Woke up at an ungodly hour of 3:30am. Son has to leave the house at 5:00am so for three days each week, it’s a struggle to open my eyes and try to ignore the alarms from my two cellphones on my night table. This morning, I felt as though I haven’t slept for over six hours so I went back to bed and woke up at 7:30am. So much for dreaming of catching at least 3 more hours of rest.
Our two dogs are at the door waiting for breakfast and my plants are waiting for that much-needed morning shower. It is definitely summer here and it’s hot. The previous week has been a busy one so far and it’s now Holy Monday. Holy Week began yesterday with the blessing of the palms. I was at the church early because yesterday, one of our new junior admins at our Catholic page visited me. Ninia and I had a good laugh exchanging news and some tidbits of her life in Hongkong away from her family. Sharing with friends is such a joy, never mind that sometimes, the topic is serious and painful enough and the tears fall, unheeded. Doing an online apostolate is definitely fulfilling. As you journey through, you also grow in faith and yes, in your own little way, you get to inspire others. We will be celebrating our fourth year of being online this coming Friday. When I think of the times when we were just making our presence felt with a little more than a thousand members, I am grateful that so many people from all walks of life found our page. We now have almost 66,000 members who visit the page each day and share our posts.
I would love to go back to St. Padre Pio Chapel this Holy Week, they have several things lined up for the celebration. My only problem is I am afraid to mingle with a big crowd because I have to wear face mask and I can’t stay under the heat of the sun for long. We are planning to have Visita Iglesia on Holy Thursday maybe in some churches in Manila if we have the time.
This is the facade of Saint Padre Pio Chapel in Libis, QC. It’s visited by thousands of Padre Pio devotees from all walks of life.
The prayer room of St. Francis of Assisi.
I am always touched watching the flickering candles at the chapel. The symbolism of having pure light, penetrating darkness and illuminating one’s path is so uplifting.
Some people say that the facade of the chapel is an exact replica of the Shrine of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Last week I watched a feature on Mang Ramon Rodriguez, founder and president of the Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc. He is a devotee of Saint Padre Pio and was cured of partial blindness years ago . It’s the reason why he put up a small chapel which is now a house of prayer visited by thousands of pilgrims all year-long.
Church of Santa Maria della Grazie, containing Padre Pio’s tomb and cell. (Photo credit: sacred-destinations.com)
Have a blessed Holy Week!
Dreams And Escapes 
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