Religion: Feast Day of Mother Mary September 8

September 8 commemorates Mary's birtday and it's also the feast day of Our Lady of Velankanni.  I'm posting the Novena Prayer to our Lady of Velankanni, also known as Our Lady of Good Health.

Some friends and I have been praying to Our Lady of Velankanni who has showered us with many gifts.

Novena Prayer to Our Lady of Velankanni 


Oh Most Holy Virgin! You were chosen by the Most Adorable Trinity from all eternity to be the most pure Mother of Jesus. Permit me, your humble and devoted servant, to remind you of the joy received in the instant of the Most Sacred Incarnation of our Divine Lord and during the nine months you carried Him in your chaste womb. I wish most sincerely that I could renew, or even increase that joy, by the fervour of my Prayers.

Some Prayers for Peace and Serenity

The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdow to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the nest.

Amen.

Prayer attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr. It has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs.

~~

France Brittany: St. Vincent Ferrer in Cathedral of Vannes

Remains of St. Vincent Ferrer in the Cathedral of Vannes, Brittany

This is about St. Vincent Ferrer, Spanish saint who died and is buried in Vannes, Brittany.

I grew up hearing about St. Vicente Ferrer but knew little about him. Some friends who learned I was touring Brittany told me to be sure and visit his burial site in Vannes, which I did.

Our Lady of Velankanni Prayer Group

A group of us have been meeting once a month to pray to Our Lady of Velankanni (Our Lady of Good Health) at Maria Ciocon's house, under the spiritual guidance of Father Sebastian and Father George. The group picture shows: Miguel,Marietta, Lucy Adao McGinley, Patrick McGinley, Beverly Bonzon, Father Sebastian, Maria Ciocon, Med Villanueva, Cecilia Brainard


The picture of three shows: Sim Ciocon, Father Sebastian, and Maria Ciocon

JESUIT ONLINE RETREAT - NOW

It only takes a few minutes - come on! Do the Jesuit Online Retreat!

Jesuit Online Retreat - https://www.phjesuits.org/features/762-of-kisses-and-alabaster-jars

CEBU BOOK LAUNCH OF FINDING GOD WITH PICTURES

Honey Jarque Loop has written in the Food and Leisure section of The Philippine Star, Sept.24, 2009, an article about the Cebu book launch of FINDING GOD. Read on past the launch of the Pelaez biography.


http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=507904&publicationSubCategoryId=81

ASH WEDNESDAY

"But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 (From the song sang in church today.)

Ash Wednesday today - St. Monica's crowded. I went to neighboring St. Paul's to park and got scolded for parking there, although I understood that during weekdays it's all right to park in their not-full lot. The parking lot attendant asked, "Are you going to Mass?" with a scowl on his face. I said, "Yes," happily. "You can't park here." I explained that I understood it was all right to park there during the week, not the weekend. He said he knew nothing about that, and I moved my car. Tsk, tsk, St. Paul's for being so un-Christian.

St. Monica's was crowded - standing room only. It was a great Mass, and the ash on the forehead always brings back childhood days. I almost laughed though when I walked down the aisle and saw all these people with the black Cross on their foreheads. For just a heartbeat, the scene actually looked spooky.

OK - Monsignor Torgesen is giving up sweets. I'm not sure what I'll do for Lent. I'm thinking of re-reading The Diary of Faustina.

And there are practical things like replanting the garden and getting the house in shape for Easter.

Meantime, I've started teaching Writers' Sketchbook at the Writers Program at UCLA Extension. We had our first class last Thursday. I've got a great group with great energy.
~~~
Photo shows Joe Biden (Can I call you, Joe?) - courtesy of boston.com

Mother Teresa's Dark Night of the Soul

I finished reading the book "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light" (Doubleday 2007). The book collects her letters and some letters to her; these reveal the 55-year-long spiritual condition of Mother Teresa called "dark night of soul." Soon after she received her "call within a call" to found the Missionaries of Charity, she felt abandoned by God, alone, rejected, worthless. Early on, she wrote:

"Please pray for me, that it may please God to lift this darkness from my soul for only a few days. For sometimes the agony of desolation is so great and at the same time the longing for the Absent One so deep, that the only prayer which I can still say is - Sacred Hear of Jesus I trust in Thee - I will satiate Thy thirst for souls."

When these feelings first came she was puzzled, but she never wavered in loving Christ, even when she felt rejected by Him. She did not mind her "feelings" and focused on her work, anchored herself in firm faith in Jesus. Not feeling connected with Jesus made her connect in a deeper way with the poor, the sick, the hungry, the rejected, the abandoned in whom she saw Christ. They were not just "like Christ;" they were Christ.

Some of her spiritual confessors had suggested to her that her dark night of the soul was her intimate sharing of Christ's Passion. He too felt abandoned, rejected - "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me."

Edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk who was one of her champions for her sainthood, the book is a fascinating look at this woman who suffered much interiorly, but never showed her sufferings to the rest of the world, and she never wavered in her love and commitment to God. This was a woman who had visions of Jesus and Mary, who conversed with them, but who remained practical and grounded, as to allow her to found an order and make it grow. She gave God all the credit; but certainly God availed of Mother Teresa's common sense, intellect, passion, and unwavering love and commitment to the poorest of the poor.

She had a grand life - a love story featuring her love for Jesus and the poorest of the poor (whom she saw as Christ disguised).

More of Lectio Divina

Yesterday's reading was: Matthew 15, 1-2, 10-14. In this reading, Christ teaches his disciples that it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles, but what comes out of the mouth. He explains saying what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and these are evil thoughts. I read and reread but didn't get any insight beyond Jesus chiding the Pharisees who criticized his disciples for breaking tradition by not washing their hands. Jesus is saying that is not important; what is important is what is in your hearts.

Today's reading is: Matthew 17, 1-9, about Christ's transfiguration. He takes Peter, James and John to the mountain where He is transfigured and Moses and Elijah appear and talk to Him. The bible account does not elaborate, but this scene must have taken the apostles' breath away - Jesus shines like the sun, Moses and Elijah appear and talk to Jesus. And after this shocking scene when the others are no doubt dumbfounded, Peter manages to talk. Peter talks a lot, and he says, "If You wish, let us make here three tabernacles ..." And then a cloud comes over them and a voice is heard, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

Jesus shining like the sun was strange enough; Moses and Elijah appearing is stranger still, and now the voice - too much! They fall and cower from fear. Then this is what Jesus does: He touches them and says, "Arise and do not be afraid." When they open their eyes, they see Jesus. As they descend the mountain, Jesus tells them to tell no one until the "Son of Man is risen from the dead."

The word that attracted me was "touch" - Jesus touched the apostles. He not only said, "Do not be afraid," but he touched them. There are many references to "touching" in the bible - the sick who touch Jesus or touch the hem of his clothes, Jesus touching them to heal them. And Jesus saying, Touch me not, when He was risen.

Jesus was very human. Yes, He shone like the sun and conversed with Moses and Elijah, but He was/is not distant from man. He is someone who "touches" man in order to drive away his fears, in order to heal him; that is, He addresses man's physicality. He fed the multitude of people at the Mount; He broke bread and gave this to His disciples. He drank wine and ate and attended wedding feasts and visited his friends in Bethany (Lazarus, Martha, and Mary). There is a scene after His crucifixion, where Jesus prepared breakfast for His disciples on the shore of Galilee. He was and is very aware of our humanity: our pains, our hunger, our anxieties; and He ministers to these. He gave His disciples the power to heal.

The religion that Jesus established was/is meant to be a down-to-earth one that ministers to people in basic ways. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was being Christ-like when she ministered to the dying and the poorest of the poor. We, in turn, should be the hands and feet and body of Christ and attend to people's physical needs - hunger, thirst, miseries, etc.

Excerpts from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I bought a hardcover edition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I had a paperback, which I now can't find. The book consists of letters from Screwtape, an older devil who is mentoring his devil nephew Wormwood. It's funny and insightful at the same time. It cleverly reveals how evil seduces people. Here are some excerpts from Screwtape's letters:

- Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn't think of doctrines as primarily "true" or "false", but as "academic" or "practical", "outworn" or "contemporary", conventional" or ruthless". Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the church.

- Above all, do not attempt to use science (I mean, the real sciences) as a defense against Christianity. They will definitely encourage him to think about realities he can't touch and see.

- The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether.

- Of course a war is entertaining. The immediate fear and suffering of the humans i a legitimate and pleasing refreshment for our myriads of toiling workers.

- One of our great allies at present is the Church itself.

Etc. etc. - the book is great! Blurb from the back cover, "Screwtape is an experienced devil. His nephew Wormwood is at the beginning of his demonic career and has been assigned to secure the damnation of a young man. Their letters are one of C.S. Lewis's most brilliant imaginative creations."

COFRADIA SAN JUAN BATISTA IN CEBU

Louie Narcorda, founder of the Cofradia of St. John the Baptist in Cebu City, sent some pictures of their recent celebration of St. John's feast for his beheading. Here's some information about St. John the Baptist: He was the son of Zachary and Elizabeth, cousin of Mary. The Angel Gabriel told Zachary his wife would have a son even though she was old. St. John lived as a hermit in the desert. When he was 30, he began to preach. Jesus went to him in the river Jordan to be baptized. John recognized Him and said, "It is I who should be baptized by you." John was beheaded by Herod at the request of Salome. St. John's feast is celebrated on June 24. His beheading is celebrated on August 29.





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Photos:1) top left foto - L-R: Dr. Joy Gerra, Doña Luz Mancao vda. de Sandiego,
Dr. Mae Cabahug Mendoza, Janet Trocino Hermosa and Jenara Regis Newman;

2) top right foto - front row - L-R: Val Sandiego, Soly Taladua, Inday
Abarre, Joy Gerra, Cookie Newman, Luz Sandiego, Linda Martinez, Janet
Hermosa, Ofelia Sandiego, Josefa Gorordo de Revilles.
back row, L-R: Louie Nacorda, Ferdinand Ventura, Jerry Martin Noel
Alfafara, Gavin Bagares, Chilet Hermosa, Bingo Redoble;

3) Lower left foto - L-R: Val Sandiego, Margie Matheu, Chilet Hermosa,
Cookie Newman, Msgr. Cayetano Gelbolingo, P.A., Vicar General of the
Archdiocese of Cebu and spiritual director of the Cofradia de San Juan
Bautista, Janet Hermosa, Pepita Revilles, Inday Abarre and Louie Nacorda.

4) Lower right foto - L-R: Louie Nacorda, Jerry Martin Alfafara, Chilet
Hermosa and Nandy Ventura.

THE JESUITS IN CEBU

I grew up in the city of Cebu, in Southern Philippines, whose claim to historical fame was that the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was killed by Lapulapu in nearby Mactan Island. This happened in 1521, and for the next 333 years, Spain controlled the Philippine archipelago. During the turn of the century the Americans took over as the colonists of the Philippine archipelago. During World War II, the Japanese controlled the country, but somehow despite the assortment of influences, there remained a quaint Spanish colonial flavor in the place. It was something I took for granted while growing up, and only became more interested in where this Spanish flavor came from as a grown woman after my mother and most of her generation had passed on. I’ve had to turn to history books to make the connections between the past and the present.

One of the things I learned was that the Jesuits had a long and rich history in Cebu. I had known that the Jesuits had founded the Ateneo in the 1800s because the Philippine National hero Jose Rizal attended that school. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Jesuits had been in Cebu as early as 1595.

It was the Jesuit superior, Antonio Sedeno himself who founded a house in Cebu. Sedeno was a veteran missionary of 46. Like St. Ignatius, he had been in the military when he was young. He had gone to England as a page of the Duke of Feria when Mary Tudor was queen. On March 13, 1568, he sailed for Florida with a group of Jesuits headed by Juan Bautista de Segura. In 1572, Sedeno was the first Jesuit sent to Mexico, and it was while he was acting Rector of the college there that he was informed he was chosen as superior of the first Philippine Mission. Traveling with three companions, he sailed from Acapulco on the galleon San Martin on March 29, and arrived Manila in July. There Sedeno and his company learned Tagalog. After much hem and hawing as to whether the Manila Jesuits would head the entire Far East or the Philippines, and as to what type of work they would actually do there, the King of Spain sent an order for the Jesuits to establish a Jesuit College where they would teach not only Spanish boys but also mestizos and sons of the ruling class.

Cebu, the site of the first Spanish settlement was not forgotten, and by June 30, 1595 Sedeno himself headed a small group composed of Alonso de Humanes, Mateo Sanchez and a lay brother to Cebu for the purpose of founding a Jesuit house there. The people received them warmly and promptly donated 500 pesos to them, which they used to buy a house near the beach. The city corporation donated adjacent land adjacent for a yard and garden. The trip to Cebu had been on an uncovered sailboat, exposing the Jesuit passengers to the stormy weather for three weeks. Father Sedeno became ill and passed away in Cebu on September 2, 1595. They buried him in the domestic chapel on the ground floor of their first house, but three years later, Father Pedro Chirino transferred Sedeno’s remains to the new Jesuit church.

The Jesuits went on and founded a free primary school that taught Spanish, Visayan, and Chinese students Catholic doctrine, reading, writing, arithmetic, and deportment. Grammar was added upon the Since 1596, the Jesuits had been administering a free primary school teaching Spanish,Visayan, and Chinese students Christian doctrine, reading, writing, arthimetic, and deportment, grammar.

In 1599 the Chinese Christians built a Catholic church in the wealthy Parian district and the church was said to have been decorated with gold and silver. The Bishop of Cebu ordered the Jesuits to administer this church, which they did for a while. This was the Parian Parish church that stood at the intersections of Mabini, Espana, and Zulueta. The Jesuit convent was across the street on Mabini and Zulueta.

When I was small, my mother used to visit the Parian District of Cebu to shop from an old woman who sold chocolate tablets. I used to accompany her and sitting in our car, I used to peer out at the rundown buildings in that area. After World War II, like many other residents, my family moved inland, in the more popular residential areaa of Cebu, away from the crowded and commercial downtown section. The Parian district ceased being fashionable. But when my mother was young, the Parian had been a fashionable place where the rich and powerful people of Cebu lived. My mother and her family had lived in Colon Street, known as the oldest street in the Philippines.

The shop where my mother bought the chocolate tablets was located at the end of Colon on Mabini Street – yes, the same Mabini Street where the Jesuit convent had sat. Now the Jesuit house is a warehouse, but there are vestiges of the old convent. There is a plaque that is inscribed “1730.” And outside is an old gate that has been preserved by the current owners.

So sometime, if you are in Cebu, near the Cathedral of Cebu and the Santo Nino Basilica, take a walk to the corner of Zulueta and Binacayan, and take a look at the mossy old walls and the find the old gate (on Binacayan Road); and if you ask permission, they’ll let you in and you can see the centenary enormous structural posts and plaque inscribed 1730.

(Above picture shows the Cuenco Family who lived on Colon, the oldest Street in the Philippines. My mother is the girl standing and holding a doll, on the left side); the other picture is the Val Sandiego house in Parian, Cebu

All for now,
Cecilia Brainard

tags: travel, history, Philippines, Cebu, Parian, Jesuits, Spanish Colonial, Jesuit House