April 2, 2010

  • Visita Iglesia

    Travel

    I realized that Cebu has a lot of Catholic churches, and that does not count the chapels which almost every baranggay (village) if not street corner has.

    I remember when I was in India, they also have these small chapels in almost every street corner. The similarity is so amazing, I swear its just the image that adorns the altar of these chapels that differ.

    So, anyway, as I was saying, there I was on my personal journey to enlightenment and I could not help but try to contain myself from being so critical of the things around me. From the people that I rode with in the jeepney, to the situation I am in, to almost everything.

    It's a sanskara that I need to really, really tame down.

    First stop was Sto. Rosario Church, with its newly renovated elaborate facade of the Queen of the Holy Rosary.

    After which, I took a jeepney to Labangon, around 5 to 10 minutes ride. The roads were virtually empty, but on reaching the church it was jampacked.

    The second church that I went to is the Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Punta Princesa, Labangon. They have built a shrine in the church grounds, honoring the form of the Blessed Virgin Mary when she appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. All over the Philippines, most homes of devotees have a grotto that resembles that of the shrine in Lourdes.

    My third stop was supposed to be the last church that I planned to visit in this journey, simply because its supposed to be the most visited church with millions of devotees flocking to it every January. But, for that reason, I decided to just visit it first before it gets flooded with pilgrims. The Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino.

    A block away is the Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of Catholic authority in the region. I attended the Last Supper Mass here and partook of the Holy Communion. The mass was officiated by none other than His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, the Archbishop of Cebu. Notice how the images are covered with purple cloth.

    Here's a recording of the Homily given by His Eminence Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. It's in Cebuano, a dialect in the Philippines, so, better not play it if you have no idea about the language. But then, it would also be interesting, wouldn't it?

    After the Eucharistic Mass, I then went to the Adoration Convent of Divine Peace, or the convent of the Pink Sisters. It's an abbey and the nuns are not supposed to interact with the outside world. All they do is pray all day, and basically they are self-sustaining.

    After saying the Holy Rosary, I proceeded to the Carmelite Monastery in Mabolo.

    Then walked to St. Joseph Church just a few blocks away.

    Here I saw several nuns praying on their own. No pretensions, unlike many religious who just has to say their prayers in loud speakers, much to my frustration, and I'm sure to those on personal pilgrimage who wanted their journey to be solemn, quite, and sincere.

    ***

    A reflective Black Friday to everyone.

    Related Post
    Maundy Thursday Reflection, April 1, 2010
    Photos taken with Samsung SGH-L700

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    April 5, 2012: I would like to share this with you dear friend @xXxlovelylollipop.

     

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