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| St. Therese of the Child Jesus |
It was the eve of Valentine’s day of 2000. I remember rushing to prepare for an overnight vigil at the Carmelite Monastery, Dontogan, Baguio City to venerate the Relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. That was a night to remember...
Many devotees flocked in the convent while the Brevs and I were outside enjoying the serenity of the place under the stars. As we waited for our chance to get inside the chapel, we busied ourselves writing notes (a brev culture) to be given to our founder-formator, Bro. Alex Manongdo. All the while, he thought we were writing down our petitions. He didn’t have an inkling that he was into a loving surprise.
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| St. Therese and Bro. A! |
Midnight came, it was Valentine’s Day! We gave our messages in a bottle to Bro. A! and he read them one by one overwhelmed with the love he received from his flock. We watched him with joy and excitement as we heard every message. Each letter inspired not only him but us as well. We continued the night sharing stories about St. Therese and how much she loved Jesus in her simplest ways. As we reflected on that great love between the Master and His Little Flower, we were filled with so much zeal to love the way she did. Her examples made us want to have the love of Jesus fill our hearts that we might love like Him. Thus, she became the Brevs’ patroness.
When we had the chance to enter the chapel, we could not describe the joy that filled us. The grace to be an arm distance to St. Therese of the Child Jesus was simply incredible while others didn’t get that chance we had. We sang until morning came. We served during the morning mass as well. We tried our best not to doze off.
After the mass, we were able to meet the Carmelites and they gave us white roses. Personally, words are not enough to describe the joy I felt that time. It was as if we were being embraced by the heavens. The Brevs as usual helped fix the area before we parted ways. It was a start of a new day...
Though it was hard for us to separate, we had to go back home and fix ourselves to prepare for school. Yeap! I was still a student at that time. Though sleepy the whole day, we were just too hyper to share our experiences during the vigil to every person we met. We found ourselves so in love. We decided to take the vocation St. Therese had – The Vocation to Love. Up to this moment, I could say that was the BEST BREV VALENTINE I ever had.
To my fellow Brevs, may you remember that night when Jesus filled our hearts with so much joy and affirmed us with His unconditional love. We may be looking for a magic to happen or an elation to feel the day of hearts, but may we never forget that Valentine’s day is the day of God for He is Love. So rejoice! Embrace the day with an offering to love Him with all our hearts so He may teach us True Love...and believe that in return, true happiness will come into our lives. May our dear St. Therese inspire us more to be firm in our Vocation – Love!
Keep loving!
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