God’s Love, Grace, and Mercy through St. Vincent Ferrer in the Eyes of Bayambangueňos

TESTIMONIALS

God’s Love, Grace, and Mercy through St. Vincent Ferrer in the Eyes of Bayambangueños

by Gerry Ann dela Cruz, Christien Emmanouelle Artacho, Joseph U. Salopagio; edited by Resty S. Odon

          

For Bayambangueños, lifting everything to God through the intercession of their patron saint, St. Vincent Ferrer, has been the bedrock of their everyday living. It is through their unwavering faith and rock-hard devotion that they have surpassed various challenges that have come along the way.

With the celebration of the 400th founding anniversary of Saint Vincent Parish Church and the 600th death anniversary of Saint Vincent Ferrer, here are sample testimonies of some Bayambangueños showing how their faith have played a key role in their lives. 

From these testimonies, we can glean how God’s love, mercy and grace are indeed undeniable, and the intercession of our patron saint is a proof of God's living miracles and impact on the personal lives of those who believe in Him.

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A Spiritual Guide

Marites Lutas, catechist, Brgy. Ataynan

 “Torn by every trial, difficulties, and pain that I experience every day, I find profound joy and comfort by going to church and praying for divine guidance. Whenever I feel weak, I always seek for guidance and strength from Saint Vincent Ferrer, and there he is, making me realize that it is not good to break down and surrender.

I always experience great enlightenment despite the innumerable obstacles in my life. Praying to Saint Vincent makes me realize that giving up on problems is not a characteristic of a child of God, and therefore, I should be strong.”

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Companion in Life’s Difficulties

Jeanette Dimalanta, teacher

"Based on my experience of intercessory prayer, St. Vincent Ferrer has been very good, responsive, and a great listener to my prayers, not for me personally but for the community.

I remember how it was during the onslaught of Typhoon Pepeng on October 8, 2009 when most parts of Luzon were affected and most of the barangays in our town were heavily flooded except in our purok. Yes except our purok! Our neighboring houses were already flooded, 5 to 6 houses away from our area.

I prayed the rosary that time for more than 15 times, paulit-ulit talaga, and I asked our patron saint (St. Vincent Ferrer) to intercede for us. He heard it. To cut the story short, I was then called "The Prayer Warrior" by our parish priest, Fr. John Palinar.

          

Every time Pangasinan is under Typhoon Signal No.3, I always ask St. Vincent Ferrer to intercede for us, to spare us from the typhoon and other calamities. It's great to share that He really answers the prayer of a sincere heart especially if it is for the good. He delivers us from any disaster and it was proven many times that he really delivers miracles. His love and mercy endures forever.

St. Vincent Ferrer has always been good to me and my family, in particular. He is always our companion in facing life's difficulties. Yes, we experience and feel his love and mercy on us every day of our lives. Without him, we won't be able to surpass all trials and challenges in our journey. Yes, he performs miracles, but only those who believe in him will experience and feel it."

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Divine Enlightenment

Imelda Cayabyab, teacher, M.H. Del Pilar

"In my six decades of existence, my whole life revolved around Bayambang. I am a living witness to how man-made and natural tragedies tried to ruin our living. I have experienced extreme floods brought about by devastating typhoons. Earthquakes also shook our house and we even came to the point of losing all our properties. But every time, I and my family pray to our Almighty through the intercession of Saint Vincent, and we always feel that we get enlightened about what these catastrophes meant.

A faithless person would readily lose faith and surrender, but our constant prayer and devotion made our faith stronger. We understand that all of these challenges are a wake-up call to stronger faith.

With this, we understand that our faith and devotion is our great refuge against whatever challenge that comes our way, no matter what it is. And we thank our patron saint for his divine enlightenment."

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The Angel’s Guiding Hand

Mrs. Fe Macaraeg, 86, retired professor, Quezon Blvd.

It was during the Liberation time (Japanese period) when Mrs. Fe Macaraeg experienced the miracle of San Vicente Ferrer. It was the time when most of the Japanese military men who tried to invade the Philippines moved to Pangasinan. The United States instructed to destroy all the churches and bridges in the Philippines because they knew that the Japanese hid in those places.

Mrs. Fe was six years old at the time, and their parents always reminded them to keep an eye on their surroundings and to be alert on the possibility that bombs could be thrown anytime in their residential area. Since they lived near the church, they were very scared of the possibility.

Every day, she observed something flying in the sky. It was like a big bird with big wings flying around their area. She took it as a warning that something would happen to the church.

Indeed, soon enough, a bomb unexpectedly exploded at the back of the church. The people felt devastated. Another bomb was thrown inside the church, and that bomb hit the hand of the statue of San Vicente Ferrer. That’s why, today, if one looks at the original statue of San Vicente Ferrer hidden in the convent, the saint has a missing hand. But that bomb did not explode. After that, another two bombs were thrown inside the church, and fortunately the bombs again did not explode. The bombing continued, and one of the bombs fell in front of the church, and that one exploded. Bombs were also thrown at the Calvo Bridge, and all the bombs exploded, destroying the bridge. How does one explain the unlikely scenario of bombs being thrown inside the church and not exploding?

Mrs. Macaraeg believes, to this day, that the creature flying in the sky before the bombing was San Vicente Ferrer himself. She believes that the patron saint had saved the church from the bombing. Even though the hand of the original statue of San Vicente Ferrer was hit and got destroyed, she firmly holds that the missing hand is no less than the winged saint’s guiding hand.

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Rescued from Hopelessness

Dr. Henry J. Fernandez, physician, 2019 Pista’y Baley Hermano Mayor, Brgy. Bical Sur

Perhaps more painful than any injury or illness is the feeling of utter hopelessness and despair of the soul. Dr. Henry J. Fernandez knew this pain as he was going through deep misery for his first-born son. His son was born with congenital heart disease, specifically ventricular septal defect. It meant the child had a big hole in the heart.

The child was having a hard time breathing. All doctors all over the country were already visited by Dr. Henry and his child, so the doctor got tired of even trying and felt hopeless, especially with the ironic thought that even though he was a doctor himself, he could not do anything for his own son.

But one afternoon of stormy darkness, Dr. Henry was given renewed hope: “Inawit kod simbaan may anako, tan nandasal ak ed San Vicente Ferrer. Agaylay simuon man ya panagdasal. Kunin mo na if it’s your will; kung mabubuhay siya, I promise that he will serve his fellowmen.”

After that, they went home and decided to go to Manila to visit his siblings. At 6 p.m., Dr. Henry together with his wife Julie brought the child to Manila Children’s Hospital, which was owned by Dr. Del Mundo, to see Dr. Bienvenido Abesamis, a pediatric cardiologist trained by Dr. Denton Pulley, a cardiovascular surgeon from Houston, Texas.

The doctor checked the child and was given some medications. After three days, they went back to the hospital and the doctor said that the child’s heart suddenly was doing well. Dr. Henry and Ms. Julie believed that this was the start of the miracle.

The child did fine even up until it was time for his surgery in Houston, Texas. After the surgery, everything was history. He grew up normal just like any other children.

At present, that child is one of the best doctors and a world-renowned neurologist in America. He is an international lecturer on Parkinson’s disease and the head of the Abnormal Movement Department in one of the best hospitals in the world. He has published 290 articles in North America Neurological Society magazines and has authored nine books, the first of which is being used by medical students in America to this day.

The strong faith and devotion of Dr. Henry and Mrs. Julie Fernandez to San Vicente Ferrer saved their child from sickness. This is a big miracle that happened to their family, giving a second lease on life to Dr. Hubert Henry Fernandez, who is now serving the world.

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Saved by the Miraculous Wings

Dr. Henry J. Fernandez, physician, 2019 Pista’y Baley Hermano Mayor, Brgy. Bical Sur

Paralyzed with grief, Dr. Henry and Mrs. Julie Fernandez somehow managed to give praises and thanks to San Vicente Ferrer after receiving a call that their second son, together with his secretary, were fired with 11 gunshots by unidentified men in Pasay.

Earlier, the son had gone to Metrobank and withdrew P500,000 to buy stocks and to pay for the salary of his people who were working under him. While driving, he noticed that a motorbike and a car were following them. He decided to go to Pasay City Hall to ask his friends to escort him along the way going back to their house.

But before he could reach City Hall, another car blocked their way and the motorbike and the other car began to fire gunshots at them. Screams and shouts were heard in the area, but fortunately no one got hurt. The son and his secretary did not sustain even a single wound.

The son explained later on that when he saw the gunmen firing shots towards their direction, he mentioned the name of San Vicente Ferrer and prayed, “Ilaban mo kami, San Vicente Ferrer.” He believed that the miraculous saint had saved him from that tragic incident. He thought that he was saved by the patron’s wings.

“If you are in the midst of tragedy or turmoil, remember that as a die-hard devotee and a child of God, you can look to the ultimate miracle whenever you need a dose of hope,” Dr. Henry said.

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Silver Lining Amid Ashes of House Fire

Wenchie Artacho, photographer/barangay councilor, M.H. del Pilar St.

Watching a family’s home going up in flames is heartbreaking, but miracles do happen anytime, anywhere, if we have strong faith.

On January 26, 1966, an unexpected fire burned the house of the Artacho family to ashes. The fire started from a candle that was left burning, causing the entire house made of wood to blaze intensely.

Since there were no fire stations yet in the municipality, people had a hard time preventing the angry blaze from spreading. The house was near other houses and located just beside the church, so the fire started to spread out to the neighboring houses and the church walls as well. The birds’ nests on the church eaves started to flare up and caused more tension and fear among the people working in the church.

To make matters worse, the roof of the church was so high, so the people found it hard to douse pails of water to the burning birds’ nests. Two sacristans got an idea and bravely carried the statue of San Vicente Ferrer and brought it down from the altar to face the burning house.

Surprisingly, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew the fire out of the burning house and the church’s roof. Everyone was shocked with what happened. They believed that San Vicente used his wings to blow the wind and stop the fire.

After the fire was put out, the two sacristans were surprised to find that they could no longer carry the statue back to its place in the altar. They had to call some help to bring back the statue. It took seven people to carry the statue back to its place.

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Miracles Never Cease to Exist

Rev. Fr. Allen O. Romero, parish priest, Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish Church

The world that we live in is packed full of God’s miracles that we might easily take for granted. If we really take a pause to ponder how magnificent His creation is, we will find ourselves in awe and amazement.

Rev. Fr. Allen Romero believes that miracles of our patron saint, San Vicente Ferrer, have brought the church to the limelight. The significant changes that happened to our church – its massive roof, its beautiful retablo, the giant chandeliers, the refurbished church façade, and its newly opened Jubilee door – can be considered as astonishing miracles if we take into account the odds faced by the priest and parishioners at the time these changes were made.

Moreover, we have seen the splendid launching of the Saint Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park last April 5 in celebration of the 400 years of the SVF Parish Church and the 600th year death anniversary of Saint Vincent Ferrer. We have set another record for Bayambang as the Guinness World Record holder for the newly created official category of “Tallest and Highest Bamboo Sculpture (Supported).” This alone is another miracle for Bayambang!

With the collaborative efforts of the Local Government Unit of Bayambang and the Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish, we are carrying the name of our town to the world stage. Also, with the help and support of the townspeople of Bayambang, especially the parishioners, donors, and major sponsors, miracles are continuously happening in our town.

For Fr. Romero, these are considered miracles of our patron saint for our town, Bayambang. He said that miracles don’t just come from ancient stories and myths but everyday miracles that are all around us, if only we keep our spiritual eyes open.