Visita Iglesia 2009

Every Good Friday, our family would head off to the unknown in search for churches we've never been to - well most of the time, that is. This year, rather than venturing off to some remote province for some serious church hopping, dad decided to just stick to the NCR region. This annual visitation of seven to fourteen churches is called Visita Iglesia in commemoration of the fourteen stations of the cross, fourteen defining moments in Christ's life as he meets his death to redeem us from our sins.

Mom would always have us pray our rosaries as dad scouts different areas for churches we've never been to. We take this as a big treat, as tradition says we are allowed 3 wishes whenever we visit a new church. For some reason, mom printed out Latin versions of the prayers so we generally were reciting our Our Father's, Hail Mary's and Glory Be's in the most holy tongue.

Here are the churches we visited this year:

(1) St. Paul the Apostle, Panay Ave.
I was still searching for batteries for the camera so I wasn't able to take any photographs here. As a note, yes this isn't a first-time church - we've been here before.

(2) Christ the King, E. Rodriguez Sr.

I haven't visited this church for years so it was pretty refreshing to be there again. The best part is, they've revamped the grotto into a beautiful garden. They've also commercialized the space by accepting the burial of ash remains of loved ones.

As a little trivia, according to my mom, back in the days when our country was still going through a perilous war - people would hide in the cave under the little mountain of this grotto.

(3) Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral, Quezon City

The Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral can be found on New York Street, near Cubao. We were startled that it began to pour. For some strange reason, according to my mom, this is the first time in her entire life that it rained on a Good Friday.

(4) Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Quezon City

We nearly missed this church. It was still raining when we got out and we had to run to shelter since we left our umbrellas in the other van.

(5) Monastero de Sta. Clara

The Monastery of St. Clare is a beautiful little location. A statue of the beloved saint stands in the middle, where people leave their devotions, prayers and offerings of flowers and eggs. Couples who wish to bear children would often visit her to request a child. I found a prayer left on the stoop and decided to make a copy of it. For those who wish to ask for favors, click here to see the novenas.

(6) Sto. Nino Parish, Pasig

We had our Sacred Heart novena here, as we hit 3 in the afternoon - the time of Jesus' departure from this mortal world.

(7) Sta. Lucia Parish Church

We had our mass here. It was a very long ceremony with all the kneeling and standing that aren't present in regular Sunday masses. My siblings were a little irritable at this point as we haven't had any lunch yet, aside from the tuna sandwiches mom brought with us.

(8) Sanctuario de San Jose, Greenhills

After the mass, it is already observable that my siblings don't have any spirit of adventure left to continue our visitations. We've already completed the fourteen stations at the Santo Nino Parish so they think it's best to start heading home and get some quality time with the computer. With my persistence for another church, my dad gave in and stopped by the Sanctuario de San Jose in Greenhills.

This is the church, coincidentally, that my boyfriend and I liked when we were looking through a friend's sister's wedding. We complimented the church as individuals to that friend, without either one of us knowing. Oh well.

Thus, with that last church, we headed to a nearby McDonald's for some fries then went home. This ends our Good Friday Visita Iglesia for 2009.