MEMORIES OF YESTERDAY

BY RENATO MAURICIO



Memories of Yesterday
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND CARDINAL SIN By Renato "Mao" Mauricio. Sometime in 1991, one of my officemates in the SGV Group of Companies based in Duarte, California,who was a member of a Protestant religious group, kept on suggesting that I should join them in their religious beliefs because Roman Catholic had a lot of flaws, one of which was our veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
He also said that the Catholic veneration of images was contrary to the first commandment which proscribed idols. I began to entertain his thoughts and ideas but my innermost refused to be influenced by it. With my faith still strong and firm but somehow confused, I decided to ask in my nightly prayers for a sign that would help me decide whether I should stop or continue with my devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

After only three nights, I received a call from the chairperson of SGV, telling me to go to a particular house in Glendale (California) and interview Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin who was in LA at the time. 

T
he next day, I went to the Philippine Consulate Office on Wilshire Blvd. in downtown LA to meet with some RP Consulate officials who were my close friends. At about 4 p.m. I hurriedly drove my car to Glendale, but what amazed me was that I passed through at least 7 traffic lights and all of them turned into green each time I passed by. 

I arrived at the said house at around 4:30 p.m. and a middle-aged woman ushered me to the living room, and there I saw Cardinal Sin seated on a sofa and talking to two Filipino women. After I gave my respect to the Cardinal, I immediately sat down on the same sofa, just in front of him. After a moment of silence, with nobody asking him about it, the Cardinal all of a sudden started to tell us a story about the 1986 EDSA revolution that ousted President Ferdinand Marcos from power. 

And here's what the Cardinal said exactly 20 years ago today, that will forever be stored in my memory: "You know, Virgin Mary is very powerful. During the EDSA revolution, when the soldiers of Marcos were ready to open fire, a lady in white appeared before them, and said, 'Do not harm my people.' 

Then the lady in white disappeared. And, as we all know, the soldiers of Marcos did not open fire." (The photo above was taken by me when the Cardinal was talking about the Blessed Virgin Mary) I felt numb right there and then, and could not say anything but I went home that night with a joyful heart and a smile on my face. 

In my prayer that night, I thanked God for showing me the light.