THE BEND BULLETIN, BEND, OREGON
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1948
PAGE EIGHT
Mystery of Roses
Called Miracle'
In Philippines
Lioa City. PhillDDirtos Ui'i
They call It the mystery of the
rose petals.
Many of the thousands who
have flocked to this old cathedral
town in southern Luzon in recent
weeks believe a miracle has been
wrought. There arp many skep
tics. The Roman Catholic church
is Investigating.
The rose petals first appeared
on bept. ib in tne garden ot a
little Carmelite convent at the
' edge of town. Later, rose petals
were found in the cells and on the
stars of the convent. They show
ered upon the convent grounds
from Nov. 11 to 21 and that is
when Llpa became a boom town
tor visits 01 tne devout and curious.
No one apparently knows
whence the rose petals cume,
There are no rose bushes on the
convent grounds. Experts say the
petals are of a size not known In
the Philippines and of a different
tint from any previously known
here. ;
Nun Tells Story
The central figure In the mys
tery is Teresita Castillo, a 21-
year-old Carmelite postulant. The
daughter of Modesto Castillo, for
mer governor of Batangas prov
ince and now a jurist, entered the
nunnery only recently.
Sister Teresita, the story goes,
was walking in the garden lato in
the afternoon of Sept. 12, they
said. Her attention turned to a
vine that was swaying even
though there was no breeze. She
saw no one but heard a voice say:
"Do not be frightened, my child.
Kiss the soil and do what I tell
you to do. During 15 consecutive
days come to visit me in this
place. Eat the grass, my daugh
ter." The next day a beautiful worn
an dressed in white appeared be
fore the novice, the story goes.
Her feet were bare but did not
touch the ground. On the third
day, the lady requested that the
spot where she appeared be bless
ed on the next day.
On the day of the blessing, the
novice was accompanied to the
spot by nuns and a priest. Only
Sister Teresita saw the lady, who
commanded: "Make this a sacred
place and respect it. Pick up the
petals, my children. I bless you
all."
When .she disappeared, many
rose petals were scattered on the
ground, it is said.
ltlshop Puzzled
. The auxiliary bishop ot LipU,
Trick Play
1S
It's a simple matter for Rutgers'
six-foot four-Jnch center, Don
Parsons, to let the five-foot
four-inch guard, Ray Van Cleef,
. .. through..
Alfredo Obviar, told the press:
'All I can say now is that this is
something " extraordinary. The
matter is at present under fctucly
by theologians." I
The bishop said he had heard
reports of "cures" brought about
by tne rose petals.
The bishop said he had blessed
the convent gardens where the vi
sion is said to have appeared to
Sister Teresita and found the pet
als mere just alter the ceremony.
He said that neither he nor any of
the sisters saw the petals before
the ceremony. They did not see
them fall.
Benjamin Mea. 28, a policeman
f Lipa, told this story:
"First there was a wonderful
fragrance. Then came the petals
swirling In the direction of the
convent from the west. I saw the
petals."
Christmas Comes
To Mexico With
Laughing Gaiety
Mexico City til There'll he no
white Christmas this year In Mex
ico. But there'll be a gay one.
It never has snowed on Christ
mas in the history of the city, and
no one expects snow for this one.
But children and grown-ups here
celebrate just as gaily, and Santa
wears t;ie same o:d red and white
suit with the same long whiskers.
Christmas actually is here al
ready. Traditional "posadas"havo
begun with singing and dancing
and eating. Children press noses
agaiast toy shop windows and
Santa Claus who- here is plain
San Nicolas is grinning back
from dozens of store windows.
One American store has a big
mechanical laughing Santa in its
biggest display window. The
laughing Santa stops traffic day
and night.
Old Custom Kept
The posada, traditional Span
ish festival, literally means "inn."
The fiesta represents the efforts
of Joseph and Mary to find shel-'
ter In the inn at Bethlehem.
Although modern nosadas have
assumed a 20th century character
as big parties for the sole purpose
of drinking and dancing, the tra
ditional posadas, based on a thou
sand years of custom, are still ob
served by many families.
Two groups of men and women
start from house :o house, sing
ine the old oosada song, "Venl-
mos a pedlr posada en nombre
del clelo" ("We come to asK loug
I ing In the name of heaven"). The
men represent Joseph, the wom
en Mary, wnen tney reacn tne ac
tual "posada," a welcoming com
mittee inside sings the traditional
responses and admits them.
Breaking the Phiata
Inside, the group will find a
Christmas tree, food, music and
an evening of fun.
A trig and hilarious part of the
evening is the breaking of the
"pinata." The "plnata" is a paper
decorated jar of candy, money
and presents "nung on a rope, pre
ferably in an open courtyard, and
controlled by two people, one on
each end of the hope.
Children are blindfolded in
turn, given a big stick, let loose
and told to swat when they think
they've got the "plnata." More
than (lie pinata usually gets swat
ted. Whoever finally breaks the
pinata gets the goodies.
Gifts here are not passed out
Christmas morning. Children
have to wait until Jan. 6, the "dat
de los magos," or the Day of the
wise Men. That,, too, IS based on
Spanish custom. . " '
Policeman Gets Fed Up
With Slurs on Cops
Chicago' Ml'i Policemen need
more publicity to counteract
grade B movies which portray
them as slow-witted Individuals
who are "always making stupid
remarks," says Capt. H. C. Cros
by, chief of suburban Brook
field's police force.
"Every time the movies portray
a Doliceman. they show him as a I
slow-witted flatfoot who's always
the comedy element," Crosby said.
In the movies, he said, "the hero
who soJves the crime Is always
shown as either a newspaper re
porter, a private detective, a dis
trict attorney or an FBI agent
never the policeman."
THOMAS TELLS ALL
Stevens Point, Wic. Ui On a
speaking tour through here, Nor
man Thomas was asked why he
had been socialist presidential can
didate so many itmes. "I would
have compromised on running
less often if I had been elected,"
Thomas quipped.
The Shevlin-Hixon Co.
'mm
AND ALL GOOD WISHES
TO OUR FRIENDS
FRIEDA'S FLOWERS
Mr. and Mrs. Ivan It. Pickett
217 Greenwood Ave. , i I Phone 256-J
.KR1TINGS
3
Best Wishes for Christmas and Every Day
BEND ABSTRACT CO.
WALT PEAK DUNCAN ROSS
PARLE MAY IN A IVEKSON
957 Wall Street
There Is Cause
For Rejoicing..
It's Christinas ami time
for all to be happy. Lei
i us all rejoice in the bless
ings of this glad time of
th year.
DELAWARE GROCERY
845 Delaware Phone 847
RISTMA
And All Good Wishes to Our Friends
and Customers
UiHtJIiH'li
H,mii"pi'i'i wimjnv
:ia4ttiiiiiiHiii?iiiiriiP5ft
H. L. TONEY
J. H. SPEEDLING
GREETINGS!
AND
FOR
A MERRY
CHRISTMAS
The Curtain Shop
CURTAIN HEADQUARTERS FOR CENTRAL OREGON '
718 Franklin rhone 1469 W
- iliiYl
i
- Moy all the joys of
" o happy v Christmas '
season be the good
.fortune of eoclv of '
' our friends Merry
' Christmos to you
Wall Street Hardware
937 Wall S. I Phone 24
George Childs Hardware
Bond and Minnesota '
Phone 88
Merry Merry Christmas
. and " ' ;
the best of all good wishes to our friends and
customers for a happy and prosperous
New Year
The Elkhorn Cafe
1115 South 3rd - '. '
(Doc and Toots) :
Closed December 25th and 26th
We say it the old way,
but.
DflI5DI59S WDOoBtf
- When we say, "MERRY
CHRISTMAS," we mean that -in
addition to expressing our
greetings of the season, we also
acknowledge the courtesies ex
tended to us by the many
friends of this organization.
Our primary obligation is
to serve you efficiently and
attentively, and to this end we
pledge our every effort.
Yours for a better '49
i . '-.' ; . j a
l : '
Central Oregon Petroleum
and
Service
Bend Burner
....sends best holiday wishes to all our friends
and patrons. A Merry Christmas to you and
yours...;a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year
....and a sincere "thank you" for your kind patronage.
....and wish to announce their new location
at 957 E. First Street at Greenwood Ave.
SAME PHONE 1056