As her youngest daughter Kris goes through another trial in her life, Mrs. Aquino is turning anew to prayer power.
"I continue to pray for Kris and James and their baby and I would like to ask our friends and relatives to do likewise," the 74-year-old former president told The STAR.
She prays nine rosaries daily and hears Mass almost every day.
Mrs. Aquino has endured the seven-year imprisonment of her husband, former Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, his hunger strike and assassination, and each time this devout Catholic turned to prayer. When Kris was four, Mrs. Aquino almost lost her when two dogs lunged at her thigh, missing her femoral artery by a hairline. Kris bled so profusely then Cory had to wrap her legs in beach towels to stanch the flow of blood.
Mrs. Aquino said in a previous interview with The STAR that there was one incident, which took place as her husband was recovering from a hunger strike, which almost shook her faith.
At the time, she asked a theologian, "What wrong have I done to deserve this? I donít really know what else I have to do. What wrong did I do to deserve all of this? I donít think Iíll be able to take anymore. Father, tell me what you think I should do in order to make up for whatever wrongs I had done before."
She recounted that the priest told her, "No, no, it’s not about something that you’ve done. Just pray. You’re doing the best that you can and do not blame yourself too much."
Recalling how she made it through Ninoy’s imprisonment, she said, "You know, when you go through a really difficult time and you think, I hope this would be the end or I need some breathing space, God allows you to have even just a week of peace and then youíre able to recoup in such a way that you are able to bear your suffering again."
"More than anything, I am convinced that God would never send us something that we could not tackle." - Joanne Rae Ramirez