REVEREND ARMEL COLLANTES, after being blessed by Presider Fr. Fed, served as homilist at the Saturday Mass at the MCS Chapel in Madriñan.
How blessed are we, Rev. Armel prefaced, that, simultaneous with the feast of the Lady of Lourdes, is the enrolment of four new members of the Association of Mary, Queen of All Hearts. In the readings, Isaiah’s image of the church is a mother, guiding, nurturing, supporting, facilitating, a source of refuge, like Mary, whose love and sensitivity run over. Little wonder why she is the Mediatrix of all Graces. Because, even if she was mildly rebuked by her Son, at the wedding in Cana, for being a woman who made it His business to worry about running out of wine for the guests, she meekly persisted and told the waiters to do whatever He tells them. The servers were humble and open to respond to Jesus, made possible by Mary’s intercession, like the four enrollees, to be close collaborators of the mission, in response to the invitation. The rest is biblical history that never ceases to inspire Marian spirituality.
Rev. Armel squeezed in a bit of French spiritual history by recalling that in Lourdes, France, Mary introduced herself to Bernadette Soubirous (whose Feast day is on February 18) as the Immaculate Conception. (To my mind, that was the magic word that saved the naive, unschooled believer from further persecution by the public and even the unbelieving clergy.)
Which is saying it can happen not only in France that faith, if it is in the hearts of the people, is everywhere. Like in the hearts of Ates Taki, Aurora, Francisca, and Clarita, who did not only listen but also responded to the call to be compassionate and serve to spread the reign of Jesus through Mary.
After the Liturgy of the Word, the enrollees were called one by one to the ambo to declare their oath and, afterwards, sign the commitment on the altar. All three but Aurora (who had difficulty in walking), whom Fr. Fed and Rev. Armel came down from the altar to assist up to the medal conferment later.
Having completed the ceremony, Fr. Fed returned to the altar and presented the new enrollees to be welcomed by the AMQAH community. They were greeted with a rousing applause.
Until the next increase of the Marian tribe. Amen.
© Relly Cruz
