Little miracles are made of these...
If you saw the Hollywood movie Miracles From Heaven, based on a true story, you must have been moved to tears by the performance of Jennifer Garner as the mother of a child suffering from a life-threatening illness but who recovered after a near-fatal fall from a tree.
Maybe you haven’t heard that El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde has written a book called
Miracles Are Forever (very popular among his followers) documenting true stories of, well, “little miracles” three of which have been chosen by Carlo J. Caparas and wife Donna Villa for a trilogy now in the works. Story 1: To Love & To
Live, starring Yassi Pressman, Mark Neumann, Ara Mina, TJ Trinidad and Lorna Tolentino. The characters of Yassi and Mark are set to get married when Mark is diagnosed with cancer, making Yassi and her parents (played by Ara and TJ) desperate. Friends
who are El Shaddai members advise Lorna (as Mark’s) mother to join El Shaddai and got the group’s signature handkerchief believed to possess healing power. Mark recovers.
Story 2: A Mother’s Misery, starring Assunta de Rossi, Ryan Eigenmann and Alonso Muhlach. Assunta plays the battered wife of Ryan who not only drinks and gambles but also womanizes. Assunta continues to suffer in silence with their three children (Alonso as the youngest), but still so in love with Ryan who eventually leaves her for a bar girl. Just when Assunta is about to end it all with her children, Velarde appears on the TV screen, saying, “Tumutok ka lang sa telebisyon. Ano ‘yang hawak mong kutsilyo? Dapat hindi mo ginagawa ang ganyan.
Lahat tayo may pag-asa.” The desperate wife sees the light and stays glued to the TV set.
Story 3 (and perhaps the most controversial): “No title yet,” said Donna. “It’s the longest among the three episodes.”
It’s the story of a survivor of the Mamasapano tragedy, starring Richard Gutierrez, Sid Lucero, Ricardo Cepeda and CJ Caparas. “There were two groups in that incident, SAF 85 and SAF 64,” continued Donna. Richard plays Franco, member of the Assault Team (that killed Marwan) and CJ plays Allan, member of the Blocking Team.”
In Velarde’s book, the survivor recalls that he could hear bullets swishing around him but he never got hit.
“It turned out that had an El Shaddai
handkerchief with him, given to him by his mother,” related Donna. “The other SAF members are played by Sid, Ricardo and other sons of actors, one of them Christopher de Leon’s son. One of them is an El Shaddai member and instead of a handkerchief, he had a rosary with him.”
Just like Miracles From Heaven, Miracles Are Forever will hopefully help strengthen the faith of the book’s readers and those who will watch the movie (all the episodes are directed by Carlo).
“Those are stories of faith,” said Donna. “They prove that where there’s faith, there’s hope.”
Two more ‘little miracles’
While we’re talking miracles, I might as well share with you two more stories of “little miracles.” • One, told to Funfare by my friend Dr. Roland dela Eva.
My mother’s friend (also a doctor) had a ruptured aneurysm and become comatose in the hospital for more than a week. Because of the poor prognosis, surgery could not be done. Her brain hemorrhage was compounded by several comorbidities. She had acute renal failure, uncontrolled arrhythmias and hypertension. Her pupils were already anisocoric and surgery would be futile.
After considering all ethical issues, the family decided that no extraordinary measures be undertaken and “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) was agreed upon. They decided to bring her home so that for the remaining days of her life, she may be well taken care of.
With strong faith but in complete surrender, I told my friend, “While your mom’s heart is still beating, a miracle can still happen.” Through LBC, I sent the family a bottle of the miraculous water from Lourdes, given to me by my sister-in-law, and instructed him to pour some daily on his mom’s forehead and apply some more to different parts of her body, and let her drink some part of it via nasogastric tube. I firmly believed that if God would still allow her to live, a miracle was bound to happen. Rosaries were recited and prayers were said.
Just recently, I felt goosebumps when my friend updated me about his mom’s condition. She told me that after three weeks, his mom can already raise her hands and ring her bell whenever she needs assistance. I strongly believe that everything was providential (heaven sent). Very inspiring! As Thomas Aquinas said, To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no amount of explanation is possible.
• Two, told to me by my cousin Glory Go-Lao of Catubig, Northern Samar.
Early last year, I felt a lump in my throat (near the nasal area). I consulted a doctor who confirmed that it was a cyst almost the size of a marble.
A surgery was suggested and I said, “Okay, I will come back.”
Meanwhile, I prayed the Saint Pio novena every night and at the same time tune in to Dr. Love’s DZMM radio program where he requests his listeners to recite with him the same Saint Pio healing prayer. He usually does it at midnight.
When I went back to my doctor for a check-up, the cyst was found to have grown smaller. I didn’t undergo surgery. Now it is gone.
Sabor A Mi sung in a ‘different’ way
And here’s something light contributed by my good friend (identity withheld upon strict request), about a new way of singing Sabor A Mi (said my friend, “With apologies to all your Spanish-speaking readers as well as to the composer, Alvaro Carrillo”).
Scenario: A lounge bar in New York City
A Pinoy lounge singer working there, born in Alimodian, Iloilo, was handed $500 by an American who requested him to sing a Spanish song titled Sabor A Mi.
The problem was while he knew the melody, he didn’t have the lyrics to it. And neither did the American. He excused himself for 20 minutes and instead of googling the lyrics, he decided to mix match the few Spanish words and phrases he knew, put them in rhyme and meter, got up confidently to the microphone and began to sing (bahala na si Batman!). Sabor A Mi Cuando viven en La Granja poblacion Mientras tanto le conosco Salvacion Viernes Santo y qualquier Esperando en el Pier SABOR A MI Bailarina mambo tango y rhumba Ni siquiera mas o menos, sis boom ba El pinpin de serapin Cochillo de almacen SABOR A MI Estofado, estrellado, mi Amigo Hola, vamos a pasyal Beso beso y por eso Porque no hay halo-halo espesyal La Dacion en Pago, Madre de Cacao Por favor le come antes de sabaw Abogado de Cajon Sastre de mi pantalon SABOR a MI Said my friend, “Sing along and laugh heartily. Life is short.” The writer asked that he be not identified until the year 2026 lest, he said, “I might be executed in Bagumbayan by our Spanishspeaking Pinoys for being a traitor to Castilian Español.”)