Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu in Pasig City.
Viva La Virgen! Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Beyond the gates of the Diocesan Shrine & Parish of Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu, the festivities were slowly growing in preparation for the celebration of the feast day of Our Lady of Aranzazu, patron against natural disasters and calamities. Flyers and banderitas colored the clear skies as parishioners and devotees of Our Lady overflowed to the outside of the church, patiently waiting for the start of the 9am Misa Concelebrada.
San Mateo Mayor Bartolome “Omie” Rivera Jr. was in attendance, and so was his spouse, Mrs. Maria Dolores Rivera, the Hermana Mayor of this year’s feast. Other local government officials, members of church organizations, and fiesta committee were also in attendance.
To open the mass, the parishioners and devotees joined the choir in singing a heartful Ang Puso Ko’y Nagpupuri as the entourage of priests entered. Most Rev. Francisco M. De Leon D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Antiplo. at the helm of the entourage, was to be the main celebrant of the solemnities of the Misa Concelebrada.
Who is the Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu? Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
(Holy Mary) Mother of God. This is what Mary was to be known as, after the angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce the good news.
To the Mother of God, the angel Gabriel said these words, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” The angel then declared that Mary was chosen to bear the Son of God. And Mary responded, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
It was at this important moment that the fate of Mary was settled, for the Lord our God foresaw her response long before she was born. With her show of humility and her unyielding trust in the Lord, she was chosen to be the Mother of God: to be born with no original sin, to ascend to heaven both body and soul.
Through Mary’s intercession, we can become closer to Christ. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.
Bishop de Leon, from a homily originally told by Fr. Tuckwell, then recounted a story of a protestant boy, born to protestant parents, raised in a protestant family, but prayed the Hail Mary. Other Christians do not share the Catholic dogmas of sainthood and Marian devotion. To them, the Catholic faith is all wrong. After his furious mother forbade him to pray this ‘superstitious prayer’ from the idol worshipping Catholics, he religiously read the Bible. There, he read, the words the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary. Why would devotion to Mary be a superstition, when it was the angel of God who hailed Mary as the Mother of God? “Mary is not like any other children of Adam and Eve, stained with sin. No, the angel called her full of grace and blessed among women. Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, and consequently, mother of God. There is no higher dignity in which a creature can be raised. The gospel says that generations will proclaim her as blessed.” The Bible is the foundation of the faith, and venerating Mary as the Mother of God is being one in spirit with the Bible.
The boy in the story grew up to be an ardent Catholic apostle, against the behest of his family. One day, years after, was able to reach his sister, who had a son plagued with severe illness. Said sister had visited various doctors, and none were able to help her. So with love and compassion, her brother said, “Do what I ask you to do. Follow me and let us pray one Hail Mary.” He added, “Promise to God that if your son gets better, you will seriously study the Catholic doctrine.”
Do what the Lord asks you to do. Now and at the hour of our death.
“And if you come to the conclusion that Catholicism is the only true religion, you must convert to Catholicism.” And so she did, for her child was healed just one day after praying the Hail Mary. She became a Catholic, along with the rest of her family, thanking her brother for being an apostle to her.
Embrace it no matter what the sacrifices may be. Bishop de Leon revealed that the boy in the story was actually Fr. Tuckwell. “What I am, I owe it to Our Lady,” the father had said.
“Be entirely dedicated also to our lady. Never let the day pass without saying the beautiful prayer of Hail Mary and the Rosary.”
We Catholics are encouraged to pray the Rosary everyday. Bishop de Leon does so, and every time he holds the Rosary, it’s as if he is holding the hand of Mary, who is our Mother, and the Mother of Jesus Christ. On her own, she cannot do anything, but because she is the Mother of God, there is so much she can do. She was able to appear in various places around the world: in Fatima, in Lourdes, all to help us return to the fold of Christ the Savior. Our devotion to Mary may be under different titles, but all the same, she is our way to become closer her son Jesus Christ.
Do what He tells you. Amen.
Just like in the wedding of Canaan, before Jesus turned the water into wine, when Mary told the people to do as her Son said, we to must do as He says, for he is the Son of God and the Son of Mary. And who is Mary? She is the new Eve, who is the model of righteous devotion to the will of the Lord, and was ascended into heaven to be revered. And we, her children, can lift up our prayers to the Lord our God though the intercession of Mary, Mother of God.
Our Lady of Aranzazu, pray for us.
The Misa Concelebrada was celebrated successfully. It was through the efforts of the Parish Pastoral Council that made the mass a success. We would like to give special thanks to Hon. Mayor Bartolome “Omie” Jr. Rivera for supporting the parish with the day’s festivities, Hermana Mayor Maria Dolores Rivera for sponsoring the mass, and Ms. Glercy Zuñiga for the flowers provided. Thank you to the offerors from the Parish Pastoral Council and the many Aranzan Ministries, Munting Sambayanang Kristoyano, the San Mateo Municipal Government and its barangay officials, who were all generous to give offerings for the church. To the Ministry of Altar Servers, to the Ministry of Ushers, to the Ministry of Lector, to the Media & Public Information Ministry, to the San Lorenzo Ruiz Choir, the San Pedro Calungsod Choir, the Coro de Sta Ana Choir, the San Mateo Choir, to the Clergy, this mass would not have been celebrated successfully without you.
Thank you to our parishioners and devotees, for being one with us in celebrating the feast day of Our Lady of Aranzazu. May Our Lady Pray of us; may the Lord have mercy on us. (Maria Gia Dueñas)
