#BenteQuatroBITZ: THE BIRTHDAY ESSAY 2014

When was the last time I wrote a Birthday Essay? Ah, it was in 2011, when I was turning 21. It was a big turn for me, since it was my debut. Back then, I was still a college student, months away from the achievement of my dreams. I was at the threshold of life; I was at the portal of a new chapter in my life as a professional.

The year after that, I was already given the chance to start working; I am already in the professional world. Not a kid anymore, I decided to drop things which could attach me to who I was before. Among them, was my yearly Birthday Essay. This blog, which was noisy during my birthday celebration, turned silent during the most joyful day(s) of my year. Unusual, but I see it necessary. 

That was, until a few days ago when a friend asked me to revive it. Searching for reasons in the middle of grades, papers and headaches, I found one interesting reason: the kid in me. Deep inside, I missed what I was doing, and it sparked in me the flame of celebrating life and its experiences. So, here I am, providing my eighth Birthday Essay, with the hope of scoping all my ups and downs this year, of which I would be forever grateful.

Beholding the lady who beheld Our Lady

TERESITA CASTILLO. Former Carmelite postulant. Daughter of the former Governor of Batangas. A lady filled with vigor and joy. 

Some might know her as such. But for everyone, she is no-less than the nun who saw the Blessed Virgin for many times in 1948, during her apparitions in Lipa Carmel in the Philippines. At that time, Mary introduced herself as MEDIATRIX OF ALL GRACE. This series of apparitions was accompanied by numerous wonders and miracles, above them all the famous shower of rose petals. Despite the decision of the Church authorities in 1951 to the non-authenticity of the apparitions (the declaration can be found somewhere else in the internet), the Filipino still showed his love and admiration for Our Lady which lasts until the present, with hopes that the Church would reconsider its verdict.

Almost all the first-hand witnesses passed away since then. All, but Sr. Teresing. Despite the criticism of people who had little knowledge to the apparitions, who fabricate hoaxes throughout the past decades, Sr. Teresing remained silent and calm. She did not go public, except on few occasions when she was invited to talk on the mystic encounters with the Virgin Mary. She became a low-profile person, living in the suburbs of Manila with adopted daughter Grace and some relatives. Everyone wanted to see her, ask her prayers for many concerns, but her health condition and advanced age made it impossible. For everyone, it was really suntok sa buwan.

But God, in his great goodness, granted me and my friend Migs a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime chance to see and hear Sr. Teresita, in a circumstance not prepared by our strength, but according to His gracious plan. The story surrounding this encounter, for me, is more than a 'meet-and-greet' situation; it's God's will prevailing in every minute, so precious, so unforgettable.