What else can I say on my Father's 3rd Death Anniversary last November 2nd, I got myself joined the following:
1) attend the Mass, as it was also a Sunday;
2) attend a prayer gathering where my friend invited me to pray and participate with other Filipino prayer devotees;
3) get to join an intimate food gathering after the prayers where we got to taste the best of Filipino home-cooked food set buffet-style at the hosts' dining table, plus
4) get myself enamored by the beautiful set-up, including floral arrangements by one of NYC's best floral designers (under Preston Bailey's event designers:(more about him?)), my friend Oscar, & the wonderful looking religious icons where we gathered around during the prayers, plus plus
5) a surprised birthday celebrant from one of those of my friends' Philip/Oscar/Lilet's inner circle in their apartment situated in Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan.
Of course, this may sound so religious, yet I'm delighted to have been part of these activities. Just take it as it is. I'd just like to describe how I got myself loaded with something of the beautiful and memorable that took place on my Father's 3rd Death anniversary.
Call it "icon worship" if you feel like doing so, yet there's something very appealing at how the images look like when bedecked with awesome floral arrangements. The image of the Virgin of Fatima (more about the Virgin of Fatima?) is a faithful replica of the very image found in Portugal. Note, as well, the lighted candles which were burning in memory of those souls who have departed, still very much beloved.
The prayer gathering takes place as part of the weekly tour of 3 religious icons (representing the Crucified Christ, The Baby Jesus, [or Sto. Nino, (curious about the best known statue in Cebu, Philippines?)] the Blessed Virgin Mary) as a group that visits households mostly by Filipinos (as far as I'm aware) in NYC. The leaders must be doing this 52 times all year through, perhaps with some breaks, and which practices I noticed must have started somewhere in Mandaluyong in Metro Manila(more about this region?), the 12-million heavily populated capital region of the Philippines. The prayers, lasting nearly an hour as guided by prayer books, cover praises, lamentations, special requests, and those topics that include asking for blessings for both the Philippines and the United States. I've felt that my prayers are many times better heard whenever I get to join these prayer gatherings, every chance I got. I presume that Hispanics and other people following Catholic traditions also have their own versions, but may be attended mainly by those who belong to the same race or native background. Amen.
