The Holy Week is more than just an excuse to go to the beach or on a vacation elsewhere. Sure, there is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself, but let’s not forget that the opportunity to rest is not provided for the sake of itself. Instead, it is to allow us the time to re-examine our relationship with our faith, something we often neglect as we’re constantly overwhelmed by our tasks, responsibilities, and obligations on a daily basis. Now as we’re momentarily freed of our day-to-day burdens, you can get started on your journey to revisiting your faith by exploring the ‘Devotion to the Sacred Heart’.
The ‘Devotion to the Sacred Heart’ places emphasis on the Lord’s immense love and our desire to receive and reciprocate it, not only for him but for others as well. Sharing this love in their own way, Benjamin Orosa Goquingco Jr. MD, Maria Perpetua Imelda B. Ho, and Florenda C. Sy-Changco wrote ‘Miracles of the Sacred Heart’, a book containing testimonies of various encounters with the Lord. The book is organized into 12 chapters with each containing a number of stories that correspond to one of the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart.
Stated in the book’s introduction, “We, the authors, want to collect and present stories that will inspire both the older and the younger generation to encounter the Sacred Heart and have a special devotion to Him. We want to provide hope and a way to help individuals cope with the many struggles and hindrances that we go through in life.”
Sharing more about the book, authors Goquingco Jr. and Ho (also known as Meldy) sat down with us to briefly talk about the inspiration behind the project.
Goquingco Jr. remembers that he frequently saw a number of old women who kept going to the Sacred Heart parish every Friday to pray during the holy hour. Everytime he would see them, he would overhear them talking about how their prayers were answered. From that experience, he came to the conclusion that these stories should be shared with the rest of the world.
“I think it’s been forgotten. It’s become a devotion only for the old. So many of the youth nowadays are lost and unaware of where to seek out comfort. Maybe this is the answer, when god takes over your life, it transforms it,” he explains.
Chiming in, Meldy shares, “If we gossip about fake news, we might as well gossip in the right way. Let’s let the whole world know that Jesus exists and he fulfills his promises. And Jesus when he says he has a promise, he will keep it.”
In a world so connected by technology, we are privy to information taken from all over the globe. While beneficial in so many ways, more often than not, the news we receive is negative and filled with sadness and hate. Just as we now hear all about the good occurring around the world, so do we hear about everything bad happening. It might not be such a terrible idea to turn it around, upset that balance, and add more wonderful things to it.
One particular story from the book that caught my attention pertains to a housewife’s experience with her husband who was afflicted with an aneurysm. An excerpt from chapter seven, from a testimony titled ‘A Second Chance’, “As if the Lord had answered my prayers, my husband’s manager settled the amount needed for the operation. He was really very kind, and he had a generous heart. Until now, we still thank him and the Lord for all the help that was given to us during that time.”
Take faith and religion out of it and that experience might as well be attributed to coincidence, boiling down to a friendly acquaintance’s whim. But it doesn’t matter, an argument between the faithful and the non-believers could go on and on without end. What is of value instead is the kindness shown to those people, and the kindness they will now share with others. Isn’t that the point of the devotion to the Sacred Heart?
Leaving us with the message that they want to impart to anyone who gets to read their book:
From Maria Perpetua Imelda B. Ho, ”For the readers: Allow yourselves to be loved and share Jesus with others as you pay it forward. Let’s pass the message until the world becomes a better place. It’s corny but it will be a better place for all of us, especially for the younger generation.”
From Benjamin Orosa Goquingco Jr. MD, “You have to experience how Jesus will love you because you will be amazed by how approachable he is. He’s not scary, he’s very lovable.”
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Header image courtesy of Aaron Burden | Unsplash