(Sharing at the
Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 10 Nov 2012)
Dear brothers and
sisters in Christ
To help us answer our
call for the Year of Faith, that is, to share with others Christ Jesus, the Redeemer
of mankind[1], one of the Church’s pastoral advice is to have
a special devotion to Mary[2].
In response, we would like to suggest contemplating the Lord in the Santa Maria
della Strada Chapel.[3]
Among the features in the Chapel that may help in prayerful reflexion are the
four stained glass images of Our Lady. Have you ever wondered their significance?
They are the 4 Mary’s significant to St.
Ignatius of Loyola. Remember our
sharing on Our Lady in St. Ignatius Loyola’s life? The images walk us through the
most important stages of his life. Today, I will share briefly on something
about two of the images.
When Ignatius Loyola
was converted while recovering from the Pamplona
battle injury, he had a vision of Our Lady with the Holy Child Jesus, which
confirmed his decision. It was believed to be that of Our Lady of Aranzazu.
This is the first image as you enter the back door of the chapel. Aranzazu is
about 55 km from Loyola, Ignatius’ ancestral home, in Gipuzkoa. According to
tradition, in 1498, while rounding up his flock, a shepherd, Rodrigo de
Baltzategi, heard a cowbell calling him. He followed the sound, and came upon
an image of the Virgin Mary. Considered a miracle, the site became a pilgrimage
shrine. In Ignatius’ mother tongue, the Basque language, Aranzazu means “a
place full of hawthorn bushes”, thus the name Our Lady of Aranzazu. It was also
believed that she was so named because the shepherd Rodrigo, who discovered her
on top of a hawthorn bush, exclaimed, “Arantzan zu?!” meaning, “You, on a
hawthorn bush?!” Today, the Sanctuary of Aranzazu is maintained by the
Franciscans. The feast of Our Lady of Aranzazu, patron saint of Gipuzkoa, is celebrated
on 9 Sept.
The vision of the
Virgin and the Child filled Ignatius with hatred for his past life of impurity.
He wanted to go to the Holy Land via Montserrat.
On his way, in 1522, he stopped at Aranzazu and spent a night in vigil before
Our Lady of Aranzazu, promising to live in chastity.
He then went on to Montserrat,
then already a famous pilgrimage destination. Rulers, church leaders and
canonized Saints had visited the famous Black Madonna of Montserrat at the
Benedictine monastery there. This is the second image from the back of our
Chapel. St. Ignatius became among its most famous visitors. According to
legend, the image of the Virgin of Montserrat was first known as La Jerosolimitana, or the native of Jerusalem – it
is believed to have been carved in Jerusalem
by St. Luke during the Church’s beginnings. It was brought to Montserrat
in 718, to hide it from the invading Saracens. For almost 200 years, it
remained hidden and the location was forgotten. Then in 890, tradition holds
that while tending their flocks one night, some shepherds saw lights and heard
singing coming from the mountain. After the second time, they reported it to
their priest. Upon investigation, he also saw the mysterious lights and heard
the singing. So he informed the Bishop, who also witnessed these phenomena. Finally,
they discovered the statue of Our Lady in the cave; they brought it out and
placed it in a small church that was soon built and later developed into the
present church that was completed in 1592.
Various miracles were attributed to the
Virgin of Montserrat, resulting in the present statue being made in the 12th
or 13th century. It has always been considered one of the most
popular images in Spain
and is classified as one of the Black Madonnas in the world. Why black? No
one knows for sure, but one possibility was that the countless candles and
lamps that have burned day and night before it had turned it black.
At Montserrat,
Ignatius Loyola exchanged his rich clothes for a beggar’s, laid down his sword and
dagger at Our Lady’s altar and kept a vigil. The next day, intending to
continue to the Holy Land, he ended up stopping at nearby Manresa. Here, he composed the Spiritual
Exercises that helped so many souls till today.
Dear brothers and
sisters, thus far, we have gone through St. Ignatius’ time of conversion. In a
fortnight, we will learn more about the other two stained glass icons of Our
Lady. Meanwhile, let us ask her to help us live out the Pope’s invitation to
true and renewed conversion during this grace-filled Year of Faith. “Mary,
Mother of the Church, pray for us. Amen.”
When Ignatius Loyola
was converted while recovering from the 
At 
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