A Miracle for Sure, in the City of Jericho

My Mom and I joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land last October 2010, and the picture posted at the very bottom of this page is a picture of me delivering the Readings during a Holy Mass that was the ninth among the eleven Holy Masses celebrated in the course of the pilgrimage. It was in a church located in the city of Jericho. Tita Marie Paz Laurin, the tour organizer, took the picture.

The pilgrimage was for fourteen days, and from day one I actually secretly hoped to be asked to read at Mass, because there is grace in doing so. However, I preferred not to volunteer.

Let me explain…

Certificate as bona fide Lector etc.

I actually started reading at Mass in 1983 (I was 16), I was one of the very first “official” Lectors at the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish Church in Parañaque, where my family belonged.

I even served as Lector many years later in Hong Kong, since I worked there from 1989 to 1993. In other words I have been a “professional” Lector for a long time now. Pertinently, in the course of my lectoring career, one of the most important lessons I have learned is this, “If there are others who can and wish to Lector, it is better to step aside and let them. Unlike with most things in life, you should not compete for the opportunity to serve God. There is more grace in stepping aside to let others do it.”

Therefore, as I said, during the Holy Land pilgrimage I did not volunteer. But I of course secretly hoped and prayed for the chance to Lector at least once during the pilgrimage, it is after all the Holy Land for goodness’ sake!

And God heard my prayer.  He listened to and granted the desire of my heart. On the ninth day of the pilgrimage, in the city of Jericho, during the ninth Holy Mass that was celebrated, out of the blue I was finally asked to Lector and proclaim the Word of God. My Mom and I were of course overjoyed.

My Mom.

Meanwhile, my Mom, who is a piano teacher (apart from being a pharmacist), was asked to sing the Psalms during the seventh, eighth, and eleventh Holy Masses.

The Good Shepherd

Now, guess what? Inside the church where I was finally given the chance to lector, images of my patrons were all prominently present, namely: the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Blessed Mother with the Child Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, and right in the middle of the altar - the Good Shepherd.  Indeed just a couple of days earlier my Mom and I purchased in Jerusalem a one-foot tall olive-wood statue of the Good Shepherd, which I carried throughout the rest of the pilgrimage. I even took pictures of all of the aforementioned images, and the pictures are exhibited herewith.

Also, I later realized that the church where I was finally called to lector was actually … the “Church of St.Francis of Assisi.”  My namesake is of course my foremost personal patron Saint.

What are the chances, huh? 

Yes, God is good.  And He is good, all the time.  :-)

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St. Francis of Assisi

St. Anthony of Padua

The Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus.

Yours Truly.