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 Just a few words of thanks in behalf of the family. (Only Rosie, Dedeng and I are present here. Carling and Eddie are in the US.)Thank you, Father Arevalo for celebrating the Eucharist with us these two days and for your comforting words about Sr. Naty. It is very consoling to hear those words from a priest who knew her. Our thanks to all the Good Shepherd Sisters who lovingly cared for her especially in the infirmary. I shall not mention names, but of course we give special thanks to Sister Cecile Torres, the Sister Provincial of the Good Shepherd. Thanks to the caregivers who watched over her night and day. Thanks to all our relatives and friends who came to pray and condole with us.
_.jpg) File Photo: Banaag siblings
And now some intimate memories from the family. My mother wrote in her diary that when Naty was about to be born, she kept on playing on the piano “La aparicion de un angel” The apparition of an angel. And when she was born, the night of December 24, she felt that an angel had entered the room. Truly she had been an angel for us in many ways, always encouraging, comforting, trusting, affirming, putting things in their proper perspectives. And she put all her trust in God. Eddie said of her: “She was a warm and cheerful presence in our lives.” We witnessed her suffering these four years especially these last eight months when she lay totally helpless-- a purification for her and for all of us. I say purification because I think she was conscious and knew what had happened to her. She who had helped so many lay helpless in bed depending on her caregivers for everything. People often said that she was very kind and forgiving, and we know she was. But we get a deeper glimpse of her soul with the exposition that her own sisters of the Good Shepherd have prepared for her outside the chapel. Thank you Sisters.
With the passing away of each member of the family, beginning from my father, then my mother, then Tony, then Modest, and now Sr. Naty, and the in-laws, we remind each other: We do not lose those we give back to God. When the Sisters called to say she had passed away, of course there was the first moment of grief, but it seemed as if I heard God say: Leave all anxieties behind; I now take full custody. No, we do not lose our sister, Sr. Naty. With God, she is more than ever with us, looking after us, loving us more.
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