Jubilant churchgoers and residents of Barangay Northbay Boulevard South-Kaunlaran in Navotas City welcomed the relics of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus as it enters San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, marking the start of the three-day stay of the reliquary in the Diocese of Kalookan.
Flags of yellow and pink waved as the reliquary was being transported to the parish. Prior to this, the reliquary was paraded to the main thoroughfares of Navotas City, reaching most of its barangays.
In his catechesis, Brother Froilan Torres, Saint Therese relics curator in the country, told the story of the brief but fruitful spiritual life of carmelite nun Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin, who would become a saint later on.
Torres explained some of Saint Therese’s spiritual philosophies, such as the “Little Way of Spiritual Childhood,” where he explained her philosophy of putting everything up to God.
The reliquary of Saint Therese in the country, according to Torres, is a first-class reliquary containing bones from her right foot. He explained that it symbolizes her goal of travelling across the world to spread the word of God through her story.
According to the official website of the relic’s visit in the country operated by the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, first-class relics such as the one currently in the Philippines consist of ‘a body part of a saint, such as bone, blood, or flesh.’
In his homily during a noontime Mass, San Lorenzo Ruiz parish priest Fr. Allan Lopez reflected on Saint Therese’s life and faith, particularly with the association of ‘little flowers’ in her writings and spirituality.