People from the same place usually gather together to celebrate fiesta, birthdays or whatever. But I consider it very seldom and one of the rarest moment when people gather because the Bishop from where they come from visits them. It's very rare. And it happened here in the Bay Area when most Surigaonons, if not all, met at St. Justin Parish to hear mass celebrated by Bishop Nerio Odchimar of the Diocese of Tandag. With him was Msgr. Cid Irizari who used to be the Parish Priest of the town where I come from. The mass was simple and very modest but what was important was the presence of two great men from our diocese.
After the mass, we were able to hold a small pot luck which surprisingly had a great support from the Bay Area group of Surigaonon. We had it at the small hall behind the Parish Church. The outpouring of support was shown in the abundance of food on the table and the amount collected to support the construction of San Nicolas de Tolentino Shrine in Tandag. Although not everybody made it to the gathering, their spirits were celebrating with us, for sure. It was on a Saturday of August 13th and a lot of people were at work. I lucked out that my request for day off that day was granted.
The picture on the left shows Msgr. Irizari's relatives posing with him after lunch for souvenir. To the right is the Barobo group where Fr. Cid Irizari, now a Monsignor, served for several years as Priest leading the Mother of Mercy Parish.
Of course, we could not let this passing moment go by without souvenir pictures from the visiting Holy men from Surigao del Sur. My spirit was jumping with joy even just with the thought that they were coming. I was so overwhelmed when Msgr. Cid told me on the phone that they would stop at our house for coffee. It was truly a blessing for me and for my husband.
Before that day, I mentioned to my hubby and Ate Nelia about the blessing of our house but I dismissed the idea thinking that their visit was already a grace from God. But when they were there, OMG! I could not decide when Ate Nelia mentioned it to the Bishop. But I felt the spark inside and my mind and heart spoke... NOW or NEVER! So our house was finally blessed by the Big names from the Diocese of Tandag. Actually, Bishop Nerio Odchimar is the current president of the CBCP. His coming to the area was only a side trip from his major trip in Denver, Colorado for the State Dinner of the Knights of Columbus.
It was really a blessed day for me to cherish... as long as I live. I never know if there is going to be a repeat of the same exact event that took place on that day. Only God knows. Until now, I am still overjoyed!
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