Feast of Guadalupe

I didn't make it to Leyte with a friend this year. There was just too much going on and too many parties to boot. I ended up celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in... Guadalupe, Makati... where else? I've been doing that for years anyway.

I made it a conscious choice to visit the national shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe as a way of thanking our Lady for a request I made to her many years ago. I was fortunate enough to go on a tour of Mexico in 1996. One of the highlights of my visit was going to Sunday Mass at Tepeyac Hill, the original site where our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego, and where the Cathedral of Mexico City now stands.

So yeah, I made a request to the Lady of Guadalupe to prolong my mother's life as she was advancing in age at the time and she had a heart ailment. The Lady listened to my prayer. My mom lived long enough and passed on in the year 2000. That would be a year I would never ever forget. And as they were preparing my mother's remains for the wake, I asked the embalmers to twine a wooden rosary I had bought at the shrine on my mother's right hand. 

On a side note, I also went to my aunt's home in West Virginia enroute to the 1996 US Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. I had gifted her with the same wooden rosary from Mexico. The reason I mention these rosaries is that on the crucifix was a small glass domed peep hole which when you lift up against the light, shows the image of our Lady in color. I have since kept a small reproduction of the image of Guadalupe in my bedroom altar.

Last night's Mass was concelebrated by the archbishops of Palawan, Brunei, Samar and a host of other provinces. The main celebrant was no less than Archbishop Tagle. The High Altar of the National Shrine of Guadalupe was festively decorated with flowers. The church was jam-packed and it was difficult to jostle for a nice spot to take photos. You'll forgive me for the de-focused photos, yes? Vice-President and Mrs. Binay were there to attend the Mass as well. It was quite significant since in the morning of the feast day, Archbishop Tagle was installed as Archbishop of Manila in Intramuros. The Mass at Guadalupe was officially his first Mass as Manila Archbishop. His parents and siblings were present at the celebration as well.

Actually, The Archbishop left Intramuros at 4:30 p.m. but arrived at the shrine around seven in the evening. Ergo, Mass started late ( to my advantage). So by the time the final blessing had been administered I was hungry. I headed for Chic-Boy and got myself a huge dinner of Tuna Sisig and Ginisang KangKong smothered in garlic. Hunger satisfied, I finally headed home. By then it was nearly eleven p.m.