By Alvin Ricafort
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Matt 25: 35-36
Today we celebrated Easter Sunday. It is our 2nd Easter in pandemic. After the Easter Vigil last night there were no usual “Salubong” in the wee hours of the morning, not just because of the 6pm – 5am curfew being implemented, but more so due to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
“Salubong” is a traditional Filipino devotion that reenacts the encounter of the risen Christ with his Mother. In past years, at our parish, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (NSOLL) in Quezon City, “Salubong” takes place immediately after the Easter Vigil Mass. The faithful carry the statues of the risen Christ and the Blessed Mother, in two separate processions. The men of the community, in a procession of joyful celebration, accompany the statue of Christ; the women of the community, in a somber procession of mourning, accompany the image of the sorrowful mother, Mater Dolorosa, shrouded in a black mourning veil – “lambong”. They meet in front of of the shrine, where a little girl dressed as an angel removes the black mourning veil from the statue of Mary, and other children dressed as angels joyfully sing Regina Coeli. Fireworks light up in the sky celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.
Instead of the usual “Salubong”, this year the Social Services and Development Ministry (SSDM) organized a very unique “Salubong” in front of the Molave Youth Home (MYH) at Barangay N.S. Amoranto at 11:00 AM today. We met the houseparent of Molave Youth Home, Bryan Samson and their resident cook, and handed 100 homecooked rice and chicken pork adobo meal packs for its residents. They were very thankful that MYH was chosen as beneficiary for this weekend’s feeding program.
Molave Youth Home, established in 1973, is the city’s 24-hour residential and rehabilitation center for children facing cases filed in Quezon City courts. They temporarily moved to the Community Development Center in Barangay Amoranto a few years ago to give way to several infrastructure projects in the city hall compound. Currently there are 94 wards in Molave Youth Home.
Today’s “EASTER-Feeding” by the Feed My Lamb Program, was made possible through the sponsorship of Daughters of Mary Immaculate International (NSOLL-DMII) as our Program/Mission Partner.
We invite you to join this work of mercy. Spread joy to others by joining this feeding program as a Program / Mission Partner. With your compassion we will be able to give meals to more people: informal settlers, beggars, prisoners and inmates, and the urban poor.
For more information, please contact the parish office of NSOLL at 02-8731-9306.
Happy Easter!
Cover Photo L-R: Mariz Ricafort, Alvin Ricafort, Bryan Samson (House Parent), Ate Bamba (Resident Cook)
#NSOLLPH
