Since it’s the month of May where kids are supposed to join
the yearly Flores de Mayo, I will share wIth you the time when I joined this
exciting activity for kids.
Flores de Mayo is a catechism class for kids in the
Philippines. It happens every month of May where kids are spending summer vacation
from school. This is where catechists teach children religion about Papa Jesus,
Mama Mary and the Saints.
I was only five years old when my grandmother told me to join
Flores de Mayo. This was my very first time to hear about the word and I really
loved the idea of going to the chapel and picking flowers from our garden to
offer it to Mama Mary.
At that time I really wanted to join Flores de Mayo, but the
chapel where Flores de Mayo is held was far away from home so my mother wouldn’t
let me and so I just listened to the accounts of my friends. They said they
have learned so much from Flores de Mayo. They were provided school supplies during
the culmination.
In my heart, there was that longing of joining and wonder.
How I wished that the chapel is just near to us but God is so amazing! He heard
my prayer. I heard that a convent, just meters away from our house called The
Adoration Chapel of the Holy Face of Jesus would also be having a Flores de
Mayo for the kids in our area!
I was already ten years old but I just want to experience
the fun it brought to other kids as they come to learn about God so I didn’t
miss the first day. That afternoon, I, together with my younger sister walked
all the way to the convent.
On the first day, we were asked to introduce ourselves and
expressed our expectations for the Flores de Mayo.
In there, I felt the acceptance and the presence of the
Lord. I was never absent as I kept on looking forward to the activities.
Through Flores de Mayo, I learned to use the bible. The
catechists gave us this homework where we were to identify the twelve apostles
and since I didn’t have a computer at home and my mother couldn’t remember the
twelve of them, I used the bible as my reference.
This was also where I learned to use the rosary, memorized
the mysteries, and recited the prayers. There were times when I’m assigned to
be the leader of the rosary.
I remember holding one of the letters of the AVE MARIA and
beside me were two angel kids with their ‘feathers’ as we put it into the altar
after every mystery.
I realized that the nuns are friendly. We sang and danced
religious hymns. We played games and that’s where I made friends with other
kids too.
We never forget to bring our bowls because after the rosary,
there’s a feeding program. Foods like lugaw, binignit, and champorado were
served to each one of us so we went home with a happy belly.
It was sad that the month of May ended and so is this
catechism class. During the culmination, It was even fun when I was chosen as one
of the Reynas in our sagala parade. They allowed us to wear the colorful dresses.
I wore a light blue dress. I can’t remember which of the Reynas I was during
the sagala. We also presented an interpretative dance in front of the parents
who were our audience. I remember I was given a special award. I also received
my own rosary, it was white in color.
Flores de mayo built the foundation of my faith in God. I
really miss it. Spending vacation time learning about Jesus is exciting. I hope
that this will be practiced by the children of today. This will definitely
encourage the younger ones to follow Jesus as they travel this journey called
LIFE.
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