I have never been to Sta. Ana and I have always envisioned that it so far from my area (which is relatively Marikina and Eastwood). To my surprise it's just a few kilometers away from Greenhills.
The Story of the Sta. Ana Venerated Image, from the Sta. Ana Parish website:
The Church of Santa Ana stands on the site of the first Franciscan mission established outside Manila in 1578. The church was built under the supervision of Fr. Vicente Ingles, OFM. The cornerstone of the present church was laid on September 12, 1720 by Francisco dela Cuesta, then Archbishop of Manila and Acting Governor General of the Philippines.
In the early 1700s, Father Vicente went to Valencia, Spain. The friar had been very enamored of a famous image of Our Lady that had become a big spiritual attraction in Valencia. The image is now known as “Our Lady of the Abandoned” (in Spanish, Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados). But there is quite a story behind the image—a story that began in Valencia centuries earlier.
The first title given to this image of Mary was “Our Lady of the Innocents.” The devotion to Our Lady was linked with a most innocent, yet shunned, group of humans, known in that era as “the insane.” But the title was also applied to similar “unfortunates” seeking Our Lady’s protection: people despised, forsaken and abandoned by society—even prisoners condemned to the gallows. Although other titles were given to Mary, the one that eventually became permanent was “Our Lady of the Abandoned.”
While Father Vicente was in Valencia, he decided to have a copy made of this image—venerated in Valencia with so much devotion—for Santa Ana Parish, which was in the process of being constructed near Manila. After reverently touching the copy to the original, the friar brought the new art piece with him to the Philippines in 1717. The image has been venerated in Santa Ana for almost 300 years. In time, the parish became known as Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish, as it is today. But St. Ann, the original patron of the parish, has not been forgotten. Today, a statue of St. Ann with the child Mary at her side still stands in a niche directly above the exquisite image of Our Lady of the Abandoned that Father Vicente brought from Valencia.
A mural depicting (possibly) one of the miracles of the venerated Marian image...
Viva La Virgen!
The Procession Starts
Similar to the procession of the Dominican Saints in Santo Domingo (for the feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval), this time Franciscan Saints are one by one introduced before they are brought out of the Church compound...
Sta. Clara
And so it begins...
Another (Fiesta) Mass immediately followed after the image of Our Lady of the Abandoned exited the church...
Cereales...
Here comes the Franciscan Saints
Waiting for the other carroza's...parts of the church are under renovation so moving about is not that easy...
San Jose
San Jose
San Joaquin (Joaquim), father of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Prayer to Saint Joachim
O great and glorious Patriarch, Saint Joachim, what joy is mine when I consider that thou wast chosen among all God's holy ones to assist in the fulfillment of the mysteries of God, and to enrich our earth with the great Mother of God, Mary most holy! By this singular privilege, thou hast become most powerful with both the Mother and her Son, so as to be able to obtain for us the graces that are needful to us; with great confidence I have recourse to thy mighty protection and I commend to thee all my needs and those of my family, both spiritual and temporal; and especially do I entrust to thy keeping the particular favor that I desire and look for from thy fatherly intercession. And since thou wast a perfect pattern of the interior life, obtain for me the grace of interior recollection and a spirit of detachment from the transitory goods of this life, together with a lively and enduring love for Jesus and Mary. Obtain for me in like manner a sincere devotion and obedience to Holy Church and the sovereign pontiff who rules over her: to the end that I may live and die in faith and hope and perfect charity, ever invoking the holy names of Jesus and Mary, and may I thus be saved. Amen.
Sta. Ana
The Spaniards established settlements in Santa Ana, that served as the seat of Namayan, the area was awarded to the Franciscan missionaries. When the Catholic missionaries asked the natives the name of the area, pointing to the banks of the Pasig River, the locals responded with "sapa" or the Tagalog word for marshes.
The Franciscan missionaries henceforth dedicated the district to Saint Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and called it, "Santa Ana de Sapa", or Saint Anne of the Marshes. The Church of Santa Ana stands on the site of the first Franciscan mission established outside Manila in 1578, taken from the Sta. Ana Parish Website.
Sta. Ana, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary...
Prayer to St. Anne
Glorious St. Ann, filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair which I recommend to you under your special protection.
St. Ann, please, recommend to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue.
St. Ann cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted.
Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and with You and Mary and all the saints, praising and blessing Him through all eternity. Amen.
Good St. Ann, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray to her for us and obtain our request.
Santo Nino
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Claire of Assisi
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Diego of Alcala
St. Paschal Baylon
St. Pancratius
Day Becomes Night
The spirit of caridad is very much alive...
Activities after the Procession
Return of the Image
No comments:
Post a Comment