The Virgin of the Sweet Waiting is a holy Virgin Mary in every sense of the word, she is the Mother of God. We all know that the Virgin is given a name depending on where she first appeared, the Virgin of Lourdes, the Virgin of Fatima, the Virgin of the Valley, the Virgin of Carmen, but there is one that is given her name because she symbolises the gift of life and that is Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting.
The devotion to Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting is one of the most venerated, Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting is an image of the Virgin Mary in those days when she joyfully received in her womb the Divine Saviour, she blesses and protects all those women who, being in a bond, invoke her protection. Many families who have a complicated pregnancy or who simply ask for protection for their new child often go to her.
Nothing can surpass the same fact of being a mother and the greatest of the events of humanity is that Mary, besides being a mother, was the mother of our Saviour; who more than she, our Immaculate Mother, can know, understand and spiritually protect our children and more when they are in that so delicate process as it is pregnancy; her miracles are innumerable is one of the most miraculous, omnipresent and merciful because as a mother and woman she understands the pains and the joy of sheltering an angel in your womb.
Story of the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting
Many centuries have passed since she began to be venerated, specifically since the 5th century, in fact she can be considered as one of the main and first images of worship created to be venerated and as a mediator of Christian devotion, and she has always been considered as the patron saint of women who are expecting a child, even Pope John Paul II dedicated a beautiful letter to her in which he alludes to the miracle of life that took place thanks to her.
The cult of the pregnant Virgin Mary began even before the birth of Jesus, and her first devotee was Elizabeth. According to Luke, verse 39, the Virgin Mary went to a mountainous region in Judea to visit Zechariah and Elizabeth, who was also pregnant; Mary greeted her, and when Elizabeth heard her voice, she felt her son move with joy in her womb, filled with the Holy Spirit, and she understood that Mary was blessed more than any other woman, and her womb was even more blessed because it contained the future Saviour.
This affirmation, which the Bible shows us in Luke 39, gives us a great part of the prayer that today is the Hail Mary, “full of grace among all women”.
It was established on the eighth day before Christmas as a feast in honour of the Virgin Mary, by bishops of the Hispanic region, during a meeting at the X Council of Toledo, which took place in the year 656, came to change over time of name and even to merge with names such as: Adoration of the Conception of the Virgin of Hope or Virgin of the “O”, thanks to the “O” shape that the spherical womb of the Mother has to be in ribbon and also because the original prayer is full of exclamations such as: Oh Wisdom! Oh Emmanuel, etc.
In this way, the ineffable Mary was introduced as a woman full of privileges thanks to her participation in the great miracle of the conception of the Son of God. This mystery, according to the Christian religion, is the main foundation of monotheism and reveals the greatness of the Holy Trinity, which makes the Virgin of the Tapestry one of the most worthy of devotion among her parishioners, both in the East and in the West; the celebration of the feast of the Incarnation on 25 March each year marks the beginning of her pregnancy.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting
There are many who venerate the Virgin of Sweet Waiting, who has become the Virgin of pregnant women and of those who hope to receive the gift of life, to be able to bring a child into the world. Many prayers are addressed to her, adoring and exalting her, asking her and thanking her for the favours received. Among the prayers addressed to her, this is one of the most predominant:
“Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who conceived the Saviour in your womb,
we ask you to protect us at this moment,
that we may receive him with love;
to bring him up so that he may grow in wisdom, stature and grace in the sight of God;
and to lead him by our example
to the Father’s house”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSufsoCr9Vw
Novena to Our Lady of Sweet Waiting
For nine days, a series of prayers to the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting will be performed, which will allow us to enter into direct contact with the love and mercy of our most holy Mother, always beginning with the sign of the cross and the act of recrossing, that is, making the sign of the cross, invoking the name of the Son, the Holy Spirit and God the Father, and professing repentance with the prayer “Have mercy on my Lord”.
Day 1: The gift of life
The Holy Spirit tells Mary that she will be a mother and that she will bear the Son of God in her womb. It is the example of humility and submission, the main lesson of our Divine Mother Mary of the Sweet Waiting, when she knew that she was the Mother of God.
Mary collaborated with God’s grace, responding to the Holy Spirit in action, knowing the power of His Word. At first, because of the unexpectedness of what had happened, she was confused when she heard an angel enter her house to announce the good news, and without understanding, she still doubted and feared. The angel spoke words of comfort to reassure her that the Lord would be in her womb for nine months to come into the world and give us his teachings of peace and love. The divine plan told Mary: You must call him Jesus and you will give birth to the Son of God the Father.
Second day: The Lord invites us to the service of life:
On this day we remember the first devotee of Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting, Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah, who had the revelation that God had acted through the Holy Spirit in Our Blessed Virgin, for it was enough that Mary came to greet her, that with her voice she made the fruit that dwelt in Elizabeth’s womb rejoice with joy and gladness. This is the unequivocal proof that the Virgin was blessed more than any other woman in the world, for she would have the joy of being the Mother of God, and thus the prophecy of the Word of God would be fulfilled.
The third day: Our life in the miracles of God.
Then Mary realised that her soul was exalted and full of joy, singing for joy, so much so that her Holy Spirit trembled with joy. She exalts the glory of God because he is her Saviour, because she sees his goodness, her vocation to serve him in spite of her simplicity. From that moment on, there would be no generation that would not call her a happy mother, thanks to the great things that God had done for them and for all humanity.
Fourth day: Conception
This day commemorates the moment in Bethlehem when God, after having spent so many miserable hours looking for an inn, chose the most humble place to give birth to his Son: a manger, in order to give humanity a great lesson, showing that fidelity to the Lord and his way are full of love and simplicity. Jesus was born in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes and surrounded by animals, because there was no room for him in a stable.
By God’s will, Mary obeyed his plan to become a mother through the action of the Holy Spirit, and her whole life is marked by the certainty that our Lord is always guiding her and taking care of her with his good fortune, providence and benevolence. Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting helps us to be simple and humble of heart and to fill our souls with faith, life and love.
Fifth day: God the Father and His plan of love
One day, after attending the usual celebrations, Mary and Joseph returned to find that Jesus was not with them; he had remained in Jerusalem without their knowledge. They searched for him for three days and finally found him in the temple, sitting in front of many teachers, listening attentively and asking them questions. The teachers were amazed at the eloquence with which the boy spoke and the accuracy of his answers.
Mary rebuked her son and asked him: “Son, why are you lost to us? see how your father and I have been looking for you! Undeterred, Jesus replied: “Why did you look for me? You know that I have to attend to my father’s business. This was not very clear to Mary and Joseph, they did not understand what he meant, but as a mother she would always keep this memory in her heart.
Sixth day: Our Lady of sweet waiting, attentive to our petitions:
Mary was in Cana of Galilee, at a wedding feast, when she had the opportunity to show herself to her Son as an intercessor for the needs of the people, because when they had no wine, she asked her Son to take care of it, and at the same time she asked those present to listen to Jesus and to obey what he commanded them. Thanks to the determination and faith of the words of Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting, God was able to work through her son.
The seventh day: The mission of her Son.
Jesus was standing in front of a crowd when his brothers and his mother came from outside and tried to get his attention to speak to him. One of the people in the crowd said to Jesus, “They are looking for you outside, and your mother and brothers want to speak to you. The reply of Jesus, who was body and soul engaged in preaching, was: “Who are they, who are my brothers and my mother? Pointing to his disciples, he added: “This is my mother, these are my brothers, for whoever honours the will of God in heaven is my brother, my sister”.
The essence of these words lies in the fact that he makes it clear that even his mother has the mission of fulfilling God’s will as he does, so that although he seems to deny it, in reality what Jesus is doing is clarifying his mission, teaching that the example is the basis of the coherence that pleases the Lord. That is why he uses this metaphor, knowing that his mother is the first to fulfil and to keep the Word.
Eighth day:
Among those present, a woman listening to Jesus was moved and blessed his mother, saying that she must be the happiest woman on earth. But he replied that the happiest people are those who put into practice the word they hear from God. In other words, the mission of the Blessed Virgin Mary goes beyond the simple fact of being a mother of flesh, but of being a living example of submission, obedience, goodness and virtue before the Word of God, a woman who made flesh and spirit the plans of God.
The ninth day: Jesus gives us his Mother.
He consecrates the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting as a universal mother, a motherhood inherited from man and immaculate, blessed to carry the Son of God in her womb through the action of the Holy Spirit. This is a gift from God Himself, who individually exercises a divine communion on every being on earth, which allows every human being to have a mother full of faith and love, a mother full of mercy, who has the power to intercede directly with God through her Son Jesus.
Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting and Her Church
It is true that the image of the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting was sculpted in Bolivia by the sacred art sculptor Walter Barrón Achá, but we can see that it recalls the Holy Trinity, where the sculptor wanted to reflect the Father in his gaze, the dove on his breast symbolising the Holy Spirit and the hand in his womb symbolising the Son, wanting to point out that the grace of God is always present wherever we find Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.
In 2009 the construction of the chapel began with the laying of the first stone, which received many donations, offerings and many other circumstances that allowed the construction to begin, for the House of the Mother of God, the Virgin of Sweet Waiting. This chapel was blessed on the 14th of April 2012.
The land on which it was built belonged to the Victoria Textile Factory, and it was no coincidence that the Lourdes Grotto was already there, a place where the Marian Month was celebrated and which was visited very often.
The Shrine is a symbol of missionary spirituality, where it is proposed to transform it into a future Shrine of Life, where it is sought to defend life in all its aspects, to desire with all our strength to obtain the gift of life, the gift of the Son, to give value to the family and to bless all those who already have a family (father and mother), even if this family has the great blessing and goodness of adoption.
Usually it is in the Shrines that the closest experience of God can be lived at any time, where each pilgrim who visits them can find the consolation and peace he is looking for, can renew his faith and be filled again with confidence and hope.
Day of the Virgen de la Dulce Espera
It is celebrated on the 18th of December. The devotion to the Virgin has been celebrated for many years. This is not the only image of a pregnant virgin, we also have the Virgin of Guadalupe. On this day, many people entrust themselves to Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting, asking her with a faith that words cannot describe to bless their wombs or give them the opportunity to become mothers.
Many others go simply to give thanks and to fulfil the promises they have made to the little Virgin, because thanks to her they have been able to end their pregnancies with a blessing, or to become pregnant, or in other cases, to obtain the adoption of the child they so longed for.
It is a celebration attended by all the pregnant women who ask for the blessing of their wombs and those who ask for the grace of conceiving a child.
In Buenos Aires, it is celebrated in the parish of the Immaculate Conception, in Villa Devoto, where they make a great procession through all the streets of the city, dedicating songs and prayers to Our Lady of the Sweet Waiting, believing that she will fulfil their wishes and seeking her blessing.
In all the masses that take place, in addition to the blessing of newborn babies, blessings are also given to pregnant women, infertile women and those who hope to have the privilege of adopting a child.
The Virgin is celebrated in different places in Argentina, always with an unparalleled faith and a deep love for the Virgin, exalting and venerating her greatness.
Miracles of the Virgin of Sweet Waiting
Many are the miracles that surround the little Virgin, many are the miracles that fill those who follow her with joy and happiness. She has brought joy to many homes, she has brought the blessing of life to those who celebrate her, to those who ask her with faith. One of the many testimonies of Our Lady’s miracles is this:
In March 1995, Marta and Sergio were married. They were happy and very excited and had several projects in mind, such as starting their own family, having children, being a complete family full of blessings.
This project sounded easy at the time, one that they could achieve at any time, without any difficulty, without any complications, so in 2006 they decided that it was time to fulfil their project and have their first baby.
But no matter how hard they tried, the baby did not come, they could not conceive, which caused great disappointment.
However, they decided to go to the doctor, who sent them to various types of medical studies to rule out any illness or problem that could prevent them from having children, there were surgeries and visits to countless fertility specialists, but nothing that would achieve their goal, it seemed impossible.
Hopes began to fade and disillusionment grew. Until the moment came when they promised themselves that they would not undergo any more tests, so as not to give up hope and end up suffering. So they decided to put themselves in God’s hands, since He is the owner of life, and if anyone would allow them to have a baby, it would be Him.
They decided to focus on their nephews and nieces, or perhaps adopt later. So they let time pass, until one day they were invited to a Mass at St Monica’s Parish on the 5th of March (the day of the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary).
They thought long and hard about it, they were under pressure to generate new hopes and that these would turn into new disappointments, and they almost missed the Mass, but at the last minute they understood the importance of attending and decided to renew their faith and go.
In that Mass they felt something they had never felt before, a Mass full of many emotions, where the words that Father spoke that day were directed towards the conception of a new life, so the parish was full of prayers for all the parents who were already expecting a child and for all those who wanted to have one, followed by Father’s blessing of the wombs of all the future mothers present.
Their prayers were not in vain, although time passed, a month later they received the news they had been waiting for, the news they had longed for, they were going to be parents, the emotion and joy they felt was immense.
Full of gratitude, they went to the place where the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting was, to thank her with all their hearts for giving them the gift of life that they had so desperately sought, and they were among those who went to the altar to receive the Father’s blessing. To see with much more joy and from a different point of view what many of us overlook, which is the value of life.
In addition to this great blessing that the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting gave to this couple who so desperately wanted to have a child, there are other testimonies:
Ernestina tells us that in 2006 she went to the Mass of the Virgin of the Sweet Waiting, which she considered to be the most beautiful Mass she had ever seen in the 6 years she had been going. She said that she felt that the need and the predisposition made her feel that way.
During the Mass, the priest first asked all the women who had recently become mothers and who wished to present their children to the Virgin to come forward. Then he called on all the couples who, because of health problems or any other reason, were desperate to create a life and had not been able to have a son or daughter.
And so the whole church began to sing and pray in unison for these people who were asking for the gift of life. On that day, she describes how the prayer for her was something she had never seen or experienced before, she had never felt like this, she felt fear, an uncontrollable desire to cry.
After one of the pregnant women had read the word, Father began to speak about the blessing of adoption, the pain and suffering of all those women and men who want a child with all their hearts but have not had the opportunity, and the love that comes with adoption.
Afterwards, they listened to many testimonies, some of them from women who had been pregnant three times, who had undergone countless treatments, who had not missed a Mass for nine months, and who, at the age of 45, were in this place with their little baby, giving thanks for the miracle they had received.
Others talked about how after 8 years of looking for the baby they had always dreamed of, they finally got pregnant and at the time they were pregnant they discovered a cyst in one of her ovaries which made her pregnancy a high risk pregnancy and later they had another one and with all this she managed to have a completely healthy baby and managed to have both of them operated on and removed.
Another testimony where a woman tells of two lost pregnancies and many treatments to be able to have children and finally the Virgin smiled on her and gave her the miracle. She stood there and gave her testimony with her beautiful twin girls, Nazarena and Milagros.
There was also a woman who suffered from FAS or Foetal Alcoholic Syndrome, which had caused her to lose two pregnancies, and after 9 months of prayers and injections, she finally had the baby she had been waiting for so long.
And after all these testimonies, which moved her very much, came the Blessing of the Wombs, where she was able to visualise a friend who had been trying to have her baby for 12 years, who was pregnant and ready to receive her blessing.
At the end of the blessing, the blessed booties were given to those who were about to give birth. At that moment, after so many testimonies that had touched her heart, and with a renewed faith, she was convinced that she could obtain the miracle that the Blessed Mother would work for her, as she had done for all of them.
