My dear brothers and sisters in Christ. As the Apostolic Nuncio, it gives me a lot of joy and happiness to be with you this morning in this beautiful sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to celebrate this mass in memory, recognition and appreciation of the life of Gliceria Rustia Tantoco, better known as Glecy, who was born on December 21st, 1923, which will be 100 years ago tomorrow.

Glecy was called to God in June of 1994 at the young age of 70 years old. I thank in a very special way Nedy Tantoco, who invited me to celebrate this Mass with you this morning, in recognition and appreciation of her mother, your grandmother, your great grandmother, and all of you who are in some way associated with Rustan’s, as executives and employees who have worked with her and continue to work in Rustan’s, the department store that she founded.

All of us thank God for the gift of Glecy, the founder of your wonderful institution. As we know, she was born here in Manila in 1923 not so far from where we are this morning on San Marcelino Street in Malate. She went to St. Scholastica’s College, which is also relatively close by. And then in 1944, she married her beloved, Bienvenido R. Tantoco, her husband, the love of her life. They married in 1944 in Quiapo Church. Truth be told, they actually kind of eloped. If I’m not mistaken, without the permission of their parents. They got married in Quiapo Church in 1944. And Benny and Glecy were married for 50 years before she was called to God in 1994.

As all of us know, Glecy and Benny founded the immensely successful Rustan’s in 1952 here in Manila, which has gone from strength to strength. Now, 70 years later, it is flourishing and is represented by all of you, employees, staff, and all associated with Rustan’s. We also know and we appreciate the fact that Bienvenido Sr. served in Rome as the Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Holy See from 1983 and 1986. And during that time, Glecy was his faithful companion and associate in diplomatic life in Rome. Diplomatic life usually requires a team effort of husband and wife.

I am alone in my job because our bishops are not married. But most of the diplomats have a spouse to help them. And Benny and Glecy were a team through those years in Rome. She then went on to many triumphs and many successes.

Glecy eventually ended up in Jersey, in Franklin Lakes which, coincidentally, is not so far from where I lived as a young boy, about two towns away from the urban county in northern New Jersey. So, we have that in common — myself, Glecy and Benny.

In 2019, Glecy’s eldest child, her only son Rico, who will be speaking to us later on this morning, had an interview in a national daily about his mother. As I was preparing myself for this Mass this morning, I read what Rico said about his mother. It was so beautiful, it struck me. Rico said of his mother, Glecy: “She never took herself seriously and was such a lovely and humble person. That humility made her strong. When I was very young, she would drag me to church often to pray, and I had to sit there quietly. But now I feel we do have to stay close to God. Mommy was a very prayerful person and she would be able to surmount obstacles because of her faith.”

Those are the reminiscences of Rico, and perhaps he will repeat to us later this morning what he said about his wonderful mother. There are three things he said in that interview, that short passage, which struck me and which resonates so beautifully with the liturgy that we’re celebrating this morning, here in these final days of Advent, and in preparing for the birth of Jesus.

Three things that Rico said about his mother, about Glecy. Her humility made her strong. She was a very prayerful person, and she was able to surmount difficulties and overcome difficulties because of her faith. Those three things — humility, prayerfulness and ability to overcome difficulties through faith — came to Glecy because of Catholic formation. It was part of her DNA as a Catholic woman of that generation, as something we all admire and really try to emulate in our own lives.

And those three characteristics are beautifully represented in the Gospel that we heard this morning. First of all, we hear those words the angel says to Mary in our gospel this morning. It’s called the Annunciation. It’s a Gospel that actually took place nine months ago. This is the Annunciation, the moment in which Mary becomes pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit in Nazareth. Nine months ago, March 25th, we read this Gospel in church. On December 25th, we will celebrate the outcome of that Gospel. Jesus is born on that day.

And what does the angel say to Mary? The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God.” Why is Mary favored by God? Why was Mary chosen by God? Certainly because of her humility. Because of her beautiful, great humility. That humility that Glecy, in her own way, had. The humility in Mary drew the attention of God. And that made God choose her to be the mother of Jesus. And Mary, later on, in the two-week prayer of the ‘Magnificat,’ speaks about humility and loneliness. And when she prays the ‘Magnificat,’ she says, God has shown the strength of his arms… He has scattered the proud and their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. That’s what humility is. Not to be conceited, not to be proud, but to be lowly. In a certain sense, humility is truth. It’s the truth of a human person.

When we pretend to be someone, we’re not humble. Humility is simply loving the truth about who we are, being comfortable with who we are. And that is, as we said, one of the things that Rico remembers about faith being humility. And humility, as Rico said, made his mother, Glecy, strong. When we know who we are, we become strong. When we are confused about who we are, or pretend to be someone we’re not, we become weak. Glecy knew who she was. That was humility.

And secondly, as people say, she was a very prayerful person. How important is prayer? You see, that was in the “Magnificat,” in the life of Mary, in that beautiful dialogue with the angel that we heard this morning. Mary responds to the angel with a prayer. She says to the angel, when the angel tells her that she’s looking at the Virgin Mother of God, “Behold, I am a handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy Word.” Mary responds to the angel with prayer.

Prayer is a part of our lives, brothers and sisters. If we want to live and be conscious of God’s will, we need to be able to pray. Of course, all of us are busy. Whether we have important positions or whether we’re doing something, as there are a lot of things going on. We need to find time to pray. And prayer puts us in touch with God. Prayer allows God. Prayer gives God permission to do what He wants to do with our lives. Prayer allows God to do what He wants to do with our lives. So find time to pray. Pray when you’re not going to work in the morning. Try to pray the rosary in the jeepney or whatever. You can do it without disturbing the other passengers. Prayer is so important.

And Glecy was a person of prayer. So after humility and prayerfulness, the third quality, which is so important for all of us, was she was able to surmount difficulties and obstacles because of her faith. Glecy, like all of us, faced obstacles and difficulties. I’m sure her family would know them far better than all of us. But no life is exempt from difficulties and obstacles. So we overcome them through faith. And we see that also in today’s Gospel when Mary hears the angel tell her nothing is impossible with God. Those are the words of the angel to Mary this morning. Nothing is impossible with God. We surmount all of our difficulties with faith, for with God, all things are possible.

Our plans may not work out exactly the way we thought they would or the way we intended. That’s true in everyone. I’m sure it was true in Glecy’s life. I’m sure she did not imagine that someday she would be living in New York City or in Franklin Lakes in New Jersey. But we are able to overcome everything through faith if we abandon ourselves to God’s will, if we say, like Mary does in the Gospel, let it be done to me. When we allow God to work in our lives, nothing becomes impossible for God.

So, for me, as your Apostolic Nuncio, as one who wants to honor the memory of Glecy, and you see her beautifully portrayed here with her papal honors that she received in Rome when she was working as the wife of the ambassador to the Holy See, honored by the Holy Father for her dedication and her pact of commitment, all of us must remember those three things about her life — her humility, her prayerfulness, and her ability to overcome obstacles through faith.

Let’s ask Our Lady on this, as we are close to Christmas, as we think about the events of nine months age that have led us on to December 25th, to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Let’s ask for Mary to speak for us, to pray for us. Let’s also thank God for the gift of the life of Glecy — Glecy Tantoco. Let us continue to thank God for her.