Our Lady of Edsa

"...The tanks were trying to penetrate the crowd. And the people were praying and showing their rosaries....Then a beautiful lady appeared to them....So beautiful she was, and her eyes were sparkling. And the beautiful lady spoke to them like this: 'Dear soldiers, stop! Do not proceed! Do not harm my children! And when they heard that, the soldiers put down everything. They came down from the tanks and they joined the people...."

-- Cardinal Sin to Wayne Weible

Journalist Discusses the Philippine Miracle with Manila's Cardinal Sin
from Medjugorje the Mission

"It began in February, 1986, as the virtual twenty-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos came to an abrupt and unexpected end through a series of strange events. Corazon Aquino, the widow and reluctant political replacement of slain opposition leader Ninoy Aquino, had won the presidential election. In a stunning upset, she was elected by an overwhelming margin in the snap election, called for by Marcos himself. The Cardinal pointed out that Marcos had called for elections in order to crush the building opposition. However, through ballot box stuffing and other illegal activities, plus a total control of the media, Marcos flagrantly had himself declared the winner....

....The rigged election results were blatant and obvious to neutral observers and also to the people. Within days, millions took to the streets of Makati and Manila, spurred to action when a dissatisfied segment of the military launched an unexpected coup attempt.... Marcos responded to the rebellion and coup attempt by sending tanks down the streets of the city. He was determined to maintain his grip on the country, even if it meant massacre of the swelling crowds.

As a full convoy of tanks and other armament manned by hard-core militant soldiers came against millions of civilians, many of whom were virtually lying down in the streets in front of the tanks, Marcos gave the order to fire on the people.

Cardinal Sin leaned forward in his chair, smiling.

'What I am telling you now was told tome by many of these same soldiers who were ready to fire on the people.'

Reclining again, he continued.

'The tanks were trying to penetrate the crowd. And the people were praying and showing their rosaries. That is when, according to these soldiers, the Marines who were riding on top of the tanks, the so-called Loyalists (to Marcos), they saw up in the clouds the form of the cross. The many sisters had tried to stop them, but they (the soldiers) told me they had already decided to obey instruction and push through. It is now just a question of ten minutes or so. You push the trigger and there you are -- everybody will be dead.'

 

Again, the Cardinal leaned forward.

'Then, a beautiful lady appeared to them. I don't know if she appeared in the sky or was standing down on the ground. (Others would later tell me they thought she was a nun, dressed in blue, and that she was standing in front of the tanks.) So beautiful she was, and her eyes were sparkling. And the beautiful lady spoke to them like this: 'Dear soldiers, stop! Do not proceed! Do not harm my children! And when they heard that, the soldiers put down everything. They came down from the tanks and they joined the people. So, that was the end of the Loyalists.'

Cardinal Sin paused, turning his hands upward.

'I don't know who these soldiers are. All I know is that they came here crying to me. They did not tell me that is was the Virgin. They told me only that it was beautiful sister. But you know,'

he paused, laughing heartily,

'I have seen all the sisters in Manila, and there are no beautiful ones. So it must have been the Virgin!'

What a story -- and what a sense of humor! Here was a powerful figure of the Philippine Catholic Church, able to add such a wonderful touch to another stunning supernatural visit by Our Lady. But being a journalist, I had to ask: 'Cardinal, do you really believe it was Our Lady that the people and the soldiers saw?'

Cardinal Sin did not hesitate.

'Yes, My heart was telling me, this was Mary. And since they obeyed this woman who appeared to them and did not follow orders and fire on the people, then Marcos had nobody anymore. So, he had to flee. That was the end of him.'

....Adding to the incredibility of the entire story was the fact that Cardinal Sin had met with Sister Lucia the last living visionary of Fatima, in Portugal, just before his trip to the United States and the press conference where he first told the story of the Blessed Virgin's appearance. Although living in a cloistered convent, Sister Lucia know everything about the Philippine revolution. She had no access to newspapers, magazines, or television. Yet, she related all of the details to the Cardinal

She then told him that Corazon Aquino was a gift to the Philippines from God, and that if she could maintain peace and democracy there for a period of two or more years, that nation would be influential in leading China to Christianity."

 

Lipa, Philippines " Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace "

  

1948 Our Blessed Mother appeared 19 times to a novice in the Carmelite order in Lipa City, Philippines. Our Lady first appeared to the novice, Teresita Castillo, in August, when she was in her cell.

While Teresita was praying in the convent garden on September 12, suddenly a vine began to shake. Our Lady appeared to the seer and requested that she kiss the earth and return to the same spot for fifteen consecutive days. When Our Lady appeared, She was on a cloud, dressed in white, hands clasped, and a golden Rosary hanging from Her right hand. Her dress was very white, very simple, and had a narrow belt tied around Her. She was radiant with beauty.

Our Lady requested the vine to be blessed, and also requested that a statue was to be placed at the site of the apparition. These were all accomplished.

During the apparitions in 1948, Our Lady stressed humility, penance, prayers for the clergy and the Pope, and to pray the Rosary. Teresita reported that there was one secret for herself, one for the Carmel convent in Lipa City, one for China, and also one for the entire world.

Our Lady requested that a Mass be held on the 12th day of every month. Before She departed for the last time, the Blessed Virgin identified Herself as:

" I am the Mediatrix of All Grace"

There are accounts of a blue bird appearing at the vine where Our Lady appeared. There are also accounts of the spinning sun, heavy fragrance of roses, and showers of rose petals that had miraculous images of Christ, Mary, and other Holy Scenes on them. The rose petals (one is pictured on the top of this page, and another is pictured on the bottom) are reported to have remarkable curing powers.

It is also reported that Teresita received a Host for Holy Communion on her tongue from an angel on an occasion when she was unable to attend Mass because she was sick in bed. Teresita had other mystical experiences including visions of the Sacred Heart, a multitude of angels, St. Cecilia, St. Theresa of Lisieux, and many other saints. The seer was also seen to go into a state of unconsciousness, and then, while lying on the floor, enact the agony of Christ on the Cross. This phenomenon was witnessed by the prioress, Bishop Obviar, and members of the Carmel community at Lipa.

There was much commotion, and the Bishop and Mother Prioress were released of their jobs. The nuns were ordered to destroy all materials connected with the apparitions. They burned Teresita's diary, as well as the Mother Prioress'. The statue was also ordered to be destroyed, but the nuns kept it away, and saved it from destruction.

Our Lady warned that there would be persecutions; the convent was sealed, and the nuns could talk to no one outside of the convent.

In February 1990, a strange new phenomenon was reported in the Granja District of Lipa City. A white luminous outline of a female in prayer began to appear on one of the leaves of a tall coconut tree. It was visible only in the evenings. On May 21, 1990, Sr. Aphonse pleaded on her deathbed that the Mediatrix statue be again exposed in the chapel at the Carmelite convent. Her request was granted the very next day. It would be the first time the statue would be displayed for 40 years!

On January 24, 1991, rose petals began to fall straight from the sky again at the Carmelite convent in Lipa City. A few days later, six children playing in the garden at the convent saw the statue come to life.

Very negative media articles together with sham " Holy Rose Petals " dealers, caused Teresita to leave the convent in the 1950's. This, together with the Church's negative report, kept these apparitions hidden for some 40 years.

As a consequence, the Church has now set up a new committee to investigate the apparitions.

For more information, please contact:

Sr. Celine Gutierrez, OCD Shrine of Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace Torres St., Antipolo Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/apparitions/pr00013.htm