IMELDA SAULOG-REFERENTE, REMEDIOS SANVICTORES-OZAETA, ANGELINA ROA-MONTEMAYOR, RACQUEL DE LARA-FINEZA, & ROCHELLE ALMANZOR-MCARTHUR
In 2012, during one getaway weekend in Las Vegas of US-based Maryknoll HS’63 classmates, this SWS group (Samahang Walang Sawa) met Dr. Joy Molleston (MC Awardee). She has been doing medical service yearly at the Sanctuaire Notre Dame de Lourdes in France. Dr. Joy’s talk about volunteering initially inspired Imelda, Remedios, and other classmates to serve in Lourdes.
The personal and spiritual experiences of Maryknoll HS’63 classmates of 60 years who served for a week in September 2023 are shared below.
Imelda Saulog-Referente
I went alone to Lourdes for my first year of service in 2012. Then, in 2013, I did not expect my husband, as well as classmates with their husbands, to join me in Lourdes; that inspired me more. Our Lady heard my prayers. Since then, my husband has served with me whenever I come to Lourdes. This year is my seventh year of service at the Sanctuary.
My mission was to inspire others to learn more about Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette. In recruiting, I was inspired by the people who joined. While some did not continue the formation process to become ‘hospitaliers,’ others have continued serving, which has kept me going. I was inspired by the people I met at Lourdes and especially by my classmates who supported me in our mission of serving Our Lady in many ways. Praying and lighting candles for those who need spiritual and physical help have developed in me a deeper understanding and spiritual fulfillment of how to be of service. My devotion to our Blessed Mother grows deeper every time I serve.
REMEDIOS (MINCHING) SANVICTORES-OZAETA
Completing five continuous formative years in Lourdes, I have pledged a commitment of service to Our Lady of Lourdes and the Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Lourdes. Assisting disabled pilgrims, serving the sick, doing penance, offering prayers for suffering people, and praying for those who have asked us to pray at Lourdes and those who have gone before us are humbly gratifying. The love of Our Lady has drawn me closer to her.
The CROWD of sick or disabled pilgrims from all over the world…touching the ROCK at the Grotto…immersing or drinking the WATER from the miraculous spring… the LIGHTED candles burning in the sanctuary grounds and the HELPERS (hospitaliers) serving in whatever way they can, are images one experiences when in the Sanctuary.
Serving the Lord through Our Lady is giving back time, talent, and treasure for all the blessings one has received. There is no exact word to fully describe the feeling of fulfillment after the service days; thus, one desires to continue serving.
Angelina (Angge) Roa–Montemayor
The connection with the divine is my most intense feeling. This is my seventh year of service at the Sanctuaire Notre Dame de Lourdes, and my emotional experience gets deeper. It is the time to recharge my spiritual renewal, be a faith builder, and be in touch with reality. The presence of Our Lady is so intense that I feel she brought me closer to her Son. As a volunteer, assisting people from all walks of life to cope with their issues is fulfilling. A simple smile and a gentle touch uplifts them; what a joy to see. It humbles me to witness the disabled, the sick, and the broken ones with their faith and trust joining the procession. Indeed, faith can connect us. Our love for humanity should be free and generous. Let Our Lady’s message, penance, and the conversion of sinners be our mantra.
Racquel de Lara-Fineza
“During this fourth year of my volunteer work in Lourdes, I could sense the spirits of my husband and my 4-year-old granddaughter Lili, who passed in 2022, helping me fulfill my service. My Maryknoll classmates’ love and support made me emotional at times. Their exemplary devotion to Our Lady inspired me; with their husbands in service, I was constantly reminded of my late husband, who last served with me in 2018.
Another source of inspiration was the young volunteers who helped the disabled pilgrims. I was assigned to the kitchen of one of the hospitals where the sick or disabled pilgrims stayed. Student volunteers from Ireland accompanied these pilgrims. Every day, from the kitchen, I watched how caring and compassionate these youth were towards the sick and disabled elderly: helping them with their meals, holding their hands to help them walk, pushing their wheelchairs, or simply talking and keeping them company at the dinner table. These youth deeply inspired me during this service. They exemplify the true spirit of service. It is what being a hospitalier is, in Lourdes or anywhere we may be in our stage in life: to serve the Lord by being of service to others.
Rochelle Almanzor-MacArthur
I have been blessed all these years. I want to give back by serving. One can provide service anywhere, but I feel the essence of service here at the hospitals in Lourdes, specifically the kitchen work at these hospitals.
Butterflies During Our Service at Lourdes
Minching Sanvictores-Ozaeta
They say when a butterfly flutters around us, someone in heaven is visiting.
On the first night of our service on September 18, Minching noticed something that looked like a sticker on the bottom corner of the TV in the room. Intrigued with the lighter hue of gray with a delicate pattern on the wings, she immediately went closer for a clearer view. Thoughts of dear classmate Georgia (Ogie) Balmaceda-Alviar flashed immediately in her mind. Ogie’s family had scheduled a Zoom memorial Mass to celebrate her 40th day on September 19. Months before Ogie’s passing, Minching had sent a message telling her that prayers and a candle would be lit in Lourdes for her healing. The butterfly must have been Ogie’s spirit saying, “Thank you.”
The light gray color with the delicate pattern on the wings is so coincidental with the shawl that our class MCHS’63 Wore during our Diamond Jubilee homecoming event last September 9 which Ogie was initially appointed to organize.
Racquel de Lara-Fineza
Imelda and I were walking on the grounds of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, after saying the rosary in English at the Grotto, when a white butterfly flew in front of us. I immediately felt the presence of the spirit of my granddaughter, Lili. (In California, my morning routine is to join live, the rosary in English at the Grotto, and pray in spirit with Lili and my late husband, Raffy).
Reading your account of the experiences and feelings as hospitaliers has evoked a spirit of renewed faith in the great role that Our Lady serves as intercessor.
Thank you – Angge, Ime, Minching, Nina, Racquel and Rochelle – for carrying our burdens and praying for our deliverance.
Comments are closed.