Visit to the little flower

Last February 25, exactly one week ago, we went to the Carmelites in their Mabolo monastery to pay homage to the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux.

The aspirants came also. In fact, they animated the 1:30 PM Mass. Some members of the Salesian family were also present for the Mass.Br. Dominggus invited me to line up to see her relics upon reaching the place. Good thing, I yielded. By that time, the devotees were still coming in trifles, but the queue was already relatively long.

After the Mass, the line became kilometric long. Some aspirants who wanted to line up were already discouraged. But luck it was when some of the third order Carmelites who were cordoning off people invited us to come in recognizing that “they were Bosconians.”

Days after our visit, I would read it from a columnist in a local broadsheet that the relics are miraculous. The first time it came here in Cebu for a visit seemed to coincide with the elevation of Pedro Calungsod to becoming “Blessed.”

Perhaps, with her visit this time, we can hope for a second Filipino Saint! Or better yet, it would cause healing to our country which has been suffering from a terrible malaise.