I am happy to share with you that last July 28, (2019) I met the Leaders/promoters of the group for a meeting – planning- formation renewing their fervor, continuing the Apostolate of spreading the devotion of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to the different families.

We have 11 groups of 5 – 30 members in each group. They have a structure; they have board of officers that follow up in each smaller groups.

For two years no one helped or directed them. They had no Vincentian priest or Daughter of Charity.  But this did not stop them from continuing their devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and their  activities and promotion of  the devotion.  They continued the Association practice of taking a statue of Mary to the home and praying with the people (Visita Domicilaria).

But they missed the presence of the sisters. Some of the barangay [native Filipino term for a village, or ward. The term often refers to an inner city neighborhood] here in Philippines are almost all members of the Association.  They are poor families. And they lived very far.  Some of them and their children are also active members of the Society of Saint Vicent de Paul.

My first steps in giving the formation plan was to give them again the general background of the associations, the story of the Miraculous Medal and the different feast of the Blessed Mother.

I have the privilege to have home visitation, to see how their life’s going on. We have prayers in our own language/dialect that every members of the family prayed together. The Blessed Mother stays overnight with a family and is transferred to another family for the next day.  In one month Mary visits every member of one barangay.

Our next formation meeting is on September 8, 2019  the Feast of the Nativity of Mary. In fact, on this date September 8, 2019 I learned from another Daughter that we will celebrate the “100th  anniversary Miraculous Virgin Home Visit in the Philippines.”

Sister Carmela Vinluan, DC