For me, Holy Week won't be complete without the Visita Iglesia. Ever since we were young, our Maundy Thursday ritual is to hear mass (the washing of the feet) then visit 7 churches to pray at the Adoration Chapels where the Blessed Eucharist lies in state. As well as pray at the Stations of the Cross. All churches are open for the vigil from 6 P.M to midnight.
Nowadays, I notice that people visit the churches in the morning on Maundy Thursday and not follow this Visita Iglesia ritual I have grown accustomed to all these years. I guess to each his own!
This year it was just me and D as my parents were still tired from our month long vacation in HK. We heard the 5 P.M mass at our parish church, the San Nicholas de Tolentino in Quezon City. So this would count as our first church.
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| Main Altar of San Nicholas de Tolentino Church |
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| Adoration Chapel |
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The 11th Station of the Cross
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| 2nd Church: Santo Domingo Church |
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| Facade of Sto. Domingo Church |
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| 3rd Church: Santissimo Rosario Parish (UST) |
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After several decades I was able to return to my alma mater
The University of Santo Tomas |
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| 4th Church: St. John the Baptist Church |
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St. John the Baptist Church aka Pinaglabanan Church in San Juan
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| 5th Church: Sanctuario del Santo Cristo in San Juan |
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| 6th Church: Parish of the Holy Sacrifice (UP Diliman Chapel) |
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| UP Diliman Chapel |
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7th Church: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in QC
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Naturally, Easter follows and it is time to rejoice as Christ has risen from the dead for our salvation. The best way to celebrate Pasko ng Pagkabuhay is to hear Mass and then have lunch together with the family.
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| Bonding over Korean food at Seoul Garden Seafood Hotpot |
2 comments:
I do miss the Holy Week in the Philippines, although never had I participated in a Visita Iglesia.
Here our church has a wonderful service on Thursday. We have a small congregation so we just put tables together on the center aisle and set up a communal meal table, ala Last Supper, and we sit to dine on stone soup (beans, vegggie soup) and bread and butter with wine and water. The entire service is conducted while sitting on the table. The washing of the feet is included in the service. Afterwards we strip the altar, take the cross down and move the aumbry. Very solemn.
On Good Friday we have Taize service, very meditative. It's fitting for the holy week.
How's the summer heat going?
Wow that Holy Thursday service you described is very solemn indeed. Very apt for Holy Week rituals.
The summer heat is erratic. One day it is sunny hot, other days it is gloomy and humid, even had a few minutes of rain the other day and it added to the humidity factor.
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