Cebu Pilgrim Site: Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Since the month of May is dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, we have been going out for pilgrimages to her shrines to pray for the Church, the Pope, Bishop Javier Echevarria, our Prelate, and for all our personal intentions. I had the chance to visit a nearby shrine  recently, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a 15 to 20-minute walk from our study center. The chapel is part of Asilo de la Milagrosa, a charitable institution run by the Daughters of Charity (DC) of St. Vincent de Paul here in Lahug, Cebu.

I must say I am fortunate to find this shrine so near because I am an alumna of a school run by the DCs in Manila, Sta. Isabel College (SIC). Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal has been an important part of my childhood since our big quadrangle at SIC, which has a towering statue of her, is named after this title of Our Lady. I remember playing 'piko' and 'patintero' with my classmates in the quadrangle under her gaze till late afternoon when our parents come to fetch us. I'd like to mention here, too, that last year, in our annual seminar at Latag Study Camp in Batangas, the same title of Our Lady was the one our group reported for our Mariology class. I still keep a copy of our powerpoint presentation, thanks to my group mates Tina A. and Tita O.

When I visited Asilo, I was glad to meet Sr. Teresa, a nun who knows our former music teacher and children's choir moderator at SIC, Sr. Martha who obviously became a DC herself. I was happy to get the contact details of Sr. Martha, or Ms. Gamolo as we used to call her. We are hoping to see each other in my next trip to Manila. 'Ms. Gamolo' was the one who discovered that I have an ear for music, and an aptitude to learn one of the lower voices in our children's choir i.e. the so-called 'alto' or soprano 2. I am grateful to Sr. Martha, one of my mentors who taught me to aspire for the higher and nobler things in life.

It is my wish that there be more people, lay and religious alike, whose 'struggles' to live a life of virtue, pave the way for many people to discover the path God has designed for them to tread in this life, always with the help of Our Lady.

Saint Josemaría and our Mother of Fair Love

John Paul II stated on Sunday, 6 October 2002, after the Angelus greetings: "Love for our Lady is a constant characteristic of the life of Josemaría Escrivá and is an eminent part of the legacy that he left to his spiritual sons and daughters". The Pope also said that "St. Josemaría wrote a beautiful small book called The Holy Rosary which presents spiritual childhood, a real disposition of spirit of those who wish to attain total abandonment to the divine will".

Since he was 10–11 years old, he already had the habit of carrying the Rosary in his pocket. As a priest, he would ordinarily end his homilies and his personal prayer with a conversation with the Blessed Virgin. He instructed that all rooms in the centres of Opus Dei should have an image of the Virgin. He encouraged his spiritual children to greet these images when they entered a room. He pushed for a Marian apostolate, preaching that "To Jesus we go and to Him we return through Mary". While looking at a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe giving a rose to Juan Diego, he commented: "I would like to die that way". On June 26, 1975, after entering his work room, which had a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, he slumped on the floor and died.

Prayer

Oh, Mother of Fair Love,

you who have loved your Son Jesus Christ

with a most pure Love

obtain for us, from God,

a supernatural life

so that we could have

here on earth

facing God,

a clean human love

that will protect

and uphold

the sanctity of marriage

and celibacy.

Amen.