olofgoodwill
Virgen de los Remedios
I can never explain what I felt when I first saw her. And from that moment on it is as if I fell in love with this centuries old image of Our INDU.
I posted here on flickr some pics of that day (www.flickr.com/photos/28693649@N03/2842369395/) and if I remembered it well, I prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary that when the time comes that she wants me and if I am in her sight worthy to do it, may I be the one to restore this image of Her and bring it to its former radiance and beauty.
That dream comes true last February 14, 2013.
Going backwards…
It was almost 5 yrs ago, I think, when I first saw the original image. We say original because she accompanied the first and the earliest years of the Crusada de Caridad y Buen Voluntad. This image was the one mentioned in numerous written records of the said crusada which our first bishop (Bishop Cesar Ma. Guerrero) founded.
“In 1952, socialism became an attractive ideology for some kapampangans. This, coupled with the still-felt poverty and hardships caused by the recent 2nd world war, divided many of our cabalens, many of whom began questioning their faith. To counter these devisive elements, then Bishop of San Fernando, Most Reverend Cesar Ma. Guerrero D.D. founded the Cruzada de Caridad y Buen Voluntad (crusade of charity and goodwill) and with the Virgen de los Remedios as its Patroness, began a continuous series of parish visits bringing the revered image wherever they went. The original image was housed in the church of Baliti in San Fernando, which became a parish in 1943.
The first visit was made on 15 April 1952 in Masantol town, and from thereon, the pilgrimages of the Virgin proved to be a true remedy for the ills which threatened religion and peace in the province. As a result, many rediscovered their faiths and returned to the folds of the Church.” *
Whenever I visit her church in Baliti I really feel that I am at home. Numerous prayers which we uttered here were answered… it is here where I first prayed for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin when I’m in a quandary of leaving my job as a nurse. I don’t know then what to do and where to go and what job would I be in at that time. I ask her to pray for me so that the Lord will lead me to a place and a work where I will be happy serving Him and my fellowmen. And here I am now…
It is where I prayed for my mother when she was hospitalized and then the next day, miraculously, she got well…
It is where I always find peace whenever stress gets the best out of me…
It is where our numerous prayers for others who are sick, afflicted, problematic… were heard.
The opportunity came last year… a friend contacted me and told me if I would like to restore the revered image. My initial reaction was, “Is he joking? Goodness! He must be crazy!!!”
I told him not to play joke on me. He said that he’s not, and the people of Baliti wishes to have an appointment with me. I told him that I would set it on a month that I’m not so busy... came august 2012… our family encountered difficult times… my brothers and I were wrongly accused of falsifying documents to acquire a certain parcel of land. What is so worse about it is that the land being disputed of is actually ours and my mother and father bought it after my father served the vietnam war as a US navy. The individual who accused us, got permission from my father maybe around 30yrs ago to raise ducks and animals on some of the portions of the said land. My father gave his permission coz the individual concerned is a near kin… and I’ll stop the story there to save whatever is left between us … between relatives.
My father and mother got sick because of stress. Time and again my brother and I would go to court to settle things. It is as if we are in the middle of a storm... Sometimes it is so peaceful and quiet and sometimes everything seems to be in chaos.
Being a Marian devotee I constantly ask Our Mother to intercede for us. Friends and I would visit different Marian pilgrimage churches as far as the visayas and mindanao to pray for this particular intention but somehow it is as if our combined prayers were not enough…
Then came the time when I finally visited Baliti. Nanay Baby, the recamadera, asks if I’ll be willing to restore the image. I said yes. But there was a catch – I will and I could if I will be willing to stay there because the people of Baliti don’t want the image of the Indu be away from them. I never really gave my yes at that time… because I was so busy with my other works.
Mula sa altar nya, ibinaba ang image ng Indu so as I could see the extent of the restoration I came face to face with the image for the very first time, without the glass encasing. I got goose bumps all over… after that Nanay Baby then and there told me that no other artist would restore the image; she said the time is finally ripe for restoration..
“…eke pa ikit tiniman a mitmung yumu ing Indu nung e ngening akaharap naka. Lawen me tong nung makananu yang titiman keka… Ngeni ‘tong ibibye ke ing lubus kung tiwala uling balu ku na peaus naka ning Indu… eme sana sisiran ing tiwalang ita.” She said.
(I haven’t seen the Indu smiled so sweetly, not until now that you came and she met you face to face. Look how tenderly and sweetly she smiles at you… now, I’m giving my complete trust in you because I now feel that the Indu called you to serve… do not break that trust I’m giving you.” She said.) that said smile i captured on her posted before pic above.
I told her that I’m willing to restore and stay there but on when; I haven’t had the slightest idea at that time coz my hands were full and tied with other work.
Two times I failed to give my complete YES to our Indu.
January 21, feast of Saint Agnes. I decided to go to Baliti because I realized that I had been praying literally everywhere but I forgot that we in Pampanga have a pilgrimage site. No matter how obscure and unknown the place is, it is still undeniably a place where prayers were always answered.
It was past 8PM when we came. Sarado na ang simbahan. But beforehand I contacted a friend there and they told me that they will wait and open the church for as long as I could promise na darating tlga ako.
When my friend and I prayed in front of the image, I really really wanted to cry…
“Indu, I know that you want me to be here. Two times already that you requested that your image be restored but I failed to give my yes. I heard that the most powerful word is Yes. And it is your YES that became the instrument so that Salvation would come on us. Between you and I, more than anyone else, you know that I need you more than you need me. Hindi man po nararapat ay makikipag barter po ako… starting tonight I’ll count the days wherein my request will be granted. Kindly ask your Son to give me what I so earnestly pray. Not for me, O Indu, but for our parents who are currently sick and stressed out.kung ilang araw po mula ngyon na nagdarasal ako sa harap ninyo, kung kelan nyo po mapapakiusap sa inyong Anak na ibigay sa amin ang aming pinakikiusap sa kanya ganun din po ang araw na aantayin ninyo mula sa date na sabihan ako kung kelan pwede kayong bumaba sa inyong altar for the restoration. Sorry po mahal na Ina. I am hopeless kaya ko po ginagawa at sinasabi ito. Bukas po, sa korte, kayo na po ang bahala sa aming magkakapatid.”
Umuwi akong may bigat pa ding daladala…
Who could have guess that the next day we'll receive the miracle!
The person concerned told the officiating judge that he wants to call it quits. And no matter what the judge said he insisted that he wants to call it off. That the night before, he just decided to let everything be. “ayaw ko na po talaga. Ibigay man nila ung daan na hinihingi ko or hindi e di ko na po itutuloy ang kaso. Kagabi ko pa po ito naisip and up to now un pa din po ang decision ko.” Then and there pinirmahan nya ang desistance. My tears fell… I know and I am expecting a miracle to happen but never in my wildest imagination that it will come lightning fast.
That same day my brother and I went to Baliti and paid homage. We thank the Lord for giving us what we prayed for. We thanked the Blessed Virgin Mary for her most powerful intercession.
I talked to nanay baby and she told me that the parishioners of Baliti requested na mag stay sa kanyang altar ang image ng Indu up to feb13 which is an Ash Wednesday… needless to say, the Indu became my date on this year’s Valentine’s day. ;c )
Salamat po sa lahat ng mga nagmalasakit habang andun ako sa Baliti. Salamat sa lahat ng nagsacrifice for me. Sa lahat ng nagdasal, nag ayuno at nagtika… sa lahat ng dumalaw, sa lahat ng may sakit; sa lola na mapuputulan na ng paa dahil sa diabetis, sa lola na comatose for more than a month pero pinagaling ng Dyos sa pamamagitan ng dasal ng Indu... Sa lahat ng nagpatotoo at nagbigay sa akin ng inspiration para mapag-igihan ang inialay kong regalo at sacrificio… sa aking ninong padre at ninang, na lubos na gumabay sa akin sa aking buhay kristiano… sa aking mga magulang na pinagaling pamamagitan ng mga dasal ng Indu… sa suporta ang aking mga kapatid at kaibigan… maraming maraming salamat po.
A childhood dream of mine came true all because of you…
Sa mga mamamayan ng Baliti salamat at nagkaroon ako ng bagong tahanan, nang bagong mga kaibigan, ng bagong mga kapatid at ng bagong nanay… salamat sa inyong pagaaruga at kalinga at higit sa lahat sa inyong tiwala nang anjan pa ako maging ngyon na may kalayuan na ako sa inyo. I’m just 2 rides away. I’m here… Whenever you feel that the Indu or even one of you needs me.
Viva Virgen de los Remedios!!!
Viva Senior Santissimo Santo Cristo Del Perdon!!!
VIVA!!!
Footnote:
*Mr. Alex R. Castro, “Indu ning Capaldanan, Tula Ning Capampangan” an article written for the souvenir program of the 56th Anniversary of the Canonical Coronation of VDL R, 2012, p.76
Virgen de los Remedios
I can never explain what I felt when I first saw her. And from that moment on it is as if I fell in love with this centuries old image of Our INDU.
I posted here on flickr some pics of that day (www.flickr.com/photos/28693649@N03/2842369395/) and if I remembered it well, I prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary that when the time comes that she wants me and if I am in her sight worthy to do it, may I be the one to restore this image of Her and bring it to its former radiance and beauty.
That dream comes true last February 14, 2013.
Going backwards…
It was almost 5 yrs ago, I think, when I first saw the original image. We say original because she accompanied the first and the earliest years of the Crusada de Caridad y Buen Voluntad. This image was the one mentioned in numerous written records of the said crusada which our first bishop (Bishop Cesar Ma. Guerrero) founded.
“In 1952, socialism became an attractive ideology for some kapampangans. This, coupled with the still-felt poverty and hardships caused by the recent 2nd world war, divided many of our cabalens, many of whom began questioning their faith. To counter these devisive elements, then Bishop of San Fernando, Most Reverend Cesar Ma. Guerrero D.D. founded the Cruzada de Caridad y Buen Voluntad (crusade of charity and goodwill) and with the Virgen de los Remedios as its Patroness, began a continuous series of parish visits bringing the revered image wherever they went. The original image was housed in the church of Baliti in San Fernando, which became a parish in 1943.
The first visit was made on 15 April 1952 in Masantol town, and from thereon, the pilgrimages of the Virgin proved to be a true remedy for the ills which threatened religion and peace in the province. As a result, many rediscovered their faiths and returned to the folds of the Church.” *
Whenever I visit her church in Baliti I really feel that I am at home. Numerous prayers which we uttered here were answered… it is here where I first prayed for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin when I’m in a quandary of leaving my job as a nurse. I don’t know then what to do and where to go and what job would I be in at that time. I ask her to pray for me so that the Lord will lead me to a place and a work where I will be happy serving Him and my fellowmen. And here I am now…
It is where I prayed for my mother when she was hospitalized and then the next day, miraculously, she got well…
It is where I always find peace whenever stress gets the best out of me…
It is where our numerous prayers for others who are sick, afflicted, problematic… were heard.
The opportunity came last year… a friend contacted me and told me if I would like to restore the revered image. My initial reaction was, “Is he joking? Goodness! He must be crazy!!!”
I told him not to play joke on me. He said that he’s not, and the people of Baliti wishes to have an appointment with me. I told him that I would set it on a month that I’m not so busy... came august 2012… our family encountered difficult times… my brothers and I were wrongly accused of falsifying documents to acquire a certain parcel of land. What is so worse about it is that the land being disputed of is actually ours and my mother and father bought it after my father served the vietnam war as a US navy. The individual who accused us, got permission from my father maybe around 30yrs ago to raise ducks and animals on some of the portions of the said land. My father gave his permission coz the individual concerned is a near kin… and I’ll stop the story there to save whatever is left between us … between relatives.
My father and mother got sick because of stress. Time and again my brother and I would go to court to settle things. It is as if we are in the middle of a storm... Sometimes it is so peaceful and quiet and sometimes everything seems to be in chaos.
Being a Marian devotee I constantly ask Our Mother to intercede for us. Friends and I would visit different Marian pilgrimage churches as far as the visayas and mindanao to pray for this particular intention but somehow it is as if our combined prayers were not enough…
Then came the time when I finally visited Baliti. Nanay Baby, the recamadera, asks if I’ll be willing to restore the image. I said yes. But there was a catch – I will and I could if I will be willing to stay there because the people of Baliti don’t want the image of the Indu be away from them. I never really gave my yes at that time… because I was so busy with my other works.
Mula sa altar nya, ibinaba ang image ng Indu so as I could see the extent of the restoration I came face to face with the image for the very first time, without the glass encasing. I got goose bumps all over… after that Nanay Baby then and there told me that no other artist would restore the image; she said the time is finally ripe for restoration..
“…eke pa ikit tiniman a mitmung yumu ing Indu nung e ngening akaharap naka. Lawen me tong nung makananu yang titiman keka… Ngeni ‘tong ibibye ke ing lubus kung tiwala uling balu ku na peaus naka ning Indu… eme sana sisiran ing tiwalang ita.” She said.
(I haven’t seen the Indu smiled so sweetly, not until now that you came and she met you face to face. Look how tenderly and sweetly she smiles at you… now, I’m giving my complete trust in you because I now feel that the Indu called you to serve… do not break that trust I’m giving you.” She said.) that said smile i captured on her posted before pic above.
I told her that I’m willing to restore and stay there but on when; I haven’t had the slightest idea at that time coz my hands were full and tied with other work.
Two times I failed to give my complete YES to our Indu.
January 21, feast of Saint Agnes. I decided to go to Baliti because I realized that I had been praying literally everywhere but I forgot that we in Pampanga have a pilgrimage site. No matter how obscure and unknown the place is, it is still undeniably a place where prayers were always answered.
It was past 8PM when we came. Sarado na ang simbahan. But beforehand I contacted a friend there and they told me that they will wait and open the church for as long as I could promise na darating tlga ako.
When my friend and I prayed in front of the image, I really really wanted to cry…
“Indu, I know that you want me to be here. Two times already that you requested that your image be restored but I failed to give my yes. I heard that the most powerful word is Yes. And it is your YES that became the instrument so that Salvation would come on us. Between you and I, more than anyone else, you know that I need you more than you need me. Hindi man po nararapat ay makikipag barter po ako… starting tonight I’ll count the days wherein my request will be granted. Kindly ask your Son to give me what I so earnestly pray. Not for me, O Indu, but for our parents who are currently sick and stressed out.kung ilang araw po mula ngyon na nagdarasal ako sa harap ninyo, kung kelan nyo po mapapakiusap sa inyong Anak na ibigay sa amin ang aming pinakikiusap sa kanya ganun din po ang araw na aantayin ninyo mula sa date na sabihan ako kung kelan pwede kayong bumaba sa inyong altar for the restoration. Sorry po mahal na Ina. I am hopeless kaya ko po ginagawa at sinasabi ito. Bukas po, sa korte, kayo na po ang bahala sa aming magkakapatid.”
Umuwi akong may bigat pa ding daladala…
Who could have guess that the next day we'll receive the miracle!
The person concerned told the officiating judge that he wants to call it quits. And no matter what the judge said he insisted that he wants to call it off. That the night before, he just decided to let everything be. “ayaw ko na po talaga. Ibigay man nila ung daan na hinihingi ko or hindi e di ko na po itutuloy ang kaso. Kagabi ko pa po ito naisip and up to now un pa din po ang decision ko.” Then and there pinirmahan nya ang desistance. My tears fell… I know and I am expecting a miracle to happen but never in my wildest imagination that it will come lightning fast.
That same day my brother and I went to Baliti and paid homage. We thank the Lord for giving us what we prayed for. We thanked the Blessed Virgin Mary for her most powerful intercession.
I talked to nanay baby and she told me that the parishioners of Baliti requested na mag stay sa kanyang altar ang image ng Indu up to feb13 which is an Ash Wednesday… needless to say, the Indu became my date on this year’s Valentine’s day. ;c )
Salamat po sa lahat ng mga nagmalasakit habang andun ako sa Baliti. Salamat sa lahat ng nagsacrifice for me. Sa lahat ng nagdasal, nag ayuno at nagtika… sa lahat ng dumalaw, sa lahat ng may sakit; sa lola na mapuputulan na ng paa dahil sa diabetis, sa lola na comatose for more than a month pero pinagaling ng Dyos sa pamamagitan ng dasal ng Indu... Sa lahat ng nagpatotoo at nagbigay sa akin ng inspiration para mapag-igihan ang inialay kong regalo at sacrificio… sa aking ninong padre at ninang, na lubos na gumabay sa akin sa aking buhay kristiano… sa aking mga magulang na pinagaling pamamagitan ng mga dasal ng Indu… sa suporta ang aking mga kapatid at kaibigan… maraming maraming salamat po.
A childhood dream of mine came true all because of you…
Sa mga mamamayan ng Baliti salamat at nagkaroon ako ng bagong tahanan, nang bagong mga kaibigan, ng bagong mga kapatid at ng bagong nanay… salamat sa inyong pagaaruga at kalinga at higit sa lahat sa inyong tiwala nang anjan pa ako maging ngyon na may kalayuan na ako sa inyo. I’m just 2 rides away. I’m here… Whenever you feel that the Indu or even one of you needs me.
Viva Virgen de los Remedios!!!
Viva Senior Santissimo Santo Cristo Del Perdon!!!
VIVA!!!
Footnote:
*Mr. Alex R. Castro, “Indu ning Capaldanan, Tula Ning Capampangan” an article written for the souvenir program of the 56th Anniversary of the Canonical Coronation of VDL R, 2012, p.76