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.