Best Mothers' Day So far

May 8, 2011 was the Mothers' Day I will never forget.

The day started out as bleak. Short in cash for the past few weeks, anxiety was eating me up so I had to pawn my gold dangling earrings for us to have enough for groceries and bill payments for the week. I know it's just jewelry but my heart was breaking because it was the first set I bought for myself, a gift for finally getting the high salary grade I deserve. Pawning it gave me a feeling of defeat and desperation.

I was almost in tears on our way to Sunday mass at the the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart when Marti tried to cheer me up saying, "Don't worry, Mom, God will replace your earrings with diamonds!" My son's faith and hope almost made me smile. I'm proud that I was able to raise him that way.

Inside the church, it wasn't fully-packed as we were attending the lunch-time mass and we had a full 30 minutes to wait. I was admiring how beautiful this church is and saw the Marriage Banns on the LCD screen when I told Marti that when I get married, I'd want to get married here at the Shrine. He asked if I was sure even if the aisle wasn't that long---he remembered our conversation about the Royal Wedding---and I told him that it was okay, what's important was what the church meant to me.

I suddenly remembered that we've been going to the Shrine for the past 7 years and my first experience here wasn't a good one. Our first Christmas eve mass there, I was approached by one of the usherettes and asked if I could be the wine bearer during the Offertory and I gladly accepted. But when the usherette asked where my husband was and I told her that I wasn't married, she hurriedly took back the offer---without even apologizing. It was one of the rare moments I was discriminated against for being a single mother. And it was Christmas eve on top of that.

Nevertheless, it was here that made my relationship with God more profound than ever, even compared to my Catholic-school days. It was where I went to mass more than once a week, heard confession monthly, where I got inspired to join a weekly prayer meeting at the Makati Feast and where my son and I became closer amidst his academic and our personal problems. I thanked the Lord for bringing us to San Antonio Village and making the Shrine our refuge.

In between my silent prayer, an usherette came to our side and asked if me and my son would agree to be the bread and wine bearers for the Offertory. I had to ask the lady twice considering my previous experience, even told her I wasn't married and she replied, "it's okay ma'am, we'd like to ask you and your son to be the offerers for this mass since it's Mothers' Day."

Wow.

I looked at the image of the Sacred Heart and He was smiling down at me! I had to fight down the giggle from the surprise that He gave me on that very day. And as Marti and I walked down the aisle, bearing the wine and communion wafers, he whispered to me, "So how do you like Jesus' Mothers Day gift to you, Mom?"

I couldn't ask for anything more!

So Happy Mothers' Day to all the Moms and remember that no matter how desperate and hopeless your day is, have faith that the Lord is watching and is about to give you your best day yet!