Opening Prayer:
Prayer for the Beatification
Father in heaven, Your name is glorified over all the earth in Your Saints, men and women, distinguished by a whole-hearted service and love for You. Through them You have established religious congregations in Your Church. In Your goodness and mercy, You have looked with favor on Your people in the Philippines and have chosen from among them Your lowly handmaid IGNACIA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO to be the foundress of a religious family under the special protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We humbly ask You, then, to glorify Your name in her, by performing the miracles needed for her beatification. Through Your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
May her prayers and intercession obtain for us the favors we ask for, particularly that of remaining ever faithful to Your love and service. Amen.
1st Day: The Baptism of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God’s kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit. Matt.3:11
Reflection: On March 4, 1663 Ignacia received baptism in the name of Jesus Christ; the gift of the Holy Spirit became indelibly marked in her with the devotional name given her: del Espiritu Santo. The 85 years that she lived was characterized by fidelity to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. (Mention your petition)
Prayer: God, our loving Father, you have gifted your handmaid Ignacia with openness to the direction of the Holy Spirit. We ask you to grant our petitions, through her intercession, and especially gift us with docility to your will at all times. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
2nd Day: The Faith of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me. Mk.3:35
Reflection: The virtue of faith implanted in Ignacia at baptism finds expression in her maturing years in her posture of seeking and doing the will of the Father. (Mention your petition)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ taught us to seek and do your will in all things and in all events. Through the intercession of your handmaid Ignacia, grant our prayers, and especially grace us with a readiness to accept your will always. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
3rd Day: The courage of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: I am sure of this much: that He who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion, right up to the day of Christ Jesus. Phil.1:6
Reflection: If faith prompted Mother Ignacia to seek the Father’s will at all times, this same faith gave her the courage to do it: to overcome all obstacles that stood between her and the foundation of the religious family God had called her to establish. (Mention your petition)
Prayer: Father, your Son Jesus urged us to bravely take up our cross to follow Him. Help us to overcome courageously the obstacles around us and especially those within us that still prevent us from becoming your faithful children. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
4th Day: The Obedience of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: None of those who cry out “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Mt.7:21
Reflection: The life of Mother Ignacia reflected her triple loyalty: to God, to the Church, and to her fellowmen. In anticipation of God’s will in her life, she made herself constantly disposed to accept this Will at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances. (Mention your petition)
Prayer: Father, your Son Jesus said: “My meat is to do the will of him who sent me.” Through the intercession of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo please answer our needs, especially for the grace of doing your will always. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
5th Day: The Humility of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest, and whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. Mt.20:26-27
Reflection: Pedro Murillo Velarde, the eyewitness biographer of Mother Ignacia, was most impressed by her humility. She exhorted her religious family to the practice of humility in her Constitutions. But the crowning of her own virtue was exemplified when she voluntarily abdicated her position as superior more than ten years before her death. (Mention your petition.)
Prayer: Father, your daughter Igancia overcame the human propensity to pride by her voluntary choice of the way of humility. Please grant our petition today, especially that of learning from the meek and humble Christ. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
6th Day: Hope in the Poverty of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: Seek first this kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides. Mt.6:33
Reflection: The virtue of hope lived out by Mother Ignacia reflects her full trust and confidence in the God to whom she had offered her entire life. In this same trust she voluntarily chose a life of poverty, to “live by the sweat of her brow” although she still had parents who were materially well-off. Her simple and frugal life attracted many to follow her. (Mention your petition.)
Prayer: God, in your Divine Providence, teach us to place our confidence in your abiding love for us. After the example of your handmaid Ignacia, help us to appreciate the dignity of honest labor and the value of being poor with your Son, Jesus Christ. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
7th Day: The Charity of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: I give you a new commandment. Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other. This is how all will know you for my disciple: your love for one another. John 13:34
Reflection: When Mother Ignacia instructed her beatas to “serve God our Lord with all their hearts,” she reflected what in her own sense and practice was her love for neighbor. Her “all embracing love in Jesus Christ” included the less privileged Yndias and Chinese mestizas as well as Spanish girls and ladies in search of spiritual formation and education in her times. (Mention your petition.)
Prayer: Father of love and mercy, Jesus said that the mark of his disciples is their love for one another. Through the prayers of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo grant us unity in our purpose and charity for all. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
8th Day: Mary and Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: His mother instructed those waiting on table: Do whatever he tells you. Jn.2:5
Reflection: From the earliest years of her foundation Mother Ignacia had placed her religious community under the patronage of Mary in her glorious Assumption, and held the Mother of God as model and mother of the Beaterio. Her own life reflected that attitude of Mary, the Handmaid of the Lord; ready to do God’s will at all times. (Mention your petition.)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you inspired Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo to imitate the disposition of Mary the perfect disciple. Grant us our petitions, especially that of imitating the virtues of Mary our Mother. Help us grow in the discerning posture of Mary and the humble servanthood of Mother Ignacia in our service to your people. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…
9th Day: The Eucharist and Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
Scripture Reading: I am the bread of life… This is the bread that comes down from heaven… I myself am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Jn. 6:48,50ff.
Reflection: It is a living tradition in the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary that Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo died on her knees after receiving Holy Communion on September 10, 1748. It is a fitting conclusion to a life of prayer and devotion to the Holy Eucharist; the promise that anyone who eats this bread shall live forever. It is a reward for a life of prayer and penance, of carrying the cross under the noonday sun. (Mention your petition.)
Prayer: O Eternal Father, we adore you, praise you, and thank you for the graces and gifts you have generously bestowed upon your humble handmaid, Ignacia del Espiritu Santo. Trusting in your love and mercy we hope to obtain the favor we earnestly ask for, particularly for the grace to live and die in your love. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be…