It was July of 2011 when I was given my first assignment as the new parish priest of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City. Before transferring, I tried to visit the parish incognito; I was just dressed plainly in a cap so there would be no fuss whenever I got there. So, I arrived and went to the side where the tabernacle was. But as I prayed, my gaze fixed on a familiar image close to my heart, bringing back childhood memories.
It was a childhood fostered with prayers, devotion, and traditions. Credit goes to my Lola Bebing who had a big altar in her room where, as a family we would gather during Oracion or Angelus to pray the Holy Rosary sometimes in Latin but most of the time in the vernacular. On that altar was an estandarte which is transferred from house to house for praying the Holy Rosary.
On it, there is a picture of Our Lady dressed in our Lola’s patadiong with the child Jesus in her arms, holding the Rosary. This brings me to look again at the image, the statue of Mary right in front of me, the image of the Virgen sang Barangay.
I said to myself, “I know her;” it’s through my devotion to her that I learned to pray the Rosary. And then I mused dito merong debosyon sa Manila? (Is there devotion here in Manila?). All the while, I thought this devotion was only in the province. That’s why I said to myself, “I want to make her known.” But contrary to what I was planning to do, the Blessed Mother, Virgen sang Barangay, made herself known to me in the simplest little occasions of my priestly life.
From then on, I came to appreciate what devotion to our Virgen sang Barangay gave as a gift to the parish and to the church. It was the strength of the family that was graced by her presence whenever her image was brought to their homes to pray the rosary.
BASIC ECCLESIAL COMMUNITY
But most of all I believe the strength of this simple and humble organization is their tightly knit relationship as family, as a neighborhood of families. This is most beneficial to me as a pastor because whenever there is a need to gather people to echo down programs coming from the diocese, all I have to do is to call the Barangay sang Virgen organization for whom most of them, if not all, are BEC (Basic Ecclesial Community) Area coordinators.
That is why it is always easy to call on people to gather them for devotions and formation programs. But most of all, the year-round block rosaries would continue from house to house, family to family, and the whole neighborhood. It would only take breaks in the months prior to our Parish Patron, i.e., San Nicolas de Tolentino, or their particular BEC patron saints, i.e., San Isidro, San Roque, and San Padre Pio, etc. But the rites done would always be praying the holy rosary, hearing the Word of God, and reflecting and sharing on how the Word continues to be alive and relevant in their lives.
Another unexpected grace came when I was assigned to be the spiritual director of the Barangay sang Virgen-Diocese of Parañaque chapter in 2015. This opened the door for me to connect with other chapters from other dioceses, not only in the Visayas but, to my surprise, all over the Philippines.
As I met with my executive committee we decided to visit the roots of this organization. The opportunity came to go to Silay (Silay is a city located in the province of Negros Occidental), where the devotion began and see the original icon. What followed were visits to Panay Island, Cebu, Bohol, in the Visayas and in Luzon, Manila, Laguna, Pampanga, Mindoro, and as far as Sorsogon wherever there are devotees to meet.
But what sets me apart as a grace for me in these encounters with devotees are their particular stories of how their devotion to her touched their lives from the littlest miracles that our Virgen allowed them to have. What became apparent also was the need for renewal and focus on deepening the spirituality of the members and the organization as well. In short, I would get invited by chapters in the provinces to meet them, give them talks or recollections, or address whatever difficulties that need to be dealt with.
As I became rooted in and appreciative of the devotion to our Virgen, many beautiful dreams and plans were set to make her known and celebrate her nurturing and caring presence in the lives of Filipino devotees here and abroad.
75TH YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT
The focal point of the plan was celebrating its 75th Year of establishment. We started off with the Luzon chapters launching the preparations for the jubilee year on the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church (Secondary Feast of Virgen sang Barangay in Luzon), with His Eminence Jose Cardinal Advincula as the main celebrant last May 20, 2023.
And then, by God’s grace and I believe the will of our Virgen, I was able to get an appointment, through Fr. Francis Ledesma, my batchmate in seminary who is a priest of Bacolod, to meet Bishop Patricio Buzon (current Bishop of Bacolod in Negros Occidental and a member of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco) with Msgr. Ronald Quijano, spiritual director of Virgen sang Barangay-Bacolod at Batulao on February 24, 2024.
My team and I presented to them possible programs and activities for the duration of the jubilee year. He was so appreciative of our ideas that he suggested for us to set a meeting in Bacolod and bring other regional chapter officers. On the third of April at the Bishop’s Residence, there gathered the regional chapter officers, and the fruit of that meeting was the creation of the National ad hoc committee for the preparations for the Jubilee year and the good Bishop tasked me to be the national coordinator.
In hindsight, I was personally overwhelmed by the responsibility. I could just imagine the plans that were a product of my eight years as spiritual director now being fulfilled right before my eyes but in a fast-paced manner. As I was having doubts if I could handle the great task ahead, in prayer, I trusted that it was the will of our Virgen, and her will was God’s will.
All I can do is surrender and trust, coupled with intense prayer, as I am not only the national coordinator but also a newly assigned parish priest to my community, who also needs my pastoral care and my other diocesan assignments.
It was a juggling of sorts, but I can only attribute why I was able to handle all these. It was because of our Virgen’s guiding presence. And it was not without difficulty, but she allowed me to meet like-minded people, devotees who had the same dream of making her known, and were very generous in their support to fulfill our dreams for our Virgen sang Barangay.
I was in tears while singing the Our Father, especially the part “Your will be done…” as I concelebrated on the 75th Feast of Virgen sang Barangay last October 16, 2024 at the Cathedral of San Sebastian in Bacolod where her newly restored icon is enshrined.
IT IS JUST THE BEGINNING
I was humbled when Bishop Buzon greeted me with the peace sign, saying, “This is your brainchild, Father. Congratulations. But this is just the beginning.” I believe it was no coincidence that her feast was on the day before my ordination anniversary. For me, it is her way of telling me how close she is to me, like a mother embracing her child. And this thought warms my heart.
It’s just now that I realized that it is not in my effort to make her known because she’s already known. But I believed it was Our Mother who was making me know her more and the many lives she has wonderfully touched in whatever way, as she was allowing me to meet people from all over that would attest to her maternal care and guidance for them leading them to her Son. And with all these I was changed, definitely changed to the core. Viva La Virgen! Viva Virgen sang Barangay! Ave Maria! Fiat.
