A spiritual leader once said, “Life is a pilgrimage. The wise man does not rest by the roadside inns. He marches direct to the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, his ultimate destination.” This could mean that as we live our life, we go on a journey in search for our significance and purpose in the world. It is our goal to find out the real purpose of our life.
FROM September 17 to 19, the third year students of the Faculty of Arts and Letters went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan, organized by Rev. Fr. Joseto N. Bernadas, Jr., OP, together with AB Faculty secretary, Crescencio Doma Jr., and AB guidance counselor for third year students, Lalaine Lachica-Recio. The activity’s objectives are to provide the Artlet juniors a common experience of travelling together to Christ though Mary, and to develop a personal devotion to Our Lady of Rosary of Manaoag.
Third year students from all ten programs of the Faculty of Arts and Letters were divided into three pilgrimage dates: Journalism and Communication Arts (September 17); Asian Studies, Behavioral Science, and Legal Management (September 18); and, Economics, Literature, Political Science, Philosophy, and Sociology (September 19).
In the pilgrimage, the AB juniors were able to visit and move around the Manaoag complex. A Eucharistic Mass was celebrated as a welcome ceremony for the UST students’ arrival in the complex. After the Mass, a sumptuous lunch was served.
Then, they visited the museum of the Manaoag Church and offered the students’ prayers and intentions in the veneration room, wherein the icon of Our Lady of Manaoag could be touched by pilgrims. The organizers of the activity made sure that the students familiarize themselves with basic facts about Our Lady of Manaoag. A film clip on the shrine and the image was shown in the bus during the travel from UST campus going to Pangasinan. It narrated how the Manaoag image of Mary was born, and how people started to flock and pray to the lady.
The film also showed personal accounts of known people, like Judy Ann Santos and Maja Salvador, sharing their stories of devotion to Our Lady of Manaog.
According to historical accounts, the town of Manaoag was born from the apparition of the image of Mary who showed herself to a young man. The apparition spoke before the man, as if the lady was calling him. The name “Manaoag” was derived from the tagalong phrase “Birheng nagta-taoag,” which, in English, means, “Our Lady who is calling.”
The shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag is located in the town of the same name in Pangasinan, being administered by the Dominican Order under the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.
By Jan Angelo Yvan L. Cabantog
Photo taken by Mariah Ellen D. de Vera
