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“I have a big lump in my healthy breast. I’m terrified. My cancer could be recurring! I’m going to my oncologist tomorrow. Please pray for me.”
This ominous text message came from my friend Eva in early June. I replied that she should go on a spiritual retreat first.
After a week, she texted:
“Ma’am Flora Go prayed over me in front of a life-size picture of Jesus, the Divine Mercy, at the Ermita Church… I had closed my eyes to focus on my own prayers. Then I saw a blinding light… two or three times…”
After one more week, Eva texted joyfully:
“The lump is gone! Two oncologists have confirmed that I am cancer-free! Thank you, Jesus, for your Divine Mercy!”
And so one Friday, June 27, I gave in to Eva’s insistent and persistent invitation that I go to Ermita Church and join the Divine Mercy prayers at three o’clock in the afternoon.
After the prayers, Eva introduced me to Ma’am Flora Go, the president of the Divine Mercy Apostolate and the healing instrument of Jesus Divine Mercy at Ermita Shrine. A retired linguistics professor from UST, she serves on the board of the La Sallian Catechetical Center of DLSU-Manila and the HELP Foundation of Fr. William Hayes, SJ.
Ma’am Flora does not charge any fee and does not accept any donation. If a healed patient insists on giving something in gratitude, he or she must give it to Ermita Church. (How Ma’am Flora became a healing instrument of the Divine Mercy is an amazing story which readers can find on the Internet.) She keeps a low-profile because, she explains, Nuestra Señora de Guia likes to work quietly.
“Who is Nuestra Señora de Guia?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of that title of the Blessed Virgin.”
“She is known as Our Lady of Guidance,” Ma’am Flora replied. Ermita Church in Manila is officially known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guia, the oldest Marian image in the Philippines. The parishioners of Ermita celebrated her 443rd feast day on May 19, 2014.
Compared to the iconic Manila Cathedral, Ermita Church is medium-sized, homey, and unpretentious. But there lies the charm and attraction of Ermita Church. It makes you feel at home. You’re not there to admire its architecture or historic art pieces, take pictures, then leave. You go there to pray with fellow wounded people who welcome you with open arms to help you heal.
Reverend Father Sanny de Claro, the parish priest, delivers his homilies with an infectious, childlike smile which radiates joy in his priesthood and faith. No, it’s not just a job for him the way uninspired and uninspiring priests plod along. For Father Sanny, it’s a mission clothed with the divine vision of redemption through God’s love and mercy.
When Ma’am Flora invited me to attend the Parish Renewal Weekend Retreat on July 25-27, I happily said yes. It consisted of 11 talks, each talk leading to sharing and reflection on different aspects of faith as lived by real people grappling with different demons.
For me, the most striking talk was about God’s Dream for the Church. Reverend Father Edric Bedural emphasized that God’s vision for His people is salvation for all.
This means that all believers must be united in faith, hope, and love. This means that we must live our faith through acts, words, and prayers which proclaim God’s goodness.
Words and prayers are easy. But acts can be tricky. Sometimes, one’s actions contradict one’s words and prayers. Father Edric reminded us of the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.
The rich man refused to give Lazarus left-over scraps from his table. He could have, but he hated the sight of the beggar Lazarus who had sores in his body, sores licked by dogs! He told his servants to drive Lazarus away.
As expected, the rich man went to hell while Lazarus went to heaven with Abraham as his greeter and guide. Still bossy, the rich man complained of extreme thirst because it was extremely hot in hell. He asked Abraham to send Lazarus with some refreshment.
Here’s what Abraham said (Luke 16:24–26, New International Version):
24 “So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
Father Edric drove home the point by saying that the unbridgeable void between heaven and hell began on earth with left-over scraps or “konting mumo” which the rich man selfishly and maliciously denied the beggar Lazarus. How foolish of the rich man! How proud and pompous!
By denying left-over scraps or loose change or old clothes or whatever act of kindness to the beggars in our life, are we not thwarting God’s dream of salvation for all? Heaven and hell begin on earth.
“Let’s begin building bridges to heaven; doors, not walls,” Father Edric said again and again, “with little acts of kindness, love, and mercy. The time is now.”
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