Previously, Teresing encountered a very unlikely visitor in her cell in the form of the Devil himself. The devil tried to persuade Teresing to disobey her immediate superior (Mother Cecila), The Prioress and the Auxiliary Bishop and Chaplain of Lipa Carmel (Bishop Alfredo Obviar), but to no avail. The Devil oppressed the poor Teresing in the form of lashes, whip marks, foul odors in the room and horrifying apparitions. Still Teresing did not gave in but instead held more to her love and respect for her superiors. According to documents and testimonies, the trial of Teresing against the Devil lasted for two weeks. But after the storm was a calm and peaceful sea. Who would think that after all the darkness that the Novice have gone through, a lady of light would change her life forever. This is the third part of this OTWOMD series we call. The Petals of Lipa, based on June Keithley’s book, Lipa.

Before you go on you might want to read first the previous parts of this series.

During the Afternoon of August 18, 1948, Teresing, the unassuming novice of Lipa Carmel, smell a very powerful fragrance, which surrounded her wherever she goes. When she entered her cell, she saw someone sitting on her bed. A blinding blight covered the entire room that she wasn’t able to see the furnitures and the walls of the room except for the Lady who was seemingly waiting for her. Teresing’s cell literally was filled with fragrance and light. The Lady was wearing a white dress and her hair seems silvery and the face of the mysterious woman was, in Teresing’s own words, “Very Very Beautiful”. Teresing can’t seem to describe in earthly value the radiance and beauty of the mysterious lady that if one would search the world with the likes of her beauty, you would definitely fail, for the woman’s beauty was unprecedented and rare. The moment she saw the Lady, she again asked herself if Religious Life at Carmel was in reality full of supernatural phenomenon.

But how is Teresing so sure that it was not the Devil just in Disguise? Teresing said that the devil was very different. One striking difference was the odor. The Devil emits a very foul, burnt odor. Teresing can also see her surroundings whenever the Devil is around and in addition she was also aware of what’s happening on her surroundings. The Devil’s voice is very very deep as if he is in a very deep tunnel with echoes.

The Lady in Teresing’s bed talked to her and her first words were:

“Do not fear, my daughter. He whom you love above everyone else has sent me. I come with a message. You have had a long and fierce battle with your enemies. It has caused me much pain. But they will no longer molest you unless there be a last, strong assault. Do not be Afraid. Be brave. Your enemy is jealous because you love your Mother Prioress very much. Love her much more. Wash her feet, kiss them, then drink the water. Give this message to your mother. Love her very much but tell nothing to others.”

The novice’s conversation with the lady lasted 25 minutes, in which the lady disappeared exactly 5 minutes before the Angelus bell rang.

After supper was over, Teresing immediately told her Mother Prioress the strange request of the Lady and everything that transpired in her cell. The Lady asked that she would allow Teresing to wash the feet of the Mother Prioress and drink the water of the basin afterwards. The Prioress was very hesitant to perform such strange request because she was not only dubious, but also, she has no idea who this Lady was. When Teresing returned to her cell, she found the Lady waiting for her once again with a message and a sign for the prioress.

The day after, Mother Cecilia, the Prioress who was the subject of the Lady’s request informed the Bishop cum Chaplain of Lipa Carmel about the developments of the events and sought the wisdom of the holy Bishop Obviar about the matter. The prudent Bishop however cautioned her and advised her to find out who the woman was.

But noon at the same day, Teresing went to the Prioress and said that the Lady appeared again and reiterated her request and that it should be done at 3:00 in the afternoon, for such acts would be for the salvation of the two souls. Hers and the Prioress. During this instance, Mother Cecilia agreed and ordered the aspiring nun to get a basin. But the question is, why did she agreed to do it as opposed to what the Bishop had advised?

The Mother Prioress allegedly saw the blood around Teresing’s eyes when she came to her and took it as a sign. No confirmation that Mother Cecilia had a prior request in prayer for a sign that would verify the veracity of the Lady’s request, but as personal accounts have unfolded, the Prioress probably asked a sign from the Mother of God that the Novice didnt know. And for Mother Cecilia, the blood around Teresing’s eyes was the answer.

Mother Cecilia’s diary, together with that of Teresing and other significant players in this miracle have been burned by the order of the Church, (will be discussed in later installments) and because of that, we have no way to verify other events in lieu of the Prioress’ point of view of the Apparition in Lipa.

The Mother and the Novice quickly went to do what the Lady asked of them. Mother Cecilia was blushing out of embarrassment because at that time, Carmelite Nuns were Literally barefooted. So you can imagine the kind of feet these nuns have at that time. Washing the calloused and cracked feet then drinking the water from it seems so crazy in human point of view. But Teresing did what the Lady asked and drunk the water after washing the feet of her beloved superior. Teresing, in her humaness, was actually naseated but she resisted the urge and went her way in drinking the water, saying a prayer of courage so as to obey and not embarass the Mother Prioress.

After supper, Teresing hurried to the wash room and there she vomited all of that she ate.

We can recall that in 1858, a young woman was also asked by a mysterious lady in the Grotto of Massabielle, to drink the mud filled water from a new spring and was also requested to eat some grass. The people who saw this act ridiculed the girl and accused her of being insane. After 150 years, the spring is still there and have cured thousands of sick people, which we all know today as the Grotto of Our Lady Of Lourdes in France. The same young girl who drunk murky water and ate grass, is now elevated in the Church as one of the greatest and most humble saint in Modern times, St. Bernadette Soubirous.

TO BE CONTINUED…