At the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:
a. discuss the legacy of Mother Ignacia;
b. explain the significance of Mother Ignacia’s legacy in our present time; and
c. create a plan of action of your own legacy following the values of Mother Ignacia
Mother Ignacia’s first legacy is her spirituality, which can be characterized as centered on a loving God and a humble and obedient Jesus. It is also Marian-inspired. Every spirituality is a way or path of BEING AND DOING.
Mother Ignacia’s legacy serves as a pillar of change of person and community. At her death in 1748, Mother Ignacia left behind a community that would continue the way of life she began. She handed down to them the gift of her own person, her presence, spirituality and leadership. The community of beatas which continues today in the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary is an enduring legacy of Mother Ignacia.
Mother Ignacia gave birth to a community of native religious women who practiced a democratic form of leadership based on equality before God and human beings. Mother Ignacia also offered to the Church and society a witness to the effective love of Jesus Christ through the apostolic endeavors of the Beaterio community. The community of Mother Ignacia was a symbol of unity and reconciliation for their ministry was open to all peoples of whatever race, culture and creed. The RVM Congregation continues to live the legacy of Mother Ignacia.
Service: Stewarship
“So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.” Exodus 36:1 New International Version (NIV)
The immediate legacies of Mother Ignacia were the Beatas, the Beaterio and the 1726 Rules and Constitutions. With Mother Ignacia's death, a torch is passed with a challenge to the Beatas to live a life of prayer, penance and service as contemplatives in action, serving God through a vowed life in apostolic service.
The retreat strengthened Ignacia’s resolve to dedicate her life to God. She left home and she brought with her only a needle and a pair of scissors. These symbolize her decision to live by the labor of her own hands although her parents could still support her.
“To earn her living by the sweat of her face” is a phrase that best describes Ignacia’s choice of a life of poverty. In the Christian tradition, spirituality is to be understood as inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is a way of relating with God. It is a way of following Jesus who is the WAY to God. In Mother Ignacia’s case, her spirituality is primarily characterized by LOVE. She looked up to God as CHARITY AND LOVE. Her image of Jesus was one of humility, obedience, and love. She did not identify with the honored class of her society; she did not seek a life of comfort, honor and prestige. She did not choose the easy way. She opted for the path of life that Jesus chose. She decided to live poorly, Ignacia bore witness to the capacity of an yndia to be self-reliant and independent. Mother Ignacia’s response to the call of God manifests her unconditional love and devotion to God.
Mother Ignacia’s second legacy is her community, the Beaterio de la Compañia de Jesus. According to Fr. Murillo Velarde, SJ in more than sixty years of existence, the Beaterio de la Compania did not give cause to be talked about by the larger community. Instead it gave EDIFICATION to the larger community. The Christian value that Mother Ignacia and her beatas tried to live out was charity. It is love in action. Their way of life and despite their human limitations, they tried to live concretely the message of Jesus, which was the Father’s love for humankind.
Mother Ignacia left behind a community that would continue the way of life she began. What she handed down to the community of Beatas was the gift of her own person, her presence, spirituality and leadership. The few words that Murillo Velarde wrote about M. Ignacia gives a bare sketch of her person: "She was truly a valiant woman... a woman of extraordinary constancy, persevering in the midst of difficulties...mortified, patient, devout, spiritual, zealous for the good of souls...very humble..."The beatas would remember how their foundress guided them through thick and thin. Mother Ignacia's indomitable spirit based on her strong faith in God led them through the difficulties of their common life. She was the light that gave them joy when they were about to give up and surrender to fear and anxiety. The beatas remembered Mother Ignacia as a woman who attained interior freedom. She was a woman who could relinquish all because she knew that God gave her more than she asked for. She did not have to cling to power, position or status. God fulfilled her desire more than she could ever have imagined.
An enduring legacy of Mother Ignacia is the community of beatas which was a native experiment in community and leadership. The community she founded continues today as the Religious of the Virgin Mary. The Congregation is a testimony to the strength of the foundational community’s unity and mutual support that enabled them to face all kinds of hardships with trust in God’s mercy and trust in one another. Murillo Velarde says that they did not give any cause for the scandal in the city. In fact, their reputation was such that they attracted other women to join them. Women leadership thrived in this community because of the example of Mother Ignacia who had an innate sense of woman’s dignity and capacity.
Not only did M. Ignacia gave birth to a community of native religious women, she also offered to the Church and society a witness to the effective love of Jesus Christ through the apostolic endeavors of her beaterio community. She and her companions opened the Beaterio to young girls, taught them household work and formed them in Christian values. They also allowed women to stay in the Beaterio in order to be in solitude and recollection. They helped in nurturing the faith of others by assisting in retreats for women. The Beaterio was a place where women could grow in their closeness to God. Mother Ignacia’s community was a symbol of unity and reconciliation for they ministered to people regardless of race, color or creed.
Mother Ignacia is known in history as the female organizer of the retreat movement throughout Christendom and one of the pioneers of Christian education of the youth in the Philippines. Her institution, presently called the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary was recognized as the reincarnation of Marian devotion in the Philippines.
Citations, plaque of appreciation and posthumous awards have been received and Sisters in overseas mission have been given commendations for their witnessing and the vision and mission of Mother Ignacia contextualized here and outside the Philippines are some of the ways that the Ignacian legacy is being passed and shared.
Mother Ignacia’s third legacy is the work or are the works (services) in education, retreat and dormitory. The Beaterio opened its doors to indias and mestizas who had no equal opportunity or standing in the existing Spanish institutions like the Beaterio de Sta. Catalina, Monasterio de Santa Clara. It can be described as a racially inclusive institution. It gave equitable opportunities to young girls and women to be educated (reading, writing, sewing, works appropriate to their gender). The beaterio also served as a retreat facility and a dormitory for girls and women studying at the beaterio. Mother Ignacia empowered the Beatas by tapping their giftedness for the sake of serving others matched with a spirit tamed by discipline.
Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Life and Spirituality Retrieved http://www.motherignacia.info/index.cfm?fa=prayer.prayer&prayer_id=2
http://www.motherignacia.info/files/post/souvenir_program.pdf