It’s Holy Week, and Filipinos will hold their favorite Catholic devotions, such as saying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and the Stations of the Cross, and holding the traditional religious pilgrimage, the Visita Iglesia.
A forgotten practice in much of old Europe, the Visita Iglesia delighted foreigners who attended the recent 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City.
During the pilgrimage, the foreign Catholics and other guests made the rounds of such well-known Cebu churches as the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Jesus and the Metropolitan Cathedral, and those not too well known—Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Santo Rosario, Sacred Heart Parish and Asilo de la Medalla Milagrosa (where Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong celebrated the Latin Tridentine Mass).
Noted Edmund Gee of Vancouver, Canada: “Thank you to the Filipinos for preserving this wonderful tradition.”
‘Cenaculo,’ ‘Salubong’
The San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila and Companion Martyrs Parish Church in Kaunlaran Village, Dagat-dagatan, Navotas City, will hold the “cenaculo” along the streets of the parish on Good Friday morning.
Fr. Larry Singian, OP, parish priest, likewise said the traditional “Salubong” on dawn of Easter Sunday will also be held.
For professionals, businessmen
Businessmen and professionals (preferably in Taguig and Makati) are invited to a 13-Saturday (2-5 p.m.) sessions of the Christian Life Program of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals at the Santuario de San Antonio Parish Hall, Forbes Park, Makati City, starting on April 2.
Contact Francis Dumlao (0917-8261988) or George Elias (0917-5413794).
‘Siete Palabras’ 2016
“Siete Palabras at the Santo Domingo Church,” the longest-running Lenten program on Philippine television, will have its 2016 edition on March 25, 12 p.m.-3 p.m.
Friars of Santo Domingo Church who organize the annual event said the Lenten ritual of Dominican preachers reflecting on the Seven Last Words of Christ would take its theme this year from Pope Francis’ declaration of the Extra-Ordinary Jubilee of Mercy as well as the Jubilee of the Order of Preachers, which is turning 800 years old this year.
Dominican preachers for this year’s edition of “Siete Palabras” are Fathers Louie Coronel, Filemon de la Cruz Jr., Ernesto Arceo, Napoleon Sipalay Jr., Mhandy Malijan, Clarence Victor Marquez and Enrico Gonzales.
Taking place at the historic Santo Domingo Church and National Shrine of La Naval de Manila in Quezon City, “Siete Palabras” will have a live broadcast over GMA 7 and Radio Veritas 846, and live streaming at www.ustream.tv/channel/AXeDrFvdKS3.
‘Spiritual pause’
Catholics over 15 years old are making pilgrimages until May 15, Pentecost Sunday, in the Jubilee Churches in the Archdiocese of Manila (Manila Cathedral, Santuario de Santo Cristo Parish in San Juan, Archdiocesan Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Mandaluyong, National Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Makati and Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Pasay).
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said, “Your pilgrimage is not an end in itself. It is merely a ‘pause’ or a ‘spiritual oasis’ as you journey toward your true destination, the Kingdom of God. After visiting each Jubilee church you must be propelled to embark on a journey of mercy; doing the works of mercy, and imbuing your actions, attitude, lifestyle and life with the purest quality of mercy that God, through His Son Jesus Christ, has so generously shown us and gifted us.”
The second Pilgrimage Season in the Archdiocese of Manila is from Sept. 1 to Nov. 13, when the Jubilee Door will be closed.
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