A Yewá or Yegguá, the Orisha mother, we pray to her in sentimental situations, to help us with her immense wisdom. It is respect, the main quality preferred by the Yoruba goddess of purity, chastity, virginity and sterility.
Who is Yewá in Santeria?
She represents loneliness, the containment of human feelings. Yewá is recognized among other deities for his divinatory gifts, it is even said that his children are highly respected diviners among the devotees of the Yoruba religion.
Yewá is represented as a powerful and wise old woman who demands respect and devotion. Yewá comes from the union of Yoruba words that mean, Yeyé: Mother y Awa: Our, that is, "Our Mother".
Yewá is the Orisha who owns the cemetery and it is widely linked to death. His cult comes from Dahomey and he lived in Egwadó.
She is one of the dead goddesses, whose job is to bring the eggun or spirits of the deceased to Oyá. Obba, the goddess of sacrifice and Oyá, lady of the spark, they are your sisters. All three are warriors and knowledgeable about the secrets of death.
Because of her task related to the spiritual world, Yewá is the owner of the grave, she is among the tombs and the dead and lives inside the coffin, in the tomb. It is said that she is the one who dances on the graves.
Syncretism of the Orisha Yewá
As we explained, he values respect very much and for this reason, in front of his settlement, he cannot undress, have love affairs or disputes, act with violence or raise his voice.
And as part of the slavery process in which the Africans had to hide their cult, each Orisha adopted the name of a Catholic saint, so Yewá came to be worshiped in several Catholic images that also represented sacrifice, wisdom and purity. :
- Our Lady of the Forsaken
- Our Lady of Monserrate
- Virgin of Sorrows
Our Lady of the Forsaken, General of the Armies
The Virgin of the Helpless It is an invocation of the Virgin Mary and the patron saint of the Valencian Community. She is venerated as one of the seven patron saints of the autonomous communities of Spain and her image symbolises the Virgin Mary with a lily in one hand and the baby Jesus carrying the cross in her arms.
The Virgin is characterized by having a slight forward inclination, and for this reason over the years it is also called La Geperudeta (The Hunchback).
The Virgin of the Forsaken was named for the first time as the patron saint of a hospice founded in 1409 by Joan Gilabert Jofré, which was established under the invocation of "Nostra Dona Sancta dels Folls Innocents e Desamparats" (Our Lady of the Fools and Innocents). ).
At the beginning, the brotherhood welcomed only the mentally ill, but later and due to the difficult living conditions, the institution was expanded to collect homeless, foundling and abandoned children.
It is said that three young pilgrims appeared there one day who asked for the construction of a hermitage. When it was ready, they spent four days there and the owners of the hospice, worried, forced the entrance and found the image of the Virgin Mary. The mysterious pilgrims had disappeared; so the legend says that the image was made by Angeles.
The Virgin of the Helpless Then, she was an object of worship and veneration in Valencia, so much so that in the War of Independence, General Caro, Captain General of Valencia, asked Archbishop Company to allow the Virgin of the Forsaken to be named “Generalissima of our Armies.” , as a sign of gratitude for obtaining victory against Napoleon with their support.
On October 15, 1921, Pope Benedict XV granted the privilege for the coronation of the Virgin of the Forsaken. Today, the cult of this invocation of the Virgin Mary has spread throughout all the territories that were Spanish colonies.
To her pray, above all, those who find themselves in difficult living conditions, the helpless of the world.
Prayer of the Virgin of the Helpless
- We offer a prayer to Our Lady of the Forsaken
Virgin of the Forsaken,
Pray for what with trust and faith we come to You
Blessed Mother, forever be praised and blessed
Most Holy Virgin of the Helpless, in You we seek shelter who feel alone
We who are afflicted seek comfort in You
In You we seek shelter who have our naked souls
In You we seek sweetness who have lived, or live, bitter moments
In You we seek protection and heal those of us who have fallen or were beaten
In You we seek help who are burdened by deficiencies and miseries
In You we seek light who are burdened by the darkness of doubt
In You we seek forgiveness, those of us who have made mistakes
In You we seek the star to guide us who walk through this life
In You we all look for love
In You we all find love
Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Forsaken, in You we trust
Pray for this sinner to your kind Son
Precious beauty of the Angels, of the prophets, of the patriarchs, crown of the virgins
Ask for us your beloved and blessed Son
Means to grant us his mercy
And attend to our urgent needs that with humility and hope we present to you today:
(Make the request)
Mother of the Helpless, give us your maternal blessing from heaven and help us in our difficulties and problems;
Guide us with your beneficent hand to the eternal paradise where you reign and live forever; and there we will praise you eternally
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
Our Lady of Monserrate, Patroness of Orihuela
The Patron of Orihuela, formerly known as Virgen de la Puerta, was brought to that territory by Saint Tryphon, disciple of the Apostle Santiago el Mayor, in Visigothic times, until, out of fear of Muslim invasions, they decided to keep it under a bell in the Oriolana rock.
Mysteriously, the image disappeared and for around 50 years Christians searched tirelessly for it, so they gave up.
But it is said that, in 1306, after hearing the continuous tolling of a bell in the mountains, a shepherd found the divine image hidden under the bell that, according to many, the Virgin herself had sounded. In the place, today the Royal Sanctuary of Our Lady María Santísima de Monserrate de Orihuela is located.
Thus, the cult of Our Lady of Montserrat grew throughout Spain and other regions of the world and in 1633 she was declared Canonical Co-Patron of the city along with Saints Justa and Rufina.
In 1886 she was elected Patron of the 26th Cavalry Hunters Regiment of Mallorca and in 1920 she was canonically crowned by His Holiness Pope Benedict XV and his Venerable and Patriarchal Chapter of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome.
It is said that all the Kings of Spain have prostrated themselves before the image of Our Lady of Montserrat to ask for her protection and help in their reign. Today, veneration of the image of the Virgin of Montserrat continues in Spain and other places around the world.
Prayer to the Virgin of Monserrate
- Next, we propose a prayer to the Virgin of Monserrate, this saint is often asked a lot for the love and health of pregnant women:
Oh Holy Mother, heart of Love, heart of Mercy
Who always listens to us and consoles us, attends to our prayers
As your children we implore your intercession before your Son Jesus
Receive with understanding and compassion the requests that we present to you today, especially
(make the request)
What comfort to know that your heart is always open to those who turn to You!
We entrust to your tender care and intercession our loved ones,
And to all who feel sick, lonely or hurt
Help us, Holy Mother, to carry our burdens in this life
Until we get to partake of eternal glory and peace with God
Amen
Virgin of Sorrows, Lady of Mercy
Virgin of Sorrows, is the title with which the Virgin Mary is venerated, in some parts of the world. It is also known as: Virgen de la Amargura, Virgen de la Piedad, Virgen de las Angustias, Virgen de la Soledad or La Dolorosa.
Mothers pray to her above all, seeking her consolation in the face of the sufferings and sacrifices that she must undergo for her children.
The Virgin of Sorrows embodies all the suffering of the Virgin for her son, since it is said that she herself suffered in silence everything that her son Jesus went through.
For this reason, it is indicated that meditating on the seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother, in reference to the different sufferings she faced with her Son, is a way of sharing the deepest sufferings of Mary's life on earth, according to the Bible.
To meditate in this way, the Catholic religion says that an Our Father and seven Hail Marys should be prayed for each pain of the Virgin. Then he is asked to help understand the wrong that has been done and lead to true repentance.
It is said that by uniting the pains to those of Mary, just as She united Her pains to those of her Son, one participates in the redemption of sins and those of the whole world.
Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
- We now show a prayer to the Virgin of Sorrows whom we ask to intercede to alleviate our anguish, sadness and the impossible cases on our way:
Lord and Our Mother: you were serene and strong next to the cross of Jesus
You offered your Son to the Father for the redemption of the world
You lost Him, in a sense, because He had to be in the things of the Father.
But you won it because he became the redeemer of the world, the friend who gives his life for his friends
Mary, how beautiful it is to hear from the cross the words of Jesus: "There you have your son", "there you have your mother"!
How good if we receive you in our house like Juan! We always want to take you to our house
Our home is where we live. But our house is, above all, the heart, where the Holy Trinity dwells
Amen