Prayer

June Keithley Castro became a national heroine during the four dramatic days of Edsa I, on February 22, 23, 24 and 25, 1986. She was given a medal of honor at the Philippine Military Academy by General Fidel Ramos, and the title: "Commander in Chief of the People’s Army".

During those days, with amazing courage, she was encouraging two million people on Edsa to stay there in the street, praying, sharing with each other, stopping the tanks of the military with their bare hands. Because she herself was so confident and cheerful, the girls were putting flowers in the muzzles of the armalites, the boys were giving sandwiches to the Filipino Marines, and old women in wheel chairs were saying their rosaries peacefully, in front of the tanks.

She went on to produce beautiful TV documentaries of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, at Lourdes, at Fatima, at our own little city of Lipa. Now she wants to make a full length feature film on the apparitions at Lipa. This takes grim determination, because she is trying to remove the official ecclesiastical cloud that has been hanging over the Carmelite Convent for many long years. She is trying to present the simple truth.

Ambassador Howard Dee was given a special award by the Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Foundation for his magnificent efforts to bring peace to this nation. He has been deeply involved in the negotiations for peace with the Muslims in Mindanao, and with the NPA. He has been sent by our government to Europe, to the Hague, to talk to the leaders of the left wing. He was chosen for this job because he has a reputation for fairness, for honesty, for selflessness. He is a highly intelligent, gentle, soft spoken, natural leader. On occasions, he was doing this work at the risk of his life.

Beyond that, he has founded a home for street children, called "Bahay Maria". This is pure charity, an effort to help destitute children who have never gone to school, who could not read or write when he found them. In addition, he is guiding several other charitable organizations, following the footsteps of Francis of Assisi.

When he was appointed Ambassador to the Vatican, the Philippines was putting its best foot forward. In Rome, he was an admirable example of what we all want a Filipino to be. In addition to all of these extra-curricular activities, he is a clear thinking, careful business man whose talent and energy has always been consecrated to the poor.

Bishop Federico Escaler S.J. I have known personally, at close range, since he entered the Jesuits in 1941. He was Bishop of Kidapawan, in Mindanao, and then Bishop of Ipil in Zamboanga del Sur. In both places he was a blessing to the people. When his Diocese of Ipil was raided and pillaged, he built it up again. When he was kidnapped by a rebel group, even the rebels treated him with respect and reverence. And now, in his retirement, he is the Chairman of Bahay Maria.

Bishop Raul Martirez was the pastor of San Jose, Antique, where the Sacadas come from. For a while the Sacadas were looked upon as the longest suffering laborers in the country. His work, in his Diocese, was to help the poor, especially to see that the laborers received a living wage. During martial law, San Jose Antique was the place where Evelio Javier was hunted down by gunmen with rifles, and shot dead like an animal. Bishop Martirez was always leading the fight for justice.

So I was deeply impressed when I received a letter signed by June Keithley Castro, by Bishop Escaler, and by Bishop Raul Martirez. The letter came from three institutions: Center For Peace, Asia; Confraternity of the Lady of All Nations; and Bahay Maria. It meant that all four of these people – my very good friends – were banding together for one thing.

It was this:

A DAY OF PRAYER

On Saturday, June 10, 2006, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy,

Maysilo Circle, Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City

It will be held in response to Our Blessed Mother’s request, made through the Dutch visionary Ida Peerdeman on May 31, 1955. She appeared as "The Lady of All Nations" on the Feast of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Her great wish was that "all the nations should be assembled" and be united in prayer to God.

Actually there were 56 visions, from 1945 to 1959. Ida Peerdeman was born at Alkmaar, in the Netherlands, on August 13, 1905.

After finishing school, she worked in an office for 28 years. Living together with he sisters, she never married. The visions began at Amsterdam on March 25, 1945, the Feast of the Annunciation.

On May 31, 2002, the apparitions of the Lady of All Nations to Ida Peerdeman were approved by Most Reverend Josef Maria Punt, Bishop of Haarlem, Amsterdam.

Ida herself stayed away from all publicity. She was a simple, warm-hearted woman. Her description of the visions have the ring of truth, of honesty. No one has ever questioned her integrity. She suffered a great deal, physically and spiritually, and never tried to gain any material advantage from the visions. She died on June 17, 1996, at the age of 90.

At 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy, His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales will celebrate Mass, together with Bishop Escaler and with Bishop Martirez. So the devotion, and the day of prayer, is weighted with the approval of our local Philippine Church.

Myself, I have never been gung-ho about visions or visionaries. Even at Medjugorje, when a Franciscan priest, who had a strong reputation as a healer, was blessing all of us at the altar – everyone on my right and left was "slain". They crumpled to the floor. I was the only one left standing. I was thinking: "I must be an awful sinner! Impervious to grace!"

But what I like about "Our Lady of All Nations" is that she wants all the world to reach out to one another, to be one family, brothers and sisters, children of God. And all of those who promote the devotion are so simple! They say: "It began on Calvary, when Our Lord said; ‘Woman, behold thy son. . . . Son, behold thy mother". From that moment she was the mother of all of us, "Our Lady of All Nations."

And John Paul II was saying that so beautifully! "Break down the walls between us!. . . . .Build bridges! . . . . . .Between all religions!. . . . . .Between all nations!" Our own Cardinal is trying to do that with "Pondo ng Pinoy". He does not think that 25 centavos a day from everyone will feed all the hungry Filipinos, but he does think that reaching out to each other will be the beginning of the solution of all our problems!

Couples For Christ, with their "Gawad Kalinga" are trying to do exactly the same thing! Unite the rich and the poor! Unite the Muslims and Christians! Unite our political leaders with the people under the bridge!

If we can do it in this country, why can we not unite all nations with each other? And the best way to do that – the only way – is prayer.

"Our Lady of All Nations" means that we all have one mother. That’s the heart of the Gospel. "Little children, love one another, as I have loved you."

That’s what we will be praying for, on June 10. It is "Globalization" in the way God wants it.

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