MANILA, Philippines ? At the corner of Balik Mangagagawa Processing Center at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is a statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz facing overseas Filipino workers (OFW) waiting for their applications to be processed. Last April 8, when the image was blessed by Father Erno Diaz, founding chair of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Global Ministry, many OFWs joined the Mass.
San Lorenzo Ruiz is our first Filipino saint and the patron of OFWs and Filipino migrants. We are thankful to lawyer Jennifer Manalili, POEA administrator, for accepting the donation of the image.
Metty Sto. Domingo, chief of labor and employment office, had a stand made for floral offerings. Nora Nitura and her Yahweh charismatic choir sang in the Mass. Finance director Candy Vitrus was also there to lend a hand.
The San Lorenzo group members were also there: Sonia Atabug, Geraldine Osias, Olive Villafuerte and devotee Cora Atabug.
The Family Rosary Crusade covered the event.
San Lorenzo Ruiz was a martyr who was tortured in Nagasaki in 1637 for refusing to renounce his faith.
Those who want novena prayers can write me c/o the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Pasong Tamo Street, Makati City. Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for easier mailing.
Lesson from Susan Boyle
By the time this column comes out, at least 24 million people would have seen 47-year-old Scottish spinster Susan Boyle on YouTube and Ashton Kutcher?s Twitter sing on ?Britain?s Got Talent.? On the night of April 11, 11 million watched Boyle sing ?I Dreamed a Dream? from the musical ?Les Miserables.?
Boyle, who lives in Blackburn, a tiny village 20 miles west of Edinburgh in Scotland, gave herself the chance to make something of herself. It was her late mother who encouraged her to join the talent show.
Divine Mercy pilgrimage
The Eastern Europe trip prepared by Adam?s Travel includes Krakow on May 21, reaching the Shrine of the Divine Mercy at 3 p.m. This includes the chapel of St. Faustina to whom Jesus appeared. Before that will be the visit to Wadowice, where Pope John Paul II was born and also the church where he began his priesthood.
Pilgrims leave Manila on May 12 for Munich, Germany, then take the tour bus to Prague to visit the church of Our Lady of the Victories where the famous Infant Jesus of Prague is enshrined. I was there in October 1995 with the members of Congregacion del Santissimo Nombre del Niño Jesus.
A miracle happened to a friend. Living with her husband in Prague, she couldn?t conceive.
I told her to join the Mass at 4 p.m. the next day. She came and prayed. A year later, she sent me a Christmas card saying she?d given birth to a beautiful girl.
Itinerary also includes Warsaw and Vienna. The Russian extension of the trip includes St. Petersburg and Moscow. Call 5211651-38 or text 0918-9083676.
St. Expeditus fiesta
Many devotees attended the Mass celebrating the feast of St. Expeditus at St. Andrew Cathedral with healing priest Diwane Cacao as celebrant. The St. Francis of Assisi Youth Choir of Los Baños sang in the Mass. Healing took place afterward with the volunteer catchers of Father Cacao.
One of them, Monching Catalla, shared with us how St. Expeditus healed the swelling of his cheek, which also caused fever. He asked St. Expeditus to help him. By evening, the swelling had subsided.
In the 15 years the Society of St. Expeditus has been promoting the devotion to this advocate of urgent cases, the number of devotees has been increasing by leaps and bounds. Besides help in financial problems and physical illness, St. Expeditus was believed to have interceded for United States visa applicants. Those who want to buy novenas and statues can call 4842065.
Testimonies of miracles can be sent to me by mail. Also, listen to Radio Veritas at 846 khz on the AM band on May 16, 8-9 p.m., about ?San Expedito, ang Santong Madaling Lapitan.?
