OLOPS

i like having vivid dreams. when i wake up, i'm reminded of good things. sometimes good, sometimes bad, but it's always good to be reminded. a few nights ago, i had a dream about this:



the dream was: i found my HS teacher praying the novena. it was very vivid - she was holding the blue novena booklet and i interrupted her prayer to discuss about the thesis.

and the memories that rushed through when i woke up were incredible...

my first commuting-all-by-myself experience was when mami asked me to meet her at the baclaran church so we could pray the novena on a wednesday. i was about 10. a jeepney ride from sto. nino to baclaran was a great milestone for me. it was also my first novena.

our novena attendance wasn't constant throughout the years but we tried to brave the crowds whenever we can. the feeling is different if you pray the novena alone and you pray it with thousands of devoted people. the latter gives you an unexplainable feeling of being closer to Mama Mary.

at the entrance of the church, there's a statue of Mama Mary that's enclosed in glass. the people knock at the glass, as if asking Mama Mary to give them just a tiny bit of attention and to listen to their prayers. they also wipe on the glass with small towels. so overwhelming.

people walk on a kneeling position from the entrance to the altar while praying the rosary. it's quite a long, difficult "walk". makes me think that whatever they are praying for is something grave. that, or they are simply devoted.

throughout the novena, your voice will drown in the voices of others. people are praying and singing at the top of their lungs. maybe, just maybe, they feel that there is a higher chance of God hearing their pleas if they pray louder. again, overwhelming devotion.

i remember seeing all sorts of people. you see a difference in the way people look - rich, poor, young, old, man, woman, burdened, contented, happy, sad. you could see a thousand varieties but there's no difference in the way they express their devotion.

there's a sermonette section where the priest will read a letter from someone whose wish has been granted - sort of a testimony. deliverance from sickness, poverty, finding a spouse... the stories are endless.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help has a special spot in my heart. the novena is also a bonding moment for mami and me. it made me feel that you will never be alone in the darker phases of life, that somebody saves, that something out of your comprehension will help you. put comprehension aside, belief is all that matters.

here in SG, she is known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.

when we visited italy last 2008, we found ourselves in front of the original image of the Perpetual Help. it wasn't planned and we just found it by accident. we met one filipino redemptorist priest who was there for an event. i felt so blessed.

this is my favorite line from one of the songs... "when the voyage is o'er, o
stand on the shore, and show him at last to me"