Sicilian Jesuit And Our Lady

The feast of Our Lady of Light has been celebrated in Cainta since 1853—or even earlier—on Dec. 1, after the feast of St. Andrew. The Virgin has a secondary feast observed on Thursday after Pentecost Sunday. For her primary feast, the novena begins on Nov. 21; while for the secondary feast, the novena begins on Tuesday before Pentecost Sunday.

There are other forms of devotion to Our Lady—the daily prayer to her in the morning and before going to bed, the prayer to the Holy Spirit and to Our Lady and the Siete Sabados or Seven Saturdays preceding her feast day.

These can be found in the revised prayerbook, “Pagdedebosyon at Pagsisiyam sa Kabanal-banalang Ina ng Kaliwanagan: Patrona ng Cainta (1727-2007).” In Cainta, the Virgin is recognized as the patroness of reconciliation and those seeking conversion. Let us pray to her for those who need to go back to God. The painting of her on the altar was done by Fernando Amorsolo in l950.

In his research, historian Mike de los Reyes learned that the devotion began in Palermo, Italy, when Fr. Giovanni Antonio Genoveci, SJ, took the painting of the Virgin and the Child Jesus to wherever mission he went.

The painting was done after a woman was healed of an ailment and Mother Mary asked her in a vision to have her image painted. She was called Maria Madre Santissima de Lume (Mary Most Holy Mother of Light).

Link (here)