A Beautiful Last Day of 2021

The last day of 2021 was a huge day for me.  It was one day where I got to spend a beautiful New Year’s Eve celebration with my family and at the same time being hopeful for a gorgeous year ahead.  My last day of 2021 even became more beautiful when I got the chance to visit a church so as to do a pint-sized prayer.

After realizing that my family does not have any sparklers to ignite and party poppers to snap during New Year’s Eve, me, Joy (my younger sister) accompanied by our nephew Gabby decided to head outside to purchase ourselves with some inexpensive hand-held “luces” (sparklers) and party poppers.

gabby took this beautiful photo of the church at night time (last night of 2021)

Our hunt for these sparklers enabled us to reach one of the most admired and prayed-upon churches in my country, the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also known locally as Baclaran church.  Since we were able to luckily purchase our much-needed sparklers and party poppers along the gates of the church, we decided to drop by inside so as to light some candles and say our little prayers.

As usual, I lighted 5 candles. I have the habit of lighting 5 candles each time I have the chance to do it in a church or any grounds intended for prayers.  Let me reserve in my future writing what each candle symbolizes except for one.  One of the candles is an intended prayer for me: my soul, my future, my welfare, my life’s appreciation and of course my sanity. Haha!

joy & I on baclaran church grounds

lighting candles & prayers for everyone

That one candle was also intended for my personal wish in the coming year and that is to be a little sunshine for everyone who I get to encounter, may it be through personal encounter or through my substandard and tawdry writing. 

Happy New Year and may every one of us be a little sunshine to someone this year!

A Tiny Good News in the Midst of Ongoing Uncertainties

Good news has been so left behind and seem to have totally been overshadowed by bad news.  Everybody would agree with me when I say that there has been a surplus of bad news this year.  Situations has been so cruel in this ambiguous and uncertain times of the world. Everybody if given the opportunity would go back last year (2019) so as to reboot the year 2020!

Let me then relay a tiny good news.  Because of the vague, hazy and unclear future of my personal life which I could no longer seem to control, influence and regulate due of the bad news that lurks around, I decided to flung and cast all my worries to God.  Because of the ongoing impact of the pandemic and all its effects of oversupplied bad news which has directly affected me, I was left with no alternative course of action but to pray and call God, Mother Mary, the angels and the saints for support, assistance and furtherance.

my nightly weapon

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, bizarre and strange as it may seem, the tiny good news I want to relay is that I now pray every day.  And prayer has been my only weapon now in these times of crises.  And I am glad to say that I don’t just say a little prayer, I actually do the grander scheme of things.  Since middle of March this year. I do recite and meditate on the beauty of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary every day without fail!

You may want to ask the effects of my praying the Holy Rosary.  Well, let me just say that it has helped me a lot to keep my sanity.  It has helped me to stay hopeful and optimistic that all this bad news will soon come to an end.  And the little requests, wishes and appeals that I would sneak in between my praying of the Hail Mary-s and Glory Be-s has so far been fulfilled and realized.

Happy day to all and I hope you have a tiny good news to share.