Missed milestones

During the strict community quarantine, there were sev eral important once-in-a–lifetime events in our family that we were not able to celebrate with friends and r el at i ves.

First was my father’s 80th birthday. It was supposed to be a joyful gathering of close relatives, a mini reunion of my father’s brothers and cousins who are already way past their senior years. We have prepared for it since last year and everything was all set when the pandemic hits the country. And that missed reunion of brothers won’t happen anymore. My uncle Fred, my father’s brother, died last Saturday, July 18. That birthday celebration could have been their last joyous and memorable moment toget h er.

Next was our 30th wedding anniversary in June. We planned an out of town celebration with the family and a simple gathering of close friends afterwards. We ended up celebrating it at home, with take-out food, instead of a f east .

Then there’s my son’s Grade-12 graduation. It is a milestone that is definitely worth celebrating. High School years are the best years in a student’s life. The pandemic abruptly ended the school year with unfinished lessons and without a once-in-a-lifetime high school prom.

Batch 2020 was denied proper closure to high school. No goodbyes to classmates, teachers and Alma Mater. Students and their parents were deprived of their few seconds of fame up the stage to reap the harvest of their hard work.

I believe we are not alone. Thousands, if not millions, probably experienced the same thing. A planned wedding that was postponed is perhaps the most devastating of all. Sabi nga ng isang kanta, “some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this.” I am suppose to be wedding sponsor this August, but it I was informed that it has to be set-aside for now. Imagine the months of preparations that all went to waste.

Missed happy events are painful. But the loss of a loved one with nobody by your side is probably more hurtful. Some friends relatives and passed away during the quarantine, but wakes were not allowed.

We could not be physically present to condole with the family. It is even more painful for families of COVID19 fatalities who cannot be with their love ones in their deathbed, and could not even see them at the last moment before cremation.

This pandemic has disrupted probably thousands of once-in-a-lifetime events, not just in the Philippines but in other countries as well. Our attention, and that of our government leaders, is focused on avoiding infection and reviving the economy.

Meanwhile, thousands of people, with bottled up pain and disappointments, are suffering in silence. Nobody knows if this will have a long term effect on the mental health of people.

Do our medical experts acknowledge this? Is this being addressed?

It would be a mistake to ignore the pain caused by the loss of meaningful once-in-a-lifetime events.

The modern-day mystics I have cited in this column are from various places worldwide and have not been even aware of each other’s situations, if not existence, yet rhyme with the same prophecies for our times. This is telling. Yes, trumpets are being sounded in the skies, literally and figuratively.

And with all the prophetic data I have piled up, should I dare venture my own recommendation to readers on what to do in the face of a near dire future that has the least chances of being mitigated because this world, despite Covid 19, wants to go back to the “normal” where it was before the pandemic?

If only on the basis of the prescription of mystic Fr. Michel Rodrigue, if not this strange feeling culturing itself in my psyche, this: if you are a Catholic, go to Confession soonest now that churches have partially opened and priests have become more visible. Do it with facemasks and observe every health measure required by civil authorities, but confess. Soonest

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That said, I am sharing with readers a message of the Blessed Mother conveyed through Medjugorje visionary Marija on Aug 25 last year. The message is significant for that portion referring to “new times.”

Here was the message: “Dear children! I thank God for each of you. In a special way, children, thank you for having responded to my call. I prepare you for new times so that you may be steadfast in faith and persevering in prayer, so that the Holy Spirit may work through you and renew the face of the earth. I pray with you for peace, the most precious gift, even if

Satan wants war and hatred. You children, hold my hands out and walk proudly with God. Thank you for having responded to my call. “

Was the Blessed Mother also referring to Covid 19. Was she referring to much more than just this pandemic sweeping the entire world?

There seems to be more than just virus that would befall mankind.

Consider what Our Lord Jesus Christ told credible mystic Luz de Maria de Bonilla on July 2, 2020, about the earth “shaking and roaring with force.”

The direct quote:

“My beloved People: My people are alive and pulsating within my Cross of glory and majesty: every child of mine is a part of my Cross of love, every child of mine who strives for conversion moves my mercy. My People remain firm in Me, alive in Me, entering within Me in holiness.

“My people, I call you tirelessly and in the same way you tirelessly disobey me and

continue to offend me. You despise My Word without knowing Me: you are spiritually blind, refusing to look with new eyes, forgetting that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4). My children have taken the wrong path, deciding to go where I warned them not to, so that they would not get lost; their love for worldly things has grown and they despise Our Most Holy Trinity and My Most Holy Mother.

“My People: You will find no greater intercessor than my Mother; I received life in her womb, and Satan will not be able to triumph over my Mother. You have forgotten that Satan exists and that Satan rises up against man to deceive him and lead him to the eternal fire (cf. I Peter 5:8-9). In this time of “now” it is essential for My People to be united with My Most Holy Mother, with Her Holiness, with Her Purity, with her humility; humility that led her to be exalted in Heaven. “She who had nothing possesses everything”. My Immaculate Mother was assumed into Heaven in body and soul, because of which Satan launched a fierce combat against My Mother and against each one of you, Her children. Satan’s relentless fight is intensifying at this decisive moment.

“You have forgotten that the infernal dragon is mobilizing his power, causing wars, confusion, discord, division: apostasy within my Church (cf. Eph. 6:11-13). The signs do not delay, and yet you are ignoring them. You are far from grasping the reality of this generation, instigated by the evil one with controversies in all walks of life, constantly altering the world through plots, persecution, hunger and uncertainty.

“You cannot find peace and will not find it if you do not draw near to me. If you do not convert, evil will continue spreading spiritual plagues as well as past plagues that have befallen humanity, which is partly stricken with grief and partly incredulous with regard to this present plague. My People, not only will calamities come to you, but also the glories of My Mother in order to help you. Therefore, embrace the prayer of the Holy Rosary with love, praying it and putting it into practice in every act and work of your lives.

“You are hanging in the balance and are being unreasonable: evil is tipping the balance towards itself and yet you continue without seeing the pain towards which you are heading.

“My People do not see the discord that exists in My House: discord that divides my shepherds and my people. Because of this, my Church is confused at this time. Pray, My children, pray, the earth shakes and roars with great force.

“Pray for the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Central America, especially for Guatemala.

“Pray, My children, volcanoes are activating tectonic faults: sleeping volcanoes are awakening. “Pray, My children, pray: be strong for my Church! “Pray My children, the elements will make you suffer.

“My children, convert, draw near to me, do not despise the glories of My Mother. It is necessary for My Mother to be acknowledged as the Mother of Humanity, Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix of all graces. Evil will flee as soon as My Mother is acknowledged by Her children in all Her splendor!

“Do not fear, My children, do not fear: you are accompanied by My Mother, you are not alone. Do not fear, children! I Am your God, I will not abandon you. Keep Faith in Me. I bless you.” (Next issue will dwell on the Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory.)