Catholics marked the culmination of a Jubilee Year celebrating four centuries of devotion to Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso, with Manila’s archbishop urging devotees to see Mary as guide to Jesus rather than source of good luck.
Cardinal Jose Advincula delivered the message Monday during the 401st feast of Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso and the enthronement of her image at St. Andrew Cathedral in Parañaque City.
“Mary does not bring us good fortune in the sense of good luck,” Advincula said. “Mary brings us Jesus. Jesus is our real ‘Buen Suceso.’”
The cardinal said devotion to Mary does not promise a life without suffering, but teaches believers to remain faithful to God through difficult and unexpected circumstances.
“A life of faith is a life in which God remains with us through everything,” Advincula said, urging Catholics to trust God “despite everything.”
He said hardships and apparent failures can become part of God’s plan, pointing to Christ’s crucifixion, which led to the Resurrection.
“Sometimes we pray for God to change our circumstances… But at other times, God changes us in the midst of our circumstances,” Advincula said.
The celebration marked the end of the Jubilee Year commemorating 400 years of devotion to Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso and the start of its 401st year.
The image was brought to Parañaque in 1625 and entrusted to the Augustinians. The devotion later spread among Catholics, and the Virgin became the city’s patroness.
Fr. Lamberto Legaspino, rector of the shrine and parish priest, urged devotees to turn to Mary amid what he described as widespread lies and corruption in Philippine society.
“Mary is the mother of truth, mother of Jesus Christ,” Legaspino said over Church-run Radyo Veritas.
He said devotion to Mary ultimately leads Catholics to Jesus, whom Christians recognize as the source of truth and authentic life.
