“Let the light of the day rise in your heart; Let the joy of the morning be seen in your smile; And may God’s favor be yours today and everyday!” –Monet Guevara

Welcome back to charismatic healing priest, Fr. Fernando Suarez, and his companion and spiritual mentor, Fr. Jeff Shannon, both from the order of Companions of the Cross in Canada.

Fr. Suarez will be here for a short period only, as this visit will be more of a working visit with days given to meetings with the Batangas clergy and reporting on the progress of the foundation he heads, Mary Mother of the Poor, to Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of the Diocese of Batangas.

A vigil and several healing masses will be held at Monte Maria, the site of the shrine for Mary in Batangas City, on May 30, 31, and June 1. As soon as plans are finalized for two public healing masses being planned are worked out, I shall keep my readers informed.

In the meantime, let me greet a dear friend, Manolo Lopez, our Mission Angels president and my co-worker in the Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation where he is a member of the Board of Trustees: a happy birthday to you today.

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In the hit Broadway play and later, an even bigger Hollywood film, "Camelot," Queen Guinevere, who married King Arthur has a lively (and naughty) song, the "Merry Month of May."

She sings of the joys the dreamy, lazy summer month brings – of love, lust, and merry-making – with the court ladies and esquires and some Knights of the Round Table. The queen sounds bored, looking for new pursuits, more attention perhaps from her King Arthur who presumably has to attend to the affairs of his kingdom and can’t be "on call" to her all the time.

And besides, there is a new distraction for her – a knight, Sir Lancelot, who is upright, dedicated, and won’t pay attention to her or any ladies’ flirtations. This irritates and intrigues Guinevere, so in the song she sings of looking for a knight to save her from boredom and put Lancelot in his place.

May stirs the romantics to declare their love as flowers bloom and trees shed their leaves for colorful pink, orange, and yellow foliage. Guinevere was right; May is a merry month!

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To hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar and China, May has been disastrous, but here in our sunny Philippines, weddings, debuts, flores de Mayo, fiestas, and Santacruzans are still popular around the country.

Ask the wedding and debut industry people like Rita Neri, undisputed queen of wedding coordinators, or Robbie Carmona, events director; Lourd Ramos, makeup stylist; or Rose Libongco, marketing brains behind Sofitel Philippine Plaza, who are all involved in the bridal fair, "Marchez l’ Allee: A Wedding and Debutante Fair," set tomorrow at the grand Harbor Tent at Sofitel…this month is the kickoff to a year-round preparation for beautiful events!

Filipinos traditionally choose November, December, or January as wedding months, but Rita Neri confirms that times have changed, and now her company has year-round bookings from couples who want her to coordinate their most memorable day or from debutantes who want their coming-out party to be the best ever!

Walking down the aisle, whether at church or on the red carpet in a grand ballroom for the coming-out party, has spawned a big industry of caterers, designers, wedding planners, make-up artists, photographers, printers, and so on – all ably represented in the "Marchez l’ Allee" (March down the aisle) fair at the five-star Sofitel resort-hotel by the bay.

There will be a 2 p.m. wedding lingerie show with live models sponsored by Avon and a bridal ensembles fashion show by Patrice Ramos Diaz at 7 p.m., which will start with a classical piece from world champion pianist Angelo Ortiz. A grand raffle with prizes from SeaAir and other sponsors will cap the evening.

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And tomorrow too, our own little "Mini-Bridal Fair" in Bella Vista, St. Francis Drive in Tagaytay starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Take a peek at my garden and meet some outstanding caterers and suppliers there!