Msgr. Adalberto Vergara and Fr. Jose Luis Perez bless the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary while the faithful sing “Salve Regina.” (Photo: Myraine Policarpio)
MEYCAUAYAN City, Bulacan, May 22, 2016 – Being active in church activities and traditions like the Flores de Mayo is a concrete way of living a Trinitarian life, said a priest.
“As the Holy Trinity is united in performing their divine tasks, we, as believer, should also be united in practicing our faith. By showing our active participation in church activities and traditions like the Flores de Maria, we exemplify such divine unity,” said Msgr. Adalberto Vergara, St. Francis of Assisi parish priest, and Fr. Jose Luis Perez, parochial vicar on Saturday, May 21, a day before the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity.
God’s unity
“As we participate in this devotion, celebrating ‘Flores de Maria’ and offering flowers to Mary, we also express our unity with God,” he added.
In his homily, Perez discussed the Holy Trinity and how the faithful should see and understand the unity among the three divine persons of God.
“We should be able to emulate the Holy Trinity through our unity,” he told CBCP News in an interview.
Religious pageantry?
Despite some misconceptions about “Flores de Maria” and “Santacruzan,” the organizers of the said activities in the parish continued their commitment in reviving traditional methods to make the event more evangelistic this year like assigning Marian titles, based on the Litany of Loreto, to each “sagala.”
According to Committee on Church Cultural Heritage (CCCH) archivist Robby Dela Vega the difference between the two traditional events, saying the “Santacruzan” is a devotion to commemorate St. Helena’s finding of the Holy Cross, while the “Flores de Maria or Flores de Mayo” seeks to venerate Mary by offering flowers throughout the month of May.
“The ‘Flores de Maria’ should inspire the women, especially the ‘sagalas’ to follow the life of Mary,” Dela Vega told CBCPNews. “This should not be a mere pageantry or a display of beauty, but rather it should inculcate in us the Church’s call to be like Mary, the fragrant flower in God’s garden in heaven.”
Meanwhile, Vergara called on the parishioners to remain faithful in expressing devotion to Mary. After the Mass, he led this year’s hermanos in offering flowers and in crowning the Blessed Mother.
A “Flores de Maria” (Flowers of Mary) was held at St. Francis of Assisi Parish on May 21 through the initiative of the CCCH and the assistance of the Commission on Youth and other mandated Church organizations and sub-parish pastoral councils. Twenty three beautiful young ladies “sagala,” who are all natives of the town, as well as parishioners, joined Mama Mary in the procession. (Myraine Carluen Policarpio / CBCP News)
