Let fall from heaven

Through an invitation facilitated by Bro. Dave Lebumfacil, lay missionary, of the St. Therese Diocesan Shrine Association; its president Nerito “Rey” Martinez, and the kindness of Hilongos Mayor Jose Emery “Joy” Roble, Jr. (association vice chairman who provided transport facility for our optimum comfort), we reached Tolosa, Leyte on March 6 for the Enthronement of the Image of St. Therese.

At 6:30 a.m., the event was carried out at the Catholic Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Barangay Telegrafo to “fulfill the mission of St. Therese in bringing people closer to God through us.”

Martinez, who is founding chairman of the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Shrine and the New Way of the Cross that has placed Calubian, Leyte on the map, said in an interview prior to the mission, that the act “seeks to encourage every believer to become a missionary and make St. Therese made known even to the most remote isle.”

St. Therese’s image arrived in Barangay Telegrafo on the evening of March 5 after a long-distance trip from Calubian, and was received there by Fr. Roy Cabradilla of the Tolosa Parish. The following day, the rite began with a solemn procession from the church door to the altar in tune to “Santa Teresita” composed by Rey himself.

After Fr. Roy took hold of the image, St. Therese was passed on to the members of the Parish Pastoral Council. She was blessed prior to the recitation of the unified miraculous invocation to St. Therese. After which, a High Mass was offered — spoken, and with songs sung, in Waray. What a lovely dialect!

It’s also pretty interesting that the pilgrimage began in company with the most extremely flawed people you can ever find on this planet!

Bro. Dave, for example, has nurtured this consuming passion for church teachings that later led him to a short stint at the seminary in the 90s. But because he did renew his attachment to the world, he left the seminary. Despite the move, he continued to carry out perpetual dawn rosaries and served as a lay minister in Toledo City.

Somehow, his affiliation with an orthodox Catholic church pointed to an eventual ordination in 2008 that temporarily separated him from the Roman Catholic Church. “But then, the first sign manifested nga I don’t belong in that church kay haw-ang man lang gihapon akong heart. I then received from a long lost friend a medallion of St. Therese. There was this realization when I came back to attend Holy Mass that things will never be the same again. I got berated. Sa una hinoon, moligid kos kahubog walay mahibulong. Kadtong nag-lay missionary na ko, daghan nangutana nayabag na ba daw ko,” he shared during the course of our trip.

“It was really a challenge kay after that, the devil has looked for every opportunity to wrestle with my faith. My relationships failed and life became miserable for me. Na-question pa akong sanity. But after observing novenas faithfully and facilitating enthronements of St. Therese, relationships were restored and inner wounds began to heal. Sa una way direksyon akong pag-eskuyla. Karon, I’m taking up BSEd sa University of the Visayas major in Social Studies. Graduating na puhon sa 2012. For almost four years now, I head the UV campus ministry.”

Meanwhile, Rey shared that his devotion got ignited after a woman handed out a pamphlet and from there he was struck with this line from the Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese: “I will fulfill your plea to be made known everywhere and I will continue to lead others to Jesus through you.”

“The statement sent my mind aching as to what message could have been handed to me. So, gi-internalize nako. After that, wala ko kasabot sa akong kaugalingon. Basta there was this drive to have 20,000 copies of the pamphlet printed. Nisulod ra to sa akong hunahuna nga i-share sa uban ang akong nabasahan. But after that the greatest motivation that I have diay is that she will be known and that I will be able to lead myself and other hardcore sinners to Jesus through her.”

According to Rey, when he started active devotion to St. Therese, “nahimong kwestyonable akong pagkatawo. Too many people who knew who Rey Martinez is, nakaingon gyod nayabag tingali ko. But I found fulfillment in giving the pamphlets telling people to “make friends with St. Therese.”

Even his wife, Wilma Pag-ong Casilagan (a native of Calubian) found Rey’s act perplexing. In a separate interview, she confirmed that she was able to stand his husband’s womanizing. “Pero ang dugay kaayo nako nadawat kana bitawng mora siyag nagduwaduwa sa Ginoo. Ako gyod siyang giingnan nga okay ra nako tong imong nabuhat nga nakasala kas atong marriage, but dili ko gusto nga magbinuang tas Ginoo kay lisod kaayo na,” she shared.

When he was sent by then Mayor Teddy Ouano to attend a sister-city international convention in Denver, Colorado to introduce Mandaue City to the world, Rey brought with him the rest of the 20,000 copies of pamphlets. “Kahunahuna kog dala adto, as 350 cities all over the world got represented in that convention. I told each attendee to ‘just make friend with my friend’. I reached Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Thailand taking St. Therese with me.”

“In grateful recognition of her intercession, I set my eyes on a grotto to be built atop a hilly part of Barangay Obispo (Calubian) in honor of her,” he recalled. Instead, a chapel was completed Oct. 1, 2000 in time for the feast of St. Therese three months after construction was started.

Wilma also confirmed that an altercation ensued between them when she learned of the building of the chapel. “Ako siyang giingnan nga pagtigom para sa atong mga anak, Rey, to discourage him from pursuing ba kay mauwaw ko basin unyag mag-raise siyag funds. Dili gyod ko ganahan makapamerwisyo mig mga tawo.”

But Rey would retort in this manner: “God will take care of our children. He will see to it they will all pursue and finish their studies. Kining kwarta [for the chapel] dili ni ato.” He meant the money he raised through personal transactions in Manila with sugar and grains suppliers, construction magnates, and other friends who are into computer parts and accessories distribution.

On Oct.1. 2001, the St. Therese of the Child Jesus was declared a Shrine of the Diocese of Naval headed by Archbishop Filomeno Bactol who vowed that because the “shrine is a center of devotion, anybody who will come to the place will receive indulgence.”

The recent trip to Tolosa was part of the granting of requests from parishes wishing for a ceremonial enthronement of St. Therese, made possible through the pooled resources of Rey, Mayor Roble, association board of directors Rene Mercado and Dr. Marlon Maamo; communicators Bernardo Son, a registered nurse of DepEd Cebu City; Arnulfo Velasco - master teacher I of Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School; and Antonio Martinez - school facilities coordinator of the same school; group treasurer Antero “Tanting” Junia, Jr. and family.

Despite our extreme imperfections, we have the choice to respond to the call to make Jesus known to everyone through our little good deeds. Through the example of St. Therese, we are urged to “spend our heaven doing good on earth and to let fall from heaven a shower of roses.”

If you feel that aching desire to know more why St. Therese is patron of missions when she never left the confines of the Carmelites Convent, and acclaimed “the greatest saint of modern times”, please text or call Rey at 09213149036 and discover that Jesus pooled the most unholy of creatures to be His apostles and disciples beginning with Peter who denied him thrice, Thomas who doubted his Bodily Resurrection, Matthew the collector who excised excessive taxes, and Mary Magdalene who sold flesh for a living before her conversion, among many others.

That only comes to show Jesus never cares about my temper flares. He cares a lot about my broken and contrite heart. He has never counted Dave’s indecisions. He loves him for his burning passion for His church. And he never gives a big deal about Rey’s iniquities. He calls him to love the other woman more – St. Therese. We are all humbled by this encounter!