JULY– Mother Margarita’s Month

July is an exciting month in the life of Mother Margarita Maturana, because during this month God graced her with several glorious events. She was born into this world Maria Pilar Lopez de Maturana, along with her twin sister Leonor, on July 25, 1884, and went to her heavenly home on July 23, 1934. The Church also beatified her (declared her “Blessed”) in 2006, assigning her July 24^th, as her official Feast Day. This is why in July, we celebrate this Triduum—these three events that honor her life and her special mission to these islands and we pray that she will one day be a Saint.

One of the great gifts that is offered to us on her behalf is a “Novena to the Sick,” through which she has already granted countless favors. It is available in ten languages (English, Chamorro, Carolinian, Tagalog, Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Palauan, Chinese, Korean and Japanese). Copies of the novena can be obtained at the Mt. Carmel Rectory Office.

Novenas are powerful prayers of intercession that Christians have been praying for centuries. A novena consists of nine days of private or public prayer to obtain special graces or favors. The word novena comes from the Latin word “novem,” or nine. The origin of the novena is not completely clear. However, the tradition seems to go back to the days of the Apostles. Jesus told his disciples to pray together after His Ascension into Heaven. Following this directive, the Apostles went to an upper room with Jesus’ Mother Mary and prayed continuously for nine days. These nine days of prayer led up to Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles with tongues of fire. This example of nine days of prayer is the model of the novenas we pray today.

A novena should not be seen as something magical that will give us whatever we want. What is important is a sincere heart in doing God’s Will , trusting that whatever we pray for, we accept that God knows what’s best for us, whether we understand His Will or not. Novenas, like all prayers, are a way to praise God, and help us stay connected to His guidance in our life. Since a novena is an act of devotion, we can also add spiritual acts of sacrifice such as fasting or meditation during the novena period. Once you decide to say a novena–stay committed. If you forget and skip a day, you can simply continue where you left off. Even if your request is not granted, God has heard your prayer, and is allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you.  If you say the prayers with faith, God will always give you the right answer in the right way at the right time.

A novena can be said in a nine day or nine hour period. The first miracle granted through the intercession of Mother Margarita, to Beatriz Escalante in Mexico was through the novena, which was said continuously from the moment her family was told her condition was irreversible. Her family and the Mercedarian Sisters in Mexico, prayed the novena to Mother Margarita non-stop and within twelve hours the vital signs of Beatriz Escalante became normal.

The doctors said that there was no evidence that her irreversible condition was ever present. Many other favors have been granted to others both on Saipan and around the world, and since Mother Margarita loved the people of these islands so dearly, using her novena is a beautiful way to honor God’s trust in her, and thank God for sending her to proclaim His love.

We will be honoring Mother Margarita at the conclusion of The Triduum of Remembrance on July 25^th, at the 6 p.m. Mass at Mount Carmel Cathedral. We invite people to share in the joy of Mother Margarita’s work here on Saipan and the other islands where the Mercedarians have ministered over these past 90 years.

On this occasion, all those whose names are Margaret, Margarita or Daisy  (Margarita means Daisy in Spanish) will receive a special blessing that day and be part of a commemorative  photo.

Mother Margarita once said “Let us share our joy, our spiritual vigor, with everyone who comes close to us.” Please join us for Mass on this very special day, July 25, 2018, and share the joy and graces of Mother Margarita Maturana, who shared God’s joy and love with us.