Sunday, July 08, 2007 Gueco: Our Mother By Malu T. Gueco Aslagan
COMING home to Angeles City means returning to my birthplace.
Enthusiasm moves my feet, joy enlivens my arms and bliss wraps my heart in complete peace when I know that I will revisit this city of angels. Boosting further my energies is the knowledge that I will drop by the Carmelite Monastery where healing, loving and exalting prayers are its essential core.
What a joie de vivre (joy of living) when I kneel before the altar and come into the presence of our Blessed Mama Mary.
Happily, she knows the ups and downs of my being; warm sunlight (Aslagan) and the dark nights of my spirit; complete serenity interspersed with my chaotic moments; ultimately, finding wholeness, integration and unity. A person who tries, fails, struggles again and rises up to humbly say Dacal pung salamat keng gracia aldo aldo? Thank you for the new morning of grace.
With this thought in mind, I am honored to announce the July Novena at the Carmelite Monastery. Furthermore, let me cite to you the words from the Carmelite Constitutions so that we may encounter the unconditional, evolving and trusting company of Our Mother.
Carmelite Constitutions (1995)
Mary, overshadowed by the Spirit of God, is the Virgin of the new heart, who gave a human face to the Word made flesh. She is the Virgin of wise and contemplative listening who kept and pondered in her heart the events and the words of the Lord.
She is the faithful disciple of wisdom, who sought Jesus God's Wisdom and allowed herself to be formed and mulded by his Spirit, so that in faith she might be conformed to his ways and choices. Thus enlightened, Mary is presented to us as one able to read "the great wonders" which God accomplished in her for the salvation of the humble and of the poor.
Mary brings the good news of salvation to all men and women. She is the woman who built relationships, not only within the inner circle of Jesus' disciples, but, beyond that, with the people: with Elizabeth, with the bride and bridegroom in Cana, with the other women, and with Jesus "brothers".
Carmelites see in the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and archetype of the Church, the perfect image of all that they want and hope to be. For this reason, Carmelites have always thought of Mary as the Patron of the Order, its Mother and Splendour; she is constantly before their eyes and in their hearts as "the Virgin Most Pure." Looking to her, and living in spiritual intimacy with her, we learn to stand before God, and with one another, as the Lord's brothers.
Mary lives among us, as mother and sister, attentive to our needs; along with us she waits and hopes, suffers and rejoices. The scapular is a sign of Mary's permanent and constant motherly love for Carmelite brothers and sisters. By their devotion to the scapular, faithful to a tradition in the Order, especially since the 16th century, Carmelites express the loving closeness of Mary to the people of God; it is a sign of consecration to Mary, a means of uniting the faithful to the Order, and an effective and popular means of evangelization.
Novena
A novena will be held in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the Carmelite monastery in Angeles City from July 7 to July 15. Every day at 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., dedicated Carmelite priests will say special prayers and present their relevant sharing.
On July 15, Solemn Feast Day of Mount Carmel, four Masses will be celebrated at these times: 6:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m. (by Most Reverend Paciano Basilio Aniceto), 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
We are invited to join in these novena days, thus, renewing our ties with Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Finale
To all our dear readers, may the blessings of Our Creator pour like the flowing rains on your searching hearts and may you truly experience the feeling of safety as you are now home with Our Mother.
