Stained Glass

 by Carlos Alexis Malaluan

Mayo noon, Buwan ni Maria. 

Naisipan ko at ng isang matalik na kaibigan na umakyat sa kanyang Dambana sa Antipolo. Nakakatuwa ang laki ng simbahan. Para akong batang sabik na libutin ang isang malayang kalawakan. Noong nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na umakyat sa choir loft, napukaw ako sa makulay na 'stained glass' ng Birhen ng Antipolo. Malapitan ko itong pinagmasdan. Nakakamangha ang ganda at gara ng napakalaking "stained glass" ng Simbahan. Natutuwa kasi ako kapag nakakakita ako ng mga "stained glass" sa loob ng simbahan. Bukod sa matitingkad nitong kulay at mga kuwentong kanilang isinasalaysay - nakakatuwang isipin kung papaanong binubuo itong likhang sining ng ating pananampalataya. 

Mula sa maliliit na binasag na mga salamin, minantsahan ng kulay at pinagsama-sama nakakabuo tayo ng isang matingkad na larawang nagpapaalala sa atin ng kagandahan at kaluwalhatian ng Diyos. Ganun din tayo. Sino bang mag-aakalang sa kabila ng pagiging basag at sa mantsa ng kulay ng ating karanasan, nagagawa ng Diyos na ganapin ang kanyang plano sa ating mga buhay? 

Ngunit papaano higit na mamamalas ang tingkad ng kulay at ganda ng stained glass? Kapag nasisikatan ito ng araw. Sa kusang loob nating pagpapaubayang dumaloy sa ating mga basag at mantsa ang biyaya ng Diyos na kumikilos sa ating buhay, doon higit na napagmamasdan ang kabutihan at kagandahang taglay ng bawat isa.

(This article is an excerpt from the collections of Carlos Alexis Malaluan entitled "Dwells God:Mga Katha, Kwento at Panalangin ng Makabagong Lagalag")

5 Points on Flores de Mayo

In this month of May, we often think of Flores de Mayo as synonymous to Santacruzan, when actually it is quite different. Today, we will take a look at the celebration of Flores de Mayo and its colorful traiditon.

1. Flores de Mayo (flowers of May), sometimes known as Flores de Maria (flowers of Mary) refers to the flower festival celebrated by Filipinos during the whole month of May in honor of the Virgin Mary. Each of the 31 days of the month is a floral tribute to the virtues of Mary.  
2. In the Tagalog region, this custom and celebration started after the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 and after the publication circa 1867 of Mariano Sevilla's translation of the devotional Flores de Maria or Mariquit na Bulaclac na sa Pagninilaynilay sa Buong Buan nang Mayo ay Inihahandog nang manga Devoto cay Maria Santisima (The Flowers of Mary or the Beautiful Flowers that in the Meditations During the Whole Month of May are Offered by Devotees to Mary the Holiest). 

3. As a devotion to Mary, a customary ritual called Alay sa Birhen (offering to the Virgin) or Alay kay Maria (offering to Mary) is done during the entire month of May. The townsfolk gather colorful flowers to decorate the parish church altars and aisles every afternoon. Children (usually dressed in white) cut flowers and, with baskets of petals in hand, march down the church center aisle and sprinkle the fragrant petals. Older children carry sticks with letters spelling out AVE MARIA. They sing hymns to Mary and leave their bouquet of flowers in front of the altar. The rosary is recited and hymns are sung during the ritual.
4. The flower-offering song goes like this: 

        “ Tuhog na bulaklak, sadyang salit-salit, 

           Sa mahal mong noo'y aming ikakapit, 

           Lubos ang pag-asa nami't pananalig,  

          Na tatanggapin mo, handog na pag-ibig,   

          Lubos ang pag-asa nami't pananalig, 

          Na tatanggapin mo, handog na pag-ibig! ” 

          (With a garland of flowers, we crown you, in faith and love, and we hope you will accept the token of our affection.)

    5.   Nine days of prayer (a novena) in honor of the Holy Cross precedes the Flores de Mayo. In many

          parishes, the culmination of the Flores de Mayo is a procession called Santacruzan (Festival of the

          Holy Cross). It is a commemoration of the finding of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem by Saint Helena,

          mother of Constantine the Great. On this occasion, young ladies dressed in gowns represent

          the various characters of the commemoration (the "Accolades of Our Lady") and are escorted by

          young men.

At the close of May, during the parade of our Mother, let us look at her in complete adoration. After all, she is the Queen and beauty above all.

Source:

Is Flores de Mayo Biblical?

Repost with permission from Fr. Abe P. Arganiosa, CRS.

The flowers of the Holy Land here beautifully blooming in one of the valleys in Nazareth, around the Sea of Galilee. Inset far below shows another picture of the flowers of the Northern Israel which is the same area. Then, the second inset shows Mary as the Virgin of Nazareth carrying a Rose because she is the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley of the Holy Land. NO WOMAN IN ISRAEL CAN CLAIM TO BE THE ROSE OF SHARON AND THE LILY OF THE VALLEY. Only Mary fits the bill. She is MARY OF NAZARETH.

Anonymous said...

Dear Father,

Good evening Father, thank you so mutch to your very nice answer. Father iba nanang tanong,Ano ba tong FLORES DE MAYO is thise an offecial doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church?And is this found on the bible?

Thank you and God bless us all...

February 9, 2010 8:46 PM

Fr. Abe, CRS said...

Welcome Brother.

About the Flores de Mayo. It is not an official doctrine but a pious practice which is of course Biblical.

Flores de Mayo is Spanish. The English is Flowers of May. But it is basically the Catholic devotion of offering the beautiful flowers of the Spring time [April-May] to remind us of the love story between Christ and His Church and of the Holy Women whose lives were like a fragrant flowers offered to God. The Biblical imagery of flowers in Spring time is very beautiful and is the source of many deep Christian Spirituality and Mysticism as these passages from SONG OF SONGS:

Song 1:14 "My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna–flowers in the vineyards of En–gedi."

Song 2:12 "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;"

The Book of Songs or Canticle of Canticles of Solomon speaks of a love story between God and the human soul. Here God is presented as a Male Lover, a handsome King and a Bridegroom while the human soul is presented as a Virgin, Pure and Beautiful Maiden.

Even though for Catholic theology that maiden refers to the Church and to every soul thirsting for God we cannot deny that the first lover of Christ among the Christian believers is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the Virgin model of Christian purity of heart whose body and soul have been offered to God. That is why as the Song of Songs speaks of a Beloved Girl the Gospel of Luke speaks of Mary as "lubos na pinakamamahal ng Dios" [Lucas 1:28 Ang Biblia]. The literal English translation of which is "The Most Beloved of God". In other Bible translations it is rendered "full of grace" [Douay-Rheims Version] or "highly favored" [King James Version].

Mary loved Jesus more than her life because allowing herself to become pregrant not caused by her husband is punishable by death. She loved Jesus more than Joseph because she was ready to be rejected by Joseph for the sake of the Messiah. She loved the Lord more than family because she was ready to be forsaken or abandon by her family if ever she will be found pregnant prior to the wedding. Thus, Mary has the right to the claim of being the First Virgin beloved of God and loved Him in return. Thus, she has the right to exclaim:

Songs 2:1 "I am a Rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys."

Indeed, Mary lived in Nazareth a place famous for flowers such as lilies and roses being near the lake and also near the valleys. Thus the prophecy:

Isaiah 35:1 "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the ROSE."

has been fulfilled in Israel at the coming of the Messiah, in the Church because of the graces given by the Messiah and of course in Mary because she is the Rose [the Virgin] in whom the Messiah burst forth like a shoot. Thus she is also filled with the 'Fullness of Grace'.

Thus, the spring flowers remind us of Mary and she in turn reminds us of our love of God. Thus, every May  we gather flowers, then go to the Church or Chapel, and offer these flowers before the Altar of God and the venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many parishes are even organizing beautiful cantatas, fluvial processions and Santa Cruzan [in the Philippines] to highlight this pious and beautiful devotion. But the most popular practice celebrating this is the recitation of the Holy Rosaries either at homes or at churches.

The practice gain widespread popularity due to St. Philip Neri who propagated this devotion and many Popes did the same.

Repost from http://www.thesplendorofthechurch.blogspot.com/