Remembering Christmas with Lola Cory
MANILA, Philippines - The hardest Christmas we had was back in 2009. It was the first Christmas where the person who would always make the Noche Buena extra special was no longer present. Our Lola Cory always made Christmas meaningful year in and year out. It was that one time of year when she made everything so much more special. Christmas Eve was her night and without her there, it really wasn’t Christmas anymore.
Our Christmas family reunion back then always started promptly at 6 p.m. with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist presided over by the reverend Father Catalino Arevalo of the Society of Jesus. It was our yearly mass that was always extra special. Lola would invite Father Arevalo together with Jesuit Scholastics who would prepare and sing all the songs during mass. Father Arevalo always gave the most meaningful homilies, always referring to the first mass he gave the family back in Boston. Lola was the most religious of all of us and always wanted us to pray as a family. She’d speak at the end of the mass to tell everyone to continue praying for one another, often joking that one day, Father Arevalo would also preside over her funeral mass. It was a joke we always hoped never came true.
The Christmas spirit was always in our Lola. After mass, dinner would follow and it was her way of thanking everyone who made gave the mass, especially Father Arevalo and the Jesuits. Everyone loved Lola’s Christmas dinner. She’d cook several of her specialties, including her famous spaghetti, roast beef, and callos. Guests would even bring home leftovers since they all loved Lola’s cooking. Apart from the food, Lola would have her Christmas cards and gifts for the guests. She’d always make Father Arevalo and the Jesuit Scholastics feel welcome in her home.
The hardest part was that first Christmas without her. We had decided not to have the typical Mass on Times Street with Father Arevalo in 2009, as it was tough for him and for all of us. We celebrated Christmas Eve away from Times to try and experience something new. As we learned that year, new isn’t always better. In 2010, we started again with the traditions from before. Father Arevalo joined us anew, together with the Jesuit Scholastics. Since then there have been some tweaks here and there, but the essence of Christmas and praying together as one family is still what’s most important.
Our Lola is still at the center of our Christmas. She continues to be a big part of it through the values and traditions she started. We still gather as one family to pray, not only for all the blessings the Lord has given us, but more importantly, to pray and continue to help the country. It’s during Christmas that we remember her love and kindness the most, and pray that we get to share what we learned from her in our everyday lives.
We still miss her very much each and every day. We owe it to her to continue and never forget the meaning of Christmas. In these trying times for the nation, we sometimes feel helpless and without direction. Whenever we feel that, we have to remember that prayer will always be powerful and meaningful, that prayer will help us find the way. We’d like to honor Lola Cory by sharing her message that Christmas is really about praying and being there for the country and one another.
