Carmelite sisters receive offerings of eggs in exchange for prayers for good weather

Along the busy street of Lacson, Mandalagan, you probably don’t expect to find a quiet monastery just steps from Robinson’s Mall. The abbey is known as the “Carmel of God’s Love” and, true to its name, the Carmelite Sisters offer themselves to God by living a life of contemplative prayer and personal sacrifice. Since their spiritual focus is on prayer, many of the nuns’ lives are hidden from the public. Every day, the nuns receive prayer requests from the town written on a piece of paper accompanied by a donation in kind or in the form of goods. A popular token of appreciation given to the Carmelite sisters is in the form of eggs accompanied by a special request for good weather. Bacolod City schools used to offer dozens of eggs to the Carmelite Sisters in exchange for good weather for an upcoming school trip or event. The University of St. La Salle Bacolod would offer dozens of eggs to the Carmelite sisters before their graduating students have their Cebu-Bohol trip which usually takes place around the end of the school year. Many people believe in the sisters’ prayer and many have witnessed the miraculous intercessions of the sister. This egg offering for good weather not only happens at the Carmelite monastery here in Bacolod but also in other places in the Philippines. During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cebu, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia delivered truckloads of eggs to the Carmelite sisters. Although there was no typhoon during that time, the place has been experiencing heavy rain due to the cold front.

The donated eggs are not delivered directly to the Carmelite Sisters as they cannot leave the convent and see people. People who want to offer eggs to the monastery must deliver the donations to a person in charge and then that person will deliver the eggs and the note containing the prayer to the nuns. You may be wondering what the nuns do with all these eggs. These eggs turn into cookies and other treats. These are then sold at a shop within the convent to raise funds for their monastery.

Offering eggs has been an ancient tradition and the origin of this practice has been a mystery. Actually, eggs are not the only goods that are offered to the Carmelite sister, but fruits, bread and food can also be given. However, most people still feel that eggs are the most effective form of offering.