DIAMOND FOUNDATION JUBILEE OF LIPA CARMEL

Credits: "To You, Mediatrix of All Grace" by Sr. Mary Teresa Sideco, OCD
Music by Milo Ocampo
Arrangement by Louie Ocampo
"It's Jubilee Time"
Music, vocals, and arrangement by Kitchy Molina
Lyrics by Sr. Mary Teresa Sideco, OCD
Text by Sr. Mary Teresa Sideco, OCD
Narration - Kitchy Molina
Drone video by Lucky Guevarra
THE MEMORIAL CROSS
The Memorial Cross in our garden is a most fitting and loving reminder to all of us here in Lipa Carmel of the heroic faith of our dear Foundresses. Who can deny that their faith was truly heroic? First, they established a Carmel amidst the ruins and devastation of the war. It was indeed the compelling faith of hidden saints.
The Memorial Cross keeps alive the memories of what our Foundresses went through in their earnest desire to establish a Carmel of Our Lady. The great devotion of our Foundresses and the enormous support of the diocese through Bishop Alfredo Verzosa, a lifelong devotee of St. Teresa de Jesus, and his auxiliary Bishop Obviar, made possible the beginnings of this Carmel despite the grave physical and material hardship of those initial years. Bishop Verzosa, to encourage our Foundresses, with great affection compared their task to building a “belencito,” a little Bethlehem which Bishop Obviar said at the Cornerstone blessing would be “for the good of all the people, especially for the diocese and most particularly, for the people of Lipa.”
Who would think of putting up any structure in Lipa in 1946, when it was one of the most devastated and ravaged areas during the war that had ended less than a year before? Bishop Verzosa himself had nowhere to stay in Lipa. It was the foolishness of saints! It explains to us the prophetic words of Fr. Edwin Casey, U.S. Army Chaplain, in his Address at the Laying of the Cornerstone: “The establishing of a Carmelite Monastery here …will make history in its own way.”
Mo. Mary Anne wrote of the beginnings of the infant Carmel of Lipa: “Roses are not without thorns. Our temporary lodging was very poor and small. The house was built upon the heavy ruins of an entirely demolished convent…” “Yes, it was the life of Bethlehem enacted all over again. And poverty was our cherished guest. But the magic wand of holy joy was ever-present to make hard things light and turn dark clouds into bright sunshine. Nothing daunted us. Our spirits were animated by the one consoling thought that beneath the same roof the Divine Lord Jesus deigned to make His delightful abode.”
We end this short tribute to our Foundresses with the words of Mo. Mary Cecilia written in 1970: “Our Carmel has passed through many trials which are too long to recount. In retrospect, we can only voice our profoundest gratitude to God and to all who have guided and helped us steer our Carmel during these difficult and painful years of growth. God never does anything without a purpose and looking back, we consider our twenty-four years of existence as an ever-clearer view of REALITY which, after all, is nothing else but LOVE, and Love is the very essence of being, life itself! Lipa Carmel is the Carmel of God’s Merciful Love! The years that have happily passed have been the unfolding of God’s mystery, the condescension of LOVE and Mercy. The Tremendous Lover has taken our misery and reproach away and has clothed us with His Justice. The mercies of the Lord we will sing forever! Yes, God is the maker of history. Sunlight and shadows show forth His glory. This Carmel will ever symbolize and be a witness to His Merciful Love. Here He has childlike souls whose weakness will make His power manifest. We press on to the goal. With expectant hearts, we look up to our Holy Mother, St. Teresa, second Patroness of our Carmel, to renew in us her double spirit so that like her, we may be valiant, generous, and true daughters of the Church!”

[@Peterkikiskitchen]

Ang ganda po ng awit. Nakaka inspire. Belated Happy Diamond Jubilee Celebration, Lipa Mt. Carmel!!!

[@mariagemmacruz3643]

Happy Diamond Jubilee Celebration, Lipa Carmel! My heart is with all of you in celebration thru my dearest “friend” Sister Fides. ❤️❤️❤️ 🙏🙏🙏