Maligayang Kaarawan Mama Mary

With eyes closed in fervent prayer, I wish you a Happy birthday MAMA MARY.

It is happening again, my stats is turning those magic numbers for so many years now every time we celebrate Mama Mary’s birthday.

Catholic churches are closed again because the group handling Covid 19 here opted to return to MECQ (Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine) after declaring three days ago that Metro Manila would be under GCQ (General Community Quarantine). No matter what they term it, even how many CQs are there, bubbles, localized lockdown, granular lockdown as long as the problem of this pandemic is not properly addressed, we will remain having those positive cases everyday. Every sacrifice is borne by the Filipino people because of the inefficient way those retired generals are handling this pandemic. The(ir) president woudn’t trust the expertise of the medical sector to address the problem.

For almost two years now, I haven’t been inside the church because of so many restrictions. I guess the Philippines is the only country with the longest lockdown. I just rely on online masses everyday.

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Feast Day

It’s the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe today. When Nissa had her surgical operation last September, Obet’s boss gave this cloak (tilma) to Nissa and she brought it to the hospital. We had it placed on top of her bed when she was at the operating room. There was this lovely prayer pamphlet which she also gave with a very inspiring message to Nissa.

I found this lovely analysis of the tilma at the Catholic site of Our Lady of Guadalupe and I love it. The Image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec Pictograph that was read and interpreted quickly by the Aztec Indians.

• THE LADY STOOD IN FRONT OF THE SUN: She was greater than their dreaded sun-god “Huitzilopochtli”.
• HER FOOT RESTED ON THE CRESCENT MOON: She had clearly vanquished their foremost deity, the feather serpent “Quetzalcoatl.”
• THE STARS STREWN ACROSS THE MANTLE: She was greater than the stars of heaven that they worshipped.  She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo rests over her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on December 12, 1531 for the stars that she wore are the constellation of stars that appeared in the sky that day!
• THE BLUE-GREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE: She was a Queen for she wears the color of royalty.
• THE BLACK CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK: Her God was that of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son.
• THE BLACK BELT: She was with child for she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt.
• THE FOUR-PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB: She was the “Mother of God.” The flower was a special symbol of life, movement and deity-the center of the universe.
• HER HANDS ARE JOINED IN PRAYER: She was not God but clearly there was one greater than Her and she pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch.
• THE DESIGN ON HER ROSE COLORED GARMENT: She is the “Queen of the Earth” for she is wearing a map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place.

And then there’s what Modern Science has to say about the tilma:

• The image, to this date, cannot be explained by science.
• The image shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years!  The tilma or cloak of Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady has been imprinted, is a coarse fabric made from the threads of the maguey cactus. This fiber disintegrates within 20-60 years!
• There is no under sketch, no sizing and no protective over-varnish on the image.
• Microscopic examination revealed that there were no brush strokes.
• The image seems to increase in size and change colors due to an unknown property of the surface and substance of which it is made.
• According to Kodak of Mexico, the image is smooth and feels like a modern day photograph.  (Produced 300 years before the invention of photography.)
• The image has consistently defied exact reproduction, whether by brush or camera.
• Several images can be seen reflected in the eyes of the Virgin. It is believed to be the  images of Juan Diego, Bishop Juan de Zummaraga, Juan Gonzales-the interpreter and others.
• The distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in the normal eye, which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface.
• The stars on Our Lady’s Mantle coincide with the constellation in the sky on December 12, 1531. All who have scientifically examined the image of Our Lady over the centuries confess that its properties are absolutely unique and so inexplicable in human terms that the image can only be supernatural!

 

Read Full Post »

Fitbit And…. Happy Birthday Our Dear Mother

Have you heard of this gadget? Nissa has one not exactly like in the picture because hers has metal band. It is a digital watch which also shows the number of steps or strides you have taken in one particular day.

When I was at the hospital, Nissa made me wear it every time I go out to visit the university campus or to buy food. The more you move and walk or run, it would register on your fitbit. Accordingly, “Your speed depends on the length of each stride and the rate at which you turn strides over. If you want to go faster, you have to increase either stride length or stride turnover.” 

Such a lovely and smart fitness tracker. It records the number of strides you have made within the day via Bluetooth on your cellphones. Nissa has to make 12,500 strides  a day to earn points which have equivalent gifts  converted monthly.

I enjoyed going up and down the stairs, sometimes not using the elevator to keep track of my strides. Nissa was billeted at the fourth floor so you can imagine the exercise just walking.

Today is Mama Mary’s birthday. I  have always made a short blog of it through the years. It is always a nice surprise that I get lots of views  every September 8.  Attended the early mass at 6am. It was a lovely homily from one of my favorite priests, Fr. Leo Luanzon. We sang the Salve Regina in her honor.

Ad Jesum per Mariam! To Jesus through Mary!

Read Full Post »

It’s Mama Mary’s Birthday

In the Catholic calendar, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is always celebrated every September 8. The Blessed Mother occupies a unique place in the history of salvation.

There were years when I blogged about Mama  Mary’s birthday and my stats have gone up by the thousand. I loved  those times that readers appreciated my posts.  As I’ve always said,  as Catholics, we don’t worship Mama Mary but we venerate her. Veneration comes from the Latin word veneratio or dulia, Greek δουλεία, douleia. It is  the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Since she is the mother of the Kings of kings, she is the saint of saints. We honor her by praying the rosary, observing her feasts in the Catholic calendar, or when we bow our heads while praying the creed.

Years ago, I made this meme from a photo I culled from the net using one of the apps I discovered earlier.

Happy Birthday MAMA MARY.

Read Full Post »

Happy Birthday Mother Mary

I don’t know how many times I blogged about the Blessed Mother through all these years since I started blogging. There were three  consecutive years back then when my stats jumped by the thousands because of one blog  post alone. Tomorrow is another day we Catholics would always remember. It’s Mama Mary’s birthday.  Years ago, I shared some quotes  about her and I will be sharing some again today as a tribute to her.  They were culled from various Catholic sites that I sometimes visit and from our own Catholic page at Facebook of which I am one of the admins. I am also re-posting  something I made from muzy.com back in 2015.

Praying the rosary in her honor always calms me. When I feel so down, when I am afraid, when I can’t sleep at night, the rosary is just nearby. When I get sick, I hold the rosary in my hands and try to pray at  least the fifteen mysteries.  Here are some Marian quotes that I really love.

“Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” – St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

“May the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, always smile on your spirit, obtaining for it, from her Most Holy Son, every heavenly blessing.” – St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

“Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son. There can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son.” –  St. Bernard of Clairvaux

”The honor of Mary is so intimately connected with the honor and glory of Jesus that to deny the one is at the same time a denial of the other.”
–Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

“Mary seeks for those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children.”
–St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church

“If you invoke the blessed Virgin when you are tempted, she will come at once to your help, and Satan will leave you.” – St. John Vianney

Happy birthday Mama Mary!

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Thank You MAMA MARY

I hope it is not too late to say “happy birthday  Mama Mary”. 

For those of you who read  my blog regularly, you might have noticed that since 2011, I’ve been getting upward spike every time I blog about Mama Mary’s birthday and the bulk of views comes from my country. I love Mama Mary.  Yes, every September 7 and September 8, I get notifications from  WordPress. Last year was the highest so far with a total of 4,893 in one day alone.

WordPress has sent me notifications  since the other day and again I am amazed by the amount of views I got until this morning. This one is the latest so far with this message:

Your blog, DREAMS AND ESCAPES, appears to be getting more traffic than usual! 303 hourly views – 6 hourly views on average
A spike in your stats.

Your blog, DREAMS AND ESCAPES, appears to be getting more traffic than usual! 303 hourly views – 6 hourly views on average A spike in your stats

Translated into numbers, I got 2,020 views the other day and 2,713 views as of this morning. It is still moving upward. Thank you Mama Mary, my blog posts about you are instrumental in these numbers.

May you all be touched with everyday blessings.

Read Full Post »

Happy Sunday

It’s one of those Sundays that we spent just hearing mass,  having a simple meal afterwards  and a bit of shopping on the side and going home tired  but happy. I seldom go out but Josef agreed to accompany me to travel to Quezon City to get my “pasalubong”  which Lovell left at Sto. Domingo Convent a few days ago. A perfect time to visit the Shrine of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval. The last time I was here was during  Lovell’s ordination as a priest back in 2012.  Time flies, it’s been a while.

Since I collect key rings, these two from the Holy Land are certainly lovely additions to my collection.  This is the second rosary that Lovell gave me, the first one was from the Vatican.

How was your Sunday? I hope it was a blessed and a happy one too!

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

When Your Stats Go Crazy

It really did for two consecutive days and all because it was Mama Mary’s birthday. For the past five years, I blogged about Mama Mary’s birthday – quotes, prayers and my personal feelings on celebrating such an event as a Catholic. And for the past five years, I’ve noticed the crazy dance on my blog views and stats. The last time it did was about two years ago with a total of 2,889 stats in one day and I was happy but what I saw the past two days made me even happier. And it’s not only because of the additional significant stats, it’s because so many people especially from the Philippines really love to celebrate the event.

I took  screenshots of my total stats. The bar graph for the past two days looked really weird with my average views of 200 really looking like dots compared to these.

The joys of blogging and reaching out to people from all walks of life.

Thank you for all those who viewed and visited my blog, read my posts on Mama Mary for the past two days.  It is simply amazing.

Thank you Mama Mary!

Read Full Post »

Happy Birthday Mama Mary

Ad Jesum per Mariam! To Jesus through Mary!

If there is one event in the Catholic calendar that we all love to celebrate, it’s Mama Mary’s birthday. And for those who think that we worship Mama Mary, WE DON’T but we honor her. We see motherly love, goodness and gentleness in Mama Mary.

And here’s a lovely picture and message posted earlier at our Catholic site, the Apostles Filipino Catholic Community (AFCC).

 

Read Full Post »

Salamat Maria

Hail Mary, full of grace….

Read Full Post »