Remembering Jesus, through Mary

The Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bangkal, Davao City, celebrated successfully its 20th parochial fiesta last February 11, 2023. As the fiesta activity started with the daily celebration of Pilgrim Masses in all its 25 GKKs beginning January 7, the pilgrim statue of the Our Lady of Lourdes stayed in every chapel for a vigil and is moved to another GKK until February 1.

After 25 days, the pilgrim statue returned to its pedestal in the church. The Novena prayer before the daily novena masses were led by different assigned Pangulo sa Liturhiya from February 2 to February 10.

The joyful fiesta celebration began with the Holy Eucharist administered by the parish priest, Fr. Henry Campeon at 6 a.m., after which, a motorcade around the vicinity of the parish happened which was participated by scores of vehicles of many parishioners.

A Pontifical Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, DD, which was flocked by hundreds of parishioners and of elderly and sick people who received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in response to the declaration of the ‘World Day of the Sick’.

“Salamat sa Dios nabalik na gyud ta sa normal, salamat sa pagpahigayon niining ‘anointing’ sa kapistahan sa atong inahan sa Lourdes,” cried one of the sick parishioners who joined the crowd inside the church and received the sacrament from the administering priest.

In his homily, Archbishop Valles moved the parishioners by saying that “our faith to Jesus, the Son of God, has been greatly flavored, greatly inspired and sustained by the Blessed Mother… the faith that heals us and make us strong against illness.”

The archbishop was very hopeful in his words, “our faith to our Lord Jesus ‘malig-on, mabag-o ug mapalalom’ through the apparitions of Mother Mary to young Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.”

Summing up his inspired homily in the Feast of the Our Lady of Lourdes, Archbishop Valles mentioned the three good news of the gospel: 1) to help young people in the parish to be ready, to be disposed, and to be receptive to the presence of God and of our Mother Mary in our lives today; 2) to be careful (mag-igmat) in our day-to-day battle between evil and the grace of God, as our battle against sickness is worse than the snake; and 3) as Mother Mary said in the wedding at Cana, “do whatever he tells you.”

Before the archbishop gave his final blessing, Father Henry Campeon expressed his sincere gratitude to Archbishop Valles for administering the Pontifical Mass.

As initial response to the challenge of the archbishop, soon after the Pontifical Mass, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist for the first communicants was administered by Father Fernando “Anggong” Ingente, SM, participated by 160 children who received their first communion of which their parents were overjoyed witnessing their children received for the first time the Body and Blood of Christ, assisted by the parish catechists headed by Ana Norbe. (Vonz M. Hijada, MAT, OLLP SoCCom)