Photo Diary: Visita Iglesia 2012 (Church 4-7)

Dear Reader,

We continue our travel to…

Fourth church visited: Parish of St. James the Great (Ayala Alabang)

(Inside AAV en route to the church, my mom and my aunt kept wishing they could own a property here.. Someday mom, someday.)

(I can’t take a good pic of the whole façade of the church because the sun is too bright!)

(Another attempt, edited on PaintFx, UST ang peg!)

(Inside the church)

(Bio friends, help me identify this tree! ^_^)

Fifth church visited: Shrine of the Five Wounds of our Lord (Alabang-Zapote Road)

We weren’t able to stay long here because there were a lot of cars and people doing the station of the cross that we had a hard time securing a parking for our car…

(Nagmamadali na, but I still managed to take a picture of my mom and aunt doing the station of the cross)

(Much improvement since last year…)

Fact about this church: A piece or relic from the cross where Jesus Christ has been crucified and died is placed inside the shrine.

Travelling during the lent is great ‘cause…

(THERE'S NO TRAFFIC AT ALABANG-ZAPOTE ROAD!)

Sixth church visited: Good Shepherd Parish (Dona Manuela Subdivision, Las Pinas)

We always include our parish church in our Visita Iglesia. Even if we always go here to hear mass, this church feels like home…

Seventh church visited: Our Lady of Fatima Parish (Phil-Am Village, Las Pinas)

This place reminds me of that last scene in the movie “Closer” when Dan realizes that Alice’s name isn’t real. =)

To end this post, here’s another artsy fartsy pic of a tree…

Photo Diary: Visita Iglesia 2012 (Church 1-3)

Dear Reader,

Here are some photos I took when we visited seven churches (also known as Visita Iglesia or Church Visit) earlier this morning.. (photo heavy post ahead)

(I call these, my “Visita Iglesia” essentials. hehe)

First church visited: Mary, Mother of the Church Parish (BF Las Pinas)

(My Aunt Leni and Mom)

Second Church Visited: Mary Immaculate Parish “Nature’s Church” (Moonwalk, Las Pinas)

(Welcome Signage.. Ossuary means depository of human skeletal remains. Too bad we didn’t go there)

(The station of the cross is placed around the church along with the trees and the plants, so you could feel the serene environment while praying)

(Roof of the main church. It’s made from anahaw fans linked together and those hanging from the ceiling are birds made from capiz)

(The floor of the main church is made from pebbles and wood slabs)

We decided to take a break from all of the walking that we’ve been doing inside the church perimeters and found that they have a small pond with koi fish and tilapia. Mom even joked that she should’ve brought a hook/net so she could catch the big pla-plas for dinner.

(A street lamp inside the church)

(Let me in…)

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the rock arch near the chapel.

Close-up pictures of the rocks and the roots growing on this arch..

This church really fascinates me, it’s like you’re immediately transported to another dimension when you step inside. Peaceful environment, you can only hear the birds chirp and leaves rustling against the wind. This place is really perfect if you want to reflect.. However, we can’t stay for long since we still have 5 more churches to visit. :-)

Third Church Visited: St. Jerome Church (near Alabang Town Center)

(Facade of the church, the sky is blue, no cloud in sight)

(Snapshot of an unknown guy doing the station of the cross)

(Umaartsy fartsy shot of Plumiera rubra or “kalachuchi”)

(To be continued on the next post.. ^_^)

Holy Week

Dear reader,

Today is Palm Sunday here in the Philippines. It commemorates Jesus' entry to Jerusalem and it signifies the start of Holy Week.

To tell you honestly, last Saturday I was really puzzled when I passed by a church in Moonwalk and I saw a lot of vendors selling palms (or palaspas). I thought we already had Palm Sunday last February. I even asked my office mates when I got in... Lol, I guess I got confused with Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday.

Anyway, I'm sad that I won't be able to experience the looooong weekend (5 days of no work from April 5 to 9) because my work requires us to work even during the holidays (both US and Philippine holidays) (I work as a lead pharmacy technician for one of the biggest pharmacy in USA, and as you may derive from this, like hospitals, the pharmacy is open 24/7). I'd really like to join my family on their upcoming trip to Batangas this Saturday and Sunday, but alas, I have "grown woman responsibilities" (lol). But I do get to take the Good Friday off, so I could do at least the Visita Iglesia with my mom and aunts (yey).

Since it's Holy Week, I decided to give up one or two indulgence that I have as a sacrifice that may help me turn towards God during this season. I'm giving up eating junk food and rice (which I loooove so much) and I'm going to go AWOL in facebook. Those are the two habits that I indulge in so much, hopefully, I could give these up not only this holy week but for good. :)

So..

What are you giving up this Holy Week and how will you spend it?