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ST. THERESE'S "HOME".
Pilgrims will troop starting today to the Our Lady of
the Assumption in Dauis town where the relics of St. Therese
will be "hosted" during a three-day visit here.
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Unbelievable!
Thérèse Martin, who lived just before
the turn of the 20th century in France, comes like a
modern jet-setter to the Philippines and flies to the
town of Tubigon, Bohol this morning on board a helicopter!
And in the arms of soldiers!
At
9 a.m. today a motorcade led by military, church and
government officials will accompany her relics to the
Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis. But at
the Mansasa junction, a touching meeting of Thérèse
and the Blessed Mother will first take place. A poem
to Our Lady written by young Thérèse will
be recited by a pupil, after which the first Pilgrim
Walk will take place, led by Dauis parishioners.
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Welcome
rites to be presided over by Rev. Fr. Valentino Pinlac, rector
of Dauis shrine, will be attended by Bishop Leonardo Medroso
and Msgr. Jeffrey Malanog of the Diocese of Tagbilaran together
with Gov. Erico Aumentado of Bohol, Mayor Dan Neri Lim and
Vice Mayor Jose A. Veloso of Tagbilaran, Mayor Luna Piezas
of Tubigon, Mayor Luciano Bongalos of Dauis, Col Cesar Yano
and Col. Aquino of the 302nd Infantry Brigade and Col Edgardo
Ingking of the Philippine National Police.
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The
First Mass will take place at 2 p.m. today. A program
separately posted in this issue has a complete schedule
of Masses, veneration, confessions and other day and
night activities in the church compound.
Main celebrants and homilists of the masses include
Bishop Antonieto Cabajog of Surigao, Archbishop Romulo
Valles of Zamboanga, Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak of the
Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, Bishop John
Du of Dumaguete, Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan,
Bishop Christian Vicente Noel of Talibon and Bishop
Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran. The SVD Community of
Holy Name University and the Administrators of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary Seminary, along with the clergy of Tagbilaran
and Talibon parishes also have their own share of the
Masses and confessions.
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The
three-day activity capped by a Fluvial Procession at 8:30
p.m. on Friday, Feb. 29 from Dauis to the Tagbilaran port
will be participated in by the Association of Fisherfolks
from the Vicariate of Our Lady of the Assumption. It will
be preceded by a youth concert and blessing of the St. Thérèse
Souvenir Marker. This official send-off marked by fireworks
will be done with the cooperation of the Philippine Coast
Guard, the Municipality of Dauis and the City of Tagbilaran.
St.
Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face
was a cloistered nun who died at the Carmelite Monastery in
Lisieux at the young age of 24. She had not dreamed of becoming
famous. All she dreamed of was life in heaven which she could
spend "doing good upon earth." And that's how she
became a celebrity. She is well-known for her "shower
of roses" - blessings coming through her miraculous intercessions.
The
Diocese of Tagbilaran is indeed experiencing a miracle. With
barely a dozen dioceses in the Philippines blessed with this
visit, why must the Diocese of Tagbilaran be one of them?
Bohol has no Carmelite Monastery to propagate her devotion.
It has no church or chapel celebrating a fiesta in her honor.
It has only a young congregation, the Missionary Sisters of
St. Therese who manages relatively new schools of the same
name, one in Tagbilaran's Gallares Street and another one
in barangay Mansasa. This happening is indeed a gift by itself.
To make up for limited time, Boholanos are now fast catching
up on her life and doctrine.
Thérèse
of Lisieux (pronounced 'thi-rehs' and "lih-shu') is the
youngest Doctor of the Church, an elite group of only 33 saints
(only three of which are women) in the Catholic Church's heavenly
firmament. Doctors of the Church are called "outstanding
saints" whose doctrines are recommended by the hierarchy
for the faithful to emulate.
As
manifested in her autobiography written upon instruction of
her superiors during her final years, St. Thérèse
exceptional holiness had caused Pope Pius X to extol her as
"the greatest saint of modern times" More than any
other saint, St. Therese has illustrated the depth and breadth
of the Mercy and Love of God. With only five years of formal
schooling, this prodigious girl has left volumes of prose
and poetry that can match if not surpass the writings of the
most brilliant men in Church history.
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