Archbishop Palma says mom uniting point of family

IT was one of the most emotional moment of the prince of the Church of Cebu as he remembered his late mother, who passed away early this month.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma was teary-eyed as he officiated the Mass for his late mother Esther yesterday morning.

Some 200 priests also attended the Mass as part of the closing activity of their annual retreat.

“She’s beautiful not only in her looks but also in her simple ways of loving,” Palma said during the Mass.

He compared his late mother to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose beauty came from her love for others.

Palma’s mother suffered from a kidney ailment and died last Oct. 13. She was 83 years old.

“She is the uniting point for all of us,” Palma said.

She left behind six children, 21 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

Palma left for Manila yesterday afternoon to attend to the funeral service of his mother who will be buried on Sunday.

Though her mother only graduated elementary, Palma said that his mother “exudes a lot of wisdom” and was never at a loss in raising them, after their father died early.

Palma said he recalled his mother also doing farm chores, which helped made the family closer.

Despite the loss of his mother, Palma said he was still thankful because he knew that his mother was happy with the company of the creator.

“The morning she died, I cried in my morning prayer. But I’m still thankful to the Lord for the gift of my mother,” he said

Palma recalled when his mother was in the hospital on medication, and he encouraged her to eat after she refused to take more medicine and IV fluids.

“She told me that she just wanted to rest. I haven’t understood that until she died. Her wish is already fullfilled,” Palma said.

He also contributed his dedication to serve for the Lord with his mother.

When he became a priest and a bishop, he said that many people would ask his mother of her devotion for her son.

“She said that it’s not her devotion, but of priesthood as the gift of the Lord. She said that it’s because of the Lord and not because of her. I would never forget that,” Palma said. /Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya