Last Easter Sunday, a faithful of mine, a retired OB-Gynecologist of San Pablo City, Laguna PH, departed. She happily spent the Easter Vigil, Mass, and dinner with us, also in seeing us go off at 5:30am for Community outing. 'Dra.' ["Doctora" for lady physician in Filipino] refused to come with us even for a drop-off at the City on our way, confiding to a faithful that she would like to dine out. Witness heard the compound gate clanging at around 6 - she must have stayed for a while to be with the Most Bl. Sacrament.
Around 3pm, a faithful already invited the rest dipped in waters to take their shower and prepare to leave as their pastor might still have to go and attend to something else. At around the same time, our 'Dra.' had just come home and neighbors noticed her kneeling down under a tree in her property grounds before she reached the main door but her bags lying thrown off; it did not take long when she was seen already down upon her back lifeless. She was a spinster who lived alone in their ancestral house and Divine Providence saw it that she would expire not hapless as could have been discovered otherwise as already decaying far - and that within the hour Our Lord died on the Cross and in the very day of His Resurrection. As we were about to exit San Pablo for Calauan around 5:30, a faithful who had just took out her Rosary received a call from a sister-in-law of our "Dra." to relay the death. Immediately we searched on map for the exact location of the morgue and we had just passed by it not too far off yet. At the morgue, we were told that her relatives would have her body cremated either that night or next morning. We got the message relayed to them that the traditional Catholic vigil and burial is the one demanded by the Faith "Dra." chose to adhere to with us. Grace prevailed so that the next morning information reached us that 'Dra.' would be given a day's viewing before she gets burried the following day.
The late night of that Easter Monday, my sacristan and server showed up at the wake, driving up to San Pablo coming from school here in Los Banos and from work in Cavite. Their schedules would not allow them to assist at the Requiem Mass and burial the following day. But again Divine Providence had already arranged for it: Fr. Elias of Resistance-SSPX (Marian Corps of St. Pius X-Cebu City) suddenly barged in at our gate early morning coming back from Malaysia mission (he would arrive late afternoon or evening already in his previous visits with the courtesy notice, except this time) - "Dra." was even sent with two priests to offer for her Masses and provide her with the traditional last benedictions of her holy Mother Church at the grave. And our guest priest had to board his flight the next day to finally provide Easter Masses for his own Iloilo-Negros flock who missed their pastor for a Holy Week sched with him (as Father had to fill in in Kuala Lumpur for another priest whose flight plan got stalled). Indeed, now it's also clear, I must be prevented from realizing the broached idea of making a Tridentine Holy Week and Easter celebration comeback at Camiguin Is. this time.
Grace - abounding, and such divine favor - exquisite, has been found in our Resistance-Teresian Carmel placed also under the title of St. Joseph (the Church's Patron for good and holy death). 'Dra.' died at 74. She came to our Carmel in February 2017, already at 67 that time. On the day of her burial, we heard buzz of sinful living for 30 years since her 30's. How on earth granting the buzz may be true? She found the grace of the Teresian Carmelite zeal and strove to apply it - from pants-wearing I discovered once, in her first year with us, at her socials when invited for a coffee by her very close friend unto her "obey, obey, obey Fr.;" and, especially, in embracing without murmur or the littlest excuse the cross of suffering from cancer and yet not missing every Sunday, every weekday Solemnity, every First Friday and First Saturday schedule here though, some weeks before she finally departed, she had slowed down a lot in her steps (as needing at last to take a trike coming from the highway to our somewhat remote spot but had to walk up back to it - unless by sign of the Cross a vacant trike would come and accommodate her suffering a swollen feet), grew more tired as to fall asleep while waiting for Mass, and fell back down as she struggled to rise up from kissing her Crucified kneeling during the Adoration of the Cross last Good Friday - her penance, her reparation, her atonement in union with what her good Lord endured for her. "Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much" (Lk. 7.47). Saint Augustine remarked (as our "Dra." might have as well), "too late have I loved Thee," but loved His Divine Master nonetheless and loved Him with more and more zeal and generosity - and in truth, even unto the lamentable and sorrowful condition of his Sun and moon eclipsed (his commentary on Mt. 24.29) in these our perilous time by the 'ecumenist Christ & Church' since Vatican II (1962-65) : of the Church in her Resistance enduring, as St. Joseph did, with her 'defeatist' 'cowardly' Crucified Lord run-away from - no hobnob with - His enemy, in this our exile from the officially 'Catholic' walls, according to the Word: "FLEE... and WITHDRAW YOURSELVES from [them] who walk disorderly [in 'full' or 'partial' - as with Neo-SSPX - communion with Vatican II-'liberal-Modernist' "Novus Ordo" or the "New 'Catholic disOrder" : exaggeration of Papal infallibilty; and, in its other extreme opposite swing of 'traditionalist' "Novus Ordo" of the Sedevacantists: discount of the third fundamental element making the term Catholic], and not according to the Tradition which they have received of us" (Mt. 24.16; II Thess. 3.6).
Blessed Easter season and "Ite ad Ioseph" (Gen. 41.55) "ad monte[m]" (Mt. 24.16) of our Resistance-Carmel to "love God much and make Him also loved much" (our dear "Little Therese")."
"How terrible are Thy works, O (truly resurrected) Lord! In the multitude of Thy strength, Thy enemies shall lie to Thee" (from the Introit of today's Tridentine Mass - our pre-1950 'reform' Missal, Ps. 65.3, 3rd after Easter with commemorations of St. Anselm and the 5th day in the Octave of the Feast of St. Joseph - Protector of the Universal Church and of the "Order of the Virgin" : Resistance-Discalced Carmelites).
Fr. John of the Holy Eucharist, C.D.
21st April 2024, San Jose-Carmel, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines
pic - the last visions given to a Discalced Carmelite, Sr. Lucia C.D., at Fatima, Portugal: the Blessed Virgin appearing in Her title Our Lady of Mount Carmel with St. Joseph to safeguard by traditionally blessed and imposed badge of elect eagles - the Scapular - the handful faithful of the Crucified to be led under the protection and patronage of St. Joseph in exile.