1. Obedience

By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience of faith.”

To obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself. Abraham is the model of such obedience offered us by Sacred Scripture. The Virgin Mary is its most perfect embodiment.

In the last paragraph of the Breve of Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo, he writes: “… because the Lord had determined that she would be the foundress of this Beaterio, for the things of God are realized little by little without our understanding them.”

Francisca de Fuentes an ordinary woman of the 17th century Manila was specially called by God for a mission. God looked into her heart and saw there was such goodness in her. He called her and she responded without knowing what lies ahead of her. But like Mary she obeyed because she loved. She started to follow that inner voice when she became a widow. She got involved in the works of charity to the poor and devoted enough time for prayer.

Notwithstanding her spiritual activities as a widow, Francisca wished to profess her religion closer to God. She re-doubled her prayers beseeching the Lord to guide her on the path He willed for her to tread. For a long while she lived in perplexity, doubting if she should wear the habit of St. Francis or that of our cherubic patriarch, St. Dominic. Great was her devotion for both saints: the first, St. Francis, because she bore his name; and the second, St. Dominic, because she frequented his church where she often received the Sacraments. Her perplexity deprived her of peace of mind the practice of her many spiritual activities; thus, she recurred to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help, through her Rosary, and the blessed Mother granted her prayers by taking her out of her state of perplexity in the following manner.

One night at her prayers beseeching the Lord to help her make a decision, she beheld St. Francis and St. Dominic in a vision, each one beckoning to her, as what happened to St. Rose of Santa Maria. Both saints attracted Francisca tenderly; and following her inner impulse she knelt at the feet of St. Dominic giving herself entirely to him and offering to be his daughter, at which the vision disappeared.

In obedience to the clear light of this vision, Francisca requested the habit of a tertiary. She was admitted into the Order between 1682 and 1683. The Lord granted her all her desires, as she was destined to be the bedrock of the “beaterio” in spite of repeated obstacles and contradictions. Francisca then dedicated herself with new zeal to the pious exercises of her religion, observing the Rule and Constitutions to the letter. She increased her acts of mortification, her vocal and mental prayers, and practiced control and obedience to her confessors so as to deny herself completely and depend upon the slightest wishes of her superiors.

Another test of obedience was the occasion when Fr. Provincial admonished the Señoras at Sta. Potenciana which saddened Mother Francisca so much. She relayed her feelings and sentiments to Fr. Santo Domingo. However, after the Father Provincial’s explanations, Mother Francisca was appeased and in obedience resigned to the will of God in everything.

Mother Francisca wanted things to happen for the good of the Beaterio. When she requested for the building of the passage from the Beaterio to the Chapel of San Juan de Letran so that they will have access to the Blessed Sacrament, she would give her side but at the end she was submissive to her superior’s decision.

The final test of her humility and obedience was at her death bed when after asking pardon from all her daughters and to Fr. Juan de Santo Domingo, he told her: “Mother, you should also pardon those who offended you.” She answered, “Nobody offended me”. However, Fr. Juan insisted that she should forgive and that she should say it in a loud voice. In obedience “she did”. What humility and obedience!

It was her high sense of obedience and duty that led her to carry her burden of responsibility until death with supreme joy as she received our Lord.

2. Poverty

In all his life, Jesus presents himself as our model. He is “the perfect man” who invites us to become his disciples and follow him. In humbling himself, He has given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way.

Mother Francisca who heeded the call of Jesus to follow him, took every event in her life as an opportunity to imitate Jesus in his poverty.

After she lost her husband, Francisca de Fuentes heard the mysterious call of God inviting her as He invited the young man to “go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me”. She was awaken to the reality that here she was enjoying the comfort of her home. Inspired by that inner calling she thought of dedicating herself totally to the service of God in prayer and charity. She was faithful to her vocal and mental prayers that led to a deeper awareness of the love of Jesus especially to the poor. She became more sensitive to the impoverished condition of the city of Manila (Intramuros) in particular the plight of the young poor native girls. Like Jesus, she emptied herself by giving out her goods, giving to the needy even what was necessary for herself.

Her great love for Jesus, moved her to compassion for the sick poor that she visited them at San Juan de Dios Hospital, caring for them by bringing them something to eat.

The Holy Spirit stirred her heart, so much so that she was inspired to leave the dress of a widow and take the habit of one Religious Institute. Doubtful of which one to take she ardently recommended the matter to God. One night, while in prayer. Sts. Francis and Dominic appeared to her, each one calling her. Following an inner impulse she went towards St. Dominic.

With the habit of the Third Order of Penance of the Order of St. Dominic, Mother Francisca del Espiritu Santo, the name she took, continued her life of prayer and charity while living at home as a Beata.

However, God inspired her again to exercise her acts of piety and charity this time not alone but in a life of fraternal communion. There was a lot of dying to her ego when Fr. J. de Sto. Domingo would always answer her with a no about a Beaterio even to the extent of angrily calling her “impertinente”.

The community of Beatas started with nothing for their sustenance but the Dominican Fathers through the Provincial provided them with their needs. Beside from the assistance of the Dominican Fathers, the Beatas engaged themselves with needlework which the people of the City ordered from them.

Moreover, Mother Francisca and the Beatas who chose an enclosed space where they lived their lives, shared in Christ’s emptying of himself by means of a radical poverty, and they expressed it in their renunciation of “space”, of “contacts,” and lived on donations

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

3. Chastity

All baptized are called to chastity. The Christian has “put on Christ,” the model for all chastity. All Christ’s faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.

There are three forms of the virtue of chastity: the first is that of spouses, the second that of widows and the third that of virgins. We do not praise any one of them to the exclusion of the others. This is what makes for the richness of the discipline of the Church.

In God’s wisdom, Mother Francisca was blessed to have lived the three forms of the virtue of chastity. In each state that she lived, she practiced it faithfully bearing witness to her neighbors of God’s fidelity and loving kindness.

After a brief marriage, Francisca de Fuentes, chose to live a life of consecrated celibacy which enabled her to give herself to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner.

Because of this, she devoted her time in prayer and charity. She was persevering in her mental and vocal prayers and spend much of her time attending to the needy and caring for the sick.

Not long after, God called her to another state of life where she can imitate him more intimately and to manifest more clearly his self-emptying, in order to be more deeply present to one’s contemporaries, in the heart of Christ. Under the Rule of the Third Order of Penance of the Order of Preachers, she and with the other companion-Beatas who were living in their own homes would come together to exercise the acts of piety and works of charity.

God must have inspired her again. This time she longed to live in community in a Beaterio. Although, there was a great resistance from the Fr. Confessor himself about a Beaterio, with her persistence, tears and prayers, her longed Beaterio was materialized. At the designated date, Mother Francisca and seven other Beatas made profession of vows of obedience, poverty and chastity according to the Rule.
However, it came to pass the Beatas not of their own guilt of any misdemeanor incurred the ire of the Archbishop of Manila. They were caught up in the middle of a dispute between high ecclesiastical authorities over canonical matters of jurisdiction. They were separated from their house and went into exile for two years in the college of Santa Potenciana, divested of their habits and dispensed from their vows of obedience and poverty. They were in their lay state.

The exiled Beatas who opted to stay in Santa Potenciana were free to go back to their homes. Some chose to leave and embraced another state of life. However, Mother Francisca was steadfast in her promise of consecration inspite of the many sufferings and trials she experienced.

For those who remained, their patience was rewarded. The Beatas were returned to the Beaterio.