OMPH Bajada Medical Mission on the Feast of St. Gerard

A large number of mothers together with their children came to avail of the Medical Mission organized by Our Mother of Perpetual Parish Bajada on October 13, 2018 – 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM as a way of celebrating in advance the feast of St. Gerard Majella, CSsr the Patron Saint of children (and unborn children in particular); childbirth, mothers (and expectant mothers in particular); motherhood; falsely accused people; good confessions; lay brothers; (Feast is on October 16). Names of mother and child coming from the respective 21 GKKs were submitted to the parish according to the approved number of recipients per GKK, projected number totalling one hundred ninety (190); deadline was on September 9, 2018. Criteria to avail of the medical service; for children must be from one (1) day old to seven (7) years old while for mothers from ages sixteen (16) to forty five (45) only. Volunteer doctors, nurses, EXECOM members, the GKK based Pangulo sa Panglawas (PAP) nuns, seminarians and parish workers united their three (3) T’s (Time, Talent and Treasure) to give comfort to all those who waited patiently for their turns because medical consultations and medicines are expensive nowadays.

Wondering why only mothers are present it is again because St. Gerard Majella is the patron saint of expectant mothers. And quoting an article from Wikipedia on how it all started this is how it goes:

“One miracle in particular explains how Majella became known as the special patron of mothers. A few months before his death, he visited the Pirofalo family and accidentally dropped his handkerchief. One of the Pirofalo girls spotted the handkerchief moments after he had left the house, and she ran after Gerard to return it. ‘Keep it,’ he said to her. ‘You may need it someday.’

“Years later when the girl, now a married woman, was on the verge of losing her life in childbirth, she remembered the words of the saintly lay brother. She asked for the handkerchief to be brought to her. Almost immediately, the pain disappeared and she gave birth to a healthy child. That was no small feat in an era when only one out of three pregnancies resulted in a live birth and word of the miracle spread quickly.

“Because of the miracles that God worked through Gerard’s prayers with mothers, the mothers of Italy took Gerard to their hearts and made him their patron. At the process of his beatification, one witness testified that he was known as “il santo dei felice parti,” the saint of happy childbirths.”

Thank you very much to all who attended and shared in the success of the medical mission. To the PCSO group who had given gifts to the children present that day, our Redemptorist priest and brothers thank you too. (Marieta Comighud | OMPH SoCCom)