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by Carmelita Cochingco Ballesteros.
April 1, 2012
“Place. Penance. Patience and Perseverance. Peace.”
This was the gist of the homily of Rev. Father Ariel Tecson, the celebrant at the Holy Mass and blessing rites of the Grotto of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and the Faithful Shepherd’s Garden in Mendez, Cavite, Philippines on March 24, 2012.
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The Faithful Shepherd’s Garden
It has been envisioned as a place where soul-weary folk could recharge their spiritual tanks with pure oxygen and have a glimpse of: “Serenity. Wholeness. Celebrations!”
The small piece of land occupied by the Shepherd’s Garden today belongs to Amando “Butch” Ballesteros IV and Sacha Cajator-Cariño.
With the help and support of our respective families, we started developing the garden in 2007. However, Sacha and her family begged off from active involvement in the garden in 2010.
Butch and his wife Ezra have continued developing the garden. With very little personal means, they have been struggling with the development of the garden while raising two children. For example, we wanted to build a four-cubicle public rest room in time for the blessing. But we didn’t have the money.
It is with a leap of faith that Butch and Ezra have decided to go ahead with the blessing on March 24, trusting that the Good Shepherd, the True Builder of this garden, will provide as He always has.
The Grotto
This grass-roofed grotto of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was built in gratitude for the Blessed Mother’s intercession for the healing of my daughter-in-law Ezra from cancer in 2010.
Ezra almost died after being subjected to the three-pronged approach of mainstream medicine: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. It was then that she and my son Butch, clinging on to dear life, decided to “walk in faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
They stopped the radiation and chemotherapy treatments. They stopped all medicines. They turned to organic food therapy and to faith. They asked for the Blessed Mother’s intercession and prayed the rosary every day regardless of the time and place.
We would like to share this faith experience by welcoming everyone to the Grotto.
Presiding Priest
I wrote in June 2011 that we would have a blessing of the grass-roofed grotto and the garden as soon as we could confirm a date with a priest. After several tentative schedules, a firm agreement was reached to hold the blessing on March 24, 2012 regardless of the lack of amenities.
Two priests had volunteered to preside over the Holy Mass and blessing rites, but Father Arnold who’s based in Quezon province couldn’t make it. And so it was Father Ariel who served as the lone celebrant. (By the way, Father Arnold had blessed the garden back in 2008 when it was just raw land.)
Being the Director of Postulants at the Father Hannibal Formation Center in Parañaque City, Metro Manila, Father Ariel took with him 23 postulants who served as acolytes, psalmists, and choir.
Work of their Hands
We had very little cash and we were worried sick that we wouldn’t be able to make the garden presentable nor even feed our few guests.
We cannot thank enough our hard-working, patient, and caring crew composed of old friends and family members. Some of them were not present during the blessing but they had all helped in many ways.
Willy, a childhood friend of Butch, has been helping in the garden from the very start. Mang Roming wove the cogon grass roof of the grotto. Dante, my brother, took charge of making a low-cost screen for our 50-square meter receiving area. (Farm bugs are nasty.) Benjie and Michael come as reinforcement battalion every now and then. Regi has been the stay-in caretaker since October 2011.
Nori has been with Ezra’s family since her childhood. She was our kitchen commander-in-chief. My brother Toto couldn’t come but he’s always given us an emotional and spiritual lift whenever we felt down. My brother-in-law Jun has been a constant presence and pillar of support, together with his wife Carol, my sister.
Blessing in the Rain
Saturday, the 24th of March 2012 started out as an unusually warm day in a cool place like Mendez. However, it started to drizzle by noontime. The drizzle became steady, gentle rain as we recited the rosary and as the Holy Mass was celebrated. We all huddled around the 16-square meter grotto and under a small, improvised canopy.
When it was time to bless the garden, Father Ariel walked around the muddy place without any hesitation. Everyone followed him.
The Guests
We had wanted to ask the whole world to come, but because of our limited cash, we kept the guest list as short as possible. Some shortlisted guests didn’t come; some unexpected ones showed up.
I was overwhelmed to see the husband of Aunt Luz, Uncle Tony. He was at the ICU in a hospital in Metro Manila last December because of a heart condition. I didn’t think he’d make it to 2012. Miraculously, he did.
I had heard that he was recovering in his family’s hometown in Angeles, Pampanga. And so I didn’t expect him at the blessing at all. It’s a four-hour drive from Angeles, Pampanga to Mendez, Cavite. It would have been tiring even for a healthy person. But there he was!
“You made it back to life!” I exclaimed as I shook his hand.
“Prayers work!” he beamed.
Words of Thanks
“Everybody needs a garden.” This was how my son Butch began his impromptu thank you speech.
He continued that he had wanted many a time to leave the Shepherd’s Garden and take his family where they could enjoy more material wealth. Tending the garden has been a struggle in which he and his young family have poured “blood, sweat, and tears.” And life. He had to confront illegal loggers in the area and defend the integrity of Mother Earth.
“And yet, someone or something, has always comforted me and made me stay. I have realized that it’s not about me, or us. It’s about taking care of the Lord’s garden so that other people might experience His love.”
He ended his short speech by saying that he wished everyone would have a garden of hope, serenity, forgiveness, healing, and peace.”
My daughter-in-law Ezra thanked everyone present, most especially, Jun, husband of my sister Carol. Ezra said that Jun has been a surrogate father to Butch and a great role model. At this point, my son started sobbing and I guess most of the guests were crying, too.
Prayer for Healing to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
It isn’t just physical healing that we must pray for. We need to pray for the healing of memories, of heartaches, of wounded self-worth, of unmet needs, of unanswered questions, of longings that will never be satisfied on earth, of silent screams of the soul.
Here’s a prayer for healing from the Association of the Miraculous Medal written in 1918:
“Mary Immaculate, you have given yourself to us as our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. You have asked us to pray with confidence, and we will receive great graces. We know your compassion, because you saw your Son suffer and die for us. In your union with his suffering you became the mother of us all. Mary, my mother, teach me to understand my suffering as you do and to endure it in union with the suffering of Jesus. In your motherly love, calm my fears and increase my trust in God’s loving care. According to God’s plan, obtain for me the healing I need. Intercede with your Son that I may have the strength I need to work for God’s glory and the salvation of the world. Amen.”
And here’s another prayer from the Faithful Shepherd’s Garden (2012):
“Mother of Christ, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, you told us through St. Catherine Labouré to “come to the foot of the altar and graces will be shed on all.” Mother Mary, we ask you to teach us to embrace our little pains, hurts, and woundedness as you yourself did when your Son suffered and died on the Cross for us. Mother of Christ, please lead us to the “foot of the altar” wherever we may be by wearing your miraculous medal and praying your holy rosary with the fervour of saints and the faith of innocent children. As we beg God the Father, through your loving intercession, for healing and for life itself, please help us learn the meaning of humility, charity, gratitude, faith, and love. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Donors
For posterity’s sake, let me acknowledge our donors: Edward, Irene, Thomas, and Mary, lectors at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Singapore; Fred Base, an OFW in Saudi Arabia; Larry and Zarah Taytay of Canada.