Previously: Teresing’s blindness ceased. Bishop Obviar came that day and was ushered to the Parlor by the Portera at that time, Sr. Elizabeth of the Sacred Heart, OCD. She saw the eyes of the Postulant from a distance and she claimed that it was different from our ordinary eyes. Bishop Obviar, Lipa Carmel’s Chaplain approached Teresing and made a sign of the cross on both her eyes. Immediately, Teresing regained her vision. She jumped out of joy and was very happy. Bishop Obviar quipped to teresing: “You must be in Peace now”…

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

Teresing was praying the Rosary in the convent Garden when the vine in front of her violently shook. It was around five in the afternoon of September 12, 1948 and there were no wind blowing on the trees and vine at that time. In wonderment she gazed on the vine and suddenly she heard a voice, that of the Lady’s of course whom she previously conversed. The Lady’s voice told her not to fear, to kiss the earth (which she did), to obey everything she was told and to return to the same spot for 15 consecutive days, rain or shine. She then asked for the permission of the Mother Prioress to return to the Garden.

The next day, teresing came back to the spot and immediately said her prayers. After a few minutes, she once again saw the vines move without the aid of any wind. In Teresing’s amazement, the mysterious Lady appeared, standing on a cloud barefooted, dressed in blinding white, with hands clasped over her breast and a golden rosary hanging from her right hand. Teresing at this time was so struck by the beauty, radiance and majesty of the Lady that she can’t help but ask: “Beautiful Lady, who are you?”. The Lady answered back with great tenderness: “I am your mother, and I am the mother of my Son, Jesus.”

Following the conversation between Teresing and the visitor, the Lady stressed and focused on priests, nuns and the need for prayer and penance for them. The Lady also added that pride was the sole obstacle for many in returning to the true fold and that shame has hardened some hearts. The lady asked Teresing to pray for them like she have never prayed before which will be echoed on the succession of Messages. Alarming also was the Lady’s message that the Sacred heart of Jesus bleeds anew for every fallen Priests or Nun. This message is not anymore new since Mary has reiterated this many times in her various apparitions including that on Fatima.

On September 14, 1948 Teresing went to the Garden again and found the Lady waiting with her arms outstretched. Teresing described the Lady as someone who is very motherly who looks at people with great love and tenderness as if she always want to embrace and comfort everyone. On that day, the Lady asked Teresing that the spot and place in the Garden be blessed on the next day in the presence of the whole Lipa Carmel community. Teresing relayed the message to the Mother Prioress and the necessary arrangements were made. During this time, the Mother Prioress did not question Teresing’s request since prior to this, she herself had received an interior locution informing her of the blessing that the Lady requested.

The next day, September 15th, 1948 at 3:20 in the afternoon, Lipa Carmel Chaplain Bishop Alfredo Obviar presided the blessing together with the entire community of Carmelite Nuns. After the blessing, the Lady appeared once again and Teresing knelt down with the entire community looking on. This was the first time that the whole Lipa Carmelite nuns saw Teresing in ecstasy.

Mrs. Severina Milan (former Sr. Stephanie of the Cross OCD, and Sr. Elizabeth of the Sacred Heart OCD) claimed during the Keithley interview that Teresing was indeed talking to someone invisible to their eyes, radiating a very heavenly face and eyes focused only in one place. The two nuns also confirmed in the interview that Teresing did something that they never seen before, apparently a request from the invisible Lady to the visionary. Teresing was asked by the Lady to kiss the ground and eat the grass to test her obedience, the same request made by the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes in 1858.

Until something happened.

Bishop Alfredo Obviar at that time was still skeptical of the Apparition and prayed for a sign in heaven to confirm the truthfulness of what was happening. Suddenly, a shower of petals began falling from nowhere. There were potted rose plants on the Garden byut the amount and quantity of the petals that fell were no match with the number of blooms planted on the pots. Bishop Obviar’s prayer was answered.

The Mother Prioress then related Mary’s message to the entire community:

• Mary asked them to believe
• Keep the Apparition secret until she advised otherwise.
• Love each other as true sisters
• Love and obey the Mother Prioress
• Do not envy Teresing for she suffers greatly
• Gather the Petals
• Keep the Spot Sacred and venerate the Grounds.
• (With Mary’s blessing) requested that the Monastery be known as “Our Lady’s Carmel”.

At 5 O’clock in the afternoon, Teresing once again found the Virgin Mary waiting for her with another request:

“I ask this from Carmel, I wish that my image be placed here. This place must be cleaned so that it may become a shrine for prayer”

On September 16th, 1948, Teresing saw the lady descend from above accompanied by little angels. Teresing claimed that she only saw their faces and one by one they disappeared. Upon reaching the vine, the Lady’s face was sad. This was noticed by Teresing herself. The Virgin’s message was focused on the two unbelieving nuns in the monastery.

“Little one, two of my daughters refuse to believe me. They dislike you also. Pray for them and let no bitterness find place in your heart.”

Then the Virgin repeated her request she made to Teresing on the 15th:

“I want a statue of myself to be made so that my little ones can see me. Describe me to your chaplain because I wish my statue to look as you see me, and to be as large that of Our Lady of Lourdes which stands inside the cloister.”

This very same statue which the Virgin requested will become the object of much controversy and veneration and that it will perform many unusual and miraculous occurrences connected with it in the years to come.

On September 17th up to the 26th, the Virgin conversed with Teresing and has given her many messages which we can call as priate revelations. Some of these revelations focus on the community, some spiritual matters and others for the outside world. The gist of the messages is about humility, simplicity, penance, prayers and praying the rosary with devotion. Interestingly enough, the Lady stressed the need to pray the rosary in meditative form and not in mechanical manner which few understand.

One of the requests made by Our Lady was to honor her on Saturday which the faithful is now fulfilling ever since public veneration of the Image was again permitted by then Bishop Mariano Gaviola in 1991. From then on, many miraculous cures, and occurrences were reported in connection with the image and the first Saturday devotion started by a group of women.

Teresing also claimed that the Virgin Mary entrusted her with four secrets. One for her, one for mother Cecilia, one for the community in Carmel and one for the world — China in particular.

At the course of the Apparition, the Virgin Mary continued to grieve over the unbelief of the two nuns. This was mentioned in the accounts of both Teresing and that of the Mother Prioress. The salvation of the soul of the two nuns are very much important for the Virgin that’s why she continued to focus more and more on the skeptics as the apparition progressed. One of these nun admitted that she was one of the two nuns who were skeptic of the apparition. Mother Jacinta, who was a Postulant at the time of the Apparition, admitted to the Keithley Report that she hold on to her disbelief for 40 years. She had a change of heart when she acquired a kidney disease and was cured of the ailment after much prayer and an application of the Petals:

It is only in this particular apparition that I am not enthusiastic. In General, I am not enthusiastic about Apparitions. I only believe in apparitions that are approved by the church. So exteriorly I would accept that it’s nice, but interiorly, I do not like it.

I do not really like to be the visionary but maybe there is a bit of competition or, who is this Teresing who would be so privileged, something like that.

The Virgin Mary mentioned two nuns, one is Mother Jacinta and the other was not named but was remembered by the Community as the Novice at that time who was very vocal against the apparition. Mother Jacinta also recalled her saying:

“Why do you go here? It’s better to go to the blessed Sacrament?”

Teresing also experienced ridicules towards her and the Mother Prioress from this unnamed Novice. Thus on September 21st, 1948, the Virgin Mary’s message was very specific:

“To my daughter who does not believe me, I do not oblige you to believe. It is enough that you do not believe. But do not block nor debase my sacred place nor despise my words.

I do not oblige you to listen nor to obey them if you do not wish to, for you have free will. Neither should you honor me on saturdays if you are not inclined to… Perchance this will be my last message for you…”

Interestingly enough, the Mysterious Novice was among the many who were about to leave the Carmel within a year…

One of the Messages given by the Virgin to Teresing on September 18th, 1948 includes her experience in Calvary…

“Meditate on this and see how much the Mother and the Son worked and suffered together to save the world…”

This particular message of the Virgin Mary seemed to be a foretelling of what she would identify herself in the succeeding apparitions…

TO BE CONTINUED…

This series about the Lipa Apparition is based on the book by June Keithley-Castro published in 1992 with the title “Lipa”. The post you read were written by OTWOMD author in his own words in order to give respect to the book author’s work. This series is intended only for information dissemination and promote the devotion to Our Lady of Lipa and not to gain profit from it. Totus Tuus Maria