MIM UNIT OF CANADA HOLDS PILGRIMAGE

To celebrate the feast of Our Blessed Mother Mary's Assumption, the Mother Ignacia Movement of Canada held a pilgrimage to different centers of worship in the province of Alberta, Canada. The celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy ushered in the activities that the group undertook. After the Sacred Liturgy, the MIM group joined the pilgrims from all over Canada for the blessing of the sick.

From the church of Our Lady of the Angels in Skaro, Alberta the group proceeded to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Lake where they had the group rosary. Ephphrata, House of Retreat in Stony Plain, Alberta was their next stop. They participated in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Evening Prayer after which they partook of the dinner served to them. The group had the opportunity to visit the St. Theresa's church.

The whole day was spent in an atmosphere of prayer which made each member feel grateful to the Lord for the initiative of Sr. Ma. Cornelia Ramirez, RVM who organized the activity.

A benefactor, Bill Connelly, who owns the Connelly-Mackinly Inc., provided the group with free transportation and accommodation. As a gesture of gratitude for God's goodness they donated the amount of $1,125.00 which they saved, to the St. Theresa's Parish Church. 

MOTHER IGNACIA MOVEMENT REACHES OUT TO THE POOR

The parish of St. Theresa's Church has a schedule of giving free meal to the poor every Sunday. The officers and members of the Mother Ignacia Movement volunteered to have one Sunday for them to reach out to the poor. As agreed they gathered at the MacNeil Hall of St.Theresa's Church to prepare food on September 10, 2005 in celebration of the 257 th death anniversary of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, foundress of the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.

The Movement went out of their way to raise some amount to buy food for distribution on September 11, 2005. An ecumenical prayer service was held in the Bissel Center in Edmonton. Most of those who attended the activity were native Indians and other ethnic groups. The food served to them was a complete meal of sandwiches, vegetables and fruits.

The benefactors who contributed for the food and the cooperation of the MIM members in preparing the food are gratefully acknowledged. May the love of the Lord be their reward. 

Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo Dreams and Survives

A person who has direction in life is guided accordingly.  Life puts on a meaning for this person.  Success awaits for him or for her at the end.

In retrospection on the life of Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, it can be seen how clearly this woman of the 17th century journeyed in her earthly life towards her heavenly goal.  Time and again, her choice of her state of life, fully dedicated to her Divine Creator, always comes to the fore with no trace of any misgiving.  As early as twenty-one years of age, this woman, steeped in humility, knew what to do with her life.  From a life of ease, she plunged herself into the unknown, a life of uncertainly.  What was certain for her was her faith in God, enhanced by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  She believed.  She hoped.  She loved.  Her faith, her hope, and her love are the moving factors that made her trust unswervingly in God, who called her to His service.  There is the call and there is the response.  A generous response, in fact.

There was no looking back for this woman with a strong conviction that God is always there to help her carry on even when being confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  She had a dream that beckoned her to pursue what she saw as the will of God for her.  This dream found fruition in the institution she founded--the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.  God blessed her dream and from its simple beginnings, the Congregation has now flourished.  Yet Mother Ignacia remained humble.  Such humility brings her to an exalted place of prominence in the country who come to know her.

Indeed Venerable Mother Ignacia's dream was propelled by a steadfast with and ardent love of God and country culminating in a survival that has run for more that three centuries now.  Yes, Venerable Mother Ignacia's dream, faith and survival have been interwoven into a masterpiece that exists up to our contemporary time.  She has weathered all seasons and her daughters continue to walk on the trail she had paved for them.  She has left a legacy which enables them to seek and do the will of God as they undertake the different ministries to help those in need through retreat or recollection, formal and non-formal education, catechetics, social ministry and special services.

Recalling the words of His Eminence Rufino Cardinal Santo, of a happy memory, in one of his homilies, the following lines are hereby quoted:

"The history of our country, especially in the chapter on Christian Education would be incomplete without the explicit mention of the immense contribution of schools and dormitories and of religious instruction run by the Religious of the Virgin Mary.  The RVM Schools that are scattered throughout the Archipelago are a witness to the zeal, patience and love for the youth, of these Filipina women."


The message derived from the words of Cardinal Santos is an accolade to the RVM Foundress, Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo.  As a woman of firm determination she did what she knew and felt was God's will for her with fortitude infused in her soul by the Holy Spirit giving her the courage to forgo the barriers along her way to accomplish her goal.

Would that the work on her beatification be realized in God's own good time that we may see her venerated on our altars for the welfare of everyone in the Local Church as well as in the Universal Church.

Venerable Mother Ignacia Is A Woman Of The Beatitudes

Towards the end of the Holy Mass in commemoration of the 258th death anniversary of Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo who died on 10 September 1748, Sister Maria Rita Ferraris, RVM, PhD, CA, shared her reflections on the life of this Servant of God.  At the outset she lifted a line from St. James 2:5 as follows : 

       "Listen, my beloved brethren: Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to those who love him ?"

The rest of her talk appears below.
For this 258th death anniversary of Venerable Mother Ignacia, we have chosen to reflect on the Beatitudes as witnessed in her life.  The Lord Jesus, in His sermon on the Mount, placed in focus the outstanding qualities of the elect in His scale of values: the poor, the meek, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, those who mourn, the merciful, those who hunger after justice, and those persecuted in the cause of right...they are those who deserve a share in His kingdom, inheritors of His promises.  We can journey with Mother Ignacia's earthly pilgrimage and identify the peak points in her life that recall significantly the beatitudes she lived.  And it is the ardent desire of everyone here today when the Church will formally declare that already "hers is the kingdom of heaven."

On this day of remembering, I'd like to dwell specially on how Venerable Mother Ignacia lived the beatitude of poverty, in her unique expression of merging her cultural orientation and the evangelical counsel.  Jesus' modeling of poverty was captured in His words  "The foxes have holes and the birds in the air have their nests, but the Son of Man had not even a stone whereon to rest His head."  The young Ignacia, the precious "unica hija" of the Chinese merchant Jusepe Iuco, upon receipt of God's invitation to "remain in His service," resolved to "live by the sweat of her brow, although she had parents that would have supported her decently." Murillo Velarde, S.J.)  She had skills by which to earn her keep, and for the rest she placed her trust in God's Providence.

Religious institutions for women during her times, had to prove financial stability in order to be allowed to exist.  This audicious "yndia" had the temerity to resolve to live by the labor of her hands.  it was this that she legislated as a legacy for her religious family.  Echoing St. Ignatius' words, she urged  her companions to "love poverty as a mother, for it is rampart to persevere other virtues."  Treasuring her indigenous heritage as well as her Chinese inherited values, and in solidarity with the working class, she responded to any need by resourcefulness and ingenuity.  lacking firewood ? Scrounge the streets for wood; no oil for their lamps ?  East early or wait for the moonrise.  She was not medicant, but she did not hesitate to send out her Sisters to productive Pampanga to solicit alms.  The Jesuit friends and mentors diverted some of their benefices to the beatas, but when the expulsion and supression dried up this source, they survived by their efforts, so that until the end of the Spanish colonial period the Beaterio of the Society of Jesus did not constitute a burden to the Royal Treasury.

Two hundred and fifty-eight years have elapsed since the Venerable Servant of God slipped into eternity.  her religious family is still living by the labor of their hands, whether in Manila, Ipunan, Caraga, Borongan, Elverta, Pago-pago, Bechem Abianbase, Dili, Port Morseby or Islamabad.  The Congregation had further incarnated the principle of mutual love and union of mind and heart legislated in 1726 so that the mission houses will not have to close its ministry because of dire circumstance.  The resources of St. Mary's College of Quezon City and Pasay and Caloocan and University of the Immaculate Conception are centrally managed by which resource-sharing is implemented.  To be poor in spirit according to the legacy of Venerable Mother Ignacia, is to be in solidarity with the poor, to live by the fruit of our labors, to employ resourcefulness and ingenuity, to practice holy indifference with regard to material possessions, all for the gretaer service of the Father, "whose honor and glory is the motive of all our actions."

Mother Ignacia Movement of Canada Organized

On December  10, 2004 during a meeting with Rev. Martin Carroll, pastor of St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church of Edmonton, the Mother Ignacia Movement of Canada was formally organized. Sister Maria Cornelia Ramirez, RVM, Adora Dolojan and Arli Opao were given permission by Father Martin to use one of the rooms at Saint Theresa’s Church as venue for upcoming meetings. The Mother Ignacia Movement is now included on the list of parish organizations published every week in the Church bulletin  and in  the parish brochure of activities. Meetings are on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. The MIM officers and members  pray before the Blessed Sacrament and spend time for adoration before the meetings.
Now that Father Martin Carroll has recognized the Mother Ignacia Movement as one of the parish organizations at the Church of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, he has given the MIM a special place in the Church foyer to  put reading materials on Mother Ignacia and prayer leaflets for her beatification which people can pick up before or after daily Masses or weekend Masses.
On April 30 and May 1, 2005 the MIM officers and members will be selling religious articles after all the Masses. This is another chance to give out prayer leaflets for the beatification of Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo and to disseminate information about our Mother Foundress.
The officers and members of Mother Ignacia Movement pray for the beatification of Venerable Mother Ignacia work hand in hand with the Apostles of the Holy Face, another parish organization in Saint Theresa’s vibrant community. They reach out to others and commit themselves to evangelization … spreading the Good News and living out the Gospel through the practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They distribute prayer leaflets for Venerable Mother Ignacia’s beatification when they visit the sick in nursing homes, hospitals and private homes. As Eucharisitc ministers, they  give Holy Communion to the shut-ins and seniors. They pray the rosary and prayers for the dead at the homes of the deceased and give monetary donations to those who desperately need help. MIM members also attend workshops on stewardship and strive to do simple acts of stewardship which reveal the presence of God in our midst.
Currently, the officers and members of the Apostles of the Holy Face and MIM are supporting  Saint Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church in the Spring projects:  parking lot repairs and Church floor replacement.  Monetary donations have already come from  United States benefactors and other sources. 
Sister Maria Cornelia Ramirez, RVM communicates with the MIM in the U.S. and regularly touch base with Ignacio Pecore to  update him  with  MIM happenings in Canada.

OUR GOALS: To spread information about Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
To pray for Mother Ignacia’s beatification and eventual canonization as Saint Ignacia.
To reach out to others
To witness to God’s compassionate love for all
To do spiritual and corporal works of mercy in collaboration with the Apostles of the Holy Face of Jesus.

MOTHER IGNACIA’S BACKGROUND: Her father was Jusepe Iuco, a Chinese from Amoy, China. He converted to the Catholic faith in 1652 and lived in Binondo, Manila. Her mother was Maria Jeronima, a native Filipina.
Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo was baptized on March 4, 1663. She was baptized as Ignacia del Espiritu Santo by the Dominican missionary, Father Alberto Collares. Her last name is del Espiritu Santo, not Iuco, because it was customary among the pious parents at that time to give their children devotional name at Baptism.

WHAT DID MOTHER IGNACIA DO? When Ignacia was 21 years old, she had her retreat under the direction of Father Paul Klein, a Jesuit priest from Bohemia. After this period of prayer, she decided to serve God. Her life of prayer attracted the native women who also felt the call to the religious life. Mother Ignacia accepted these women and the first RVM community was born. Mother Ignacia organized the retreat movement in the Philippines and helped in the education ministry of the Catholic church.
In 1684 Mother Ignacia founded the Beatas de la Compania de Jesus now known as the
On July 6, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree that attests to the heroic virtues of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Foundress of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM Sisters).
The community of the Religious of the Virgin Mary celebrated on Feb. 1, 2008 the promulgation from Rome of the Decree of Virtue of Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Foundress of the RVM Sisters. Religious of the Virgin Mary, the first Filipino religious Congregation granted papal recognition. Mother Ignacia was the first Filipina to found a Congregation of religious women in the Philippines. Mother Ignacia and her beatas were observed as disciples of Christ serving God in all peoples. Let us pray that she, who made a significant difference in the society of her time, be an inspiration and a model for our youth of today who are searching for the meaning of life

VARIED MINISTRIES OF THE M.I.M OF CANADA: In gratitude for the abundant gifts God has given us, the members of the Mother Ignacia Movement return to Him the first fruits of these gifts through acts of service which we render to the sick, the hungry, the dying, the lonely, and all those who need prayers.
As we follow God faithfully, serve Him joyfully, give generously, live responsibly, we are mindful that our ministry is part of Stewardship.

AT ST. THERESA’S PARISH, WE: Serve all, especially the sick who need to be visited in the nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals.
Spread the Good News of God’s kingdom
Bring Holy Communion to the sick
Lead prayers at the homes of the family of deceased parishioners
Ask God for spiritual and temporal needs through Mother Ignacia’s intercession.
Manage the Little Flower Religious Store of St. Theresa’s Church in collaboration with the Apostles of the Holy Face of Jesus. For favors received, send a written testimony to the RVM Sisters at
2907 – 37A Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T6T 1H7
Canada
780-641- 5681