On Beads and Feats - The Rosary and the Filipino people
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| A painting of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila that appeared on the cover of a souvenir program in the 1970's |
The Philippines - the pioneer Catholic country in Southeast Asia is known around the world as a Marian country for the Filipinos' strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary that persisted over the centuries. Probably the most popular, or we could say, the national devotion of this blessed country is the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Everywhere we go, we would see rosaries in our homes, shops, jeepney decks, public utility and private vehicles, bags and often bring them in our pockets. We always celebrate he month of October with constant and unceasing prayer of the rosary in all parishes, schools, barangays, catholic assemblies across the country. Block rosaries are held from one barangay or village to another. Different rosary shrines in the country are frequented by pilgrims all year round, especially during Lent, the months of May and October and the faithful would celebrate the Rosary fiestas every October with solemn processions held in her honor. These practices manifests how the Holy Rosary became part and parcel of our own culture and society. The Rosary also played a crucial role in our history. Yet despite this, the devotion continued to be strong over the years up to the present.
For this special blogpost, we will give some insights on how the devotion became popular in the country for centuries and what will be the future of the devotion.
The Origins of the Rosary
The origins of the rosary are began with the use of “prayer beads” and the repeated recitation of prayers to aid in meditation stem from the earliest days of the Church and has roots in pre-Christian times. Evidence exists from the Middle Ages that strings of beads were used to count Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Actually, these strings of beads became known as “Paternosters”
The structure of the rosary gradually evolved between the 12th and 15th centuries. Eventually 50 Hail Marys were recited and linked with verses of psalms or other phrases evoking the lives of Jesus and Mary. During this time, this prayer form became known as the rosarium (“rose garden”), actually a common term to designate a collection of similar material, such as an anthology of stories on the same subject or theme. During the 16th century, the structure of the five-decade rosary based on the three sets of mysteries prevailed.
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| Our Lady giving the Rosary to St. Dominic by Carlos "Botong" Francisco |
Another story that could trace the origin of the Rosary was from the Carthusian Order. The practice of meditation during the praying of the Hail Marys was attributed to Dominic of Prussia (author of Liber experientialism 1458), a 15th-century Carthusian monk, who called it the "Life of Jesus Rosary". However, in 1977, a theologian from Trier named Andreas Heinz discovered a vita Christi Rosary that dated to 1300, suggesting the origin of the current rosary extends back at least to that time.
The devotion flourished since the time it was propagated yet its popularity waned sometime that Blessed Alanus de Roche stepped in. According to Blessed Alanus, the Blessed Virgin Mary reportedly made fifteen specific promises to Christians who pray the rosary. The fifteen rosary promises range from protection from misfortune to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven. These promises were later published and preached and the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary was later established that helped on the revival of the Rosary's popularity.
The Battle of Lepanto
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| Battle of Lepanto by Juan Luna |
While preparations were underway, the Holy Father asked all of the faithful to say the rosary and implore our Blessed Mother’s prayers, under the title Our Lady of Victory, that our Lord would grant victory to the Christians. Although the Muslim fleet outnumbered that of the Christians in both vessels and sailors, the forces were ready to meet in battle. The Christian flagship flew a blue banner depicting Christ crucified. On October 7, 1571, the Muslim enemies were defeated at the Battle of Lepanto.
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| St. Pius V. holding his Rosary, while behelding the vision of the Battle of Lepanto |
In 1569, the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices by the Dominican Pope Pius V officially established the devotion to the rosary in the Catholic Church. Saint Peter Canisius, a Doctor of the Church, who is credited with adding to the Hail Mary the sentence "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners", was an ardent advocate of the rosary and promoted it as the best way to repair the damage done to the Church by the Reformation.
From the 16th to the early 20th century, the structure of the rosary remained essentially unchanged. There were 15 mysteries, one for each of the 15 decades. In the 20th century the addition of the Fatima Prayer to the end of each decade became popular due to the series of appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.
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| St. George Preca |
In 2002, Pope St. John Paul II wrote his encyclical "Rosarium Virginis Mariae" that announced the addition of the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary in addition to the traditional set of mysteries of the rosary.The Luminous Mystery Rosary or the Mysteries of Light, as they are also called, focus on the public life of Jesus, the years He was preaching spanning the time between His Baptism and His death.
These new set of mysteries were said to be taken from the writings of St. George Preca of Malta, founder of the Society of Christian Doctrine and a Carmelite Tertiary where he proposed these mysteries for the private use of the Members of his Society in 1957. During 1957, St. George Preca wanted that year to be an occasion of a deeper intimacy with God, and so he published his well-known Colloquies with God - sixty short but penetrating invocations which give us a good insight into Fr Preca's interior life which includes these new mysteries.
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| St. John Paul II |
The Feast Day
The following year after the victories of the Battle of Lepanto, Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of Victory on October 7, where the faithful would not only remember this victory, but also give thanks to the Lord for all of His benefits and remember the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother.
In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of the "Feast of Our Lady of Victory" to "Feast of the Holy Rosary". In 1671 the observance of this festival was extended by Clement X to the whole of Spain, and somewhat later Clement XI, after the victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene in the Battle of Petrovaradin in 1716, commanded the feast of the Rosary to be celebrated by the universal Church, assigning it to the first Sunday in October.
Pope Leo XIII was particularly devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary. He raised the feast to the rank of a double of the second class and added to the Litany of Loreto the invocation "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary". On this feast, in every church in which the Rosary confraternity has been duly erected, a plenary indulgence "toties quoties" is granted upon certain conditions to all who visit therein the Rosary chapel or statue of Our Lady. This has been called the "Portiuncula" of the Rosary. St. Pius X in 1913 changed the date to October 7, as part of his effort to restore celebration of the liturgy of the Sundays. In 1960 Pope John XXIII changed the title to "Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary".
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| The apparition of Our Lady of Fatima |
In the latter part of the eighteenth and over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, numerous reports of Marian apparitions became well known all over the world, although a few of them got a stamp of approval of the church, one of the focal point of the messages of these apparitions is the importance of praying the holy rosary.
One of the most notable of these apparitions is the one reported then later approved vision in Fatima, Portugal that occurred for six months in succession every 13th of May until October of 1917. During the apparitions, the Blessed Mother gave messages and secrets to the world through the three shepherd children where she stressed the importance of prayer, sacrifices and conversion. She explicitly emphasized the importance of the praying the rosary for the conversion of sinners and a weapon against the enemies of God. In one of her appearances, on July 13, 1917, she revealed the three secrets and the prayer that would later be known as the "Fatima Prayer" that will be prayed after each decade of the Rosary. On her last of the series of the apparitions, October 13, 1917, she identified herself as "The Lady of the Rosary" and the miracle of the Sun took place moments later.
After the Fatima events concluded and its subsequent church approval, more Marian apparitions were reported all over the world and the messages somehow followed a similar vien like those in Fatima and also stressed out the importance of the rosary devotion.
The Rise of Rosary Movements
Since the Fatima apparitions, numerous movements were formed to further propagation of the devotion to the Holy Rosary in line with the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Three rosary movements came from this vein, the Blue Army of Fatima (now World Apostolate of Fatima), the Rosary Atonement movement and the America needs Fatima movement.
In 1947, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton founded the Family Rosary Crusade in thanksgiving for his another lease in life through the help of the rosary. The movement promoted the importance of praying th e rosary as a family to combat the evils that would destroy the basic unit of the society. Fr. Peyton devised mass media (television, radio, film) and holding rosary rallies all over the world, including the Philippines to further spread the devotion and importance of the rosary. Fr. Peyton died in 1992 and his cause for his beatification and canonization was opened and Pope Francis declared Fr. Peyton "Venerable" in 2017.
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| The Dominican Missionaries in the Philippines |
The devotion arrived in the Philippine shores with the arrival of the Dominican Order in the country in 1587 and brought with them the first image of Our Lady of the Rosary in the country from Mexico (which was unfortunately destroyed during the Second World War). The Dominicans later established the Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario years later making it one of the oldest existing Marian confraternity in the Philippines with numerous members from all over the country. The Cofradia member's main task is to to pray the fifteen mysteries of the Holy Rosary in a designated hour and day in the altar of the image of Our Lady of the Rosary or in some cases, to an altar with her image enthroned in other parishes or oratories. Also, the members should also frequent the sacraments and join the annual procession in her honor. One of the cofradia's most illustrious members is our own Filipino Saint, Saint Lorenzo Ruiz who is in fact a member and probably held a post in the Cofradia.
The Cofradia soon spread all over the country, most especially on different Dominican mission provinces in our country were established their local chapters like in the case in Pampanga, Laguna and Samar.. The Cofradia also reached and also to Japan, China and Vietname where some of the lay Dominican martyrs of those mission lands were members of the Cofradia.
In 1611, Archbishop Miguel de Benavides, OP established the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, as a seminary college in Intramuros a few blocks from old Santo Domingo Church. This Colegio would eventually became Colegio de Santo Tomas and later became the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas - the oldest existing university in the Philippines and in Asia.
Rosary shrines and parishes became widespread all over the country and these became popular pilgrimage sites through the years like those in Quezon Ave, Quezon City (where the Virgin of La Naval is currently enshrined); Manaoag, Pangasinan; Orani, Bataan; Naga, Camarines Sur (the Peñafrancia Virgin was in fact a Santo Rosario image); Ubanon, Catbalogan, Samar; San Jose, Iloilo; Piat, Cagayan Valley; Dampalit, Malabon; Hagonoy and Makinabang in Bulacan; Bacolor and Angeles City in Pampanga; Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental; Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental, Pacita, and Luisiana in Laguna; Rosario and Amaya in Cavite; Polo, Valenzuela; Sampaloc, Paco and Binondo in Manila among others. Some of the venerated images of Our Lady of the Rosary received recognition from Ecclesiastical authorities by bestowing the image the honor of Canonical and Episcopal Coronation, Most notably, the first image in the country that was granted with Canonical Coronation was the Virgin of the Rosary - La Naval de Manila in 1907 granted by St. Pius X.
The Rosary in the modern times in the country
In modern times. block rosaries became a popular practice where the community would gather around on a different households to to enthrone a community owned image of the Blessed Mother (usually an image of Our Lady of Fatima) and pray the rosary. The host families or schools will take turns on holding block rosaries and a mini procession will take place when the image will be transferred from one household or school to another to host the block rosary.
The rosary also became instrumental on building and uplifting communities like in the case in Valenzuela City where an ancient painting of the Holy Rosary is venerated in Coloong, Valenzuela with the traditional "Taluki" or the daily rosary meditations on the month of October and it spread out all over Valenzuela City that some of were established their own chapels (that would later became parishes) or in some cases enthroned in their respective parishes and eventually became its Marian patroness.
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| A block rosary being held at St. Mary's College in Quezon City |
The rosary also became instrumental on building and uplifting communities like in the case in Valenzuela City where an ancient painting of the Holy Rosary is venerated in Coloong, Valenzuela with the traditional "Taluki" or the daily rosary meditations on the month of October and it spread out all over Valenzuela City that some of were established their own chapels (that would later became parishes) or in some cases enthroned in their respective parishes and eventually became its Marian patroness.
In 1949, Antonio Gaston founded the "Barangay sang Birhen" movement for the spiritual betterment of the welfare of the barangays first in Bacolod City then it spread throughout the country. The movement's famous image was commissioned in 1955 and numerous miracles and conversions were attributed to the Virgin of the Barangay. Two notable shrines were erected in honor of the Virgin of Baranggay, the National Shrine of Birhen sang Barangay that was built in 1974 in Silay City, Negros Occidental. The second shrine is the Diocesan Shrine of Birhen Sang Barangay which was established in 1970 and was elevated to a Shrine in 1976.
Other rosary apostolates also became widespread all over the country, there's the famed Family Rosary Crusade of Venerable Fr. Patrick Peyton that established its Philippine center in 1951, the Rosary for Life movement that aims to protect the sanctity of life that was threatened by abortion, Rosary for peace among others. In light of the issuance of the St. John Paul II's encyclical "Rosarium Virginis Mariae", the Society of Divine Word composed a special set of mysteries called "The Mysteries of the Mission" dedicated to Our Lady of the Mission which the society prayed every Tuesdays.
The Rosary and Philippine History
In these simple praying beads of Our Lady, it would later play a key important role in our critical parts history since the Spanish regime. One of the most important and the most celebrated victory of the rosary is the famed Five Naval Battles of 1646 where the Dutch invaders launched its campaign to conquer the islands to become part of its colonies.
The combined Spanish and Filipino forces (composed of Tagalogs, Mestizos, Kapampangans among others) made a vow to the Virgin of the Rosary that was then enshrined in Old Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros that they will walk barefoot to her shrine and will commemorate the victories in her honor if the armada will succeed. The armada were enlisted to the Rosary Confraternity and frequented the sacraments during the preparation stage. Equipt wtih two old galleons, "Encarnacion" and "Rosario", the fierce battle raged between the Spanish-Filipino armada and the Dutch fleet. during the battles, the rosary was being recited and the shouts of "Viva la Virgen!" echoed while shooting cannon balls.
In the end, the Spanish-Filipino armada emerged victorious and kept their promise to the Santo Rosario of Old Santo Domingo that thwarted the Dutch plan to colonize the Philippines. The Manila Cathedral chapter decalred the Five "La Naval" battles miraculous on April 9, 1662 and ordered an annual festivity to be held every Second Sunday of October. The annual festivities would later be known as the grand feast day of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila. The La Naval festivities are also celebrated in Angeles City and Bacolor in Pampanga and in Sangley Point, Cavite City, Cavite.
Another episode in our history where the Virgin intervened was in San Jose, Iloilo in 1616 where image of Our Lady of the Rosary was found on the shores of Iloilo, not far from its fortress, while excavations were being made to prepare trenches for the defense of the City against an invading Dutch squadron under the command of Admiral Spielberg, which attacked the island on September 28, 1616. The discovery of this image so inspired the defenders under the leadership of Don Diego de Quiñones that help on their victory over the Ducth invaders. This image of the Virgin of the Rosary is currently enshrined in St. Joseph's Parish in San Jose, Iloilo.
The Virgin of the Rosary played important roles in different parts of the country from saving provinces from pestilence like in the case of Manaoag, Pangasinan; Naga, Camarines Sur; Ugong, Pasig City; Orani, Bataan on other provinces, saving cities like in the case of Cagayan de Oro among others It is also notable how the Virgin of the Rosary of Orani, Bataan saved numerous lives in the wake of the Mount Pinatubo eruption in the early 1990's where it is said that the survivors saw a lady woth her child saving people during the devastating eruption and when they visited her shrine in Orani, the faifthul saw remnants of lahar in her dress which was strange since the altar was completely dry. In recent history, through the power of the rosary and devotion to Our Lady, the bloodless People Power Revolution in 1986 was a success that it is said that the Virgin herself appeared to the soldiers asking them "Do not harm my people." These stories and other miracles made an impact to a city, town or province in the islands which made the rosary devotion popular and important in our country.
The Devotion today
Since ages past, history reveals the deep devotions and attachments of the Filipinos to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This veneration is not only reflected in the various popular devotions, like the rosary, but also in the fabric of political and economic life of the people. In conflicting situations, the rosary becomes an instrument of hope, a weapon against evil and a link to God. Life and peace become desired gifts, the nation rebuilds, and the economy regenerates. The devotion to the Blessed Mother is a clear symbol of the Filipinos’ deep aspirations for new expressions of peace, care, and love in these present times.
Like Mary, the Filipinos hope through prayer, especially the rosary. The strong hope for a renewed society characterized has been manifested through the power of the rosary and this was proven in several points of our own history and this is still evident up to this day. In these times of confusion and divisiveness, the prayer and the message of the rosary is more urgent, it once saved our country in several critical points of our history and as long as there were faithful who prays the rosary, Our Lord, through Our Lady will guide us and help us to live in a nation where we reaffirm that Christ is our King and Mary is our Queen.
Regina Sacratissimi Rosarii, ora pro nobis!
References:
Aviado, Lutgarda, "Madonnas of the Philippines", Manlapaz Press, Quezon City, 1972.
Barcelona, Mary Anne, "Ynang Maria: a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines". Ed. Consuelo B. Estampa, P.D. Pasig City, Anvil Publishing Inc.,2004.
Dagohoy, Herminio, "The Saga of La Naval, Triumph of the People's Faith", Dominican Province of the Philippines, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City 2007.
De Leon, Joel Alexander, "Lambong: Alay sa Mahal na Birhen ng Orani", Bahay Limbagan ni Santa Veronica, Quezon City, 2009.
Delos Reyes, Michael P. "Salve Regina: On Crowning image of the Virgin Mary", Diliman, Quezon City, Claret Communications Foundation Inc.,2015.
"Short History of the Rosary", Retrieved on October 5, 2017 from http://catholicgo.org/short-history-of-the-rosary/.
Thurston, Herbert. (2013), "Feast of the Holy Rosary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.
Libro en que se tratea de la importancia y exercicio del santo rosario, Zaragoza: Domingo Portonariis y Ursino (1584), cited after Lorenzo F. Candelaria,(2008), "The Rosary Cantoral: Ritual and Social Design in a Chantbook from Early Renaissance" Toledo, University Rochester Press.
Peyton, CSC, Patrick, "All For Her: An Autobiography of Father Patrick Peyton, CSC", Family Theater Publications, Hollywood California, 1996.
Sanchez, Francisco, "La Virgen Maria Venerada en sus Imagenes Filipinas", Manila: Imp. De Santos y Bernal, 1904.
Special thanks to the owners of the photographs utilized in this blogpost.
+AM+DG+
Other rosary apostolates also became widespread all over the country, there's the famed Family Rosary Crusade of Venerable Fr. Patrick Peyton that established its Philippine center in 1951, the Rosary for Life movement that aims to protect the sanctity of life that was threatened by abortion, Rosary for peace among others. In light of the issuance of the St. John Paul II's encyclical "Rosarium Virginis Mariae", the Society of Divine Word composed a special set of mysteries called "The Mysteries of the Mission" dedicated to Our Lady of the Mission which the society prayed every Tuesdays.
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| The "La Naval" Battles of 1646 |
In these simple praying beads of Our Lady, it would later play a key important role in our critical parts history since the Spanish regime. One of the most important and the most celebrated victory of the rosary is the famed Five Naval Battles of 1646 where the Dutch invaders launched its campaign to conquer the islands to become part of its colonies.
The combined Spanish and Filipino forces (composed of Tagalogs, Mestizos, Kapampangans among others) made a vow to the Virgin of the Rosary that was then enshrined in Old Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros that they will walk barefoot to her shrine and will commemorate the victories in her honor if the armada will succeed. The armada were enlisted to the Rosary Confraternity and frequented the sacraments during the preparation stage. Equipt wtih two old galleons, "Encarnacion" and "Rosario", the fierce battle raged between the Spanish-Filipino armada and the Dutch fleet. during the battles, the rosary was being recited and the shouts of "Viva la Virgen!" echoed while shooting cannon balls.
In the end, the Spanish-Filipino armada emerged victorious and kept their promise to the Santo Rosario of Old Santo Domingo that thwarted the Dutch plan to colonize the Philippines. The Manila Cathedral chapter decalred the Five "La Naval" battles miraculous on April 9, 1662 and ordered an annual festivity to be held every Second Sunday of October. The annual festivities would later be known as the grand feast day of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila. The La Naval festivities are also celebrated in Angeles City and Bacolor in Pampanga and in Sangley Point, Cavite City, Cavite.
Another episode in our history where the Virgin intervened was in San Jose, Iloilo in 1616 where image of Our Lady of the Rosary was found on the shores of Iloilo, not far from its fortress, while excavations were being made to prepare trenches for the defense of the City against an invading Dutch squadron under the command of Admiral Spielberg, which attacked the island on September 28, 1616. The discovery of this image so inspired the defenders under the leadership of Don Diego de Quiñones that help on their victory over the Ducth invaders. This image of the Virgin of the Rosary is currently enshrined in St. Joseph's Parish in San Jose, Iloilo.
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| The iconic photograph of two nuns praying the Rosary during the EDSA Revolution of 1986 |
Since ages past, history reveals the deep devotions and attachments of the Filipinos to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This veneration is not only reflected in the various popular devotions, like the rosary, but also in the fabric of political and economic life of the people. In conflicting situations, the rosary becomes an instrument of hope, a weapon against evil and a link to God. Life and peace become desired gifts, the nation rebuilds, and the economy regenerates. The devotion to the Blessed Mother is a clear symbol of the Filipinos’ deep aspirations for new expressions of peace, care, and love in these present times.
Like Mary, the Filipinos hope through prayer, especially the rosary. The strong hope for a renewed society characterized has been manifested through the power of the rosary and this was proven in several points of our own history and this is still evident up to this day. In these times of confusion and divisiveness, the prayer and the message of the rosary is more urgent, it once saved our country in several critical points of our history and as long as there were faithful who prays the rosary, Our Lord, through Our Lady will guide us and help us to live in a nation where we reaffirm that Christ is our King and Mary is our Queen.
Regina Sacratissimi Rosarii, ora pro nobis!
References:
Aviado, Lutgarda, "Madonnas of the Philippines", Manlapaz Press, Quezon City, 1972.
Barcelona, Mary Anne, "Ynang Maria: a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines". Ed. Consuelo B. Estampa, P.D. Pasig City, Anvil Publishing Inc.,2004.
Dagohoy, Herminio, "The Saga of La Naval, Triumph of the People's Faith", Dominican Province of the Philippines, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City 2007.
De Leon, Joel Alexander, "Lambong: Alay sa Mahal na Birhen ng Orani", Bahay Limbagan ni Santa Veronica, Quezon City, 2009.
Delos Reyes, Michael P. "Salve Regina: On Crowning image of the Virgin Mary", Diliman, Quezon City, Claret Communications Foundation Inc.,2015.
"Short History of the Rosary", Retrieved on October 5, 2017 from http://catholicgo.org/short-history-of-the-rosary/.
Thurston, Herbert. (2013), "Feast of the Holy Rosary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.
Libro en que se tratea de la importancia y exercicio del santo rosario, Zaragoza: Domingo Portonariis y Ursino (1584), cited after Lorenzo F. Candelaria,(2008), "The Rosary Cantoral: Ritual and Social Design in a Chantbook from Early Renaissance" Toledo, University Rochester Press.
Peyton, CSC, Patrick, "All For Her: An Autobiography of Father Patrick Peyton, CSC", Family Theater Publications, Hollywood California, 1996.
Sanchez, Francisco, "La Virgen Maria Venerada en sus Imagenes Filipinas", Manila: Imp. De Santos y Bernal, 1904.
Special thanks to the owners of the photographs utilized in this blogpost.
+AM+DG+
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