“God chooses his servants well,” a parishioner said. Was she talking about looks? Smarts? Some have advanced degrees, while others speak multiple languages.
Fr. Rodel with Archbishop Soc Villegas
I was part of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (IHMC), a multicultural and trilingual parish in 2008, welcomed by Fr. Rodel Balagtas. Standing as one, in various colors and shades of our attires, we exchanged peace signs, one in “heart” for God, where Fr. Rodel Balagtas was its pastor for 12 years.
Some are effective with diverse cultures who worship, not segregated, but together as one — in worship, listening, praying, and singing in three languages: English, Tagalog, and Spanish.
100-year-old Church IHMC was once a towering Gothic church supported by the Hollywood movie industry. It grew in the 20th century, and along with it, other poor churches that it helped. With donated land from Margaret Sullivan and $800 in funds raised, IHMC held its first Mass on Dec. 22, 1911, officiated by Rev. Daniel Murphy, for 300 people.
It expanded to 700 parishioners, a cornerstone was laid in 1940, and a new rectory was in 1948. From the 1950s to the 1960s, the Church grew and even donated $538,000 to poor parishes in its heyday.
Fast forward to 2008, located in the poor section of Hollywood (the east side), the Church had half-painted interior walls. Electrical wires dangled loosely from the side of the altar walls. Tattered pews had half-torn fabric kneelers. The once deep-blue carpet was heavily stained and turned gray.
Yet, despite being in a poor neighborhood, the bones of caring humanity could be felt. This community had a bakery, a small carinderia, a produce market, and a restaurant.
Fr. Balagtas took over this parish with a history of grievances from factions within. Dogma solidified their grievances. The community’s unhealthy condition mirrored the church structures — dying and falling apart.
Then, a transformation happened. The parish was mobilized for a centennial celebration. Archives were dug up, and new inspiration emerged from a realization that this church was built during the recession. After an economic slowdown in 2009-2011, the church was renovated.
The history inspired the community to reach its capital campaign goal, grossing over $1 million. On May 31, 2014, a wall permanently displayed the families who made donations of $1,000+, and with those: a repaired roof, painted interiors and exteriors, paved parking lots, an air-conditioning/heating system, a new electrical system for the church, new marble floors from the aisles to the altar, new baptismal font, new altar seats for the priests, (donated by Fr. Balagtas for the community), new trees in the school playground, a new auditorium floor, a new school roof and a new rectory kitchen floor from the leftover tiles. 3,000 came to celebrate its centennial.
In 2013, Fr. Balagtas trained Josh Diener, a seminarian at St. John’s. He is now a new priest with a Master’s in two specialties.
75-year-old St. John’s Seminary From IHMC, a one-hundred-year-old church, Fr. Rodel’s journey took him to St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, 100 miles one-way commute, where he is the Director of Pastoral Formation and Field Formation and faculty to seminarians.
Fr. Rodel with Immaculate Heart of Mary’s parishioners, and Pete Avendano, his music director
In commemoration of its 75th anniversary, St. John’s Seminary commissioned five-time NY Times’ best-selling author Joe Garner to create a fully illustrated hardcover compendium of its history, entitled “I Will Give You Shepherds: The Story of St. John’s Seminary.”
Then deacon Josh Diener gave us a tour, “Land came from Don Camarillo, while the poor folk’s donated penny by penny to get the chapel finished. The rich folks, like Countess Carrie Estelle Doheny and Edward Laurence Doheny, built two libraries to house their collections of artifacts and books. Later, the libraries and their collections were donated to the seminary. The Doheny Collection included rare books, including Guttenberg Bible (a page on display from 1450-1455), which was sold to seed the initial endowment seminary fund.”
In this seminary, Fr. Balagtas obtained his Master of Arts in Religious Education, his thesis on “Evangelization of Cultures.” He has a doctorate in Ministry in Preaching at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, with a dissertation on “Communal Preaching for Transformation: Insights from a Filipino-American Community.”
Our interview with him took us to the Feast of Santo Niño, joined by parishioners at churches he served St. Augustine, St. Martha, St. Joseph the Worker, St. John Neumann, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. 200 came to attend and to share their faith in the form of dancing and sumptuous food.
Fr. Balagtas’ homily spoke of the significance of the Santo Niño and how it came to be celebrated as part of the International Eucharistic Congress in 2016. The original Santo Niño statue was given by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 to Queen Juana (wife to chief Humabon) as a baptismal gift for her conversion to Christianity.
Fr. Balagtas’ views on his identity Regarding unfulfilled dreams, Fr. Balagtas lit up his Saturday column in Asian Journal, where his readers look forward to his insights, “I always want to be a writer, a good one. Writing nourishes my soul. It is integrative. It is healing. It expresses my thoughts, my feelings, and my views. With writing, I can relax. I want to write on spirituality, change people, and help them in their spirituality.” He has just published his first book, “Walking with God: The Journey of a Priest’s Heart.”
Close to 600 folks gathered at St. John the Baptist in Baldwin Park, California, on July 9, 2016, to witness the 25th sacerdotal ordination or Silver Jubilee of Rev. Fr. Rodel G. Balagtas. The crowd was impressive: a multicultural assemblage of Latinos, Filipinos, Asians, and Whites with few African-Americans; some have traveled from China, Vancouver, the Philippines, and the United States. They sang sacred hymns in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. “God has worked in all of us,” Fr. Rodel reminded those who came, “How would I have survived the ministry, despite my weaknesses?” He describes the driving force of his priesthood, “the law of God is love written in our hearts.”
“Although I am in the academe, I will always be a shepherd by heart. I also understand why the Lord put me in the seminary: to train priests to have a shepherd’s heart and have pastoral zeal, skills, and wisdom. We’re not training seminarians to be intellectual and spiritual priests but to have genuine human and pastoral qualities. They must be compassionate, loving, sensitive, understanding, and caring priests, much like what Pope Francis is showing to the whole world,“ he continued.
Aglow, in his new job of teaching seminarians, spanning from the late 20s to 60s, feels like he is with his siblings and numerous nieces and nephews. “They all bring me joy. They are my life,” he said.
He is grateful to his brothers and sisters, who nursed him, and to God for his miraculous recovery. “You are God’s walking miracle,” I told him once, as few survive aneurysms.
His stewardship of children While at IHMC, Fr. Balagtas accompanied the Children’s Choir to compete in the World Choir Games in Ohio. He became the strongest source of support for them and their parents.
Under Pete Avendańo’s leadership and patient mentoring as musical director, these schoolchildren learned self-discipline, balancing musical practice with academic performance. Fr. Balagtas hired a new principal, Allyson Alberto, and the children thrived.
“With the implementation of blended learning, students’ comprehension and test scores reportedly have grown 82% in math and 65% in reading” under Allyson Alberto’s leadership.
On New Year 2016, they joined others to form a thousand singing voices to sing for Pope Francis. Six months later, the IHMC’ s choir sang at Carnegie Hall.
Imagine you do this while in the midst of a capital campaign, renovation of the church, forming the National Association of Filipino Priests, and caring for a dying father. Fr. Balagtas integrated all these tasks by bringing love into all his actions.
He shows us his profound love of God and the Blessed Mother through his inclusive love for all God’s children and patiently exhorts us to love others, even heroic love if called for. By his actions, and his words, he shows us he is God’s chosen!
Fr. Rodel G.Balagtas in the Philippine provinces, Feb. 2023
Since this interview, Fr. Rodel assisted in teaching classes with then Head of the Homiletics Department, Fr. Steve Thoma.
He also assumed leadership role by becoming St. John Seminary’s Director of Pastoral Formation and eventually as Vice Rector.
At St. John’s, they are training seminarians not just to be intellectually rigorous, to know their faith well, but also spiritually and to pastorally grow to serve parishioners, hopefully with emotional intelligence and maturity. A total human being formation is essential as their heart-centered stewardship with practical internship and theological mastery of biblical studies.
In 2019, he returned to parish ministry and became the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, its First Filipino pastor.
It was during the course of pandemic, when he facilitated and supported biblical studies and deeper faith formation at Incarnation. He emphasizes: “I don’t lead it,” as Incarnation has trained lay ministers and deacons who provide lay leadership and do these biblical studies.
Fr. Rodel successfully completed, with his dedicated parishioners doing a special novena, the church’s capital campaign to support the Archdiocese of LA and Incarnation’s building operational expenses.
They had set a goal of $1,105,000 and 283 families answered the call to contribute long-term. More than 100% of the goal was reached, while 11% of what has been pledged have already been satisfied as of March 3, 2023.
Since Incarnation Church was established in 1927, it is now 96yo and while the roof leak that resulted in ceiling leakage by the choir station has been fixed, a newly paved parking lot, several master plan of project improvements are waiting for completion as soon as 89% of the pledges are satisfied. These structural improvements are to provide for the next generation of parishioners in the forthcoming century.
Just as earlier parishioners provided for the present churchgoers, in 2023 this current generation will provide for the next, an unbroken circle of structured philanthropy and giving.
After four days and four nights of rain, our blue skies are so inviting. Folks are here at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook.
A young Asian woman, quite pretty, offered to take our photo. Three poses. Just before we left, I asked a Korean/Latina couple if they wanted me to take their photo. The guy was excited. After, they both looked at it, smiling. A good deed deserves to move forward.
“Panta hypoménei. This means that love bears every trial with a positive attitude. It stands firm in hostile surroundings. This “endurance” involves not only the ability to tolerate certain aggravations, but something greater: a constant readiness to confront any challenge. It is a love that never gives up, even in the darkest hour. It shows a dogged heroism, a power to resist every negative current, an irrepressible commitment to goodness….”even the race that hates you most has some good in it.” – Pope Francis, ‘The Joy of Love’, 2016
I got this gift, a book on “The Joy of Love” from Fr. Camilo Pacanza in 2016, with a dedication: “The joy in loving is guaranteed by loving one another As Jesus loves us. Thank you for giving me that kind of love.”
I wanted to capture an inspiring quote that describes the dogged determination of Ted Benito, Acting Executive Director of Apl.de.ap Foundation, to showcase Philippine culture with so much love. Ted has shown a growing love for his Philippine roots and culture.
Each October, Ted meticulously shares vignettes of Filipino American icons, heroes and public figures. From August through October, he produces public events to share the graceful, artistic, and elegant features of our culture in its highest evolved forms.
In three decades, performing artists have been privileged by good sounds, good acoustics, good staffers, well maintained artistic spaces at the The Aratani Theater at the JACCC, The Hollywood Bowl, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Carnegie Hall (just tossing in for fun!) and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
With adequate sound checks, and proficient sound engineers, memorable cultural experiences become heartfelt gifts for families.
Artistic and cultural development for families
Much has changed since the first poster that came out in the 1920s: “Positively No Filipinos Allowed”, captured by Sprague Talbot at the lobby of an American hotel. As we aspire to grow hallowed, highly respected beings in our community, our exposures to culture cannot ever be empty, hollowed out, or depicting hateful and mean traits of the American society.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta who posted this image on Instagram: ”It’s a constant reminder of BOTH where we’ve been –the hate we’ve endured, the injustice we’ve suffered—AND how far we can go if we fight, demand and push.”
Isn’t it fitting that the Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) performed in NY, Florida and Los Angeles during Filipino American History Month last year, with performers from the homeland, Ted reflected on what that evening was, as producer?
“I am delighted to bring the PBT experience to our LA audience, I‘m also very happy that Rev. Fr. Rodel Balagtas, the first Filipino pastor at Incarnation Church in Glendale, and the Filipino Ministry are part of this special night,” said Rosie Chua, who donated a significant portion of the ticket sales to the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as the event’s executive producer.
These cultural spaces have evolved into giving opportunities, but also exposures to our children, on what they can become.
As first generation Filipino immigrants and parents of second generation Filipino Americans, a Filipino connected to our cultural roots is a must. Or we become empty gongs. It is a conscious undertaking for aspiring to see our own role models represented in the mass media, newspapers, and cultural spaces. Unless these spaces are consciously created, our culture is left on the wayside, for casual appropriation. Hence the conscious undertakings of Ted, supported by Rosie Chua and an array of sponsors to have these artists perform, and as respectfully and with integrity.
Charles Akau and Jamie Borromeo Akau, drove an 80 mile-round trip to attend the PBT’s event with Ava, their four year old daughter. Even before the show began, Ava instinctively jumped, rotated her body, leaped with hands extended, and smiled. She was practicing her ballet moves.
Mom Jamie posted: “We went to the Philippine Ballet Theatre tonight [October 30, 2022] and it was so inspiring! Why representation matters… as someone born and raised here in the States, I never saw a professional Filipina ballerina when I was growing up. I didn’t want Ava to have that same experience. I wanted to show her what is possible for people who look like us. Tonight was important for the dreams of my 4yo and I can tell it affirmed her identity. After the show she told me, ”Mama, I wanna be a ballerina when I grow up!” Yes, my love. One day you will be!”
Creating respectful cultural spaces are a gift from Ted’s and Rosie’s hearts, and a gift of conscious parents to their child, Jamie and Charles, resonating richness to multiple souls for weeks to come, where over 400 came to watch PBT.
‘Creativity is the natural attitude of the soul’
We all know that businesses thrive on a sense of purpose and growth, while individuals grow with creativity and soulful activities. With these creative spaces, we shoo away the blues and withering of the human spirit.
In 2020, when arts in public squares were frozen by the coronavirus pandemic, we said prayers for our collective wellness in the world. No country was spared by this pandemic.
In August 2021, producer Ted Benito mustered his courage and filled up Ford Amphitheater, all 700 spots, showcasing the best Filipino American performers in hip hop and comedy. It felt like a reunion of Northern with Southern Californian residents, some even flying from the East Coast.
In August 2022, Ted produced a spectacular over-two-hours show showcasing #M4D, Martin Nievera’s 40 years in music, as a composer and as a singer in the best acoustical stage, Disney Hall [though with acoustical glitches from a less than seasoned sound engineer for the louder songs]. That night, 1,201 folks attended.
I showed vignettes of PBT’s ballet scenes to my 7-year-old granddaughter, for this piece, #princess2015la, a pseudonym, who enjoyed ballet lessons taught by her French teacher, chosen by her consciously loving parents. Each time we passed by the mall strip, she would recall how she took ballet and now, her teacher has returned to France. The longing for ballet lessons is quite palpable.
These are her observations:
First part is where a pair dances to “On the Wings of Song”, and my 7-year-old granddaughter said: ”As the lovely music was playing, the ballerina danced along the spotlight. With her partner, they made gentle moves. They pirouetted [a rotation of spin with a complete turn of the body on one foot], and leaped. After, they bowed, and got up.”
When I asked her what pirouetted meant, she demonstrated it and added,“they also had beautiful dresses.”
Her first level observation synchronized with the synopsis. It was a story about a boy who grew up in the province, alongside a girl whom he played with, until sunset. In that playful interaction, they grew to love one another. But, the boy has dreams and sets out to chase them. Tempted by the city’s other beauties, he kept pushing them away, recalling his happy memories of love and finally returns to the countryside where his heart belongs to the woman he left behind.
Full cast in Act I had Alexis Piel, Carl Lacaba, Gabrielle Jaynario, Gladys Baybayan, Jimmy Lumba, Kim Abrogena, Maika Samson, Mara Francisco, Matthew Davo, Regine Magbitang, Sophie Tiangco, Therese Riego, and Veronica Atienza.
Of the twelve dance scenes, what appealed to me were dances to the images of the ‘sorbetero’ – a portable ice cream cart with three chambers, encased by dry ice and a vendor scoops from the three available flavors onto an ice cream cone. It made me feel warm inside, recalling ice cream treats given to us by our hard working parents, including a trek to the cinema to watch the latest movies, exposing us to a better imagined future, distancing us from the squalor of poverty just feet away from where we lived, with the constant smell of stench of decaying garbage, coming from improper waste management by government authorities.
When the theme song to “Please Be Careful With My Heart” was played, I started singing along some of the lyrics of this famous teleserye that we collectively raved about amongst friends and community. I recall falling in line for hours just to get a glimpse of my then favorite stars when they visited Los Angeles on an ABS-CBN sponsored tour. I came to represent the Asian Journal in Los Angeles’ writer.
I recalled the stolen glances of Maya (Jodi Santa Maria) to her Sir Chief (Richard Yap) and Sir Chief admiring Maya’s transformation from nanny to an educated professional.
It was that chemistry we were looking for from the pair of Alexis Piel and Veronica Atienza, “You are my first romance and I am willing to take a chance/ that till life is through/ I’ll still be loving you. I will be true to you/Just a promise from you will do. From the very start/Please be careful with my heart.”
It is a forever love that we swoon over, to never be forgotten and that dance sealed Act I for me and even more so with the beautiful women who danced at the very end. The dancers were Kim Abrogena, Veronica Atienza, Sophie Tiangco, Maika Samson, Regine Magbitang, Gabrielle Jaynario and an all 13-member cast, with five men.
Serye at sayaw resonated beyond
When Act II introduced the songs of Jose Mari Chan — a legendary 55-year presence in the music industry as a singer, composer and lyricist — the music even gained heightened meaning. Amongst friends, these songs by Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera and Piolo Pascual are well liked.
I, too, was having my own 3D experience as Veronica Atienza brilliantly interpreted the song of “Ikaw.”
“Ikaw” was sung by Martin Nievera; the lyrics below were so endearing that it made me remember his spectacular Disney Hall performance months before.
Ikaw ang bigay ng Maykapal (You are a gift from God)
Tugon sa aking dasal (The answer to my fervent prayer)
Upang sa lahat ng panahon (So that for the time that goes by)
Bawat pagkakataon (Every opportunity)
Ang ibigin ko’y ikaw (I get to love you)
Ikaw ang tanglaw sa aking mundo (You are the light in my world)
Kabiyak nitong puso ko (The other half of my yearning heart)
Wala ni kahati mang saglit (No one even in a split of time)
Na sa iyo’y may papalit (There will be no one else)
Ngayong kailanman ikaw (Now and forever, but you)
I showed the ballet dance vignette to my 7-year-old former ballerina, a descriptor that my granddaughter wants me to stress, former: ”The man is performing with a woman. It is a love scene and they are dancing with split kicks, leap kicks, circle split and pirouetted. The girl is a better dancer.”
That particular dance scene gained a deeper significance to a good friend, Glenn who was missing Mary Jane, his wife of over 25 years, who wasin the Philippines for a family reunion. By the time the dance was over, Glenn shared that he cried three times.
We all raved with the ballet moves of Regine Magbitang, Jimmy Lumba and Matthew Davo. My granddaughter described it as: “she’s divorcing from two men, pushing them apart. Then, one of them got very angry, he pushed him. We also heard the memorable slap and her red dress. She pushes both of them, does more half splits and bounced really well. One of them married her, and earlier when he got divorced, the song is about losing his wife and now she’s all alone. Until she finds her partner again.”
My granddaughter knows only two Tagalog phrases, salamat (Thank you) and mahal kita (I love you), but the ballet moves allowed her to pick up the story.
Her young mind’s observations synchronized in part with the story. It was about Marguerite and her love for dance, forced to do it at age 14 by her mother. Teased by her dance mates to find her soulmate, she then meets a wealthy diplomat, Antonio. Her fame in her dancing career grew as the fame of this diplomat, a fame plus fame combination that makes each partner lonely, until Marguerite meets Roberto, a gorgeous dancer and an affair ensues. She dances her final dance with the dance company and realizing how wrong she had been, she reunites with her husband.
Thank you, Ted Benito and Rosie Chua, for inflaming our hearts with love for The Philippine Ballet Theater. I learned that more dreams can be had from Ava, a four year old, and ballet moves and stories from my granddaughter.
I have been dreaming big and sharing the wishes of my heart with the Universe and Facebook.
First – to just see Oprah in person. I got that wish through Janet Susan Rodriguez Nepales and Ruben V. Nepales and even got invited to see the film, Precious and a gift, an orange scarf with Precious to remember.
Second wish was to see American Idol’s Filipina singer named Jessica Sanchez who we actively rooted for. Would you believe I got that wish through Jenni Kuida who casually invited me? The Universe heard me again.
Fourth wish was to cover Pope Francis at the White House headed then by President Barack Obama? Would you believe I got invited as one of the 500 journalists to the White House?
One more wish, to have a meal at the White House cooked by Executive Chef Cristeta Cris Comerford with talented Filipino chefs like Romy Dorotan, Kuya Lord and TatangLA’s chef.
Another wish is to live to be worthy to be St. Prosy, that when I die, I am welcomed to join you all as saints in heaven. Just imagine all we interact with have the same goals on earth? Would we then create heaven on earth and ultimately enter our eternal home in heaven? Such lofty goals!
Please, let my wish come true! Salamat po Panginoon! You have granted my wishes through these #earthangels
It was the year 431 A.D. when the Council of Fathers proclaimed Mary, the Mother of the Lord Jesus as the Mother of the Church, such that her humanity is our humanity – Sister Bernadette.
This is Pope Francis’ homily, excerpted in part here. I attended the livestreamed mass in the Vatican in Rome on January 1, 2023.
By incarnation, he united with us humans and loved us with as human heart. That is what God did, being born of Mary. God does not love in words, but in deeds, from within the human flesh.
In Mary, the Word became flesh, a heart that beats for each of us. Many tomes have been written and accompanied the rhythm of our days. For me, it was #iylagranola making, walking and supporting a neighborhood coffee shop.
During the day, draws God into our lives, in all languages. [Over 300 spoken in Los Angeles alone]. The Mother of God hears us and responds to our petitions. In a word, Mary gives us hope, just like this earth needs rain. [So, it did in LA].The key to hope is Mary. In how we pray Holy Mother of God, pray for us sinners – a prayer sounded all over the world several times a day in different languages.
May the Lord lift up His countenance in you and peace be yours. God wants to enter our hearts and our world, guided by the shepherds, perhaps poor and uncouth, the first to recognize God in us. They went and they saw – to go and to see.
To go – the gospel says they went with haste. They could have waited till dawn, or sunrise, but went with haste. First important things, no delay, work with haste. If we are to invite God – recognize the moment, take the risk! Where do I want to go? Who is it that I can help? They are waiting for your help. The shepherds are summoning us to get involved, to dirty our hands, the humility of service, the acts of courage in caring for others.
To see. What is important they saw him. They saw the Child – to adore, to welcome, to contemplate and to see.
Let us dedicate and see what matters – God, our brothers and our sisters, our neighbors. Are we attracted in awe to others or to the keyboard in false tranquility? To take time to listen to our elders, discover our roots – capable to see folks next door, visit our neighbors?
Let’s learn to see and understand with our hearts to see others – to conquer the tiredness, the false peace of seduction to materialism, let us invoke her, the Madonna – the Holy Mother of God!
Reflections: it sounded beautiful to hear the prayers of the faithful in French, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russian, and African languages.
To go and to see, to hear another is what I strive to be, and more consistently for my #princess2015la to fill up her love tank.
To be fully present for family, friends and neighbors. Happy New Year 2023 – may we love more and act righteously!
Why righteous – to engage our hearts and brains and Spirit to connect more, without offending another. To be conscious of every word uttered and act in haste to go and to see!
When my good friend, B shared her miraculous healing from cancer, as her father-in-law, I was keen on harvesting more miracle stories.
A priest/friend suggested when I pray to ask for miracles. He himself has witnessed, while being a Good Samaritan to his brother priests, three are now on their road to full recovery:
*one priest from almost dying from Coronavirus to now fully functioning – he took him to emergency and stayed with him;
*another priest had three heart attacks, got operated on and celebrated his first mass yesterday since he recovered. He shared the miracle of life he was given by two hospitals in Los Angeles and fervent prayers to God including his mystical experience of asking questions of the Lord, why am I in this situation, feeling alone? Only to get the response that he is not alone, “I am here, and in life, we struggle and suffer alone, as the Lord Jesus Christ.”
*another had a stroke and is on his road to recovery.
*Another is his sister who was diagnosed with cancer and after being prayed for by the parish community, is now cancer free.
The photo below was shared by Maryjane Southerling Saldana from whom I obtained her permission to tell her story. She went to pray at the Carmelite Convent of the Pink Sisters in Tagaytay. On her knees, she was fervently praying for her family member with cancer of the bone. She prayed for 55 minutes: for her family member to be pain-free as his cancer has spread to the different parts of his body. This was her first time to be able to kneel down, as she too had issues of pain with her knees.
To her surprise, she stood up and walked pain-free. It was not until she looked at the photo afterwards that she realized that Mama Mary had made an apparition. MJ is now walking, pain-free.
