Small Things... Big Dreams

Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said that little things done with great love often leave a lasting impact on a person. Thus, one need not perform grandiose things to make a mark. This is exactly the concept behind Ancop's Global Walk (AGW). By setting aside a measly P10 a day for a month,  one can participate in the walkathon that would help send a poor child to school.

To jumpstart the preparations for this year's Global Walk,  the West C sector under Steve Maningat launched the 2012 Global Walk last April 25 at the Santuario de San Vicente de Paul.  The main speaker for the night was Eric delos Reyes, ANCOP President. He rallied the members of the sector to support this cause which aims to raise funds in order to send less fortunate children to school, hopefully twice as many as those who were given scholarships as a result of last year's walk activity.  Adding pizzaz to the occasion was the attendance of the reigning Miss Philippines-Earth, ANCOP Global Walk advocate and SFC member Athena Imperial.  ANCOP Global Walk overall head Paolo Maningat talked on the importance of getting more walkers and donations to meet the overall target.

The sector activity was a prelude to the second ANCOP Global Walk that will be held on August 12 at 5 in the morning at the Quirino Grandstand.  The Walk will be done near simultaneously with other ANCOP Walks all over the world.  Walkers are encouraged to be a disciple of change, a harbinger of hope for children, whose continuing education provides that spark of light for a future that will be bright for them and their families.


This article came out recently at the Ugnayan supplement of the CBCP Monitor.

On Being God's Children

From the Catholic encyclopedia, recollection means attention to the presence of God in the soul.  It consists of detaching oneself from worldly matters to attend to God and to one’s soul.  Such departure from the usual distractions helps in rekindling one’s relationship with God and hopefully will lead to a spiritual renewal.

The West C Sector was fortunate to have Fr. Sonny Ramirez, OP as its speaker for this year’s Lenten Recollection. It was held in the evening of Holy Tuesday at the Our Lady of Consolation Parish at the Mira Nila Homes in Quezon City.

Fr. Sonny Ramirez, OP

The church was jam packed to the last pew so with the parking lot.  All came ready to do some soul searching and relaxation.  It also helped that Fr. Sonny was the guest speaker and after two years of not hearing or seeing him on TV and radio due to a near fatal stroke, everyone was eager to hear him out.

He started with the question “Sino ka?”  One answered that he is a child of God.  Fr. Sonny said that we are all God’s children and being such, He has only good plans for us, His children.  He sent His Son to live on earth only to die on the cross for our salvation. 

Problems occur when we do things that are not pleasing to Him.  Power that doesn’t fail to intoxicate us, material things that make us secure and invincible, sudden fame. All of these may hinder us from having a relationship with Him.  When we remain complacent and unresponsive to the cares in the world, we might find ourselves one day stripped of everything that are valuable to us.

Not all is lost.  Pleasing God, which is everyone’s primary reason for existence, is easy.  We can do things that make us and our loved ones happy provided that we do only good things.  Let us open our hearts and listen to the musings of the people around us.  Do you see Jesus in their faces, hear Jesus’ voice?

2000 Hail Marys

Last Sunday was an auspicious day for me.  It marked my first participation in the 2000 Hail Mary's.  It was sponsored by our chapter and as such, my husband and I arrived early at the venue, the ground floor of Bahay Rekoleto at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Quezon City.

From home, I brought food to be shared with everyone, crucifix, table cloth, candles, projector, laptop and of course, a rosary.  The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, flowers, prayer guides and a tall vase to be used as a receptacle for the personal petitions were brought by Sis. Rose Banzon and Sis. Estela Baytan.

It was on March 25, 1933 when a teenage Salesian seminarian, Juan Riu Farran, heard from a co-seminarian that he will obtain at least three graces if he prays 2000 Hail Mary's on  the feast of the Incarnation of the Son of God.  When the day arrived, Riu prayed the 2000 Hail Mary's and asked that he become a Salesian, to become a priest and to become a missionary.  In a span of 19 years, Riu obtained all three graces.  The devotion of the 2000 Holy Mary's has spread to many countries with the Marian devotion and fervor of the Filipino people.

How do you go about with the 2000 Hail Mary's?  From the 2000 Hail Mary's, a sample schedule is attached though the time could be adjusted.  The sequence of the prayers are included plus the Divine Mercy chaplet and other prayers.  There are 20 petitions and the prayer leaders for each petition have to lead in praying 100 Hail Mary's.  After completing the 100 Hail Mary's, personal petitions that are written in small pieces of paper could be dropped in a vase, box or any container.  To mark each petition that just ended, a rose is put in a vase.  To check on how many petitions had been prayed for, one has to count the roses in the vase.  Dropping of petitions while in the midst of praying the 100 Hail Mary's is allowed though it would be better if it will be done in between praying of the petitions so as not to distract the body.  

After singing praises to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the petitions in the vase should be burned. Usually it takes nine hours for the entire proceeding to be completed.

While I was writing down my petitions, I sensed a liberating experience in entrusting my cares and woes to the Lord through the intercession of Mama Mary.  Now I have somebody else praying with me and for me.for all my troubles and aspirations.  Days after Sunday, my husband and I received several blessings, most of which were included in the petitions we wrote.

CFC West C Magnificat Echo Weekend

This article came out today on the Ugnayan issue of the CBCP Monitor.


A month after the first Magnificat Weekend for the leaders of Couples for Christ Metro Manila was held, it was time to bring the message to the Unit Leaders, Household Leaders and senior members of CFC West C.  Led by Bro. Steve and Sis. Minnie Maningat, the sector held their Magnificat Echo Weekend at the Teacher's Camp in Baguio City from March 2-4, 2012.

Steve Maningat, sector head of West C, Metro Manila

As early as the morning of Friday, more than six hundred participants from the six clusters of West C converged in Baguio City to participate in this monumental event.  By Friday night, the echo conference proper started with a fellowship night-cum-chorale competition entitled "West C Goes Glee."

Saturday's and Sunday's activities started with the praying of the Rosary followed by a Mass celebrated by Msgr. Allen Aganon, Couples for Christ Spiritual Director.  To kick off the Saturday sessions, Msgr. Aganon gave the prologue, expounding on the significance of the Magnificat from which CFC's theme this year is based on.

Over the course of the conference, four talks were delivered and all of them delved on the faithfulness of Mary to her Son, Jesus.  From these words, we learned that Mary was always there for Him at all phases of His life and therefore, she could be considered the first disciple of Jesus.  It was Mary's "yes" to Angel Gabriel that paved the way for mankind's salvation.  The Blessed Sacrament was exposed at the end of the Saturday sessions.

The CFC West C Magnificat weekend ended with a praisefest and healing session.  As the echo conference came to its inspiring end, everyone was spiritually high and ready to emulate Mary and ready to take on the mission that God has entrusted to them.

Magnificat Weekend

One of the biggest activities that we go to being leaders of the Couples for Christ community is the MC Weekend.  This is a gathering of the members of the Mission Core (MC) Group, the top leaders of Couples for Christ. The MC Weekend Conference is a retreat cum fellowship that every MC member looks forward to every year.  It is held at Baguio City on the last weekend of January.  Every year, the theme for the conference changes.  For this year, it is called the Magnificat Weekend based on the community's theme "Proclaim the greatness of the Lord"  (Luke 1:46).

Photo taken from the CFC website

My husband and I prepared well for this trip.  As early as the first week of January, Jun bought a new pair of tires to replace the worn-out ones.  He also made sure that our vehicle was in tip top condition so as not to encounter mechanical problems while out of town.  Three years ago we had that unfortunate experience when this same vehicle conked out in Baguio City for the 2009 MC Weekend.  We had to leave the vehicle in the repair shop of Jun's client.  We traveled back by Victory Liner a week later to retrieve the vehicle.  Meanwhile, Bro. Rainier and Sis. Meng Figueras welcomed us in their vehicle for our trip back home to Manila.

We checked in at Hotel Elizabeth on a Friday afternoon.  I readily fell in love with the hotel the moment I stepped in their lobby.  The hotel staff were friendly and attended to our needs immediately.  I am not surprised, Hotel Elizabeth has been voted Baguio's Best Hotel a few years back.  The room was clean and doesn't smell musty.  I told myself, "I have found my home in Baguio".  After resting and freshening up, we, together with another CFC couple, Bro. Deng and Sis. Reiah Yango proceeded to the venue, Camp John Hay. 

Breakfast with Reiah at Hotel Elizabeth.

Jun and I at the driveway of the hotel.

The conference had fellowship on the first night and talks on the next two days.  There were worships and Mass before each session and a praise fest capped the conference on Sunday noon.  Though Sis. Reiah and I suffered from hypertension from Day 1, the conference and bonding time with CFC brothers and sisters made the trip all worthwhile.