A trail of faith paved by roses
By Mandy Navasero
Inquirer
First Posted 21:52:00 06/10/2006
Filed Under: People, Religion & Belief
Published on page D4 of the June 11, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
A SEASONED PHOTOJOURNALIST IS SAID to be born with a nose for news. But it’s not unusual for the best among us to run against a wall sometimes or come across experiences that put us quite on the edge, between belief and disbelief.
Very recently, I drove through North Expressway and turned right to the Bocaue Exit. Before the bridge, I took a right turn to San José del Monte and traveled straight for about five kilometers. On the left side was a little road that led to the House of Prayer of the Mother of Eucharist and Grace, in Barangay San Vicente.
There, I met a man people called Bro. Carmelo Cortez, reportedly a Marian visionary. He is 37, a Bulacan diocesan awardee and a member of the Commission of Liturgists of the Diocese of Malolos under Bishop José Oliveros.
It was a First Saturday but I did not attach any significance to the day until I witnessed what some devout people may call a spiritual experience. I then took the opportunity to interview Cortez, who spoke in fluent Tagalog, as I searched for a better understanding of the experience I went through.
Cortez said his youth was not spectacular or eventful. He had regular stints as an altar boy at the San Pedro Bautista Shrine and Santo Domingo Church.
Except that on the morning of June 12, 1991, at precisely 3 o’clock, when he was only 21, Carmelo encountered a wonderful experience that would send him on a trail to deeper faith. The experience could not be described here. Suffice it to say that the spiritual voyage has always been accompanied by the scent of roses.
His mother, Cornelia Cortez, 75 and an Ulirang Ina awardee in 2004, has been his ardent supporter. He has also been followed by a growing legion of devotees who flock to the chapel, particularly on First Saturdays, a day devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Carmelo’s devotion to the Blessed Mother, whom he and the devotees would call the Mother of Eucharist and Grace, culminated in the construction of the House of Prayer of the Mother of Eucharist and Grace, whose groundbreaking was made by then Bulacan Bishop Rolando Tirona and, much later, consecrated on June 12, 2005, by Bishop Oliveros. The House of Prayer is an unpretentious but tastefully decorated structure, strikingly grand in its simplicity.
Mother of sacraments
As I entered the House of Prayer, the first thing that struck me was the panoramic glass window, which serves as the back wall. Beyond this window stands the statue of the Mother of Eucharist and Grace, her arms outstretched. On her right hand hangs the rosary, and on her left is the brown cloth scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
The gaze of the towering virgin rests on the grand altar that is centered on the sanctuary. Bro. Carmelo explained that this is designed in that manner because the Mother of Eucharist and Grace invites all Catholics back to the sacraments of the Holy Eucharists and Reconcilliation. He urged people to pray for our country and for the sanctification of priests.
It was refreshing to sit in the chapel, deep in thought, communing with oneself or with God.
First Saturdays are when people gather as early as 8 a.m. for the holy Mass that starts at 11:30 a.m. The Mass I attended that Saturday was officiated by Fr. Rodel Ponce.
Right after Mass, the healing service of Bro. Carmelo started. He would lay hand on people and anoint rose oil on their foreheads and on the palms of their hands.
Like the devotees, we had brought our own roses. Bro. Carmelo laid his hand on our heads one by one. As he did to the others, he also put rose petals on my chest and incredibly, sacred icons immediately appeared on these petals.
I could hear different expressions of awe and amazement as the people left the chapel. I was lost in my own thoughts.
“Is this true?” I kept asking myself aloud. As a photojournalist, I am supposed to be detached from events and personalities. I searched for proofs. I had recorded the experience with my camera. How could it have happened, those icons in the fresh rose petals? I have no explanation. It must be God’s way of healing me or touching my heart. I kept the petals pressed inside a tiny prayer book.
Afterwards, I looked at them against the light. I saw images of what looked like Padre Pio, the Pieta, the Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus, and St. Therese de Lisseux.
Conversion
Bro. Carmelo explained, “More important than the petals is the inner conversion and foregiveness that will start the healing.”
I left the site feeling moved by the depth of the devotees’ faith. Among them was a cancer survivor of more than a year, Belen Viola Lopez, 64, a retired guidance counselor from Hope Christian School. She had undergone chemotherapy and spent a month in the ICU and was told by doctors she had only a few months to live. But after going to the Bulacan shrine and having healing sessions with Bro. Carmelo, she believes she has been on remission from cancer for over a year now.
Teresita Domigpe of Meycauayan, 34, was seriously ill at the Heart Center. She was told an infection had spread to her kidneys and was close to affecting her brains. Doctors had given her 48 hours to live. But she has survived. Bro. Carmelo visited her in the ICU and soon after, she recovered.
The Mother of Eucharist and Grace Foundation has been set up to administer to and maintain the House of Prayer. The foundation has donated the House of Prayer to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Malolos.
Every one is invited to visit the House of Prayer, especially on First Saturdays. The Healing Mass starts at 11:30 a.m. and the healing services by Bro. Carmelo follows right after. The House of Prayer/Museum is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
There is also a First Friday Holy Mass at 4 p.m. and regular Sunday Masses at 10 a.m.
The Mother of Eucharist and Grace community is celebrating its 15th anniversary on June 12. Mass will be held at 12 noon at the House of Prayer. It will be concelebrated by Bishops Oliveros, Cirilo Almario and Ruben Profugo.
For inquiries on schedule of healing services, call or text 0906-4972763.
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