Our Lady of the Rose, other terms of endearmentBy Monina Allarey Mercado
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05/18/2008
WHAT A DISCOVERY IT IS TO BE young again.
We discover youth while on a pilgrimage to Antipolo all the way from Makati. It is still cool in the early morning of May 9 when we toddle up the slight incline to the Antipolo Cathedral. We are a scraggly procession, mostly old or middle-aged men and women, no more than 400, filing out of buses and cars to accompany the image of Nuestra Señora de la Virgen from the church of Poblacion in Makati. This image of Our Lady has been venerated since 1718 in what is now St. Peter and Paul Church, just off the Bel Air villages. The Jesuits brought the original image, made of ivory, from Mexico. In the cool churchyard beneath the tipolo trees, our procession pauses with the image of Nuestra Señora de la Rosa, which rests on a small dais. We reach out to touch her hands and vestments. We crowd around her and grin like children for pictures. It is a rare chance to be close to the antique image, which is enshrined on the high altar.
Our Lady’s smile
Of particular interest is the smile—about ready to chuckle—on the face of Nuestra Señora de la Rosa. She smiles because she is holding the Child Jesus. She smiles because we are fussing over her and her Baby. When the Spanish colonial regime ended, the American forces made a garrison out of the Poblacion church in old Makati in l899. There was no time to remove the statue of Our Lady when the American troops marched in. The carved ivory faces and hands of Mother and Child disappeared. When the loss was discovered, the parishioners lost no time in mourning. They commissioned an artisan to carve new faces out of wood. We no longer know the artisan’s name but we know his joyful heart. He crafted that merry, ready-to-chuckle smile on Our Lady’s face—the smile that delights us today.
Lithograph
To the Antipolo shrine we come bearing a gift. It is an enlarged scanned print of the lithograph of two images—that of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje and that of Nuestra Señora de la Rosa.
Everyday little graces
During our pilgrimage, I walk with Vilma Ruzir, now in her 50s. Vilma has lived in Poblacion since her grandmother’s time when she was dedicated to the Virgen de la Rosa. The devotion is carried on to her own children and grandchildren now, Vilma says. They are prayerful. I also walk with Buboy Rivera, the historian of the shrine. When asked what miracles the Virgen de la Rosa does, Buboy replies: “Nothing spectacular, nothing noticeable. Just everyday little graces that even surprise me.” The Marian shrines are now linked by highways and overpasses. Through this access, pilgrims by the thousands continue to go every day and every year. The Antipolo shrine is arguably more popular, being ingrained in the Filipino piety. To us pilgrims, Father Villegas says that Our Lady is the constant and loving guide and companion, always ready to lead to God. Today hundreds of young people trek to the Antipolo hills twice a year—on the eve of Good Friday and the eve of May l. From dusk into the dawn, they walk from as far as Quiapo and from as near as Quezon City.
Terms of endearment
It is a quiet throng, in small groups, sometimes accompanying an image of Mary. The pilgrims’ way to Antipolo is marked with bas relief carvings of the 20 mysteries of the rosary. Just a note for whose who wonder why there are so many titles and names for Our Lady. She is only one person: Mary. She is the mother of Jesus, true God and true man. She has many names, all terms of endearment.
That is how love is: Can’t say enough.
She is named Nuestra Señora de la Rosa, Our Lady of the Rose, because the rose is the most beautiful flower. She is named Our Lady of Antipolo because that was where her image was found—on top of a tipolo tree hundreds of years ago. In Baclaran, another famous shrine, she is called Our Lady of Perpetual Help, because that is what she does—always helpful. And because she is always our mother, we are always young.
WHAT A DISCOVERY IT IS TO BE young again.
We discover youth while on a pilgrimage to Antipolo all the way from Makati. It is still cool in the early morning of May 9 when we toddle up the slight incline to the Antipolo Cathedral. We are a scraggly procession, mostly old or middle-aged men and women, no more than 400, filing out of buses and cars to accompany the image of Nuestra Señora de la Virgen from the church of Poblacion in Makati. This image of Our Lady has been venerated since 1718 in what is now St. Peter and Paul Church, just off the Bel Air villages. The Jesuits brought the original image, made of ivory, from Mexico. In the cool churchyard beneath the tipolo trees, our procession pauses with the image of Nuestra Señora de la Rosa, which rests on a small dais. We reach out to touch her hands and vestments. We crowd around her and grin like children for pictures. It is a rare chance to be close to the antique image, which is enshrined on the high altar.
Our Lady’s smile
Of particular interest is the smile—about ready to chuckle—on the face of Nuestra Señora de la Rosa. She smiles because she is holding the Child Jesus. She smiles because we are fussing over her and her Baby. When the Spanish colonial regime ended, the American forces made a garrison out of the Poblacion church in old Makati in l899. There was no time to remove the statue of Our Lady when the American troops marched in. The carved ivory faces and hands of Mother and Child disappeared. When the loss was discovered, the parishioners lost no time in mourning. They commissioned an artisan to carve new faces out of wood. We no longer know the artisan’s name but we know his joyful heart. He crafted that merry, ready-to-chuckle smile on Our Lady’s face—the smile that delights us today.
Lithograph
To the Antipolo shrine we come bearing a gift. It is an enlarged scanned print of the lithograph of two images—that of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje and that of Nuestra Señora de la Rosa.
Done in 1749, the lithograph was by Laureano Atlas, commissioned as the frontispiece of the Jesuit chronicles written by Pedro de Murillo, SJ.The gift is from Fr. Estellito Villegas, parish priest of the church of Poblacion, Makati. A devotee of Our Lady since he was a seminarian, Father Villegas notes the historical impact of the lithograph that depicts the two Marian images. They are both in ancient and famous shrines venerated since the 1700s, when the old highway linking Antipolo and Makati each to each was the Pasig River.
Everyday little graces
During our pilgrimage, I walk with Vilma Ruzir, now in her 50s. Vilma has lived in Poblacion since her grandmother’s time when she was dedicated to the Virgen de la Rosa. The devotion is carried on to her own children and grandchildren now, Vilma says. They are prayerful. I also walk with Buboy Rivera, the historian of the shrine. When asked what miracles the Virgen de la Rosa does, Buboy replies: “Nothing spectacular, nothing noticeable. Just everyday little graces that even surprise me.” The Marian shrines are now linked by highways and overpasses. Through this access, pilgrims by the thousands continue to go every day and every year. The Antipolo shrine is arguably more popular, being ingrained in the Filipino piety. To us pilgrims, Father Villegas says that Our Lady is the constant and loving guide and companion, always ready to lead to God. Today hundreds of young people trek to the Antipolo hills twice a year—on the eve of Good Friday and the eve of May l. From dusk into the dawn, they walk from as far as Quiapo and from as near as Quezon City.
Terms of endearment
It is a quiet throng, in small groups, sometimes accompanying an image of Mary. The pilgrims’ way to Antipolo is marked with bas relief carvings of the 20 mysteries of the rosary. Just a note for whose who wonder why there are so many titles and names for Our Lady. She is only one person: Mary. She is the mother of Jesus, true God and true man. She has many names, all terms of endearment.
That is how love is: Can’t say enough.
She is named Nuestra Señora de la Rosa, Our Lady of the Rose, because the rose is the most beautiful flower. She is named Our Lady of Antipolo because that was where her image was found—on top of a tipolo tree hundreds of years ago. In Baclaran, another famous shrine, she is called Our Lady of Perpetual Help, because that is what she does—always helpful. And because she is always our mother, we are always young.
Link (here)
Photo credit (here)
No comments:
Post a Comment