Cebuanos welcome relics of St. Therese

CEBU, Philippines - Devotees from all walks of life welcomed the pilgrim relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, popularly known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus, which arrived in Cebu yesterday morning from the diocesan shrine of St. Therese in Calubian, Leyte.

The relic arrived at 7 a.m. yesterday at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Airbase via helicopter from Ormoc and was welcomed with a Mass at the Air Force Chapel.

A motorcade then followed going to the Central Command where a Mass was celebrated by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, dubbed as “the greatest saint of modern times”, was praised by Palma in his homily for being the saint who proved that doing little things can also make people holy.

“Like St. Therese, we know that ordinary as we are, simple as we are, before the Lord, we are precious inside, we are all His children, that’s why even if we have so many difficulties, life is still beautiful because we are all children of God,” said Palma in his homily yesterday.

Palma said that St. Therese being such a great saint, teaches the little way and that to be holy does not mean to do great things but to do even little things with such love for the Lord  can lead the way to heaven.

“People should feel privileged and people should come, visit and pray before the relics, knowing that St. Therese a both a teacher and model for all of us and knowing as well with the indulgence that comes with the relics, I know that people will profit from her presence up to Thursday, believing that this is a year and a moment of grace for all of us,” Palma said.

The relics are to stay overnight at the Central Command Chapel.  At 5 a.m. today there will be a motorcade from Central Command to the Carmelite Monastery in Cebu City with a stop at St. Therese Parish and the Police Regional Office-7, where a Mass will be celebrated at 6 a.m.

At 8:30 a.m. the relics will be taken to the Carmelite Monastery.

Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will celebrate a Mass there at 10:30 a.m. followed by the veneration of the relic.  There will also be Masses at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

For tomorrow and on Wednesday there will be Masses at 6 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday, there will be a solemn procession, which will start at 7 p.m., from the Carmelite Monastery to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.  Prior to the procession, there will be Masses at 6 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

After the procession, a farewell Mass will be celebrated by Palma at 9 p.m. By 10:30 p.m. there will be a solemn procession going back to the Carmelite Monastery, where a vigil will be held.

On March 1, a Mass will be celebrated at 2 a.m. and a farewell ceremony will follow at 5 a.m. At 6 a.m., a farewell Mass will be celebrated at the Naval Chapel and at 7 a.m. the relics will be taken to Bohol.

The relics, bone fragments of St. Therese housed in a special reliquary, arrived in the Philippines last December 15 for a four-month tour, which included visits to more than 48 archdioceses and dioceses in the country, including Cebu.

They will eventually be returned to the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux, France.  — /BRP (FREEMAN)