What do the foster father of
Christ, a ground-breaking Vicar of Christ and an 83-year-old lady have in common? Well, for one, today, March 19
marks a milestone for each of them.
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| Internet photo |
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph.
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| Internet photo |
It is
also the Inauguration day of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and the first Latin
American elected to fill the fisherman’s shoes and lead the world’s 1.2 billion
Catholics.
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| Photo by Katzi |
And today is the
birthday of that very special lady, my Mother.
Beyond this, they share an
unflagging faith in God. St. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed must have been in crisis
when he found out that his teen-age bride-to-be was pregnant, when they had not
had intimate relations. Yet, on the strength of a message from an angel in a
dream saying that Mary was carrying in her womb the Savior conceived the Holy Spirit, he kept quiet and married her. I would also like to believe that
Joseph was an honorable man, and that he had not wanted Mary to be stoned to
death, if her condition was found out.
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| Internet photo |
The newly elected Pope Francis
now widely known as champion of the poor, also displayed remarkable faith early
on. Of course, we all know that that faith with a capital F is one of the
minimum qualification requirements for his job. But he underscored this by
saying during his first mass that, “The Lord never tires of forgiving us.” Added
to that is the fact that he accepted such a big job at a late stage in his
life, and at a tumultuous period in the Catholic church. Imagine being past retirement
age and taking over an organization reeling from sexual abuse scandals and
rumors of corruption and infighting. Pope Francis must have an unshakeable faith that
God will help him and the Church.
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| Internet photo |
My Mother, who we call Mamang retired at age 65 from a male-dominated
organization where she managed to rise to the upper level. Now, she devotes her
time to the going to church, taking care of Papang
who is a triple bypass survivor, and participating in Church activities. She is
someone that any child would be proud of. One of my earliest recollections is
of her going to Sunday mass in a green dress belted with a cord of golden
yellow and green. Mamang always wore the same outfit, like a Sunday Mass uniform
of sorts. She explained that she did this because she was a devotee of St.
Joseph, as she was born on his feast day. Mamang also said that she prayed to him
so that our Papang will continue to
be a good father like himself. She
also prayed that my sisters and I will have good husbands. I am not sure if she
was just making up the devotion for a good husband. J St. Joseph is more widely known as the Patron Saint of
Workers. That is why I myself pray to him for career related matters. But back to my mother, who, to me is the
epitome of faith in God. Though all of life’s tribulations, my mother kept steadfast
in her faith that God knows what is best for us. She would say in Ilocano, “Ni Apo Dios ti maka ammon”
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| Photo by Dada |
Even when confronted with
situations that are too complex and depressing to think about, Mamang firmly believes that God will
pull her through. She is no Pollyanna, though. She believes that all prayers
are answered, sometimes not in the way that we anticipated, and that prayers
will help us accept things as they come. As she journeys through life, she finds time to stop and smell the flowers, always focusing on the blooms instead of the thorns.
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| Photo by Katzi |
When I was a child, I thought
that being a Mom meant being invincible. Even when all of us had the measles
and had to be quarantined, she tended to us and never got sick! Even when we had the mumps and other
assorted illnesses, she stayed healthy. Adding to her larger-than-life aura was
that she was fearless. She talked with dignity to Mother Superiors and
Principals, when she thought school rules were unfair to her children. She even
contradicted her superiors at work when she knew she was right. She remains as
fearless as ever. But now, I think her fearlessness is based on the knowledge
that God is with her. She has aged gracefully and I am sure that one of her secrets is her unwavering faith in God. It is this faith that is seeing her through the vagaries of failing eyesight, weakened bones, and all the other weaknesses brought on by age, such as no longer being able to wear high heels.
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| Photo by Katzi |
Happy Birthday, Mamang. May you have many more blessed
birthdays to come. We love you.
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