Philippine Trinity of Shrines compared to Lourdes Shrine

(Part 2 of a series on In the Footsteps of Bernadette)

LOURDES, France – As our TGV train zoomed high up the Hautes-Pyrenees mountain range, about 1,200 feet above sea level, we entered the holy town shrine, the meeting point of the Seven Valleys of the Lavedan. This beautiful natural setting reminded me of the similar foothills of Palan, San Marcelino where the mystical and ecumenical Hidden Temple Shrine of the Praying Blessed Mother and Son, Our Lord of Love and Redemption stands. Like Lourdes, the Palan shrine nestles in the circle of the Zambales mountain ranges facing the Mt. Pinatubo volcano just 20 km. away.

The Part I article I wrote, "In the Footsteps of Bernadette", recounted how Max and I had the pleasure of knowing better the small town of Lourdes during its off-season break of autumn. The holy silence struck us. Without the swarm of tourists from all over the world, we saw and felt the simplicity of the young maiden’s life that made us follow more intimately the passage of her life as we stepped into her residence, parish church, school, small restaurant and the farm where she worked.

God’s messages in history...

In her time, 1844 to 1879, Bernadette gave the spiritual warning of World Wars I and II. Just before the Second World War in Europe, the children of Fatima and of the two Belgian shrines of Banneaux and Beauraing gave the same warning urging the world to stay closer to God with prayers. God has never left us in history when Nazism was replaced by Communism in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, India and China border lands. Hovering around are the Middle East wars against God’s birthplace of Israel. By then, modern highly educated visionaries replaced the simple rural messengers.

The September terrorist attacks in New York reverberated all over the world, in the clandestine hideouts of the brotherhood of terrorists, which include Southern Mindanao. We realized that evil was raging in another form. As I reflected over the never ending human strife on earth, I can’t help but compare Bernadette with our own mystically gifted clairvoyant Punay Kabayao-Fernandez who predicted how the Philippines can become a Sodom and Gomorrah as early as 1992 during the inauguration of former President Ramos.

Bernadette suffered constant physical ailments in her entire life of 30 years. Our humble and highly spiritual lady Punay, contracted a serious thyroid deficiency as a music student in New York which reactivated right after 13 years of fulfilling Blessed Mother’s request to build three shrines in the sites of major disasters in the Philippines. Punay has been hospitalized for four years although she is still active in the mission.

From 1984 to 1997, the Trinity of Shrines were landmarks which recall the impoverishment of the Negros sugarlands causing hunger among the farmers; the 1983 assassination of Ninoy which ignited the so-called EDSA revolution of 1986, and the 1990 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo which ended the close cooperation of America and the Philippines. I was asked to write the corresponding mystical explanation in 71 weekly columns. These include the State of the Nation address (SONA) of former President Fidel Ramos with very unusual illustrations. Here, Our Lord through the Blessed Mother repeatedly requested the Filipinos to pray so the need for inner transformation and unity would be fulfilled.

Reverence for Blessed Mother, worship for Jesus, the Son of God

The truth is that it is Our Lord Himself who gave these messages through His "personal associate" and human link to the world, His beloved Mother Mary, but souvenir makers made the mistake of producing only the statuettes of Blessed Mary. Consequently, the Protestants who do not believe in holy images condemned the Catholic practice of "worshipping" Our Blessed Mother as God, when actually the Marian devotion is an act of reverence for the holy Mother of God. To avoid this confusion and to project the ecumenical spirit and respect for other religions, Our Lord requested that both he and his mother should be seen together in the Trinity of shrines in our country.

How Blessed Mother adapts her looks and title to the culture of the country

Several Christian denominations forbid using the picture or statue of Our Lord and His Mother in the church, believing this in idolatry. Today the psychology of human behavior speaks of the complementary value of the senses to heighten one’s understanding, therefore, television and visual graphics best communicate ideas to the world. Simply put, a person has always the need to carry the picture of a loved one in his wallet. Therefore there is nothing wrong in having pictures or statues of the Holy Ones for men’s devotion.

Understanding human nature, Blessed Mother makes God’s messages more comprehensible by adapting her image to the culture of the country. From Lourdes to Fatima and the two shrines of Belgium, Mother Mary appeared in a simple white robe reflecting her title "Immaculate Conception". On the other hand, respecting the strong culture of the country, she is depicted in wood with Japanese features as Our Lady of Akita in Japan, while Our Lady of Guadalupe has a Mexican look.

For the Trinity of Shrines in the Philippines, Our Lady is always beside Our Lord. While the colors of their robes vary, they wear capes instead of crowns to symbolize their royal status in God’s kingdom. Although the rosary devotion is encouraged, Blessed Mother specified that she is not to hold the rosary for her Son, for they have come to unite us instead of dividing us. They reflect the fair skinned Jewish beauty which Filipinos appreciate.

God’s chosen instruments

Each human being has the chance to serve God as His instrument. Normally, God’s chosen messengers are raised in religious homes and are usually reflective. With the coming of the two major world wars, God chose young innocent messengers limited in scholastic attainments from small rural towns of France, Belgium, Mexico, etc. With the advent of information technology during the Middle East turmoil, God chose well educated messengers like nurse Annie Kirkwood of Texas, who wrote "Mary’s Message to the World," Vassula Ryden of Ireland and Punay Kabayao Fernandez of the Philippines.

The life of St. Bernadette Soubirous and the 18 apparitions Our Lady made in 1858 between February to July, fill up the major part of this Marian devotion of Catholics. Her story has been lovingly pictured in the film The Song of Bernadette with Jennifer Jones as the saint. The apparition site is infront of the surging Gave river and the town canal. In 1858 Bernadette, Toinette her sister and Jeanne a friend tried to wade across the river, then just a rivulet.

The Grotto Rock of Massabielle

The Grotto where Mother Mary appeared was a dirty, hidden, damp and cold place. It was called the "pigs’ shelter" because that was where the pigs feeding in the area usually took shelter. It was there that the Virgin Mary appeared in white, a sign of total purity.

The contrast between this damp and obscure Grotto and the presence of the Virgin Mary, "the Immaculate Conception" reminds us of the Gospel: the meeting of the wealth of the goodness of God and the poverty of the human person. This place called Massabielle, the Old Rock, tells us that God comes to join us where we are, in the midst of our poverty and failures.

Following the instruction of the parish priest to ask for the name of the "lady in white", Bernadette held out a sheet of paper and a pencil so that she might write down her name, but the Lady replied: "what I have to say to you does not have to be written down". This was an extraordinary statement. It meant that the Virgin Mary wanted to enter into a relationship which is of the order of love, at the level of the heart.

At the second statement of the Virgin Mary: "Would you do me the kindness of coming here for 15 days?" Bernadette was overwhelmed. It was the first time that anyone had addressed her in a formal way.

The third statement of the Virgins was: "I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the other." We know a world of violence, lies, sensuality, profit, and war. But we know also a world of charity, solidarity, and justice. These two worlds exist on our earth. When Jesus, in the Gospel, invites us to discover the Kingdom of Heaven, he invites us to discover in our world, as it is, "another world". Wherever love exists, God is present.

How the Trinity of Shrines contrast with the old Marian apparitions

The number of people following Bernadette always increased. From the time of the Apparitions some 10,000 people were assembling at the Grotto, hoping to see Mother Mary but were not able. Until Medjugore, only the visionaries were privileged to see Our Mother, yet always briefly each time. Meantime, in the Philippines Our Lady expressed the deep wish to always be accompanied by Our Lord in the Trinity of Shrines. She made sure that their holy presence would be defined in the beautiful lifelike countenance of the statues whose construction she mystically guided day by day with the help of the most famous Italian maestro of the Renaissance era through Punay and her psychic teammate-sculptor and painter Pempe Floriano.

Today after a century and two decades, about five million pilgrims and visitors come to gather at the rock of Massabielle. The grotto rock is so sacred and is charged with unusually strong vibrations that one is moved into tears feeling God’s nearness, love and sympathy. The pilgrims usually press their hands on the rock or kiss it. Punay explained that the strong faith of the believers increases the vibration in sacred places. One can feel this in Baclaran.

Bernadette would undergo an altered state of consciousness as she stood to receive Mary’s messages. In the same way, Punay would experience this whenever Blessed Mother would interlocute messages to her. Half of them were guidance in duplicating Our Lord and Mother Mary’s physical features. In their great love for Filipinos, God accompanied by His beloved Mother allowed His divinity to descend so that our humanity can ascend. Punay who is a member of the Theosophical Society, the study of ancient wisdom, explained that whenever one prays before any of the Trinity of Shrines, Our Lord and His Mother would spiritually overshadow the lifelike statues and make their presence felt.

This has been constantly proven true for anyone who prays in these shrines. They are immediately consoled and felt their problems lift away. In addition, serious ailments like cancer and heart problems are healed in their presence.

Drink of the spring and wash yourself there

Masses are often said in the Lourdes Grotto by visiting priests. A place of silence, it is surrounded by the benches which are always filled with pilgrims from all over the world. At the back of the Grotto to the left of the altar, one can see the flowing spring that Bernadette discovered, covered by a clear glass and brightly illuminated. This water, in order to make it available to everyone, is now channeled towards the taps and the baths.

Be sure to buy plastic holy water containers and aluminum cups in the numerous shops along Boulevard de la Grotte, the street before the basilica grounds. These water containers come in various sizes and shaped like the Lady of Lourdes. There are no stores inside the sacred ground.

After the Grotto are the stands for vigil candles. The special Lourdes candles are available from open candle racks before the Grotto. Two feet long, they vary in height and weight. Gigantic candles weighing 30 kilos are bought by large groups of pilgrims. By lighting a candle, the pilgrim does the same as Bernadette, who prayed at the Grotto with a lighted candle. Leaving the candle behind prolongs our prayers.

The bathhouses

Two rows of bathhouses can be reached after the candle stand. The first is for the men (les hommes), then for the ladies (les dames). Instead of the long cues of pilgrims in spring and summer, there was only a small group of six ladies waiting outside on a bench. To simplify the undressing inside, I decided to remove my jewelry, scarf and belt which I placed in my bag.

Inside the bathhouse are six cubicles divided into two: the waiting area and a curtained sunken bathtub filled with healing spring water. This is changed thrice a day. I was directed to one compartment were some lady pilgrims wearing blue cotton capes covering their completely disrobed bodies from neck to foot were already seated on chairs waiting for their turns.

A volunteer was assigned to me. She directed me to a seat. Above this was a hook where I hung my bag. I took off my shoes and put them under the chair. To undress in privacy, a blue cotton cape was handed to me. I faced the wall to remove my underwear and dress which I hung then on the hook.

Three volunteers assisted me inside the curtained bath area. As I faced the sunken tub which measures 1-1/2 m. x 3-1/2 m., they helped me wear a white wrap around my body and my blue cape was removed. They asked me to pray for healing then led me to step down into the extremely cold spring water. This is likely to shock you. (Some pilgrims shriek, so control yourself and endure this in silence.) I was helped to soak in the water up to the chest. We continued praying. In a few minutes, I was helped to go up and exchange the wet wrap around for the blue cape.

Outside the curtain, I hurriedly changed. But surprisingly I did not feel chilly. Even without a towel my body dried up. This was quite an unforgettable sensation which was actually the miraculous healing of one’s physical and spiritual person.

Of the Trinity of Shrines, the Mt. Pinatubo Shrine of Palan, 20 minutes away from Olongapo also has the miraculous spring water. They are tapped to six faucets (We have to install the sunken tubs.) It has cured all kinds of ailments since 1992 when we started to establish it. Bottles of the healing water always healed anyone who prays and drinks it.

(Next week: Part 3, The 1992 warning that the Philippines would be like Sodom and Gomorrah)

(For more information, please e-mail at obmci@meridian telekoms.com)