The third day of the 5th Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy (AACOM) is all about the devotees’ faith journey and their experiences of the miracles of the Divine Mercy.
TESTIMONY 3
The morning session began with the testimony of Fr. Bonaventure Valles, the Founder of the Franciscan of the Divine Mercy, on “Works of Mercy in the World Today.”
“Last year, I suffered an acute heart attack, a stroke, and a bleed in some parts of my brain. Confronted with the severity of my illness, I pleaded, ‘God, have mercy.’ In total surrender, I prepared myself for the worst. But God, in His mercy and goodness, spared me,” Fr. Valles said.
Then, he added, “We are called to be merciful towards our neighbor in the same way God, our Father, is merciful to us. In other words, we are to love others as the Father has loved us. Alexander the Great declared, ‘We do not bring anything to our grave, although our good deeds can be our traveler’s check.’ The question is, ‘Do you have enough traveler’s checks?’ Brethren, while we have time, let us do good.”
TESTIMONY 4
The second testimony was shared by Ms. Divine Mangahas Fresnido, from the Diocese of Malolos, Bulacan, on “St. John Paul II and St. Faustina’s Divine Mercy Mission.”
Ms. Divine expressed how her life story is living proof of God’s existence.
“My life story is proof that God hears us. Imagine being tested by extreme poverty, struggles with the family, almost getting molested twice, being into numerous businesses, cheated and deceived in business, my mother got murdered, I almost died due to Covid, and yet here I am today, in front of you, standing strong and a proof the God’s mercy is true, that Divine Mercy is true. I am here today, living proof that God does exist. Because if I didn’t believe in him and have no faith, I don’t think I would be here today,” she said.
TESTIMONY 5
Later, the afternoon session continued with another testimony from Marie Romagnano, RN, the Founder of the Health Care Professionals for Divine Mercy, USA, on “Caring for our Communities through Works of Mercy,” emphasizing to the faithful not to neglect spiritual care.
“We are all asked to live and proclaim the mystery of Jesus in the Divine Mercy in our communities. In today’s world, we’re focused on the best medical care, but we must be careful not to neglect the spiritual care our Lord instituted the seven sacraments precisely for the healing of the spiritual wounds that befell us in the various stages of our human life,” Nurse Marie encouraged.
TALK 3
Afterward, Tony Tay, Founder of Willing Hearts, Singapore, shared his testimony on “A Willing Heart.”
Tony Tay is a quiet and good-natured Singaporean who mobilized collective goodwill to address hidden hunger in his country. He is a businessman and founded a volunteer group called Willing Hearts that provides meals to poor people in Singapore in 2003.
In his talk, Tony shared how amidst the challenges of their business, God is ever present and even orchestrates His amazing ways to help.
“When you do God’s work, He will never let you down. He will be with you all the time. Please help, and do your work with faith and love,” Tony said.
TESTIMONY 6A
Another testimony was from Bernadette Goh Mui Sim, 84 years old, from Singapore, who was born a Buddhist Taoist and came to the Catholic faith in 1987.
In her sharing, she expressed how God has never left her side and that He would do the same to everyone as long as one has faith in Him.
“Through the ups and downs of life, God never leaves me nor forsakes me. He is the One that hides me in the shelter of His wings and keeps me safe by day and by night. Even the storms and the winds make my faith waver sometimes, but God is faithful, and His promises never fail. And I can trust in Him, to lead me and guide me. Out of the darkness, comes God’s true light!” Bernadette said.
TESTIMONY 6B
The sharing of testimonies ended with the AACOM’s Social Mission Outreach Program, in which details and projects were discussed by Anne Loh Lim from Singapore.
Anne talked about the humble beginnings of the project and its current progress, expressing how without God’s graces, nothing is going to work.
“We knew it was important to ask for the graces before we embark on this mission, because without the graces, we knew, we would be doing our work instead of the Lord’s work. And so we pray, and we waited patiently for the graces to come, and to graciously humbly receive them. Because we know without the graces, nothing is going to work,” said Anne.
DAY 3 CLOSING MASS
The day concluded with a praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, followed by the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Lipa Archbishop-Emeritus Ramon Arguelles.
Fr. Prospero V. Tenorio, National Coordinator of the Divine Mercy Philippines, served as the homilist. In his homily, he encouraged the devotees to live their faith.
“How much heart do we put into our worship and the beautiful prayer, “Lord, help us to worship You not only with our lips but also with our lives? Not only with our heads but also with our hearts?” Fr. Tenorio emphasized.
Fr. Tenorio added, “True love of God consists of carrying out God’s will. That’s why the invitation is to walk with the Lord, invest in the Lord, learn from the Lord, and love as the Lord. And to those we may have wronged, we ask forgiveness . . . to those we neglected to help, we ask for understanding. To those who helped us, we sincerely thank them so much.”
AACOM CULTURAL NIGHT
The third day ended with a cultural night performed by the Teatro de San Pedro Calungsod.
The plays presented, written and directed by Msgr. Agustin Ancajas (Chairman of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission on Social Communications), were one-act plays titled “Sa Kahamugaway o Kapig-ot” (For Richer and For Poorer), Wedding Garment, and Ringtone.