(ANS – Manila) – There were numerous celebrations and devotional activities throughout the world on the Feast of Mary Help of Christians. In the Philippines, where the people have a deeply rooted devotion to Mary, there were many initiatives. We report just a few of them.

Province of Northern Philippines
The Seminary of Don Bosco (clerics sector) and the EAO Salesian Brother Formation House capped off the month of May with two special activities especially devoted to the Blessed Mother—a Marian Pilgrimage and a Special Rosary.

Last May 21, some brothers went to the Diocese of San Pablo (in Laguna, south of Manila; whose bishop emeritus is a Salesian, Leo Drona) to make a pilgrimage to centuries-old churches and Marian shrines in order to heighten their devotion to Mary and to enrich their knowledge about the cultural and religious heritage of the Philippines. They visited and prayed in seven pilgrim churches, and were able to hear from some devotees testimonies of miracles attributed to the Blessed Mother. The last stop was the Diocesan Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Canlubang.

On the evening of the Feast of the Visitation, May 31st, the brothers closed the month of May with a special Rosary where everybody contributed to a multi-cultural praying of the rosary. The Pater and Ave Maria were led in English, Japanese, Malagasy (Madagascar), Pijin, Tetum, Vietnamese, Bisaya (FIS), Burmese and Bahasa Indonesia. In between the mysteries, the different language groups serenaded or recited a poem to honor Mary. Carefully picked flowers from the seminary garden were offered to Mary while the Salve Regina was sung.

Many devotes from all sectors of society and from different professional groups took part in the celebrations. During the MHC Novena, after the 5:30pm Pentecost Mass, about 588 trainees of the Fire National Training Institute of the Philippines (FNTI) in Canlubang made a procession from the shrine of Mary Help of Christians towards their camp. There, they held an overnight vigil honoring Our Lady, reflecting on Her role in their lives. They came back again for the Mass and the afternoon procession in honor of Mary Help of Christians on the 24th of May. It was the biggest and longest procession since the tradition was reintroduced to the devotees coming to the Diocesan Shrine in 2006. Aside from the fire trainees (who also volunteered to pull the floats of Don Bosco and Mary Help of Christians), the seminarians of the prenovitiate and postnovitiate, members of the Salesian Family, faculty and staff of Don Bosco College joined the procession also.

At Boroko, in the Delegation of Papua New Guinea, devotion to Mary Help of Christians is firmly established, thanks to the work of the Salesian Missionaries. Five years ago (2008), in the month of Mary Help of Christians, a group that called itself the "300 Youth for Mary" was founded. They held a Marian Youth Camp at the Don Bosco Technological Institute Compound and this became an annual event. This year, again, about 300 youth from Don Bosco Technological Institute, Don Bosco Technical School, University of Papua New Guinea and other institutions in Port Moresby came to participate in this event organized by the Core Group Members of the “300 Youth for Mary”. The event was organized by Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
 
Province of Southern Philippines
The Salesian Youth Movement of Lourdes Parish, FIS Province, organized its annual Marian Youth Camp with the theme, “Mary, Model of Our Faith.” This year it had 35 young people coming mostly from the parish and two other Salesian settings of Lawaan and Pasil. This Marian Youth Camp is on its 7th year and its main purpose is to train new leaders for the youth groups. This Leadership camp had topics based on the acronym FACTOR:
F - Focus on Self-Awareness
A - Appreciating Life
C - Citizenship
T - Trusting others
O - Organization
R - Responsible service

Each day of the camp, Marian biblical citations were dwelt on, and from these the participants drew out some of the qualities of a true disciple-leader. A typical day would consist of group building activities and games followed by a processing session to share and reflect on perceived values and personal action plans. At night, activities included soiree, special rosary, Taize prayer, and group affirmations.

Published 07/06/2013