A miracle happened in Luneta hours before the Holy Mass was about to be officiated by Pope Francis.  It was a miracle that involved me and my elder sister.  Both of us did not whine nor whimper about going to and from the people-infested Luneta right in the middle of the storm.  In fact, we both actually enjoyed it!

My relatives know that in case I am subjected to any discomfort, I whine and grumble to the highest level.  While my elder sister is the most cautious and the least adventurous in the family.  So if we are together, nothing really happens and everything seem so dull.

thank you santo padre…

But not today.  I would like to claim that I and my sister were rebooted and were recharged by the visit of Pope Francis in Manila.  At exactly 12 noon, I, my sister and her son Luis converged at Vito Cruz.  In our respective jackets and rain coats, we walked our way heading to Luneta to attend a once in a lifetime Holy Mass in Manila by Pope Francis.  Both of us surprisingly did not complain nor felt tired nor whine about the long walk, the drenched feeling, the muddy puddles, the dizzying swarms of people as well as the cold and heavy downpour of typhoon thrashing above us.

And when we were heading back, we were actually caught in a throng of people crammed and tightly squeezed together.  People were so compact, it was like a wave of people.  You cannot just standstill because the wave of people would thrust you in varying directions.

I actually got nervous for my sister and my nephew for it really takes a lot of energy to survive the shoving force of such surfs of moving people.  The three of us got separated along the way after about 25 meters.  But when the crowd got a bit loose and no longer too crammed together, I found a concrete planter box and stood up to look for them.

Luckily, in about five minutes my sister saw me high on the planter box and headed towards me and then suddenly my nephew appeared smiling walking towards us.  My sister told me that she was pressed towards a group of old ladies while my nephew was prodded towards a group of young foreigners also attending the Pope’s pastoral visit in Manila.

my elder sister enjoying the rain and the pope francis vibe

At an ordinary occasion, I would have wailed, whined and complained.  While my sister could have simply passed out.  But we kept our composure and actually smiled and congratulated ourselves for surviving such a deadly throng of people.  We headed back home happy and feeling accomplished.

Now that I am writing this, only now that I realized that I would definitely will walk that far or get drenched that drenched or brave a smashing typhoon or subject myself to be crushed by hordes of people if it is in the honor of the Holy Vicar of Christ.

This experience is definitely nothing but a miracle.

Maganda din pala kapag iniiwan ang kaartehan sa bahay.