Oratio Imperata

The lower half of my pants are wet after lashing rain and wading through a bit of flood near our place. I'm learning how true it is that the Pasong Tamo area floods during rainy season. But this is all good, all good. We've been having summer even in August. Some places have been declared in a state of calamity because there has been no rain. The rice fields have dried up and cracked, effectively killing what would have grown into rice stalks, causing millions of damage. The water level in dams has become so dangerously low that officials have warned they might have to ration water. And energy too might have to be rationed if it gets any worse.

Experts have said that it's because of global warming that Luzon and the Visayas is still in summer weather while Mindanao is in rainy season when it should have been the reverse. Last Wednesday, Cardinal Rosales called all the churches to pray the Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam (Obligatory Prayer to Request for Rain) to be said in all Masses in the Archdiocese of Manila beginning Friday. Then on Monday morning, ABS-CBN said in their news the Church seems to have some real connection from above. A storm was coming and finally they said, rainy season is here.

True enough, it's been raining the whole day on Monday and today as well. Though they said it should rain for more days before we will have recovered, I'm really thankful to the Lord. Maybe the Lord was just waiting for our united prayer, for us to humble ourselves to ask for His help, realizing once again that without His power we cannot sustain ourselves.

I just pray this rain will continue. And pray that we, too, as a people continue to keep in our hearts that everything comes from Him, the Giver of all good gifts.

The Rosary

I remember my younger years. My contact with God was yawning my way through a sermon. And wearing a rosary ring. I didn't actually pray the rosary but I wore that ring. Maybe it was superstitious of me, but I valued that ring, which I wore in my right forefinger. Then, one day, I watched a Sharon Cuneta and Robin Padilla movie--don't ask me what coz I forgot. But I found Robin so funny that I lost the ring laughing my way through the movie. That was the end of my rosary ring days.

When I had fears I couldn't seem to take hold of or when I couldn't sleep, I'd pray the rosary. That was the extent of my praying the rosary. I wanted to regularly pray the rosary but I just couldn't seem to go into it.

Last year, my close friend from way back elementary school sent me a real white rosary. She's now a cloistered nun in Italy. I really treasure that rosary from Inday Moquiring. I bring it with me in my bag.

My real relationship with the rosary started when I read this article about prayer helping us to calm down. It said in effect that even if you just say the "Our Father" very slowly, it will help you to calm down already. In short, it's healthy for you. Since I work in Cubao but live in Makati, I go through the gamut of riding a jeep and riding the MRT. Sometimes, I ride the bus instead of the MRT. Well, if you've experienced riding our jeepneys or buses, then you know that there are quite a number of times you need to calm yourself down. Otherwise, you end up shouting to the driver, or going down from a jeep/bus in a huff. Some of them really stretch your patience the way they drive. And since there's quite a bit of time from the Magallanes station to the Cubao MRT station, I have quite a bit of time to spare. So instead of just sleeping my way or staring at all the passengers and thinking all sorts of things, or worrying about all the things happening in my life, I decided to try praying the rosary.

Well, there's no mystery in my praying. I don't know if heaven actually merits my prayer. But it has helped me. When I have problems, I offer a decade for an intention (like my sharing yesterday). It sure beats worrying myself to death. And I can see the hand of the Lord answering my prayers. Sometimes I don't know what intentions to pray for and wonder who needs prayers. (If you have prayer intentions, you can email me at jsosoban@gmail.com. I won't charge for the prayer. :) The Lord has led me to read or hear of other peoples' stories and now pray for intentions I didn't think of praying before.

At the least, the rosary gives calmness and reassurance in the midst of our busy lifestyles. But I believe--and hope--that ultimately, it will make me like the woman I try to pray with when I say the rosary. That would make me be blessed indeed!