Palma asks faithful to emulate Mary

CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma called on the faithful to “learn to emulate Mary” in a message he delivered during today’s observance of the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

The 65-year-old prelate presided over the 10 a.m. Pontifical Mass at the chapel of the Carmelites’ Monastery in Mabolo, Cebu City.

From sunrise to sunset, hundreds of people troop to the monastery and chapel to take part in the Eucharistic celebrations and pay homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A solemn procession of the image of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel will be held Thursday, after the 4 a.m. Mass that will be officiated by Archbishop Emeritus of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

The image of Our Lady of Carmelites is being prepared for today’s foot procession. (CDN PHOTO/ ADOR MAYOL)

Also to be taken out for procession are the image of the Sto. Niño. St. Joseph, Prophet Elijah, and the popular Carmelites’ saints like Santa Teresa de Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Simon Stock, and St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

In his homily during the morning Mass, Archbishop Palma urged the faithful to never lose contact with Mary.

“If you want to grow in holiness, then have a devotion to the Blessed Mother because she will certainly bring us to Jesus. On the cross, while He was about to die, Jesus entrusted us, through the apostle John, to Mary. Our Lord also asked the Blessed Mother (to look after us),” he said.

Palma said the throngs of people who flocked to the Carmelites’ Monastery is a proof that the Philippines is indeed “Pueblo Amante de Maria (People in love with Mary).”

The Our Lady of Fatima’s four-day visit to Cebu nears its conclusion but the faithful can still catch up as the virgin’s image will stay overnight at the Chapel of the Holy Relics in Tabor Hills.

The image, a gift from Blessed Pope Paul VI’s to the Philippines arrived in Cebu last Monday and stayed in Tabor Hills.

The image of Our Lady of Fatima will stay overnight at the Chapel of the Holy Relics in Tabor Hills. (CDN PHOTO/ MICHELLE JOY PADAYHAG)

Fr. Dennis Ruiz, OAD chaplain of the Chapel told Cebu Daily News that it is the second time that the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Cebu.

“This statue has been commissioned under the supervision of Sister Lucia Santos of Fatima herself to ensure that the face of Our Lady in her visions will be resembled in the statue,” Fr. Ruiz said.
Last Wednesday, she had a room-to-room visit to patients admitted at the ward area and private rooms in Vicente Gullas Medical Center. A mass was also held in the hospital.

On the evening of Wednesday, she was transferred at the Oratory of Nuestra Senora Mater Dolorosa owned by Don Carlo Lleva Matugas in barangay Suba, Danao City which were visited by students and other faithful.

Fr. Ruiz said it is the same statue crowned by Pope Francis’ at University of Santo Tomas (UST) during his Papal Visit in the Philippines last January.