On Reverence and an Answered Prayer
Jumbled thoughts on a recent answered prayer.
I received some good news a few days ago. Although it took quite some time before it arrived, I’ve been praying for it over the last 2 or 3 months.
You see, I’ve never been the religious type, but I’ve always been prayerful. I was raised Catholic pero napansin ko na hirap talaga ako mag-concentrate during Holy Mass. Up to this day, I still can’t get past halfway through the Holy Mass without getting distracted. My thoughts often wander until I snap back and realize that I have a celebration to finish.
I don’t know how other people go through Holy Mass without flinching; they’re either equipped with a marksman’s concentration, or they’re also just feigning it like me. I remember the old folks in my town and even some of my classmates back in high school. I used to admire them for their steadfastness and stern contemplation.
That being said, I try to make up for the slip-ups by praying throughout the day. It’s not a formal prayer that I recite; it can be as simple as thanking God for whatever I have on a particular day: the food on the table, a safe commute to the office, and so on.
Later on, I realized that we don’t really need to be gravely reverent for our desires to be granted. I learned later on that a simple prayer, uttered with utmost sincerity, doesn’t go unnoticed. I have proven this on many different occasions throughout the years.
As long as you truly want something, the universe will conspire to help you achieve it (borrowed from The Alchemist).
This, I have recently validated again.
A quick story: during the first quarter of this year, I went through a crisis of sorts related to my job. It peaked in late March to early April. Coincidentally, it was the Holy Week at that time. It was supposed to be a well-deserved long break, but I was working like crazy and taking little rest in between tasks. It was hectic.
To take my mind off work, I’d quickly browse through social media. I honestly like looking at photos of old churches that people go to for their Visita Iglesia. Of course, my social media feed was flooded with videos and images of religious pilgrimages, both from my friends and random strangers.
Since my mind was in a swirl, I just thoughtlessly scrolled through my newsfeed. My resounding thought was that I wanted an answer even if I didn’t have a clear or specific question in my head (ganun kagulo lang ang utak ko).
It was then that a video of La Virgen Divina Pastora appeared in my TikTok feed.
As a Novo Ecijano, the image of the Divine Sheperdess instantly caught my attention. La Virgen Divina Pastora is the patroness of Nueva Ecija and a miraculous image, known to grant prayers to those who call on to her. For centuries, the Divina Pastora was venerated by devotees not just from Central Luzon but from all over the country.
I immediately stopped and watched the video.
“Could this be a sign? Shall I ask, Inang?” I said to myself. Back then, I already had a target company in mind but there were quite a number of obstacles along the way (mostly internal proceses and due diligence). I liked the position that I was interviewed for but it was seemingly impossible for me to get in because of the stringent hiring procedure due to my work background.
I kept replaying the video of the Divina Pastora, and as I did so, I said a prayer and asked for her intercession that if the position was truly for me, I hope it could be granted.
After that, I just let things be, held on to hope, kept on praying to Divina Pastora, and waited patiently.
Months passed, and just as when my optimism was slowly ebbing away as the bills quickly piled up (add to that the new school season which had already begun), the call that I had been waiting for finally came. Of course, I was ecstatic, to say the least.
My prayer was answered. In fact, it was more than what I prayed for. The months of nervous anticipation, the tension-filled days of uncertainty, the work atmosphere that became more toxic each day, and the self doubt that was beginning to creep in all faded away. I was able to heave a sigh of relief.
Curiously, a few moments after I received the offer, an image of Divina Pastora randomly appeared in my Facebook newsfeed. It was as if Divina Pastora was affirming that the things that we pray for come at a perfect timing. With that, I uttered a prayer of thanks to Inang.
In closing, I believe that prayer transcends religion; it is universal. And as long as it is for something good, it is often answered. Manifest, and manifest hard. The Bible also clearly states this: ask and ye shall receive (Matthew 7:7-8 and Luke 11:9-10).
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