Some little Surprises in Search of the Lord

“The Bread of Life has been broken. The Cup of Life has been poured. Let us partake of the Supper of the Lord.”

It was the most striking line I imbibed in the long celebration of the Holy Eucharist which my family attended at the Church of St. Therese of the Child Jesus at UP, Los Baños, yesterday, April 9, 2009.

The Mass was the culmination of a Visita Iglesia, our short pilgrimage for Holy Thursday. We passed by all the churches along the route and had visited exactly 7 churches as is the tradition among Catholics. These churches are: The Chair of St Peter Church at Balibago, Santa Rosa, the St. Francis of Assisi Church at Cabuyao, St. John the Baptist Church at Calamba, St. Agustin Church at Bae, St. Anthony de Padua Church in Los Baños and Immaculate Conception Church in Los Baños town proper.

The Church of St. Therese played a special role in the life and history of our family for it was there that Rudy and I had our wedding in honor of St. Therese. She has been a favourite saint for her lessons on sanctification through little acts of holiness—like smiling and being nice at everyone even to the unpleasant characters in your life and picking up scattered things and placing them at their proper places even when one is feeling too lazy/heavy for it.

I was pleasantly surprised when upon seeing the face of St. Therese in a banner, for the first time, my daughter acknowledged what I have been saying and which she seemed not to have minded at all.
My only daughter, Maria Theresa, with an aura in her face which I seldom glean said: "Mom, you named me after her!”

Many surprises can happen in a journey in search of the Lord. Such as this pragmatic suggestion for a penance at the end of my meditation: Buy someone a meal or something to drink.