Viga Church: Home to the Miraculous Our Lady of the Assumption

Dave's picture
Submitted by Dave on Tue, 06/12/2007 - 11:07am

I am pulling this article up in the anticipation or the coming Fiesta Celebration in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption, the Patroness of Viga and Calatagan, Virac on August 15! This is a small gesture of the care Our Mother has for all of us believers and otherwise.

With this is our Fiesta Greetings to all the good people of Viga!

The church of Our Lady of Assumption is home to the Miraculous Lady. People of the Municipality of Viga venerates her dearly and devotees of Our Lady from all over the Province are drawn every fiesta in her honour every 15th of August.

One miraculous story I hold dearly is as follows...

The town of Viga is actually a promontory at the center of rice fields to the east, west and south while the northern part is the huge and enourmous viga swamp: famous for nipa, crabs, shrimps and shrimps and shrimp..... please!

Also a big river from the south western part of the town passes east on its way to the swamp. During heavy rains, flood can sometimes threaten to isolate the town and exit point is difficult during big floods. These floods would scare the people in Viga.

In one of these floods, people got so worried as the water kept on rising. It was said that a group of elderly men were by the dike north of the town proper, all wet and worried of the rising water that threatens the whole population of the town. The water was rising and people were in panic.

Then these group of worried elderly men saw a beautiful elderly lady dressed in white brave the flood and strayed and started to approach where the flood was starting to enter the town. The worried men can only watch scared for their own dear lives. They left as the water consequently starte entering the town in torrents. Many people went to the church for safety and to pray.

It was the group of people who were in the church that noticed the absence of Thier Lady! They momentarily forgot their fright and turned worried their well loved Mother was gone missing. The news spread around and people who immediately flocked to the church. By this time rains stopped and the flood dropped miraculously fast.

When the people with the priest tried to investigate, they found muddy footsteps towards the altar. And there they found the Lady with clothes all muddy and Wet.

----

No! No mother would like her children drowned! No! She braved the flood and ordered it not to harm her children!

Ave Maria purissima sin pecado con se vida!
Ora pro nobis pecatoribos nunc et in ora mortis nostri.
Amen.

Viga Church: Home to the Miraculous Our Lady of the Assumption

Merciful Help

Jorge O. Macenas's picture
Submitted by Jorge O. Macenas on Thu, 11/26/2009 - 12:42pm.

Agiv, we are one in devotion to Our Lady of the Assumption. I also served as sacristan during the time of Father Bea. Our Lady of the Assumption is always my source of strength in times of difficult trials.

Fifteen years ago, my eldest daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy. It was the most shocking news ever in my life. The shock turns into denial. Why my daughter? Why us? Later on we accepted the reality of our daughter’s medical condition and turn to Our Lady of the Assumption for her usual merciful help.

She never let us down. My daughter recuperated from her epilepsy. She is now in her senior year taking up Medicine in UP PGH College of Medicine after graduating cum laude from UP Diliman. She plans to specialize in neuro-surgery to serve fellow men suffering from the same malady.

God Knows Best.

thanksgiving

agivbrazil's picture
Submitted by agivbrazil on Thu, 11/26/2009 - 11:01am.

permi man ako gapaThanksgiving mass pgabakasyon ko,pasalamat sa mga blessing na nrrcibe,pati sa ma dasar na mkaparibod nin safe.kaiba na to permi sa akong routine.dati mn akong sakristan jan sugna ki Fr.Bea hangang ki Fr.Abundo.nangarap maging Padi pro dai nadagos,sguro sa ibang ways ko mn maitatao sa Kiya ang akong pagserve.

Our Lady of the Assumption

Jorge O. Macenas's picture
Submitted by Jorge O. Macenas on Fri, 11/27/2009 - 12:13pm.

Our Lady of the Assumption has her most miraculous help in many ways.

One time Father Manding Abundo invited me to a dinner at the Our Lady of the Assumption Convent. After we had a good fill of bunor in coconut milk, crabs, and fresh water prawns we casually discussed on going Church projects and the increasing cost of electricity bills. In the course of our conversation, I noticed a single side band radio at the corner of convent office. I asked Father Manding the radio frequency of his SSB, wrote it in a piece of paper and put it inside my wallet and forget all about it. I have no idea then why I asked for the radio frequency.

A few months after the dinner meeting, typhoon Rosing hit Catanduanes with fury never experienced before. Catanduanes was devastated, with the northern part totally cut off from the rest of civilization. Days after the devastation, there was no news from Viga and nearby towns. The PLECS we fondly call “over over” were totally put out of commission. Cell phones were none existent at the time.

We in Manila were wondering what happened to our families in Viga. To reduce the pain of anxiety and prepare our selves for the worst news, I invited Mandy Turalde for round of beer at El Bicolano cafeteria at the ground floor of our office building along Quintin Paredes, Binondo. While scanning my wallet for peso bills to pay the chit, I unconciously pick the piece of paper with the SSB radio frequency of Father Manding. We went up immediately to our office radio room to call Father Manding. We did try to call until 10:00 PM but there was no reply.

The following morning we tried to call the radio frequency of Father Manding but no avail. We kept on calling, praying not losing hope until I heard a reply from our radio call. His voice was not noticeable but strangely sounds familiar. We introduced ourselves and the voice from the other end started crying. He was Father Bea assigned in Palnab who intercepted our radio call. He informed us that he was able to contact Fr. Manding an hour ago but went off the air again. That was the first we got the glimpse of how bad the situation was in Viga.

3% of the houses were partially damaged; the rest were totally damaged. Very grim assessment!

I gave to Fr. Bea my radio frequency, with a request to pass on the same to Fr. Manding. A few hours later, I got a call from the radio room with Fr. Manding on the other side. His voice was trembling while narrating the catastrophic disaster. He cried unabashedly and I cried too. That was the first news of how bad was the degree of devastation brought by typhoon Rosing.

We set up a dedicated radio solely for communicating with Fr. Manding with two operators. One wrote down the messages from people of Viga, Payo and as far as Bagamanoc while the other operator relays the information to their relatives in Manila and abroad. The radio was also used in directing the rescue and relief operation choppers in bringing supplies and airlifting the serious medical cases. The radio link operation lasted for more than two weeks.

It was during this time I come to know of our very own Andy Vital of DZRH who immediately organized and spearheaded the DZRH operation tulong.

An pasabong nin Mahal na Dios comes in a seemingly innocent small way.

hello!

burabod_bato's picture
Submitted by burabod_bato on Thu, 11/26/2009 - 11:19am.

naglaog ka po ba sa seminaryo? sayang ano... but tma ka there are other ways that you can serve... i admire your devotion to Our Lady of Assumption... keep on praying...

Second chance

cai's picture
Submitted by cai on Tue, 06/12/2007 - 4:51pm.

The Lady of the Assumption...i owe her my life. I was born a blue baby...im not sure whether it was one of my lungs or heart which had a problem. i had to be placed in an incubator immediately after mama gave birth. i was given a very slim chance of surviving...less that 50%. My lola cion, a devotee of Our Lady in Viga, prayed to her just so i may live....and i did. Whether it was the genius of my doctor back them, my lola's faith, or my will to live that allowed me to survive...i would not know for sure. But, I know it was a miracle since nobody really thought id survive. So, every year, since as far back as i can remember, I would go to Viga to hear mass on August 15. Whenever I cannot make it, since that date usually fell on exam week, mama would take my place. But I just made up for those times by hearing mass or passing by for a short visit to the Church during summer or whenever I can go to Viga while im in Catanduanes.

ka pang gilabo man tabi.

str's picture
Submitted by str on Tue, 06/12/2007 - 3:22pm.

ka pang gilabo man tabi. ninyo ajan pa ako, every fiesta talagang ga punta kami jan. ikan ka mamamating kakaiba pag mag simba ka boda habang ga dasar. yan ang version nato ning Our Lady of Manaoag sa Pangasinan. cgurado ako sa maabot na panahon -- given this kind of publicity that we're giving sa simbahan na to sa paagi ning pag post hopefully ning mga milagro o naitabang ning pag dasar boda pagtubod sa simbahan na to -- dadayohon to ning mga taho.

our lady

adin's picture
Submitted by adin on Thu, 10/04/2007 - 7:18am.

naka pang gilabo man talaga...habang binabasa ko storya i felt so amazed....marami talaga ako naririnig na mga story tungkol sa miracle ng virgin. One of them is a story told by my own grandmother about my father...He was also given a second chance...Mula ng maliit papa ko lagi pumupunta lola ko jan sa fiesta ng viga to light a candle every year....When papa married my mother siya na nagpatuloy ng devotion.. Magkasama na sila nagsisimba jan every year kasi yon ang panata nila....The same thing as with my little sis.....

live like there's no tomorrow, love like it is the first time, laugh to ur hearts content......for life is too short!