It’s Good Friday

I no longer remember how many times I blogged about Good Friday since I started at WordPress.

We used to have our Visita Iglesia on Good Friday. We visit seven churches in other towns and pray the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. In the afternoon, we watch The Seven Last Words. They are inspiring reflections of how Jesus died on the cross. For the second time now, celebrations of Lent and Holy Week are quiet affairs. I miss the procession in our town usually held very early on a Good Friday morning. It is a blessing though that we get to watch everything online.

It is so quiet here now except for the ocassional noise of cars passing by our subdivision. I took the opportunity to update our Catholic page and two Catholic groups of which I am an admin.

I remember a post I wrote nine years ago today. The message was sent by a close friend on a Good Friday.

These are reflections of an old man who donated blood one Good Friday.

“I gave blood, Christ gave His long ago; I gave a pint, He gave it all. My needle was short and sharp, His nails were large and dull. My cot was soft and restful, His cross was rough and hard. My med techs were kind and gentle, the soldiers were cruel and mean. The crowd applauded my sacrifice, those who passed by reviled Him. Mine was type A positive, His was positive for all. Mine, at best, will prolong life for a while, His without doubt will save us for all eternity”.

A blessed Good Friday to all.

BTW, it’s St. Pope John Paul II’s 16th death anniversary today.

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It’s Ash Wednesday

I attended two online masses this morning, I regret though that I was not able to participate in the imposition of the ashes.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Time to reflect. Although senior citizens like me are already exempted from fasting and abstinence, I will still try to observe it on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and will abstain from eating meat and meat products in all Fridays of Lent. Just bought several kilos of fish and some veggies yesterday.

Here are some lovely thoughts, in the words of Pope Francis.

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Feast Day Of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of  our Lady of the  Holy Rosary.   Every year there used to be a procession of La Naval of the image at Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City. This year though, only a few participated but they brought out the image for a shorter route because of the  pandemic.

Have I  told you that the first time I’ve seen the image of Mama Mary up close was ten years ago when Fr. Lovell (still a seminarian then) invited me to join the Dominican community to pray the rosary with them when the image  was brought down from her pedestal in preparation for the annual procession? I can’t explain the feeling touching her magnificent and dazzling robe after praying the rosary. It was then a year after my chemotherapy. Back in high school at the university, we were all  required to wear our white gala uniforms and attend the procession every year.

Early this morning, I got this message from Fr. Lovell who is assigned in Iloilo at the moment.

Mapagpalang araw po. AS we celebrate today the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, I entrust you and your family to the protective and maternal care of our Mother. You will be remembered in the Holy Mass at 10 am to be celebrated at the Chapel of the House of the Most Holy Rosary Iloilo City. Keep safe.

He never forgets to include us in his masses since he was ordained eight years ago. How nice to be always remembered in prayers.

Happy Feast Day to all our Catholic friends. You are also remembered in prayers.

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VIVA PIT SEÑOR!

They say that the devotion to the Sto Niño in the Philippines is as old as the history of Christianity in the country. Today we celebrate the Feast of Sto Niño, the child Jesus. “Pit Señor” is the short form of “Sangpit sa Señor,” a phrase in Cebuano that means, “to call, ask, and plead to the king.” We celebrate the  Feast of  Sto. Niño every 3rd Sunday of January, the Holy See has granted us special permission to celebrate it, a unique devotion among  us Filipinos.  It is a festive celebration which recalls our conversion to Christianity.

There are so many celebrations in the Philippines during the Feast. We have the Sinulog Festival in Cebu, the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo, the Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Aklan, the street dances in Tondo, Manila and many other places where the Sto Niño is their patron saint.  These are famous celebration usually seen by tourists from other countries as well. We venerate the image of the child Jesus. Sto Niño is a Roman Catholic title of the child Jesus.

Given the humility of a child, the frank  and straight to the point way  they say what they think, the honesty written in a child’s face, the loving and lovable way they accept things without question, these are the lovely traits we often envy. Sometimes we wish we were little kids again.

Viva Pit Señor!

 

 

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Our Lady of Guadalupe, Feast Day

It’s the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe today. When Nissa had her surgical operation last September, Obet’s boss gave this cloak (tilma) to Nissa and she brought it to the hospital. We had it placed on top of her bed when she was at the operating room. There was this lovely prayer pamphlet which she also gave with a very inspiring message to Nissa.

I found this lovely analysis of the tilma at the Catholic site of Our Lady of Guadalupe and I love it. The Image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec Pictograph that was read and interpreted quickly by the Aztec Indians.

• THE LADY STOOD IN FRONT OF THE SUN: She was greater than their dreaded sun-god “Huitzilopochtli”.
• HER FOOT RESTED ON THE CRESCENT MOON: She had clearly vanquished their foremost deity, the feather serpent “Quetzalcoatl.”
• THE STARS STREWN ACROSS THE MANTLE: She was greater than the stars of heaven that they worshipped.  She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo rests over her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on December 12, 1531 for the stars that she wore are the constellation of stars that appeared in the sky that day!
• THE BLUE-GREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE: She was a Queen for she wears the color of royalty.
• THE BLACK CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK: Her God was that of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son.
• THE BLACK BELT: She was with child for she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt.
• THE FOUR-PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB: She was the “Mother of God.” The flower was a special symbol of life, movement and deity-the center of the universe.
• HER HANDS ARE JOINED IN PRAYER: She was not God but clearly there was one greater than Her and she pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch.
• THE DESIGN ON HER ROSE COLORED GARMENT: She is the “Queen of the Earth” for she is wearing a map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place.

And then there’s what Modern Science has to say about the tilma:

• The image, to this date, cannot be explained by science.
• The image shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years!  The tilma or cloak of Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady has been imprinted, is a coarse fabric made from the threads of the maguey cactus. This fiber disintegrates within 20-60 years!
• There is no under sketch, no sizing and no protective over-varnish on the image.
• Microscopic examination revealed that there were no brush strokes.
• The image seems to increase in size and change colors due to an unknown property of the surface and substance of which it is made.
• According to Kodak of Mexico, the image is smooth and feels like a modern day photograph.  (Produced 300 years before the invention of photography.)
• The image has consistently defied exact reproduction, whether by brush or camera.
• Several images can be seen reflected in the eyes of the Virgin. It is believed to be the  images of Juan Diego, Bishop Juan de Zummaraga, Juan Gonzales-the interpreter and others.
• The distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in the normal eye, which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface.
• The stars on Our Lady’s Mantle coincide with the constellation in the sky on December 12, 1531. All who have scientifically examined the image of Our Lady over the centuries confess that its properties are absolutely unique and so inexplicable in human terms that the image can only be supernatural!

 

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Cristo Rey

Today is the Feast of Christ the King, conclusion of the liturgical year in the Catholic calendar.

“Feast of Christ the King, also called Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is a  festival celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church in honour of Jesus Christ as lord over all creation. Essentially a magnification of the Feast of the Ascension, it was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925″.

Next Sunday is the beginning of another liturgical year in which we start with the season of Advent.  It is a time we look forward to as preparation of Christmas, four weeks of Advent Sundays before Christmas.  The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “arrival” or “coming” from the word advenire (ad- “to” venire “come”).

Advent 2019 begins on December 1 and ends on December 24. The themes that correspond to each week are the following:

Week 1: Hope (or promise)
Week 2: Preparation (or waiting or prophecy)
Week 3: Joy (or peace)
Week 4: Love (or adoration)

It was so nice to meet our good friend Fr. Aly again who is now the Parish Priest and Rector of the the Shrine of Our Lady of Light here in our town. For eight years, I’ve missed listening to his lovely and meaningful homilies. He was the one who officiated on Nissa’s wedding eight years ago. Meeting old friends, what a wonderful treasure.

By the way, Cristo Rey are Spanish words for Christ the King. Have a blessed  Sunday everyone.

 

 

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Let’s Just Respect Each Other’s Belief

Wow, I am quite sad that a certain follower and who I have followed lately is attacking the Catholic religion. I’ve been blogging for more than ten years now and it is only now that there is this personal attack through his comments on a comment I made earlier. He claims to be a Christian but is full of hate about the Catholic church. He even said that we worship Mary  and the saints which is nowhere said in the Bible. I told him, we venerate Mary, not worship her.

I don’t want to argue when it comes to religion. We stay where we are comfortable and everyone should respect that. Personal attack is a no, no for me. Imagine, he is telling everyone to stay away from the Catholic church, what a shame.

I unfollowed him and removed  him from my list of followers.I blocked him for good. I don’t feel at ease having someone so opinionated like him.

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