The Marian Apparitions In Lipa, Philippines

On September 12, 2015, Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of the City of Lipa, Philippines, declared that the Blessed Virgin Mary had "indeed appeared before a Carmelite postulant, Teresita "Teresing" Castillo"[1]  some 67 years ago in 1948.  A photograph of Sister Teresita Castillo [2] follows:

Sister Teresita is pictured on the left (above) and in the back row, third from the left in the untinted, original-sized version (below).

The Archbishop's "decree contradicts a pronouncement made in 1951 by a group of bishops who studied the incidents and listened to witnesses' testimonies." [3], [4]  An initial doubt this blogger had about the authenticity of the Marian apparition in Lipa went away after studying the expression of Sr. Teresita in the photograph. The image seemed to show Sister Teresita deep in meditative thought and prayer with the kind of downcast modesty that she could not help but experience after seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary, so pure, so kind, so loving and so absolutely beautiful.

The previous paragraph was composed several days ago. This blogger was going to post it today without elaborating further but hesitated because he wanted to find an update on Teresita Castillo.  Having found it, he revisited his initial doubt after seeing an older Teresita Castillo who was no longer a nun.  During part 1 of the interview on Youtube [5], this blogger was disappointed by the absence of a certain sincerity he was hoping to sense, and Teresita Castillo's giggling and scratching of her head toward the end of part 3 [6] did not lessen his disappointment. [7]

Seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary is never an occasion to be deemed and recalled as funny but one that deserves reverence, which was missing throughout the interview, even though this blogger had thought he detected it in the silence of Teresita Castillo's photograph above.  How could he be so mistaken before, or he could be mistaken now?  Perhaps the Blessed Virgin Mary did appear to Sister Teresita Castillo who subsequently allowed Satan to take over, causing her to abandon her calling to be a nun and making light of a gift from Heaven.

The truths in this case remain debatable since Archbishop Ramon Arguelles' 2015 declaration that the Blessed Virgin Mary's appearance in Lipa, Philippines, indeed had occurred conflicts with the findings by a group of bishops in 1951.  How can Ramon Arguelles be so sure of what occurred in 1948 on September 12, 2015, when the group of bishops in 1951 could not find evidence to substantiate the apparitions only 3 years after they had ended?  Where are the "January 14, 1991," rose petals [8] and what are the findings of the studies, if any, that were done on them?  There seems to be more questions than there are answers at this point.  Regardless of the outcome, the Blessed Virgin Mary is to be believed, as well as the miracles and the healings She brings.


[1] http://www.manilatimes.net/1948-lipa-apparitions-worthy-of-belief/218915/
[2] http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/129959-discalced-carmelite-nuns-lipa-carmel-194039s/
[3] http://www.manilatimes.net/1948-lipa-apparitions-worthy-of-belief/218915/
[4] http://marymediatrixofallgrace.com/carmel/a-short-history-of-the-apparition-at-lipa-of-mary-mediatrix-of-all-grace/, click on "A Short History of the Apparition at Lipa ofo Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace".
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN2Xh00TSWI
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CyEkXZMtWk
[7] None of Teresita Castillo words were quoted because this blogger could not understand much of what Teresita Castillo said because of her heavily accented English.
[8] http://www.marianmessenger.ph/index.php/maian-feature