Happy feast of Our Lady of the Rosary 2021!

We always remembered and celebrated October 7 with a mass and the recitation of the Holy Rosary in our school, Saint Mary’s College, Quezon City (SMCQC), which is run by the Sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM).

For sure, students of this mother school, as well as their other schools throughout the country, developed a very close bond to God, through our Mama Mary, during their elementary and high school years.

Our High School Batch 69 did.

Until now, we voluntarily meet every night to pray the Rosary together. We offer and raise prayer petitions, silently and/or orally, for ourselves, our families, for our country, for the rest of the world. After prayers, we spend time to catch up where we all left off.

Oh, the precious time together, so much shared laughter, so much shared tears as well. The love is palpable, the concern. We continue to thank God for bringing us together through these years for our dear #classmatesfriendsforever!

After many of us had been apart from one another since high school or some of us since college, we met up for our Golden Homecoming last February 2019. There were those who traveled from various parts of the US, from various parts of the Philippines for that happy reunion! Since then, we vowed to stay in touch as much as possible.

Our rosary time started when the husband of a classmate died due to Covid. This same classmate was also hospitalized for Covid. So our first rosary session was both a prayer of thanksgiving for her healing and a prayer for the eternal repose of her husband with God and His love and peace.

It was also a thanksgiving to God for bringing us together in prayerful reunion. At the start and for some months or even a year, our rosary sessions lasted from an hour to more, hanggang sawa, until it was time to tell each other, see you again tomorrow!

As we were all from various time zones, our early rosary hour was scheduled about 8:30 in the morning, Philippine time. Our new, shortened evening schedule is also convenient for our classmates in the US.

We look forward to more joining us for these daily rosary sessions. About 8-10 are regular attendees but there would be days when only 2-4 can be around to recite the rosary. Still, we agreed to continue the rosary, where two or three are gathered with God.

Just as we experienced during our SMCQC days, we are happy to pray the rosary which allows us daily to connect with God, dear Mama Mary, and classmates each day!

Intentions are offered (silently or orally) at the start of the Rosary and before each decade. All pray the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary, a beautiful reminder of Mama Mary’s total obedience and surrender to God’s will.

The first half reminds us that Mama Mary is full of grace and blessed among women. And the Lord with her always. The latter half calls on our Mother of God to pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.

Each decade ends with prayers glorifying our Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. The Fatima prayer follows where we ask a forgiving Jesus to save us and those in Purgatory.

After the decades, we raise petitions for Mama Mary’s intercession for us and the whole world through the Hail Holy Queen, Memorare, Litany and Oratio.

Gratefully and joyfully, the various daily mysteries (joyful, sorrowful, glorious and luminous) and the whole Rosary take us through the life of Mama Mary, and most especially, to Jesus Christ, and through Him, to our powerful, ever-loving God.