Adjutorium Nostrum

Popular belief dictates that things, whether good or bad, always come in threes.

I do not buy this notion since I believe that God, in His Infinite mercy and goodness, is more powerful than any mathematical combination.

While numbers (thanks to my college Math 53 instructor for teaching me this ) have a limit , God is infinite.

But for poetic license's sake, let us make believe that things do come in threes, and that three things actually helped build my scarlet menagerie. 

Looking at the sorry state of my scrapbook, my collection would not seem to be worth anything.

But those who have seen it are, in their own words, awed at how I was able to build such an album or how I got the cardinals to respond. 

The first step in the process was getting to know who is who and where they can be reached.

Initially, I had the resources of Catholic-Pages  to thank. (Sadly, I found out recently that the resource was last updated in 2007).   But since I did not always have access to the internet during those early years, I had to resort to ever-reliable printed resources. 

An indispensable resource, the 2001 Annuario Pontificio

My first resource, which is one hell of a database, is the Catholic Church's official directory, Annuario Pontificio. In it are the names and contact details of the cardinals, bishops and other prelates of the Universal Church all over the world. (I got the 2001 edition, which was hot off the Vatican press at that time.)

The second resource that helped me in my gathering process was a coffee table book which I did not think twice about buying. This beautiful book is entitled John Paul II and His Cardinals, which included developments about the Public Consistory of 2001,  where a record 44 new Princes of the Church were named.

Resource 2: John Paul II and His Cardinals

The book not only featured colored photos of the current members of the Sacred College but also a simple explainer or catechesis of who and what cardinals are, and what role they play in the life of the Catholic Church.  Candid photos of cardinals getting their vestments made also added more color and humanity to the cardinal-making process, which was perceived to be too exclusive or too highbrow for the ordinary Catholic to understand.

The third resource, which ultimately allowed me to carry on with my work despite the obstacles was..... faith.

Faith that the letters will get to where they were intended to go.... Faith that the cardinals will not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to my simple request....Faith that the Lord will bless my work, even if some consider my endeavor to be a lost cause, a worthless pastime. 

But with faith and God's help, I was able to make it.  

I was able to survive.

God did not let me down.

With faith and certainty I can truly say....

Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini. (Our help is in the name of the Lord)

Qui fecit caelum et terram. (Who made heaven and earth)
 

... as I embark on this new expedition in the still uncharted digital continent.

(P.S. In a very special way, I would like to thank Rev. Fr. Ronald M. Roberto,  pastor of Krus na Ligas (Holy Cross) Parish , for patiently answering my questions about Latin vocabulary and grammar, which I would be using in many of my posts. Salamat Father!)