing rosary was led by the archbishop of Davao in his residence in Davao City.
8. Last night, 5 different churches led the 5 mysteries with participation coming from various orders of religious men and women of the Philippines. The five churches that led the rosary were:
    a. Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Quezon City
    b. Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Quezon City
    c. Church of Mary, Help of Christians, Paranaque
    d. Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Baclaran, Manila
    e. Church of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval Manila,  Sto. Domingo, Quezon City

Last night, the 8th Healing Rosary was quite long, as 5 different churches were leading each mystery. The different religious orders and groups were also given importance in their participations. There were singing of hymns, homilies and the recitation of the litany. I love the litany but I was not very keen with the homilies. In fairness though, some religious persons gave beautiful talks. I was just restless because the night was getting late and my husband and the maids had work to do the next day.

But I was very happy because many a friend were following the healing rosaries every week because I have been messaging and reminding them. And besides, because I felt that those five churches last night were somehow chosen very closely to my heart: I felt really close to Jesus and my blessed mother.
1. When I was young, my cousin Nelly, a devotee of our Lady of Lourdes and her sisters brought me to the Retiro Church to attend mass. There was one incident where I looked up to the crown on the statue and was mesmerized by the sparkle of the gems on her head. My cousin Adele saw my fixated gazed upon the crown, she thought I was kind of crazy. Hahaha. My going to that church had somehow brought about my own devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes.
2.  Ever since my father and my siblings moved residency to New Manila, Quezon City, I have personally felt that I belonged to the parish of Mt. Carmel Church whenever I was there. These days, although I am not living in New Manila anymore, I still prefer to attend my Sunday masses at Mt. Carmel Church whenever I am there. I truly love the serenity and the solemnity and the ambiance of the church.
3. I have never been to the Church of Mary, Help of Christians, but I had been drawn to this title of our Blessed Mother when I was praying for my son Emil while he was studying at Ateneo de Manila University. While praying the litany, for the intentions of Emil, I singled out Mary, Help of Christians to help my son with his hardships. Thank you O Blessed Mother for your many help. When this covid 19 will be gone and done, I will try to visit this church. My best friend Imelda Bugayong agreed to go with me too.
4. As you know, my siblings and I are devotees of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. When I am in Manila, together with my siblings, we go visit  Baclaran Church on Tuesday nights to offer our prayers and petitions to our mother to intercede for us.
5. I used to study at UST. The university is run by the Dominican priests, so too with the Sto. Domingo Church of Our Lady of La Naval. The Lady of La Naval is akin to Our Lady of Rosary. I visited Sto. Domingo Church few times, but I pray my rosary religiously these days.
O Blessed Mother, do intercede for us.
O God, have mercy on us. Have mercy on your people.

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Reposting from Facebook

The last Sunday mass I attended was on March 15, 2020 at Queen of Peace Church before the community lockdown in Cotabato City on March 16. I was one of the readers and I was very paranoid because most of the people were not very aware of the gravity of the spread of the virus yet. (And careless about distancing). I was really scared of using the microphone too close to my mouth, sharing it with two other people; Cecile the first reader (I was the second reader) and our priest Father Samson. I wiped the microphone with cleansing wipes before the start of the liturgy, but still I was not very confident enough about its safety. After the mass, I left the church immediately, and together with my husband and my friend Siolan, off we went to the beach to bask under the sun and swim in the sea. Today marks my seventh Sunday to attend mass on tv.
O Lord, for how long will you deliver us from our anxiety and fear.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Plans Thwarted....

This 2020, my husband and I planned to do a lot of travelling.....
 
First, we bought tickets for May as early as 2019, together with our daughter Martha to go to New Zealand for my daughter Marion’s (Martha’s twin) graduation. My daughter Marion went to New Zealand three years ago to further her studies on disaster management. Since this would be our first time to go the country, we also arranged a tour from Auckland to Wellington. We did plan this trip to visit Marion towards the end of her studies, so as not to distract her from her many works and commitments. But unfortunately this covid disease side steps all our plans.
But God is tremendously kind to us, and the good news is, my daughter Marion successfully defended her thesis on March 20 (on her birthday). And she was also further nominated for the university dean’s list. Yay! This was great. I did not mind that our flight to New Zealand was cancelled, nor minded that Marion’s graduation ceremony was not going to happen. I was simply overjoyed by the mere fact that she had passed and was recognized. Thank you dear Lord! The most important thing is she has already hurdled her doctorate degree and has an on going research work with the university. I don’t mind not being able to travel to New Zealand. Thank you dear Lord. Do keep her safe always.

Secondly, I booked a flight to Manila with my husband in February to attend the wedding of my niece Jacy and at the same time to visit my daughter Martha in Manila. But two days before my intended flight, I personally cancelled our trip because I was scared to take the plane ride with an unknown virus. 

Third, thinking that things would become better by March, I planned to go to Manila before March 20 with my husband to visit Martha, on her birthday and to attend the engagement party and ceremony of my nephew Miguel, subsequently his wedding to take place in September this year. But the contamination of the virus was getting out of hand and President Duterte declared a community quarantine for Metro Manila and the whole of Luzon starting March 15. My brother Wilson also cancelled the engagement party a week before the event because the parents of the intended bethroded girl were sick with suspicion of the dreaded disease. Thankfully they recovered, the father from pneumonia and the mother from mild symptoms. Joyce the fiancée of my nephew was tested negative. While thankfully, somehow prior to the engagement, Miguel had an earlier distancing, due to some Chinese custom of not meeting his girlfriend for 15 days prior to the engagement proper. Thank God for sparing and protecting everybody. Thank you O Lord.

Fourth, my eldest sister Imelda’s (Theng Theng) husband passed away from a lingering illness on March 11 in Manila. I did not go to Manila to condole and console my sister, because again I was scared to take the plane ride. I spoke to her over the phone, and reiterated that she should take care of herself. As you know my sister is now suffering from Alzheimer. After the burial of her husband, she went to stay with her sister-in-law for few days. Unfortunately, her sister-in-law did not know how to handle her, and my sister Imelda’s (Theng Theng) son, quickly and conveniently transferred my sister to a senile home, during this time of the covid lockdown, without consulting us siblings. We the siblings want to take her out but this covid lockdown and scare is hampering our efforts. We can not even visit her to know her real condition. I talked to her once but briefly, and twice with her nurse. We have no way of really knowing her current situation. I hope this covid ends soon, so we can get to visit her, or take her home to any of our own siblings’ houses.

Fifth, early on, since last year, my husband Lucas, my daughter Martha and I talked about going to USA sometime around the fall season, in August or September; to visit foremostly my son Roy in Seattle, and then fly to Virginia to see my husband’s brother, Dr. Domingo Tan and his wife Jackie. The Tans intended to do a small family reunion in Virginia. We will be meeting there with My husband’s second eldest brother Dr. Antonio Tan and his wife Peckha from Canada, and younger sister Lehua Lim from Los Angeles. But all these are forsaken now, because we have to stay home, stay put and not endanger our lives, nor other people lives as well. When this shall all be over and behind us, I think I will be scared to travel. O Lord have mercy us and the whole world.