It rained cats and dogs from late on the night of Saturday, Dec 9 and right through the day on Sunday, December 10, 2006.

That was the date of the last devotions in honour of Our Lady, La Divina Pastora. There were floods all over, and many landslides occurred. When we arrived at the church shortly after 1.00 p.m., there was an unusually small gathering present. With sinking hearts we thought that the bad weather and road conditions would prevent people from coming.

At 1.30 p.m., the motorcade to Syne Village rolled out of the churchyard. Would you believe that the rain stopped, even though the sky remained overcast?

At Alta Gracia Trace, where the residents had erected a welcome banner and a small altar, the motorcade stopped and a decade of the rosary was prayed, a short historical spot on Fr Cornelius O'Hanlon and his contribution as parish priest over a hundred years ago, was presented.

As we left this area, there was a great manifestation of faith that will always remain with me: a woman sat in a wheelchair at a street corner, sheltered from the slight drizzle by umbrellas held by two men. She had obviously been brought out of her home to witness this moment.

The motorcade proceeded along the Erin Road up to Reyes Trace, where we turned around and headed back to the church. Many people came out of their houses to welcome the motorcade, sometimes throwing flowers. Welcome banners were also to be seen.

Back at the church the sparse crowd had grown somewhat, and we anxiously awaited the arrival of Fr Christian Chambers, who was coming from Mayaro.

Would he be able to make it? Then a miracle unfolded; not only did Fr Chambers arrive just in the nick of time, but something else struck us. Except for a slight drizzle at Alta Gracia Trace, the rain had ceased for the duration of the motorcade, with the sun actually coming out near the end of it; however within 15 minutes of our arrival back at the church the heavens opened, and the deluge continued, complete with thunder and lightening, until the end of the devotions!

The rosary, Liturgy of the Word and choir duties were carried out by the boys of Siparia Boys' RC School, ably directed by a team of their teachers, led by the dynamic Juliana Valdez.

In his homily, Fr Christian, preaching on John the Baptist's call to repentance, gave us some useful tips on how to go about repenting.

Here they are:
1) Identify areas in our lives that are not ready for the coming of the Lord.
2) Get rid of all excuses for not changing - God will grant us the necessary means.
3) Identify and appreciate what good we already enjoy.
4) Stop looking at how high the “mountains” (obstacles) in our lives are, and concentrate on making our “strides”.
5) Ask God to fill us with holy determination to remove the “mountains” in our lives.

We are often held in bondage by those things that are not of God, and today we are called to repent - to let go of these things, and let God. Father closed with a prayer to Our Lady, La Divina Pastora, to show us how to take our problems to God, as she did in her youthful distress.

Our thanks go out to the people who live along the motorcade route for their warm welcome, support and prayers; to the staff and pupils of Siparia Boys' RC, and to Fr Christian for battling rains, floods and landslides and so cheerfully officiating at the devotions.

Here is a man who is overjoyed at being a priest! A very special thank you to those pilgrims who made it through the discouraging weather to honour Our Lady with us, even to accompanying us on the motorcade.

The next devotions will be held on Sunday, January 14, when the motorcade will take us to Thick Village, from 1.30 p.m. Devotions begin at 3.00 p.m.