Fiesta 2020: Our Lady of Good Remedy
By Gary Borlas

I was on my 8th month coordinating the Worship Ministry tasks when Manila was placed under the Enhanced Community Quarantine in the middle of March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a sudden and unexpected event that changed our way of life and has brought us to this “new normal”. All the plans for the Lenten and Holy Week celebrations then were abruptly cancelled.

Covid-19 brought a lot of uncertainties and questions on how church celebrations will be for the rest of the year considering the restrictions on mass gatherings and physical movement. What will happen to our masses? How are we going to celebrate our Fiesta? Will we be able to sing the “Ave, Ave Maria” together again in the church?

Fast forward to this day and if you were in Malate Church on November 15, 2020, you would know the answers! Yes, we made history! The pandemic has not stopped us from singing that “Ave, Ave Maria” on fiesta day. The feast of Our Lady of Remedies (OLR) was celebrated on that day with the theme “Maria, tagapagbuklod ng mga pamayanang magkakaiba ng pinagmulan, kalinangan at paniniwala”, in line with the theme of the liturgical year on ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and indigenous peoples. Thanks to Zoom we were able to get connected and found ways to “recreate” our fiesta activities in more creative ways. Who would have thought we could do almost all the “pre-Covid-19” fiesta activities during this time of the pandemic?

Dalaw Kay Maria

Of all the fiesta activities, this I would say was the one done with a lot of creativity. Those who are very familiar with the Dalaw ni Maria, as it is usually called, would agree with me. This time, instead of the image of OLR going from one barangay to another, or from one establishment to another, and staying there for a day or two, it was the barangays who were invited instead to visit OLR, in the church. The Dalaw Ni Maria then became Dalaw Kay Maria. True to its purpose to make this a barangay-owned activity, they led the recitation of the Holy Rosary and prayers to OLR, together with their MAO counterparts scheduled for the day. It then became a pre-Novena mass activity from November 6 to 14. To make it more meaningful, the barangays also led the presentation of gifts in the following Novena mass on their assigned schedule. It was a great success considering that it was done in a totally different way and it was the first time it was done in such fashion, with all the barangays, from 696 to 706, participating and giving their full support. The Dalaw, though far from being perfect, were generally orderly, solemn and well-participated, even in the FB livestream.

Novena masses and Fiesta high mass

The 9-day Novena masses (November 6 to 14) and the Fiesta high mass (November 15) were almost the same as we would have them in the previous years. Except that we have less people inside the church because of the 30% limit to the seating capacity and restrictions for certain age groups. To make up for the reduced number of physical attendees, we had our masses streamed live on the official Facebook page of the church for those who could not be physically present but still want to be part of the celebrations. Inside the church, recognizing faces has become difficult because of the wearing of face masks and face shields. The church has adopted this protocol in its effort to help stop the spread of the virus.

In continuing with the traditions of the Novena masses, six of the nine masses were celebrated by guest priests from different parishes. They gave inspiring homilies urging us to draw inspiration from Mary in coping with this pandemic.

The Fiesta High Mass was celebrated by His Most Reverend Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, who gave us a very inspiring message about how to be good stewards of our talents. The other highlight was the Parangal Kay Maria with our very own Parish Priest, Fr Leo Distor, singing solo a version of “Aba Ginoong Maria”. It was arguably the most solemn and moving Parangal that I’ve seen. Not because it was Fr Leo singing, but more so because of the way it was sung. The solemnity of the sincere and humble praise was magnified by the undivided attention of the congregation while giving honour to Our Lady.

Special events

Outside of the liturgical events, the Education Ministry and the Our Lady of Remedies Parish Choir had to think out of the box in organizing the Marian Talk and the Harana Kay Maria.

The e-Forum “Mary in the Christian Faith and Islamic Tradition,” the first Marian Talk webinar, was held in the afternoon of November 7 and streamed live simultaneously in the Malate Church FB page. There was a resounding echo of success and positive feedback from the participants on the inspiring and informative talks of Dr. Carmelita “Lilith” Usog, previously from St Scholastica’s College, and Dean Macrina Morados, from the UP-Institute of Islamic Studies. It centered upon how Mary is regarded both in the Christian and Islamic faith.

The Harana Kay Maria was the first virtual concert organized by the Our Lady of Remedies Parish Choir (OLRPC) and was shown on the evening of November 13, both live inside the church and streamed live in FB. Pre-recorded performances, which took lots of hours and artistic juices to produce, were compiled in one presentation to carry-on the “Harana” tradition of dedicating a night of songs and praises to OLR. The performances of the St Paul University Manila Chorale, University of the Philippines Manila Chorale, instrumentalists Mr. Dino Decena and Jascha Obieta, the OLRPC and of course, our very own “Engelbert Humperdinck”, Fr Leo Distor! The Harana was also dedicated to Sr. Maria Anunciata Sta Ana, SPC, for her great contribution, not just to the success of the yearly Harana, but to the general Catholic music as well.

Lakbay ni Maria

The Lakbay ni Maria was the alternative to the traditional procession as we can’t imagine a fiesta without it (a procession). On the afternoon of fiesta day, the image of Our Lady went around the highly-populated areas of the parish on a white pick-up truck. In front of it was a “rosary” van where the Holy Rosary is recited and aired on a loud speaker. At the back of the image of the OLR was another pick-truck with our Parish Priest, sprinkling holy water to bless those who have waited along the way.

A great amount of support was also received from Barangay 699, the MTPB and Police Station 9 to ensure the orderliness and safety of the Lakbay.

It was a truly uplifting experience to have seen how the people in the community patiently waited, lined-up behaved on the streets, some with lighted candles, showing their longing, reverence and love for Mary, Our Mother. It was such a joy for them to see OLR again bring that message and hope and protection in these difficult times. Without the usual funfare, the Lakbay was truly divine in some way.

While waiting for her return, a communal recitation of the holy rosary was held inside the church. It was truly amazing that a lot of people are able to see both events happening - the communal recitation of the holy rosary and footages of the Lakbay – in the Malate FB page in real time.

Enthronement

And just like any other fiesta, it concluded with the enthronement of Our Lady of Remedies! Perfect timing as Sister Emma described it, when the Lakbay ended just as the rosary did. The welcome music was played and the announcements were made as the image is brought inside the church through the MH Del Pilar main door. Then the grand chorus of her hymn and showers of flower petals greeted her, and as she was led to the altar, the grand singing of the “Ave, Ave Maria” and shower of flower petals from the community continued. The highlight of the enthronement was the blessing of the image of OLR and recitation of the Panalangin sa Mahal na Birhen ng Remedios.

On my way home, I was so thankful that everything was done. But I can’t help but wonder how things have been very different from the “fiestas” of the previous years. Of course, we are in a pandemic and a lot of things are different. What strikes me most, though, was how all events have been so solemn, calm and fluid considering all the uncertainties back when we were planning all of these. And challenges kept coming along the way, especially for the Lakbay which up to the last minute has made it difficult for us to decide which route to take. Then I remember all the times that I was sitting in the Dalaw Kay Maria listening to that short story of her title. And as the story told, she is the Our Lady of Good Remedy after all.

And to close with my shout out, I would like to borrow Fr. Kevin’s final words in his tribute to Sr Anunciata – Viva, Nuestra Senora De Los Remedios! Viva!

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