The sole purpose of this piece is to profess my deep remorse for abandoning my team in the Recollection that we have organized. That it pushed through successfully is owed entirely to their deep devotion to Mary, no thanks to me, who allowed to be tempted by Satan and missed a holy encounter. Had I been there, I would have written this just the same, but I do this now with a prayer that Mary intercedes to Jesus on my behalf that my despicable crime may be washed in the blood of His mercy.
The sight of Ate Car (she thankfully recorded the milestone which I just watched) hosting the event (the zoom link was expertly handled by Sis Jackie) made me sigh with huge relief that she reconsidered joining, even if I told her (cryptically like I did the others) I won’t. My other regret was that, because she took over my hosting, I was not able to announce that the eponymous theme was her vision, shown to her by the Holy Spirit at a time when she was down and in isolation. She had a mask on but I could see in her eyes the joy of marching on at the Holy Spirit’s behest and it affirmed my resolve to reach the end of this effort, so I can send her a copy posthaste. Of the tribute for her and all of God’s instruments who took up the cudgels that I deserted.
After her brief spiel, she called on Ate Taki to introduce the Recollection Master, Rev. Fr. Sherwin Nuñez.
Fr. Sherwin wasted no time to define recollection as the recalling or regathering of our personal experiences of triumphs in the past which we might see (and reflect on) in the light of Hidilyn Diaz’ recent Olympic victory (he would allude to the gold medalist often, hinting at her difficulties before she clinched the plum prize, which will crystallize at this writing’s conclusion.
From his projection, the other objectives were to view the interior life of Mary, know and imitate the path she took to glorify God alone. In his apparently hurried pace, it was clear to me that his talk was intended for a physical audience (but discussions on its impossibility gave us no choice but zoom, with the organizers the only ones with him at the Montfort Center of Spirituality in Timog). I felt that he was on the brink of a workshop mode because of the motivation his power point suggested. But he took his adrenaline in stride and reverted to slow drive. The pandemic did not preclude the participation of a few in the virtual audience who could not contain their itch to pitch.
When he asked where the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary came from, he also supplied the answer for the expected exchange to not enlarge. Because when he mentioned Luke 2:34-51 as its Scriptural basis, he was quick to instruct them to list 2 or 3 of their personal experiences within the last 3 weeks; what was the objective in those; what were the time, manner (such as his evident zeal), and obstacles involved in them; what did they see in what they did; what did they see about their way of doing what they did; what did they see more clearly; and what did they see that reveals about them in their way of having done what they did. (His tone of voice was so enthusiastic that I could swear the virtual assembly was as interactive as the situation was restrictive, basically because of his infectious energy. He cautioned that the questions were not about perfection but correction of the behavior we might have unknowingly shown, therefore, can still be rectified. This was where he interposed Hidilyn’s behavior when she won the gold and, instead of a proud selfie, posted the miraculous medal of Mary. Such humility in victory, which was made more deserved. And Fr. Sherwin remembered his former profile, which is now modest, and remarked that, while he liked sports, he doesn’t like boxing. (I thought he is like me who doesn’t like contact sports, especially if it results in blood, bruises, and curses.)
This recollection, therefore, is a rereading of Mary’s experience, essayed in Luke 1:39-45, and he proceeds to project the questions: What was Mary’s objective in visiting Elizabeth; how did she do it (time, manner, obstacles); what did she see in what she did; what did she see about her way of doing what she has done; what did she see more clearly; and what did she see that revealed about her in her way of having done it. Then he requested for a moment of silence to compare Mary’s and their experiences, to underscore their probable feelings of worthlessness during the pandemic and turn them around. The 5-minute break was almost silent except for intrusive, intervening, irrelevant noises of a British male, an exchange about a dead dog, and a chat about cooking, which no one minded, obviously engrossed in relating themselves to Mary.
The break over, Fr. Sherwin welcomed everyone back and reiterated recalling their triumphs and, instead of thinking they are idle and useless, remember their experiences in relation to Mary’s. Then asked what path are we going to follow to triumph along the way.
Montfort, he said, proposes a tool, the Incarnation, an imitation of Jesus giving entirely to Mary, like the Montfortian missionary priests and their associates, to go back to the womb of Mary, because the Immaculate Heart of Mary brings people closer to God, not to people. Because infallible spirituality is formed by God Himself, from the Immaculate Conception, to the visitation, which entailed a pure heart, intention, and objective, despite hindrances and difficulties. Then Fr. Sherwin recalled last Sunday, on Mary’s Assumption, when a sister asked him if it was right to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Taken aback, he mildly answered yes, because it’s a Sunday, and the Assumption of Mary was an idea that came from God. Like its essence, hope, which is as eternal as Him.
His next question was what entitled Mary? His answer was Elizabeth’s exclamation, “How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” That exclamation spawned Mary’s own exultation of the Lord, the “Magnificat.”
The acquisition of the Immaculate Heart is possible with Mary, the purpose of the Immaculate Heart devotion is to bring us closer to Jesus through incarnation, and the imitation of Mary is the way to Jesus. He squeezed back in Hidilyn’s frustrations, which did not discourage her, and the Miraculous Medal transformed into triumph.
He recalled a book he recently read, “The Path of Mary,” by the late Venerable Mary Potter, foundress of the Little Company of Mary Sisters, which proposes the way to enter God’s Kingdom, which he juxtaposed against Nicodemus’ perplexity when Jesus told him about being born again. The nun proposed in her book that incarnation is to be born in innocence, constantly repeating the baptismal vows and, like Jesus, being disposed to Mary. At this juncture, he asked the virtual audience what repeating the baptismal vows means. After a brief lull came a resounding “Renouncing Satan!” Which perfectly encapsulated his talk. Recalling the 5 signs of true devotion to Mary, he tried another trick, asking what “disinterested” means. The answer took longer in coming so he supplied it, since it was already time to wrap his talk up. The term means to inspire the soul to seek the Kingdom of God, not oneself. Like the Immaculate Heart of Mary triumphed because her union with Jesus was formed by God (with her fiat, of course).
Thus, the theme of Fr. Sherwin Nuñez, Recollection Master, came to a glorious close.
There would have been an Open Forum immediately afterwards but the sound became indistinct I chose to finish this instead. While that could have expounded on the questions he posed, I took the occasion to mean self-reflection, which I direly need, in the desert that I’m in. Surely, Mary will lead me to the Red Sea. Amen.
