Thanksgiving Mass in honor of Our Lady of La Leche on August 30

UPDATED POST: Updated schedules on the event day

Through our breastfeeding journey, I was blessed to meet new people and learned a lot of things. One of which is the devotion to Our Lady of La Leche (Nuestra Senora de la leche y buen parto-Our Lady of Milk and good birth), patroness of mothers and mothers-to-be.

And an even greater blessing is that an image of Our Lady is enshrined in our church, Shrine of Jesus. The image is located on the right side of the church, below the projector. If I remember it right, this was enshrined even before I got married, perhaps back in 2007. Who would have thought that this image will be instrumental in my life as a breastfeeding mother and servant of the church.

There is another image in the chapel in our nearby mall, Harrison Plaza, and that’s where the yearly Masses in Her honor is celebrated every October 11, her Feast Day. Through a friend and fellow LATCHer Bianca Gutierrez, there I learned about the Our Lady of La Leche Movement, which propagates the devotion to Our Lady. The movement is led by Remedios Ticson-Gonzales (read a story about how it started here).

As I mentioned in a previous post, there will be a Thanksgiving Mass in honor of Our Lady of La Leche on August 30 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish Church in Mandaluyong, as Breastfeeding Awareness Month comes to a close. Here are the activities:

August 17-31: Our Lady of La Leche exhibit, showcasing the various beautiful images of Mother Mary nursing her Baby Jesus

August 30, Saturday at 8:00 AM, there will be a Thanksgiving Mass, with a special blessing for mothers who are pregnant, nursing and trying to conceive. This will be immediately followed by a talk on Breastfeeding Success, and a Medical Mission for pregnant mothers and babies 2 years old and below. The first 150 patients will be seen.

On August 12 at 9:00 AM, tune in to “Pinagpalang Bayan ng Diyos” on DWAD 1098am. Bianca Gutierrez and Em Alcantara will be discussing how Our Lady of La Leche has helped them through their breasfeeding journey.

The church is Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Mariveles Street, Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City. Here’s a map to the church. It’s near MRT Shaw. Click on the photo to go to Google Maps.

For more information, please visit http://ourladyoflaleche.tripod.com/mdevote.htm, or send a message through www.facebook.com/lalecheph

~ Touringkitty