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IN
THIS ISSUE:
Cover
Page
by Bro.
Pete Lapid
The
Father Speaks
By Fr.
Siegfried Binzler, SJ
Our
Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place
of Refuge
By
Philip Yuson
Sharing
By
Sunita Dias
Surabaya
Corner
By
Ramon Martillano
Sharing
By Gina
Masindo
Here's
the Latest
By
Tintin Magbitang
Reflection
Homily
Sermon by Father Florianus
Catholic
News
By
Armand Sol
Saints
for the Month
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- SHARING
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 - “Pray
for us sinners now and at the hour of our death…”
As these words echo in my mind when I pray the Holy Rosary, most of
the times I could still see the face of my beloved mother on her
most trying moment. The Lord called her three years ago. It was a heartbreaking experience but also a spiritually
strengthening one for me and my brothers and sisters.
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- During
my childhood, my Mama always asked us to pray the Holy Rosary every
six o’clock in the evening. As
a child, we would just mumble the words of the Hail Mary and Holy
Mary as if they’re just words to be said.
No meaning at all. The
faster we say it, the better so we could go back to our
hide-and-seek game. When
I try to say it slowly, I tend to forget the next word.
Sometimes, I feel irritated when my Mama would pray the words
a little slower. But
during her hour, I prayed those same words slowly, meaning every
single word from the bottom of my heart, begging the Blessed Mother
to pray for my Mama.
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- During
my college days, I came to a point where I question the worth of
reciting the Holy Rosary, why am I saying the same words all over
again - for fifty times, my goodness.
SO I’ve decided to just stop doing it, cut it out of my
system. I did not tell
this to my Mama. Anyway,
when we have reached this age, she could not really ask us anymore
to kneel down and pray the Holy Rosary in front of the altar.
I love to pray, I love going to the Holy Mass with my parents
even during weekdays. But
it was just different with the Holy Rosary.
I can’t help asking myself “why am I praying this
repetitive prayer which seems to glorify the Blessed Mother more
than our Lord Jesus Christ.”
On the eve of December 31, 1997, this seemingly boring set of
prayers became a powerful and exhilarating prayer for intercession
for all of us, especially for my dying beloved.
As we pray the rosary for the last time with her, her blood
pressure normalized miraculously.
I saw a glimpse of hope replacing fear from her face, a tinge
of gladness on her tired eyes. That picture of her seemed to be implanted here on my mind;
I’ll never ever forget how soothing this prayer sounded to my
mother’s ears.
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- I
could not remember exactly the time when I came back on my knees to
pray the Holy Rosary. I
was still in the Philippines and my Mama was still strong at that
time. I searched my
heart for the real reason why I refuse to say the Holy Rosary.
Self-serving reasons were revealed to me by God.
Laziness was among them.
I was just trying to find excuses for not praying it every
night. It was quite
long and boring for me. With
the help of the teachings and testimonies that I’ve heard, I
realized I was not praying it the right way.
I was reciting it so I could say that I have finished my
evening prayer. No
reflections, no sincerity, wrong motives.
I tried to pray the Holy Rosary again offering to God my
laziness and trying to prove to Him that I could spend these fifteen
minutes wholeheartedly with Him.
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- Coming
here in Jakarta and joining the Community further enlightened me and
guided me towards the realization of the power of the Holy Spirit in
praying the Holy Rosary and in my prayer life as a whole.
It is amazing how the Holy Spirit reminds us of the
faithfulness of God, our Father; the sacrifice and triumphant
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and the good example of our
Blessed Mother Mary in following God’s will.
Invoking the Holy Spirit guides and leads us in our prayers,
be it a prayer from the book or a prayer said spontaneously. As our
Lord Jesus has said, “When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will
guide you into the whole truth.”
(John 16:13). As
we surrender everything to Him, He will reveal to us God’s will in
our lives. He instructs us in the depths of our hearts.
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- Praying
the Holy Rosary now through the power of the Holy Spirit has proven
that God’s love and mercy are new every morning.
The Holy Spirit reveals new things even if I say the same
prayer or read the same Bible verse over and over again.
The words in this wonderful gift of prayer are no longer
repetitious in my ears. As
I pray and meditate on the lives of our Lord Jesus Christ and His
Mother through the Rosary, I offer all the intentions of my family,
my Community and all the petitions inspired by the Holy Spirit.
All throughout the prayer, I now realized that God’s name
is praised and exalted. His
marvelous plan of salvation for all of us sinners is again brought
to light. As we ask our
Blessed Mother to intercede for us, we are prompted to pray for
other people.
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- And
when I am anxious or when fear just suddenly wakes me up from my
slumber, I just reach out for my rosary.
As I pray, peace calms my nerves and soothingly lulls me back
to a restful sleep. It
feels like a motherly embrace is upon me, assuring me that there is
nothing to fear for God is with me, He will never forsake me and He
is in control of everything.
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- I
truly believe that through the powerful intercession of our blessed
Mother Mary, God embraced my Mama when she breathed her last, for I
saw the peace and joy on her face… the last time we prayed the
Holy Rosary together. All
praise and glory be to our Lord God.
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