A Retiree’s Flores de Mayo

May is over! The children are back in school bringing with them memories of their summer vacation. I
also have my first summer memories as a new retiree and trainee-catechist in the Mayflower Offering!

It was the first time in many, many years our area would be holding this activity. Our BEC (Basic Ecclesial
Community) volunteers initially gathered the children in the area and brought them to our little chapel.
We had an hour of catechism followed by snacks and origami-flower making. We were afraid we would
deplete the bushes by the end of May so we made our own flowers! Finally, the children prayed the
rosary and offered their origami flowers accompanied by their favorite song, the Awit sa Ina ng Santo
Rosario, which they would lustily sing. As word spread, new children came in everyday

It sounds pretty straightforward but the work that goes into it and the “action-packed” two hours is not
for the faint-hearted! The Diocese of Paranaque gave out the lesson plan and this year, the children in
Las Piñas, Paranaque and Muntinlupa were taught the Beatitudes and the theme song, “Binabago Niya
Ako Araw-araw”. I would start preparing the evening before, researching about the Saint of the Day,
and downloading pictures and videos I could use. I would continue in the morning, preparing for the
activities as outlined in our lesson plan, like drawing a road map to holiness on manila paper, with the
virtues and the sins along the road on which the children will travel using their fingers. Since I was not
given the gift of art, this would take hours!

Even with all the preparations, keeping the children interested during the catechism class was still a
challenge. Competing with 40 little voices needed a microphone and a whistle! They were attentive for
the most part but when I felt them getting restless, I would shift gears and do another activity. If that
didn’t work, the lead Catechist would come to the rescue! We told them stories about young saints and
how they embodied the beatitudes – Kateri Tekawitha, Pedro Calungsod, Germain Cousin, Dominic
Savio, Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio, etc. I was dumbstruck when no one raised his hand after I asked who
would like to be a saint. Of course they would think twice after I had just told them the story of how
Jose Luis was tortured, stabbed and shot in the head for his faith!

The members of the community donated the simple snacks given during break time. And then the
children would pray the Rosary, one decade at first, until they were praying the whole rosary towards
the end of May. The classes were taught in Filipino but the kid who could speak only English was able to
memorize the Ama Namin and Aba Ginoong Maria! I was also amazed at a five year old boy who knew
his prayers, but we had to contain our laughter when we heard him pray “Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos,
ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan, huwag mamatay, Amen!”

After dismissal, if there was still light, and if it wasn’t raining, the children would play. It was fun
watching them play habulan or taguan, with the older kids looking out for the little ones, the Tagalog-
speaking children trying to communicate with the English-speaking kid (they would come to me for
translation!), boys and girls teasing each other, and some horseplay erupting here and there. Walking
home was fun, too, with the spirited chattering and loud shouts of goodbye as each kid turns to his
street or enters his house. If not for the May Flower Offering, these kids would have been in front of the
TV or sitting and holding their gadgets!

Finally, on May 31, they all came together, wearing white, to join the other children from the other
areas of the San Isidro Labrador Parish in Las Pinas. They recited the Rosary and offered roses. For
some, it was their first time to step inside the Parish Church! Special snacks (dirty ice cream!) and
attendance awards (notebooks, crayons, pens and toys donated by the community) were given after the
mass. They excitedly asked only one question after everything – will we do this again next year?!

I vaguely remember going to the Malolos Cathedral for the May Flower Offering when I was young, so I
asked my friends about their May experience.

My Batangueño friends remember joining the Alay. Jocelyn Fadri recalled with much fondness the time
she would go to the province for her summer vacation. She would wake up at 4 in the morning so she
could have a head start on the other kids to go to the fields and pick kampupot flowers and arrange
them in a vase. Each child wanted to have the best arrangement. They would go to the tuklong to offer
the flowers they picked. A tuklong is a makeshift chapel of light materials. She still recalls the lyrics of
the songs even if they were in Spanish or Italian! She loved best the times when she would look behind
and try to take a peek at the treats that await them after the offering! They would be disappointed if
they didn’t end up with candies in their pockets. Francis Nob remembers spending his afternoons
offering flowers in the tuklong. The older children would eye their crushes and take the opportunity to
be near them – the boys would partner with the girls and offer flowers together! The highlight was the
pakain by the hermana (sponsor) for the day. The season ended with a TAPUSAN, a bigger celebration
with song and dance numbers. There would also be a SANTACRUZAN with the prettiest teens dressed in
gowns representing the titles of the Virgin Mary – Divina Pastora (the Divine Sheperdess) carrying a
staff, Rosa Mystica (Mystical Rose) holding a bouquet of roses, Reina Paz carrying a dove (Queen of
Peace), etc.

Liezl Cruz remembers her childhood in Quezon when they would celebrate “Mayohan” every afternoon
starting May 1. The picked flowers along the way (namumulaklak) and made the offering of flowers in
pairs as they sang hymns to Mary. The teenagers followed, also offering flowers in pairs. Last to offer
was the family sponsor (hermano at hermana) for the day, after which everybody trooped down to the
their house to eat. Every single day in May!

Flores de Mayo is a month-long festival in honor of Mary where devotees offer flowers and prayers daily
in many towns and cities for the whole month of May. This tradition started after the Pope’s
proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Whether it was called Flores, Alay or
Mayohan, the ingredients were the same, daily flower offering ending with a procession or a grand
program to celebrate the culmination of the month-long devotion.

These days, getting the commitment of busy parents to hold expensive, grand celebrations is difficult.
But gathering children on lazy afternoons and prying them away from gadgets is welcomed and
appreciated by the parents. Injecting catechism in the Mayflower Offering was also a good move. I
asked the parents if they observed any changes in the children’s behavior. They said the children were
now more respectful and would even chide them if they say swear words.

Children from any generation who get to offer flowers in May are fortunate. From the way my friends
enthusiastically offered their recollection of their May days to the way the children now look forward to
next year’s flower offering, I realized their reward was not the toys and candies – it was the sweet
memory of summers with Mama Mary and her children!