August 9 has always been a special day not just for the SMAD educative community but for the family of St. Candida all over the world. We remember a weaver’s daughter who felt drawn to be of service to her neighbors and declared that “Where there is no room for the poor, neither is there room for me.”
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Family of Mother Candida: Growing in Faith and Journeying towards Hope” which is also the theme for the Indico Pacific province. Despite the controlled movement brought about by the pandemic, the celebration became animated and meaningful because of the many graces received through her intercessions.
The festivity started with the traditional nine days novena last July 31, 2022, until August 8 and culminated on August 9. The day started with an Onsite Holy Mass presided by Fr. Lauro Arcede, SM, in the school Sky gym attended by the administration, teachers, non-advisers, staff, maintenance personnel, senior high school students, and families of selected maintenance/security personnel who are this year’s recipient for the said celebration. The Grade 3 to 10 students and teachers joined the Eucharistic celebration via live stream. After the Holy Mass, those online watched an Audio-Visual Presentation on the life of St. Candida prepared by the members of the F.I. Youth.
The senior high school students spend the rest of the morning with their visitors. They prepared different activities like storytelling, trivia, video clips about the life of St. Candida, life sharing, and a simple meal for the visitors. A grocery pack and ‘hongbao’ for good luck were given to each guest’s family as a token of appreciation for the feast day celebration. An evaluation and processing of experiences from the encounter by the students and the visiting families ended the day’s activity. Indeed, we can see God’s great love for all of us through the life and inspiration of our mother Foundress’, Saint Candida Maria de Jesus leading the entire SMAD Educative Community as we grow in faith and journeying towards hope.
by Mr. Pepito Nuqui, Jr.