Politics took a backseat Friday when President Arroyo and her Cabinet gathered to offer prayers for the swift recovery of former President Corazon Aquino.

The President attended a 10 a.m. healing mass in Malacanang for her former ally, the cancer-stricken Mrs. Aquino, who is reportedly in stable condition and even recently took sips of milk shake, before starting her work schedule.

Vice President Noli de Castro, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, several Cabinet members, and relatives and friends of the Aquino family also joined the mass for the healing of the 76-year-old heroine of the 1986 People Power Revolution who was diagnosed with colon cancer last year.

The Aquino family immediately thanked the President and her Cabinet for “putting aside the affairs of the state” to pray for the health of the former President, currently confined at a hospital, Aquino family friend Deedee Siytangco said.

Siytangco, spokesperson of the former leader, said the children of Mrs. Aquino were informed about the Palace mass but weren’t able to attend since they had to stay with their mother at the hospital.

Representing the Aquino family in the mass, instead, were some of the former president’s sisters in-law and nieces. Among them were former Sen. Tessie Aquino Oreta, Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco and daughter China, and Jackie Aquino, daughter of former Sen. Agapito “Butz” Aquino.

“We want to thank the President and the Cabinet for putting aside the affairs of the state for a few hours to pray for her, to be united in prayer,” Siytangco told reporters after the mass.

“I guess that’s also the power of Mrs. Aquino bringing people together to pray. As the priest said, we have differences, we come from different points but we come together in prayer. That’s the power of prayer, bringing us together to pray,” she added.

Siytangco said former President Aquino is “doing all right” and was able to sip “a little milk shake” which she had asked for last Thursday.

“That’s very good news. Maybe she’s trying very hard to get her appetite back, and this means she’s able to put down something although milk shake is melted ice cream,” she said.

She said Mrs. Arroyo can also talk to her children and is being informed about the prayers and novenas being offered to her. “She’s thankful that people are supporting her,” Siytangco said. “She’s stable, conscious, and aware,” she added.

In his homily, Fr. Jason Laguerta prayed that the Lord would grant healing and strength to the former leader, whom he described as a “woman of faith and courage.”

Oreta, chairperson of the Early Childhood Care and Development Council, said she will continue to pray for Mrs. Aquino’s recovery, adding that the former president is “very spiritual and has a good relationship with God.”

“Cory, you are a brave woman. We all admire you, and we hope God will give you more years so that you can somehow be a role model for this country,” Oreta said.

Industrialist Jose Concepcion Jr. said he will continue to pray that former President Aquino will recover from her illness and continue to inspire Filipinos. “We leave it to God. Nothing is impossible with him but I hope she does because she is an institution and a legacy for this country,” Concepcion said.

At the Palace mass, only a few people were seen wearing yellow shirts, the color associated with former President Aquino. After the mass, the President personally extended her prayers for Mrs. Aquino with her relatives present in the Palace before leaving the hall.