Fr. Jerry’s Recollection Talk
ATE NICE ANNOUNCED the Recollection open as soon as the fourth mysteries of the rosary (which Ate Taki and she led) were concluded. It signalled the arrival of the Recollection Master, Rev. Fr. Jerry Orbos, who was stalled by the storm. She called on Ate Mimee next to welcome the erstwhile restive parishioners who chose to stay and wait.
With a pleasant voice much younger than her senior years, Ate Mimee stood behind the rostrum like it were her realm. And, as pleasantly, thanked the warm bodies who ignored the impatience the two-hour wait imposed but failed to claim. And, after a brief backgrounder of the apostolate their Bible Ministry espouses, introduced the introducer, Ate Malou, who was pinch-hitting for another soul who was delayed by the downpour, Ate Lorna.
Ate Malou read from her phone a revised resumé of the speaker, cut short to allocate the severed portion to the remaining hour/s of the truncated talk. Soon, the much-sought-after speaker was in front of the audience, beaming brightly to dispel whatever unease his tardiness might have caused. There was no need for an effort. The crowd was captive, eager, and expectant.
Fr. Jerry was met with the warmest applause and smiles. After a pause at the rostrum, he invoked the Holy Spirit to come and be with us so we may share His word, and bless our sacrifice and the love in our hearts. He offered our sacrifice which is nothing compared to what a lot of people were going through because of the floods, which held them for two hours; they reached the Holy Spirit Parish just as the fourth mysteries of the rosary were concluding.He thanked us and said he gathered that many of us are members of SWU or Samahan ng mga Walang Umaakap (laughter). And taught us, his audience, how to be embraced by God. He asked us to put our right hand over our left shoulder, our left hand over our right shoulder, bow our heads, close our eyes, smile, and pray the prayer he led, and enjoy the moment. It was a prayer of thanks to God and to Mama Mary. It was a BTS prayer: Believe, Trust, Surrender. For God to embrace our loved ones who are going through emotional difficulties. For us to make it through the floods in our lives. To set us free, O Holy Spirit, from whatever darkness, whatever heaviness of heart, from worries about so many things. We trust in You. Many of us are negastars, focused on our hurts, problems, and hopelessness. Come, Holy Spirit, free us and our loved ones from spiritual bondage. We need healing and conversion. From pagiging mayabang, matapang, masungit, makasarili. Help us to be more kind, generous, and humble. Embrace us, Lord, our families, friends, and relationships. Is there something disturbing our mind? In Your embrace, O God, we ask for humility, forgiveness, for the hurts we inflicted on people, the gossip we told about them, the malice we wrought upon them. Mahirap ang buhay, huwag na naming pahirapan. Dasal kami nang dasal, masama naman ang asal. Nakakahiya kay Mama Mary. Siya ba, matapang? Nagchichismis? Naninira? Naninigaw? We all need conversion, Panginoon, from our negative state to Mama Mary’s silent virtues. Lord, embrace our country, the Philippines, the many suffering in our lot, and the many who are causing their suffering. Let this be our Christmas wish. Jesus, we trust you, Mama Mary, we love you. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Mama Mary. Thank you, saints and martyrs. Thank you, guardian angels. Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Then he asked us to pray with him slowly, from the heart, the Hail Mary, the prayer to Jesus which we say at the end of each decade of the rosary, the prayer to our guardian angel, and eternal rest grant unto our dearly departed, and let perpetual light shine upon them, that they may rest in peace.
Then he asked if the senior citizens among us had fallen asleep. Or have they experienced GEM (a God-Encountered Moment) or being a God-Encountered Maker?) Ang GEM, walang pera, mga alahas, mga kickback. Let’s go back to basics, puso, and he urged his audience to be a GEM. He asked of us to look at our pewmates and tell her/him thank you you’re still alive (laughter), God bless you, Mama Mary loves you, me, too! Then he segued into the melody of what he just said, and the we sang along with him. He greeted all the birthday celebrators. And after the appreciative laughter of the celebrators (presumably) and the entire crowd, he instructed us to proceed into a Christmas song “And may the spirit of Christmas be always in our hearts.” And asked where is his ‘pamasko’ (laughter).
Moving on, he said, siguro, bukas makalawa, maaayos na rin ang flood control na yan. It’s not a joke. People suffer. Because of other people’s greed. What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul. But before you lose your soul, sana you save your character. Lower your pride, he posited, and temper your greed.
Mama Mary invites you to stay humble. Ang taong mayabang, tinatamaan, ang taong mapagkumbaba, pipagpapala. He requested us to repeat it with him. Sinasabi ko sa sarili ko, Jerry, go slow, stay low, para di magulo ang buhay mo, yes, yes yo, Vonnel (nostalgic laughter). And he repeated this with us, his audience, joining him in jest.
His two-hour recollection is about to end (laughter). He said that he brought with him a relic of St. Ezequiel Moreno, the saint he entreated to cure him of lung cancer and shared that if it weren’t for a near fatal car accident, he would not know he had it. And when he did, he prayed to the saint, and the saint answered his prayer. (St. Ezequiel Diaz Moreno was a Spanish Catholic priest who served as a missionary to the Philippines and was canonized in 1992 and is popularly invoked as the patron saint of cancer patients.) Fr. Jerry shared that the audience will have the opportunity to venerate the relic at the end of the Mass that he will celebrate at 6 pm.
He advised ways to get closer to God: 1. Be humble. 2. Become closer to your family and loved ones. 3. Become a better person. Then he essayed the various places in the Philippines that St. Ezekiel had been to before he died in 1906. And his slow, miraculous transition from a sickbed to the speaker that he is now.
Before the start of the Mass, which he concelebrated with Fr. Ramon Espuelas, he asked his audience if they have ever received a love letter from God. The answer, of course, was no, so he asked his staff (which Ates Mimee, Malou, and Nice helped) to distribute laminated copies of what he meant to all the attendees of his recollection. And then he and the other members of his Liturgical entourage prepared to assume their holy roles. But before that, he addressed his audience and said, God loves you, Mama Mary loves you, me too. In response, the audience broke into as warmest as their earlier applause and smiles.
