- 9 months ago
The journey of prominent entrepreneur Mary Grace Dimacali only started with her love for experimenting with baking recipes and her "-ber month" fruitcakes that became an unexpected hit.
Her iconic ensaymadas and cheese rolls propelled her business further, so that the Cafe Mary Grace CEO turned one small kiosk of homemade baked goods into multiple cafes nationwide! Now, the business known for “the goodness of home" is looking into an international venture after years of hard work and sacrifice.
In this episode of Power Talks with Pia Arcangel, discover how Mary Grace Dimacali achieved growth and success amid balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship. Find out who is really behind the iconic logo — spoiler alert, it’s not her! — as well as what keeps her family and business closely knit.
Her iconic ensaymadas and cheese rolls propelled her business further, so that the Cafe Mary Grace CEO turned one small kiosk of homemade baked goods into multiple cafes nationwide! Now, the business known for “the goodness of home" is looking into an international venture after years of hard work and sacrifice.
In this episode of Power Talks with Pia Arcangel, discover how Mary Grace Dimacali achieved growth and success amid balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship. Find out who is really behind the iconic logo — spoiler alert, it’s not her! — as well as what keeps her family and business closely knit.
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00:00You really truly are already an icon.
00:02Am I?
00:03Yes. The logo is iconic and that's you.
00:05They think it's me. No, it's not.
00:07It's not you?
00:08No.
00:09Oh, was it based on somebody else's picture?
00:12It's a pleasant mother.
00:14Yeah, it's not me.
00:15Or maybe it was when I was thinner.
00:18My first experience was from a brownie mix in a box.
00:23In a box.
00:24Okay, that's what I can bake.
00:26The next experience I was in college,
00:28I wanted to bake a cake for my boyfriend.
00:31It was some kind of a flambé.
00:33Isn't that kind of ambitious?
00:35I know. I know it was hard as a rock.
00:39I tell mom entrepreneurs,
00:41put first the foundation of your life.
00:43If it's the care of your family, your husband,
00:46put that first in place before you jump
00:49and you forget about this.
00:51The foundation of Mary Grace now is my children.
00:54So I like to tell women,
00:55take your time.
00:57Don't be in a hurry.
00:58Let the seed burst to the ground and grow slowly
01:03to become, in God's time, you know, a tree.
01:06With faith, humility, and lots of resilience,
01:14prominent food entrepreneur Mary Grace de Makali
01:17transformed a small home bakery into a major cafe chain.
01:21Now a household name in the Philippines called Cafe Mary Grace.
01:25Join us on this episode of Power Talks
01:27as we venture into how the wonders and the joy of motherhood
01:31and the value of family-orientedness spurred a passion that turned a cafe
01:35into more than just that.
01:37It turned it into a home away from home.
01:40Miss Mary Grace, good morning.
01:42Thank you so much for having us here today.
01:44Good morning, Pia.
01:45It's such a lovely place that you have here.
01:48Very light, very airy.
01:50As all Mary Grace cafes are, 2006 was when the first cafe opened.
01:55But before that, Mary Grace was already a household name
01:59because we all knew what the Mary Grace and Saimada was,
02:01what the cheese rolls were like, and how yummy they were.
02:05Can you bring us back to the beginning, how it all started?
02:08I was home-based and I said,
02:11what can I do with my time while the children are in school?
02:14I was naturally attracted to baking books.
02:17I love to look at the pages of recipes.
02:20So I set out to try an experiment in the kitchen.
02:24And because I had so much products,
02:26I decided to put them in round containers and sell them in the village.
02:30So I had my first taste of entrepreneurship.
02:33And then I made fruitcakes.
02:35And they were a wonderful product to make every burr, burr of the year.
02:39Because the rest of the year, I'm with the kids.
02:42And from September to December is a time to be a mommy entrepreneur.
02:48And then from the fruitcakes, I decided to make some product.
02:52After coming from the U.S. for a baking course there,
02:56I had recipes of sourdough and rye bread,
02:59kala bread, all these American breads.
03:02But you know, God didn't intend me to go there.
03:06I was inspired to make the ensaymada and the cheese roll.
03:09These are products that Filipinos love.
03:11So I wanted to make the best.
03:13And so here was the ensaymada and the cheese roll.
03:17I shared them with friends.
03:19They bought the products.
03:21And my husband said,
03:22Why don't you go on a larger scale?
03:24I see banners hanging along McKinley Road.
03:28This bazaar and that bazaar.
03:30And that's what happened.
03:31My first bazaar was in Polo Club.
03:33And I was with my son and I brought 30 boxes.
03:37It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon, close to closing time.
03:40I hadn't sold a box.
03:42Oh, of the 30?
03:44Oh, 4 o'clock.
03:46Were you discouraged?
03:48It was my son who lifted my spirits and said,
03:50Mom, and then he was only 10 years old.
03:52This is Gabby.
03:54Mom, ask for a plate.
03:55Ask for a knife and a fork.
03:58Cut it up to bits and let the people try.
04:01So he's a better entrepreneur than me.
04:03And he was 10 years old at that time.
04:06And that's what I did.
04:07And I sold every box.
04:09Wow.
04:09Every box.
04:10So by closing, it was gone.
04:12Sold out.
04:13Yeah.
04:14Wow.
04:15So that was your first ever bazaar.
04:17And then how many years were you doing bazaars?
04:20Six years.
04:21From 1994 to year 2000.
04:25Then I took a course, entrepreneurship in AIM.
04:29And they taught us to make business plans and see the business from all angles.
04:34And I did come up with my business plan.
04:37Five-year business plan.
04:38So the first kiosk was opened under an escalator in Clorieta.
04:46That escalator goes up to the cinema.
04:48Do you remember?
04:49Yes, I do.
04:50I had a very small one, 2.5 square meters.
04:53You still have a kiosk there, right?
04:54It's still there.
04:55Yes.
04:55It's still there.
04:56So I didn't know that that was the first.
04:58That was the first.
04:59Okay.
04:592001, nearing two.
05:02Yes.
05:03And then I completed the 15 kiosks in the five years that I said I was going to grow my business.
05:10So then 2006 came.
05:12Okay, six years later.
05:14And the same son who said I should get a plate and a spoon and a fork and a knife, right?
05:21And sample.
05:23So the son as well who ventured to ask Ayala for a place, a little place.
05:30So this was a 49 square meter little cafe.
05:34Mm-hmm.
05:35That was the very beginning.
05:37Were you daunted?
05:38Was there any time?
05:40Of course.
05:40At any point that you felt a little?
05:44Plenty moments.
05:45Plenty moments.
05:47I would cry to my pillow because I had to learn along the way.
05:51You know what I mean?
05:53So many systems on the floor.
05:54You just don't know it, you know?
05:56From the baked goods to service of the food from the kitchen.
06:00I had to learn that as we, you know, plodded along from day to day.
06:06So the systems we have was really from hard work, common sense, diligence, industry,
06:14a lot of sacrifice, coming home late, you know?
06:20Thankfully, I laid the foundation.
06:22So you just grab opportunity as they come.
06:25So more, more hard work.
06:29More crying into my pillow.
06:32Yeah.
06:32But what were the tears?
06:34Were the tears of fear?
06:35Were they brought about by fear?
06:37Was it discouragement?
06:39Because I'm by nature a person who strives for excellence.
06:43By nature, I wish to delight.
06:44I want to bring across to diners a pleasant experience, delightful experience.
06:50So I must try my very best to get the food out there, hot, steaming, delicious, you know?
06:56Properly balanced flavors in time, right?
07:00And get the smile on his face worth every peso he pays us.
07:04It's just simply my wanting to be excellent.
07:07I'm trying to imagine what a day is like for you because you're involved in so many things.
07:12Yeah.
07:13Is it okay to take us through a typical day in the life of Mary Grace?
07:16Yep.
07:16After my interview with you, I go back to the office.
07:23I listen to hours of reporting from every department.
07:28So the department this afternoon is the back of the house.
07:32So I really like to look into operations.
07:35I need to look into the financial health of the business as well, you know?
07:39And you like to sometimes stop by the different branches.
07:42Yes.
07:42Yes, I do.
07:43For regular diners like us, it's possible to, you know, be dining and then see you, yeah?
07:48Yep, yep, yep.
07:50I'm sure people have their photo taken with you all the time when you come in.
07:53If they recognize me.
07:55How can they not?
07:57After this interview, they might.
08:01So when you were starting, do you remember like how many hours a day you would be spending in the kitchen?
08:06Well, when the kids were out of school, I mean, they were in school, so there was time.
08:11Ah, so you would do all the work while they were in class.
08:15Then when bazaars began, they were a little older.
08:18So they would accompany me.
08:19They would sell.
08:21So they were getting their early experience of entrepreneurship.
08:25Right?
08:25The rule was, you mustn't come home with a box.
08:32Yeah, all boxes must be sold.
08:34Yeah, all boxes.
08:35That means we make good.
08:39Do you still remember how much your earnings were in your first bazaar?
08:42Yeah, of course.
08:43Thirty, thirty boxes times.
08:49It's even more expensive than that.
08:50Oh, it's even more expensive than that.
08:51It's even more expensive than that.
08:52It's even more expensive than that.
08:53It's even more expensive than that.
08:54You mentioned that you started with the fruitcakes, and then the semada, and then the cheese rolls.
08:59And then you had to expand your menu, your offerings when you opened the cafe.
09:04Yes.
09:04So are these, the dishes that you offer in the menu now, are some of them like
09:09dishes that you grew up with that you would prepare also for your children?
09:12Yes, of course.
09:13Of course.
09:13There's the tomato and herb.
09:15I was just saying that that's my favorite.
09:18That's my favorite too.
09:20I'm in good company.
09:23It's healthy.
09:24It's so healthy.
09:25It's made from scratch.
09:26Everything in there.
09:28So I had a great friend.
09:29Her name was Winnie, and she, she helped me, you know, put recipes together.
09:34How to do the costing, etc.
09:36I love Winnie.
09:37Winnie Sacro was her name.
09:38They're the sister of a dear friend to Dita, and they helped me along the way, and then encouraged me
09:44to come up with my own recipes.
09:48And that's what we have now.
09:49That's what you have now.
09:50Yeah, the latest is the salpicaw.
09:53So I feel like when we come into any Cafe Mary Grace, it's probably what it would feel like going to your home.
10:01And we would be served the same things and, you know, greeted with the same warmth.
10:06Are these some of the dishes that you still serve at home now?
10:08I mean, when it's just you having dinner with your family?
10:10Yes, yes, yes, of course.
10:12The salads out there.
10:14We have the soup, you know.
10:16We have salpicaw.
10:18What we have in the cafes, we also serve at family gatherings.
10:23Or we all choke to our nearby Mary Grace.
10:27That would be easier.
10:30No need to set the plate and all of that.
10:32Yeah, yeah.
10:33Bring my family along, my siblings, their wives, the children, you know, a fun time.
10:38Do you still spend a lot of time in the kitchen nowadays, whether for personal reasons?
10:42Well, it's a bigger kitchen.
10:44I am in my small kitchen, still my small kitchen.
10:47My grandchildren come, Lola, we make cookies together, you know, we make bread together.
10:54How old is your eldest grandchild?
10:56He's now 13.
10:57And the youngest?
10:58The youngest would be now nearing three.
11:03Such fun ages.
11:04Imagine from three to 13.
11:06And there are times that you have all of them together in the kitchen?
11:09Well, the boys who are not really into baking will come sometimes and sift the flour, but that's it.
11:17And they'll come when it's cooked, when it's baked, to eat and to sample.
11:22But no, one time they did make Guadalupe cookies.
11:26We shaped the cookies, the sugar cookies, you know, and stamped them with Our Lady of Guadalupe.
11:33And they baked and they'd cool and they'd paint them.
11:36All your kids are now involved in the business.
11:40Did you actively seek them out to be a part of the business or did they just come into it on their own?
11:47You know, they all came on their own.
11:50So maybe, where was this coming from?
11:53Seeing mom, they come home from school, they see her in the kitchen.
11:56You know, and then every birth time, they're there.
11:59They see fruitcakes, you know, lining up the racks during bazaars.
12:06You know, they're there wrapping and brushing and loading into boxes.
12:10You know, so they imbibed it, you know, the diligence, the industry.
12:15What's the feeling knowing that your children wanted to be a part of the business?
12:19Not that you had to ask them or force them to come in?
12:23Yeah, I never, never asked.
12:26I swear to God, I never...
12:28You know, Gabby, the one who would...
12:29Who asked you all the important questions.
12:33And the one who said, Mom, cut the answer to pieces.
12:36He was already going to enter into proper.
12:39Med proper?
12:40Yeah, med proper.
12:41Okay.
12:42He turned around.
12:44And then from there, the next one to join us was Adrian, who was a lawyer.
12:50And we needed that.
12:51We needed somebody to teach us all, you know, HR, etc.
12:56The legality of the business.
12:57And then the next one to join us was Rafi.
13:00He turned around too.
13:02And then finally, the youngest, who was into theater, would you believe?
13:06She made the kitchen her theater.
13:10And she embraced.
13:12And oh boy, she heads the kitchen.
13:15And when I say kitchen, this is bakery.
13:19We're talking about not 10 casambahays or 20 casambahays.
13:22We're talking about 400 people.
13:26So she's involved in that.
13:27She's in...
13:28So she does quality.
13:29That's just the bakery.
13:30We have the commissary too.
13:32Oh, it's separate.
13:35Separate.
13:35This is the baked goods.
13:36This is the dining food.
13:38Yeah.
13:38The commissary.
13:39So all the kids are involved.
13:40How about your husband?
13:41Is he involved in any way?
13:43Very involved.
13:46By always reminding me about quality.
13:50He's my number one critique.
13:52So he's quality assurance check.
13:58Oh, how nice it must be to have everybody in the family.
14:02Ah, he's the corporate guy as well.
14:04Ah, okay.
14:04So in an official capacity.
14:07In Mary Grace, yes.
14:09He's now our chairman.
14:10Okay.
14:11And he's behind a lot of things.
14:13But when I was in the business, professionally, you know, he was heading his own company.
14:19Ah, okay.
14:20Yes.
14:20And then later on joined us chairman.
14:23Later on, when he was retired, he joined us already.
14:28So I imagine there are both ups and downs to having the whole family working together.
14:33You said it.
14:36What are some of the best parts of working together with a family?
14:40The best parts is I can gather them to pray, to pray the rosary.
14:48And I like to say at this point that if it's the rosary that keeps the family together, you know,
14:54it keeps the family and business together as well.
14:56We have our difficulties, of course.
14:58We have our disagreements, you know.
15:00We have our differences in opinion, how to tackle one problem, you know.
15:05But in the end, I think everybody marches to the same tune after mom.
15:13After listening to all of them, after I pray about something, about decisions,
15:19and make my decision, and everybody then follows.
15:24You said that you're able to gather them all to pray the rosary, even now that they're adults.
15:29Does that mean you do it together in the office?
15:31Or?
15:32Zoom.
15:33On Zoom.
15:33Oh, okay.
15:34On Zoom.
15:34So every Wednesday, which is the Mother Perpetual Help, we gather on Zoom to pray the rosary.
15:41But when we're physically together, we pray as well.
15:44And that's something that you did with them also, even while they were growing up.
15:48Yes.
15:48Yes.
15:48Yes.
15:49Yes.
15:49And my grandkids.
15:52The tradition that has been passed on to them.
15:55Because Mary Grace is built on the foundation of love for Our Lady.
16:01So how can it keep going through generations if the next generation, after my children, do not love her?
16:09They have to love her.
16:10They have to love the thing she loves, which is number one, the Holy Rosary.
16:15And so you're able to pass it on now.
16:17Yeah.
16:18With every Hail Mary, they're sitting around, no?
16:21This is the Blessed Mother.
16:23There is a wooden bowl of colored pieces of stones.
16:28Oh, okay.
16:29Yeah.
16:30Blue and green.
16:30So those are their beads?
16:32And every Hail Mary, they get to pick up a stone and then put it at the bowl at the feet of Our Lady.
16:40Oh, that's so nice.
16:44So your Zoom, it's not just your children.
16:46It's also their spouses and their children.
16:48Spouses and their children.
16:49Really the whole family.
16:51Oh, that's such a beautiful thing to do together as a family.
16:54What was it like for Mary Grace growing up?
16:57I mean, were you a young girl in the kitchen already playing or baking bread?
17:02Would you believe my first experience was from a brownie mix in a box?
17:08Ah, in a box.
17:09Okay.
17:09That's what I can bake.
17:12A brownie?
17:13Yeah.
17:13Yes.
17:13The next experience, I was in college.
17:15I wanted to bake a cake for my boyfriend.
17:18It was some kind of a flambé.
17:20Isn't that kind of ambitious?
17:22I know.
17:22I know.
17:23It was hard as a rock.
17:26Whereas a flambé should be soft as a pillow.
17:31There was a lot of showmanship to it.
17:33You pour alcohol and then you light it.
17:36Ooh, flambé.
17:38Right?
17:38But it was hard as a rock.
17:39Okay.
17:40Inedible?
17:41Well, if you like to eat a rock.
17:46I'm sure the effort was appreciated.
17:48In college, did you take up a course that was related?
17:52See?
17:52No.
17:52I'm a psychology.
17:54Oh, psychology.
17:54I'm a psychology grad.
17:56Yeah.
17:57But did you have experience in the workforce before Mary Grace?
18:00Before getting married?
18:00Yeah.
18:01Here's what I want to say.
18:03I mean, growing up as a student, I was very entrepreneurial.
18:07You remember college fairs?
18:09Yes.
18:10Did you ever man a booth?
18:12Yes.
18:12But I never created anything to sell in the booth.
18:15I was just there to fulfill a shift.
18:20Well, I think I was the president of the class.
18:22And while everybody was into really, you know, fast selling products like barbecue.
18:26Barbecue was always number one.
18:27I said, let's sell Halo-Halo.
18:31Did I make it?
18:32No.
18:32I was entrepreneurial.
18:33I bought them from the grocery, the ube and the kaong.
18:36And then you sold it.
18:38We sold it.
18:39We sold a lot.
18:41And there I was making kayo the yellow, you know.
18:44Where did that entrepreneurial gene come from?
18:46Is it from your mom, your dad?
18:49My dad.
18:50My dad.
18:51My dad's entrepreneurial.
18:52He had his own business.
18:54Yes, yes.
18:55And your mom was a homemaker or was she also?
18:57She was a homemaker.
18:59She comes from a family, especially her mom who cooked very well.
19:04But she was basically a poet.
19:09Very artistic and creative.
19:11She was a poet, but she had a natural palette as well, you know, taste for food.
19:16So I think I got that from her.
19:18I got my devotion to Our Lady from her as well.
19:22But from my dad, it was all about, you know, never say die.
19:28Just keep moving forward.
19:30Keep moving forward.
19:31And then even if things are falling all around you, just, you know, eyes on the ball.
19:37Ms. Mary Grace, you talk about how important it is, your role as a mother,
19:41and how you like to balance it out with being an entrepreneur.
19:45What are the most pressing challenges?
19:48I mean, there are a lot of women out there who want to be able to have the best of both worlds.
19:51So what do you think is the secret to being able to do both?
19:54Yeah.
19:55First things first.
19:56Family first.
19:57Then let the business follow after family.
20:00I tell mommy entrepreneurs, I told you how long I took to grow, right?
20:05If I go back to fruitcake years, that's 1986, 83.
20:10Oh, the fruitcake started in 86.
20:11Yeah.
20:12Oh, okay.
20:13Why are we now 17?
20:1517 plus 25.
20:17Is that 39 years?
20:18Almost 40, yes.
20:19Yeah, so I tell mom entrepreneurs, put first the foundation of your life.
20:23If it's the care of your family, your husband, put that first in place before you jump
20:30and you forget about this.
20:32Because I did that, Pia, the foundation of Mary Grace now is my children.
20:37Isn't that amazing?
20:39So I like to tell women, take your time.
20:42Don't be in a hurry.
20:44Let the seed burst to the ground and grow slowly to become in God's time, you know, a tree.
20:52I like to think of myself as taking the gifts and being able to return the gifts back to God.
20:58Double, triple, build, build. Build. Build his kingdom.
21:03We all have to be co-creators of building God's kingdom.
21:07What vision do you still have for Mary Grace?
21:10I hope we'll stay a decade, two more, maybe three or four, maybe in other places,
21:22out of Manila.
21:23Well, we're already in Baguio and La Union and Lucena, no?
21:28Maybe out of the country.
21:29Ms. Mary Grace, you really truly are already an icon.
21:33Am I?
21:33Yes. Well, first of all, the logo is iconic and that's you, the silhouette.
21:38They think it's me. No, it's not.
21:40Is that you?
21:41No.
21:42Oh, was it based on somebody else's picture?
21:45It's the Blessed Mother.
21:47You see, the Blessed Mother, her head is bent.
21:50You see the logo, her head is bent.
21:52That's her humility.
21:54And she's looking into a bowl because she's always nurturing and feeding.
21:58Yeah, it's not me.
22:00Or maybe it was when I was thinner.
22:03But no, no, it was my way.
22:04Well, that's such a beautiful explanation.
22:05Yeah, because the Mary in Mary Grace is her.
22:10Because you were named after Mother Mary.
22:12My mom named me Mary Grace, so she must have thought, you know.
22:15Yeah.
22:16Oh, that's such a beautiful story.
22:19I didn't know that that was the story behind the logo.
22:21We're so lucky to have you and Icon sitting here with us.
22:28So we're going to move on to our next segment.
22:30It's called Confessions of an Icon.
22:32So you just ask very quick, simple questions.
22:34Sure, sure.
22:35And the first thing that comes to mind, please let us know.
22:37Yes.
22:37First question, what is your favorite item on the Mary Grace menu?
22:41You mentioned earlier the tomato and herb pasta.
22:43I love the tomato and herb, yeah.
22:44Is there something else?
22:45The second best.
22:46I like the salpicow, but I can't eat too much of that.
22:49So stick to the tomato and herb pasta.
22:53Which I share with my husband.
22:55And we have a salad.
22:57I love very much the prawn and mango papaya salad, yeah.
23:01If you had to choose between ensaymada and cheese rolls for dessert.
23:05Which one would I have?
23:06Yes.
23:07Oh dear.
23:08The mommy is the ensaymada, the daughter is the cheese roll.
23:11I think I love them both.
23:13I love queso de bola.
23:14Do you?
23:15Yes, I do.
23:15I love that the cheese roll is, you know,
23:19like in this form and the shape that you can easily pop into your mouth.
23:24So preference, I guess, for customers is the cheese.
23:30And maybe queso de bola being Christmassy, you know, they would go for the queso de bola.
23:37Maybe the senior citizens go for the queso de bola.
23:41Is Cafe Mary Grace really the place to be for the titas of Manila?
23:45What do you think?
23:47Well, I am a tita and I like to come here.
23:50But my daughter also likes to come here.
23:53It's for all generations.
23:54I think so.
23:55Do you prefer coffee or hot chocolate?
23:57Okay.
23:58Hot chocolate to celebrate.
24:01Coffee on a regular day.
24:03How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
24:05Only half a cup.
24:06You're very strict about that.
24:07I share with my husband.
24:09Oh, sweet.
24:09You share your cheese rolls.
24:11You share your coffee.
24:12You share the salpicao.
24:15Single shot and latte.
24:18We share that.
24:19How about the creation that you're proudest of?
24:22Of course.
24:22The ensaymada.
24:24But there was the lemon orange chiffon, the chocolate cake, the sans rival, the mango bene.
24:30By the way, you know the mango bene?
24:32Guess who the mango bene is named after?
24:36Who?
24:37My one and only Dashaun.
24:40His name was Bene.
24:42Guess who Bene was named after the dog, huh?
24:46St. Benedict?
24:47Yes.
24:49Okay.
24:50Okay.
24:50Because my first guess was St. Benedict, but there's a dog.
24:55So the Dashaun, the cake is named after the dog, the dog is named after the Pope.
25:02Well, Bene means good, right?
25:04Because you know when I opened the first cafe, that little dog was with you all the time.
25:08Was with me.
25:10Right.
25:11And then when I go everywhere, he's on the, on the, you know, the floor of the car, right?
25:16When we go to Mass, he was also with me in Mass.
25:20When we go to a retreat, he'll be with us in a retreat.
25:24Beloved dog.
25:25Beloved dog.
25:26So naturally, you name a cake after him, right?
25:28Yeah.
25:29You mentioned that you like to do the rosary with your family and pass this tradition on to them.
25:35Is it something also that you do with a team at Mary Grace?
25:37Yes.
25:38Yes.
25:39How did you guess?
25:40I was, I was thinking you probably, if you do it with your family, you probably do it also with a whole team.
25:45Yes.
25:45That's, you know, really, that's the, how do you call it?
25:48The overall mission.
25:50The mission above every, every other thing is really leading the people to God.
25:55Ms. Mary Grace, what is the secret to happiness?
25:58Oh, wow.
26:00The secret to happiness is for me, simple taste, simple wants.
26:06That's true.
26:06Because if you have too many wants, then how will you ever be satisfied?
26:09Ms. Mary Grace, you are in a position of influence.
26:13And with that position comes a certain amount of power.
26:16So my question is for you, what does power really mean?
26:19Power for me is being able to gather people because you have the resources too,
26:26to let them sit and listen as they would in a retreat.
26:30Power would be able to announce that we are having confessions the whole day, we're having Holy Mass and they come.
26:39For me, that is real power because what power is, is to change.
26:45What power is, is to transform.
26:47What power is to bring people to the light.
26:50For me, that's power.
26:52And I'm glad I've been given the power.
26:53Ms. Mary Grace, so beautifully said.
26:56Thank you so much.
26:57And thank you for sitting down with us, sharing your stories and your time with us.
27:01Thank you, Pia.
27:04Thanks for watching.
27:05Don't forget to like, subscribe and download PowerTalks with Pia Arcangel on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
27:12GMA Integrated News streaming platforms or wherever you listen.
27:16Till the next episode.
27:22See you then.
27:29Bye.
27:31Bye.
27:33Bye.
27:34Bye.
27:35Bye.
27:35Bye.
27:36Bye.
27:36Bye.