I Think He Is Really Watching

Many years ago, when my maternal Grandmother – whom we lovingly called “Nanay” – was still alive and strong enough to visit her hometown Atimonan (http://www.atimonan.gov.ph/tourism.cfm) every month, my Mom and I (and sometimes my Kuya and his own family, as well as my cousins on my Mother's side) would go home to Atimonan at least once a year so that we can enjoy a few days of rest in the midst of lush greenery and pure clean air.   My grandmother owned a 5 hectare farm, specifically in Barrio Buhangin, where she built a modest but comfortable two-storey and four-bedroom home, where the family could stay.  It was (and still is) a coconut farm, thus we drank as much fresh coconut juice as we wanted.  We also often went swimming, because just three minutes walking distance away was a beach where the water was crystal clear, soothingly warm, and safely shallow during daytime.  The house and the farm are still there to this day, but we haven’t visited the place since Nanay passed away in November 2009.  We have however allowed a handful of relatives to live in the house and to benefit from the farm.

Anyway, whenever we did vacation in Atimonan those many years ago, it was an absolute must for my Mom to attend mass every morning at the Our Lady of Angels Parish church in the poblacion (please see http://www.atimonan.gov.ph/photo.cfm?PageNum_getBlog=20).   I often accompanied her of course, in my capacity as son and personal driver.  :-)

My Mom was born in Atimonan, and she grew up and lived there until she finished high school.  She left Atimonan when she was sent to attend the Manila College of Pharmacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Central_University), and from then on she permanently settled in Manila.   

But one’s formative years will always have the strongest imprint on one’s soul, and since Mom grew up attending Masses at the Our Lady of Angels Parish church, she consequently never fails to visit the said church whenever she is in town.  In fact it is normally our very first stop whenever we first arrive at Atimonan, even before we proceed to our Nanay's home.  The church was built in 1603, and anyone who visits Atimonan can easily tell that this church is the town’s heart and very foundation.

So anyway, I think it was in 1999, during one of our annual vacations, and during one of our visits to that ancient church, that I had this rather "unusual" prayer experience.  I decided to pray to St. Francis of Assisi, there and then in that particular church, because at that time I have started to become more and more devoted to him, beginning to consider him as my personal patron saint.  He is after all my namesake.

So I prayed, and prayed, and then for some reasons I looked up.  Lo and behold, there he was, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, with his head tilted and his eyes directed precisely towards me.  Direct eye-to-eye contact, no kidding.  It’s a huge cavernous massive stone of a church, and in all the places where I could sit, I ended up sitting exactly where St. Francis’ gaze was transfixed. 

Goosebumps?  Not really, not at all.  Instead there was an instant connection, a mutual understanding, an unexplainable peace, joy, and warmth.  I just smiled a knowing smile, as I looked up at him.  :-)

Earlier I said that it was an "unusual" prayer experience.  Well, actually ... not really.  That is, that sort of experience is not really so unusual for me.  But I prefer to keep most of my (similar) stories to myself, because there is always the danger of being misunderstood and mislabelled.  Some day I will write about all of them, in proper context, in a book that I have already started to work on (that is, apart from the book on Financial Management which I have also started to work on).

So, why did I all of a sudden bring this up?

Yesterday, as I was surfing the net, for some reasons I ended up in a website that introduced me to a novena that I never knew existed.  The internet is a vast universe, but somehow I ended up here http://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=novena+to+st.+francis+of+assisi+pdf&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsacredheartfla.mhsoftware.com%2Fattachments%2F59%2F3181%2F2011%2520Novena%2520to%2520St%2520Francis.pdf&ei=4RJjUJ3jGPHtmAXS4oEQ&usg=AFQjCNEj4IPt6Rp_wMhhM7rm8-Mvlay9iw

The Novena is supposed to start on September 26, and yesterday was indeed September 26.  It is a nine-day novena that culminates on October 4, the feast day of … who else … but my personal patron saint, my namesake from Assisi.   

 I can take a hint, so I decided to start praying the novena yesterday. 

When I first clicked on the website and discovered that it was about the Saint from Assisi, once again there was an instant connection, a mutual understanding, an unexplainable peace, joy, and warmth.   

And once again, I just smiled a knowing smile, as I gazed at the Saint's picture.  But this time, with more love.  ;-)