Catholic Photo Challenge #4: Sign of Fidelity

I will admit: when I first saw the latest Catholic Photo Challenge on Everything Esteban on July 1, I immediately had a thought as to what I should post. Lazy me kept procrastinating and putting it off, and here we are at July 15. I guess I'm not exhibiting fidelity if I dragged my feet like this for 15 days... but I'll admit I had quite a lot to do this month, so that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. :)

I had two pictures in mind for this one. Here's the first one.

For the past couple of months, I've been more involved with the local Filipino community's Fatima prayer group. There is a Fatima statue and a Sto. Niño (Infant Jesus of Prague) statue that travels from house to house. During the year, a host family keeps the statues for a week, and then they move on. During the month of May, the statue goes from house to house daily. There is a set of prayers, including the Rosary, a Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and with the exception of the month of May, a Litany to the Infant Jesus. There are other prayers that are prayed by everyone present.

The organizers, the Castillo family of Durham, often remind us that the community that prays together stays together. And I've noticed just how close-knit the members of the Filipino community here are. There are the faithful few who go to every one of these gatherings, including daily during the month of May. And their faith is quite strong.

Here's my second picture.

These items were gifted to me by Fr. Julian Jagudilla, OFM. He used to be one of the parochial vicars at St. Francis of Assisi church in Raleigh, and he's now in New York City. He had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and upon his return, told me he had some "pasalubong" for me, and immediately handed me these items. (Not pictured is a San Damiano cross, which was something I had wanted for a long time.) Many prayers have been said with these Rosary beads, and I keep them in my backpack. So they're always with me wherever I go.

So this is my entry for the first half of July. As they say, better late than never, right? :)

Thanks for reading. Please make sure to see the other entries on this topic by clicking here.

Pax et bonum!