October

October… The month of the Rosary.

Well, were kids and no one likes to do mandatory anything… and so we just about hated this particular month.

All because Mama used to make us pray the rosary with her every night of the month of October.

Now you have to understand that Mama was the typical devout Catholic grandmother. The somber, strict, absolutely humorless kind… especially during hours of prayer.

A slight roving eye, a tiny wiggle, any whisper of sound. would automatically elicit a stern glare...an evil eye so steeped with danger, along with the horribly sharp hissing sound, “Szssss” that just about turns you to stone that you momentarily stop breathing just to prove that no disrespect was intended.

Think Gone with the wind. You know…that part where Scarlett’s mother shushed her as she thought of ways to seduce Ashley?

Truth be told, Mama prayed the rosary nightly every day of the year. Each night she would be in her room, in her special seat, looking out the window that faced the Grotto she had built there.

Every night, right before bed, she said her many many prayers.

She prayed by route, the rosary in ten minutes, numerous novenas, petitions of old, some still in Spanish, prayers she sometimes could no longer understand but said anyway.

Prayers she would say that until now, during the very rare times I try to pray the rosary, I would her voice, not mine, in my head as I recite. As if she still lead in the prayers.

I even mispronounce certain words in my head. “Pur-chaised” instead of purchased, as she did, and I tumble over some words since she overlaps her “Hail Mary’s” in such a way that she barely pauses to hear our “Holy Mary’s”…which is why it took us only about 10 minutes to finish our prayers…Litany included.

Like this…

“Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you blessed art you among women and blessed is the fruit-Holy Mary mother of God pray for us sinners, now and in the hour-Hail Mary…”

;-)

The Mary Statue also came in for a visit at this particular month. She would be brought here by neighbors one night and would spend a total of nine days in the compound. Three days per house.

There would be a knocking on the door, lots of lit candles, and people singing Immaculate Mother. We would proceed to Mama’s house and all of us, neighbors, priest and all, would pray the rosary, as well as the special novena that came with the statue.

One time though, I brought out one of those ring rosaries that was sold at the time, the plastic kind that only had ten beads and a cross which you rotate five times. One rotation per mystery. I remember that the priest saw me with this at the start of the novena and told me that it was not allowed. That it wasn’t a real rosary and handed me one of the regular ones instead. I never understood it since Mama had that metal bracelet rosary which she used all the time. He had no objections to that though, but since then, I viewed all other rosary types suspiciously.

Remember Mama’s rosary?

Mama had this silver metal bracelet that had movable beaded balls on them. She wore them on her right wrist all the time. She used to rub a bead back and forth between her pointer finger and thumb while saying her part of the rosary, she would move each bead and take the next bead only at an exact point that she alone knew. I used to watch her and timed my bead changeover exactly when she did. I think everyone did too.

Wonder where that bracelet is now…I think I’ll go ask Juliet.

So after nine days, we would then bring the statue over to another neighbor’s house. I never could understand who decided where the next house would be. There was a lot of stress involved too. What if they’ve already had it? What if they were of a different religion? What if I drop it while I’m carrying it?

With or without the visiting Mary, the rosary praying each night of October would be required. Mama would have Juliet call each of us, “Mga Bata!! Tawag na ni Mama!!” would be heard in each house.

We would of course attempt the ritualistic heeing and hawing, trying to escape any which way we could, sleeping? nasa banyo? sick?... even then, Mama never would not be deterred. Everyone must be present no excuses.

…and just as we get used to the nightly ritual, November comes…and suddenly there would be no call.

A peek at her window would prove that there she was already, again at her prayers...without us.

October would come again soon enough.